Novanta Inc

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including the factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, which could adversely affect our business, financial conditions and future results. Other than the risk factor set forth below, there have been no material changes from the risk factors discussed in our Annual Report.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on our customers businesses, capital expenditures and levels of business activities.

A large portion of our product sales are dependent on our customers need for increased capacity, productivity and cost saving initiatives, improved product quality and performance, and new investments. Weaknesses in our end markets could negatively impact our revenue and gross margin and consequently have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. A severe and/or prolonged overall economic downturn or a negative or uncertain political climate could lead to weaknesses in our end markets and adversely affect our customers financial condition and the timing or levels of our customers capital expenditures or business activities. We have experienced significant cyclical end market fluctuations in the past. For example, diminished growth expectations, economic and political uncertainty in regions across the globe and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted our customers financial condition and ability to maintain product order levels and reduced the demand for our products in 2020, and other pandemics and public health crises could have similar consequences. Political conditions, including new and changing laws or tariffs, regulations, government funding, executive orders and enforcement priorities, may impact customer budgets and create uncertainty about how such laws and regulations will be interpreted and applied, which may impact customer demand and adversely impact our business. For example, changes in the regulatory environment affecting life sciences, bioprocessing, and pharmaceutical companies, and reduced headcount and budget allocations to government agencies that fund research and development activities, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), or targeted headcount reductions or cancellations of certain grants or contracts by the U.S. federal government, could adversely affect our business or results of operations. In addition, certain sub-segments of the advanced industrial market that we serve, including the microelectronics and industrial capital equipment sector, are cyclical and have historically experienced periods of oversupply, resulting in downturns in demand for capital equipment in which many of our products are used. It is difficult to predict the timing, length and severity of these downturns and their impact on our business. Further, our order levels or results of operations for a given period may not be indicative of order levels or results of operations for subsequent periods. For the foreseeable future, our operations will continue to depend upon industries that are subject to market cycles which, in turn, could adversely affect the market demand for our products. 

We have also faced increases in inflationary conditions in materials and components. These inflationary conditions have caused us to increase prices; however, such price increases may not be accepted by our customers or may not adequately offset the increases in our costs, thereby negatively affecting our results of operations. Changes in global economic conditions, including inflationary conditions, could also shift demand for products or services for which we do not have competitive advantages. This could negatively affect the amount of business that we are able to obtain. In addition, if we are unable to successfully anticipate changes in economic and political conditions, we may be unable to effectively plan for and respond to those changes, and our business could be negatively affected.

37