Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Investing in our Class A common stock involves a high degree of risk. Investors should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information contained in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing in this annual report, before deciding to invest in our Class A common stock. If any of the following risks actually occur, it could harm our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. In such event, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline and investors might lose all or part of their investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We have experienced rapid growth in recent periods, and we may not be able to sustain or manage future growth effectively.

We have significantly expanded our overall business, customer base, headcount, channel partner relationships and operations in recent periods, and we anticipate that we will continue to expand and may experience rapid growth in future periods. For example, from January 31, 2014 to January 31, 2015, our headcount increased from over 350 to over 800 employees, and to over 1,300 employees as of January 31, 2016. Our future operating results will depend to a large extent on our ability to successfully manage our anticipated expansion and growth. To manage our growth successfully, we believe that we must, among other things, effectively:

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We expect that our future growth will continue to place a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, operational, financial and other resources. We will incur costs associated with this future growth prior to realizing the anticipated benefits, and the return on these investments may be lower, may develop more slowly than we expect or may never materialize. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, we may not be able to take advantage of market opportunities or develop new products or enhancements to existing products in a timely manner, and we may fail to satisfy customers’ expectations, maintain product quality, execute on our business plan or adequately respond to competitive pressures, each of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We intend to continue focusing on revenue growth and increasing our market penetration and international presence at the expense of near-term profitability by investing heavily in our business.

Our strategy is to increase our investments in marketing, sales, support and research and development at the expense of near-term profitability. We believe our decision to continue investing heavily in our business will be critical to our future success. We anticipate that our operating costs and expenses will increase substantially for the foreseeable future. In addition, we expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. Even if we achieve significant revenue growth, we may continue to experience losses, similar or greater than to those we have incurred historically.

We have not achieved profitability for any fiscal year since our inception. We incurred a net loss of approximately $213.8 million for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2016, and we had an accumulated deficit of $563.4 million as of January 31, 2016. Our operating expenses largely are based on anticipated revenue, and a high percentage of our expenses are, and will continue to be, fixed in the short term. If we fail to adequately increase revenue and manage costs, we may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future. As a result, our business could be harmed and our operating results could suffer.

We have a limited operating history, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict.

We were founded in October 2009, but have generated substantially all of our revenue in the fiscal years ended January 31, 2014 and later. We have a limited operating history in an industry characterized by rapid technological change, changing customer needs, evolving industry standards and frequent introductions of new products and services. Our limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and our future prospects, including our ability to plan for and model future growth. All of these factors make our future operating results difficult to predict, which may impair our ability to manage our business and reduce investors’ ability to assess our prospects.

Investors should not consider our revenue growth in prior quarterly or annual periods as indicative of our future performance. In future periods, we do not expect to achieve similar percentage revenue growth rates as we have achieved in some past periods. If we are unable to maintain adequate revenue or revenue growth, our stock price could be volatile, and it may be difficult to achieve and maintain profitability.

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The market for all-flash storage products is rapidly evolving, which makes it difficult to forecast customer adoption rates and demand for our p roducts.

The market for all-flash storage products is rapidly evolving. As a result, our future financial performance will depend on the continued growth of this market and on our ability to adapt to competitive dynamics and emerging customer demands and trends. Sales of our products are currently focused on use cases that require performance storage products such as virtualization and transaction processing. Many of our target customers have never purchased all-flash storage products and may not have the desire or available budget to invest in a new technology such as ours. It is difficult to predict with any precision customer adoption rates, customer demand for our products or the future growth rate and size of our market. Our products may never reach mass adoption, and changes or advances in alternative technologies or adoption of cloud storage offerings not utilizing our storage platform could adversely affect the demand for our products. For instance, offerings from large-scale cloud providers are expanding quickly and may serve as alternatives to our products for a variety of customer workloads. Since these providers are known for developing storage systems internally, this trend could reduce the demand for storage systems developed by original equipment manufacturers, such as us. Further, although flash storage has a number of advantages as compared to other data storage alternatives, such as hard disk drives, flash storage has certain limitations as well, including a higher price per gigabyte of raw storage, more limited methods for data recovery and reduced performance gains for certain uses, such as sequential input/output, or I/O, transactions. A slowing in or reduced demand for all-flash storage products caused by lack of customer acceptance, technological challenges, alternative technologies and products or otherwise would result in a lower revenue growth rate or decreased revenue, either of which would negatively impact our business and operating results.

We face intense competition from a number of established companies and new entrants.

We face intense competition from a number of established companies that sell competitive storage products. These competitors include Dell, EMC, HP Enterprise, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, Lenovo and NetApp. These competitors, as well as other potential competitors, may have:

We also face competition from a number of other companies, one or more of which may become significant competitors in the future. For example, some cloud providers are expanding quickly, and their offerings could, if we are unable to effectively sell to these providers, displace demand for our storage products. New competitors could emerge and acquire significant market share. The spinoff of HP Enterprise, the acquisition of SolidFire by NetApp and the pending acquisition of EMC by Dell will introduce new competitive dynamics.  All of our competitors may utilize a broad range of competitive strategies. For example, some of our competitors have offered bundled products and services in order to reduce the initial cost of their storage products. Our competitors may also choose to adopt more aggressive pricing policies than we choose to adopt. Some of our competitors have offered their products either at significant discounts or even for free in response to our efforts to market the overall benefits and technological merits of our products.

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Many competitors have developed competing all-flash or hybrid storage technologies. For example, several of our competitors have introduced all-flash storage products with performance-focused designs and/or with data reduction technologies that directly compete with our product s. We expect our competitors to continue to improve the performance of their products, reduce their prices and introduce new services and technologies that may, or that they may claim to, offer greater performance and improved total cost of ownership as co mpared to our products. In addition, our competitors may develop enhancements to, or future generations of, competitive products that may render our products or technologies obsolete or less competitive. These and other competitive pressures may prevent us from competing successfully against current or future competitors.

Many of our established competitors have long-standing relationships with key decision makers at many of our current and prospective customers, which may inhibit our ability to compete effectively and maintain or increase our market share.

Many of our competitors benefit from established brand awareness and long-standing relationships with key decision makers at many of our current and prospective customers. We expect that our competitors will seek to leverage these existing relationships to discourage customers from purchasing our products. In particular, when competing against us, we expect our competitors to emphasize the perceived risks of relying on products from a company with a shorter operating history. Additionally, most of our prospective customers have existing storage systems manufactured by our competitors. This gives an incumbent competitor an advantage in retaining the customer because the incumbent competitor already understands the customer’s network infrastructure, user demands and IT needs. In the event that we are unable to successfully sell our products to new customers or persuade our customers from continuing to purchase our products, we may not be able to maintain or increase our market share and revenue, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our ability to increase our revenue will substantially depend on our ability to attract, motivate and retain sales, engineering and other key personnel, including our management team, and any failure to attract, motivate and retain these employees could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our ability to increase our revenue will substantially depend on our ability to attract and retain qualified sales, engineering and other key employees, including our management. These positions may require candidates with specific backgrounds in software and the storage industry, and competition for employees with such expertise is intense. Our ability to attract, motivate or retain employees may be reduced, as the value of our stock fluctuates and as our employees have the opportunity to sell their equity in the future. We may not be successful in attracting, motivating and retaining qualified personnel. We have from time to time experienced, and we expect to continue to experience, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications. To the extent that we are successful in hiring to fill these positions, we need a significant amount of time to train the new employees before they can become effective and efficient in performing their jobs. From time to time, there may be changes in our management team resulting from the hiring or departure of those individuals. Members of our management team, including our executive officers, are generally employed on an at-will basis, which means that they could terminate their employment with us at any time. If we are unable to attract, motivate and retain qualified sales, engineering and other key employees, including our management, our business and operating results could suffer.

If we fail to adequately expand our sales force our growth will be impeded.

We will need to continue to expand and optimize our sales infrastructure in order to grow our customer base and our business. We plan to continue to expand our sales force, both domestically and internationally. Identifying, recruiting and training qualified sales personnel require significant time, expense and attention. It can take time before our sales representatives are fully trained and productive. Our business may be adversely affected if our efforts to expand and train our sales force do not generate a corresponding increase in revenue. In particular, if we are unable to hire, develop and retain qualified sales personnel or if new sales personnel are unable to achieve desired productivity levels in a reasonable period of time, we may not be able to realize the expected benefits of this investment or increase our revenue.

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If we fail to develop and introduce new or enhanced products on a timely basis, our ability to attract and retain customers could be impaired and our competitive position could be harmed.

We operate in a dynamic environment characterized by rapidly changing technologies and industry standards and technological obsolescence. To compete successfully, we must design, develop, market and sell new or enhanced products that provide increasingly higher levels of performance, capacity and reliability and that meet the cost expectations of our customers, which is a complex and uncertain process. The introduction of new products by our competitors, the market acceptance of products based on new or alternative technologies or the emergence of new industry standards could render our existing or future products obsolete or less competitive. As we introduce new or enhanced products, we must successfully manage product launches and transitions to the next generations of our products. For example, in March 2016, we announced our new FlashArray//m10 and FlashBlade products. If we are not able to successfully manage the development and release of these products, our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed. Similarly, if we fail to introduce new or enhanced products that meet the needs of our customers in a timely or cost-effective fashion, we will lose market share and our operating results will be adversely affected.

Our research and development efforts may not produce successful products that result in significant revenue in the near future, if at all.

Developing new products and related enhancements is expensive and time intensive. Our investments in research and development may result in products that may not achieve market adoption, are more expensive to develop than anticipated, may take longer to generate revenue or may generate less revenue than we anticipate. Our future plans include significant investments in research and development for new products and related opportunities. We believe that we must continue to dedicate significant resources to our research and development efforts to maintain or expand our competitive position. However, these efforts may not result in significant revenue in the near future, if at all, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

If we fail to successfully maintain or grow our relationships with channel partners, our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

Our future success is highly dependent upon our ability to establish and maintain successful relationships with a variety of channel partners in markets where we do not have a large direct sales force or direct customer support personnel. In addition to selling our products, our partners may offer installation, post-sale service and support on our behalf in their local markets. In markets where we rely on partners more heavily, we have less contact with our customers and less control over the sales process and the quality and responsiveness of our partners. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to ensure the proper delivery and installation of our products or the quality or responsiveness of the support and services being offered. Any failure on our part to effectively identify, train and manage our channel partners and to monitor their sales activity, as well as the customer support and services being provided to our customers in their local markets, could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our channel partners may choose to discontinue offering our products and services or may not devote sufficient attention and resources toward selling our products and services. We typically enter into non-exclusive, written agreements with our channel partners. These agreements generally have a one-year, self-renewing term, have no minimum sales commitment and do not prohibit our channel partners from offering products and services that compete with ours. Accordingly, our channel partners may choose to discontinue offering our products and services or may not devote sufficient attention and resources toward selling our products and services. Additionally, our competitors may provide incentives to our existing and potential channel partners to use, purchase or offer their products and services or to prevent or reduce sales of our products and services. The occurrence of any of these events could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

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Our gross margins are impacted by a variety of factors, are subject to variation from period to period and are difficult to predict.

Our gross margins fluctuate from period to period due primarily to product costs, customer mix and product mix. Over the fiscal year ended January 31, 2016, our quarterly gross margins ranged from 58% to 65%. Our gross margins are likely to continue to fluctuate and may be affected by a variety of factors, including:

Due to such factors, gross margins are subject to variation from period to period and are difficult to predict. If we are unable to manage these factors effectively, our gross margins may decline, and fluctuations in gross margins may make it difficult to manage our business and achieve or maintain profitability, which could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which could make our future results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations.

Our operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. Investors should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance. If our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of investors or any securities analysts that follow our company, the price of our Class A common stock would likely decline.

Factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause our operating results to fluctuate include:

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The occurrence of any one of these risks could negatively affect our operating results in any particular quarter, which could cause the price of our Class A common stock to decline.

Our sales cycles can be long and unpredictable, particularly with respect to large orders, and our sales efforts require considerable time and expense. As a result, it can be difficult for us to predict when, if ever, a particular customer will choose to purchase our products, which may cause our operating results to fluctuate.

Our sales efforts involve educating our customers about the use and benefits of our products, including their technical capabilities and cost saving potential. Larger customers often undertake an evaluation and testing process that can result in a lengthy sales cycle. We spend substantial time and resources on our sales efforts without any assurance that our efforts will produce any sales. In addition, product purchases are frequently subject to budget constraints, multiple approvals and unplanned administrative, processing and other delays. A substantial portion of our quarterly sales typically occurs during the last several weeks of the quarter, which we believe largely reflects customer buying patterns of products similar to ours and other products in the technology industry generally. Since we do not recognize revenue from a sale until title is transferred for the product, if we have a substantial portion of our sales at the end of a quarter, we may be unable to transfer title and recognize the associated revenue in that quarter. Furthermore, our products come with a 30-day money back guarantee, allowing a customer to return a FlashArray product within 30 days of receipt if the customer is not satisfied with its purchase for any reason. In addition, a portion of our sales in any quarter is generated by sales activity initiated during the quarter. These factors, among others, make it difficult for us to predict when customers may purchase our products. We may expend significant resources on an opportunity without ever achieving a sale, which may adversely affect our operating results and cause our operating results to fluctuate. In addition, if sales expected from a specific customer for a particular quarter are not realized in that quarter or at all, our operating results may suffer.

Our company culture has contributed to our success, and if we cannot maintain this culture as we grow, we could lose the innovation, creativity and teamwork fostered by our culture, and our business may be harmed.

We believe that a critical contributor to our success has been our company culture, which we believe fosters innovation, creativity, teamwork, passion for customers and focus on execution, as well as facilitating critical knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing. As we grow and change, we may find it difficult to maintain these important aspects of our company culture, which could limit our ability to innovate and operate effectively. Any failure to preserve our culture could also negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel, continue to perform at current levels or execute on our business strategy.

Because our long-term success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the sales of our products to customers located outside of the United States, our business is susceptible to risks associated with international operations.

We maintain operations outside of the United States. We have been expanding and intend to continue to expand these operations in the future. We have limited experience operating in foreign jurisdictions. Our inexperience in operating our business outside of the United States increases the risk that our international expansion efforts may not be successful. In addition, conducting and expanding international operations subjects us to new risks that we have not generally faced in the United States. These include:

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The occurrence of any one of these risks could negatively affect our international operations and, consequently, our business, operating results and financial condition generally.

The sales prices of our products and services may decrease, which may reduce our gross profits and adversely impact our financial results.

The sales prices for our products and services may decline for a variety of reasons, including competitive pricing pressures, discounts, a change in our mix of products and services, the introduction of competing products or services or promotional programs. Competition continues to increase in the markets in which we participate, and we expect competition to further increase in the future, thereby leading to increased pricing pressures. Larger competitors with more diverse product and service offerings may reduce the price of products or services that compete with ours or may bundle them with other products and services. Additionally, although we price our products and services predominantly in U.S. dollars, currency fluctuations in certain countries and regions may negatively impact actual prices that partners and customers are willing to pay in those countries and regions. Furthermore, we anticipate that the sales prices for our products will decrease over product life cycles. We cannot assure investors that we will be successful in developing and introducing new offerings with enhanced functionality on a timely basis, or that our new product and services offerings, if introduced, will enable us to maintain or improve our gross margins and achieve profitability.

We derive substantially all of our revenue from a single family of products, and a decline in demand for these products would cause our revenue to grow more slowly or to decline.

Our FlashArray family of products accounts for nearly all of our revenue and will continue to comprise a significant portion of our revenue for the foreseeable future. As a result, our revenue could be reduced by:

If the market for all-flash storage products grows more slowly than anticipated or if demand for our products declines, we may not be able to increase our revenue or achieve and maintain profitability.

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Our products are highly technical and may contain undetected defects, which could cause data unavailability, loss or corruption that might, in turn, result in liab ility to our customers and harm to our reputation and business.

Our products are highly technical and complex and are often used to store information critical to our customers’ business operations. Our products may contain undetected errors, defects or security vulnerabilities that could result in data unavailability, loss, corruption or other harm to our customers. Some errors in our products may only be discovered after they have been installed and used by customers. Any errors, defects or security vulnerabilities discovered in our products after commercial release could result in a loss of revenue or delay in revenue recognition, injury to our reputation, a loss of customers or increased service and warranty costs, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. In addition, errors or failures in the products of third-party technology vendors may be attributed to us and may harm our reputation.

We could face claims for product liability, tort or breach of warranty. Many of our contracts with customers contain provisions relating to warranty disclaimers and liability limitations, which may be difficult to enforce. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, would be costly and might divert management’s attention and adversely affect the market’s perception of us and our products. Our business liability insurance coverage could prove inadequate with respect to a claim and future coverage may be unavailable on acceptable terms or at all. These product-related issues could result in claims against us, and our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

Our brand name and our business may be harmed by the marketing strategies of our competitors.

Because of the early stage of our business, we believe that building and maintaining brand recognition and customer goodwill is critical to our success. Our efforts in this area have, on occasion, been hampered by the marketing efforts of our competitors, which have included statements about us and our products. If we are unable to effectively respond to the marketing efforts of our competitors and protect our brand and customer goodwill now or in the future, our business will be adversely affected.

Our products must interoperate with third party operating systems, software applications and hardware, and if we are unable to devote the necessary resources to ensure that our products interoperate with such software and hardware, we may lose or fail to increase our market share and may experience reduced demand for our products.

Our products must interoperate with our customers’ existing infrastructure, specifically their networks, servers, software and operating systems, which may be manufactured by a wide variety of vendors. When new or updated versions of these software operating systems or applications are introduced, we must sometimes develop updated versions of our software so that our products will interoperate properly. For example, our Pure1 cloud-based management and support includes connectors to virtualization platforms, allowing our customers to manage the FlashArray from within native management tools, such as VMware and OpenStack. We may not deliver or maintain interoperability quickly, cost-effectively or at all. These efforts require capital investment and engineering resources. If we fail to maintain compatibility of our products with these infrastructure components, our customers may not be able to fully utilize our products, and we may, among other consequences, lose or fail to increase our market share and experience reduced demand for our products, which may harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our products must conform to industry standards in order to be accepted by customers in our markets.

Generally, our products comprise only a part of a data center. The servers, network, software and other components and systems of a data center must comply with established industry standards in order to interoperate and function efficiently together. We depend on companies that provide other systems in a data center to conform to prevailing industry standards. Often, these companies are significantly larger and more influential in driving industry standards than we are. Some industry standards may not be widely adopted or implemented uniformly, and competing standards may emerge that may be preferred by our customers. If larger companies do not conform to the same industry standards that we do, or if competing standards emerge, market acceptance of our products could be adversely affected, which may harm our business.

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Our ability to successfully market and sell our products is dependent in part on ease of use and the quality of our support offerings, and any failure to offer high-quality installation and technical support could harm our business.

Once our products are deployed within our customers’ data centers, customers depend on our support organization to resolve technical issues relating to our products. Our ability to provide effective support is largely dependent on our ability to attract, train and retain qualified personnel, as well as to engage with qualified support partners that provide a similar level of customer support. In addition, our sales process is highly dependent on our product and business reputation and on recommendations from our existing customers. Although our products are designed to be interoperable with existing servers and systems, we may need to provide customized installation and configuration support to our customers before our products become fully operational in their environments. Any failure to maintain, or a market perception that we do not maintain, high-quality installation and technical support could harm our reputation, our ability to sell our products to existing and prospective customers and our business.

We rely on contract manufacturers to manufacture our products, and if we fail to manage our relationship with our contract manufacturers successfully, our business could be negatively impacted.

We rely on a limited number of contract manufacturers to manufacture our products. Our reliance on contract manufacturers reduces our control over the assembly process, and exposes us to risks, such as reduced control over quality assurance, costs and product supply. If we fail to manage our relationships with these contract manufacturers effectively, or if these contract manufacturers experience delays, disruptions, capacity constraints or quality control problems, our ability to timely ship products to our customers could be impaired and our competitive position and reputation could be harmed. If we are required to change contract manufacturers or assume internal manufacturing operations, we may lose revenue, incur increased costs and damage our customer relationships. Qualifying a new contract manufacturer and commencing production is expensive and time-consuming. We may need to increase our component purchases, contract manufacturing capacity and internal test and quality functions if we experience increased demand. The inability of our contract manufacturers to provide us with adequate supplies of high-quality products could cause a delay in our order fulfillment, and our business, operating results and financial condition may be harmed.

We rely on a limited number of suppliers, and in some cases single-source suppliers, and any disruption or termination of these supply arrangements could delay shipments of our products and could harm our relationships with current and prospective customers.

We rely on a limited number of suppliers, and in some cases, on single-source suppliers, for several key components of our products, and we have not generally entered into agreements for the long-term purchase of these components. For example, the CPUs utilized in our products are supplied by Intel Corporation (“Intel”), and neither we nor our contract manufacturers have an agreement with Intel for the procurement of these CPUs. Instead, we purchase the CPUs either directly from Intel or through a reseller on a purchase order basis. Intel or its resellers could stop selling to us at any time or could raise their prices without notice. This reliance on a limited number of suppliers and the lack of any guaranteed sources of supply exposes us to several risks, including:

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As a result of these risks, we cannot assure investors that we will be able to obtain enough of these key components in the future or that the cost of these components will not increase. If our supply of components is disrupted or delayed, or if we need to replace our existing suppliers, there can be no assurance that additional components will be available when required or that components w ill be available on terms that are favorable to us, which could extend our lead times, increase the costs of our components and harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Even if we are successful in growing our business, we may not be a ble to continue to procure components at reasonable prices, which may require us to enter into longer-term contracts with component suppliers to obtain these components at competitive prices. This could increase our costs and decrease our gross margins, ha rming our business, operating results and financial condition.

Managing the supply of our products and their components is complex. Insufficient supply and inventory may result in lost sales opportunities or delayed revenue, while excess inventory may harm our gross margins.

Our third-party manufacturers procure components and build our products based on our forecasts, and we generally do not hold inventory for a prolonged period of time. These forecasts are based on estimates of future demand for our products, which are in turn based on historical trends and analyses from our sales and marketing organizations, adjusted for overall market conditions. In order to reduce manufacturing lead times and plan for adequate component supply, from time to time we may issue forecasts for components and products that are non-cancelable and non-returnable. Our inventory management systems and related supply chain visibility tools may be inadequate to enable us to make accurate forecasts and effectively manage the supply of our products and components. We have, in the past, had to write off inventory in connection with transitions to new product models. If we ultimately determine that we have excess supply, we may have to reduce our prices and write down or write off excess or obsolete inventory, which in turn could result in lower gross margins. Alternatively, insufficient supply levels may lead to shortages that result in delayed revenue or loss of sales opportunities altogether as potential customers turn to competitors’ products that may be more readily available. If we are unable to effectively manage our supply and inventory, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

If we are unable to sell renewals of our maintenance and support services to our customers, our future revenue and operating results will be harmed.

Existing customers may not renew their maintenance and support agreements after the initial period, and given our limited operating history, we may not be able to accurately predict our renewal rates. Our customers’ renewal rates may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including their available budget and the level of their satisfaction with our storage platform, customer support and pricing as compared to that offered by our competitors. If our customers renew their contracts, they may renew on terms that are less economically beneficial to us. We cannot assure investors that our customers will renew their maintenance and support agreements, and if our customers do not renew their agreements or renew on less favorable terms, our revenue may grow more slowly than expected, if at all.

We expect that revenue from maintenance and support agreements will increase as a percentage of total revenue over time, and because we recognize this revenue over the term of the relevant contract period, downturns or upturns in sales are not immediately reflected in full in our results of operations.

We expect that revenue from maintenance and support agreements will increase as a percentage of total revenue over time. We recognize maintenance and support revenue ratably over the term of the relevant service period. As a result, much of the maintenance and support revenue we report each quarter is derived from maintenance and support agreements that we sold in prior quarters. Consequently, a decline in new or renewed maintenance and support agreements in any one quarter will not be fully reflected in revenue in that quarter but will negatively affect our revenue in future quarters. Accordingly, the effect of significant downturns in sales of maintenance and support is not reflected in full in our results of operations until future periods. Also, it is difficult for us to rapidly increase our maintenance and support revenue through additional sales in any period, as revenue from renewals must be recognized ratably over the applicable service period.

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Adverse economic conditions or reduced data center spending may adversely impact our revenues and profitability.

Our operations and performance depend in part on worldwide economic conditions and the impact these conditions have on levels of spending on data center technology. Continuing global economic uncertainty and political and fiscal challenges in the United States and abroad could adversely impact data center spending. Our business depends on the overall demand for data center infrastructure and on the economic health of our current and prospective customers. Weak economic conditions, or a reduction in data center spending, would likely adversely impact our business, operating results and financial condition in a number of ways, including by reducing sales, lengthening sales cycles and lowering prices for our products and services.

Third-party claims that we are infringing the intellectual property rights of others, whether successful or not, could subject us to costly and time-consuming litigation or require us to obtain expensive licenses, and our business could be harmed.

There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the flash-based storage industry, and we may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our technology, including interference or derivation proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing or future intellectual property rights. The outcome of intellectual property litigation is subject to uncertainties that cannot be adequately quantified in advance. We have in the past received and may in the future receive inquiries from other intellectual property holders and may become subject to claims that we infringe their intellectual property rights, particularly as we expand our presence in the market and face increasing competition.

For example, in November 2013, EMC Corporation (“EMC”), filed a complaint against us in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging that our hiring of EMC employees evidences a scheme to misappropriate EMC’s confidential information and trade secrets and to unlawfully interfere with EMC’s business relationships with its customers and contractual relationships with its employees. In addition, in November 2013, EMC filed a complaint against us in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging infringement of five patents held by EMC. In March 2016, a jury returned a verdict awarding EMC $14.0 million in royalty damages for infringement of one patent in the patent lawsuit. While we are vigorously defending ourselves in these lawsuits and may challenge the findings in the patent lawsuit, we are unable to predict the ultimate outcome of these legal matters. See the section titled “Legal Proceedings” for more information relating to these legal matters.

Any intellectual property rights claim, including the lawsuits brought by EMC, against us or our customers, suppliers, and channel partners, with or without merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle, could divert management’s resources and attention from operating our business and could force us to acquire intellectual property rights and licenses, which may involve substantial royalty payments. Further, a party making such a claim, if successful, could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. An adverse determination also could invalidate our intellectual property rights and prevent us from manufacturing and offering our products to our customers and may require that we procure or develop substitute products that do not infringe, which could require significant effort and expense. We may not be able to re-engineer our products successfully to avoid infringement, and we may have to seek a license for the infringed technology, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, may significantly increase our operating expenses or may require us to restrict our business activities in one or more respects. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business. Any of these events could harm our business and financial condition.

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We currently have a number of agreements in effect pursuant to which we have agreed to defend, indemnify and hold harmless our customers, sup pliers and channel partners from damages and costs which may arise from the infringement by our products of third-party patents, trademarks or other proprietary rights. The scope of these indemnity obligations varies, but may, in some instances, include in demnification for damages and expenses, including attorneys’ fees. Our insurance may not cover intellectual property infringement claims. A claim that our products infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights could harm our relationships with our customers, deter future customers from purchasing our products and expose us to costly litigation and settlement expenses. Even if we are not a party to any litigation between a customer and a third party relating to infringement by our products, an advers e outcome in any such litigation could make it more difficult for us to defend our products against intellectual property infringement claims in any subsequent litigation in which we are a named party. Any of these results could harm our brand and financia l condition.

The success of our business depends in part on our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights.

We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, service mark, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our proprietary rights, all of which provide only limited protection. We have hundreds of issued patents and patent applications in the United States and foreign countries. We cannot assure investors that any patents will issue with respect to our currently pending patent applications in a manner that gives us the protection that we seek, if at all, or that any patents issued to us will not be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or held to be unenforceable in actions against alleged infringers. Our issued patents and any patents that may issue in the future with respect to pending or future patent applications may not provide sufficiently broad protection or they may not prove to be enforceable in actions against alleged infringers. Changes to the patent laws in the United States and other jurisdictions could also diminish the value of our patents and patent applications or narrow the scope of our patent protection. We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use of our technology or the reverse engineering of our technology. Moreover, others may independently develop technologies that are competitive to ours or infringe our intellectual property. Furthermore, any of our trademarks may be challenged by others or invalidated through administrative process or litigation.

Protecting against the unauthorized use of our intellectual property, products and other proprietary rights is expensive and difficult. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Any such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s resources and attention, either of which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Further, many of our current and potential competitors have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to defending intellectual property infringement claims and to enforcing their intellectual property rights than we have. Accordingly, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property. Effective patent, trademark, service mark, copyright and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which our products are available. An inability to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property and other proprietary rights could harm our business and financial condition.

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If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, the value of our technology could be materially adversely affected and our business could be harmed.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on confidential proprietary information, including trade secrets and know-how to develop and maintain our competitive position. Any disclosure to or misappropriation by third parties of our confidential proprietary information could enable competitors to quickly duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus eroding our competitive position in our market. We seek to protect our confidential proprietary information, in part, by confidentiality agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, contractors and collaborators. These agreements are designed to protect our proprietary information; however, we cannot be certain that such agreements have been entered into with all relevant parties, and we cannot be certain that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. For example, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our confidential proprietary information by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our IT systems, but it is possible that these security measures could be breached. If any of our confidential proprietary information were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent such competitor from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position. Further, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad. If we are unable to prevent material disclosure of the intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, we will not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could harm our business.

Our use of open source software could impose limitations on our ability to commercialize our products.

We use open source software in our products and expect to continue to use open source software in the future. Although we monitor our use of open source software, the terms of many open source licenses have not been interpreted by U.S. or foreign courts, and there is a risk that such licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to market our products. From time to time, we may face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the open source software or derivative works that we have developed using such software, which could include our proprietary source code, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could result in litigation and could require us to make our software source code freely available, seek licenses from third parties in order to continue offering our products for certain uses or cease offering the implicated solutions unless and until we can re-engineer them to avoid infringement. This re-engineering process could require significant additional research and development resources, and we may be required to discontinue providing some of our software in the event re-engineering cannot be accomplished on a timely basis, any of which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

System security risks, data protection breaches and cyber-attacks on our systems or products could compromise our proprietary information (or information of our customers), disrupt our internal operations and harm public perception of our products, which could cause our business and reputation to suffer, create additional liabilities and adversely affect our financial results and stock price.

In the ordinary course of business, we store sensitive data on our internal systems, networks and servers, which may include intellectual property, our proprietary business information and that of our customers, suppliers and business partners and sales data, which may include personally identifiable information. Additionally, we design and sell products that allow our customers to store our customers’ data. The security of our own networks and the intrusion protection features of our product are both critical to our operations and business strategy.

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We devote significant resources to network security, data encryption and other security measures to protect our systems and data, but these security measures cannot provide absolute security. For example, we use encryption and authentication technologies to secure the transmission and storage of data and prevent third party access to data or accounts, but these security measures are subject to third-p arty security breaches, employee error, malfeasance, faulty password management or other irregularities. Any destructive or intrusive breach of our internal systems could result in the information stored on our networks being accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Additionally, an effective attack on our products could disrupt the proper functioning of our products, allow unauthorized access to sensitive, proprietary or confidential information of ours or our customers, disrupt or temporarily interru pt customers’ operations or cause other destructive outcomes, including the theft of information sufficient to engage in fraudulent transactions. The risk that these types of events could seriously harm our business is likely to increase as we expand our n etwork of channel partners, resellers and authorized service providers and operate in more countries. The economic costs to us to eliminate or alleviate cyber or other security problems, viruses, worms, malicious software systems and security vulnerabiliti es could be significant and may be difficult to anticipate or measure because the damage may differ based on the identity and motive of the programmer or hacker, which are often difficult to identify. If any of these types of security breaches, actual or p erceived, were to occur and we were to be unable to protect sensitive data, our relationships with our business partners and customers could be materially damaged, our reputation and brand could be materially harmed, use of our products could decrease and we could be exposed to a risk of loss or litigation and possible liability.

We may further expand through acquisitions of, or investments in, other companies, each of which may divert our management’s attention, resulting in additional dilution to our stockholders and consumption of resources that are necessary to sustain and grow our business.

Our business strategy may, from time to time, include acquiring complementary products, technologies or businesses. We also may enter into relationships with other businesses in order to expand our product offerings, which could involve preferred or exclusive licenses, additional channels of distribution or discount pricing or investments in other companies. Negotiating these transactions can be time-consuming, difficult and expensive, and our ability to close these transactions may be subject to third-party or government approvals, which are beyond our control. Consequently, we can make no assurance that these transactions, once undertaken and announced, will close.

These kinds of acquisitions or investments may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. In particular, we may encounter difficulties assimilating or integrating the businesses, technologies, products, personnel or operations of the acquired companies, particularly if the key personnel of the acquired business choose not to work for us, and we may have difficulty retaining the customers of any acquired business. Acquisitions may also disrupt our ongoing business, divert our resources and require significant management attention that would otherwise be available for development of our business. Any acquisition or investment could expose us to unknown liabilities. Moreover, we cannot assure investors that the anticipated benefits of any acquisition or investment would be realized or that we would not be exposed to unknown liabilities. In connection with these types of transactions, we may issue additional equity securities that would dilute our stockholders, use cash that we may need in the future to operate our business, incur debt on terms unfavorable to us or that we are unable to repay, incur large charges or substantial liabilities, encounter difficulties integrating diverse business cultures and become subject to adverse tax consequences, substantial depreciation or deferred compensation charges. These challenges related to acquisitions or investments could harm our business and financial condition.

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We are an emerging growth company, and any decision on our part to comply only with certai n reduced reporting and disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies could make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an emerging growth company, and, for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies but not to “emerging growth companies,” including: not being required to have our independent registered public accounting firm audit our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest to occur of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have more than $1.0 billion in annual revenue, (ii) the  fiscal year end on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” meaning at least $700 million of equity securities are held by non-affiliates as of the prior July 31, (iii) the date on which we have issued, in any three-year period, more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities, and (iv) January 31, 2021, the last day of the fiscal year ending after the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering. We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive if we choose to rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result of any choices we make to avail ourselves of these exemptions, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock and the market price of our Class A common stock may be more volatile.

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this accommodation allowing for delayed adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and, therefore, we will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

We may require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.

We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new products or enhance our existing products, enhance our operating infrastructure and acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing in the future could involve additional restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, when we require it, our ability to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited and our prospects and financial condition could be harmed.

We are exposed to the credit risk of some of our customers, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Most of our sales are made on an open credit basis. As a general matter, we monitor individual customer payment capability when we grant open credit arrangements and may limit these open credit arrangements based on perceived creditworthiness. We also maintain allowances we believe are adequate to cover exposure for doubtful accounts. Although we have programs in place that are designed to monitor and mitigate these risks, we cannot assure investors these programs will be effective in managing our credit risks, especially as we expand our business internationally. If we are unable to adequately control these risks, our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

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Sales to U.S. federal, state and local governments are subject to a number of challenges and risks that may adversely impact our business.

Sales to U.S. federal, state and local governmental agencies may in the future account for a significant portion of our revenue. Sales to such government entities are subject to the following risks:

We need to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. We are required to perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404. When we are no longer an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will also need to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Over the last year, we have taken and continue to take additional steps to upgrade our finance and accounting function, including the hiring of additional finance and accounting personnel, and implement additional policies and procedures associated with the financial statement close process. Our compliance with Section 404 may require us to continue to incur substantial expense and expend significant management efforts. If we are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm notes or identifies deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

Our international operations subject us to potentially adverse tax consequences.

We generally conduct our international operations through wholly-owned subsidiaries and report our taxable income in various jurisdictions worldwide based upon our business operations in those jurisdictions. In the future, we may decide to reorganize our corporate tax structure and intercompany relationships to more closely align our corporate organization with the expansion of our international business activities. Although we anticipate that such steps could achieve a reduction in our overall effective tax rate in the future as a result of implementing the new corporate structure, our restructuring efforts will require us to incur expenses in the near term for which we may not realize any benefits .

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Our intercompany relationships are, and after the implementation of our new corporate tax structure will continue to be, subject to complex transfer pricing regulations administered by taxing auth orities in various jurisdictions. The relevant taxing authorities may disagree with our determinations as to the income and expenses attributable to specific jurisdictions. If such a disagreement were to occur, and our position were not sustained, we could be required to pay additional taxes, interest and penalties, which could result in tax charges, higher effective tax rates, reduced cash flows and lower overall profitability of our operations. In addition, following the implementation of our new corporat e tax structure, if the intended tax treatment of the structure is not accepted by the applicable taxing authorities, there are changes in tax law that negatively impact the structure or we do not operate our business consistent with the structure and appl icable tax laws and regulations, we may fail to achieve any tax advantages as a result of the new corporate structure, and our future operating results and financial condition may be negatively impacted.

Current U.S. tax laws, including limitations on the ability of taxpayers to claim and utilize foreign tax credits and the deferral of certain tax deductions until earnings outside of the United States are repatriated to the United States, as well as changes to U.S. tax laws that may be enacted in the future, could impact the tax treatment of our foreign earnings. Due to expansion of our international business activities, any changes in the U.S. taxation of such activities may increase our worldwide effective tax rate and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

Failure to comply with governmental laws and regulations could harm our business.

Our business is subject to regulation by various federal, state, local and foreign governmental agencies, including agencies responsible for monitoring and enforcing employment and labor laws, workplace safety, product safety, environmental laws, consumer protection laws, anti-bribery laws, import/export controls, federal securities laws and tax laws and regulations. In certain jurisdictions, these regulatory requirements may be more stringent than in the United States. For example, the European Union has adopted certain directives to facilitate the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment sold in the European Union, including the Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive. Changes in applicable laws, regulations and standards could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Noncompliance with applicable regulations or requirements could subject us to investigations, sanctions, mandatory product recalls, enforcement actions, disgorgement of profits, fines, damages, civil and criminal penalties or injunctions. If any governmental sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal litigation, our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and an increase in professional fees. Enforcement actions and sanctions could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.  

Governmental regulations affecting the import or export of products could negatively affect our revenue.

The U.S. and various foreign governments have imposed controls, export license requirements and restrictions on the import or export of some technologies, especially encryption technology. From time to time, governmental agencies have proposed additional regulation of encryption technology, such as requiring the escrow of imports or exports. If we fail to obtain required import or export approval for our products, our international and domestic sales could be harmed and our revenue may be adversely affected. In many cases, we rely on vendors and channel partners to handle logistics associated with the import and export of our products, so our visibility and control over these matters may be limited. In addition, failure to comply with such regulations could result in penalties, costs and restrictions on export privileges, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

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Our business is subject to the risks of earthquakes and other natur al catastrophic events, and to interruption by man-made factors such as computer viruses or terrorism.

We have operations in locations, including our headquarters in California, that are subject to earthquakes and other natural catastrophic events, such as severe weather and geological events, which could disrupt our operations or the operations of those customers and suppliers. Our customers affected by a natural disaster could postpone or cancel orders of our products, which could negatively impact our business. Moreover, should any of our key suppliers fail to deliver components to us as a result of a natural disaster, we may be unable to purchase these components in necessary quantities or may be forced to purchase components in the open market at significantly higher costs. We may also be forced to purchase components in advance of our normal supply chain demand to avoid potential market shortages. We may not have adequate business interruption insurance to compensate us for losses due to a significant natural disaster or due to man-made factors. In addition, acts of terrorism or malicious computer viruses could cause disruptions in our or our customers’ businesses or the economy as a whole. To the extent that these disruptions result in delays or cancellations of customer orders or the deployment of our products, our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with those stockholders who hold our Class B common stock, including our executive officers, employees and directors and their affiliates, which limits investors’ ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.

Our Class B common stock has ten votes per share, and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. Stockholders who hold shares of our Class B common stock, including our executive officers, employees and directors and their affiliates, collectively hold the vast majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. Because of the ten-to-one voting ratio between our Class B common stock and Class A common stock, the holders of our Class B common stock will therefore be able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval so long as the shares of our Class B common stock represent at least 10% of all outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock. These holders of our Class B common stock may also have interests that differ from investors and may vote in a way with which investors disagree and which may be adverse to investors’ interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Future transfers by holders of our Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting into shares of our Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions, such as certain transfers effected for estate planning purposes. The conversion of shares of our Class B common stock into shares of our Class A common stock will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B common stock who retain their shares in the long term. If, for example, Dr. Dietzen and Messrs. Colgrove and Hatfield retain a significant portion of their holdings of our Class B common stock for an extended period of time, they could control a significant portion of the voting power of our capital stock for the foreseeable future. As board members, Dr. Dietzen and Mr. Colgrove each owe a fiduciary duty to our stockholders and must act in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believe to be in the best interests of our stockholders. However, as stockholders, Dr. Dietzen and Messrs. Colgrove and Hatfield are entitled to vote their shares in their own interests, which may not always be in the interests of our stockholders generally.

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Future sales of shares by existing stockholders could cause our stock price to decline.

If our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public market after the lock-up and legal restrictions on resale lapse, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline. As of January 31, 2016, we had outstanding a total of 28,769,572 shares of Class A common stock and 161,739,883 shares of Class B common stock. Of these shares, nearly all of the shares of Class A common stock are freely tradable, without restriction, in the public market. All shares of our Class B common stock are currently restricted from resale as a result of lock-up and market standoff agreements. These securities will become available to be sold on April 4, 2016.  Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co., however, may, in their discretion, waive the contractual lock-up prior to the expiration of the lock-up agreements. After the lock-up agreements expire, nearly all outstanding shares of Class B common stock will be eligible for sale in the public market. As of January 31, 2016, there were 94,468,119 outstanding shares of our common stock held by directors, executive officers and other affiliates and will be subject to volume limitations under Rule 144 under the Securities Act.  In addition, on March 15, 2016, we issued and sold to employees 1,433,556 shares of Class A common stock pursuant to our 2015 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, which will be freely tradeable without restriction on April 4, 2016.

In addition, 68,932,087 shares of common stock are subject to outstanding options or restricted stock unit awards as of January 31, 2016, of which 26,665,304 shares will be vested and eligible for sale as of April 4, 2016. After the lock-up agreements expire, these shares will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting agreements and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act. The shares reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans are registered for public resale under the Securities Act. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline.

The trading price of our Class A common stock has been and may continue to be highly volatile, and an active, liquid, and orderly market for our Class A common stock may not be sustained.

The trading price of our Class A common stock has been, and will likely continue to be, highly volatile.  Since shares of our Class A common stock were sold in our initial public offering in October 2015 at a price of $17.00 per share, our closing stock price has ranged from $11.64 to $19.74, through March 18, 2016. Some of the factors, many of which are beyond our control, affecting our volatility may include:

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The stock markets in general, and market prices for the securities of technology-based companies like ours in particular, have from time to time experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of the underlying companies. A certain degree of stock price vo latility can be attributed to being a newly public company. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In several recent situations where the mark et price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. If any of our stockholders were to bring a lawsuit against us, the defense and disposition of the law suit could be costly and divert the time and attention of our management and harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they downgrade our stock, the price of our stock could decline.

The trading market for our Class A common stock will likely be influenced by research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. In the event securities or industry analysts cover our company and one or more of these analysts downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

We have never paid dividends on our common stock and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

We have never declared or paid any dividends on our common stock. We intend to retain any earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the future. As a result, investors may only receive a return on their investment in our Class A common stock if the market price of our common stock increases.

We will continue to incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.

As a public company, we have incurred and expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, new rules implemented by the SEC and New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) require changes in corporate governance practices of public companies. We expect these rules and regulations to continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. We will continue to incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. We expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.

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Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and under Delaware law might discoura ge, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of our Class A common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could depress the trading price of our Class A common stock by acting to discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions:

Additionally, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any “interested” stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an “interested” stockholder and which may discourage, delay, or prevent a change of control of our company.

Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our Class A common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business and financial condition.