Sprint - Nextel 2015 Annual Report Download - page 19

Table of Contents
The trading price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, volatile and may not reflect our actual operations and performance.
Market and industry factors may adversely impact the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operations and performance. Stock
price volatility and sustained decreases in our share price could subject our stockholders to losses and may adversely impact our ability to issue equity. The trading
price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, subject to fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control,
including, but not limited to:
• market and pricing risks due to concentrated ownership of our stock;
• the ability to raise additional capital through the issuance of additional debt or equity or otherwise, including the cost and availability or perceived
availability of additional capital;
• announcements by us or our competitors, or market speculation, of acquisitions, spectrum acquisitions, new products, technologies, significant
contracts, commercial relationships, or capital commitments;
• the performance of SoftBank and SoftBank’s ordinary shares or speculation about the possibility of future actions SoftBank may take in
connection with us;
• disruption to our operations or those of other companies critical to our network operations;
• our ability to develop and market new and enhanced technologies, products and services on a timely and cost-effective basis, including any
network improvement efforts;
• recommendations by securities analysts or changes in their estimates concerning us;
• changes in the ratings of our debt by rating agencies;
• litigation;
• changes in governmental actions, regulations, or approvals; and
• perceptions of general market conditions in the technology and communications industries, the U.S. economy, and global market conditions.
We have entered into, or may enter into, agreements with various parties for certain business operations. Any difficulties experienced by us in these
arrangements could result in additional expense, loss of subscribers and revenue, interruption of our services, or a delay in the roll-out of new technology.
We have entered into, and may in the future enter into, agreements with various third parties for the day-to-day execution of services, provisioning,
maintenance, modernization, and densification of our wireless and wireline networks, including the permitting, building, installation, and ownership of certain
portions of our new network densification; leases and subleases for space on communications towers; the development and maintenance of certain systems
necessary for the operation of our business; customer service, related support to our wireless subscribers, outsourcing aspects of our wireline network and back
office functions; and to provide network equipment, handsets, devices, and other equipment. For example, we depend heavily on local access facilities obtained
from incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to serve our data and voice subscribers, and payments to ILECs for these facilities are a significant cost of service
for our Wireline segment. We also expect our dependence on key suppliers to continue as more advanced technologies are developed, which may lead to additional
significant costs. If our key vendors fail to meet their contractual obligations or experience financial difficulty, or if we fail to adequately diversify our reliance
among vendors, we may experience disruptions to our business operations or incur significant costs implementing alternative arrangements.
The products and services utilized by us and our suppliers and service providers may infringe on intellectual property rights owned by others.
Some of our products and services use intellectual property that we own. We also purchase products from suppliers, including device suppliers, and
outsource services to service providers, including billing and customer care functions, that incorporate or utilize intellectual property. We and some of our
suppliers and service providers have received, and may receive in the future, assertions and claims from third parties that the products or software utilized by us or
our suppliers and service providers infringe on the patents or other intellectual property rights of these third parties. These claims could require us or an infringing
supplier or service provider to cease certain activities or to cease selling the relevant products and services. These claims can be time-consuming and costly to
defend and divert management resources. If these claims are successful, we could be forced to pay significant damages or stop selling certain products or services
or stop using certain trademarks, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
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