FORM 10-K

12 Demand for our aircraft products is cyclical and could adversely affect our financial results. Demand for business jets, turbo props and commercial helicopters has been cyclical and difficult to forecast. Therefore, future demand for these products could be significantly and unexpectedly less than anticipated and/or less than previous period deliveries. Similarly, there is uncertainty as to when or whether our existing commercial backlog for aircraft products will convert to revenues as the conversion depends on production capacity, customer needs and credit availability. Changes in economic conditions may cause customers to request that firm orders be rescheduled or cancelled. Reduced demand for our aircraft products or delays or cancellations of orders could result in a material adverse effect on our cash flows, results of operations and financial condition. We may make acquisitions that increase the risks of our business. We may enter into acquisitions in an effort to expand our business and enhance shareholder value. Acquisitions involve risks and uncertainties that could result in our not achieving expected benefits. Such risks include difficulties in integrating newly acquired businesses and operations in an efficient and cost-effective manner; challenges in achieving expected strategic objectives, cost savings and other benefits; the risk that the acquired businesses’ markets do not evolve as anticipated and that the acquired businesses’ products and technologies do not prove to be those needed to be successful in those markets; the risk that our due diligence reviews of the acquired business do not identify or adequately assess all of the material issues which impact valuation of the business or that may result in costs or liabilities in excess of what we anticipated; the risk that we pay a purchase price that exceeds what the future results of operations would have merited; the risk that the acquired business may have significant internal control deficiencies or exposure to regulatory sanctions; and the potential loss of key customers, suppliers and employees of the acquired businesses. In addition, unanticipated delays or difficulties in effecting acquisitions may prevent the consummation of the acquisition or divert the attention of our management and resources from our existing operations. If our Finance segment is unable to maintain portfolio credit quality, our financial performance could be adversely affected. A key determinant of the financial performance of our Finance segment is the quality of loans, leases and other assets in its portfolio. Portfolio quality may be adversely affected by several factors, including finance receivable underwriting procedures, collateral value, geographic or industry concentrations, and the effect of general economic conditions. In addition, a substantial number of the new originations in our finance receivable portfolio are cross-border transactions for aircraft sold outside of the U.S. Cross-border transactions present additional challenges and risks in realizing upon collateral in the event of borrower default, which may result in difficulty or delay in collecting on the related finance receivables. If our Finance segment has difficulty successfully collecting its finance receivable portfolio, our cash flow, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. We may need to obtain financing in the future; such financing may not be available to us on satisfactory terms, if at all. We may periodically need to obtain financing in order to meet our debt obligations as they come due, to support our operations and/or to make acquisitions. Our access to the debt capital markets and the cost of borrowings are affected by a number of factors including market conditions and the strength of our credit ratings. If we cannot obtain adequate sources of credit on favorable terms, or at all, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected. Failure to perform by our subcontractors or suppliers could adversely affect our performance. We rely on other companies to provide raw materials, major components and subsystems for our products. Subcontractors also perform services that we provide to our customers in certain circumstances. We depend on these suppliers and subcontractors to meet our contractual obligations to our customers and conduct our operations. Our ability to meet our obligations to our customers may be adversely affected if suppliers or subcontractors do not provide the agreed-upon supplies or perform the agreed-upon services in compliance with customer requirements and in a timely and cost-effective manner. Likewise, the quality of our products may be adversely impacted if companies to whom we delegate manufacture of major components or subsystems for our products, or from whom we acquire such items, do not provide components or subsystems which meet required specifications and perform to our and our customers’ expectations. Our suppliers may be less likely than us to be able to quickly recover from natural disasters and other events beyond their control and may be subject to additional risks such as financial problems that limit their ability to conduct their operations. The risk of these adverse effects may be greater in circumstances where we rely on only one or two subcontractors or suppliers for a particular raw material, product or service. In particular, in the aircraft industry, most vendor parts are certified by the regulatory agencies as part of the overall Type Certificate for the aircraft being produced by the manufacturer. If a vendor does not or cannot supply its parts, then the manufacturer’s production line may be stopped until the manufacturer can design, manufacture and certify a similar part itself or identify and certify another similar vendor’s part, resulting in significant delays in the completion of aircraft. Such events may adversely affect our financial results, damage our reputation and relationships with our customers, and result in regulatory actions and/or litigation. Our business could be negatively impacted by information technology disruptions and security threats. Our information technology (IT) and related systems are critical to the smooth operation of our business and essential to our ability to perform day to day operations. From time to time, we update and/or replace IT systems used by our businesses. The implementation of new systems can present temporary disruptions of business activities as existing processes are transitioned to the new systems, resulting in productivity issues, including delays in production, shipments or other business operations. In addition,