America Online 2009 Annual Report Download - page 31

Table of Contents
Our historical financial information is not necessarily representative of the results we would have achieved as an independent, publicly-traded company
and may not be a reliable indicator of our future results.
The historical financial information we have included in this Annual Report may not reflect what our results of operations, financial position and cash
flows would have been had we been an independent, publicly-traded company during the periods presented, or what our results of operations, financial
position and cash flows will be in the future as an independent company. This is primarily because:
• we have entered into transactions with Time Warner that either have not existed historically or that are on different terms than the terms of
arrangements or agreements that existed prior to the spin-off;
• our historical financial information reflects allocations for certain services historically provided to us by Time Warner that may not reflect the
costs we will incur for similar services in the future as an independent company; and
• our historical financial information does not reflect changes that we expect to experience in the future as a result of our separation from Time
Warner, including changes in the cost structure, personnel needs, financing and operations of our business.
We are responsible for the additional costs associated with being an independent, publicly-traded company, including costs related to corporate
governance and public reporting. Therefore, our financial statements may not be indicative of our future performance as an independent company. For
additional information about our past financial performance and the basis of presentation of our financial statements, see "Item 6—Selected Financial Data,"
"Item 7—Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our accompanying consolidated financial statements
and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
We may have been able to receive better terms from unaffiliated third parties than the terms we receive in our agreements with Time Warner.
The agreements related to our separation from Time Warner, including the Separation and Distribution Agreement, Transition Services Agreement,
Second Tax Matters Agreement, Employee Matters Agreement, Intellectual Property Cross-License Agreement, IT Applications and Database Agreement,
Master Services Agreement for ATDN and Hosting Services and any other agreements, were negotiated in the context of our separation from Time Warner
while we were still part of Time Warner. Accordingly, these agreements may not reflect terms that would have resulted from arm's-length negotiations among
unaffiliated third parties. The terms of the agreements entered into in the context of our separation are related to, among other things, allocations of assets,
liabilities, rights, indemnifications and other obligations among Time Warner and us. We may have received better terms from third parties because third
parties may have competed with each other to win our business. See "Note 13: Related Party Transactions" in our accompanying consolidated financial
statements for further information on the ongoing relationship with Time Warner.
Risks Relating to our Common Stock and the Securities Market
Our stock price may fluctuate significantly.
Our stock price may fluctuate significantly depending on many factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including:
• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results due to factors related to our business;
• success or failure of our business strategy;
• our quarterly or annual earnings, or those of other companies in our industry;
27