EVERTEC, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2023

Readers should carefully consider, in connection with other information disclosed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the risks and uncertainties described below. The following discussion sets forth risks that we believe are material to our stockholders and prospective stockholders. The occurrence of any of the following risks might cause our stockholders to lose all or a part of their investment in our Company. Some statements contained in this Report, including statements in the following risk factors section, constitute forward-looking statements. Please also refer to the section titled “Forward- Looking Statements” at the beginning of this Report.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our services to Banco Popular, our largest customer, account for a significant portion of our revenues, and we expect that our services to Popular will continue to represent a significant portion of our revenues for the foreseeable future. Additionally, the elimination of Popular’s ownership of our common stock could continue to result in disruptions to relationships with customers and other business partners and adversely affect us.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, approximately 35% of our revenue was attributable to Banco Popular, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Popular. The A&R MSA by and among Popular, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and EVERTEC Group, is our most significant client contract, and was amended and restated to include a term ending in 2028. If Popular were to terminate or fail to make required payments under the A&R MSA, or our other material agreements with Popular, our revenues could be materially reduced and our profitability and cash flows could also be materially reduced, all of which would have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

There is no assurance that we will be able to realize the intended benefits of the Popular Transaction, as the term is defined in the "Relationship with Popular" section. Specifically, the Popular Transaction has caused disruptions, and could continue to cause disruptions, in our remaining businesses and has and could continue to otherwise limit our ability to compete for or perform certain contracts or services. The elimination of Popular’s holdings of our common stock and the corresponding termination of Popular’s right to nominate directors to our Board of Directors may negatively impact our business relationship with Popular and increase the likelihood of a change of control of our Company.

If we are unable to maintain our merchant relationships and our alliance with Popular, our business may be materially adversely affected.

Growth in our merchant acquiring business is derived primarily from acquiring new merchant relationships, new and enhanced product and service offerings, cross selling products and services into existing relationships, the shift of consumer spending to increased usage of electronic forms of payment, and the strength of our existing commercial relationship with Banco Popular. A substantial portion of our business is generated from our Amended and Restated Independent Sales Organization Sponsorship and Services Agreement (the “A&R ISO Agreement”) with Banco Popular, which was amended and restated on July 1, 2022, among other things, to extend its term to end in 2035.

Banco Popular acts as a merchant referral source and provides sponsorship into the ATH, Visa, Discover and MasterCard networks for merchants, as well as card association sponsorship, clearing and settlement services. We provide transaction-processing and related functions. Both we and Popular, as alliance partners, may provide management, sales, marketing, and other administrative services to merchants. Although Banco Popular is not our sole distribution channel, it is the most significant. We rely on the continuing growth of our merchant relationships, which in turn is dependent upon our alliance with Banco Popular and other distribution channels. There can be no guarantee that this growth will continue and the loss or deterioration of these relationships, whether due to the termination of the A&R ISO Agreement or otherwise, could negatively impact our business and result in a material reduction of our revenue and income.

If we are unable to renew or negotiate extensions for our A&R MSA with Popular, our A&R ISO Agreement with Banco Popular and our A&R ATH Network Participation Agreement with Banco Popular (together with its ATH Support Schedule, the “A&R BPPR ATH Agreement”), or if we are required to provide significant concessions to Popular or Banco Popular to secure extensions or otherwise, our ability to renegotiate our debt, secure additional debt, results of operations, financial condition and trading price of our common stock may be materially adversely affected.

We cannot be certain that we will be able to negotiate an extension to the A&R MSA upon its current expiration date, which is scheduled for 2028. Even if we can negotiate an extension of the A&R MSA, any new master services agreement may be materially different from the existing A&R MSA. Further, Popular may require significant concessions from us with respect to pricing, services, and other key terms, both in respect of the current term and any future extension of the A&R MSA. We regularly discuss with Popular the terms of the A&R MSA and the services we provide Popular thereunder and make modifications to such terms. Any such events may materially and negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations and trading price of our common stock, as well as potentially limit our ability to renegotiate our debt.

Our A&R ISO Agreement with Banco Popular, which sets our merchant acquiring relationship with Popular, now includes revenue sharing provisions with Popular. Banco Popular sponsors us as an independent sales organization with respect to certain credit card associations and is required to exclusively refer to us any merchant that inquires about the service, requests or otherwise evidences interest in merchant and other services. If the A&R ISO Agreement is not renewed, we will have to seek other card association sponsors, we will not benefit from Banco Popular referral of merchants and we may experience the loss of some merchants if Banco Popular itself enters the merchant acquiring business or agrees to sponsor another independent sales organization. Any of these events may negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Under such agreements, among other things, we provide Banco Popular certain ATM and POS services in connection with our ATH network; we grant a license to use the ATH logo, word mark and associated trademarks; and Banco Popular agrees to support, promote, and market the ATH network and brand and to issue debit cards bearing the symbol of the ATH network. If one or both of the BPPR ATH Agreements are not extended, our ATH brand and network could be negatively impacted, and our financial condition and results of operations also be materially adversely affected.

The A&R MSA, A&R ISO Agreement, and A&R BPPR ATH Agreement, amended and restated on July 1, 2022, have terms ending in 2028, 2035, and 2030, respectively.

Our inability to renew or continue to maintain client contracts on favorable terms or at all may materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our contracts with private clients generally run for a period of one to six years, and usually contain automatic renewal periods. Our government contracts typically run for one year and do not include automatic renewal periods due to government procurement rules and related fiscal funding requirements. Our standard merchant contract has an initial term of up to three years, with automatic one-year renewal periods. At the end of the relevant contract term, clients can renew or renegotiate their contracts with us, but may also decide to engage one of our competitors to provide products and services. If we are not successful in achieving high renewal rates and/or contract terms that are favorable to us, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We also depend on our payment processing clients to comply with their contractual obligations, applicable laws, regulatory requirements and credit card associations rules or standards. A client’s failure to comply with any such laws or requirements could force us to declare a breach of contract and terminate the client relationship. The termination of such contracts or relationships, as well as any inability to collect any damages caused, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, any such failure by clients to comply could also result in fines, penalties or obligations imputed to EVERTEC, which could also have a material adverse effect on our business.

We rely on our information technology systems, employees and certain suppliers and counterparties, and certain failures or disruptions in those systems or chains could materially adversely affect our operations.

We rely on computer systems, hardware, software, technology infrastructure, and online sites for both internal and external operations that are critical to our business (collectively, "IT Systems"). For example, we use our IT Systems to connect with our clients, people, and others. We own and manage some of these IT Systems, but also rely on third parties for a range of IT Systems and related products and services, including but not limited to cloud computing services. We and certain of our third-party providers also collect, store, transfer, process, and use business, personal, and financial data about our own business, clients, employees, business partners, and others, including information about individuals and proprietary information belonging to our business such as trade secrets.

We face numerous and evolving cybersecurity risks that threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our IT Systems and data. These cybersecurity risks may arise from diverse threat actors, such as state-sponsored organizations and opportunistic hackers and hacktivists, as well as through diverse attack vectors, such as social engineering/phishing, malware (including ransomware), malfeasance by insiders, human or technological error, and as a result of malicious code embedded in open-source software, or misconfigurations, "bugs" or other vulnerabilities in commercial software that is integrated into our (or our suppliers' or service providers') IT Systems, products or services. Additionally, hardware, applications, or services that we develop or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of our data or IT Systems.

Cybersecurity threats and attacks, including computer viruses, malware, hacking, ransomware or other destructive or disruptive software, are constantly evolving and pose a risk to our IT Systems and data. Cybersecurity attacks are expected to accelerate on a global basis in frequency and magnitude as threat actors are becoming increasingly sophisticated in using techniques and tools - including artificial intelligence - that circumvent security controls, evade detection, and remove forensic evidence. As a result, we may be unable to detect, investigate, remediate, or recover from future attacks or incidents, or to avoid a material adverse impact to our IT Systems, data, or business.

There can also be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls, or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with, or effective in protecting our IT Systems and data, and our systems and processes may be unable to prevent material security breaches. Security breaches, improper use of our systems, and unauthorized access to our data and information by employees and others may pose a risk that data may be exposed to unauthorized persons or to the public. Such occurrences could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial position, and reputation, and could result in litigation (including class actions) or regulatory investigations or enforcement actions.

In addition, we make extensive use of third-party service providers, including providers that store, transmit and process data. These third-party service providers are also subject to malicious attacks and cybersecurity threats that could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and reputation.

Many of our services are based on sophisticated software, technology, computing systems, and other IT Systems, and we may encounter delays when developing new technology solutions and services. We and our third-party providers regularly experience cyberattacks and other incidents, and we expect such attacks and incidents to continue in varying degrees. In particular, we have experienced actual and attempted cyber-attacks of our IT Systems, such as through phishing scams, ransomware, exploitation of vulnerabilities in our IT Systems, and other methods of attack. Even though some of these attacks have been successful; none of these actual or attempted cyber-attacks has had a material adverse impact on our operations or financial condition, and we cannot guarantee that any such incidents will not have such an impact in the future. The IT Systems underlying our services have occasionally contained, and may in the future contain, undetected errors or defects when first introduced or when new versions are released. We may experience difficulties in installing or integrating our IT Systems on platforms used by our customers.

Our businesses are dependent on our ability to reliably process, record and monitor a large number of transactions. We settle funds on behalf of financial institutions, other businesses and consumers and process funds transactions from clients, card issuers, payment networks and consumers on a daily basis for a variety of transaction types. Transactions facilitated by us include debit card, credit card, electronic bill payment transactions, ACH payments, electronic benefits transfer (“EBT”) transactions and check clearing that supports consumers, financial institutions, and other businesses. These payment activities rely upon technology infrastructure that facilitates the verification of activity with counterparties, the facilitation of the payment and, in some cases, the detection or prevention of fraudulent payments. If any of our financial, accounting, or other data processing systems or applications or other IT Systems fail or experience other significant shortcomings, our ability to serve our clients and accordingly our results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Such failures or shortcomings could be the result of events that are beyond our control, which may include, for example, computer viruses, fires, electrical or telecommunications outages, natural disasters, future disease pandemics or other public health crisis, terrorist acts, political instability, or other unanticipated damage to property or physical assets. Certain of these events may become more frequent or intense as a result of climate change. For more information, see our risk factor titled "Our operations, business, customers and partners could be adversely affected by climate change". Any such shortcoming could also damage our reputation, require us to expend significant resources to correct the defect, and may result in liability to third parties, especially since some of our contractual agreements with financial institutions require the crediting of certain fees if our systems do not meet certain specified service levels.

There is also a risk that we may lose critical data or experience IT System failures. We perform the vast majority of disaster recovery operations ourselves, though we utilize select third parties for some aspects of recovery. To the extent we outsource our disaster recovery, we are at risk of the vendor’s unresponsiveness in the event of breakdowns in our IT Systems. Our property, business interruption, and cybersecurity insurance may not be adequate to compensate us for all losses or failures that may occur.

We are similarly dependent on our employees to maintain our IT Systems. Our operations could be materially adversely affected if one or more employees cause a significant operational breakdown or failure, either intentionally or as a result of human error. Suppliers and third parties with which we do business could also be sources of operational risk to us, including relating to breakdowns or failures of such parties’ own systems or employees. Any of these occurrences could diminish our ability to operate one or more of our businesses, or result in potential liability to clients, reputational damage and regulatory intervention or fines, any of which could materially adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

We are subject to security breaches or other confidential data theft from our systems, which can adversely affect our reputation and business.

As part of our business, we electronically receive, process, store and transmit a wide range of confidential information, including sensitive customer information and personal consumer data, such as names and addresses, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, cardholder data and payment history records, as well as proprietary information belonging to our business or to our business partners (collectively, "Confidential Information"). We also operate payment, cash access and electronic card systems. Attacks on IT Systems continue to grow in frequency, complexity and sophistication, a trend we expect will continue. The objectives of these attacks include, among other things, gaining unauthorized access to systems to facilitate financial fraud, disrupt operations, cause denial of service events, corrupt data, and steal non-public information. Such attacks have become a point of focus for individuals, businesses, and governmental entities.

Unauthorized access to our or third-party IT Systems could result in the theft or publication, the deletion or modification or other compromise to the confidentiality, integrity or availability of Confidential Information and could disrupt successful operations of our businesses. These risks increase when we transmit information over the Internet as our visibility in the global payments industry attracts hackers to conduct attacks on our systems. Our security measures may also be breached due to the mishandling or misuse of Confidential Information; for example, if such information were erroneously provided to parties who are not permitted to have the information, either by employees acting contrary to our policies or as a result of a fault in our systems.

Actual or perceived vulnerabilities or data breaches may lead to claims against us, which may require us to spend significant additional resources to remediate by addressing problems caused by breaches and further protect against security or privacy breaches. Additionally, while we maintain insurance policies specifically for cyber-attacks, our current insurance policies may not be adequate to reimburse us for losses caused by security breaches, and we may not be able to collect fully, if at all, under these insurance policies. A significant security breach, such as loss of credit card numbers or other Confidential Information, could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, expose us to significant liability and result in a loss of customers. Some of our IT Systems have experienced in the past and may experience in the future security breaches and, although they did not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or reputation, there can be no assurance of a similar result in the future. We cannot assure you that our security measures will prevent security breaches or that failure to prevent them will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and reputation. Any breaches of network or data security at our customers, partners or vendors could have similar negative effects.

Our ability to recruit, retain and develop qualified personnel is critical to our success and growth.

All our businesses require a wide range of expertise and intellectual capital to adapt to the rapidly changing technological, social, economic and regulatory environments. In order to successfully compete and grow, we must recruit, retain and develop personnel who can provide the necessary expertise across a broad spectrum of intellectual capital needs. In addition, we must develop, maintain and, as necessary, implement appropriate succession plans to assure we have the necessary human resources capable of maintaining continuity in our business. The market for qualified personnel is competitive and we may not succeed in recruiting additional personnel or may fail to effectively replace current personnel who depart with qualified or effective successors. In addition, from time to time, there may be changes in our management team that may be disruptive to our business. If our management team, including new hires that we make, fails to work together effectively and to execute our plans and strategies on a timely basis, our business could be harmed. Our effort to retain and develop personnel may also result in significant additional expenses, which could adversely affect our profitability, and may not have the desired effect. We cannot assure that key personnel, including our executive officers, will continue to be employed or that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Failure to recruit, retain or develop qualified personnel could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Failure to comply with federal, state and foreign laws and regulations relating to data privacy and security, or the expansion of current, or the enactment of new, laws or regulations relating to data privacy and security, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

While we are not a direct-to-consumer business, we do collect, process, store, use and share personal data of our employees and business partners, which is governed by a variety of U.S. federal and state and foreign laws and regulations. Laws and regulations relating to data privacy and security are complex and rapidly evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. These requirements may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another or may conflict with other rules or our practices. As we seek to expand our business, we are, and may increasingly become, subject to various laws, regulations, standards, and contractual obligations relating to data privacy and security in the jurisdictions in which we operate.

Certain states in the United States and most countries have adopted privacy and security laws that may apply to our business. These laws generally require companies to implement specific privacy and information security controls and legal protections to protect certain types of personal information and to collect or use it subject to disclosures. Additional compliance investment and potential business process changes may continue to be required as these laws and others go into effect. Further, in order to comply with the varying state laws around data breaches, we must maintain adequate security measures, which require significant investments in resources and ongoing attention. Additionally, our customers and business partners are imposing more stringent obligations on us in the form of contracts regarding privacy and information security. Even though we believe we and our vendors are generally in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations relating to privacy and data security, these laws are in some cases relatively new and the interpretation and application of these laws are uncertain.

Despite our efforts, our practices may not comply, now or in the future, with all such laws, regulations, requirements, and obligations. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our posted privacy and security-related policies or with any current or future federal or state data privacy or security-related laws, regulations, regulatory guidance, orders, or other legal obligations relating to privacy or security could adversely affect our reputation, brand and business, and may result in claims, proceedings, or actions against us by governmental entities or others or other liabilities or require us to change our operations and/or cease using certain data sets, and may otherwise adversely affect our financial condition and operating results. We may also be contractually required to indemnify and hold harmless third parties from the costs or consequences of non-compliance with any laws, regulations, or other legal obligations relating to privacy or security or any inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure of data that we store or handle as part of operating our business.

Fraud by merchants or others could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Under certain circumstances, we may be liable for certain fraudulent transactions and/or credits initiated by merchants or others. For instance, if we were to process payments for a merchant that engaged in unfair or deceptive trade practices, we may be subject to certain fines or penalties. Examples of merchant fraud include merchants or other parties knowingly using a stolen or counterfeit credit, debit or prepaid card, card number, or other credentials to record a false sales or credit transaction, processing an invalid card or intentionally failing to deliver the merchandise or services sold in an otherwise valid transaction. Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal activities such as counterfeiting and fraud. A single significant incident of fraud, or increases in the overall level of fraud, involving our services, could result in reputational damage to us, which could reduce the use and acceptance of our solutions and services or lead to greater regulation that would increase our compliance costs. Failure to effectively manage risk and prevent fraud could increase our chargeback liability or cause us to incur other liabilities, and our insurance coverage may be insufficient or inadequate to compensate us. It is possible that incidents of fraud could increase in the future. Increases in chargebacks or other liabilities could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are subject to the credit risk that our merchants will be unable to satisfy obligations for which we may also be liable.

We are subject to the credit risk of our merchants being unable to satisfy obligations for which we also may be liable. For example, as the merchant acquirer, we are contingently liable for transactions originally acquired by us that are disputed by the cardholder and charged back to the merchants. For certain merchants, if we are unable to collect amounts paid to cardholders in the form of refunds or chargebacks from the merchant, we bear the loss for those amounts. A default on payment obligations by one or more of our merchants could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our ability to adopt technology to changing industry and customer needs or trends may affect our competitiveness or demand for our products, which may adversely affect our results of operations.

Changes in technology may limit the competitiveness of and demand for our services. Our businesses operate in industries that are subject to technological advancements, developing industry standards and changing customer needs and preferences. Our business strategy may not effectively respond to these changes, and we may fail to recognize and position ourselves to capitalize upon market opportunities. Also, our customers continue to adopt new technology for business and personal uses. We must anticipate and respond to these industry and customer changes in order to remain competitive within our relative markets. Our inability to respond to new competitors and technological advancements could impact all of our businesses. For example, the inability to adopt technological advancements surrounding POS technology available to merchants could have a material and adverse impact on our merchant acquiring business.

Our use of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools may subject us to additional risks and may adversely impact our reputation and the performance of our products, service offerings and business.

We use machine learning, artificial intelligence, and automated decision making technologies, including proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms throughout our business, and are making significant investments to continuously improve our use of such technologies.

There are significant risks involved in developing, maintaining and deploying these technologies and there can be no assurance that the usage of such technologies will always enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability. Furthermore, our use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies may result in legal and regulatory risks and any resulting investigations or litigation could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of our operations.

A number of aspects of intellectual property protection in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning are currently under development, and there is uncertainty and ongoing litigation in different jurisdictions as to the degree and extent of protection warranted for artificial intelligence and machine learning systems and relevant system input and outputs. If we fail to obtain protection for the intellectual property rights concerning our artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, or later have our intellectual property rights invalidated or otherwise diminished, our competitors may be able to take advantage of our research and development efforts to develop competing products.

Consolidations in the banking and financial services industry could adversely affect our revenues by eliminating existing or potential clients and making us more dependent on a more limited number of clients.

There have been a number of mergers and consolidations in the banking and financial services industry. Mergers and consolidations of financial institutions reduce our number of clients and potential clients, which could adversely affect our revenues. Further, if our clients fail or merge with or are acquired by other entities that are not our clients, or that use fewer of our services, they may discontinue or reduce their use of our services. It is also possible that the larger banks or financial institutions resulting from mergers or consolidations would have greater leverage to negotiate terms less favorable to us or could decide to perform in-house some or all of the services which we currently provide or could provide. Any of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

There may be a decline in the use of cards as a payment mechanism for consumers or adverse developments with respect to the card industry in general.

If the number of electronic and digital payment transactions of the type we process does not continue to grow, if there are other, more attractive emerging means of payments or if businesses or consumers discontinue adopting our services, it could have a material adverse effect on the profitability of our business, financial position, and results of operations. We believe future growth in the use of credit, debit and other electronic and digital payments will be driven by the cost, ease-to-use, and quality of products and services offered to customers and businesses. In order to consistently increase and maintain our profitability, businesses and consumers must continue to use electronic and digital payment methods that we process, including credit and debit cards. If consumers and businesses discontinue the use of credit, debit or prepaid cards as a payment mechanism for their transactions or if there is a change in the mix of payments between cash, alternative currencies and technologies, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes in credit card association or other network rules or standards could adversely affect our business.

In order to provide our transaction-processing services, several of our subsidiaries are registered with or certified by Visa, Discover and MasterCard and other networks as members or as service providers for member institutions. As such, we and many of our customers are subject to card association and network rules that could subject us or our customers to a variety of fines or penalties that may be levied by the card associations or networks for certain acts or omissions by us, acquirer customers, processing customers and merchants. Visa, Discover, MasterCard and other networks, some of which are our competitors, set the standards with which we must comply. The termination of Banco Popular’s or our subsidiaries’ member registration or our subsidiaries’ status as a certified service provider, or any changes in card association or other network rules or standards, including interpretation and implementation of the rules or standards, that increase the cost of doing business or limit our ability to provide transaction-processing services to or through our customers, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Additionally, we are subject to the PCI DSS, issued by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. The PCI DSS contains compliance requirements regarding our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of cardholder data. If we or our service providers are unable to comply with the security standards required by PCI DSS, we may be subject to fines, restrictions, and expulsion from card acceptance programs, which would materially and adversely affect our business. Additionally, costs and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of new or upgraded IT Systems such as those necessary to maintain compliance with the PCI DSS or with maintenance or adequate support of existing systems could also disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations. Any material interruptions or failures in our payment related systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in interchange fees charged by credit card associations and debit networks could increase our costs or otherwise materially adversely affect our business.

From time to time, card associations and debit networks change interchange, processing, and other fees, which could impact our merchant acquiring and payment services businesses. Competitive pressures could result in our merchant acquiring and payment services businesses absorbing a portion of such increases in the future, which would increase our operating costs, reduce our profit margin, and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to extensive government regulation and oversight. Failure to comply with existing and future rules and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate could materially adversely affect the operations of one or more of our businesses in those jurisdictions.

Our business is subject to the laws, rules, regulations, and policies in the countries in which we operate, as well as the legal interpretation of such regulations by administrative bodies and the judiciary of those countries. The expansion of our business may also result in increased regulatory oversight and enforcement, as well as any claims by regulatory agencies and courts that we are required to obtain licenses to engage in certain business activity.

Enforcement of, failure, or perceived failure to comply with laws, rules, regulations, policies, or licensing requirements could result in criminal or civil lawsuits, penalties, fines, regulatory investigations, forfeiture of significant assets, an outright or partial restriction on our operations, enforcement in one or more jurisdictions, additional compliance and licensure requirements, reputational damage and force us to change the way we or our users do business. Any changes in our or our users’ business methods could increase cost or reduce revenue.

The laws, rules, regulations, and policies in the markets in which we operate include, but are not limited to, privacy and user data protection, banking, money transmission, antitrust, anti-money laundering and the export, re-export, and re-transfer abroad of covered items. In addition, our operations in most of the countries where we operate are subject to risks related to compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other applicable U.S. and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government officials and other third parties.

Privacy and Data Protection

Our business relies on the processing of data in multiple jurisdictions and the movement of data across national borders. Legal requirements relating to the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, transfer, and security of personal data continues to evolve, and regulatory scrutiny in this area is increasing around the world. Significant uncertainty exists as privacy and data protection laws may differ from country to country and may create inconsistent or conflicting requirements. Our ongoing efforts to comply with privacy, cybersecurity, and data protection laws may entail expenses, may divert resources from other initiatives and projects, and could limit the service we are able to offer. Enforcement actions and investigations by regulatory authorities related to data security incidents and privacy actions or investigations could damage our reputation and impact us through increased costs or restrictions on our business, and noncompliance could result in regulatory penalties and significant legal liability.

Although we make reasonable efforts to comply with all applicable data protection laws and regulations, our interpretations and efforts may have been or may prove to be insufficient or incorrect. We also make public statements about our use and disclosure of personal information through our privacy policy, information provided on our website and other public statements. Although we endeavor to ensure that our public statements are complete, accurate and fully implemented, we may at times fail to do so or be alleged to have failed to do so. We may be subject to potential regulatory or other legal action if such policies or statements are found to be deceptive, unfair or misrepresentative of our actual practices. In addition, from time to time, concerns may be expressed about whether our products and services compromise the privacy of our customers and others. Any concerns about our data privacy and security practices (even if unfounded), or any failure, real or perceived, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or with any legal or regulatory requirements, standards, certifications or orders or other privacy or consumer protection-related laws and regulations applicable to us, could cause our customers, riders and users to reduce their use of our products and services.

Banking

In general, financial institution regulators require their supervised institutions to cause their service providers to agree to certain terms and to agree to supervision and oversight by applicable financial regulators, primarily to protect the safety and soundness of the financial institution. We have agreed to such terms and provisions in many of our service agreements with financial institutions.

We and our customers are also generally subject to U.S. federal, Puerto Rico and other countries’ laws, rules and regulations that affect the electronic payments industry, including with respect to activities in the countries where we operate and due to our relationship with customers that are subject to banking and financial regulation, including Popular.

Regulation of the electronic payment card industry has increased significantly in recent years. There is also continued scrutiny by the U.S. Congress of the manner in which payment card networks and card issuers set various fees. Banking regulators have been strengthening their examination guidelines with respect to relationships between banks and their third-party service providers, such as us. Any such heightened supervision of our relationship with our banking and financial services customers, including Popular, could have an effect on our contractual relationship with our customers as well as on the standards applied in the evaluation of our services. See “Part I, Item 1. Business- Government Regulation and Payment Network Rules- Regulatory Reform and Other Legislative Initiatives.”

Export

We are also subject to the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”), which regulates the export, re-export and re-transfer abroad of covered items made or originating in the United States as well as the transfer of covered U.S.-origin technology abroad. There can be no assurance that we have not violated the EAR in past transactions or that our new policies and procedures will prevent us from violating the EAR in every transaction in which we engage. Any such violations of the EAR could result in fines, penalties or other sanctions being imposed on us, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Some financial institutions refuse, even in the absence of a regulatory requirement, to provide services to companies operating in certain countries or engaging in certain practices because of concerns that the compliance efforts perceived to be necessary may outweigh the usefulness of the service relationship. Our operations outside the United States make it more likely that financial institutions may refuse to conduct business with us for this type of reason. Any such refusal could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We and our subsidiaries conduct business with financial institutions and/or card payment networks operating in countries whose nationals, including some of our customers, engage in transactions in countries that are the target of U.S. economic sanctions and embargoes, including Cuba. As a U.S.-based entity, we and our subsidiaries are obligated to comply with the economic sanctions regulations administered by OFAC. These regulations prohibit U.S.-based entities from entering into or facilitating unlicensed transactions with, for the benefit of, or in some cases involving the property and property interests of, persons, governments, or countries designated by the U.S. government under one or more sanctions regimes. Various state and municipal governments, universities and other investors maintain prohibitions or restrictions on investments in companies that do business involving sanctioned countries or entities.

Because we process transactions on behalf of financial institutions through the payment networks, we have processed a limited number of transactions potentially involving sanctioned countries and there can be no assurances that, in the future, we will not inadvertently process such transactions. Due to a variety of factors, including technical failures and limitations of our transaction screening process, conflicts between U.S. and local laws, political or other concerns in certain countries in which we and our subsidiaries operate, and/or failures in our ability to effectively control employees operating in certain non-U.S. subsidiaries, we have not rejected every transaction originating from or otherwise involving sanctioned countries, or persons and there can be no assurances that, in the future, we will not inadvertently fail to reject such transactions.

Antitrust

Due to our ownership of the ATH network and our merchant acquiring and payment services business in Puerto Rico, we are involved in a significant percentage of the debit and credit card transactions conducted in Puerto Rico each day. We have in the past been subject to regulatory investigations and any future regulatory scrutiny of, or regulatory enforcement action in connection with, compliance with U.S. state and federal antitrust requirements could potentially have a material adverse effect on our reputation and business. In addition, we are subject to applicable antitrust requirements in each of the countries in which we operate. All of these laws and requirements may affect potential acquisitions in the relevant jurisdictions.

ESG Regulatory Developments

The recent emphasis on environmental, social and other sustainability matters has resulted and may continue to result in the adoption of new laws and regulations, including new reporting requirements. For example, various policymakers, including the SEC, have adopted (or are considering adopting) requirements for the disclosure of certain climate-related information or other environmental, social and governance ("ESG") disclosures. Compliance with environmental, social and other sustainability laws, regulations, expectations or reporting requirements may result in increased compliance costs, as well as additional scrutiny. It is possible that other types of environmental and social regulations, for example regulations regarding the use of energy or water or regulations regarding human capital management matters, may also result in increased costs. Moreover, if we fail to comply with new laws, regulations, expectations or reporting requirements, or if we are perceived as failing, our reputation and business could be adversely impacted. Any reputational damage associated with ESG factors may also adversely impact our ability to recruit and retain employees and customers.

We are subject to a series of risks associated with scrutiny of environmental, social, and sustainability matters.

Companies across industries are facing increasing scrutiny from a variety of stakeholders related to their ESG practices. For example, various groups produce ESG scores or ratings based at least in part on a company’s ESG disclosures, and certain market participants, including institutional investors and capital providers, use such ratings to assess companies’ ESG profiles. Unfavorable perceptions of our ESG performance could negatively impact our business, whether from a reputational perspective, through a reduction in interest in purchasing our stock or products, issues in attracting/retaining employees, customers and business partners, or otherwise. Simultaneously, there are efforts by some stakeholders to reduce companies’ efforts on certain ESG-related matters. Both advocates and opponents to certain ESG matters are increasingly resorting to a range of activism forms, including media campaigns and litigation, to advance their perspectives. To the extent we are subject to such activism, it may require us to incur costs or otherwise adversely impact our business.

While we have engaged in, and expect to continue to engage in, certain voluntary initiatives (such as voluntary disclosures, certifications, or goals) to improve the ESG profile of our company and/or products or respond to stakeholder concerns, such initiatives may be costly and may not have the desired effect. Expectations around companies’ management of ESG matters continue to evolve rapidly, in many instances due to factors that are out of our control. For example, our actions or statements that we may make based on expectations, assumptions, or third-party information that we currently believe to be reasonable may subsequently be determined to be erroneous or not in keeping with best practice. If we fail to, or are perceived to fail to, comply with or advance certain ESG initiatives (including the manner in which we complete such initiatives), we may be subject to various adverse impacts, including reputational damage and potential stakeholder engagement and/or litigation, even if such initiatives are currently voluntary. There are also increasing regulatory expectations for ESG matters. This and other stakeholder expectations will likely lead to increased costs as well as scrutiny that could heighten all of the risks identified in this risk factor. Additionally, many of our customers, business partners, and suppliers may be subject to similar expectations, which may augment or create additional risks, including risks that may not be known to us.

Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis could have a material adverse effect on our business and the trading price of our common stock.

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, approximately 73% and 78%, respectively, of our total revenues were generated from our operations in Puerto Rico. Some revenues that are generated from our operations outside Puerto Rico are dependent upon our operations in Puerto Rico. As a result, our financial condition and results of operations are highly dependent on the economic and political conditions in Puerto Rico, and could be significantly impacted by adverse economic or political developments in Puerto Rico, including adverse effects on the trading price of our common stock, our customer base, general consumer spending and the timeliness of the government’s payments, thus increasing our government accounts receivable, and potentially impairing the collectability of those accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2023, we had net receivables of $11.1 million from the Government and certain public corporations.

A protracted government shutdown could negatively affect our financial condition.

During any protracted federal government shutdown, the federal government may reduce or cut funding for certain welfare and disaster relief programs. Beneficiaries of certain federal programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), obtain their benefits through EBT accounts. A temporary or permanent reduction in federal welfare and relief programs could lead to a decrease in electronic benefit card volume. The effect of a protracted government shutdown may materially and adversely affect our revenues, profitability, and cash flows.

Puerto Rico’s economy, including the ongoing financial crisis and the effects of potential natural disasters, including weather events connected to climate change, or future disease pandemics or other public health crisis, could have a prolonged negative impact on the countries and markets in which we operate and, as a result, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Puerto Rico’s location in the Caribbean exposes the island to increased risk of hurricanes and other severe tropical weather conditions and natural disasters. Hurricanes and other natural disasters including earthquakes and wildfires, and their potential aftermaths, such as widespread power outages in Puerto Rico, damage to infrastructure and communications networks, and the temporary cessation and slow pace of reestablishment of regular day-to-day commerce, may severely impact the economies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean more generally. These events have accelerated and could continue to accelerate the ongoing emigration trend of Puerto Rico residents to the United States. Prolonged delays in the repairs to the island’s infrastructures, decline in business volumes, insufficient federal recovery and rebuilding assistance and any other economic declines due to natural disasters and their aftermaths may impact the demand for our services and could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Additionally, future disease pandemics or any other public health crisis may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, similar to or beyond those disruptions and operational consequences that we experienced in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. Prolonged economic uncertainties relating to the residual impacts of COVID-19 could limit our ability to grow our business and negatively affect our operating results. Moreover, the global electronic payments industry and the banking and financial services industries depend heavily upon the overall levels of consumer, business and government spending. Adverse economic conditions, such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, could result in a decrease in consumers' use of banking services and financial service providers resulting in significant decreases in the demand for our products and services which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

As a result of Puerto Rico’s high cost of electricity and governmental financial crisis, businesses may be reluctant to establish or expand their operations in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, or might consider closing operations currently in such locations. If companies in the financial services and related industries decide not to commence new operations or not to expand their existing operations in Puerto Rico, or consider closing operations in Puerto Rico, the demand for our services could be negatively affected.

Our operations, business, customers and partners could be adversely affected by climate change.

There are increasing and rapidly evolving concerns over the risks of climate change and related environmental sustainability matters. Our operations, business, customers and partners could be adversely affected by climate change. The physical risks of climate change include rising average global temperatures, rising sea levels and an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events and natural disasters. Such events and disasters could disrupt our operations or the operations of customers or third parties on which we rely and could result in market volatility. Additionally, we may face risks related to the transition to a low-carbon economy. We could experience increased expenses resulting from strategic planning, litigation and changes to our technology, operations, products and services, access to energy and water, as well as reputational harm as a result of negative public sentiment, regulatory scrutiny and reduced stakeholder confidence, due to our response to climate change or real or perceived vulnerability to climate change-related risks. Changes in consumer preferences, travel patterns and legal requirements could increase expenses or otherwise adversely impact our business, customers and partners.

We are exposed to risks associated with our presence in international markets, including global political, social and economic instability.

Our financial performance and results of operations may be adversely affected by general economic, political, and social conditions and uncertainty in the international markets in which we operate. Many countries in Latin America have suffered significant political, social and economic crises in the past, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related restrictions imposed to mitigate its impact, as well as the resulting macroeconomic slowdown, and these events may occur again in the future. Instability in Latin America has been caused by many different factors, including (i) exposure to foreign exchange variation, (ii) significant governmental influence over local economies; (iii) substantial fluctuations in economic growth; (iv) instability in the banking sector and high inflation levels or domestic interest rates; (v) wage, price or exchange controls, or restrictions on expatriation of earnings; (vi) changes in governmental economic or tax policies or unexpected changes in regulation which may restrict the movement of funds or results in the deprivation of contract or property rights; (vii) imposition of trade barriers; (viii) terrorist attacks and other acts of violence or war; (ix) high unemployment; and (x) overall political, social, and economic disruptions. Any of these events in the markets in which we operate could result in a material adverse impact on our customers and our business.

Failure to protect our intellectual property rights and defend ourselves from potential intellectual property infringement claims may diminish our competitive advantages or restrict us from delivering our services, which could result in a material and adverse impact on our business operations.

Our trademarks, proprietary software, and other intellectual property, including technology/software licenses, are important to our future success. Limitations or restrictions on our ability to use such marks or a diminution in the perceived quality associated therewith could have an adverse impact on the growth of our businesses. It is possible that others will independently develop the same or similar software or technology, which would permit them to compete with us more efficiently.

Unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or misappropriate certain aspects of our services, infringe upon our rights, or to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Policing such unauthorized use of our proprietary rights is often very difficult, and therefore, we are unable to guarantee that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation of our proprietary software/technology or that the agreements entered into for that purpose will be effective or enforceable in all instances. Misappropriation of our intellectual property or potential litigation concerning such matters could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Our registrations and/or applications for trademarks, copyrights, and patents could be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by others and may not be of sufficient scope or strength to provide us with maximum protection or meaningful advantage. Managing any such challenges, even if they lack merit, could: (i) be expensive and time-consuming to defend; (ii) cause us to cease making, licensing, or using software or applications that incorporate the challenged intellectual property; (iii) require us to redesign our software or applications, if feasible; (iv) divert management’s attention and resources; and (v) require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use necessary technologies. The laws of certain foreign countries in which we do business or contemplate doing business in the future may not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States or Puerto Rico. Adverse determinations in judicial or administrative proceedings related to intellectual property or licenses could prevent us from selling our services and products or prevent us from preventing others from selling competing services, impose liability costs on us, or result in a non-favorable settlement, all of which could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Assertions by third parties of infringement or other violations by us of their intellectual property rights, whether or not correct, could result in significant costs and harm our business and operating results.

Third parties may in the future assert claims of infringement, misappropriation or other violations of intellectual property rights against us. They may also assert such claims against our customers or reseller partners, whom we typically indemnify against claims that our products and services infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of third parties. If we do infringe a third party’s rights and are unable to provide a sufficient workaround, we may need to negotiate with holders of those rights to obtain a license to those rights or otherwise settle any infringement claim as a party that makes a claim of infringement against us may obtain an injunction preventing us from shipping products containing the allegedly infringing technology. As the number of products and competitors in our market increase and overlaps occur, claims of infringement, misappropriation and other violations of intellectual property rights may increase. Any claim of infringement, misappropriation or other violation of intellectual property rights by a third party, even those without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against the claim and could distract our management from our business.

Future assertions of patent rights by third parties, and any resulting litigation, may involve patent holding companies or other adverse patent owners who have no relevant product revenues and against whom our own patents may therefore provide little or no deterrence or protection. There can be no assurance that we will not be found to infringe or otherwise violate any third-party intellectual property rights or to have done so in the past.

Any events of such nature could seriously harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Moreover, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our ordinary shares. We expect that the occurrence of infringement claims is likely to grow as the market for our products and solutions grows. Accordingly, our exposure to damages resulting from infringement claims could increase and this could further exhaust our financial and management resources.

We incorporate technology and components from third parties into our products, and our inability to obtain or maintain rights to the technology could harm our business.

We incorporate technology and software from third parties into our products. We cannot be certain that our vendors and licensors are not infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties or that the vendors and licensors have sufficient rights to the software and technology in all jurisdictions in which it may sell our products. If we are unable to obtain or maintain rights to any of this software or technology because of intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties against our vendors and licensors or against us, or if we are unable to continue to obtain such software and technology or enter into new agreements on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to develop and sell products, subscriptions and services containing such software and technology could be severely limited, and our business could be harmed. Further, disputes with vendors and licensors over uses or terms could result in the payment of additional royalties or penalties by us, cancellation or non-renewal of the underlying license or litigation. Any such event could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operation. Additionally, if we are unable to obtain necessary software or technology from third parties, we may be forced to acquire or develop alternative software and technology, which may require significant time, cost and effort and may be of lower quality or performance standards. This would limit or delay our ability to offer new or competitive products and increase our costs. If alternative software or technology cannot be obtained or developed, we may not be able to offer certain functionality as part of our products, subscriptions and services. As a result, our margins, market share and results of operations could be significantly harmed.

Our use of "open source" software could subject our proprietary software to general release, negatively affect our ability to offer our products and subject us to possible litigation.

We have used “open source” software in connection with the development and deployment of some of our software products, and we expect to continue to use open source software in the future.

Companies that incorporate open-source software into their products have, from time to time, faced claims challenging the use of open source software and compliance with open source license terms. As a result, we could be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open-source software or claiming noncompliance with open source licensing terms. While we monitor our use of open source software and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose our proprietary source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open source agreement, we cannot guarantee that we will be successful, that all open source software is reviewed prior to use in our products, that our developers have not incorporated open source software into our products that we are unaware of or that they will not do so in the future.

In addition to risks related to license requirements, use of certain open-source software carries greater technical and legal risks than does the use of third-party commercial software. To the extent that our products depend upon the successful operation of open-source software, any undetected errors or defects in open source software that we use could prevent the deployment or impair the functionality of our systems and injure our reputation. In addition, the public availability of such software may make it easier for others to compromise our products. Any of the foregoing risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Confidentiality arrangements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

We have devoted substantial resources to the development of our technology, business operations and business plans. In order to protect our trade secrets and proprietary information, we rely in significant part on confidentiality arrangements with our employees, licensees, independent contractors, advisors, suppliers, reseller partners, and customers. Further, despite these efforts, these arrangements may not be effective to prevent disclosure of confidential information, including trade secrets, and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to copy or reverse engineer certain aspects of our technologies that we consider proprietary. In addition, if others independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods, and know-how, we would not be able to assert trade secret rights against such parties. Monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary information will be effective.

If EVERTEC Group does not comply with the terms of its preferential tax exemption grant, it may be subject to reduction of the benefits of the grant, tax penalties, other payment obligations or full revocation of the grant, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price.

EVERTEC Group has a tax exemption grant under the Tax Incentive Act No. 73 of 2008 from the Government of Puerto Rico. Under this grant, EVERTEC Group will benefit from a preferential income tax rate of 4% on industrial development income, as well as from tax exemptions with respect to its municipal and property tax obligations for certain activities derived from its data processing operations in Puerto Rico. The grant has a term of 15 years effective as of January 1, 2012 with respect to income tax obligations and July 1, 2013 and January 1, 2013 with respect to municipal and property tax obligations, respectively.

The grant contains customary commitments, conditions, and representations that EVERTEC Group is required to comply with in order to maintain the grant. The more significant commitments include: (i) maintaining at least 750 employees in EVERTEC Group’s Puerto Rico data processing operations during 2012 and at least 700 employees for the remaining years of the grant, (ii) investing at least $200.0 million in building, machinery, equipment or computer programs to be used in Puerto Rico during the effective term of the grant (to be made over four year capital investment cycles in $50.0 million increments), (iii) an additional best efforts capital investments requirement of $75.0 million by December 31, 2026 (to be made over four year capital investment cycles in $20.0 million the first three increments and $15.0 million the last increment); and (iv) 80% of EVERTEC Group employees must be residents of Puerto Rico. Failure to meet the requirements could result, among other things, in reductions in the benefits of the grant, tax penalties, other payment obligations or revocation of the grant in its entirety, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The enactment of legislation implementing changes in tax legislation or policies in different geographic jurisdictions including the United States could materially impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We conduct business and file income tax returns in several jurisdictions. Our consolidated effective income tax rate could be materially adversely affected by several factors, including: changing tax laws, regulations and treaties, or the interpretation thereof (such as the recent United States Inflation Reduction Act which, among other changes, introduced a 15% corporate minimum tax on certain United States corporations and a 1% excise tax on certain stock redemptions by United States corporations, which the U.S. Treasury indicated may also apply to certain stock redemptions by a foreign corporation funded by certain United States affiliates); tax policy initiatives and reforms (such as those related to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (“OECD”) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, or BEPS, project and other initiatives); the practices of tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate; the resolution of issues arising from tax audits or examinations and any related interest or penalties. Such changes may include (but are not limited to) the taxation of operating income, investment income, dividends received or (in the specific context of withholding tax) dividends, royalties and interest paid.

We are unable to predict what tax reforms may be proposed or enacted in the future or what effect such changes would have on our business, but such changes, to the extent they are brought into tax legislation, regulations, policies or practices in jurisdictions in which we operate, could increase the estimated tax liability that we have expensed to date and paid or accrued on our Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, and otherwise affect our future results of operations, cash flows in a particular period and overall or effective tax rates in the future in countries where we have operations, reduce post-tax returns to our stockholders and increase the complexity, burden and cost of tax compliance.

We are exposed to fluctuations in inflation, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The markets in which we operate have experienced historically high levels of inflation. As inflation rates continue to increase or if they persist for a prolonged period of time, they may continue to affect our expenses, including, but not limited to, increased employee compensation expenses and benefits as well as increased general administrative costs. In addition, inflation has driven a rising interest rate environment, which has had an adverse effect on our cost of funding, as well as led to enhanced volatility on foreign currency exchange rates.

In the event inflation remains elevated or continues to increase, we may seek to increase the sales prices of our products and services in order to maintain satisfactory margins. Any attempts to offset cost increases with price increases may result in reduced sales, increase customer dissatisfaction or otherwise harm our reputation. Moreover, to the extent inflation has other adverse effects on the market, it may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Acquisitions, strategic investments, partnerships, or alliances could be difficult to identify, pose integration challenges, divert the attention of management, disrupt our business, dilute shareholder value, and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may in the future seek to acquire or invest in businesses, joint ventures, products and platform capabilities, or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our products and platform capabilities, enhance our technical capabilities, or otherwise offer growth opportunities. For example, in November 2023, we completed a the Sinqia Transaction, pursuant to which, among other things, Sinqia became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Evertec BR. Any such acquisition or investment may divert the attention of management and cause us to incur various expenses in identifying, investigating, and pursuing suitable opportunities, whether or not the transactions are completed, and may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. In particular, we may encounter difficulties assimilating or integrating the businesses, technologies, products and platform capabilities, personnel, or operations of the acquired companies, particularly if we are unable to retain the key personnel of the acquired company, their software is not easily adapted to work with our existing platforms, or we have difficulty retaining customer, vendors and other relationships of any acquired business due to changes in ownership, management, or otherwise. These transactions may also disrupt our business, divert our resources, and require significant management attention that would otherwise be available for development of our existing businesses. Any such transactions that we are able to complete may not result in any synergies or other benefits we had expected to achieve, which could result in substantial impairment charges.

In addition, we may not be able to find and identify desirable acquisition targets or business opportunities or be successful in entering into agreements with any particular strategic partner. We expect that certain of our competitors, many of which have greater resources than we do, will compete with us in acquiring complementary businesses or products. This competition could increase prices for potential acquisitions that we believe are attractive. Also, acquisitions are often subject to various regulatory approvals. If we fail to receive the appropriate regulatory approvals, we may not be able to consummate an acquisition that we believe is in our best interests and may incur significant costs. These transactions could also result in transaction fees, dilutive issuances of our equity securities, incurrence of debt or contingent liabilities, and fluctuations in quarterly results and expenses. Further, if the resulting business from such a transaction fails to meet our expectations, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected, or we may be exposed to unknown risks or liabilities.

We may acquire businesses located primarily or entirely outside the United States which could increase our current exposure to international operations located in the Caribbean and Latin America including currency exchange fluctuations, regulatory and organizational complexity, and varying economic, climatic and geopolitical circumstances.

We may not realize the anticipated benefits of our merger with Sinqia, which may adversely affect our financial condition and, operating results.

In November 2023, we completed a business combination with Sinqia. We believe this complementary acquisition will enhance our growth strategy, diversify our business, expand our addressable markets, increase our product offerings and drive synergies over time. Achieving these benefits will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate Sinqia's business successfully and efficiently. Moreover, the successful integration of the Sinqia business will require significant management attention, and may divert the attention of management from our business and operational issues.

If we are not able to successfully complete these integrations in an efficient and cost-effective manner, the anticipated benefits of this merger may not be realized fully, or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected, and the value of our common stock may be affected adversely. In addition, the actual integrations may result in additional and unforeseen expenses, including increased legal, accounting and compliance costs. If we do not successfully manage these issues and the other challenges inherent in integrating an acquired business, then we may not achieve the anticipated benefits, of the merger within our anticipated timeframe or at all and our revenue, expenses, operating results, financial condition and stock price could be materially adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Securities, Corporate Structure and Governance

Future sales or the possibility of future sales of a substantial amount of our common stock may depress the price of shares of our common stock.

We may sell additional shares of common stock in subsequent public offerings or otherwise, including financing acquisitions. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue 206,000,000 shares of common stock, of which 65,450,799 are outstanding as of December 31, 2023. All of these shares, other than the 866,616 shares held by our officers and directors as of December 31, 2023 are freely transferable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act. We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our common stock or the effect, if any that future issuances and sales of our common stock will have on the market price of our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock (including any shares issued in connection with an acquisition), or the perception that such sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock.

We are a holding company and rely on dividends and other payments, advances, and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations and pay any dividends.

We have no direct operations or significant assets other than the ownership of 100% of the membership interest of Holdings, which in turn has no significant assets other than ownership of 100% of the membership interest of EVERTEC Group. Given that we conduct our operations through our subsidiaries, we depend on those entities for dividends and other payments to generate the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations, and to pay any dividends with respect to our common stock. Legal and contractual restrictions in our existing secured credit facilities and other agreements which may govern future indebtedness of our subsidiaries, as well as the financial condition and operating requirements of our subsidiaries, may limit our ability to obtain cash from our subsidiaries. We are prohibited from paying any cash dividend on our common stock unless we satisfy certain conditions. The secured credit facilities also include limitations on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. The earnings from, or other available assets of, our subsidiaries may not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans or enable us to pay any dividends on our common stock or other obligations.

Our organizational documents may impede or discourage a takeover, which could deprive our investors of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares.

Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and amended and restated bylaws may make it more difficult for, or prevent a third party from, acquiring control of us without the approval of our Board. These provisions include:

• prohibiting cumulative voting in the election of directors;
• authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock without any need for action by stockholders (as further described below);
• prohibiting stockholders from acting by written consent unless the action is taken by unanimous written consent; and
• establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our Board or for proposing matters that can be acted on by stockholders at stockholder meetings.

Our issuance of shares of preferred stock could delay or prevent a change in control of us. Our Board has authority to issue shares of preferred stock. Our Board may issue preferred stock in one or more series, designate the number of shares constituting any series, and fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, voting rights, rights and terms of redemption, redemption price or prices and liquidation preferences of such series. The existence of the foregoing provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of us, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, some of which may be beyond our control. These factors include the perceived prospects for or actual operating results of our business; changes in estimates of our operating results by analysts, investors or our management; our actual operating results relative to such estimates or expectations; actions or announcements by us, our agents, or our competitors; litigation and judicial decisions; legislative or regulatory actions; and changes in general economic or market conditions. In addition, the stock market in general has from time to time experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. These market fluctuations could reduce the market price of our common stock for reasons unrelated to our operating performance.

From time to time we are subject to various legal proceedings which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are involved in various litigation matters from time to time. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources and cause us to incur significant expenses. Our insurance or indemnities may not cover all claims that may be asserted against us, and any claims asserted against us, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, may harm our reputation. If we are unsuccessful in our defense in these litigation matters, or any other legal proceeding, we may be forced to pay damages or fines, enter into consent decrees or change our business practices, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We continue to incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to compliance with our public company responsibilities and corporate governance practices.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange (The "NYSE") and other applicable securities laws and regulations. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to compliance with these requirements. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we will incur as a public company or the specific timing of such costs. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company or the specific timing of such costs, we could be subject to delisting of our common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.

Short sellers of our stock may be manipulative and may drive down the market price of our common stock.

Short selling is the practice of selling securities that the seller does not own, but rather has borrowed or intends to borrow from a third party with the intention of buying identical securities at a later date to return to the lender. A short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the value of the securities between the sale of the borrowed securities and the purchase of the replacement shares, as the short seller expects to pay less in that purchase than it received in the sale. It is therefore in the short seller’s interest for the price of the stock to decline, and some short sellers publish, or arrange for the publication of, opinions or characterizations regarding the relevant issuer, often involving misrepresentations of the issuer’s business prospects and similar matters calculated to create negative market momentum, which may permit them to obtain profits for themselves as a result of selling the stock short.

As a public entity, we may be the subject of concerted efforts by short sellers to spread negative information in order to gain a market advantage. In addition, the publication of misinformation may also result in lawsuits, the uncertainty and expense of which could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and reputation. There are no assurances that we will not face short sellers’ efforts or similar tactics in the future, and the market price of our stock may decline as a result of their actions.

Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

Our leverage could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, expose us to interest rate risk and prevent us from meeting our obligations with respect to our substantial indebtedness, and we and our subsidiaries may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness, which could further increase such risks.

As of December 31, 2023, the total principal amount of our indebtedness was approximately $993.5 million. Our degree of leverage could have a significant impact on us, including (i) increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic, industry or competitive developments; (ii) requiring a substantial portion of cash flow from operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, reducing our ability to use our cash flow for other purposes, including for our operations, capital expenditures and future business opportunities; (iii) exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates because our borrowings are predominantly at variable rates of interest; (iv) making it difficult for us to satisfy our indebtedness obligations generally, including complying with restrictive covenants and borrowing conditions, our noncompliance with which could result in an event of default under the agreements setting forth the terms of such indebtedness; (v) restricting us from making strategic acquisitions or causing us to make non-strategic divestitures; (vi) limiting our ability to obtain additional debt or equity financing for working capital, capital expenditures, business development, debt service requirements, acquisitions and general corporate or other purposes; and (vii) limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business or market conditions and placing us at a competitive disadvantage to competitors who may be less highly leveraged.

We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, some of which may be secured. In addition to the $194.0 million which was available for borrowing under our revolving credit facility as of December 31,

2023, the terms of the secured credit facilities enable us to increase the amount available under the term loan and/or revolving credit facilities if we are able to obtain loan commitments from banks and satisfy certain other conditions. If new debt is added to our and our subsidiaries’ existing debt levels, the related risks that we face would increase.

Further, borrowings under our secured credit facilities are at variable rates of interest and are exposed to market risk due to the floating interest rates. Our results of operations, cash flows and financial position could be affected adversely by significant fluctuations in interest rates from current levels.

If we are unable to comply with covenants in our debt instruments that limit our flexibility in operating our business or obligate us to take action such as deliver financial reports, we may default under our debt instruments and our indebtedness may become due.

The agreement setting forth the terms of the secured credit facilities contains, and any future indebtedness we incur may contain, various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. These covenants limit our ability and our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things: (i) incur or guarantee additional indebtedness; (ii) pay dividends or other distributions on, or repurchase or make distributions in respect of (or agree not to pay dividends or other distributions on , or repurchase or make distributions in respect of) our capital stock; (iii) make investments; (iv) sell assets; (v) grant (or agree not to grant) liens on our assets; (vi) consummate a consolidation, merger or similar transaction; (vii) enter into transactions with our affiliates; (viii) make payments in respect of certain indebtedness or modify the documents governing such indebtedness; and/or; (ix) modify our organizational documents.

We are also required under the secured credit facilities to maintain compliance with a maximum total net leverage ratio at the end of each fiscal quarter.

As a result of these covenants, we are limited in the manner in which we conduct our business, and we may be unable to engage in favorable business activities or finance future operations or capital needs. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default under our secured credit facilities and other material agreements, including as a result of cross default provisions. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under the secured credit facilities, the lenders can cease making revolving loans to us and could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under the secured credit facilities to be immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit. Such actions by those lenders could also cause cross defaults under our other indebtedness.

If any such debt is accelerated and we are unable to repay the amounts outstanding thereunder, the lenders under any such secured credit facilities could proceed against the collateral securing such indebtedness. We have pledged a significant portion of our assets as collateral under the secured credit facilities. If the lenders under the secured credit facilities accelerate the repayment of borrowings, the proceeds from the sale or foreclosure upon such assets will first be used to repay debt under our secured credit facilities and we may not have sufficient assets to repay our unsecured indebtedness thereafter. As a result, our common stock could be negatively impacted.

Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

We have developed and implemented a cybersecurity risk management program intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our critical systems and information. Our cybersecurity risk management program includes a cybersecurity incident response plan.

We design and assess our program based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF). This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications, or requirements, only that we use the NIST CSF as a guide to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.

Our cybersecurity risk management program is integrated into our overall enterprise risk management program, and shares common methodologies, reporting channels and governance processes that apply across the enterprise risk management program to other legal, compliance, strategic, operational, and financial risk areas.

Key elements of our cybersecurity risk management program include but are not limited to:

• risk assessments designed to help identify material cybersecurity risks to our critical systems, information, and digital assets;
• a security team principally responsible for managing (1) our cybersecurity risk assessment processes, (2) our security controls, and (3) our response to cybersecurity incidents;
• the use of external service providers, where appropriate, to assess, test or otherwise assist with aspects of our security processes;
• cybersecurity awareness training of our employees, incident response personnel, senior management and our Board of Directors;
• a cybersecurity incident response plan that includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents; and
• a third-party risk management process for service providers, suppliers, and vendors, based on their critically and risk profile.

We have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. We face certain ongoing risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. See "Risk factors - We rely on our information technology systems, employees and certain suppliers and counterparties, and certain failures or disruptions in those systems or chains could materially adversely affect our operations."

Cybersecurity Governance

Our Board considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function and has delegated to the Information Technology Committee (the "IT Committee") oversight of cybersecurity and other information technology risks, which includes, among others things:

• oversight of IT and cybersecurity related risks with regard to the Company’s IT platforms and investments;
• advising and making recommendations to the Board regarding the state of the Company’s cybersecurity preparedness, including review of the threat landscape facing the Company; and
• monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of IT security and cybersecurity protocols within the Company, including disaster recover capabilities.

The IT Committee receives periodic reports from management on our cybersecurity risks. In addition, management updates the IT Committee, as necessary, regarding any significant cybersecurity incidents.

Board members receive presentations on cybersecurity topics. For example, February 2024, the full Board held a cybersecurity tabletop exercise to help prepare to respond to a cyberattack or other security incident.

Our management team, including our Chief Information Security Officer, is responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats. The team has primary responsibility for our overall cybersecurity risk management program and supervises both our internal cybersecurity personnel and our retained external cybersecurity consultants. Our Chief Information Security Officer experience includes approximately 17 years in different information security roles, including recent roles as Chief Information Security Officer of Unum and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer of MasterCard.

Our management team supervises efforts to prevent, detect, mitigate, and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which may include briefings from internal security personnel; threat intelligence and other information obtained from governmental, public or private sources, including external consultants engaged by us; and alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in the IT environment.

Our principal operations are conducted in Puerto Rico. Our principal executive offices are leased and located at Cupey Center Building, Road 176, Kilometer 1.3, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926.

We own two properties, one in Costa Rica, in the province of San Jose, which is used by our Costa Rican subsidiary for its payment services business, and one in Tupã, Brazil, which is used by Sinqia for their commercial business. We also lease space in 20 other locations across Latin America and the Caribbean, including various data centers and office facilities to meet our sales and operating needs. We believe that our properties are in good operating condition and adequately serve our current business operations. We also anticipate that suitable additional or alternative space, including those under lease options, will be available at commercially reasonable terms for future expansion.

We are defendants in various lawsuits or arbitration proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. Management believes, based on the opinion of legal counsel and other factors, that the aggregated liabilities, if any, arising from such actions will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of operations and the cash flows of the Company. See Note 25 to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements appearing elsewhere in this Report for additional information.

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) focuses on discussion of our 2023 results as compared to our 2022 results. For discussion of our 2022 results as compared to our 2021 results, see “Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” within our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on February 24, 2023. See Note 1 to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information about the Company and the basis of presentation of our financial statements. You should read the following discussion and analysis in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere herein. This MD&A contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. See “Forward-Looking Statements” for a discussion of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions associated with these statements.

Overview

EVERTEC is a leading full-service transaction-processing business in Latin America, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, providing a broad range of merchant acquiring, payment services and business solutions. According to the September 2022 Nilson Report, we are one of the largest merchant acquirers in Latin America based on total number of transactions and we believe we are the largest merchant acquirer in the Caribbean. We serve 26 countries out of 20 offices, including our headquarters in Puerto Rico. We own and operate the ATH network, which we believe is one of the leading personal identification number (“PIN”) debit networks in Latin America. We process over six billion transactions annually through a system of electronic payment networks in Puerto Rico and Latin America and a comprehensive suite of services for core banking, cash processing, and fulfillment in Puerto Rico. Additionally, we offer technology outsourcing and payment transactions fraud monitoring to all the regions we serve. We serve a diversified customer base of leading financial institutions, merchants, corporations, and government agencies with “mission-critical” technology solutions that enable them to issue, process and accept transactions securely. We believe our business is well-positioned to continue to expand across the fast-growing Latin American region.

We are differentiated, in part, by our diversified business model, which enables us to provide our varied customer base with a broad range of transaction-processing services from a single source across numerous channels and geographic markets. We believe this capability provides several competitive advantages that will enable us to continue to penetrate our existing customer base with complementary new services, win new customers, develop new sales channels, and enter new markets. We believe these competitive advantages include:

• Our ability to provide competitive products;
• Our ability to provide in one package a range of services that traditionally had to be sourced from different vendors;
• Our ability to serve customers with disparate operations in several geographies with technology solutions that enable them to manage their business as one enterprise; and
• Our ability to capture and analyze data across the transaction-processing value chain and use that data to provide value-added services that are differentiated from those offered by pure-play vendors that serve only one portion of the transaction-processing value chain (such as only merchant acquiring or payment services).

Our broad suite of services spans the entire transaction processing value chain and includes a range of front-end customer-facing solutions such as the electronic capture and authorization of transactions at the point-of-sale for both card present transactions and card not present transactions, as well as back-end support services such as the clearing and settlement of transactions and account reconciliation for card issuers. These include: (i) merchant acquiring services, which enable POS and e-commerce merchants to accept and process electronic methods of payment such as debit, credit, prepaid and EBT cards; (ii) payment processing services, which enable financial institutions and other issuers to manage, support and facilitate the processing for credit, debit, prepaid, automated teller machines (“ATM”) and EBT card programs; and (iii) business process management solutions, which provide “mission-critical” technology solutions such as core bank processing, as well as IT outsourcing and cash management services to financial institutions, corporations and governments. We provide these services through scalable, end-to-end technology platforms that we manage and operate in-house and that generate significant operating efficiencies that enable us to maximize profitability.

We sell and distribute our services primarily through a proprietary direct sales force with established customer relationships. We continue to pursue joint ventures and merchant acquiring alliances. We benefit from an attractive business model, the hallmarks of which are recurring revenue, scalability, significant operating margins and moderate capital expenditure requirements. Our revenue is predominantly recurring in nature because of the mission-critical and embedded nature of the services we provide. In addition, we generally enter into multi-year contracts with our customers. We believe our business model should enable us to continue to grow our business organically in the primary markets we serve without significant incremental capital expenditures.

Relationship with Popular

On September 30, 2010, EVERTEC Group entered into a 15-year MSA, and several related agreements with Popular. On July 1, 2022, we modified and extended the main commercial agreements with Popular, including a 10-year extension of the Merchant Acquiring Independent Sales Organization Agreement (as amended, the "A&R ISO Agreement"), a 5-year extension of the ATH Network Participation Agreement and a 3-year extension of the MSA (the "A&R ISO Agreement"). The A&R ISO Agreement, which defines our merchant acquiring relationship with Popular, now includes revenue sharing provisions with Popular. The MSA modifications also include the elimination of the exclusivity requirement, the inclusion of annual MSA minimums through September 30, 2028, a 10% discount on certain MSA services beginning in October of 2025 and adjustments to the CPI pricing escalator clause. On the same date, we also sold to Popular certain assets in exchange for 4.6 million shares of EVERTEC common stock owned by Popular (collectively with the contract amendments, the "Popular Transaction"). On August 15, 2022, through a secondary offering, Popular sold its remaining shares of EVERTEC common stock. EVERTEC is no longer deemed a subsidiary of Popular under the Bank Holding Company Act. Popular continues to be the Company’s largest customer and during the year ended December 31, 2023 approximately 35% of our revenues were generated from this relationship.

2023 Developments

On February 16, 2023, the Company closed on the acquisition of 100% of paySmart. Headquartered in Porto Alegre, Brazil, paySmart provides issuer processing services and BIN Sponsorship services for prepaid programs under domestic and international schemes in Brazil. The acquisition expands the Company's footprint in Brazil and compliments the current product offering in the country.

On November 1, 2023, the Company completed the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding shares of Sinqia, a publicly held company incorporated and existing in accordance with the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil. As a result, Sinqia became an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Evertec. Sinqia is a company that provides financial software solutions to financial institutions in Brazil across four key verticals of banks, funds, pensions and consortiums.

These strategic acquisitions are expected to enhance the Company's growth strategy, diversify the Company's business, expand the Company's addressable markets, increase the Company's product offerings and drive synergies over time.

Factors and Trends Affecting the Results of Our Operations

The ongoing migration from cash and paper methods of payment to electronic payments continues to benefit the transaction- processing industry globally. We believe that the penetration of electronic payments in the markets in which we operate is significantly lower relative to the U.S. market, which, together with the ongoing shift from cash and paper methods of payment to electronic payments will continue to generate growth opportunities for our business. For example, currently the adoption of banking products, including electronic payments, in the Latin America and Caribbean region is lower relative to the mature U.S. and European markets. We believe that the unbanked and underbanked population in our markets will continue to shrink, and therefore drive incremental penetration and growth of electronic payments in Puerto Rico and other Latin America regions. We also benefit from the outsourcing of technology systems and processes trend for financial institutions and government. Many medium- and small-size institutions in the Latin American markets in which we operate have outdated systems and updating these IT legacy systems is financially and logistically challenging, which presents a business opportunity for us.

In recent years, consumer preference has accelerated its shift away from cash and paper payment methods, noting increased demand for omni-channel payment services that facilitate cashless and contactless transactions. The markets in which we operate, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean, continue to grow and consumer preference is driving an increase for electronic payments usage. Latin America is one of the fastest-growing mobile markets globally, with a growing base of tech-savvy customers that demonstrate a preference for credit cards, digital wallets, contactless payments, and other value-added offerings. The region's fintech sector is driving change via new contactless payment technology, which is becoming a popular alternative to cash payments. We continue to believe that the attractive characteristics of our markets and our position across multiple services and sectors will continue to drive growth and profitability in our businesses.

Our payment businesses also generally experience moderate increased activity during the traditional holiday shopping periods and around other nationally recognized holidays, which follow consumer spending patterns.

Finally, our financial condition and results of operations are, in part, dependent on the economic and general conditions of the geographies in which we operate. Rising interest rates, inflationary pressures, foreign currency fluctuations and economic uncertainty in the markets in which we operate may affect consumer confidence, which could result in a decrease in consumer spending and an impact to our financial results.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP. In connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, we are required to make estimates and assumptions about future events and apply judgments that affect the reported amounts of certain assets and liabilities, and in some instances, the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period.

We base our assumptions, estimates, and judgments on historical experience, current events, and other factors that management believes to be relevant at the time our consolidated financial statements are prepared. However, because future events are inherently uncertain and their effects cannot be determined with certainty, actual results could differ from our assumptions and estimates, and such differences could be material. A summary of significant accounting policies is included in Note 1 to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements appearing elsewhere in this Report. We believe that the following accounting estimates are the most critical; require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments; and thus, results in estimates that are inherently uncertain.

Revenue Recognition

The Company’s revenue recognition policy follows the guidance from Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which provide guidance on the recognition, presentation, and disclosure of revenue in the consolidated financial statements. Application of this policy requires us to make certain judgements and estimates.

Complex arrangements with nonstandard terms and conditions may require significant contract interpretation to determine the appropriate accounting. Specifically, when another party is involved in providing goods or services to a customer, the Company evaluates, for each performance obligation, whether it is providing the goods or services itself (i.e., as principal), or if it is only arranging on behalf of the other party. Changes in judgement with respect to assumptions and estimates in revenue recognition could impact the amount of revenue recognized.

Valuation of Goodwill

The valuation of goodwill for impairment requires the use of significant estimates and assumptions. The Company may test for goodwill impairment using a qualitative or a quantitative analysis. In a qualitative analysis, the Company assesses whether it is "more likely than not" that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. In the quantitative analysis, the Company compares the estimated fair value of the reporting units to their carrying values, including goodwill. The estimated fair value of the reporting units is computed using a combination of an income approach and a market approach. The income approach involves projecting the cash flows that the reporting unit is expected to generate and converting these cash flows into a present value equivalent through discounting. Significant estimates and assumptions used in the cash flow projection include, among others, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") margins, and the selection of discount rates. Internal projections are based on the Company’s historical experience and estimated future business performance. The discount rate used is based on the weighted-average cost of capital, which reflects the rate of return expected to be earned by market participants and the estimated cost to obtain long-term debt financing. The market approach estimates the value of a reporting unit by using multiples of revenue and EBITDA based on the guidelines of publicly traded companies. Valuation using the market approach requires management to make assumptions related to EBITDA multiples. Comparable businesses are selected based on the market in which the reporting units operate, considering size, profitability and growth.

Redeemable Non-controlling Interests

The Company records redeemable non-controlling interests ("RNCI") in consolidated subsidiaries that result from business acquisition transactions where the Company is granted the right to purchase ("Call Option") and the sellers are granted the right to sell to the Company ("Put Option") the remaining interest at the calculated redemption value and classifies them as mezzanine equity in the consolidated balance sheets as potential redemption is not solely within the Company's control. The acquired RNCI were initially measured at fair value at the acquisition date. The non-controlling interest is adjusted each reporting period for income (loss) attributable to the non-controlling interest and for any dividends declared. Each reporting period, a measurement period adjustment, if any, is then recorded to adjust the non-controlling interest to the higher of either the redemption value, assuming it was redeemable at the reporting date, or its carrying value, but not if such adjustment would result in a redemption value less than the initial fair value of the redeemable non-controlling interest. If and when applicable, these adjustments are recorded in equity and are not reflected in the accompanying consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income.

Income Tax

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. A temporary difference refers to a difference between the tax basis of an asset or liability, determined based on recognition and measurement requirements for tax positions, and its reported amount in the financial statements that will result in taxable or deductible amounts in future years when the reported amount of the asset or liability is recovered or settled, respectively. Deferred tax assets and liabilities represent the future effects on income taxes that result from temporary differences and carryforwards that exist at the end of a period. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates and provisions of the enacted tax law and are not discounted to reflect the time-value of money. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income in the period that includes the enactment date. A deferred tax valuation allowance is established if it is considered more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

The Company recognizes the benefit of uncertain tax positions only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement or disposition of the underlying issue with the taxing authority. Accordingly, the amount of benefit recognized in the consolidated financial statements may differ from the amount taken or expected to be taken in the tax return resulting in unrecognized tax benefits (“UTBs”). The Company recognizes the interest and penalties associated with UTBs as part of the provision for income taxes on its consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income. Accrued interest and penalties are included within the related tax liability line in the consolidated balance sheets. Judgment is required to determine whether or not some portion or all deferred tax assets will not be realized. To the extent that the Company will not realize the benefit of some or all of our deferred tax assets, these deferred tax assets are adjusted via a valuation allowance through our provision for income taxes in the period in which this determination is made.

All companies within EVERTEC are legal entities that file separate income tax returns.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

For a description of recent accounting standards, see Note 2 to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Report.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share, as presented in this Report, are supplemental measures of our performance that are not required by or presented in accordance with GAAP. They are not measurements of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to total revenues, net income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP or as alternatives to cash flows from operating activities as measures of our liquidity. Adjusted EBITDA at the segment level is reported to the chief operating decision maker for purposes of making decisions about allocating resources to the segments and assessing their performance. For this reason, Adjusted EBITDA, as it relates to our segments, is presented in conformity with ASC 280, Segment Reporting, and is excluded from the definition of non-GAAP financial measures under the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G and Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K.

For more information regarding EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share, including a quantitative reconciliation of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share to the most directly comparable GAAP financial performance measure, which is net income, see “—Net Income Reconciliation to EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share” and “—Covenant Compliance” below.

Results of Operations

(In thousands)

Revenues

Total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 were $694.7 million, an increase of $76.3 million compared to $618.4 million in the prior year. The revenue increase was primarily driven by growth in the LATAM Payments and Solutions, Payment Services - Puerto Rico & Caribbean and the Merchant Acquiring segments. LATAM Payments and Solutions revenue benefited from strong organic growth throughout the year including the $6.3 million impact related to the Company's processing contract with Getnet Chile in the third quarter and the contribution from the acquisitions completed over the past year. Payment processing revenues in Puerto Rico continue to reflect an increase in POS transaction volume as well as the continued growth in ATH Movil revenues, primarily ATH Business. Merchant acquiring revenue reflected higher sales volumes and spread which is mainly related to the benefit of pricing initiatives and a shift in the card mix. These increases were partially offset by the impact to Business Solutions segment from the assets sold as part of the Popular Transaction in the third quarter of 2022.

Cost of revenues

Cost of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 amounted to $336.8 million, an increase of $44.1 million or 15% when compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in cost of revenues was primarily driven by an increase in personnel costs, mainly due to the impact of increased headcount in Latin America including the added headcount from the acquisitions, an increase in professional fees and cloud services, and the impact of the revenue sharing agreement with Banco Popular.

Selling, general and administrative

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 amounted to $128.2 million, an increase of $38.4 million or 43% when compared to the same period in the prior year driven by an increase in expenses incurred as part of the closing and integration of Sinqia, as well as an increase in personnel costs and professional fees primarily related to corporate development initiatives.

Depreciation and amortization

Depreciation and amortization expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 amounted to $93.6 million, an increase of $15.0 million or 19% when compared to the same period in the prior year. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in amortization of intangible assets created in connection with the Sinqia, paySmart and BBR acquisitions, as well as an increase in software amortization for internally developed software.

Non-operating income (expenses)

(In thousands)

Non-operating income (expenses) for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased by $161.3 million when compared to the same period in the prior year. The negative variance was mainly related to the gain on sale of a business of $135.6 million recorded in the prior year period upon closing of the Popular Transaction as well as the impact in 2023 from the loss on foreign currency swap of $24.1 million and an increase in interest expense of $7.5 million resulting from the increased debt raised to finance the Sinqia acquisition. This were partially offset by an increase of $5.4 million in interest income and a $2.0 million increase in earnings from the Company’s equity method investment.

Income tax expense

(In thousands)

Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 amounted to $5.5 million, a decrease of $23.5 million when compared to the same period in the prior year. The effective tax rate for the period was 6.4%, compared with 10.8% in the 2022 period. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily driven by the loss on foreign currency swap, as well as the higher interest expense resulting from the incremental debt raised as part of the Sinqia acquisition, partially offset by the impact of higher revenues in higher taxed jurisdictions, a shift in the mix of business in Puerto Rico and higher withholding taxes. Effective tax rate in the prior year was impacted by the gain recognized from closing the Popular Transaction, which was taxed at a preferential tax rate and the reversal of a potential liability for uncertain tax positions as a result of the expiration of the statute of limitation.

Segment Results of Operations

The Company operates in four business segments: Payment Services - Puerto Rico & Caribbean, Latin America Payments and Solutions, Merchant Acquiring, and Business Solutions.

The Payment Services - Puerto Rico & Caribbean segment revenues are comprised of revenues related to providing access to the ATH debit network and other card networks to financial institutions, including related services such as authorization, processing, management and recording of ATM and POS transactions, and ATM management and monitoring. The segment revenues also include revenues from card processing services (such as credit and debit card processing, authorization and settlement and fraud monitoring and control to debit or credit issuers), payment processing services (such as payment and billing products for merchants, businesses and financial institutions), ATH Movil (person-to-person) and ATH Business (person-to-merchant) digital transactions and EBT (which principally consist of services to the government of Puerto Rico for the delivery of benefits to participants). For ATH debit network and processing services, revenues are primarily driven by the number of transactions processed. Revenues are derived primarily from network fees, transaction switching and processing fees, and the leasing of POS devices. For card issuer processing, revenues are primarily dependent upon the number of cardholder accounts on file, transactions and authorizations processed, the number of cards embossed and other processing services. For EBT services, revenues are primarily derived from the number of beneficiaries on file.

The Latin America Payments and Solutions segment payment revenues consist of revenues related to providing access to the ATH network of ATMs and other card networks to financial institutions, including related services such as authorization, processing, management and recording of ATM and POS transactions, and ATM management and monitoring. The segment revenues also include revenues from card processing services (such as credit and debit card processing, authorization and settlement and fraud monitoring and control to debit or credit issuers), payment processing services (such as payment and billing products for merchants, businesses and financial institutions), as well as licensed software solutions for risk and fraud management and card payment processing. For network and processing services, revenues are primarily driven by the number of transactions processed. Revenues are derived primarily from transaction switching, processing fees, and the leasing of POS devices. For card issuer processing, revenues are primarily dependent upon the number of cardholder accounts on file, transactions and authorizations processed, the number of cards embossed, and other processing services. Solution revenues consist of (a) licensing, support and maintenance (“subscription”), implementation and customization of software used to provide financial products in areas such as core banking, credit, investments, payments, foreign exchange, mutual funds, pension funds and consortium, in addition to software used to execute processes such as digital onboarding, digital signature and digital collection; and (b) outsourcing of mission critical IT services. Revenues are based on monthly fixed fees and, in several cases, variable fees based on usage.

The Merchant Acquiring segment consists of revenues from services that allow merchants to accept electronic methods of payment. In the Merchant Acquiring segment, revenues include a discount fee and membership fees charged to merchants, debit network fees and rental fees from POS devices and other equipment, net of credit card interchange and assessment fees charged by credit cards associations (such as VISA or MasterCard) or payment networks. The discount fee is generally a percentage of the transaction value. EVERTEC also charges merchants for other services that are unrelated to the number of transactions or the transaction value.

The Business Solutions segment consists of revenues from a full suite of business process management solutions in various product areas such as core bank processing, network hosting and management, IT professional services, business process outsourcing, item processing, cash processing, and fulfillment. Core bank processing and network services revenues are derived in part from a recurrent fixed fee and from fees based on the number of accounts on file (i.e., savings or checking accounts, loans, etc.), server capacity usage or computer resources utilized. Revenues from other processing services within the Business Solutions segment are generally volume-based and depend on factors such as the number of accounts processed. In addition, EVERTEC is a reseller of hardware and software products and these resale transactions are generally non-recurring.

In addition to the four operating segments described above, management identified certain functional cost areas that operate independently and do not constitute businesses in themselves. These areas could neither be concluded as operating segments nor could they be combined with any other operating segments. Therefore, these areas are aggregated and presented within the “Corporate and Other” category in the financial statements alongside the operating segments. The Corporate and Other category consists of corporate overhead expenses, intersegment eliminations, certain leveraged activities and other non-operating and miscellaneous expenses that are not included in the operating segments. The overhead and leveraged costs relate to activities such as:

• marketing,
• corporate finance and accounting,
• human resources,
• legal,
• risk management functions,
• internal audit,
• corporate debt related costs,
• non-operating depreciation and amortization expenses generated as a result of merger and acquisition activity,
• intersegment revenues and expenses, and
• other non-recurring fees and expenses that are not considered when management evaluates financial performance at a segment level.

The Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) reviews the operating segments separate financial information to assess performance and to allocate resources. Management evaluates the operating results of each of its operating segments based upon revenues and Adjusted EBITDA. Effective as of the quarter ended March 31, 2023, the Company modified the manner in which it calculates and reports Adjusted EBITDA presented to the CODM for assessing segment performance to exclude the impact of non-cash unrealized gains and losses from foreign currency remeasurement. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude certain non-cash unrealized items and unusual expenses such as: share-based compensation, restructuring related expenses, fees and expenses from corporate transactions such as M&A activity and financing, equity investment income net of dividends received, and the impact from non-cash unrealized gains and losses on foreign currency remeasurement for assets and liabilities in non-functional currency. Adjusted EBITDA, as it relates to operating segments, is presented in conformity with ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting, given that it is reported to the CODM for purposes of allocating resources. The Company has recast prior periods to conform with the modified definition of Adjusted EBITDA. Segment asset disclosure is not used by the CODM as a measure of segment performance since the segment evaluation is driven by revenues and Adjusted EBITDA. As such, segment assets are not disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

See Note 26 to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements appearing elsewhere in this Report for the reconciliation of EBITDA to consolidated net income.

The following tables set forth information about the Company’s operations by its four business segments for the periods indicated below.

Payment Services - Puerto Rico & Caribbean

(In thousands)

Payment Services - Puerto Rico & Caribbean segment revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $24.8 million to $203.2 million when compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in revenues was primarily driven by an increase in POS transaction volumes, continued strong digital payments growth from ATH Movil, primarily ATH Business, increases in transaction processing and monitoring services provided to the Latin America Payments and Solutions segment, as well as revenue contribution from issuing services provided to health care companies and revenue from the small acquisition completed in the second quarter of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $17.4 million to $118.3 million driven by the increase in revenues and the positive net effect of previously recorded operational losses, partially offset by higher operating expenses, including higher professional fees.

Latin America Payments and Solutions

(In thousands)

Latin America Payments and Solutions segment revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $58.3 million to $186.5 million when compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase was driven by strong organic growth as well as revenue generated from the Sinqia, paySmart and BBR acquisitions completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, first quarter of 2023 and third quarter of 2022, respectively. Revenues benefited from the $6.3 million impact related to the Company’s processing contract with Getnet Chile in the third quarter. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $17.6 million when compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily related to the increase in revenues partially offset by higher personnel costs driven by higher headcount from acquisitions, an increase in professional services fees and an increase in transaction processing and monitoring expenses charged from Payments Puerto Rico segment.

Merchant Acquiring

(In thousands)

Merchant Acquiring segment revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $11.3 million to $162.4 million when compared to the same period in the prior year. The revenue increase was primarily driven by an increase in sales volume mainly due to new higher volume merchants and incremental sales volume in existing merchants, higher spread from the shift in the mix of credit cards spend towards premium cards, and pricing initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $2.6 million when compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily driven by higher operating expenses, including the revenue sharing agreement with Popular which began during the third quarter of 2022, and higher processing costs driven by the effect of a declining average ticket.

Business Solutions

(In thousands)

Business Solutions segment revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased by $8.3 million to $227.0 million when compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily driven by the impact from the assets sold as part of the Popular Transaction completed in the third quarter of 2022, which were of higher margins, partially offset by the one-time credit granted to Popular upon closing of the Popular Transaction. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $13.7 million to $86.9 million as compared to the prior year period. This decrease was driven by the impact of the assets sold to Popular as part of the Popular transaction.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity

Our principal source of liquidity is cash generated from operations, and our primary liquidity requirements are the funding of working capital needs, capital expenditures, acquisitions, dividend payments, share repurchases and debt service. We also have a $200.0 million Revolving Facility, of which $194.0 million was available for borrowing as of December 31, 2023. The Company issues letters of credit against our Revolving Facility which reduce our availability of funds to be drawn. The Company also obtained additional financing commitments in the aggregate amount of $660 million, for the purpose of financing the Sinqia acquisition, repaying certain existing indebtedness in connection with the Sinqia Transaction, as well as paying related debt financing fees and expenses. The obligations of the lenders to provide debt financing under the related debt commitment letter are subject to customary terms and conditions.

As of December 31, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of $295.6 million, of which $206.5 million resides in our subsidiaries located outside of Puerto Rico for purposes of (i) funding the respective subsidiary’s current business operations and (ii) funding potential future investment outside of Puerto Rico. We intend to indefinitely reinvest these funds outside of Puerto Rico, and based on our liquidity forecast, we will not need to repatriate this cash to fund the Puerto Rico operations or to meet debt-service obligations. However, if in the future we determine that we no longer need to maintain cash balances within our foreign subsidiaries, we may elect to distribute such cash to the Company in Puerto Rico. Distributions from the foreign subsidiaries to Puerto Rico may be subject to tax withholding and other tax consequences. Additionally, our credit agreement imposes certain restrictions on the distribution of dividends from subsidiaries.

Our primary use of cash is for operating expenses, working capital requirements, capital expenditures, acquisitions, dividend payments, share repurchases, debt service, and other transactions as opportunities present themselves.

Based on our current level of operations, we believe our existing cash flows from operations and the available secured Revolving Facility will be adequate to meet our liquidity needs at least for the next twelve months from the date of this Report. However, our ability to fund future operating expenses, dividend payments, capital expenditures, mergers and acquisitions, and our ability to make scheduled payments of interest, to pay principal on or refinance our indebtedness and to satisfy any other of our present or future debt obligations will depend on our future operating performance, which may be affected by general economic, financial, and other factors beyond our control.

Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

The following table presents our cash flows from operations for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:

(In thousands)

Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $224.3 million, an increase of $0.9 million compared to 2022. The increase was primarily driven by less cash used to pay down accounts payable and accrued liabilities as the Company continues to effectively manage working capital.

Net cash used in investing activities was $507.9 million compared to $133.3 million. The increase is primarily attributable to the acquisitions completed during the current year for $417.6 million compared to an acquisition of $44.4 million in the prior year, an increase in software additions of $18.7 million and capital contributions for investments in equity investee of $5.5 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $403.3 million, compared with cash used of $156.8 million in prior year. The net cash provided by financing activities reflected the impact of the issuance of new debt in connection with the Sinqia transaction, partially offset by $36.1 million used to repurchase stock and $7.2 million related to cash used to pay for purchase of equipment and software.

Capital Resources

Our principal capital expenditures are for hardware and computer software (purchased and internally developed) and additions to property and equipment. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company invested approximately $85.0 million and $71.9 million, respectively in our capital resources. In addition, the Company acquired two businesses for an aggregated amount of $417.6 million, net of cash acquired, and an investment in equity investee of $5.5 million. During the prior year, the Company acquired a business for $44.4 million, net of cash, as well as $7.3 million in certificates of deposit in connection with this business acquisition in 2022. The Company also acquired customer relationships amounting to $10.6 million in the prior year. Generally, we fund capital expenditures with cash flow generated from operations and, if necessary, borrowings under our Revolving Facility and, as described above in connection with the Sinqia Transaction, using additional committed financing.

Dividend Payments

The Company pays a regular quarterly dividend on common stock, subject to the declaration thereof by our Board each quarter. Any declaration and payment of future dividends to holders of our common stock will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend on many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, available cash, business opportunities, legal requirements, restrictions in our debt agreements and other contracts, capital requirements, level of indebtedness and other factors that our Board deems relevant. Refer to the table below for details regarding our dividends in 2023 and 2022:

Stock Repurchase

During 2023, the Company repurchased 1,009,653 shares of the Company’s common stock at a cost of $36.1 million. The Company funded such repurchases with cash on hand. At December 31, 2023, the Company's share repurchase program has approximately $137.5 million remaining and approved for future use. The Company may repurchase shares in the open market, through accelerated share repurchase programs, 10b5-1 plans, or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to business opportunities and other factors.

Financial Obligations

Leases

The Company has operating leases for certain office facilities, buildings, telecommunications and other equipment; and finance leases for certain equipment. The Company’s lease contracts have remaining terms ranging from 1 year to 6 years, some of which may include options to extend the leases for up to 5 years, and some which may include the option to terminate the lease within 1 year.

The following table presents the balance of operating lease obligations:

(In thousands)

See Note 25 to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding operating lease obligations.

2023 Secured Credit Facilities

On December 1, 2022, EVERTEC and EVERTEC Group, entered into a credit agreement with a syndicate of lenders and Truist Bank (“Truist”), as administrative agent and collateral agent, providing for (i) a $415.0 million term loan A facility that matures on December 1, 2027, and a $200.0 million revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Facility”, and together with the Term A Loan Facility, the “2022 Credit Facilities”) that matures on December 1, 2027 (the “2022 Credit Facilities Maturity Date”). On October 30, 2023, Evertec, EVERTEC Group and other Loan Parties (as defined in the Existing Credit Agreement) party thereto, entered into a first amendment (the “Amendment”) to the credit agreement, dated as of December 1, 2022 (the “Existing Credit Agreement,” and as amended by the Amendment, the “Amended Credit Agreement”), with a syndicate of lenders and Truist, as administrative agent and collateral agent. Under the Amended Credit Agreement, a syndicate of financial institutions and other lenders provided (i) additional term loan A commitments in the amount of $60.0 million (the “Incremental TLA Facility”) and (ii) a new tranche of term loan B commitments in the amount of $600.0 million (the “New TLB Facility,” and together with the Incremental TLA Facility, the “Facilities”). The $600.0 million term loan B facility matures on October 30, 2030 (the “Term Loan B Maturity Date”). Unless otherwise indicated, the terms and conditions detailed below apply to both term loan A facility and term loan B (together “Term Loan Facilities”). In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company prepaid $60 million of the outstanding balance on Term Loan B.

Scheduled Amortization Payments

The Term Loan A Facility and Incremental TLA Facility amortizes in equal quarterly installments at an amount equal to (a)

initially, $5,966,720.78 per quarter and (b) for any installment payments to be made in the calendar year ending 2027, $8,950,081.17 per quarter, with the balance payable on the 2022 Credit Facilities Maturity Date. The New TLB Facility amortizes in equal quarterly at a rate equal to 1% per calendar year, with the balance payable on the Term Loan B Maturity Date. The Revolving Credit Facility terminates on the 2022 Credit Facilities Maturity Date, and loans thereunder may be borrowed, repaid and reborrowed prior thereto.

Voluntary Prepayments and Reduction and Termination of Commitments

Other than as set forth below with respect to the New TLB Facility, EVERTEC Group may prepay loans under the Term Loan Facilities and permanently reduce the loan commitments under the Revolving Facility at any time without premium or penalty, subject to compensation for any break funding costs incurred by a lender and timely submission of a notice of prepayment or commitment reduction, as applicable. EVERTEC Group is required to make certain mandatory prepayments of the 2022 Credit Facilities in certain circumstances.

Interest

With respect to the 2022 Facilities and the Incremental TLA Facility, the interest rates under the Credit Facilities denominated in U.S. Dollars, are based on, at EVERTEC Group’s option (a) the Adjusted Term SOFR, which means SOFR plus 10 basis points, for the Interest Period in effect for such borrowing plus an applicable margin of 1.50% per annum, which applicable margin is subject to four 25 bps step-ups (i.e. 1.75%, 2.00%, 2.25% or 2.50% per annum) based upon the Company’s total net leverage ratio or (b) the ABR plus an applicable margin of 0.50% per annum, which applicable margin is subject to four 25 bps step-ups (i.e. 0.75%, 1.00%, 1.25% or 1.50% per annum) based upon the Company’s total net leverage ratio. Borrowings under the Revolving Facility that are denominated in a currency other than Dollars will bear interest at the Alternative Currency Rate for the Interest Period in effect for such borrowing plus an applicable margin of 1.50% per annum, which applicable margin is subject to four 25 bps step-ups (i.e. 1.75%, 2.00%, 2.25% or 2.50% per annum) based upon the Company’s total net leverage ratio.

With respect to the New TLB Facility, the interest rates are based on, at EVERTEC Group’s option (a) the Adjusted Term SOFR, which means SOFR plus 10 basis points, for the Interest Period in effect for such borrowing plus an applicable margin of 3.50% per annum or (b) the ABR plus an applicable margin of 2.50% per annum.

Guarantees and Collateral

The Credit Facilities are secured by substantially all assets of EVERTEC and its existing and future material subsidiaries (including EVERTEC Group), subject to customary exceptions. EVERTEC and each of EVERTEC’s existing and future material wholly-owned subsidiaries (including EVERTEC Group with respect to the obligations of EVERTEC and its existing and future material wholly-owned subsidiaries (other than EVERTEC Group)), subject to certain customary exceptions, guarantee repayment of the Credit Facilities.

In connection with the Credit Agreement, on December 1, 2022, EVERTEC, EVERTEC Group and the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, entered into a Guarantee Agreement (the “Guarantee Agreement”), pursuant to which EVERTEC Group’s obligations under the Credit Facilities and under any cash management, interest rate protection or other hedging arrangements entered into with a lender or any affiliate thereof are guaranteed by EVERTEC and each of EVERTEC’s existing wholly-owned subsidiaries (other than EVERTEC Group) and subsequently acquired or organized subsidiaries, subject to certain exceptions.

In addition, on December 1, 2022, EVERTEC, EVERTEC Group and the subsidiaries party thereto, entered into a Collateral Agreement (the “Collateral Agreement”), pursuant to which, subject to certain exceptions, the Credit Facilities are secured, to the extent legally permissible, by substantially all of the assets of (1) EVERTEC, including a perfected pledge of all of the limited liability company interests of EVERTEC Intermediate Holdings, LLC (“Holdings”), (2) Holdings, including a perfected pledge of all of the limited liability company interests of EVERTEC Group and (3) EVERTEC Group and the subsidiary guarantors, including but not limited to: (a) a pledge of substantially all capital stock held by EVERTEC Group or any guarantor and (b) a perfected security interest in substantially all tangible and intangible assets of EVERTEC Group and each guarantor.

Covenants

The Credit Facilities are subject to customary affirmative and negative covenants. The negative covenants in the Credit Facilities include, among other things, limitations (subject to exceptions) on the ability of EVERTEC and its restricted subsidiaries to:

• declare dividends and make other distributions;
• redeem or repurchase capital stock;
• grant liens;
• make loans or investments (including acquisitions);
• merge or enter into acquisitions
• sell assets;
• enter into any sale or lease-back transactions;
• incur additional indebtedness;
• prepay, redeem or repurchase certain indebtedness;
• modify the terms of certain debt;
• restrict dividends from subsidiaries;
• change the business of EVERTEC or its subsidiaries; and
• enter into transactions with their affiliates.

In addition, the 2022 Credit Facilities require EVERTEC Group to maintain a maximum total net leverage ratio of 4.50 to 1.00 (i) from March 31, 2023 to September 30, 2024, and 4.00 to 1.00 (ii) thereafter.

Events of Default

The events of default under the 2022 Credit Facilities include, without limitation, nonpayment, material misrepresentation, breach of covenants, insolvency, bankruptcy, certain judgments, change of control (as defined in the Credit Agreement) and cross-events of default on material indebtedness.

The unpaid principal balance at December 31, 2023 of the Term Loan Facility was $993.5 million. The additional borrowing capacity for the Revolving Facility at December 31, 2023 was $194.0 million. The Company issues letters of credit against the Revolving Facility which reduce the additional borrowing capacity of the Revolving Facility.

Notes payable

In September 2023, EVERTEC Group entered into a non-interest bearing financing agreement amounting to $10.1 million to purchase software and maintenance which the Company recorded on a discounted basis using an implied interest of 6.9%. As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding principal balance of the note payable on a discounted basis was $7.4 million. The current portion of the note is included in accounts payable and the long-term portion is included in other long-term liabilities on the Company's consolidated balance sheet.

Interest Rate Swaps

As of December 31, 2023, the Company has two interest rate swap agreements, entered into in December 2018 and May 2023, which convert a portion of the interest rate payments on the Company’s 2024 Term B Loan from variable to fixed:

As of December 31, 2023, the carrying amount of the derivatives included on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets was an asset of $4.4 million and a liability of $0.9 million. As of December 31, 2022, the carrying amount of the derivative asset included on the Company's consolidated balance sheets was $7.4 million. The fair value of this derivative is estimated using Level 2 inputs in the fair value hierarchy on a recurring basis.

During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company reclassified gains of $5.6 million, losses of $3.0 million and losses of $7.1 million, respectively, from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into interest expense. Based on current SOFR rates, the Company expects to reclassify gains of $6.3 million from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into interest expense over the next 12 months. Refer to Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Report for tabular disclosure of the fair value of derivatives and to Note 19 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Report for tabular disclosure of gains (losses) recorded on cash flow hedging activities.

At December 31, 2023, the cash flow hedge is considered highly effective.

Covenant Compliance

As of December 31, 2023, the total secured net leverage ratio was 2.24 to 1.00. As of the date of filing of this Report, no event has occurred that constitutes an Event of Default or Default.

In this Report, we refer to the term “Adjusted EBITDA” to mean EBITDA as so defined and calculated in a substantially consistent manner for purposes of determining compliance with the total secured net leverage ratio based on the financial information for the last twelve months at the end of each quarter.

Net Income Reconciliation to EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share (Non-GAAP Measures)

The non-GAAP measures referenced in this Report are supplemental measures of the Company’s performance and are not required by, or presented in accordance with, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). They are not measurements of the Company’s financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to total revenue, net income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP or as alternatives to cash flows from operating activities, as indicators of operating performance or as measures of the Company’s liquidity. In addition to GAAP measures, management uses these non-GAAP measures to focus on the factors the Company believes are pertinent to the daily management of the Company’s operations and believes that they are also frequently used by analysts, investors and other stakeholders to evaluate companies in our industry. These measures have certain limitations in that they do not include the impact of certain expenses that are reflected in our condensed consolidated statements of operations that are necessary to run our business. Other companies, including other companies in our industry, may not use these measures or may calculate these measures differently than as presented herein, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

Reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure are included at the end of this earnings release. These non-GAAP measures include EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share, each as defined below. Effective for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, the Company modified the manner in which it calculates Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted earnings per common share to exclude the impact of unrealized gains and losses from foreign currency remeasurement for assets and liabilities denominated in non-functional currencies. These non-cash unrealized gains and losses are non-operational in nature and we believe that excluding these better presents the overall financial performance of our core business, and helps facilitate comparison with industry peers. The Company has recast prior periods to conform with the modified definition of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share.

EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude certain non-cash items and unusual expenses such as: share-based compensation, restructuring related expenses, fees and expenses from corporate transactions such as M&A activity and financing, equity investment income net of dividends received, and the impact from unrealized gains and losses on foreign currency remeasurement for assets and liabilities in non-functional currency. This measure is reported to the chief operating decision maker for purposes of making decisions about allocating resources to the segments and assessing their performance. For this reason, Adjusted EBITDA, as it relates to the Company's segments, is presented in conformity with Accounting Standards Codification 280, Segment Reporting, and is excluded from the definition of non-GAAP financial measures under the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G and Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K. The Company’s presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is substantially consistent with the equivalent measurements that are contained in the secured credit facilities in testing EVERTEC Group’s compliance with covenants therein such as the secured leverage ratio.

Adjusted Net Income is defined as Adjusted EBITDA less: operating depreciation and amortization expense, defined as GAAP Depreciation and amortization less amortization of intangibles related to acquisitions such as customer relationships, trademarks; cash interest expense defined as GAAP interest expense, less GAAP interest income adjusted to exclude non-cash amortization of debt issue costs, premium and accretion of discount; income tax expense which is calculated on adjusted pre-tax income using the applicable GAAP tax rate, adjusted for uncertain tax position releases, tax true-ups, windfall from share-based compensation, unrealized gains and losses from foreign currency remeasurement, among others; and non-controlling interests, net of amortization for intangibles created as part of the purchase.

Adjusted Earnings per common share is defined as Adjusted Net Income divided by diluted shares outstanding.

The Company uses Adjusted Net Income to measure the Company’s overall profitability because the Company believes it better reflects the comparable operating performance by excluding the impact of the non-cash amortization and depreciation that was created as a result of merger and acquisition activity. In addition, in evaluating EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share, you should be aware that in the future the Company may incur expenses such as those excluded in calculating them.

A reconciliation of net income to EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per common share is provided below:

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

1) Represents the elimination of non-cash equity earnings from our 19.99% equity investment in Dominican Republic, Consorcio de Tarjetas Dominicanas, S.A. (“CONTADO”), net of cash dividends received.

2) Primarily represents share-based compensation and severance payments.

3) Represents fees and expenses associated with corporate transactions as defined in the Credit Agreement and the foreign currency swap loss.

4) Represents non-cash unrealized gains (losses) on foreign currency remeasurement for assets and liabilities denominated in non-functional currencies.

5) Represents operating depreciation and amortization expense, which excludes amounts generated as a result of merger and acquisition activity.

6) Represents interest expense, less interest income, as they appear on our consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, adjusted to exclude non-cash amortization of the debt issue costs, premium and accretion of discount.

7) Represents income tax expense calculated on adjusted pre-tax income using the applicable GAAP tax rate, adjusted for certain discrete items.

8) Represents the non-controlling equity interests, net of amortization for intangibles created as part of the purchase.

We are exposed to market risks arising from our normal business activities. These market risks principally involve the possibility of change in interest rates that will adversely affect the value of our financial assets and liabilities or future cash flows and earnings, foreign currency exchange risk that may result in unfavorable foreign currency translation adjustments and inflation. Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices. The following analysis provides quantitative and qualitative information regarding these risks.

Interest rate risks

Interest rate risk is highly sensitive due to many factors, including U.S. monetary and tax policies, U.S. and international economic factors and other factors beyond our control.

We issued floating-rate debt which is subject to fluctuations in interest rates. Our secured credit facilities accrue interest at variable rates and are subject to floors or minimum rates. Based upon a sensitivity analysis of our outstanding debt on December 31, 2023, a hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rates over our floor on our debt balances outstanding as of December 31, 2023, under the secured credit facilities would increase our annual interest expense by approximately $7.4 million. The impact on future interest expense as a result of future changes in interest rates will depend largely on the gross amount of our borrowings at that time.

As of December 31, 2023, the Company has two interest rate swap agreements, entered into in December 2018 and May 2023, which convert a portion of the interest rate payments on the Company's Term Loan Facility from variable rate debt to fixed.

The interest rate swap exposes us to credit risk in the event that the counterparty to the swap agreement does not or cannot meet its obligations. The notional amount is used to measure interest to be paid or received and does not represent the amount of exposure to credit loss. The loss would be limited to the amount that would have been received, if any, over the remaining life of the swap. The counterparties to the swaps are major U.S. based financial institution and we expect both counterparties to be able to perform its obligations under the swaps. We use derivative financial instruments for hedging purposes only and not for trading or speculative purposes.

See Note 15 to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements appearing elsewhere in this Report for additional information related to the secured credit facilities.

Foreign currency exchange risk

We conduct business in certain countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for which we have determined that the functional currency is other than the U.S. dollar. Given this, our operating results are exposed to volatility due to fluctuations in exchange rates for the countries’ functional currencies. Non-functional currency transactions are remeasured into the functional currency which results in a foreign exchange gain or loss recorded through Other income (expenses). For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we recognized foreign currency remeasurement losses of $8.3 million, losses of $7.6 million and gains of $1.9 million, respectively. For subsidiaries whose local currency is their functional currency, their assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates at the balance sheet date, and revenues and expenses are translated using average exchange rates in effect during the period. The resulting foreign currency translation adjustments are reported in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the audited consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $14.8 million in a favorable foreign currency translation adjustment as part of accumulated other comprehensive income compared with an unfavorable foreign currency translation adjustment of $23.5 million as of December 31, 2022.

Inflation risk

While it is difficult to accurately measure the impact of inflation on our results of operations and financial condition, we believe the effects of inflation, if any, on our historical results of operations and financial condition have been immaterial. General inflation in the geographies in which we operate has risen to levels that have not been experienced in recent years, however, inflation has historically had a minimal net effect on our operating results given that overall inflation has been offset by sales and cost reduction actions. Rising prices for input costs, including wages and benefits, occupancy and general administrative costs, could potentially have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition which may not be readily recoverable from our customers. In addition, inflation has driven a rising interest rate environment, which has had an adverse effect on our cost of funding, as well as led to enhanced volatility on foreign currency exchange rates. While we proactively try to mitigate these rising costs, we may not be able to fully offset these impacts, which could result in negative effect on our results of operation. Thus, we cannot assure you that our results of operations and financial condition will not be materially impacted by inflation in the future.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and Rule 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) as of the end of the period covered by this Report. Based upon their evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that as of December 31, 2023, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We completed the Sinqia acquisition on November 1, 2023 (see Note 3 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements). The scope of management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures did not include the internal controls over financial reporting of Sinqia. This exclusion is in accordance with the SEC Staff’s general guidance that an assessment of a recently acquired business may be omitted from the scope of management’s assessment for one year following the acquisition. Sinqia represented approximately 3% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023. Total assets of the acquired business as of December 31, 2023, represented approximately 35% of total consolidated assets, consisting principally of goodwill and other intangible assets resulting from the business combination. We are in and will continue with the process of integrating Sinqia into our overall internal control environment. We believe that we have taken the necessary steps to monitor and maintain appropriate internal control over financial reporting during this ongoing integration. Except as described above, there have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and Rule 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act).

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

Based on this evaluation under the framework set forth in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013), our management concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 was effective.

Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm

Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023, included in this Report and, as part of the audit, has issued a report, included in Part II, Item 8. Financial statements and Supplementary Data in this Report, on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023.