RingCentral (RNG) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

RingCentral, Inc.

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

    PART I.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in, but not limited to, the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as “anticipates”, “believes”, “could”, “seeks”, “estimates”, “expects”, “intends”, “may”, “plans”, “potential”, “predicts”, “projects”, “should”, “will”, “would” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be significantly different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We discuss these risks in greater detail in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our management’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be significantly different from what we expect.

Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ significantly from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

We are a leading provider of AI-driven cloud business communications, contact center, video and hybrid event solutions. We believe that our innovative solutions enable smarter interactions among customers and employees, turning conversations into meaningful insights that drive better business outcomes.

Our cloud-based business solutions are designed to be easy to use, providing a global user identity across multiple locations and devices, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and desk phones. Our solutions can be deployed rapidly and configured and managed easily. Our cloud-based solutions are location and device independent and better suited to address the needs of modern mobile and global enterprise workforces than are legacy on-premises systems. Through our open platform, we enable third-party developers and customers to develop integrations and workflows using our robust set of Application Programming Interfaces (“APIs”) and software developers’ kits (“SDKs”).

For today’s mobile and highly distributed workforce, RingCentral empowers people to connect from anywhere on any device, across any mode of communication. This gives today’s workforce the ability to communicate more productively and seamlessly in ways that traditional on-premises systems do not support.

RingCentral offers a fully integrated business communications platform, which includes cloud private branch exchanges (“PBX”), cloud contact center, video meetings and webinars, and events. RingCentral is focused on embedding AI into our product portfolio, which we believe is a key product differentiator for the markets and customers we serve.

Our cloud communications and customer engagement solutions are based on our Message Video Phone (MVP) platform. This open platform enables seamless integration with third-party and custom software applications, helping improve business workflows, drive higher employee productivity and enhance better customer service. Our global delivery capabilities support the needs of multi-national enterprises in multiple countries.

Our multi-product portfolio includes:

We primarily generate revenues from the sale of subscriptions to our offerings. Our subscription plans have monthly, annual, or multi-year contractual terms. We believe that this flexibility in contract duration is important to meet the different needs of our customers. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, subscriptions revenues accounted for 90% or more of our total revenues. The remainder of our revenues has historically been primarily comprised of product revenues from the sale of pre-configured phones and professional services. We do not develop or manufacture physical phones and offer them as a convenience to our customers. We rely on third-party providers to develop and manufacture these devices and fulfillment partners to successfully serve our customers.

We continue to support our direct inside sales force while also developing indirect sales channels to market our brand and our subscription offerings. Our indirect sales channels who sell our solutions consist of:

“RingCentral” and other of our trademarks appearing in this report are our property. This report also contains trade names and trademarks of other companies. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names or trademarks to imply an endorsement or sponsorship of us by such companies, or any relationship with any of these companies.

Our AI-driven cloud-based business communications, collaboration, and customer engagement solutions function across multiple locations and devices, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and desk phones, allow for communication across multiple modes, including high-definition (“HD”) voice, video, SMS, messaging and collaboration, conferencing, and fax. Our proprietary solutions enable a more productive and dynamic workforce and are architected using industry standards to meet

Our solutions are delivered using a highly available, and rapidly and easily scalable infrastructure, allowing our customers to add new users regardless of where they are located within our service footprint and promote business continuity. Our solutions require little to no upfront infrastructure hardware costs or ongoing maintenance and upgrade costs commonly associated with on-premise systems and can be integrated with other existing communication systems.

We believe that our solutions go beyond the core functionality of existing on-premise communications solutions by providing additional key benefits that address the changing requirements of business to allow business communications using HD voice, video, SMS, messaging, collaboration, conferencing, and fax. The key benefits of our solutions include:

We have a portfolio of cloud-based offerings that are subscription-based and made available at different monthly rates, varying by the specific functionalities, services, and number of users. We primarily generate revenues from the sale of subscriptions to our offerings, which include the following:

Key features of RingCentral MVP include:

Our organizational structure is a single reportable segment. A discussion of the results of our operations is included in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, and in Part II, Item 8, “Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, under Consolidated Financial Statements, which are incorporated herein by reference.

We have a diverse and growing customer base across a wide range of industries, including financial services, education, healthcare, legal services, real estate, retail, technology, insurance, construction, hospitality, and state and local government, among others. We seek to establish and maintain long-term relationships with our customers. We do not have significant customer concentration and no individual customer accounted for more than 10% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. We believe that we will not have significant customer concentration in the future.

We sell our solutions to enterprise customers, and small and medium-sized businesses. We define a “customer” as a party that purchases or subscribes to our products and services directly or through our indirect sales channel, which includes resellers and distributors, strategic partners and global service providers. We continuously expand our solution offering globally and believe that there are additional growth opportunities in international markets.

We use a variety of marketing, sales, and support activities to generate and cultivate ongoing customer demand for our subscriptions, acquire new customers, and engage with our existing customers. We sell globally through both direct and indirect channels, which includes resellers and distributors, strategic partners and global service providers. We provide onboarding implementation services to help our customers set up and configure their newly purchased communications system, as well as ongoing self-service, phone support, online chat support, and training. We also closely track and monitor customer acquisition costs to assess how we are deploying our marketing, sales, and customer support spending.

We believe that continued investment in research and development is critical to expanding our leadership position within the cloud-based business communications, collaboration, and contact center solutions market and is a key element of our culture. We devote the majority of our research and development resources to software development. Our engineering team has significant experience in various disciplines related to our platform, such as voice, video, events, text, team messaging and collaboration, mobile application development, IP networking and infrastructure, contact center, digital customer engagement, user experience, security, and robust multi-tenant cloud-based system architecture.

Our development methodology, in combination with our SaaS delivery model, allows us to provide new and enhanced capabilities on a regular basis. Based on feedback from our customers and prospects and our review of the broader business communications and SaaS markets, we continuously develop new functionality while maintaining and enhancing our existing solutions. We typically have multiple releases per year, where we constantly improve our solutions and introduce new capabilities and features to make our customers’ workforce more productive and to build out the feature set required by larger and global enterprises.

As part of our strategy to expand our technological capabilities, we engage in strategic transactions from time to time. Such strategic acquisitions enable us to complement our technology and skill sets and expand our solution reach.

Our platforms are hosted both in private and public clouds. Our private clouds are built on a highly scalable and flexible infrastructure comprised of commercially available hardware and software components. Our public clouds are built on a scalable platform that allows us to leverage shared components and services, enabling us to rapidly develop new features and functionalities on our existing platform without re-architecting the infrastructure to achieve geographical redundancy and high availability. We believe that both hardware and software components of our platform can be replaced, upgraded or added with minimal or no interruption in service. The system is designed to have no single point-of-failure. We also utilize Amazon’s public cloud services, and for the foreseeable future, we expect to increase our utilization of such services.

Our private cloud is served from multiple data centers and third-party co-location facilities located in several cities in the United States and throughout the world. Our data centers are designed to host mission-critical computer and communications systems with redundant, fault-tolerant subsystems, and compartmentalized security zones. We maintain a security program designed to ensure the security and integrity of customer data, protect against security threats or data breaches, and prevent unauthorized access to our customers’ data. We limit access to on-demand servers and networks at our production and remote backup facilities.

We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, and trade secret laws in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, as well as license agreements and other contractual protections, to protect our proprietary technology. We also rely on a number of registered and unregistered trademarks to protect our brand. In addition, we seek to protect our intellectual property rights by implementing a policy that requires our employees and independent contractors involved in the development of intellectual property on our behalf to enter into agreements acknowledging that all works or other intellectual property generated or conceived by them on our behalf are our property, and assigning to us any rights, including intellectual property rights, that they may claim or otherwise have in those works or property, to the extent allowable under applicable law.

Our worldwide intellectual property portfolio includes over 450 issued patents, which expire between 2024 and 2041, and over 90 patent applications, pending examination in the U.S. and in foreign jurisdictions, all of which are related to U.S. applications. In general, our patents and patent applications apply to certain aspects of our SaaS and mobile applications and underlying communications infrastructure. We are also a party to various license agreements with third parties that typically grant us the right to use certain third-party technology in conjunction with our solutions and subscriptions. In the future, we may “prune” our patent portfolio by not continuing to renew some of our patents in some jurisdictions or may decide to divest some of our patents.

The market for business communications and collaboration solutions is very large, rapidly evolving, complex, fragmented and defined by changing technology, and customer needs. We expect competition to continue to increase in the future. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our market include:

We believe that we generally compete favorably on the basis of the factors listed above.

We face competition from a broad range of providers of business communications and collaboration solutions. Some of these competitors include:

We believe that our culture and our workforce are critically important to our success. Our human capital resources objectives include identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and new employees, advisors and consultants. We continuously invest in our global workforce by seeking to create a diverse, inclusive, and safe work environment where our employees can learn, innovate, and deliver their best. We are committed to being inclusive to enable our workforce and customers to succeed.

We invest in developing our talent and creating a superior employee experience. We believe that a highly engaged workforce will continue to drive RingCentral’s competitive advantage as an innovative company and will also keep RingCentral as an employer of choice. We believe that our approach to talent development and innovation enables our team members to grow in their current positions and build new skills. We provide learning courses across a broad range of categories such as leadership, inclusion and diversity, technical and compliance, among others. We have periodic employee surveys that allow employees to voice their perceptions of the Company and their work experience.

Our diversity and inclusion initiatives honor the unique background, identity and perspectives of each individual in our organization and we are committed to the success of our workforce and customers. We continue to drive key initiatives in talent acquisition and talent management to focus on increasing the representation of women and underrepresented groups in our global workforce. We received recognition for our initiatives in the area of diversity, equity and inclusiveness, wherein the Company was recognized as one of the “Best Company for Diversity” by Comparably in 2023. We encourage and support employee resource groups like our LGBTQ+ group, Black employees group and Pan-Asian group, among others. We continue to look for ways to further expand our efforts in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion.

We face competition for highly skilled and technical workforce with experience in our industry and locations where we maintain offices. We strive to provide competitive pay, benefits, and services to attract and retain our employees. Our equity and cash incentive plans are designed to attract, retain and reward employees, in order to increase stockholder value and to enable the success of our Company by motivating such individuals to perform to the best of their abilities and share in the value creation process. We also provide access to a variety of flexible health and wellness programs to our employees.

As of December 31, 2023, we had 4,084 full-time employees located in 16 countries. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 47% of our full-time employees were located outside of the United States. Our geographic diversification enhances our ability to retain and attract highly skilled talent, have an employee base across the globe to be closer to our customers, as well as manage our headcount costs.

In certain countries in which we operate, we are subject to, and comply with, local labor law requirements, which may automatically make our employees subject to industry-wide collective bargaining agreements. For instance, our employees in France are covered by the Syntec Collective Bargaining Agreement. We are not subject to any other collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our employee relations are good, and we have never experienced any work stoppages.

As a provider of communication services over the Internet, we are subject to regulation in the U.S. by the FCC. Some of these regulatory obligations include contributing to the Federal Universal Service Fund, Telecommunications Relay Service Fund, and federal programs related to phone number administration; providing access to E-911 services; protecting customer information; complying with caller ID authentication and anti-robocall measures; and porting phone numbers upon a valid customer request. We are also required to pay state and local 911 fees and contribute to state universal service funds in those states that assess interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services. In addition, we have certified a wholly owned subsidiary as a competitive local exchange carrier in thirty states and the District of Columbia, and registered as an IP-enabled Service Provider in an additional eleven states. This subsidiary, RCLEC, is subject to the same FCC regulations applicable to telecommunications companies, as well as regulation by the public utility commissions in states where the subsidiary provides services. Specific regulations vary on a state-by-state basis, but generally include the requirement for our subsidiary to register or seek certification to provide its services, to file and update tariffs setting forth the terms, conditions and prices for our intrastate services and to comply with various reporting, record-keeping, surcharge collection, and consumer protection requirements.

As we have expanded internationally, we have become subject to laws and regulations in the countries in which we offer our subscriptions. Regulatory treatment of communications services over the Internet outside the U.S. varies from country to country, and may be more onerous than imposed on our subscriptions in the U.S. In the United Kingdom, for example, our subscriptions are regulated by Ofcom, which, among other things, requires electronic communications services providers such as our company to provide all users access to both 112 (EU-mandated) and 999 (U.K.-mandated) emergency service numbers at no charge. Similarly, in Canada, our subscriptions are regulated by the CRTC, which, among other things, imposes requirements like those in the U.S. related to the provision of E-911 services, in all areas of Canada where the wireline incumbent carrier offers such 911 services. Over the course of 2023, many countries across Europe implemented the EU Electronic Communications Code, clarifying and updating obligations on PSTN-connected voice service providers as well as imposing new requirements on number-independent services such as videoconferencing and team messaging. Additionally, the French regulatory agency, ARCEP, has made major changes to its telephone numbering plan that went into effect in January 2023, allowing for greater nomadic use of services like ours, and prohibiting the sub-assignment of phone numbers to resellers,

In the course of providing our services, we collect, store, and process many types of data, including personal data. Moreover, our customers can use our subscriptions to store contact and other personal or identifying information, and to process, transmit, receive, store, and retrieve a variety of communications and messages, including information about their own customers and other contacts. Customers are able, and may be authorized under certain circumstances, to use our subscriptions to transmit, receive, and/or store personal information.

There are a number of federal, state, local, and foreign laws and regulations, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), and the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), which extended the CCPA, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, the Colorado Privacy Act, the Connecticut Privacy Act and the Utah Consumer Privacy Act, as well as contractual obligations and industry standards, that provide for certain obligations and restrictions with respect to data privacy and security, and the collection, storage, retention, protection, use, processing, transmission, sharing, disclosure, and protection of personal information and other customer data. We expect that with the expansion of our Global MVP solution and sales of our services into new countries, we will become subject to additional data privacy regulations in other countries throughout the world. The scope of these obligations and restrictions is changing, subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among countries or conflict with other rules, and their status remains uncertain.

As Internet commerce and communication technologies continue to evolve, thereby increasing online service providers’ and network users’ capacity to collect, store, retain, protect, use, process, and transmit large volumes of personal information, increasingly restrictive regulation by federal, state, or foreign agencies becomes more likely.

Regulations that do not directly apply to our business, but which do apply to our customers and partners, can also impact our business. As we expand our business, addressing customer and partner requirements in new jurisdictions and new verticals often requires investment on our part to address regulations that apply to our customers. Globally, these regulations continue to be introduced and to change over time. Such regulations can impact our ability to offer services to various customer segments, and our cost to deliver our services.

See the section entitled “Risk Factors” for more information.

We make available our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, free of charge on our website (ir.ringcentral.com), as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the “SEC”. In addition, the SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

We announce material information to the public about our company, our solutions and services and other matters through a variety of means, including our website (www.ringcentral.com), the investor relations section of our website (ir.ringcentral.com), press releases, filings with the SEC, and public conference calls, in order to achieve broad, non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public. We encourage investors and others to review the information we make public in these locations, as such information could be deemed to be material information. Please note that this list may be updated from time to time.

This Report contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth below. The risks and uncertainties described in this Report are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also affect our business. See the section entitled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the forward-looking statements that are qualified by these risk factors. If any of these known or unknown risks or uncertainties actually occurs and have a material adverse effect on us, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be seriously harmed.

An investment in our Class A Common Stock involves a high degree of risk, and the following is a summary of key risk factors when considering an investment. This is only a summary. You should read this summary together with the more detailed description of each risk factor contained in the subheadings further below and other risks.

We have incurred substantial net losses since our inception. We have historically spent considerable amounts of time and money to develop new business communications solutions and enhanced versions of our existing business communications solutions to position us for future growth. Additionally, we have incurred substantial losses and expended significant resources upfront to market, promote and sell our solutions and expect to continue to do so in the future. We also expect to continue to invest for future growth, including for advertising, customer acquisition, technology infrastructure, storage capacity, services development and international expansion. In addition, as a public company, we incur significant accounting, legal, and other expenses.

We expect to continue to incur losses for at least the foreseeable future and will have to generate and sustain increased revenues to achieve future profitability. Achieving profitability will require us to increase revenues, manage our cost structure, and avoid significant liabilities. Revenue growth has slowed and in the future, revenues may decline, or we may incur significant losses in the future for a number of possible reasons, including general macroeconomic conditions, increasing competition (including competitive pricing pressures), a decrease in customer demand or the growth of the markets in which we compete, in particular the UCaaS, CCaaS and SaaS markets, or if we fail for any reason to continue to capitalize on growth opportunities. Additionally, we may encounter unforeseen operating expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, service delivery, and quality problems and other unknown factors that may result in losses in future periods, such as our previous write-down charges relating to our strategic partnership with Avaya. If these losses exceed our expectations or our revenue growth expectations are not met in future periods, our financial performance will be harmed and our stock price could be volatile or decline.

Our quarterly and annual results of operations have varied historically from period to period, and we expect that they will continue to fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including:

Any one of the factors above, or the cumulative effect of some or all of the factors referred to above, may result in significant fluctuations in our quarterly and annual results of operations. This variability and unpredictability could result in our failure to meet our publicly announced guidance or the expectations of securities analysts or investors for any period, which could cause our stock price to decline. In addition, a significant percentage of our operating expenses is fixed in nature and is based on forecasted revenues trends. Accordingly, in the event of revenue shortfalls, we may not be able to mitigate the negative impact on net income (loss) and margins in the short term. If we fail to meet or exceed the expectations of research analysts or investors, the market price of our shares could fall substantially, and we could face costly lawsuits, including securities class-action suits.

We currently depend on various third parties for some of our software development efforts, quality assurance, operations, and customer support services, including third parties in countries outside the U.S. Specifically, we have outsourced

We also rely on purchased or leased hardware and software licensed from third parties in order to offer our subscriptions, and in some cases, we integrate third-party licensed software components into our platform. Any errors or defects in third-party hardware or software could result in errors or a failure of our subscriptions which could harm our business.

We anticipate that we will continue to depend on our third-party relationships in order to grow our business for the foreseeable future. If we are unsuccessful in maintaining existing and, if needed, establishing new relationships with third parties, our ability to efficiently operate existing services or develop new services and provide adequate customer support could be impaired, and, as a result, our competitive position or our results of operations could suffer.

In the past, we depended on third-party partners in Russia and Ukraine for software development, quality assurance and operations. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our former third-party partner in Russia ceased its operations and a substantial proportion of its affected personnel relocated to other countries such as Georgia, Spain, and Bulgaria. We are working with our third-party contractor in Ukraine and in Georgia to relocate their personnel to Spain, Bulgaria, and other countries; and we have had to further relocate and in the future may need to relocate some of these personnel to still other countries; however, we cannot assure you that we can permanently relocate them in a cost effective manner, or at all. In addition, we have discontinued our partner operations in Ukraine, which has disrupted our development efforts and our release of new features. We have incurred, and may in the future further incur, increased costs associated with managing or assisting in relocating our partners’ personnel or engaging with alternative third-party contractors or hiring employees outside of Russia and Ukraine, which could negatively impact our operating results and financial condition.

We also have engineering operations located in Israel, which continues to be affected by the war between Israel and Hamas. This ongoing and evolving conflict, as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine, could create or heighten global security concerns, increase the risk of cyber-attacks, and have a lasting impact on regional and global economies, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We operate globally and, as a result, our business, revenues and profitability are impacted by global macroeconomic conditions. The success of our activities is affected by general economic and market conditions, including, among others, inflation rate fluctuations, interest rates, supply chain constraints, lower consumer confidence, volatile equity capital markets, tax rates, economic uncertainty, political instability, changes in laws, instability in the banking and financial system, and trade barriers and sanctions. Recently, inflation and interest rates in the U.S. have risen to levels not seen in several years, which has increased and may continue to increase our operating costs. In addition, such economic volatility could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and future market disruptions could negatively impact us. Further, any U.S. federal government shutdown resulting from failing to pass budget appropriations, adopt continuing funding resolutions, and other budgetary decisions limiting or delaying government spending, may negatively impact U.S. or global economic conditions, including corporate and consumer spending, and liquidity of capital markets. Unfavorable economic conditions could increase our operating costs and, because our typical contracts with customers lock in our price for a few years such that we are generally unable to make corresponding increases in contract pricing, our profitability could be negatively affected. Geopolitical destabilization could impact global currency exchange rates, supply chains, trade and movement of resources, the price of commodities such as energy, as well as demand for our products and services, which may adversely affect the technology spending of our customers and potential customers. Geopolitical conflicts, including the effects of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and related international sanctions against Russia, the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, and U.S.-China relations, are heightening these risks.

Some of our international agreements provide for payment denominated in local currencies, and the majority of our local costs are denominated in local currencies. Fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar versus foreign currencies may impact our operating results when translated into U.S. dollars. Thus, our results of operations and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly changes in the Euro, British Pound Sterling, Bulgarian Lev, Chinese Yuan, Indian Rupee, and Canadian Dollar, and may be adversely affected in the future due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. While we have limited currency exchange exposure to the Georgian, Israeli, and Philippine currencies, we expect exchange rates with respect to these and other currencies to continue to be more volatile than previously normal as a result of the ongoing armed conflict in Israel and other regions. Certain changes in exchange rates have and may continue to negatively affect our revenues, expenses, and other operating results as expressed in U.S. dollars in the future.

We have grown rapidly since 2009, when we introduced RingCentral MVP, our flagship product. We have encountered and expect to continue to encounter risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly changing markets. If our assumptions regarding these uncertainties are incorrect or change in reaction to changes in our markets, or if we do not manage or address these risks successfully, our results of operations could differ materially from our expectations, and our business could suffer.

We continue to experience growth in our business. This growth has placed and may continue to place significant demands on our management, organizational structure, and our operational and financial infrastructure, particularly as we try to become more profitable and financially and operationally efficient. As our operations grow in size, scope, and complexity, we may need to increase our sales and marketing efforts and may add additional sales and marketing personnel in various regions worldwide and improve and upgrade our systems and infrastructure to attract, service, and retain an increasing number of customers. For example, we expect the volume of simultaneous calls to increase significantly as our customer base grows. Our network hardware and software may not be able to accommodate this additional simultaneous call volume. The expansion of our systems and infrastructure could require us to commit substantial financial, operational, and technical resources in advance of an increase in the volume of business, with no assurance that the volume of business will increase. Any such additional capital investments will increase our cost base.

Continued growth could also strain our ability to maintain reliable service levels for our customers, resellers, partners, and global service providers, develop and improve our operational, financial and management controls, enhance our billing and reporting systems and procedures, and recruit, train and retain highly skilled personnel. In addition, our existing systems, processes, and controls may not prevent or detect all errors, omissions, or fraud. We may also experience difficulties in managing improvements to our systems, processes, and controls or in connection with third-party software licensed to help us with such improvements. Any future growth, particularly further international expansion and the transition to a multi-product company, could add complexity to our organization, require effective communication and coordination throughout our organization, and result in additional costs. For example, such expansion may require us to set up regional and country governance models to manage our operations in certain countries, which may result in incremental general and administrative expenses. To manage any future growth effectively, we must continue to improve and expand our information technology and financial, operating, security and administrative systems and controls, and our business continuity and disaster recovery plans and processes. Additionally, our productivity and the quality of our solutions and services may be adversely affected if we do not integrate and train our new employees quickly and effectively. If we fail to achieve the necessary level of efficiency in our organization as we grow, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

A strategic partnership between two independent businesses is a complex, costly, and time-consuming process that requires significant management attention and resources. Realizing the benefits of our partnerships, particularly our relationships with our strategic partners and global service providers, including Avaya, Atos, ALE, Mitel (Unify), Charter Communications, Vodafone, DT, and Optus, will depend on a variety of factors, including our ability to work with our strategic partners to develop, market and sell our MVP and co-branded solutions, such as Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral (“ACO”), and our other offerings. Setting up and maintaining the operations and processes of these strategic relationships may cause us to

The cloud-based business communications and collaboration solutions industry is competitive, and we expect competition to increase in the future. We face intense competition from other providers of business communications and collaboration systems and solutions.

Our competitors include traditional on-premises, hardware business communications providers such as ALE, Avaya, Cisco Systems, Mitel, NEC Corporation, Siemens Enterprise Networks, LLC, their resellers, agents and others, as well as companies such as Microsoft Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc., and their resellers that license their software. In addition, certain of our global service providers and strategic partners, such as AT&T, BT, TELUS, Vodafone, DT, Amazon, Avaya, Atos, ALE, and Mitel (Unify) market and sell our solutions, but they are also competitors for business communications services, selling and marketing their own solutions as well as, in some cases, other third-party solutions. Some of these companies may have significantly greater resources than us and currently, or may in the future, develop and/or host their own solutions through the cloud. Such competitors may not be successful in or cease marketing and selling our solutions to their customers and may ultimately be able to transition some or all of those customers onto their competing solutions, which could materially and adversely affect our revenues and growth. We also face competition from other companies and established communications providers that resell on-premises hardware, software, cloud and hosted solutions, such as 8x8, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Dialpad, Inc., LogMeIn, Inc, Microsoft Corporation, Nextiva, Inc., Twilio Inc., Vonage Holdings Corp., and Zoom Video Communications, Inc., which has introduced a voice solution. Established communications providers, such as AT&T, Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile, and Comcast Corporation in the U.S., TELUS and others in Canada, Telefonica Spain, DT, and BT, Vodafone Group plc, and others in the U.K., that resell on-premises hardware, software, and hosted solutions, compete with us in business communications and currently, or may in the future, develop and/or host their own cloud solutions. We may also face competition from other large Internet companies, such as Alphabet Inc. (Google Voice), Meta Platforms, Inc., Oracle Corporation, and Salesforce.com, Inc., any of which might launch its own cloud-based business communications services or acquire other cloud-based business communications companies in the future. We also compete against providers of communications platform as a service solutions and messaging software platforms with APIs such as Twilio Inc., and Slack Technologies, Inc. (acquired by Salesforce, Inc.), on which customers can build diverse solutions by integrating cloud communications into business applications. We face competition with respect to this solution from contact center and customer relationship management providers such as Amazon.com, Inc., Avaya, Five9, Inc., NICE InContact (including LiveVox Holdings, Inc.), Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., Talkdesk, Inc., Vonage Holdings Corp., Salesforce.com, Inc., and Twilio Inc. We also face competition from digital engagement vendors such as eGain Corporation, LivePerson, Inc., among others named above that may offer similar features.

Many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater resources and name recognition, more diversified offerings, international presence, and larger customer bases than we have. As a result, these competitors may have greater credibility with our existing and potential customers and may be better able to withstand an extended period of downward pricing pressure. In addition, certain of our competitors have partnered with, or been acquired by, and may in the future partner with or acquire, other competitors to offer services, leveraging their collective competitive positions, which makes it more difficult to compete with them and could significantly and adversely affect our results of operations. Demand for our platform is also sensitive to price. Many factors, including our marketing, user acquisition and technology costs, and our current and future competitors’ pricing and marketing strategies, can significantly affect our pricing strategies. Our competitors may be able to adopt more aggressive pricing policies and promotions and devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their services than we can to ours. Some of these service providers have in the past and may choose in the future to sacrifice revenues in order to gain market share by offering their services at lower prices or for free, or offering alternative pricing models, such as “freemium” pricing, in which a basic offering is provided for free with advanced features provided for a fee, on the services they offer. Our competitors may also offer bundled service arrangements offering a more complete service offering, despite the technical merits or advantages of our subscriptions. Competition could result in a decrease to our prices, slow our growth, increase our customer turnover, reduce our sales, or decrease our market share.

Our future success depends on our continued ability to establish and maintain a network of channel relationships. A substantial portion of our revenues is derived from our network of sales agents, brokers, and resellers, which we refer to collectively as channel partners, many of which sell or may in the future decide to sell their own business communications services or business communications services from other providers. Governmental regulators and contractual restrictions with telecom carriers may also restrict the ability of our channel partners and resellers to resell our products and services in some countries. We generally do not have long-term contracts with these channel partners, and the loss of or reduction in sales through these third parties could materially reduce our revenues. Our competitors may in some cases be effective in causing our current or potential channel partners to favor their services or prevent or reduce sales of our subscriptions. Furthermore, while some of our strategic partners and global service providers, such as AT&T, BT, TELUS, Vodafone, DT, Avaya, Atos, ALE, and Mitel (Unify) also sell and market our solutions on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis, they may also sell and market competing business communications. Some of these companies have significantly greater resources than us and currently, or may in the future, develop and/or host their own or third-party cloud solutions. Such competitors may cease marketing or selling our solutions to their customers and may ultimately be able to transition some or all of those customers onto their competing solutions, which could materially and adversely affect our revenues and growth.

We have also entered into certain agreements with our strategic partners and global service providers to sell and market certain of our solutions. However, there can be no guarantee that our strategic partners, global service providers and/or any of their respective channel partners will be successful in marketing or selling our solutions or that they will not cease marketing or selling our solutions in the future. In addition, from time to time, we have had disagreements with certain of our strategic partners. Further, certain partners have failed in the past, and may fail in the future, to meet their minimum contractual seat and/or revenue commitments, including recoupment of advance payments. The Company has in the past, and may in the future, renegotiate the terms of its strategic partnership agreements, including converting strategic partners from exclusive to non-exclusive partners.

In addition, we are in the process of transforming generally our channel partner go-to-market strategy, with increasing enablement of a resale/wholesale model, which requires significant changes to our systems and processes. These system and process changes could result in longer time to implement our strategy which could have an impact on our revenue.

If our strategic partners and global service providers and/or any of their respective channel partners are not successful in marketing and selling our solutions or cease to market and sell our solutions, our revenues and growth could be significantly and adversely affected. If we fail to maintain relationships with our channel partners, global service providers and strategic partners or fail to develop new and expanded relationships in existing or new markets, or if our networks of indirect channel relationships are not successful in their sales efforts, sales of our subscriptions may decrease and our operating results would suffer. In addition, we may not be successful in managing, training, and providing appropriate incentives to our existing resellers and other channel partners, global service providers and strategic partners, and they may not be able to commit adequate resources in order to successfully sell our solutions.

We currently use the infrastructure of third-party network service providers, including Lumen Technologies, Inc. and Bandwidth.com, Inc. in North America and several others internationally, to deliver our subscriptions over their networks. Our third-party network service providers provide access to their Internet protocol (“IP”) networks and public switched telephone networks, and provide call termination and origination services, including 911 emergency calling in the U.S. and equivalent services internationally, and local number portability for our customers. We expect that we will continue to rely heavily on third-party network service providers to provide these subscriptions for the foreseeable future.

Through our wholly-owned local exchange carrier subsidiary, RCLEC, Inc. (“RCLEC”), we also obtain certain connectivity and network services directly from incumbent local exchange carriers (“ILECS”) and from other competitive local exchange carriers (“CLECs”) in certain geographic markets at lower prices than we pay for such services through third-party network service providers. However, RCLEC also uses the infrastructure of third-party network service providers to deliver its services and the ILECs may favor themselves and their affiliates and may not provide network services to us at lower prices than we could obtain through third-party CLECs, or at all. If we are unable to continue to reduce our pricing as a result of obtaining network services through our subsidiary, we may be forced to rely on other third-party network service providers and

In addition, we currently use and may in the future continue to use third-party service providers to deliver certain features of our subscriptions. For example, although we introduced our own video and web conferencing solution in April 2020 and have migrated many of our customers to RingCentral Video, there are still several existing customers who continue to use Zoom Video Communications, Inc. for HD video and web conferencing and screen sharing features, Bandwidth.com for texting capabilities, and NICE inContact, Inc. for contact center capabilities. In the future, we may not continue to have long-term contracts with any or all of these third-party providers. In the same way, our customers may from time to time require that we resell them third-party software, hardware and services that we do not regularly offer. Therefore, in some instances, we are required to obtain these software, hardware and services from third-party providers. Any of these service providers could elect or attempt to stop providing us with access to their services or our contracts with these third-party providers may terminate, expire, or be breached. If any of these service providers ceases to provide us with their services, fails to provide these services to us on a cost-effective basis or at reasonable levels of quality and security, ceases operations, or otherwise terminates or discontinues these services, the delay caused by qualifying and switching to another third-party service provider, if one is available, or building a proprietary replacement solution could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Furthermore, we are no longer offering or selling RingCentral Meetings to new customers and are instead offering our own RingCentral Video solution, and, in light of our settlement with Zoom, we believe that we will be able to migrate all or substantially all of our customers to RingCentral Video. Nevertheless, it is possible that not all existing customers will migrate to RingCentral Video. Therefore, our inability to offer and sell RingCentral Meetings, or to successfully transfer existing customers to our own solution, may cause some prospective customers not to purchase our services and/or existing customers not to renew their contracts for our services or to renew for a fewer number of seats.

Relatedly, U.S. mobile carriers are now requiring businesses using SMS on over-the-top providers, including all Communications Platform as a Service (“CPaaS”) and UCaaS providers, such as RingCentral, to register with The Campaign Registry (“TCR”), to ensure text messages are compliant with wireless carrier guidelines, as well as to reduce spam. These new rules affect our customers, and we have built integrations with TCR to facilitate those registrations for our customers. TCR registration and related vetting can be cumbersome and costly and may cause customer churn, especially for SMB customers that have more limited person-to-person SMS needs. In the future, customers who are not registered with TCR may not be able to send or receive SMS using our service. Additionally, SMS aggregators and wireless carriers sometimes block legitimate SMS traffic without prior notice, which may negatively impact our customers.

Finally, if problems occur with any of these third-party network or service providers, it may cause errors or poor call quality in our subscriptions, and we could encounter difficulty identifying the source of the problem. The occurrence of errors or poor call quality in our subscriptions, whether caused by our systems or a third-party network or service provider, may result in the loss of our existing customers, delay or loss of market acceptance of our subscriptions, termination of our relationships and agreements with our channel partners, strategic partners, or global service providers, or liability for failure to meet service level agreements which may require us to issue service credits or pay damages, and may seriously harm our business and results of operations.

We rely on software licensed from certain third parties in order to offer our solutions. In some cases, we integrate third-party licensed software components into our platform. This software may not continue to be available at reasonable prices or on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Any loss of the right to use any of this software could significantly increase our expenses and otherwise result in delays in the provisioning of our solutions until equivalent technology is either developed by us, or, if available, is identified, obtained, and integrated. Any errors or defects in third-party software could result in errors or a failure of our solutions, which could harm our business.

We currently serve our North American customers from geographically disparate data center hosting facilities in North America, where we lease space from Equinix, Inc., and other providers, and we serve our European customers from third-party data center hosting facilities in Europe. We also use third-party co-location facilities located in various international regions to serve our customers in these regions. Certain of our solutions are hosted by third-party data center facilities including Amazon Web Services, Inc. (“AWS”), NICE inContact, Inc., and Google Cloud Platform. In addition, RCLEC uses third-party co-location facilities to provide us with network services at several locations. Damage to, or failure of, these facilities, the communications network providers with whom we or they contract, or with the systems by which our communications providers allocate capacity among their customers, including us, or software errors, have in the past and could in the future result in interruptions in our services. Additionally, in connection with the addition of new data centers or expansion or consolidation of our existing data center facilities, we may move or transfer our data and our customers’ data to other data centers. Despite precautions that we take during this process, any unsuccessful data transfers may impair or cause disruptions in the delivery of our subscriptions. Interruptions in our subscriptions may reduce our revenues, may require us to issue credits or pay penalties, subject us to claims and litigation, cause customers to terminate their subscriptions and adversely affect our renewal rates and our ability to attract new and retain existing customers. Our ability to attract and retain customers depends on our ability to provide customers with a highly reliable subscription and even minor interruptions in our subscriptions could harm our brand and reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business.

As part of our current disaster recovery arrangements, our North American and European infrastructure and our North American and European customers’ data is currently replicated in near real-time at data center facilities in the U.S. and Europe, respectively. We do not control the operation of these facilities or of our other data center facilities or RCLEC’s co-location facilities, and they are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures, and similar events. They may also be subject to human error or to break-ins, sabotage, acts of vandalism, and similar misconduct.

Despite precautions taken at these facilities, the occurrence of a natural disaster, public health crisis or pandemic, human error, cybersecurity incident, including ransomware or denial-of-service attack, an act of terrorism or other unanticipated problems at these facilities could result in lengthy interruptions in our subscriptions. Even with the disaster recovery arrangements in place, our subscriptions could be interrupted.

We may also be required to transfer our servers to new data center facilities in the event that we are unable to renew our leases on acceptable terms, if at all, or the owners of the facilities decide to close their facilities, and we may incur significant costs and possible subscription interruption in connection with doing so. In addition, any financial difficulties, such as bankruptcy or foreclosure, faced by our third-party data center operators, or any of the service providers with which we or they contract may have negative effects on our business, the nature and extent of which are difficult to predict. Additionally, if our data centers are unable to keep up with our increasing needs for capacity, our ability to grow our business could be materially and adversely impacted.

Unlike traditional communications services, our subscriptions depend on our customers’ high-speed broadband access to the Internet. Increasing numbers of users and increasing bandwidth requirements may degrade the performance of our services and applications due to capacity constraints and other Internet infrastructure limitations. As our customer base grows and their usage of our services increases, we will be required to make additional investments in network capacity to maintain adequate data transmission speeds, the availability of which may be limited, or the cost of which may be on terms unacceptable to us. If adequate capacity is not available to us as our customers’ usage increases, our network may be unable to achieve or maintain sufficiently high reliability or performance. In addition, if Internet access service providers have outages or deteriorations in their quality of service, our customers will not have access to our subscriptions or may experience a decrease in the quality of our services. Frequent or persistent interruptions could cause current or potential users to believe that our systems or services are unreliable, leading them to switch to our competitors or to avoid our subscriptions, and could permanently harm our reputation and brands.

In addition, users who access our subscriptions and applications through mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, must have a high-speed connection, such as Wi-Fi®, 4G, 5G, or LTE, to use our services and applications. Currently,

Our services may have errors or defects that customers identify after they begin using them that could result in unanticipated interruptions of service. Internet-based services frequently contain undetected errors and bugs when first introduced or when new versions or enhancements are released. While the substantial majority of our customers are small and medium-sized businesses, the use of our services in complicated, large-scale network environments may increase our exposure to undetected errors, failures, or bugs in our services. Although we test our services to detect and correct errors and defects before their general release, we have, from time to time, experienced significant interruptions in our services as a result of such errors or defects and may experience future interruptions of service if we fail to detect and correct these errors and defects. The costs incurred in correcting such defects or errors may be substantial and could harm our results of operations. In addition, we rely on hardware purchased or leased and software licensed from third parties to offer our services.

Any defects in, or unavailability of, our or third-party software or hardware that cause interruptions of our services could, among other things:

Our operations depend on our ability to protect our production and corporate information technology services from interruption or damage from cyber-attacks, denial-of-service events, unauthorized entry, insider threats, rogue employees or contractors, computer malware or other security incidents, including events beyond our control. Although we require our employees to undertake privacy and cybersecurity training, we have from time to time, been subject to communications fraud and cyber-attacks by malicious actors, and denial of service events, and we may be subject to similar attacks in the future, particularly as the frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks increases. For example, an increase in cyber-attack activity, such as ransomware and phishing attacks, has been observed in connection with of the war between Russia and Ukraine. We cannot assure you that our backup systems, regular data backups, security controls and other procedures currently in place, or that may be in place in the future, will be adequate to prevent significant damage, system failure, service outages, data breach, data loss, unauthorized access, loss of use, interruption, or increased charges from our technology vendors.

Also, our services are web-based. The amount of data we store for our customers and users increases as our business grows. We host services, which includes hosting customer data, both in co-located data centers and in multiple public cloud services. Our solutions allow users to store files, tasks, calendar events, messages and other data indefinitely on our services or as may be directed by our customers, although we have begun instituting in our customer agreements a provision that customer content and certain other customer data will be deleted upon termination of the agreements. We also maintain sensitive data related to our technology and business, and that of our employees, strategic partners, global service providers, channel partners, and customers, including intellectual property, proprietary business information and personally identifiable information (also called personal data) on our own systems and in multiple vendors’ cloud services. As a result of maintaining larger volumes of data and user files and/or as a result of our continued movement up market, or movement into new customer segments and acquisition of larger and more recognized customers, we may become more of a target for hackers, nation states and other malicious actors.

In addition, we use third-party vendors who, in some cases, have access to our data and our employees’, partners’, and customers’ data. We employ layered security measures and have a means of working with third parties who report vulnerabilities to us. Despite the implementation of security measures by us or our vendors, our computing devices, infrastructure, or networks, or our vendors’ computing devices, infrastructure, or networks have in the past, and may in the future, be vulnerable to hackers, computer viruses, worms, ransomware, other malicious software programs, employee theft or misuse, phishing, denial-of-service attacks, or similar disruptive problems that are caused by or through a security weakness or vulnerability in our or our vendors’ infrastructure, network, or business practices or our or our vendors’ customers, employees, business partners, consultants, or other Internet users who attempt to invade our or our vendors’ corporate and personal computers, tablets, mobile devices, software, data networks, or voice networks. Security weaknesses or vulnerabilities in our, our vendors’, or our customers’ infrastructure, networks, or business practices that are successfully targeted could lead to increased costs, liability claims, including contractual liability claims relating to security obligations in agreements with our partners and our customers, fines, claims, investigations and other proceedings, reduced revenue, or harm to our reputation or competitive position. In addition, even if not targeted, in strengthening our security controls or in remediating security vulnerabilities, we could incur increased costs and capital expenditures.

We have implemented remote working protocols and offer work-issued devices to certain employees, but the actions of employees while working remotely may have a greater effect on the security of our infrastructure, networks, and the information, including personally identifiable information, we process, including for example by increasing the risk of compromise to systems or data arising from employees’ combined personal and private use of devices, accessing our networks or information using wireless networks that we do not control, or the ability to transmit or store company-controlled information outside of our secured network. Although many of these risks are not unique to the remote working environment, they have been heightened by the dramatic increase in the numbers of our employees who have been and are continuing to work from home since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also allow a substantial number of our employees that are designated “remote” who primarily work from home, and “hybrid” who work from home several days per quarter, although we may change our work from home/return-to-office policy in the future. Our employees’ or third parties’ intentional, unintentional, or inadvertent actions may increase our vulnerability or expose us to security threats, such as ransomware, other malware and phishing attacks, and we may remain responsible for unauthorized access to, loss, alteration, destruction, acquisition, disclosure or other processing of information we or our vendors, business partners, or consultants process or otherwise maintain, even if the security measures used to protect such information comply with applicable laws, regulations and other actual or asserted obligations. Additionally, due to political uncertainty and military actions and related activities associated with the war between Russia and Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas, we and our vendors, business partners, and consultants are vulnerable to heightened risks of cyber-attacks from nation-state actors or their affiliated entities, including attacks that could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability to produce, sell and distribute our services. Also, cyber-attacks, including on the supply chain (including our software supply chain), continue to increase in frequency and magnitude, and we cannot provide assurances that our preventative efforts, or those of our suppliers, will be successful.

We rely on encryption and authentication technology to ensure secure transmission of and access to confidential information, including customer credit card numbers, debit card numbers, direct debit information, customer communications, and files uploaded by our customers. Advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, discovery of software bugs or vulnerabilities, discovery of hardware bugs or vulnerabilities, social engineering activities, or other developments may result in a compromise or breach of the technology we use to protect our data and our customer data, or of the data itself. We also have incorporated AI-powered features into our solutions and may continue to incorporate additional AI features and technologies into our solutions in the future. Our use of AI features and technologies may create additional cybersecurity risks or increase cybersecurity risks, including risks of security breaches and incidents. Further, AI technologies may be used in connection with certain cybersecurity attacks, resulting in heightened risks of security breaches and incidents.

Additionally, third parties have attempted in the past, and may attempt in the future, to induce domestic and international employees, consultants, or customers into disclosing sensitive information, such as usernames, provisioning data, customer proprietary network information (“CPNI”) or other information in order to gain access to our customers’ user accounts or data, or to our data. CPNI includes information such as the phone numbers called by a customer, the frequency, duration, and timing of such calls, and any services purchased by the consumer, such as call waiting, call forwarding, and caller ID, in addition to other information that may appear on a customer’s bill. Third parties may also attempt to induce employees, consultants, or customers into disclosing information regarding our and our customers’ intellectual property, personal data and other confidential business information. In addition, the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, to perform hacking, phishing and social engineering, or to sabotage systems change and evolve frequently and may not be recognized until launched against a target, may be new and previously unknown or little-known, or may not be detected or understood until well after such actions are conducted. We may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures, and any security breach or other incident may take longer than expected to remediate or otherwise address. Any system failure or security breach or incident that causes interruptions or data loss in our operations or in the computer systems of our customers or leads to the misappropriation of our or our customers’ confidential or personal information could result in significant liability to us, loss of our intellectual property, cause our subscriptions to be perceived as not being secure, cause considerable harm to us and our reputation (including requiring notification to customers, regulators, or the media), and deter current and potential customers from using our subscriptions. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

It is critical to our business that our sensitive information and that of our employees’, strategic partners’, global service providers’, channel partners’ and customers’ remains secure and that our customers perceive that this information is secure. An information security incident could result in unauthorized access to, loss of, or unauthorized disclosure of such information. A cybersecurity breach or incident could expose us to litigation, indemnity obligations, government investigations, contractual liability, and other possible liabilities. Additionally, a cyber-attack or other information security incident, whether actual or perceived, could result in negative publicity, which could harm our reputation and reduce our customers’ confidence in the effectiveness of our solutions, which could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results. A breach of our security systems could also expose us to increased costs, including remediation costs, disruption of operations, or increased cybersecurity protection costs, that may have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, a cybersecurity breach or incident of our customers’ systems can also result in exposure of their authentication credentials, unauthorized access to their accounts, exposure of their account information and data (including CPNI), and fraudulent calls on their accounts, which can subsequently have similar actual or perceived impacts to us as described above. A cybersecurity breach or incident of our partners’ or vendors’ systems can result in similar actual or perceived impacts.

While we maintain cybersecurity insurance, our insurance may be insufficient to cover all liabilities incurred by privacy or security incidents. We also cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be adequate for data handling or data security liabilities actually incurred, that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all, or that an insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our financial condition, operating results, and reputation.

Laws, regulations, and enforcement actions relating to security and privacy of information continue to evolve. For example, with respect to security, the SEC recently adopted cybersecurity risk management and disclosure rules, which require the disclosure of information pertaining to cybersecurity incidents and cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance. Additionally, we are closely monitoring the development of rules and guidance that may apply to us, including, for example, pursuant to the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant expenses to prevent security incidents. Determining whether a cybersecurity incident is notifiable or reportable may not be straightforward and may be costly and could lead to negative publicity, loss of customer or partner confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures, diversion of management’s attention, governmental investigations, and the expenditure of significant capital and other resources to respond to or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach. It is possible that, in order to support changes to applicable laws and to support our expansion of sales into new geographic areas or into new industry segments, we will need to change or enhance our cybersecurity systems, which may make it more expensive to operate in certain jurisdictions and may also increase the risk of our non-compliance with such changing laws and regulations.

We rely on our information systems and those of third parties for processing customer orders, distribution of our subscriptions, billing our customers, processing credit card transactions, customer relationship management, supporting financial planning and analysis, accounting functions and financial statement preparation, and otherwise running our business. Information systems may experience interruptions, including interruptions of related services from third-party providers, which may be beyond our control. Such business interruptions could cause us to fail to meet customer requirements. All information systems, both internal and external, are potentially vulnerable to damage or interruption from a variety of sources, including without limitation, computer viruses, security breaches and incidents, energy blackouts, natural disasters, terrorism, war, telecommunication failures, employee or other theft, and third-party provider failures. In addition, since telecommunications billing is inherently complex and requires highly sophisticated information systems to administer, our internally developed billing system may experience errors or we may improperly operate the system, which could result in the system incorrectly calculating the fees owed by our customers for our subscriptions or related taxes and administrative fees. Any such errors in our customer billing could harm our reputation and cause us to violate truth in billing laws and regulations. Our current internally developed billing system requires us to process an increasing number of invoices manually, which could result in billing errors. Any errors or disruption in our information systems and those of the third parties upon which we rely could have a significant impact on our business. In addition, we may implement further and enhanced information systems in the future to meet the demands resulting from our growth and to provide additional capabilities and functionality. The implementation of new systems and enhancements is frequently disruptive to the underlying business of an enterprise, and can be time-consuming and expensive, increase management responsibilities, and divert management attention.

Our future performance depends on the continued services and contributions of our senior management and other key employees to execute on our business plan, and to identify and pursue opportunities and services innovations. The loss of services of senior management or other key employees, whether in the past or in the future, could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business, financial, developmental and strategic objectives. In particular, we depend to a considerable degree on the vision, skills, experience, and effort of our co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Vladimir Shmunis, who has provided our strategic direction for over 20 years and has built and maintained what we believe is an attractive workplace culture. Mr. Shmunis previously stepped down from his role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and transitioned to Executive Chairman of the company during the third quarter of 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, he returned to his role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Any future changes resulting from the hiring or departure of executives, could disrupt our business and could impact our ability to preserve our culture, which could negatively affect our ability to recruit and retain personnel. None of our executive officers or other senior management personnel is bound by a written employment agreement and any of them may therefore terminate employment with us at any time with no advance notice. The replacement of any current or future senior management personnel could involve significant time and costs, and any such loss could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives.

Our future success also depends on our ability to continue to attract and retain highly skilled personnel. Despite many recent layoffs in the technology industry and at the company, we believe that there is, and will continue to be, intense competition for highly skilled technical and other personnel with experience in our industry in the San Francisco Bay Area, where our headquarters is located, in Denver, Colorado, where a significant portion of our U.S. sales and customer support office and our network operations center is located, and in other locations where we maintain offices, and in some or all of the other locations where we have employees. In addition, changes to U.S. immigration policies, particularly to H-1B and other visa programs, and restrictions on travel could restrain the flow of technical and professional talent into the U.S. and may inhibit our ability to hire qualified personnel. Similar risks exist with respect to immigration regulations in other countries where we operate, may operate in the future or have employees or contractors. We must provide competitive compensation packages and a high-quality work environment to hire, retain, and motivate employees. If we are unable to retain and motivate our existing employees and attract qualified personnel to fill key positions, we may be unable to manage our business effectively, including the development, marketing, and sale of existing and new subscriptions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. To the extent we hire personnel from competitors, we may be subject to allegations that they have been improperly solicited or divulged proprietary or other confidential information. Volatility in, or lack of performance of, our stock price may also affect our ability to attract and retain key personnel.

Although we have entered into long-term subscription contracts with larger customers, those customers with month to month contracts with us may terminate their subscriptions at any time without penalty or early termination charges. We cannot accurately predict the rate of customer terminations or average monthly subscription cancellations or failures to renew, which we refer to as turnover. Our customers with subscription agreements have no obligation to renew their subscriptions for our service after the expiration of their initial subscription period, which is typically between one and three years. In the event that these customers do renew their subscriptions, they may choose to renew for fewer users, shorter contract lengths, or for a less expensive subscription plan or edition. We cannot predict the renewal rates or types for customers that have entered into subscription contracts with us.

Customer turnover, as well as reductions in the number of users or pricing tier(s) for which a customer subscribes, each could have a significant impact on our results of operations, as does the cost we incur in our efforts to retain our customers and encourage them to upgrade their subscriptions and increase their number of users. Our turnover rate could increase in the future if customers are not satisfied with our services, including third-party services and products that we integrate or sell as separate items to our customers, the value proposition of our services, the customer support we provide, or our ability to otherwise meet their needs and expectations. Turnover and reductions in the number of users for whom a customer subscribes may also increase due to factors beyond our control, including the failure or unwillingness of customers to pay their monthly subscription fees due to financial constraints and the impact of a slowing economy. In addition, the impact of the global economic conditions, including concerns about heightened inflation and an associated economic downturn, and instability in the banking and financial system, could cause financial hardship for our customers, decrease technology spending, materially and negatively impact our customers’ willingness to enter into or renew subscriptions with us, cause our customers to seek a decrease in the number of users or solutions for which they subscribe, or impact our ability to collect in a timely manner monies due from the customer. For example, to address customer hardships, we may work with customers to provide greater flexibility to manage challenges they are facing, but we cannot be assured that they will not reduce their number of users or terminate their subscriptions altogether. Due to turnover and reductions in the number of users for whom a customer subscribes, we must acquire new customers, or acquire new users within our existing customer base, on an ongoing basis simply to maintain our existing level of customers and revenues. If a significant number of customers terminate, reduce, or fail to renew their subscriptions, or do not pay their subscription fees, we may be required to incur significantly higher marketing and/or sales expenditures than we currently anticipate in order to increase the number of new customers or to upsell existing customers, and such additional marketing and/or sales expenditures could harm our business and results of operations.

Our future success also depends in part on our ability to sell additional subscriptions and additional functionalities to our current customers. Any increase in the costs necessary to upgrade, expand and retain existing customers could materially and adversely affect our financial performance. If our efforts to convince customers to add users and, in the future, to purchase additional functionalities are not successful, our business may suffer. In addition, such increased costs could cause us to increase our subscription rates, which could increase our turnover rate.

In order to grow our business, we must continue to attract new customers, retain existing customers, and expand the number of users in, and services provided to, our existing customer base on a cost-effective basis. We use and periodically adjust the mix of advertising and marketing programs to promote our services. Significant increases in the pricing of one or more of our advertising channels would increase our advertising costs or may cause us to choose less expensive and perhaps less effective channels to promote our services. As we add to or change the mix of our advertising and marketing strategies, we may need to expand into channels with significantly higher costs than our current programs, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, a global slowdown of economic activity may disrupt our sales channels and our ability to attract new customers, which may require us to adjust our advertising and marketing programs or make further investments in these programs. We will incur advertising and marketing expenses in advance of when we anticipate recognizing any revenues generated by such expenses, and we may fail to otherwise experience an increase in revenues or brand awareness as a result of such expenditures. We have made in the past, and may make in the future, significant expenditures and investments in new advertising campaigns, and we cannot assure you that any such investments will lead to the cost-effective acquisition of additional customers. If we are unable to maintain effective advertising programs, our ability to attract new customers could be materially and adversely affected, our advertising and marketing expenses could increase substantially, and our results of operations may suffer.

Some of our potential customers learn about us through leading search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft Bing. While we employ search engine optimization and search engine marketing strategies, our ability to maintain and increase the number of visitors directed to our website is not entirely within our control. If search engine companies modify their search algorithms in a manner that reduces the prominence of our listing, or if our competitors’ search engine optimization efforts are more successful than ours, or if search engine companies restrict or prohibit us from using their services, fewer potential customers may click through to our website. In addition, the cost of purchased listings has increased in the past and may increase in the future. A decrease in website traffic or an increase in search costs could materially and adversely affect our customer acquisition efforts and our results of operations.

A significant portion of our revenues today come from small and medium-sized businesses. These customers may be materially and adversely affected by economic downturns to a greater extent than larger, more established businesses. These businesses typically have more limited financial resources, including capital-borrowing capacity, than larger entities. Any economic downturn could decrease technology spending and the number of employees of small and medium sized businesses in ways that adversely affect demand for our offerings, could increase churn or down-sell and harm our business and results of operations. As the majority of our customers pay for our subscriptions through credit and debit cards, weakness in certain segments of the credit markets and in the U.S. and global economies has resulted in and may in the future result in increased numbers of rejected credit and debit card payments, which could materially affect our business by increasing customer cancellations and impacting our ability to engage new small and medium-sized customers. If small and medium-sized businesses experience financial hardship as a result of a weak economy, industry consolidation or for any other reason, the overall demand for our subscriptions could be materially and adversely affected.

As we continue to target more of our sales efforts to medium-sized and larger businesses, we expect to incur higher costs and longer sales cycles and we may be less effective at predicting when we will complete these sales. In these market segments, the decision to purchase our subscriptions generally requires the approval of more technical personnel and management levels within a potential customer’s organization, and therefore, these types of sales require us to invest more time educating these potential customers about the benefits of our subscriptions. In addition, larger customers may demand more features, integration services, customization, more complex contract negotiations, and may require highly skilled sales and support personnel. Our investment in marketing our subscriptions to these potential customers may not be successful, which could significantly and adversely affect our results of operations and our overall ability to grow our customer base. Furthermore, many medium-sized and larger businesses that we target for sales may already purchase business communications solutions from our larger competitors or, due to economic conditions or otherwise, reduce their technology spending or reduce the number of new employees for whom they purchase our solutions or reduce the number of existing employees using our solution (i.e., down-sell). As a result of these factors, these sales opportunities may require us to devote greater research and development resources and sales support to individual customers, and invest in hiring and retaining highly skilled personnel, resulting in increased costs and could likely lengthen our typical sales cycle, which could strain our sales and support resources. Moreover, these larger transactions may require us to delay recognizing the associated revenues we derive from these customers until any technical or implementation requirements have been met.

Our solutions allow our customers to use and manage our cloud-based business communications solution on smart devices. As new smart devices and operating systems are released, we may encounter difficulties supporting these devices and services, and we may need to devote significant resources to the creation, support, and maintenance of our mobile applications. In addition, if we experience difficulties in the future integrating our mobile applications into smart devices or if problems arise with our relationships with providers of mobile operating systems, such as those of Apple Inc. or Alphabet Inc., our future growth and our results of operations could suffer.

The cloud-based business communications industry is characterized by rapid development of and changes in customer requirements, frequent introductions of new and enhanced services, and continuing and rapid technological advancement. We cannot predict the effect of technological changes or the introduction of new, disruptive technologies on our business, and the market for cloud-based business communications may develop more slowly than we anticipate, or develop in a manner different than we expect, and our solutions could fail to achieve market acceptance. Our continued growth depends on continued use of voice and video communications by businesses, as compared to email and other data-based methods, and future demand for and adoption of Internet voice and video communications systems and services. In addition, to compete successfully, we must anticipate and adapt to technological changes and evolving industry standards, and continue to design, develop, manufacture, and sell new and enhanced services that provide increasingly higher levels of performance and reliability. As we develop, acquire, and introduce new services and technologies, including those that incorporate AI and machine learning, such as RingSense, we may be subject to new or heightened legal, ethical, and other challenges. Currently, we derive a majority of our revenues from subscriptions to RingCentral MVP, and we expect this will continue for the foreseeable future. However, our future success may also depend on our ability to introduce and sell new services, features, and functionality that enhance or are beyond the subscriptions we currently offer, as well as to improve usability and support and increase customer satisfaction. Our failure to develop solutions that satisfy customer preferences in a timely and cost-effective manner may harm our ability to renew our subscriptions with existing customers and create or increase demand for our subscriptions and may materially and adversely impact our results of operations.

The introduction of new services by competitors or the development of entirely new technologies to replace existing offerings could make our solutions outdated, obsolete or adversely affect our business and results of operations. Announcements of future releases and new services and technologies by our competitors or us could cause customers to defer purchases of our existing subscriptions, which also could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We may experience difficulties with software development, operations, design, or marketing that could delay or prevent our development, introduction, or implementation of new or enhanced services and applications. We have in the past experienced delays in the planned release dates of new features and upgrades and have discovered defects in new services and applications after their introduction. We cannot assure you that new features or upgrades will be released according to schedule, or that, when released, they will not contain defects or bugs. Either of these situations could result in adverse publicity, loss of revenues, delay in market acceptance, or claims by customers brought against us, all of which could harm our reputation, business, results of operations, and financial condition. Moreover, the development of new or enhanced services or applications may require substantial investment, and we must continue to invest a significant amount of resources in our research and development efforts to develop these services and applications to remain competitive. We do not know whether these investments will be successful. If customers do not widely adopt any new or enhanced services and applications, we may not be able to realize a return on our investment. If we are unable to develop, license, or acquire new or enhanced services and applications on a timely and cost-effective basis, or if such new or enhanced services and applications do not achieve market acceptance, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We have incorporated a number of AI-powered features, including RingSense, into our solutions and are making investments in expanding our AI capabilities. AI technologies are complex and rapidly evolving, and we face significant competition from other companies as well as an evolving legal and regulatory landscape. The successful integration of new and emerging AI technologies, such as generative AI, automated speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS) and natural language processing (NLP) into our platforms and solutions will require additional investment, and the development of new approaches and processes, which will be costly and increase our expenses.

Further, the incorporation of AI-powered features into our solutions will subject us to new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, confidentiality or security risks, ethical concerns, or other complications that could harm our business, reputation, financial condition or results of operations. Intellectual property ownership and license rights, including copyright, surrounding AI technologies have not been fully addressed by federal or state laws or by U.S. courts, and the manner in which we configure and use AI technologies may expose us to claims of copyright infringement or other intellectual property misappropriation. It is possible that new laws and regulations will be adopted in the United States and in other countries, or that existing laws and regulations will be interpreted in ways that would affect the operation of our solution and the way in which we use AI. In addition, the cost to comply with such laws or regulations could be significant and would increase our operating expenses, which could harm our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

Relatedly, large language models, or LLMs, can generate written content which contains bias, factual errors, misrepresentations, offensive language, or inappropriate statements. While we attempt to use LLMs in a way that mitigates these risks, there is no guarantee that we will be successful and these risks could harm our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, the use of AI involves significant technical complexity and requires specialized expertise, and competition for specialized personnel in the AI industry is intense. Any disruption or failure in our AI systems or infrastructure could result in delays or errors in our operations, which could harm our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

Our workforce is exposed to and uses AI technologies for certain tasks related to our business. We have guidelines and policies specifically directed at the use of AI tools in the workplace. Nevertheless, the use of these AI tools, whether authorized or unauthorized, by our workforce, poses potential risks relating to the protection of data, including cybersecurity risk, exposure of our proprietary confidential information to unauthorized recipients, and the misuse of our or third-party intellectual property. Use of AI technology by our workforce, even when used consistent with our guidelines, may result in allegations or claims against us related to violation of third-party intellectual property rights, unauthorized access to or use of proprietary information, and failure to comply with open source software requirements. In addition, our employees use AI tools for various design and engineering tasks such as writing code and building content, and these AI technology tools may produce inaccurate responses that could lead to errors in our decision-making, solution development or other business activities, which could have a negative impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. Our ability to mitigate these risks will depend on our continued effective training, monitoring and enforcement of appropriate policies, guidelines and procedures governing the use of AI technology, and compliance by our workforce.

We believe that continuing to strengthen our current brand will be critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our subscriptions and will require continued focus on active marketing efforts. The demand for and cost of online and traditional advertising have been increasing and may continue to increase. Accordingly, we may need to increase our investment in, and devote greater resources to, advertising, marketing, and other efforts to create and maintain brand loyalty among users. Brand promotion activities may not yield increased revenues, and even if they do, any increased revenues may not offset the expenses incurred in building our brand. In addition, if we do not handle customer complaints effectively, our brand and reputation may suffer, we may lose our customers’ confidence, and they may choose to terminate, reduce or not to renew their subscriptions. Many of our customers also participate in social media and online blogs about Internet-based software solutions, including our subscriptions, and our success depends in part on our ability to minimize negative and generate positive customer feedback through such online channels where existing and potential customers seek and share information. If we fail to sufficiently invest in, promote and maintain our brand, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Most of our customers authorize us to bill their credit card accounts directly for service fees that we charge. If customers pay for our subscriptions with stolen credit cards, we could incur substantial third-party vendor costs for which we may not be reimbursed. Further, our customers provide us with credit card billing information online or over the phone, and we do not review the physical credit cards used in these transactions, which increases our risk of exposure to fraudulent activity. We also incur charges, which are referred to in the industry as chargebacks, from the credit card companies from claims that a customer did not authorize the specific credit card transaction to purchase our subscription. If the number of chargebacks becomes excessive, we could be assessed substantial fines or be charged higher transaction fees, and we could lose the right to accept credit cards for payment. In addition, credit card issuers may change merchant and/or service provider standards, including data protection standards, required to utilize their services from time to time. We have established and implemented measures intended to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI DSS”). If we fail to maintain compliance with such standards or fail to meet new standards, the credit card associations could fine us or terminate their agreements with us, and we would be unable to accept credit cards as payment for our subscriptions. If we fail to maintain compliance with current service provider standards, such as PCI DSS, or fail to meet new standards, customers may choose not to use our services for certain types of communication they have with their customers. If such a failure to comply with relevant standards occurs, we may also face legal liability if we are found to not comply with applicable laws that incorporate, by

We have significant operations directly or through third parties in many countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., China, the Philippines, Germany, Georgia, Bulgaria, Spain, Australia, India, and France. We also sell our solutions to customers in several countries in Europe, as well as in Australia, India and Singapore, and we may continue to grow our international presence in the future. The future success of our business will depend, in part, on our ability to expand our operations and customer base worldwide. Operating in international markets requires significant resources and management attention and will subject us to regulatory, economic, and political risks that are different from those in the U.S. Due to our limited experience with international operations and developing and managing sales and distribution channels in international markets, our international expansion efforts may not be successful. In addition, we will face risks in doing business internationally that could materially and adversely affect our business, including:

Our failure to manage any of these risks successfully could harm our future international operations and our overall business.

Our business strategy may, from time to time, include acquiring or investing in new or complementary services, technologies or businesses, strategic investments and partnerships, or other strategic transactions, such as our investment in and partnerships with our strategic partners and global service providers such as Avaya, Atos, Amazon, Mitel (Unify), Vodafone, DT, Optus, and Charter Communications. We cannot assure you that we will successfully identify suitable acquisition candidates or transaction counterparties, securely or effectively integrate or manage disparate technologies, lines of business, personnel and corporate cultures, realize our business strategy or the expected return on our investment, or manage a geographically dispersed company. Any such acquisition, investment, strategic partnership, or other strategic transaction could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. The process of negotiating, effecting, and realizing the benefits from acquisitions, investments, strategic partnerships, and strategic transactions is complex, expensive and time-consuming, and may cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, development and sales activities and operations of both companies, and we may incur substantial cost and expense, as well as divert the attention of management. We may issue equity securities which could dilute current stockholders’ ownership, incur debt, assume contingent or other liabilities and expend cash in acquisitions, investments, strategic partnerships, and other strategic transactions which could negatively impact our financial position, stockholder equity, and stock price.

Acquisitions, investments, strategic partnerships, and other strategic transactions involve significant risks and uncertainties, including:

Any acquisition, investment, strategic partnership, or other strategic transaction could expose us to unknown liabilities. Moreover, we cannot assure you that we will realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, investment, strategic partnership, or other strategic transaction. In addition, our inability to successfully operate and integrate newly acquired businesses or newly formed strategic partnerships appropriately, effectively, and in a timely manner could impair our ability to take advantage of future growth opportunities and other advances in technology, as well as our revenues and gross margins.

In addition, our ability to offer, sell or transfer certain investments may be limited by applicable securities laws and regulations, and our ability to liquidate and realize value from such investments may be negatively and materially impacted by any delays or limitations on our ability to offer, sell, or transfer certain investments. In addition, certain investments are speculative in nature and may be volatile or decline in value or be entirely lost, which could have a negative impact on our future financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

As of December 31, 2023, we have federal net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) of $1.8 billion, of which $66.1 million are set to expire in 2037, while the remaining portion does not expire. Additionally, we have state net operating loss carryforwards of $1.3 billion that will begin to expire in 2024. We also have federal research tax credit carryforwards that will begin to expire in 2028. Realization of these net operating loss and research tax credit carryforwards depends on future income, and there is a risk that our existing carryforwards could expire unused and be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities, which could materially and adversely affect our reported financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to the potential carryforward limitations described above, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as amended, our ability to utilize NOLs or other tax attributes, such as research tax credits, in any taxable year may be limited if we experience an “ownership change.” An “ownership change” generally occurs if one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders, who each own at least 5% of our stock, increase their collective ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage within a rolling three-year period. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. Furthermore, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, the Code eliminated the right to deduct research and development expenditures currently and requires taxpayers to capitalize and amortize U.S. and foreign research and development expenditures over five and fifteen tax years, respectively. We have accounted for such changes in accordance with our understanding of guidance available as of the date of this filing as described in more detail in our financial statements.

No material deferred tax assets have been recognized on our Consolidated Balance Sheets related to these NOLs, as they are fully offset by a valuation allowance. If we have previously had, or have in the future, one or more Section 382 “ownership changes,” including in connection with our initial public offering or another offering, or if we do not generate sufficient taxable income, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of our NOLs, even if we achieve profitability. If we are limited in our ability to use our NOLs in future years in which we have taxable income, we will pay more taxes than if we were able to fully utilize our NOLs. This could materially and adversely affect our reported financial condition and results of operations.

We support local number and toll-free number portability, which allows our customers to transfer to us and thereby retain their existing phone numbers when subscribing to our services. Transferring numbers is a manual process that can take up to 15 business days or longer to complete. A new customer of our subscriptions must maintain both our subscription and the customer’s existing phone service during the number transferring process. Any delay that we experience in transferring these numbers typically results from the fact that we depend on third-party global service providers to transfer these numbers, a process that we do not control, and these third-party global service providers may refuse or substantially delay the transfer of these numbers to us. Local number portability is considered an important feature by many potential customers, and if we fail to reduce any related delays, we may experience increased difficulty in acquiring new customers. Moreover, the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) requires Internet voice communications providers to comply with specified number porting timeframes when customers leave our subscription for the services of another provider. Several international jurisdictions have imposed similar number portability requirements on subscription providers like us. If we or our third-party global service providers are unable to process number portability requests within the requisite timeframes, we could be subject to fines and penalties. Additionally, in the U.S., both customers and global service providers may seek relief from the relevant state public utility commission, the FCC, or in state or federal court for violation of local number portability requirements.

Our future success depends on our ability to procure large quantities of local and toll-free direct inward dialing numbers (“DIDs”) in the U.S. and foreign countries in desirable locations at a reasonable cost and without restrictions. Our ability to procure and distribute DIDs depends on factors outside of our control, such as applicable regulations, the practices of the communications global service providers that provide DIDs, the cost of these DIDs, and the level of demand for new DIDs. For instance, in France, new rules requiring service providers to obtain DIDs directly from regulatory authorities have been implemented and the regulating authority has not yet addressed the rules’ impact on existing DIDs that were assigned and sub-allocated before such new rules went into effect. Further, due to their limited availability, there are certain popular area code prefixes that we generally cannot obtain. Our inability to acquire DIDs for our operations would make our subscriptions less

Our vendor-supplied phones have lead times of up to several months for delivery to our fulfillment agents and are built to forecasts that are imprecise. It is likely that, from time to time, we will have either excess or insufficient product inventory. In addition, because we rely on third-party vendors for the supply of our vendor-supplied phones, our inventory levels are subject to the conditions regarding the timing of purchase orders and delivery dates that are not within our control. Excess inventory levels would subject us to the risk of inventory obsolescence, while insufficient levels of inventory may negatively affect relations with customers. For instance, our customers rely upon our ability to meet committed delivery dates, and any disruption in the supply of our services could result in loss of customers or harm to our ability to attract new customers. Any reduction or interruption in the ability of our vendors to supply our customers with vendor-supplied phones could cause us to lose revenue, damage our customer relationships and harm our reputation in the marketplace. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide phones that we offer for sale to our customers that use our services, and we rely on a limited number of fulfillment agents to configure and deliver the phones that we sell to our customers. Accordingly, we could be adversely affected if such third parties fail to maintain competitive phones or configuration services or fail to continue to make them available on attractive terms, or at all.

If our fulfillment agents are unable to deliver phones of acceptable quality, or if there is a reduction or interruption in their ability to deliver the phones in a timely manner including due to the end of life of any particular unit, our ability to bring services to market, the reliability of our services and our relationships with customers or our overall reputation in the marketplace could suffer, which could cause us to lose revenue. We expect that it could take several months to effectively transition to new third-party manufacturers or fulfillment agents.

Hard phones must interoperate with our back-end servers and systems, which contain complex specifications and utilize multiple protocol standards and software applications. Currently, the phones used by our customers are manufactured by a limited number of third-party providers. If any of these providers changes the operation of their phones, we will be required to undertake development and testing efforts to ensure that the new phones interoperate with our system. In addition, we must be successful in integrating our solutions with strategic partners’ devices in order to market and sell these solutions. These efforts may require significant capital and employee resources, and we may not accomplish these development efforts quickly or cost-effectively, if at all. If our vendor-supplied phones do not interoperate effectively with our system, our customers’ ability to use our subscriptions could be delayed or orders for our subscriptions could be canceled, which would harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted worldwide economic activity and financial markets, and forced us to take measures such as temporarily closing our offices and restricting travel. Any resurgence of COVID-19 or any other future pandemic could again result in temporarily suspending travel and restricting the ability to do business in person, which could negatively affect our customer success efforts, sales, and marketing efforts, challenge our ability to enter into customer and other commercial contracts in a timely manner and our ability to source, assess, negotiate, and successfully implement and execute on, and realize the benefits of, acquisitions, investments, strategic partnerships and other strategic transactions, slow down our recruiting efforts, or create operational or other challenges, any of which could harm our business, financial condition

Our business is regulated by the FCC. As a communications services provider, we are subject to existing or potential FCC regulations relating to privacy, disability access, access to and porting of numbers and enabling abbreviated dialing to designated numbers, maintaining records for disconnected numbers, cooperation with law enforcement, Federal Universal Service Fund (“USF”) contributions, Enhanced 911 (“E-911”), outage reporting, call authentication, call spoofing, call blocking and other requirements and regulations. The FCC is increasing enforcement of call authentication and related Know-Your-Customer obligations and continues to adopt and consider additional rules related to robocalling and robotexting. FCC classification of our Internet voice communications services as telecommunications services could result in additional federal and state regulatory obligations. If we do not comply with FCC rules and regulations, we could be subject to FCC enforcement actions, fines, loss of licenses or authorizations, repayment of funds, and possibly restrictions on our ability to operate or offer certain of our subscriptions. Any enforcement action by the FCC, which may be a public process, would hurt our reputation in the industry, possibly impair our ability to sell our subscriptions to customers and could have a materially adverse impact on our revenues.

Through RCLEC, we also provide competitive local exchange carrier (“CLEC”) and IP-enabled (“IPES”) services, which are regulated by the FCC as traditional telecommunications services. Our CLEC services depend on certain provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that require incumbent local exchange carriers (“ILECs”) to provide us facilities and services that are necessary to provide our services. Over the past several years, the FCC has reduced or eliminated a number of regulations governing ILECs’ wholesale offerings. If ILECs were no longer required by law to provide such services to us, or ceased to provide these services at reasonable rates, terms and conditions, our business could be adversely affected and our cost of providing CLEC services could increase. This could have a materially adverse impact on our results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and FCC rules implementing the TCPA prohibit sending unsolicited facsimile advertisements or making illegal robocalls, subject to certain exceptions. The FCC may take enforcement action against persons or entities that send “junk faxes,” or make illegal robocalls and individuals also may have a private cause of action. Although the FCC’s rules prohibiting unsolicited fax advertisements or making illegal robocalls apply to those who “send” the advertisements or make the calls, fax transmitters or other service providers that have a high degree of involvement in, or actual notice of, unlawful sending of junk faxes or making of illegal robocalls and have failed to take steps to prevent such transmissions may also face liability under the FCC’s rules, or in the case of illegal robocalls, Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) rules. We take significant steps designed to prevent our systems from being used to make illegal robocalls or send unsolicited faxes on a large scale, and we do not believe that we have a high degree of involvement in, or notice of, the use of our systems to broadcast junk faxes or make illegal robocalls. However, because fax transmitters and related service providers do not enjoy an absolute exemption from liability under the TCPA and related FCC rules, we could face FCC or FTC inquiry and enforcement or civil litigation, or private causes of action, if someone uses our system for such purposes. If any of these were to occur, we could be required to incur significant costs and management’s attention could be diverted. Further, if we were to be held liable for the use of our service to send unsolicited faxes or make illegal robocalls or to settle any action or proceeding, any judgment, settlement, or penalties could cause a material adverse effect on our operations.

States currently do not regulate our Internet voice communications subscriptions, which are considered to be nomadic because they can be used from any broadband connection. However, a number of states require us to register as a Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) provider, contribute to state USF, contribute to E-911, and pay other surcharges and annual fees that fund various utility commission programs, while others are actively considering extending their public policy programs to include the subscriptions we provide. We pass USF, E-911 fees, and other surcharges through to our customers, which may

RCLEC services are subject to regulation by the public utility regulatory agency in those states where we provide local telecommunications services. This regulation includes the requirement to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity or other similar licenses prior to offering our CLEC services, as well as registrations related to IPES services. We may also be required to file tariffs that describe our CLEC services and provide rates for those services. We are also required to comply with regulations that vary by state concerning service quality, disconnection and billing requirements. State commissions also have authority to review and approve interconnection agreements between incumbent phone carriers and CLECs such as our subsidiary.

Both we and RCLEC are also subject to state consumer protection laws, including privacy requirements, as well as U.S. state or municipal sales, use, excise, gross receipts, utility user and ad valorem taxes, fees, or surcharges.

As we expand internationally, we may be subject to telecommunications, consumer protection, data protection, emergency call services, and other laws, regulations, taxes, and fees in the foreign countries where we offer our subscriptions. Any foreign regulations could impose substantial compliance costs on us, restrict our ability to compete, and impact our ability to expand our service offerings in certain markets. Moreover, the regulatory environment is constantly evolving and changes to the applicable regulations could impose additional compliance costs and require modifications to our technology and operations and go to market practices. European Union member states are currently implementing the new European Electronic Communications Code, including major modifications to the telecommunication laws and regulations in Germany, United Kingdom, and France. Updated regulations in Europe and in the United Kingdom require providers to perform assessments on the security and resilience of their networks as well as on the accuracy of their metering and billing systems. New guidelines in the United Kingdom and other European countries require providers to implement Know-Your-Customer vetting which may complicate and elongate the sales process. Local telecom regulatory restrictions in France limit our ability to sell numbers and other services in a wholesale motion to channel partners; other European countries have passed or are considering similar regulations. The recent EU Digital Service Act requires cloud and digital providers to adopt measures to prevent disinformation, increase transparency and improve protection for users of digital services in the EU. Internationally, we currently sell our subscriptions in Canada, the U.K., Australia, Singapore, and several European countries. We also offer our Global MVP solution, enabling our multinational customers in locations where we sell our solutions, to establish local phone solutions in various countries internationally. We may be subject to telecommunications, consumer protection, data protection, emergency call services, call authentication, and other laws and regulations in additional countries as we continue to expand our Global MVP solution internationally.

In addition, our international operations are potentially subject to country-specific governmental regulation and related actions that may increase our costs or impact our solution and service offerings or prevent us from offering or providing our solutions and subscriptions in certain countries. Certain of our subscriptions may be used by customers located in countries where VoIP and other forms of IP communications may be illegal or require special licensing or in countries on a U.S. embargo list. Even where our solutions are reportedly illegal or become illegal or where users are located in an embargoed country, users in those countries may be able to continue to use our solutions and subscriptions in those countries notwithstanding the illegality or embargo. We may be subject to penalties or governmental action if customers continue to use our solutions and subscriptions in countries where it is illegal to do so, and any such penalties or governmental action may be costly and may harm our business and damage our brand and reputation. We may be required to incur additional expenses to meet applicable international regulatory requirements or be required to discontinue those subscriptions if required by law or if we cannot or will not meet those requirements.

The increasing growth and popularity of Internet voice communications, video conferencing and messaging heighten the risk that governments will regulate or impose new or increased fees or taxes on these services. To the extent that the use of our subscriptions continues to grow, and our user base continues to expand, regulators may be more likely to seek to regulate or impose new or additional taxes, surcharges or fees on our subscriptions.

In the course of providing our services, we collect, store, and process many types of data, including personal data. Moreover, our customers can use our subscriptions to store contact and other personal or identifying information, and to process, transmit, receive, store, and retrieve a variety of communications and messages, including information about their own customers and other contacts. Customers are able, and may be authorized under certain circumstances, to use our subscriptions to transmit, receive, and/or store personal information, which may include, among others, personally identifiable health, financial, and other sensitive information.

RingCentral’s collection, storage, retention, use, processing, transmission, sharing, disclosure, and safeguarding of personal data (collectively, “processing”) is subject to myriad obligations and restrictions flowing from law, regulation, industry standards, and contract. In addition to U.S. federal, state, and local law and regulation, RingCentral is subject to numerous foreign laws and regulations governing these matters where we do business throughout the world. The scope and status of these obligations and restrictions is uncertain, changing, subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among jurisdictions or conflict with other rules. Failure to comply with obligations and restrictions related to data privacy, data protection, and security in any jurisdiction in which we operate could subject us to lawsuits, fines, criminal penalties, statutory damages, consent decrees, injunctions, adverse publicity, and other losses that could harm our business.

For example, the GDPR, which came into force in May 2018, strengthened existing data protection regulations in the EU. Its provisions include increasing the maximum level of fines that EU regulators may impose for the most serious of breaches to the greater of €20 million or 4% of worldwide annual turnover. National data protection supervisory authorities have been actively monitoring and sanctioning noncompliance with applicable regulations with particular focus on use of cookies without consent, behavioral profiling, protection of children data, and breach of security. The authority to impose such fines is in addition to (i) the rights of individuals to sue for damages in respect of any data privacy breach that causes them to suffer harm and (ii) the right of individual member states to impose additional sanctions over and above the administrative fines specified in the GDPR. Other European countries have adopted omnibus privacy laws that are based on or similar to the GDPR or are updating their existing privacy laws to reflect GDPR standards, including Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and members of the European Economic Area (the “EEA”).

Among other requirements, these laws regulate data transferred to countries that have not been found to provide adequate protection to such personal data. On July 10, 2023, the EU Commission adopted the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“DPF”) to facilitate data flows between the U.S. and the EU. The U.S. and Switzerland have also agreed on a similar DPF. We have self-certified compliance with the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. DPF for non-HR data. The U.K. also approved an addendum to the EU DPF to support personal data transfers from the U.K. to the U.S. in September of 2023, and we have self-certified compliance with that framework. The impact of the DPF on data transfers from Europe remains to be seen, and as such uncertainty regarding some details for cross-border data transfers remains. Legal challenges to the adequacy of the DPF have commenced, and there is uncertainty with respect to the speed and the outcome of the legal challenges.

In addition to the DPF, we continue to rely on the EU Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”), updated in 2021, for the transfer of personal data from the EU to countries not deemed by the EU Commission as providing adequate protection of personal data (e.g., the U.S.). We adopted the 2021 SCCs with our customers and our suppliers transferring data out of the EEA and Switzerland (with approved modifications by the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner). On March 21, 2022, the U.K. Parliament approved the use of an International Data Transfer Agreement or a U.K.-specific addendum to the EU SCCs (collectively, the “U.K. SCCs”) to support personal data transfers out of the U.K., which we adopted as a supplemental means to support data transfers from customers and suppliers in the U.K. to other jurisdictions, including the U.S. and the EU. Despite this, it may be difficult to maintain appropriate safeguards for the transfer of such data from the EEA, Switzerland, and U.K. (collectively, “Europe”), as a result of continued legal and legislative activity that has challenged or called into question existing means of data transfers to countries that have not been found to provide adequate protection for personal data.

Following the U.K.’s exit from the EU, the U.K. largely adopted the EU rules on cross-border data flows, but allowed flexibility to diverge. On June 28, 2021, the European Commission issued an adequacy decision under the GDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive, pursuant to which personal data generally may be transferred from the EU to the U.K. without restriction; however, this adequacy decision is subject to a four-year “sunset” period, after which the European Commission’s adequacy decision may be renewed. If the adequacy decision is not renewed, RingCentral’s (and other U.S. companies’) ability to transfer personal data from the EU to the U.K. for operational purposes could potentially be affected. RingCentral’s

The current SCCs (EU, Swiss, and U.K.) include requirements to conduct personal data transfer impact assessments before transferring personal data out of the EEA, Switzerland, and the U.K. The assessment requires the parties to consider the specific circumstances of the transfer, the laws, and practices of the destination country, particularly relating to government access, and any additional relevant contractual, technical, or organizational safeguards. Each party is required to perform such an assessment and determine whether the transfer can proceed or must be suspended if there are insufficient safeguards to protect the transfer of personal data.

We may, in addition to other impacts, experience additional costs associated with increased compliance burdens following the implementation of the 2021 SCCs and U.K. SCCs, including requirements to conduct the personal data transfer impact assessments described above, block, or require ad hoc verification of measures taken with respect to certain data flows from the EEA, Switzerland and the U.K. to the U.S and other non-EEA countries. Additionally, we and our customers face the potential for regulators in the EEA, Switzerland, or the U.K. to apply different standards to the transfer of personal data from the EEA, Switzerland, or the U.K. to the U.S. and other countries. Moreover, as regulatory requirements continue to change, RingCentral (and other U.S. companies) may be required to negotiate new contractual data protection obligations with new and existing vendors or third parties that aid in processing personal data on our behalf.

Outside of Europe, many other countries, including most countries where RingCentral provides services, have adopted or are considering adoption of data protection legislation based on the GDPR or its predecessor, the EU Data Protection Directive, including India, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and South Korea. Several of these countries, including Australia and Canada, are actively considering legislative proposals to enhance existing privacy regulation. Quebec’s Privacy Act, much of which came into effect in October 2023, imposes stringent new requirements for securing consent for personal data processing including via cookies, internal data governance, data transfers, use of personal data for marketing, and disclosure of automated processing. As implementation and enforcement of these existing and new laws and regulations progress, we could experience additional costs associated with increased compliance burdens and contractual obligations, be required to localize certain personal data, and/or be at risk for increased regulatory fines or damages.

In particular, the Data Security Law of China (“DSL”), which took effect on September 1, 2021, and the Personal Information Protection Law of China (“PIPL”), which took effect on November 1, 2021, implement comprehensive regulation of data and personal data processing activities across all industries. The DSL and PIPL apply not only to the processing of data within China, but also cross-border data transfers as well as certain activities outside of China that relate to data originating from China. Restrictions imposed by the DSL and PIPL, including strict data localization requirements applicable to certain types of personal data, and uncertainty regarding their application in practice may impact us and our customers, and we may be required to implement modifications to our policies and practices in an effort to comply with these laws.

In the U.S., there are numerous federal and state laws governing the privacy and security of personal information. In particular, at the federal level, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) establishes privacy and security standards that limit the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information and requires the implementation of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information by certain institutions. We act as a “Business Associate” through our relationships with certain customers and are thus directly subject to certain provisions of HIPAA. In addition, if we are unable to protect the privacy and security of protected health information, we could be found to have breached our contracts with customers with whom we have a Business Associate relationship and may also face regulatory liability. Recently, a number of states, including Washington, Connecticut, and Nevada, have adopted laws regulating the processing of consumer health data not regulated by HIPAA. Once in effect, these laws could impose additional costs related to compliance, in particular in handling consumer requests for access, deletion, and to exercise other rights. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) imposes obligations with respect to personal data that we process on behalf of financial institutions. The FTC, which enforces the GLBA in the context of non-bank financial institutions, adopted new breach notification rules in October, 2023. Additionally, we are subject to FCC regulations imposing obligations related to our use and disclosure of certain data related to our interconnected VoIP service. If we experience a data security incident, we may be required by state law or FCC or other regulations to notify our customers and/or law enforcement. We may also be subject to FTC enforcement actions if the FTC has reason to believe we have engaged in unfair or deceptive privacy or data security practices. The FTC has also published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on the need for new regulation of ‘commercial surveillance.’

While Congress is actively considering comprehensive privacy legislation, U.S. states have taken the lead. California, for example, has enacted and subsequently amended (pursuant to a ballot initiative known as the California Privacy Rights Act) the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). Pursuant to the CCPA, we are required, among other things, to make certain enhanced disclosures to California residents regarding our use or disclosure of their personal information, allow California residents to opt-out of certain uses and disclosures of their personal information without penalty, provide Californians with other choices related to personal data in our possession, and obtain opt-in consent before engaging in certain uses of personal information relating to Californians under the age of 16. The California Attorney General may seek substantial monetary penalties and injunctive relief in the event of our non-compliance with the CCPA. The CCPA also allows for private lawsuits from Californians in the event of certain data breaches. Further, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, a comprehensive privacy statute that shares similarities with the CCPA, CPRA, and legislation proposed in other states, came into effect on January 1, 2023. Colorado enacted a similar law, the Colorado Privacy Act, on June 8, 2021, which came into effect as of July 1, 2023. Utah enacted a similar law, the Utah Consumer Privacy Act, on March 24, 2022, which came into effect as of December 31, 2023, and Connecticut enacted a similar law, An Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring, on May 10, 2022, which came into effect as of July 1, 2023. Iowa’s Consumer Data Protection Act will become effective on January 1, 2025. Further, Indiana has enacted the Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act, which will take effect January 1, 2026; Montana has adopted the Montana Consumer Data Protection Act, which will go into effect on October 1, 2024; Tennessee has adopted the Tennessee Information Protection Act, which will become effective July 1, 2025; Florida has enacted a new privacy law, SB 262, which will become effective July 1, 2024; Texas has enacted the Texas Data and Privacy Security Act, which generally becomes effective July 1, 2024; Oregon has enacted the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act, which generally becomes effective July 1, 2024; Delaware has enacted the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act, which generally becomes effective as of January 1, 2025; and New Jersey has enacted the New Jersey Privacy Act, which generally becomes effective as of January 15, 2025. A number of other states are considering similar laws. When in effect, all of these laws give consumers additional rights to control the collection, use, and sharing of personal data, including the right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of their data for marketing and, in many cases obligate require opt-in consent to process sensitive personal data. The right to opt-out of personal data processing may impact our marketing activities, particularly those that involve the use of third-party cookies on our websites. This may require that we implement specific contractual terms when we engage marketing entities to market our product and services and may limit our efforts to reach our target audience, as well as require us to implement opt-out icons on our websites. All of these new and evolving state laws have created further uncertainty and may require us to enter into additional contractual terms with customers and vendors, modify our policies and practices, and otherwise incur additional costs and expenses, in our efforts to comply. The U.S. federal government also is contemplating federal privacy legislation.

Noncompliance with laws and regulations relating to privacy and security of personal information, including HIPAA (including contractual obligations under any Business Associate agreement), GLBA, and state privacy laws may lead to significant fines, civil and criminal penalties, or liabilities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) audits the compliance of Business Associates and enforces HIPAA privacy and security standards. HHS enforcement activity has become more significant over the last few years and HHS has signaled its intent to continue this trend. Violation of the FCC’s privacy rules can result in large monetary forfeitures and injunctive relief. The FTC has broad authority to seek monetary redress for affected consumers and injunctive relief. In addition to federal regulators, state attorneys general (and, in some states, individual residents) are authorized to bring civil actions seeking either injunctions or damages (generally ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 per violation, but up to $20,000 in Colorado) to the extent violations implicate the privacy of state residents. Class action lawsuits are common in the event of a data breach affecting financial or other forms of sensitive information.

Legislators and regulators in the United States and elsewhere are increasingly focused on privacy protections for minors under 18 years of age. While RingCentral does not knowingly provide products or services directly to children under the age of 16, or knowingly collect or solicit personal information from or about children under the age of 16 outside of the school offering, recent state legislation will, when in effect, impose new obligations on online services where it is “reasonable to expect” that the service, product, or feature would be accessed by older teens, including, in some cases, 16 and 17 year old children. On September 15, 2022, California passed the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which is currently subject to a judicial stay but could become enforceable as early as July 1, 2024. Similar legislation has been adopted or introduced in numerous states, including, for example, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Arkansas, and Texas. Congress is also actively considering legislation regulating the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information about minors. For example, the Kids Online Safety Act (“KOSA”) and amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA 2.0”) would, if enacted, impose new obligations with respect to data collected from minors under 17 years of age. Both KOSA and COPPA 2.0 have been unanimously approved by the Senate Commerce Committee on two separate occasions. The FCC recently announced the creation of a new Privacy and Data Protection Task Force to coordinate rulemaking and enforcement across the agency and may be contemplating the creation of new rules regarding processing of personal information about communications services subscribers. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce announced on September 28, 2023, its plans to issue a Request for Comment on health, safety, and

Increasingly, jurisdictions in which RingCentral does business are regulating digital services in ways that go beyond traditional privacy and data protection legislation. For example, on November 17, 2022, the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) entered into force in the EU. The DSA includes new obligations to limit the spread of illegal content and illegal products online, increase the protection of minors, and provide users with more choice and transparency. The DSA allows for fines of up to 6% of annual turnover. The impact of the DSA on the overall industry, business models and our operations are uncertain, and these regulations could result in changes to our subscriptions or introduce new operational requirements and administrative costs each of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The European Commission has proposed new legislation to enhance privacy protections for users of communications services and to enhance protection for individuals against online tracking technologies. The proposed legislation, the Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications (the “e-Privacy Regulation”), remains the subject of trilogue negotiations involving representatives of the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament. The e-Privacy Regulation as currently proposed would impose greater potential liabilities upon communications service providers, including potential fines for the most serious of breaches of the greater of €20 million or 4% of worldwide annual turnover. New rules introduced by the e-Privacy Regulation are likely to include enhanced consent requirements for communications service providers in order to use communications content and communications metadata to deliver value added services, as well as restrict the use of data related to corporations and other non-natural persons. These restrictions, if adopted, may affect our future business growth in the EEA.

The EU AI Act (the “AI Act”), which is in final form, awaiting formal approval by the European Council and the European Parliament, will impose obligations on providers and users of artificial intelligence. Under the proposed AI Act, fines can reach up to €30 million or 6% of global income. The AI Act, when adopted, may impact the development and adoption of our AI solutions in Europe. Other countries, including the US, are increasingly looking to regulate AI. For example, on October 30, 2023, the Biden Administration issued an Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, and several AI bills have been introduced in Congress. Numerous states have established study commissions that could lead to regulation of AI at the state level, and the Federal Trade Commission, on November 21, 2023, adopted streamlined procedures for AI-related investigations. Other countries, including Brazil, China, and Israel, are contemplating laws regulating AI.

As Internet commerce and communication technologies continue to evolve, thereby increasing online service providers’ and network users’ capacity to collect, store, retain, protect, use, process, and transmit large volumes of personal information, increasingly restrictive regulation by federal, state, or foreign agencies becomes more likely.

RingCentral seeks to comply with applicable data protection laws, regulations, standards, and codes of conduct, as well as our own posted privacy policies and contractual commitments to the extent possible. In addition to the fines and damages described above, any actual or alleged failure by us to comply with any of the foregoing or to protect our users’ privacy and data, including as a result of our systems being compromised by hacking or other malicious or surreptitious activity, could result in a loss of user confidence in our subscriptions and ultimately in a loss of users, which could materially and adversely affect our business.

Regulation of personal information is evolving, and new laws could further impact how we handle personal information or could require us to incur additional compliance costs, either of which could have an adverse impact on our operations. Further, our actual compliance, our customers’ perception of our compliance, costs of compliance with such regulations, and obligations and customer concerns regarding their own compliance obligations (whether factual or in error) may limit the use and adoption of our subscriptions and reduce overall demand. Privacy-related concerns, including the inability or impracticality of providing advance notice to customers of privacy issues related to the use of our subscriptions, may cause our customers’ customers to resist providing the personal data necessary to allow our customers to use our subscriptions effectively. Even the perception of privacy-related concerns, whether or not valid, may inhibit market adoption of our subscriptions in certain industries.

Additionally, due to the nature of our service, we are unable to maintain complete control over data security or the implementation of measures that reduce the risk of a data security incident. For example, our customers may accidentally disclose their passwords or store them on a mobile device that is lost or stolen, creating the perception that our systems are not

The FCC requires Internet voice communications providers, such as our company, to provide E-911 service in all geographic areas covered by the traditional wireline E-911 network. Under the FCC’s rules, Internet voice communications providers must transmit the caller’s phone number and registered location information to the appropriate public safety answering point (“PSAP”) or route the call to a national emergency call center. Our CLEC services are also required by the FCC and state regulators to provide E-911 service to the extent that they provide services to end users. We are also subject to similar requirements internationally.

In connection with the regulatory requirements that we provide access to emergency services dialing to our interconnected VoIP customers, we must obtain from each customer, prior to the initiation of or changes to service, the physical locations at which the service will first be used for each VoIP line. For subscriptions that can be utilized from more than one physical location, we must provide customers one or more methods of updating their physical location. Because we are not able to confirm that the service is used at the physical addresses provided by our customers, and because customers may provide an incorrect location or fail to provide updated location information, it is possible that emergency services calls may get routed to the wrong PSAP. If emergency services calls are not routed to the correct PSAP, and if the delay results in serious injury or death, we could be sued and the damages substantial. We are evaluating measures to attempt to verify and update the addresses for locations where our subscriptions are used.

In addition, customers may attempt to hold us responsible for any loss, damage, personal injury, or death suffered as a result of delayed, misrouted, or uncompleted emergency service calls or text messages, subject to any limitations on a provider’s liability provided by applicable laws, regulations and our customer agreements.

We offer customer support through both our online account management website and our toll-free customer support number in multiple languages. Our customer support is currently provided primarily via a third-party provider located in the Philippines, as well as our employees in the U.S. Our third-party providers generally provide customer service and support to our customers without identifying themselves as independent parties. The ability to support our customers may be disrupted by natural disasters, inclement weather conditions, civil unrest, strikes, and other adverse events in the Philippines. Furthermore, as we expand our operations internationally, we may need to make significant expenditures and investments in our customer service and support to adequately address the complex needs of international customers, such as support in additional foreign languages. We also use third parties to deliver onsite professional services to our customers in deploying our solutions. If these vendors do not deliver timely and high-quality services to our customers, our reputation could be damaged, and we could lose customers. In addition, third-party professional services vendors may not be available when needed, which would adversely impact our ability to deliver on our customer commitments.

We also contract with third parties to provide emergency services calls in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and other jurisdictions in which we provide access to emergency services dialing, including assistance in routing emergency calls and terminating emergency services calls. Our domestic providers operate a national call center that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to receive certain emergency calls and maintain PSAP databases for the purpose of deploying and operating E-911 services. We rely on providers for similar functions in other jurisdictions in which we provide access to emergency services dialing. On mobile devices, we rely on the underlying cellular or wireless carrier to provide emergency services dialing. Interruptions in service from our vendors could cause failures in our customers’ access to E-911/999/112 services and expose us to liability and damage our reputation.

If any of these third parties do not provide reliable, high-quality service, or the service is not provided in compliance with regulatory requirements, our reputation and our business will be harmed. In addition, industry consolidation among providers of services to us may impact our ability to obtain these services or increase our costs for these services.

There has been substantial litigation in the areas in which we operate regarding intellectual property rights. For instance, we have recently and in the past been sued by third parties claiming infringement of their intellectual property rights and we may be sued for infringement from time to time in the future. Also, in some instances, we have agreed to indemnify our customers, resellers, and global service providers for expenses and liability resulting from claimed intellectual property infringement by our solutions. We offer indemnifications in our standard sales contracts, which include the obligation for us to assume the defense and/or reimburse our customers and/or resellers and global service providers for their expenses, settlement and/or liability incurred in connection with allegations of intellectual property infringement. In the past, we have settled infringement litigation brought against us; however, we cannot assure you that we will be able to settle any future claims or, if we are able to settle any such claims, that the settlement will be on terms favorable to us. Our broad range of technology may increase the likelihood that third parties will claim that we, or our customers and/or resellers, and global service providers, infringe their intellectual property rights.

We have in the past received, and may in the future receive, notices of claims of infringement, misappropriation or misuse of other parties’ proprietary rights. Furthermore, regardless of their merits, accusations and lawsuits like these, whether against us or our customers, resellers, and global service providers, may require significant time and expense to defend, may negatively affect customer relationships, may divert management’s attention away from other aspects of our operations and, upon resolution, may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Certain technology necessary for us to provide our subscriptions may, in fact, be patented by other parties either now or in the future. If such technology were validly patented by another person, we would have to negotiate a license for the use of that technology. We may not be able to negotiate such a license at a price that is acceptable to us or at all. The existence of such a patent, or our inability to negotiate a license for any such technology on acceptable terms, could force us to cease using the technology and cease offering subscriptions incorporating the technology, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

If we, or any of our solutions, were found to be infringing on the intellectual property rights of any third party, we could be subject to liability for such infringement, which could be material. We could also be prohibited from using or selling certain subscriptions, prohibited from using certain processes, or required to redesign certain subscriptions, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

These and other outcomes may:

We rely, in part, on patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law to protect our intellectual property in the U.S. and abroad. We seek to protect our technology, software, documentation and other information under trade secret and copyright

Further, we have in the past and may in the future “prune” our patent portfolio by not continuing to renew some of our patents in some jurisdictions or may decide to divest some of our patents.

The unlicensed use of our brand, including domain names, by third parties could harm our reputation, cause confusion among our customers and impair our ability to market our solutions and subscriptions. To that end, we have registered numerous trademarks and service marks and have applied for registration of additional trademarks and service marks and have acquired a large number of domain names in and outside the U.S. to establish and protect our brand names as part of our intellectual property strategy. If our applications receive objections or are successfully opposed by third parties, it will be difficult for us to prevent third parties from using our brand without our permission. Moreover, successful opposition to our applications might encourage third parties to make additional oppositions or commence trademark infringement proceedings against us, which could be costly and time consuming to defend against. If we are not successful in protecting our trademarks, our trademark rights may be diluted and subject to challenge or invalidation, which could materially and adversely affect our brand.

Despite our efforts to implement our intellectual property strategy, we may not be able to protect or enforce our proprietary rights in the U.S. or internationally (where effective intellectual property protection may be unavailable or limited). For example, we have entered into agreements containing confidentiality and invention assignment provisions in connection with the outsourcing of certain software development and quality assurance activities to third-party contractors located in Georgia, and previously third-party contractors that we used in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Spain and Russia. We have also entered into an agreement containing a confidentiality provision with a third-party contractor located in the Philippines, where we have outsourced a significant portion of our customer support function. We cannot assure you that agreements with these third-party contractors or their agreements with their employees and contractors will adequately protect our proprietary rights in the applicable jurisdictions and foreign countries, as their respective laws may not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the U.S. In addition, our competitors may independently develop technologies that are similar or superior to our technology, duplicate our technology in a manner that does not infringe our intellectual property rights or design around any of our patents. Furthermore, detecting and policing unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and resource-intensive. Moreover, litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others, or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Such litigation, whether successful or not, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management time and resources and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We use open source software in our platform on which our subscriptions operate. There is a risk that the owners of the copyrights in such software may claim that such licenses impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to market or provide our subscriptions. If such owners prevail in such claim, we could be required to make the source code for our

On February 14, 2023, we entered into a Credit Agreement, among the Company, the lenders from time to time party thereto and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent and as collateral agent, which was amended on August 15, 2023 and November 2, 2023 to add additional commitments to the credit facility (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”). The obligations under the Credit Agreement and the other loan documents are guaranteed by certain of our material domestic subsidiaries, and secured by substantially all of our personal property and that of such subsidiary guarantors. The Credit Agreement provides for a $225.0 million revolving loan facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) and a $475.0 million delayed draw term loan facility (the “Term Loan”). As of December 31, 2023, we had no amounts outstanding under our Revolving Credit Facility, $390.0 million outstanding under our Term Loan, and $75.0 million of Term Loan commitments available for draw.

Our Credit Agreement contains covenants that limit our ability and the ability of certain of our subsidiaries to:

Further, the Credit Agreement contains financial covenants that require compliance with a maximum total net leverage ratio and minimum interest coverage ratio, in each case tested at the end of each fiscal quarter. These covenants may adversely affect our ability to finance our operations, meet or otherwise address our capital needs, pursue business opportunities or react to market conditions, or otherwise restrict our activities or business plans. In addition, our obligations to repay principal and interest on our indebtedness could make us vulnerable to economic or market downturns.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $161.3 million aggregate principal amount of our 0% convertible notes due 2025 (the “2025 Convertible Notes”) outstanding, $609.1 million aggregate principal amount of our 0% convertible notes due 2026 (the “2026 Convertible Notes” and, together with the 2025 Convertible Notes, the “Convertible Notes”) outstanding and $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 8.500% senior notes due 2030 (the “2030 Senior Notes” and, together with the

The Company’s ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on or to refinance its indebtedness, including the Notes and any amounts borrowed under the Credit Agreement, depends on its future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive, and other factors beyond the Company’s control. The Company’s business may not generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service its debt and make necessary capital expenditures. If the Company is unable to generate such cash flow, it may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring debt, or obtaining additional debt financing or equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. The Company’s ability to refinance any future indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and its financial condition at such time. The Company may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on its debt obligations. Additionally, the Credit Agreement and the indenture governing the 2030 Senior Notes (the “Senior Notes Indenture”) do, and any of the Company’s future debt agreements may also, contain restrictive covenants that may prohibit the Company from adopting some or any of these alternatives. For example, the Credit Agreement contains negative covenants that restrict the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ ability to incur indebtedness, create liens, make investments, dispose of assets and make certain restricted payments. The Company’s failure to comply with these covenants could result in an event of default under its indebtedness which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of its debt and termination of the commitments under the Credit Agreement.

In addition, the Company’s indebtedness, combined with its other financial obligations and contractual commitments, could have other important consequences. For example, it could:

Any of these factors could harm the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, if the Company incurs additional indebtedness, the risks related to its business and its ability to service or repay its indebtedness would increase.

We intend to continue to make expenditures and investments to support the growth of our business and may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances, including the need to develop new solutions or enhance our existing solutions, enhance our operating infrastructure, and acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financing activities to secure additional funds or restructure our existing debt. However, additional funds may not be available or we may not be able to restructure our existing debt when we need to on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. Volatility in equity capital markets may materially and adversely affect our ability to fund our business through public or private sales of equity securities or debt restructuring. Rising interest rates and/or instability in the banking and finance industries may reduce our access to debt capital. Our current debt agreements and any future debt financing that we secure in the future could involve restrictive covenants, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities. In addition, the restrictive covenants in the Credit Agreement, Senior Notes Indenture and any additional credit facilities or debt agreements we may secure in the future may restrict us from being able to conduct our operations in a manner appropriate for

We cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with any such restrictive covenants. In the event that we are unable to comply with these covenants in the future, we would seek an amendment or waiver of the covenants. We cannot assure you that any such waiver or amendment would be granted. In such event, we may be required to repay any or all of our existing borrowings, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to borrow under our existing credit agreements, or obtain alternative funding arrangements on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

In addition, volatility in the credit markets may have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain debt financing. The conversion of our outstanding Convertible Notes and any future issuances of other equity or any future issuances of equity or convertible debt securities could result in significant dilution to our existing stockholders, and any new equity or convertible debt securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of our Class A Common Stock. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, when we require it, our ability to continue to pursue our business objectives and to respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances could be significantly limited, and our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Holders of the Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase all or a portion of such Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change or change of control, as applicable, before the applicable maturity date at a repurchase price as set forth in the Senior Notes Indenture or the indenture governing the applicable series of Convertible Notes (the “Convertible Notes Indenture” and, together with the Senior Notes Indenture, the “Notes Indentures”), as applicable, plus any accrued and unpaid special interest thereon, if any, as set forth in the applicable Notes Indenture. In addition, upon conversion of the Convertible Notes of the applicable series, we will be required to make cash payments in respect of such Convertible Notes being converted, as set forth in the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture. Moreover, we will be required to repay the Notes of the applicable series in cash at their respective maturity unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased, as applicable. However, even though we entered into the Credit Agreement, we cannot assure you that we will have enough available cash on hand or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases of such Notes surrendered therefor or pay cash with respect to (i) such series of Convertible Notes being converted or (ii) such series of Notes at their respective maturity.

In addition, our ability to repurchase the Notes of the applicable series or to pay cash (i) upon conversions of the Convertible Notes or (ii) at their respective maturity may be limited by law, regulatory authority, or potential agreements governing our future indebtedness. Further, our failure to repurchase such Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the applicable Notes Indenture or to pay cash (i) upon conversions of such Convertible Notes or (ii) at their respective maturity, as required by the applicable Notes Indenture, would constitute a default under such Notes Indenture. A default, or the occurrence of a fundamental change or change of control, as applicable, under such Notes Indenture, could also lead to a default under potential agreements governing our future indebtedness. Moreover, the occurrence of a fundamental change or change of control, as applicable, under the applicable Notes Indenture could itself constitute an event of default under any such Notes Indenture. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase such series of Notes or make cash payments upon conversions thereof, as applicable.

The Senior Notes Indenture contains restrictive covenants that may limit our ability, and the ability of our subsidiary guarantors, to, among other things:

As a result of these restrictions, we will be limited as to how we conduct our business, and we may be unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities. Our failure to comply with these covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration or cross-acceleration of the 2030 Senior Notes. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms or cannot refinance these borrowings, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Our failure to comply with the restrictive covenants described above and/or the terms of any future indebtedness from time to time could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could result in our being required to repay these borrowings before their due dates. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms or cannot refinance these borrowings, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

In the event the conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes is triggered, holders of the Convertible Notes will be entitled under the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture to convert such Convertible Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders of a series elect to convert their Convertible Notes, we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation in cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, in certain circumstances, such as conversion by holders or redemption, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of such series of Convertible Notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.

In connection with the issuances of the Convertible Notes, we entered into capped call transactions with the counterparties with respect to the Convertible Notes. The capped call transactions cover, subject to customary adjustments, the number of shares of our Class A Common Stock initially underlying the Convertible Notes. The capped call transactions are expected to offset the potential dilution as a result of conversion of the Convertible Notes.

The counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our Class A Common Stock and/or purchasing or selling our Class A Common Stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions at any time prior to the respective maturity of the Convertible Notes (and are likely to do so on each exercise date of the capped call transactions). This activity could also cause or prevent an increase or a decrease in the market price of our Class A Common Stock.

We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of the Convertible Notes or the shares of our Class A Common Stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that these transactions will not be discontinued without notice.

In addition, the counterparties to the capped call transactions are financial institutions and we will be subject to the risk that one or more of the counterparties may default or otherwise fail to perform, or may exercise certain rights to terminate, their obligations under the capped call transactions. If a counterparty to one or more capped call transaction becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at the time under such transaction. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, it will increase if the market price or the volatility of our Class A Common Stock increases. Upon a default or other failure to perform, or a termination of obligations, by a counterparty, we may suffer adverse tax consequences and more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our Class A Common Stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of the counterparties.

The stock market in general, and the market for SaaS and other technology-related stocks in particular, has been highly volatile. As a result, the market price and trading volume for our Class A Common Stock has been and may continue to be highly volatile, and investors in our Class A Common Stock may experience a decrease in the value of their shares, including

Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the trading volume and market price of our Class A Common Stock and may prevent investors from being able to sell their shares at or above the price they paid for their shares of our Class A Common Stock. Following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, stockholders often file securities class-action lawsuits against such company. Our involvement in a class-action lawsuit could divert our senior management’s attention and, if adversely determined, could have a material and adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class B Common Stock” and, together with our Class A Common Stock, our “common stock”), has 10 votes per share, and our Class A Common Stock has one vote per share. Additionally, our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock has voting power measured on an as-converted to Class A Common Stock basis. As of December 31, 2023, stockholders who hold shares of Class B Common Stock, including our founders and certain executive officers, and their affiliates, together hold approximately 54% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock, and our founders, including our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, together hold a majority of such voting power. As a result, for as long as the Class B voting structure remains in place, a small number of stockholders who acquired their shares prior to the completion of our initial public offering will continue to have significant influence over the management and affairs of our company and over the outcome of many matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger, consolidation or sale of substantially all of our assets.

In addition, because of the ten-to-one voting ratio between our Class B and Class A Common Stock, the holders of Class B Common Stock collectively will continue to control many matters submitted to our stockholders for approval even if their stock holdings represent less than 50% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our capital stock. This

Future transfers by holders of Class B Common Stock will generally result in those shares converting to Class A Common Stock, which may have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B Common Stock who retain their shares in the long term. If, for example, Mr. Shmunis retains a significant portion of his holdings of Class B Common Stock for an extended period of time, he could, in the future, control a majority of the combined voting power of our capital stock. As a board member, Mr. Shmunis owes fiduciary duties to our stockholders and must act in good faith in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of our stockholders. As a stockholder, even a controlling stockholder, Mr. Shmunis is generally entitled to vote his shares in his own interests, which may not always be in the interests of our stockholders generally.

We currently do not plan to declare dividends on shares of our common stock in the foreseeable future and plan to, instead, retain any earnings to finance our operations and growth. Because we have never paid cash dividends and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, the only opportunity to achieve a return on an investor’s investment in our company will be if the market price of our Class A Common Stock appreciates and the investor sells its shares at a profit. There is no guarantee that the price of our Class A Common Stock that will prevail in the market will ever exceed the price that an investor pays.

The holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are generally entitled to vote with the holders of our common stock on all matters submitted for a vote of holders of shares of our capital stock (voting together with the holders of shares of common stock as one class) on an as-converted basis. However, the consent of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (voting together as a separate class) is required in order for us to take certain actions, including (i) any amendment, alteration, or repeal of (A) any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws that adversely affects, in any material respect, the rights, preferences, privileges, or voting power of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock or the holders thereof or (B) any provision of our certificate of designations, (ii) issuances of securities that are senior to, or equal in priority with, the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock as to dividend rights or rights on the distribution of assets on liquidation, (iii) any increase or decrease in the authorized number of shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock or issuances thereof, and (iv) any dividend on our common stock that is a one-time special dividend of $100,000,000 or more. As a result, the holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock may in the future have the ability to influence the outcome of certain matters affecting our governance and capitalization.

The holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are generally entitled to vote, on an as-converted basis, together with holders of our common stock, on all matters submitted to a vote of the holders of our capital stock, which reduces the relative voting power of the holders of our common stock. In addition, the conversion of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into Class A Common Stock would dilute the ownership interest of existing holders of our common stock, and any conversion of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock would increase the number of shares of our Class A Common Stock available for public trading, which could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our Class A Common Stock.

The holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock have the right to receive payments as to dividend rights and on account of the distribution of assets on any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our business before any payment may be made to holders of any other class or series of capital stock. In addition, upon prior written notice of certain change of control events, all shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock will automatically be redeemed by us for a repurchase price equal to $1,000 per share of each share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Liquidation Preference”). These dividend and share repurchase obligations could impact our liquidity and reduce the amount of cash flows

On February 13, 2023, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program under which we may repurchase up to $175.0 million of our outstanding Class A Common Stock, subject to certain limitations. Subsequently, on each of May 16, 2023, November 1, 2023 and February 7, 2024, our board of directors authorized additional share repurchase programs under which we may repurchase up to an additional $125.0 million and $100.0 million, and $150 million, respectively, of our outstanding Class A Common Stock, also subject to certain limitations. We plan to fund repurchases under these programs from our future cash flow generation, as well as from additional potential sources of cash including capped calls associated with the Convertible Notes. Under the programs, share repurchases may be made at our discretion from time to time in open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, or other means. The programs do not obligate us to repurchase any specific dollar amount or to acquire any specific number of shares of our Class A Common Stock. As of December 31, 2023, we have repurchased approximately $315.0 million of our Class A Common Stock under these programs. The timing and number of any future shares repurchased under the programs will depend on a variety of factors, including stock price, trading volume, and general business and market conditions. Our board of directors will review the programs periodically and may authorize adjustments of their terms, if appropriate. As a result, there can be no guarantee around the timing or volume of our share repurchases. The programs could affect the price of our Class A Common Stock, increase volatility and diminish our cash reserves. These programs may be suspended or terminated at any time and, even if fully implemented, may not enhance long-term stockholder value. Refer to Part II, Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include provisions that:

These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any “interested” stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an “interested” stockholder without obtaining specified approvals.

Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:

Any changes in our effective tax rate could adversely affect our results of operations.

We are subject to tax laws, regulations, and policies of the U.S. federal, state, and local governments and of comparable taxing authorities in foreign jurisdictions. Changes in tax laws, as well as other factors, could cause us to experience fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rates and otherwise adversely affect our tax positions and/or our tax liabilities. For example, in 2019, France introduced a digital services tax at a rate of 3% on revenues derived from digital activities in France, and other jurisdictions are proposing or could introduce similar laws in the future. In addition, the United States recently introduced a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks, which could increase the cost to us of implementing our share repurchase programs or repurchasing our Series A Preferred Stock, and a 15% alternative minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income. Many countries, including the United States, and organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are also actively considering changes to existing tax laws or have proposed or enacted new laws that could increase our tax obligations in countries where we do business or cause us to change the way we operate our business, including a proposed 15% global minimum tax. The Council of the European Union has adopted the proposed 15% global minimum tax, which has been implemented into the domestic laws of some jurisdictions, effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 31, 2023 for multinationals that meet the annual threshold of at least EUR 750 million of consolidated revenues. Any of these developments or changes in U.S. federal or state, or international tax laws or tax rulings could adversely affect our effective tax rate and our operating results. There can be no assurance that our effective tax rates, tax payments, tax credits, or incentives will not be adversely affected by these or other developments or changes in law.

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our independent registered public accounting firm, KPMG LLP, is required to and has issued an attestation report as of December 31, 2023. While management concluded internal control over financial reporting was at a reasonable assurance level as of December 31, 2023, there can be no assurance that material weaknesses will not be identified in the future. 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 our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. During the evaluation and testing process, if we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to assert that our internal controls are effective. As a result, we may need to undertake various actions, such as implementing new internal controls and procedures and hiring accounting or internal audit staff. Our remediation efforts may not enable us to avoid a material weakness in the future.

If our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion on the effectiveness of our internal controls, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could cause the price of our Class A Common Stock to decline, and we may be subject to investigation or sanctions by the SEC.

The accounting rules and regulations that we must comply with are complex and subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”), the SEC and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. Recent actions and public comments from the FASB and the SEC have focused on the integrity of financial reporting and internal controls. In addition, many companies’ accounting policies are being subject to heightened scrutiny by regulators and the public. Further, the accounting rules and regulations are continually changing in ways that could materially impact our financial statements.

We cannot predict the impact of future changes to accounting principles or our accounting policies on our financial statements going forward, which could have a significant effect on our reported financial results and could affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement of the change. While we are not aware of any specific event or circumstance that would require a material update to our estimates, judgments or assumptions, this may change in the future. In addition, if we were to change our critical accounting estimates, including those related to the recognition of subscription revenue and other revenue sources, our operating results could be significantly affected.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The significant estimates made by management affect revenues, the allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of long-term investments, deferred and prepaid sales commission costs, goodwill, useful lives of intangible assets, share-based compensation, capitalization of internally developed software, return reserves, provision for income taxes, uncertain tax positions, loss contingencies, sales tax liabilities, and accrued liabilities. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as described in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the recognition and measurement of certain assets and liabilities and revenue and expenses that is not readily apparent from other sources. Our accounting policies that involve judgment include those related to revenues the allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of long-term investments, deferred and prepaid sales commission costs, goodwill, useful lives of intangible assets, share-based compensation, capitalization of internally developed software, return reserves, provision for income taxes, uncertain tax positions, loss contingencies, sales tax liabilities and accrued liabilities. If our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, our results of operations could be adversely affected, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the market price of our Class A common stock.

Our corporate headquarters and many of our data centers, co-location and research and development facilities, and third-party customer service call centers are located in the U.S. (including in the state of California), Spain, Georgia, Bulgaria, and several countries in Asia, including China, the Philippines, India, and Australia. Many of these locations are near known earthquake fault zones, which are vulnerable to damage from earthquakes and tsunamis, or are in areas subject to hurricanes. We and our contractors are also vulnerable to other types of disasters, such as power loss, fire, floods, pandemics such as the global outbreak of COVID-19, cyber-attack, war (including ongoing geopolitical tensions related to the war between Russia and

The trading market for our Class A Common Stock will depend in part on the research and reports that research analysts publish about us and our business. If we do not maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more analysts who covers us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our Class A Common Stock may decline. If one or more of the research analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our Class A Common Stock may decrease, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

None.

We have an enterprise-wide information security program designed to protect, identify, detect, respond to and manage reasonably foreseeable cybersecurity risks and threats. Furthermore, to protect our information systems and data from cybersecurity threats, we use various security tools that help prevent, identify, investigate, resolve and recover from identified vulnerabilities and security incidents in a timely manner. These include, but are not limited to, internal reporting, monitoring and detection tools, and a bug bounty program to allow security researchers to assist us in identifying vulnerabilities in our products before they are exploited by malicious threat actors. We also maintain a third party risk management program to identify, prioritize, assess, mitigate and remediate third party risks; however, we rely on the third parties we use to implement security programs commensurate with their risks, and we cannot ensure in all circumstances that their efforts will be successful.

We recognize the critical importance of maintaining the safety and security of our systems and data and have a holistic process for overseeing and managing cybersecurity and related risks. This process is owned by the Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”) and is supported by both management and our board of directors.

The CISO reports to the Chief Information Officer (“CIO”) and is responsible for management of cybersecurity risk and the protection and defense of our networks, systems and data. The CISO manages a team of cybersecurity professionals with broad experience and expertise, including in cybersecurity threat assessments and detection, mitigation technologies, cybersecurity training, incident response, cyber forensics, insider threats and regulatory compliance. Our CISO has served in various information technology and security leadership roles for over 20 years, including serving as the Chief Information Security Officer at 8x8 Communications and Lam Research Corporation. He holds a B.S. degree in Information Technology from the University of the Pacific and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.

Our board of directors oversees our enterprise risk management activities in general, and receives regular updates on the company’s risk management process and the risk trends related to cybersecurity. The audit committee specifically assists the board of directors in its oversight of risks related to cybersecurity. To help ensure effective oversight, the audit committee receives regular reports on information security and cybersecurity from the CISO.

We have an established process and playbook led by our CISO governing our assessment, containment, mitigation, response and internal and external disclosures upon the occurrence of a cybersecurity incident. Depending on the nature and severity of an incident, this process provides for escalating notification to our CEO and the board of directors (including our lead independent director and the audit and committee chair).

Although the "Risk Factors" section includes further detail about the material cybersecurity risks we face, we believe that risks from prior cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any previous cybersecurity incidents, have not materially affected our business to date.

We continue to invest in the cybersecurity and resiliency of our networks and to enhance our internal controls and processes, which are designed to help protect our systems and infrastructure, and the information they contain. For more information regarding the risks we face from cybersecurity threats, please see “Risk Factors.”

We also lease office space in Denver, Colorado; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas, Texas; London, England; Paris, France; Alicante, Spain; Sofia, Bulgaria; Tel Aviv, Israel; Xiamen and Hangzhou, China; and other small offices worldwide. In addition, we lease space from third-party datacenter hosting facilities under co-location agreements that support our cloud infrastructure, the most significant locations being Vienna and Ashburn, Virginia; San Jose and Santa Clara, California; Chicago, Illinois; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Zurich, Switzerland; Frankfurt, Germany; Bangalore and Mumbai, India; Johannesburg, South Africa; and other small locations worldwide. We believe that we will be able to obtain additional space at other locations at commercially reasonable terms to support our continuing expansion.

Not applicable.

Our Class A Common Stock has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RNG” since September 27, 2013.

Our Class B Common Stock is not listed or traded on any stock exchange.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain any future earnings for use in the operation of our business and do not intend to declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any further determination to pay dividends on our capital stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, general business conditions, and other factors that our board of directors considers relevant.

As of February 12, 2024, there were 15 stockholders of record of our Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. Because most of our shares of Class A Common Stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of beneficial stockholders represented by these record holders.

We did not sell any equity securities which were not registered under the Securities Act during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 that were not otherwise disclosed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or our Current Reports on Form 8-K.

Information regarding the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans can be found under Item 12 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The following table summarizes the share repurchase activity of our Class A Common Stock for the three months ended December 31, 2023 (in thousands, except per-share amounts):

The following shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or incorporated by reference into any of our other filings under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing.

The graph below matches RingCentral Inc.’s cumulative 5-year total shareholder return on common stock with the cumulative total returns of the Russell 1000 index and the NASDAQ Computer index. The graph tracks the performance of a $100 investment in our common stock and in each index (with the reinvestment of all dividends) from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2023. The stock price performance on the following graph is not intended to forecast or be indicative of future stock price performance of our Class A Common Stock.

The stock price performance included in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

Overview

We are a leading provider of AI-driven global enterprise cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration, and contact center software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) solutions. We believe that our innovative, cloud-based communication and contact center solutions disrupt the large market for business communications and collaboration by providing flexible and cost-effective solutions that support mobile and distributed workforces. We enable convenient and effective communications for organizations across all their locations and employees, enabling them to be more productive and more responsive.

Our cloud-based business communications and collaboration solutions are designed to be easy to use, providing a user identity across multiple locations and devices, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and desk phones. Our solutions can be deployed rapidly and configured and managed easily. Our cloud-based solutions are location and device independent and better suited to address the needs of modern mobile and global enterprise workforces than are legacy on-premises systems. Through our open Application Programming Interface (API) platform, we enable third-party developers and customers to integrate our solution with leading business applications to customize their own business workflows.

We have a portfolio of cloud-based offerings that are subscription based, made available at different rates varying by the specific functionalities, services, and number of users. We primarily generate revenues from the sale of subscriptions to our offerings. Our subscription plans have monthly, annual, or multi-year contractual terms. We believe that this flexibility in contract duration is important to meet the different needs of our customers. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, subscriptions revenues accounted for 90% or more of our total revenues. The remainder of our revenues are primarily comprised of product revenues from the sale of pre-configured phones and professional services. We do not develop or manufacture physical phones and only offer them as a convenience to our customers. We rely on third-party providers to develop and manufacture these devices and fulfillment partners to successfully serve our customers.

We use our direct inside sales force and indirect sales channels to market our brand and our subscription offerings. Our indirect sales channels who sell our solutions consist of:

Our revenue growth has primarily been driven by our flagship RingCentral MVP, RingCentral contact center solutions, and recurring license and other fees. Our revenue is derived from sales through our direct and indirect sales channels, including resellers and distributors, strategic partners and global service providers. As of December 31, 2023, we had customers from a range of industries, including financial services, education, healthcare, legal services, real estate, retail, technology, insurance, construction, hospitality, and state and local government, among others. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the vast majority of our total revenues were generated in the U.S. and Canada.

The growth of our business and our future success depend on many factors, including our ability to expand our customer base, expand our indirect sales channels, continue to innovate, grow revenues from our existing customer base, expand our distribution channels, and scale internationally.

In the fourth quarter of each of 2023 and 2022, our board of directors approved a reduction-in-force plan as part of broader efforts to optimize the Company cost structure. We are actively implementing various measures to enhance operational efficiencies throughout the Company. These include disciplined spending, increased productivity, efficiency gains, and optimizing our go-to-market strategies.

We are subject to risks and exposures caused by the current macroeconomic environment. Macroeconomic factors include increased inflation, increased interest rates, supply chain disruptions, decreased economic output, geopolitical conflict and fluctuations in currency exchange rates, all of which can cause uncertainty. We have experienced more cautious buying behavior from larger customers manifesting itself in smaller initial deployments. We have experienced elevated sales cycle times for our up-market customers, as customers required additional approvals before making purchase decisions. We are also seeing less upsell of additional MVP services within our existing base as customers have slowed hiring and rationalized their employee counts. We anticipate this behavior may persist until the macroeconomic environment becomes less uncertain. If these conditions continue, they could have an adverse impact on our results. We continuously monitor the impact of these circumstances on our business and financial results, as well as the overall global economy and geopolitical landscape. The implications of macroeconomic conditions on our business, results of operations and overall financial position, particularly in the long term, remain uncertain.

Key Business Metrics

In addition to United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and financial measures such as total revenues, gross margin, and cash flows from operations, we regularly review a number of key business metrics to evaluate growth trends, measure our performance, and make strategic decisions. We discuss revenues and gross margin under “Results of Operations”, and cash flow from operations and free cash flows under “Liquidity and Capital Resources.” Other key business metrics are discussed below.

We believe that our Annualized Exit Monthly Recurring Subscriptions (“ARR”) is a leading indicator of our anticipated subscriptions revenues. We believe that trends in revenue are important to understanding the overall health of our business, and we use these trends in order to formulate financial projections and make strategic business decisions. Our ARR equals our Monthly Recurring Subscriptions multiplied by 12. Our Monthly Recurring Subscriptions equals the monthly value of all customer recurring charges at the end of a given month. For example, our Monthly Recurring Subscriptions at December 31, 2023 was $194.1 million. As such, our ARR at December 31, 2023 was $2.33 billion compared to $2.10 billion at December 31, 2022.

We believe that our Net Monthly Subscription Dollar Retention Rate provides insight into our ability to retain and grow subscriptions revenue, as well as our customers’ potential long-term value to us. We believe that our ability to retain our customers and expand their use of our solutions over time is a leading indicator of the stability of our revenue base and we use these trends in order to formulate financial projections and make strategic business decisions. We define our Net Monthly Subscription Dollar Retention Rate as (i) one plus (ii) the quotient of Dollar Net Change divided by Average Monthly Recurring Subscriptions.

We define Dollar Net Change as the quotient of (i) the difference of our Monthly Recurring Subscriptions at the end of a period minus our Monthly Recurring Subscriptions at the beginning of a period minus our Monthly Recurring Subscriptions at the end of the period from new customers we added during the period, all divided by (ii) the number of months in the period. We define our Average Monthly Recurring Subscriptions as the average of the Monthly Recurring Subscriptions at the beginning and end of the measurement period.

For example, if our Monthly Recurring Subscriptions were $118 at the end of a quarterly period and $100 at the beginning of the period, and $20 at the end of the period from new customers we added during the period, then the Dollar Net Change would be equal to ($0.67), or the amount equal to the difference of $118 minus $100 minus $20, all divided by three months. Our Average Monthly Recurring Subscriptions would equal $109, or the sum of $100 plus $118, divided by two. Our Net Monthly Subscription Dollar Retention Rate would then equal 99.4%, or approximately 99%, or one plus the quotient of the Dollar Net Change divided by the Average Monthly Recurring Subscriptions.

Our key business metrics for the five quarterly periods ended December 31, 2023 were as follows (dollars in billions):

Components of Results of Operations

Our revenues for the years presented consisted of subscriptions and other revenues. Our subscriptions revenue primarily includes recurring fixed plan subscription fees, variable usage-based fees for usage in excess of plan limits, one-time fees, recurring license and other fees, derived from sales through our direct and indirect sales channels, including resellers and distributors, strategic partners and global service providers. We provide subscription services to our customers pursuant to contractual arrangements that range in duration typically from one month to five years. Our subscription services are based on the functionalities and services selected by a customer and may automatically renew for additional periods at the end of the initial subscription term. We believe that this flexibility in contract duration is important to meet the different needs of our customers.

We generally bill our subscription fees in advance. We recognize subscription revenue over the term of the agreement. Amounts billed in excess of revenue recognized for the period are reported as deferred revenue on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

We also generate revenues through sales of our subscriptions and products by resellers, strategic partners, and global service providers. When we control the performance of the contractual obligations, we record the revenues on a gross basis and amounts retained by our resellers are recorded as sales and marketing expense. Our assumption of such control is evidenced when, among other things, we are primarily responsible for the delivery of the service or products, have inventory risk, and have discretion in establishing pricing of the arrangement.

“Other revenues” includes product revenues from the sale of pre-configured phones, and professional services. Product revenue is recognized when the product has been delivered to the customer. Professional services revenue is recognized as and when services are delivered.

Our cost of subscriptions revenue primarily consists of fees paid to third-party telecommunications providers, network operations, costs to build out and maintain data centers, including co-location fees for the right to place our servers in data centers owned by third parties, depreciation of servers and equipment, along with related utilities and maintenance costs, amortization of acquired technology related intangible assets, personnel costs associated with customer support of the functionality of our platform and data center operations, including share-based compensation expenses, and allocated costs of facilities and information technology.

We define subscriptions gross margins as subscriptions revenue minus the cost of subscriptions revenue expressed as a percentage of subscriptions revenue.

Cost of other revenue is comprised primarily of the cost associated with the purchase of phones, personnel costs for employees and contractors, including share-based compensation expenses, cost of third parties used for professional services, and allocated costs of facilities and information technology.

We classify our operating expenses as research and development, sales and marketing, general and administrative expenses, and asset write-down charges.

Our research and development efforts are focused on developing new and expanded features for our solutions, integrations with distributors and other software platforms, and improvements to our backend architecture. Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs for employees and contractors, including share-based compensation

Sales and marketing expenses are the largest component of our operating expenses and consist primarily of personnel costs for employees and contractors directly associated with our sales and marketing activities including share-based compensation expenses, internet advertising fees, television, radio and billboard advertising, public relations, commissions paid to employees, resellers and other third parties, amortization of capitalized sales commissions, trade shows, credit card fees, marketing and promotional activities, amortization of acquired customer relationship intangibles, allocated costs of facilities and information technology, and the impact of the restructuring activities in 2023 and 2022. We expect to incur incremental sales and marketing expenses to support our growth while driving cost efficiencies by further optimizing our go-to-market strategies, although these expenses may fluctuate as a percentage of our total revenues from period to period depending on the timing of these expenses.

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs, including share-based compensation expenses, for employees and contractors engaged in infrastructure and administrative activities to support the day-to-day operations of our business. Other significant components of general and administrative expenses include professional service fees, allocated costs of facilities and information technology, cost of compliance with certain government-imposed taxes, the costs of legal matters, business acquisition costs, loss contingencies, and the impact of the restructuring activities in 2023 and 2022. We will continue to invest in processes, systems, and personnel to support our anticipated revenue growth while driving efficiencies.

Interest expenses consist primarily of interest costs on our debt arrangements, as well as amortization of the debt discount and issuance costs in connection with our long-term debt.

Other income (expenses) consist primarily of the following items:

The following tables set forth selected consolidated statements of operations data and such data as a percentage of total revenues. The historical results presented below are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period (in thousands):

During fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022, our subscription gross margin improved due to lower amortization of acquired intangible assets and higher subscription revenue.

We expect to continue investing in our infrastructure and capacity to improve the availability of our subscription offerings, supporting the growth of both our new and existing customers.

Research and development expenses decreased by $26.4 million, or (7)%, during fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022, primarily due to a $31.1 million reduction in personnel and contractor costs, partially offset by $5.7 million increase in professional fees. Of the total decrease in personnel and contractor costs, $21.2 million was due to reduction in headcount, and $14.2 million was due to reduction in costs associated with the relocation of our third-party contractors resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, partially offset by $5.1 million due to higher share-based compensation expense primarily driven by equity awards granted to new and existing employees.

We believe that continued investment in our products is important for our future growth, and we expect our research and development expenses to continue to increase in absolute dollars, although these expenses may fluctuate as a percentage of our total revenues from period to period depending on the timing of these expenses.

Sales and marketing expenses increased by $10.8 million, or 1%, during fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022, primarily due to an increase in third-party commissions of $57.9 million, amortization of deferred sales commission costs of $20.6 million, and professional fees of $6.1 million, partially offset by decrease in advertising and marketing costs of $45.8 million, and decrease in personnel and contractor costs of $26.5 million primarily attributed to reduction in headcount.

We expect to incur incremental sales and marketing expenses to support our growth while driving cost efficiencies by further optimizing our go-to-market strategies.

General and administrative expenses increased by $40.2 million, or 14%, during fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022, primarily due to an increase in personnel and contractor costs of $33.2 million, and professional fees of $5.2 million. Of the total increase in personnel and contractor costs, $34.1 million was due to higher share-based compensation expense primarily driven by equity awards granted to new and existing employees including performance stock units (“PSUs”), partially offset by a decrease of $3.2 million due to reduction in headcount.

We put in place PSUs in 2023 to demonstrate alignment between management incentives and company performance. These PSUs are accounted for under graded vesting method which results in higher compensation in the year of the grant compared to restricted stock units.

We will continue to invest in processes, systems, and personnel to support our anticipated revenue growth while driving efficiencies.

Other expense, net, decreased by $266.5 million during fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022.

Other income and expense, net, can fluctuate in the future due to changes in interest rates on our money market funds, interest expense on our Credit Agreement, asset write-down charges, and fluctuations in currency exchange rates in the current macroeconomic environment.

Net loss decreased by $713.9 million during fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022 driven by reduction in loss from operations and other expenses, net.

Loss from operations during fiscal year 2023 decreased by $450.7 million as compared to fiscal year 2022, primarily driven by $283.7 million due to the non-cash write-down of our prepaid sales commission balances in the second half of 2022 in connection with our strategic partnerships with Avaya, and a reduction in expenses arising from operational efficiencies across the business during fiscal year 2023 primarily due to disciplined spending, increased productivity, efficiency gains, and optimizing our go-to-market strategies.

Other expense, net, decreased by $266.5 million during fiscal year 2023, as compared to fiscal year 2022, primarily due to unrealized loss of $207.7 million from our long-term investments, and net write-down charge of $13.9 million related to accrued interest on our prepaid sales commission balance recognized during fiscal year 2022 that did not recur in 2023. The remaining reduction is driven by a gain of $53.4 million from the partial repurchase of our Convertible Notes, $12.5 million increase in interest income, and $11.5 million gain recognized in connection with our amended agreement with a strategic partner, partially offset by incremental interest expense of $31.2 million recorded during fiscal year 2023.

Liquidity is a measure of our ability to access sufficient cash flows to meet the short-term and long-term cash requirements of our business operations, and debt obligations as they become due.

We finance our operations primarily through sales to our customers, which could be billed either monthly or annually one year in advance. For customers with annual or multi-year contracts and those who opt for annual invoicing, we generally invoice only one annual period in advance and revenue is deferred for such advanced billings. We also have access to additional liquidity from our term loan and revolving credit facility. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $222.2 million and $270.0 million, respectively.

As of December 31, 2023, we have $75.0 million remaining under our delayed draw-down Term Loan and $225.0 million remaining under our revolving credit facility. We expect to utilize the remaining commitment under our Term Loan and a portion of future free cash flows we expect to generate to address the remaining $161.3 million of our 2025 Convertible Notes that will mature in March 2025.

In February, May and November 2023, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program up to an aggregate of $400.0 million of our outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock, subject to certain limitations. During fiscal year 2023, we repurchased and subsequently retired 10 million shares of our Class A Common Stock, for an aggregate amount of approximately $315 million. As of December 31, 2023, approximately $85.0 million remained authorized and available under our share repurchase programs for future share repurchases. In February 2024, our board of directors authorized an incremental $150 million share repurchase, subject to certain limitations.

In July 2023, we completed the acquisition of certain assets of Hopin, Inc. (“Hopin”), a virtual events platform. We paid a total purchase price consideration of $22.2 million, which included $14.7 million in cash, and acquisition date fair-value of contingent consideration of $7.5 million, capped at $35.0 million based on the achievement of specified performance targets over multiple years, paid quarterly in cash.

We believe that our operations, existing liquidity sources as well as capital resources and ability to raise cash through additional financing will satisfy our future cash requirements and obligations for at least the next 12 months. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including revenue growth and costs incurred to support customer growth, acquisitions and expansions, sales and marketing, research and development, increased general and administrative expenses to support the anticipated growth in our operations, and capital equipment required to support our headcount and in support of our co-location data center facilities, our interest payments for both our Term Loan and 2030 Senior Notes, the repurchase, repayment or otherwise settlement of a portion of our 2025 Convertible Notes and/or our 2026 Convertible Notes, as well as the impact of the global macroeconomic conditions. Our capital expenditures in future periods are expected to grow in line with our business. We continually evaluate our capital needs and may decide to raise additional capital to fund the growth of our business for general corporate purposes through public or private equity offerings or through additional debt financing. The timing and amount of any such financing requirements will depend on a number of factors, including the maturity dates of our existing debt. We may from time to time seek to refinance certain of our outstanding debt through issuances of new notes or convertible debt, term loans, exchange transactions or repurchases. Such issuances, exchanges or repurchases, if any, will depend on prevailing market conditions, our ability to negotiate acceptable terms, our liquidity position and other factors. There can be no assurance that any financing will be available on acceptable terms due to uncertainties resulting from rising interest rates, higher inflation, economic uncertainty, instability in the banking sector, or other factors, and any additional equity financing would result in incremental ownership dilution to our existing stockholders. In the future, we may also make investments in or acquire businesses or technologies that could require us to seek additional equity or debt financing. Access to additional capital may not be available or on favorable terms. The uncertainty created by the global economic conditions, including concerns about rising inflation and an associated economic downturn, may also impact our customers’ ability to pay on a timely basis, which could negatively impact our operating cash flows.

The table below provides selected cash flow information for the periods indicated (in thousands):

Cash provided by operating activities is driven by the timing of customer collections, as well as the amount and timing of disbursements to our vendors, the amount of cash we invest in personnel, marketing, and infrastructure costs to support the anticipated growth of our business, and payments under strategic arrangements.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $399.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The cash flow from operating activities was driven by timing of cash receipts from customers and global service providers, primarily offset by cash payments for personnel-related costs and to vendors and interest expense on our debt obligations.

Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023, increased by $208.4 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. This change reflects working capital impacts resulting from the timing of payments and collections as well as higher operating margin driven by cost efficiencies.

Our primary investing activities have consisted of our capital expenditures and expenditures for internal-use software, intellectual property assets, and cash paid for business acquisitions.

Net cash used in investing activities was $90.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to capital expenditures including personnel-related costs associated with development of internal-use software of $75.7 million, and net cash paid of $14.7 million to acquire Hopin.

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $3.2 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to net cash paid of $14.7 million to acquire Hopin, partially offset by $10.7 million from lower capital expenditures and costs associated with internal-use software development.

Our primary financing activities have consisted of raising capital through the issuance of stock under our stock plans and incurrence of debt including from the drawdown of our Term Loan in connection with our Credit Agreement, and the offering of our 2030 Senior Notes, offset by repurchases of our Class A Common Stock and the partial repurchase of our Convertible Notes.

Net cash used in financing activities was $358.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to payments of approximately $311.1 million to repurchase and retire 10 million shares of our Class A Common Stock pursuant to our share repurchase program, and $821.0 million paid toward the partial repurchase of our Convertible Notes from $785.7 million of proceeds, net of debt issuance costs, from the issuance of both our Term Loan and 2030 Senior Notes in fiscal year 2023.

Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023, increased by $259.8 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. This decrease was primarily due to higher payments of $211.3 million to repurchase and retire shares of our Class A Common Stock, and $821.0 million paid, including third-party costs for partial repurchase of our

To supplement our statements of cash flows presented on a GAAP basis, we use non-GAAP measures of cash flows to analyze cash flow generated from our operations. We define adjusted, unlevered free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, as GAAP net cash provided by (used in) operating activities adjusted for capital expenditures including purchases of property and equipment and capitalized internal-use software, strategic partnerships, repayment of convertible notes attributable to debt discount, restructuring and other non-recurring payments, and cash paid for interest. We believe information regarding adjusted, unlevered free cash flow provides useful information to management and investors in understanding the strength of liquidity and available cash. A limitation of the use of adjusted, unlevered free cash flow is that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in our cash balance for the period. Adjusted, unlevered free cash flow should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to cash flows from operations and should be considered alongside our other GAAP-based financial liquidity performance measures, such as net cash provided by operating activities and our other GAAP financial results.

The improvement in our adjusted, unlevered free cash flow is driven by operating leverage and efficiencies throughout the business. Our adjusted, unlevered free cash flow generation allows us to employ our capital allocation strategy that includes evaluating organic and inorganic investments, repurchasing shares, and addressing our convertible debt maturities.

The following table presents a reconciliation of adjusted, unlevered free cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, for each of the periods presented (in thousands):

Deferred revenue primarily consists of the unearned portion of monthly or annual invoiced fees for our subscriptions, which we recognize as revenue in accordance with our revenue recognition policy. For customers with multi-year contracts, we generally invoice for only one monthly or annual subscription period in advance. Therefore, our deferred revenue balance does not capture the full contract value of multi-year contracts. Accordingly, we believe that deferred revenue is not a reliable indicator of future revenues and we do not utilize deferred revenue as a key management metric internally.

The following summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2023 (in thousands):

Certain of our agreements with sales agents, resellers and customers include provisions for indemnification against liabilities if our products infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights. To date, we have not incurred any material costs as a result of such indemnification provisions and have not accrued any liabilities related to such obligations in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2023.

We are and may be in the future subject to certain legal proceedings and from time to time may be involved in a variety of claims, lawsuits, investigations, and proceedings relating to contractual disputes, intellectual property rights, employment matters, regulatory compliance matters, and other matters relating to various claims that arise in the normal course of business. We record a provision for a liability when we believe that it is both probable that a liability has been incurred, and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Significant judgment is required to determine both probability and the estimated amount of loss. Such legal proceedings are inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. Should any of these estimates and assumptions change or prove to be incorrect, it could have a significant impact on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by U.S. GAAP and does not require management’s judgment in its application. In other cases, management’s judgment is required in selecting among available alternative accounting standards that provide for different accounting treatment for similar transactions. The preparation of consolidated financial statements also requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts we report as assets, liabilities, revenues, costs, and expenses, and affect the related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. In many instances, we could reasonably use different accounting estimates, and in some instances changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period. Accordingly, our

We primarily derive our revenues from subscriptions, sale of products, and professional services. Subscriptions revenue is generally recognized over the period of the subscription contract. Subscription contracts generally allow the customers to terminate their services at any time during the first 30 to 60 days of the subscription period and are charged for the term of usage. Upon cancellation during the termination period, customers receive a pro-rata refund for any amounts paid. After the end of the termination period, the contract is non-cancellable and the customer is obligated to pay for the remaining term of the contract. For sale of products, revenue is recognized when control is transferred. For professional services, revenue is recognized as and when services are rendered.

For a summary of recent accounting pronouncements and the anticipated effects on our consolidated financial statements, see Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, “Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference.

We are exposed to market risk in the ordinary course of our business. Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. Our market risk exposure is primarily a result of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes.

The majority of our sales and contracts are denominated in U.S. dollars, and therefore our net revenue is not currently subject to significant foreign currency risk. As part of our international operations, we charge customers in British Pounds, European Union (“EU”) Euro, Canadian Dollars and Australian Dollars, among others. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and volatility in the market due to global economic conditions could cause variability in our subscriptions revenues, total revenues, annualized exit monthly recurring subscriptions revenues and operating results. Our operating expenses are generally denominated in the currencies of the countries in which our operations are located, which are primarily in the U.S., and to a lesser extent in Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The functional currency of our foreign subsidiaries is generally the local currency. Our consolidated results of operations and cash flows are, therefore, subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates and may be adversely affected in the future due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. To date, we have not entered into any hedging arrangements with respect to foreign currency risk. During fiscal 2023, a hypothetical 10% change in foreign currency exchange rates applicable to our business would not have had a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. As our international operations continue to expand, risks associated with fluctuating foreign currency rates may increase. We will continue to reassess our approach to managing these risks.

As of December 31, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of $222.2 million. We invest our cash and cash equivalents in short-term money market funds. The carrying amount of our cash equivalents reasonably approximates fair values. Due to the short-term nature of our money-market funds, we believe that exposure to changes in interest rates will not have a material impact on the fair value of our cash equivalents. Interest income may further fluctuate in the future due to interest rate volatility in the current macroeconomic environment. During fiscal year 2023, a hypothetical 10% increase or decrease in overall interest rates would not have had a material impact on our interest income.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $161.3 million and $609.1 million outstanding from our 2025 Convertible Notes and 2026 Convertible Notes, respectively. We carry the Convertible Notes at face value less unamortized discount on our balance sheet, and we present the fair value for required disclosure purposes only. The Convertible Notes have a zero percent fixed annual interest rate and, therefore, we have no economic exposure to changes in interest rates. The fair value of the Convertible Notes is exposed to interest rate risk. Generally, the fair value of our fixed interest rate Convertible Notes will increase as interest rates decline and decrease as interest rates increase. In addition, the fair values of the Convertible Notes are affected by our stock price. The fair value of the Convertible Notes will generally increase as our Class A common stock price increases and will generally decrease as our Class A common stock price decrease in value.

As of December 31, 2023, we had no amounts outstanding under our Revolving Credit Facility and $390.0 million outstanding under our Term Loan under our Credit Agreement. Borrowings under our Credit Agreement will bear interest under a floating rate mechanism, which exposes us to interest-rate risk. To address this risk, we entered into a five-year floating-to-fixed interest rate swap agreement with the objective of reducing exposure to the fluctuating interest rates associated with our variable rate borrowing program by paying a fixed interest rate of 3.79%, plus a margin of 2% to 3%. The interest rate swap agreement was effective beginning June 30, 2023, and terminates on February 14, 2028, consistent with the duration of the maturity of the Term Loan. Our interest rate swap agreement is designated as cash flow hedge and highly effective in offsetting changes in our future expected cash flows due to the fluctuation of our variable rate debt.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $400.0 million outstanding under our 2030 Senior Notes. The 2030 Senior Notes have fixed annual interest rates, and therefore we do not have economic interest rate exposure on these debt obligations. However, the fair values of the 2030 Senior Notes are exposed to interest rate risk. Generally, the fair values of the Senior Notes will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise.

We do not believe that inflation has had a material effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition. Nonetheless, if our costs in connection with the operation of our business were to become subject to significant inflationary pressures, we may not be able to fully offset such higher costs through price increases. Our inability or failure to do so could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

/s/ KPMG LLP

February 22, 2024