CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein include statements that express our opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “projects,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” or “anticipates,” or, in each case, their negatives or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, the industries in which we and our partners operate, industry, geographic and demographic trends, market and leadership position, performance and growth factors, demand for services, seasonality, competitive strengths and differentiators, growth strategies and opportunities for expansion, acquisitions and integration, investments, utilization rates, marketing strategies, intellectual property, regulatory compliance, employee and labor relationships, ability to attract new clients, our debt and indebtedness, ability to obtain financing, ability to attract key employees, dividend policy, impact of the macroeconomic environment, our properties and facilities, outcome of litigation and legal matters and proceedings, new center openings, center closings, future interest payments and interest rates, amortization expense, cash flow and use of cash, operating and capital expenditures, cash from operations, fixed asset expenditures, exchange rates, impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and adjustments, tax benefits, tax rates, tax audits and settlements, credit risk, impact of new accounting pronouncements, share repurchases, repatriation of earnings, and insurance and worker’s compensation claims.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:
| • | | changes in the demand for child care and other dependent care services; |
| • | | our ability to hire and retain qualified teachers; |
| • | | the possibility that adverse publicity would have a negative impact on the demand for our services and the value of our brand; |
| • | | our substantial indebtedness could affect our financial condition; |
| • | | that the terms of our indebtedness could restrict our current and future operations; |
| • | | the possibility that acquisitions may disrupt our operations and expose us to additional risk; |
| • | | breaches in data security and other information technology interruptions; |
| • | | our ability to implement our growth strategies and initiatives successfully; |
| • | | changes in laws or regulations that govern our business; |
| • | | our ability to pass on our increased costs to our customers; |
| • | | the possibility that our business activities subject us to litigation risks that could result in significant money or reputational damages; |
| • | | our reliance on the expertise of local management and operating staff, especially in international markets; |
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