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ITEM 2.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
In accordance with the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we
provide the following cautionary remarks regarding important factors
that, among others, could cause future results
to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, expectations and assumptions
expressed or implied
herein.
All forward-looking statements made by us are subject to
risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of
future performance.
These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements
or industry results to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking
statements.
These statements are generally identified by the use of such
terms as “may,” “could,” “expect,”
“intend,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “anticipate,”
“to be,” “to make” or other comparable
terms.
Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited
to, those discussed in
the documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), including our Annual Report on Form
10-K.
Forward looking statements include the overall impact of the Novel Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
on us, our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition (including
any estimates of the impact on these
items), the rate and consistency with which dental and other practices
resume or maintain normal operations in the
United States and internationally, expectations regarding PPE products and COVID-19 related product sales and
inventory levels, whether additional resurgences or variants of the virus will adversely impact
the resumption of
normal operations, whether supply chain disruptions will adversely impact
our business, the impact of integration
and restructuring programs as well as of any future acquisitions, general economic
conditions including exchange
rates, inflation and recession, and more generally current expectations
regarding performance in current and future
periods.
Forward looking statements also include the (i) our ability to
have continued access to a variety of
COVID-19 test types and expectations regarding COVID-19
test sales, demand and inventory levels and (ii)
potential for us to distribute the COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary supplies.
Risk factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current
and historical results
include, but are not limited to: risks associated with COVID-19
and any variants thereof, as well as other disease
outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics, or similar wide-spread public health concerns
and other natural disasters; our
dependence on third parties for the manufacture and supply of our products;
our ability to develop or acquire and
maintain and protect new products (particularly technology products) and
technologies that achieve market
acceptance with acceptable margins; transitional challenges associated with acquisitions,
dispositions and joint
ventures, including the failure to achieve anticipated synergies/benefits; legal, regulatory, compliance,
cybersecurity, financial and tax risks associated with acquisitions, dispositions and joint ventures; certain provisions
in our governing documents that may discourage third-party acquisitions
of us; adverse changes in supplier rebates
or other purchasing incentives; risks related to the sale of corporate brand products;
effects of a highly competitive
(including, without limitation, competition from third-party online commerce
sites) and consolidating market; the
repeal or judicial prohibition on implementation of the Affordable Care Act; changes in the health
care industry;
risks from expansion of customer purchasing power and multi-tiered
costing structures; increases in shipping costs
for our products or other service issues with our third-party shippers; general
global and domestic macro-economic
and political conditions, including inflation, deflation, recession, fluctuations
in energy pricing and the value of the
U.S. dollar as compared to foreign currencies, and changes to other economic
indicators, international trade
agreements, potential trade barriers and terrorism; failure to comply with existing
and future regulatory
requirements; risks associated with the EU Medical Device Regulation; failure
to comply with laws and regulations
relating to health care fraud or other laws and regulations;
failure to comply with laws and regulations relating to
the collection, storage and processing of sensitive personal information
or standards in electronic health records or
transmissions; changes in tax legislation; risks related to product liability, intellectual property and other claims;
litigation risks;
new or unanticipated litigation developments and the status of litigation
matters; risks associated
with customs policies or legislative import restrictions; cyberattacks
or other privacy or data security breaches; risks
associated with our global operations; our dependence on our senior management,
employee hiring and retention,
and our relationships with customers, suppliers and manufacturers;
and disruptions in financial markets.
The order
in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their
relative importance or priority.