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Once a year, publicly traded companies issue a comprehensive report of their business, called a 10-K. A component mandated in the 10-K is the ‘Risk Factors’ section, where companies disclose any major potential risks that they may face. This dashboard highlights all major changes and additions in new 10K reports, allowing investors to quickly identify new potential risks and opportunities.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors" for a discussion of applicable government regulation of leaf tobacco.

All Other

We are also engaged in the sale of non-tobacco agriculture products, which represented less than 1% of our consolidated revenues for each of the fiscal years ended March 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023. These operations have been combined and reported in an "All Other" category included for purposes of reconciliation of the respective balances of the Leaf segment to the consolidated financial statements. See "Note 26. Segment Information" for additional information.

Human Capital Management

Our workforce plays a fundamental role in fulfilling our corporate mission—to transform people’s lives so that, together, we can grow a better world. Attracting, developing, and retaining top talent is essential to advancing our business strategy and impact. We remain committed to fostering a workplace culture rooted in ethics and responsibility, and we invest in employee engagement, prioritize workplace safety, and celebrate the contributions of our team in furtherance of organizational success.

As of March 31, 2025, we employed approximately 3,100 people, excluding seasonal employees, in our worldwide operations. We maintain positive relationships with the Company’s employees and their respective organizations. We have collective bargaining agreements in place in many of the countries in which we operate, and we have long-term agreements in-place in certain jurisdictions to resolve disputes through binding arbitration.

Oversight and Management

Our Human Resources department is responsible for managing employment-related matters, including recruiting, hiring, onboarding, compensation, performance management, advancement, succession planning, and professional and learning development. Our Board of Directors provides oversight of various matters pertaining to our workforce. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for executive compensation matters and oversight of the risks and programs related to talent management. Our Human Rights Policy and Code of Business Conduct highlight our commitment to diversity, inclusion, fairness, safety, and equal opportunity in all aspects of employment.

Supply Chain Human Rights Matters

We support efforts to address human rights concerns throughout the tobacco supply chain. For example, in our tobacco supply chain, we use on-farm good agricultural practices assessments to assess suppliers' compliance with labor practices.

Environmental Compliance

As an agricultural company, we recognize the effects our business activities have on the environment, and we understand that climate change could have long-term consequences on our business, our employees, suppliers, and the communities where we operate. Additional information regarding our activities related to our sustainability strategy can be found in our Sustainability Report, which is published on our website.

Currently, there are no material estimated capital expenditures related to environmental control facilities.

Available Information

Our website is www.pyxus.com. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge at http://investors.pyxus.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such material with, or furnish it to, the United States ("U.S.") Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The information contained on our website shall not be deemed part of this annual report on Form 10-K. The SEC maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Development of the Business

A description of the general development of the Company's business is included in Item 1 of Part I of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 under the heading "Company Overview" and the paragraph immediately preceding such heading, which description is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following risk factors should be read carefully in connection with evaluating our business and the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report. Any of the following risks could materially adversely affect our business, our operating results, our financial condition, and the actual outcome of matters as to which forward-looking statements are made in this Annual Report.

Risks Related to Our Leaf Tobacco Operations

Our reliance on a small number of significant customers may adversely affect our financial results.

The customers of our leaf tobacco business are manufacturers of cigarette and other tobacco products. Several of these customers individually may account for a significant portion of our sales in a normal year. For the year ended March 31, 2025, Philip Morris International Inc., China National Tobacco Corporation, and Japan Tobacco International each accounted for 10% or more of our total sales and other operating revenues. In addition, tobacco product manufacturers have experienced consolidation, and further consolidation among our customers could decrease customer demand for our leaf tobacco or processing services. The loss of one or more of our significant customers could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

Vertical integration by our customers could materially adversely affect our financial performance.

In general, our results of operations have not been adversely affected by vertical integration initiatives, and some customers have reversed certain aspects of their previous efforts to vertically integrate operations.

If our customers significantly alter their requirements for tobacco volumes from certain regions, we may have to change our production facilities and alter our fixed asset base in certain origins. Shifts in sourcing of tobacco may occur as a result of currency fluctuations, including changes in currency exchange rates against the United States Dollar ("USD"), the imposition of tariffs and other changes in international trade policies. For example, tariffs imposed in 2018 by China on U.S. agricultural products, including tobacco, in response to U.S.-imposed tariffs on Chinese manufactured goods, adversely impacted our shipping volumes from the U.S. at that time since impacted customers sought to source tobacco from jurisdictions not subject to these tariffs. This shift in customer sourcing requirements adversely affected our results of operations for some time, as it is not possible to immediately adjust to such customer-driven shifts in sourcing origins.

Recent tariffs announced by the U.S. government, including, for example, on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico, has resulted in the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by impacted governments, and additional tariffs may be imposed. For example, in March 2025, China's Ministry of Finance announced tariffs on certain agricultural imports from the U.S. While we continue to monitor trade discussions that could impact our business, we may not be able to timely or efficiently adjust to shifts in sourcing origins as a result of such tariffs, or any other tariffs and retaliatory tariffs that may be imposed in the future, which could similarly adversely affect our results of operations.

Adjusting our capacity and adjusting to shifts in sourcing may have an adverse impact on our ability to manage our costs and could have an adverse effect on our financial performance. In addition, certain of our most significant customers, including Philip Morris International Inc. and British American Tobacco, have publicly announced intentions to move toward smoke-free products, with smoke-free products replacing traditional cigarettes. Generally, smoke-free products require less tobacco in production than traditional cigarettes. An increasing trend toward the replacement of traditional cigarettes with smoke-free products, whether driven by our customers or by consumers, could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

Crop sizes may be affected by, among other things, precipitation levels, crop

infestation and disease, the volume of annual tobacco plantings and yields realized by suppliers, and suppliers' elections to grow crops other than tobacco. The unpredictability may be exacerbated by the effects of climate change, which could increase the likelihood or severity of disruptive weather events.

The cost of acquiring tobacco can fluctuate greatly due to crop sizes and increased competition in certain markets where we purchase tobacco. For example, short crops in periods of high demand translate into higher average green prices, higher throughput costs, and less volume to sell. Furthermore, large crops translate into lower average green prices, lower throughput costs, and excess volume to sell.

The timing and unpredictability of customer indications, orders, and shipments could require us to keep tobacco in inventory, which increases our balance sheet risk and could result in variations in financial results.

We may, from time to time in the ordinary course of business, keep a significant amount of processed tobacco in inventory for our customers. Control is transferred and revenue is recognized for the sale of inventory at a point in time, in accordance with the shipping terms of the contract. As individual shipments may represent significant amounts of revenue, our financial results may vary significantly depending on our customers’ needs and shipping instructions. These fluctuations result in varying volumes and sales in given periods, which also reduces your ability to compare our financial results in different periods or in the same periods in different years.

Loss of confidence in us by our customers and suppliers may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

If our customers and suppliers lose confidence in us, they may seek to establish alternative commercial relationships. In addition, in such circumstances, our suppliers, vendors, counterparties, and service providers may seek to renegotiate the terms of our agreements, attempt to terminate their relationships with us or require financial assurances from us. If our suppliers, vendors, and other providers require stricter terms and conditions, we may not find these terms and conditions acceptable. Failure to timely obtain or sell suitable inventory at competitive prices could materially adversely affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations.

Increases in the prices for other crops have led, and may in the future lead, suppliers who have historically grown tobacco to elect to grow other, more profitable, crops instead of tobacco. A decrease in the volume of tobacco available for purchase may increase the purchase price of such tobacco. As a result, we could experience an increase in tobacco crop acquisition costs, which may impact our financial performance.

Our advancement of inputs to tobacco suppliers could expose us to losses.

In some locales, we purchase seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and other products related to growing tobacco, which represent prepaid inventory, and issue them to suppliers with whom we have purchase contracts. The suppliers then utilize these inputs to grow tobacco, which we are contractually obligated to purchase if they meet our specifications. These advances to tobacco suppliers are settled as part of the consideration paid upon the suppliers delivering us unprocessed tobacco at market prices. The quantity and quality of tobacco delivered, both of which are outside of our control at the time we make advances to suppliers, ultimately determine the market value of the tobacco sourced.

When we purchase tobacco directly from suppliers, we bear the risk that the tobacco will not meet our customers’ quality and quantity requirements.

Weather and other conditions can affect the marketability of our inventory, and climate change may adversely alter weather patterns in tobacco-growing regions.

Like other agricultural products, the quality of tobacco is affected by weather and the environment, which can impact the quality or size of the crop. If a weather event is severe, such as a major drought or hurricane, the affected crop could be destroyed or damaged to an extent that it would be less desirable to our customers and result in lower revenues.

In addition, the potential impact of climate change is uncertain and may vary by geographic region. The possible effects could include changes in rainfall patterns, water shortages, changing storm patterns and intensities, and changing temperature levels, all of which may be of greater permanence than typical weather fluctuations. Their inability to do so could materially adversely affect our operations, results of operations, and financial condition.

In addition, other items can affect the marketability of tobacco, including, among other things, the presence of non-tobacco related material, genetically modified organisms, and excess residues of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.

Competition could erode our earnings.

The leaf tobacco industry is highly competitive. Competition is based primarily on the prices charged for products and services as well as the merchant’s ability to meet customer specifications in the buying, processing, and financing of tobacco. The loss or substantial reduction of one or more of our significant customers could reduce our earnings. Although Pyxus is one of only two primary global independent publicly held leaf tobacco merchants, cigarette manufacturers also buy tobacco directly from local and regional suppliers. We face increasing competition from new local and regional independent leaf merchants with low fixed costs and overhead and good local customer connections, where the new entrants have been able to capitalize in the global transition to those markets. Any of these sources of new competition may result in less tobacco available for us to purchase and process in the applicable markets.

Continued high inflation may adversely affect our profitability and the demand for our leaf tobacco products.

Global economies have recently experienced higher levels of consumer price inflation. Continued inflationary pressures may continue to increase our costs, including the cost of leaf tobacco that we purchase. If these increased costs cannot successfully be passed on to our customers, then our profitability and results of operations may be adversely affected. In addition, since our leaf tobacco products are used in the manufacturing of tobacco consumer goods, consumer behavior that deprioritizes the purchase of tobacco consumer goods in response to inflationary increases in the price of such goods could result in reduced overall demand for consumer tobacco products and, consequently, for the leaf tobacco we provide to manufacturers, which could materially adversely affect our profitability, results of operations, and financial position.

Risks Related to the Scope of Our International Operations

We face increased risks of doing business due to the extent of our international operations.

These risks are exacerbated in countries where we have advanced substantial sums or guaranteed local loans or lines of credit for the purchase of tobacco from suppliers.

In 2006, as a result of the political environment, economic instability, foreign currency controls, and governmental regulations in Zimbabwe, we deconsolidated our Zimbabwe subsidiary, Mashonaland Tobacco Company (Pvt.) Ltd. ("MTC"). Subsequently, we determined that the significant doubt about our ability to control MTC was eliminated and reconsolidated MTC as of March 31, 2016. MTC utilizes local currencies for local transactions that are exchanged at a government specified rate with USD. To convert these currencies to USD, the Company must obtain foreign currency resources from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which are subject to the monetary and exchange control policy in Zimbabwe. If the foreign exchange restrictions and government-imposed controls become severe, we may have to reassess our ability to control MTC.

Devaluation and appreciation of the local currency and inflation can affect our purchase costs of tobacco and our processing costs. In the event of such dramatic changes in the government of such countries, we may be unable to continue to operate our business, or adequately enforce legal obligations after a political regime change, in a manner consistent with prior practice.

Further, the imposition of governmental sanctions or other restrictions may preclude us from continuing to sell to certain customers or to source leaf tobacco from certain jurisdictions and could have a material adverse effect on our profitability, results of operations, and financial position.

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA"), and we operate in jurisdictions that pose a high risk of potential FCPA violations.

We are subject to the FCPA, which generally prohibits companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or maintaining business and/or other benefits. Certain of our customers, including China National Tobacco Corporation, are state-owned, and their officers and employees may qualify as foreign officials under the FCPA. In addition, we operate in certain jurisdictions that pose a high risk of potential FCPA violations. Failure to comply with the FCPA, other anti-corruption laws and other laws governing the conduct of business with government entities (including local laws) could lead to criminal and civil penalties and other remedial measures (including further changes or enhancements to our procedures, policies, and controls, the imposition of a compliance monitor at our expense, potential personnel changes and/or disciplinary actions), any of which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity. Investigation of any potential violations of the FCPA or other anti-corruption laws by U.S. or foreign authorities also could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Changes in tax laws or challenges to our tax positions pursuant to ongoing tax audits could adversely affect our business.

Changes in tax laws or in their application could lead to an increased risk of international tax disputes and an increase in our effective tax rate, which could adversely affect our financial results. The integrated nature of our worldwide operations can produce conflicting claims from revenue authorities in different countries as to the profits to be taxed in the individual countries. Many of the jurisdictions in which we operate have double tax treaties with other foreign jurisdictions, which provide a framework for mitigating the impact of double taxation. However, procedures developed to resolve such conflicting claims are largely untried and may be lengthy. Accruals for tax contingencies are made based on experience, interpretations of tax law, and judgments about potential actions by tax authorities. Due to the complexity of tax contingencies, the ultimate resolution of any tax matter may result in payments materially different from the amounts accrued.

We conduct business in countries where tax regimes may not be clear or consistently applied and are subject to sudden change. Our subsidiaries are and may in the future be subject to audit, investigation, or other tax controversies. While the outcome of such matters cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not currently expect that such matters will have a material adverse effect on our business or financial position. However, should one or more of these matters be resolved in a manner adverse to our current expectation, the effect on our results of operations for a particular fiscal reporting period could be material.

In 2019, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched an initiative on behalf of the G20 to minimize profit shifting by working toward a global tax framework to ensure that corporate income taxes are paid where consumption takes place, in addition to introducing a global standard on minimum taxation combined with new tax dispute resolution processes. The implementation of these new global principles has begun for many member countries. However, some countries have announced postponement of implementation to future years, while others have not taken steps toward implementation. The OECD is issuing guidelines that are different, in some respects, from long-standing international tax principles. While the Company is actively pursuing mitigation strategies, as countries unilaterally amend their tax laws to adopt certain parts of the OECD guidelines, this may increase tax uncertainty and may adversely impact the Company’s provision for income taxes and cash tax liability.

Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange and interest rates could adversely affect our results of operations.

Though we conduct business in many countries around the world, our sales of tobacco, consistent with the business of the leaf tobacco industry, are generally conducted in USD. As a result, local country operating costs, including the purchasing and processing costs for tobaccos, are subject to the effects of exchange fluctuations of the local currency against the USD. When the USD weakens against foreign currencies, our costs for purchasing and processing tobacco in such currencies increases. We attempt to reduce such currency risks by matching the timing of our working capital borrowing needs against the tobacco purchasing and processing funds requirements in the currency of the country where the tobacco is grown. Fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies can significantly affect our operating results.

In addition, the devaluation of foreign currencies has resulted and may in the future result in reduced purchasing power from customers whose capital resources are denominated in those currencies.

Risks Related to Other Aspects of Our Operations

We rely on internally and externally hosted information technology systems and disruption, failure, or security breaches of these systems could adversely affect our business.

For example, our enterprise resource planning system and our domestic employee payroll system are hosted by external service providers. Although we have disaster recovery plans and intrusion preventive mitigating tools and services in-place, our portfolio of hardware and software products, solutions and services and our enterprise IT systems, including those hosted by service providers, may be vulnerable to damage or disruption caused by circumstances beyond our control, such as catastrophic events, power outages, natural disasters, computer system, or network failures, computer viruses or other malicious software programs, and cyber-attacks, including system hacking and other cyber-security breaches. The failure or disruption of our IT systems to perform as anticipated could disrupt our business and result in decreased performance, significant remediation costs, transaction errors, loss of data, processing inefficiencies, downtime, litigation, and the loss of suppliers or customers. A significant disruption or failure could have a material adverse effect on our business operations, financial performance, and financial condition.

Although we monitor our internal controls, and improve them as needed, we cannot assure you that material weaknesses will not occur in the future. Failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in misstatements in our financial statements in amounts that could be material. Ineffective internal controls could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the value of our common stock and/or publicly traded debt and could also require additional restatements of our prior reported financial information. In addition, because we are not an "accelerated filer" under applicable SEC regulations, we are not required to obtain and present a report of our independent accounting firm with respect to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and we have not obtained such a report with respect to an evaluation of our internal controls as of March 31, 2025 and, accordingly, no such report is included in this Form 10-K.

Regulations regarding environmental matters may substantially increase our costs and expose us to potential liability.

Such regulations govern, among other things, emissions of pollutants into the air, wastewater discharges, waste disposal, the investigation and remediation of soil and groundwater contamination, and the health and safety of our employees. For example, our products and the raw materials used in its production processes are subject to numerous environmental laws and regulations. We may be required to obtain environmental permits from governmental authorities for certain of its current or proposed operations. From time to time, we may not be in full compliance with such laws, regulations, and permits. If we violate or fail to comply with these laws, regulations, or permits, we could be fined or otherwise sanctioned by regulators.

As with other companies engaged in similar activities or that own or operate real property, we face inherent risks of environmental liability at our current and historical production sites. Certain environmental laws impose strict and, in certain circumstances, joint and several liability on current or previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of the investigation, removal, or remediation of hazardous substances as well as liability for related damages to natural resources. In addition, we may discover new facts or conditions that may change our expectations or be faced with changes in environmental laws or their enforcement that would impose additional liabilities. Furthermore, our costs of complying with current and future environmental, health, and safety laws, or our liabilities arising from past or future releases of, or exposure to, regulated materials, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are subject to changing sustainability regulatory requirements and expectations, which exposes us to increased costs and legal and reputational risks.

Governments, the non-governmental community, and industry increasingly understand the importance of implementing comprehensive environmental, labor, and governance practices. These may lead to increased expenditures for environmental controls, land use restrictions, reporting, and other conditions, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

For example, the European Union enacted broad due

diligence reporting requirements for all industries operating within Europe.

Our e-liquids business faces inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims, regulatory action, and litigation if its products are alleged to have caused significant loss, injury, or death.

As a manufacturer and distributor of products that are ingested or otherwise consumed by humans, our e-liquids business faces the risk of exposure to product liability claims, regulatory action, and other litigation (including class proceedings and individual proceedings) if its products are alleged to have caused loss, injury, or death. Previously unknown adverse reactions resulting from human consumption of these e-liquids products alone or in combination with other medications or substances could also occur. In addition, the manufacture and sale of any ingested or consumable product involves a risk of injury to consumers due to tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination. We cannot assure you that product liability insurance can be maintained on acceptable terms or with adequate coverage against potential liabilities. Such insurance is expensive and may not be available in the future on acceptable terms, or at all. The inability to obtain sufficient insurance coverage on reasonable terms or to otherwise protect against potential product liability claims could result in the Company's becoming subject to significant liabilities that are uninsured.

The risk of class-based litigation (and individual litigation) for manufacturers and distributors of e-liquids and other vaping products, and others involved in the vaping industry, is significant, particularly in the face of increasing health and marketing concerns, the potential for product recalls, or other product-related issues. The U.S. has a highly active plaintiffs’ bar. Recent years have seen several purported class action lawsuits in the U.S. against manufacturers and distributors of e-liquids and other vaping products. These circumstances create enhanced risk and exposure for the Company given the nature of its operations, the products it manufactures, distributes, and sells, and its business environment.

Risks Related to Our Capital Structure

We may be unable to continue to access short-term operating credit lines to fund local operations on terms that are acceptable or at all.

These operating lines are typically seasonal in nature, corresponding to the tobacco crop cycle in that location. Certain of these facilities are uncommitted in that the lenders have the right to cease making loans or demand payment of outstanding loans at any time. Moreover, as these facilities mature, local lenders may not renew them or otherwise offer replacement financing facilities. We may not find these terms and conditions acceptable, or they may overly restrict our ability to conduct our businesses successfully.

We may not continue to have access to the capital markets to obtain long-term and short-term financing on acceptable terms and conditions.

We access the short-term capital markets and, from time to time, the long-term markets to obtain financing. Our access to, and the availability of acceptable terms and conditions of, such financing are impacted by many factors, including: (i) our credit ratings; (ii) the liquidity and volatility of the overall capital markets; and (iii) the current state of the economy, including the tobacco industry. There can be no assurances that we will continue to have access to the capital markets on terms acceptable to us.

We have substantial debt which may adversely affect us by limiting future sources of financing, interfering with our ability to pay interest and principal on our indebtedness, and subjecting us to additional risks.

We have a significant amount of indebtedness and debt service obligations. Our substantial debt could have important consequences, including:

•making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our senior credit obligations and our other obligations,

•requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to payments on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the funds available for operations, working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, product development, and other purposes,

•limiting our ability to obtain additional financing on satisfactory terms and to otherwise fund working capital, capital expenditures, debt refinancing, acquisitions, and other general corporate requirements,

•hampering our ability to adjust to changing market conditions,

•increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions,

•placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt or are less leveraged,

•limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business, and the industries in which we operate,

•restricting us from making strategic acquisitions or exploiting business opportunities, and

•exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates, as a substantial portion of our debt is subject to variable interest rates.

We require a significant amount of cash to service our indebtedness, and a substantial portion of our cash flow is required to fund the interest payments on our indebtedness. Our ability to service our indebtedness and to fund planned capital expenditures depends on our ability to generate cash. This is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other factors that are beyond our control. Also, a substantial portion of our debt, including borrowings under our ABL credit facility, bears interest at variable rates. If market interest rates increase, variable-rate debt will create higher debt-service requirements, which would adversely affect our cash flow. We cannot assure you that our businesses will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to service our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs.

Despite current indebtedness levels, we may still be able to incur substantially more debt. This could exacerbate further the risks associated with our significant leverage.

We may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future to the extent permitted under our existing credit arrangements. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks discussed above could intensify.

We may not be able to refinance or renew our indebtedness or be able to borrow under our ABL credit facility or other future credit facilities, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

We may not be able to renew or refinance our ABL credit facility or other indebtedness, including our senior secured indebtedness, on substantially similar terms, or at all, because of volatility and disruption of global credit markets. We may have to pay additional fees and expenses that we might not have to pay under normal circumstances, and we may have to agree to terms that could increase the cost of our debt structure.

Failure of foreign banks in which our subsidiaries deposit funds or the failure to transfer funds or honor withdrawals may affect our results of operations.

Funds held by our foreign subsidiaries are often deposited in their local banks. In addition, we maintain deposit accounts with numerous financial institutions around the world in amounts that exceed applicable governmental deposit insurance levels. Banks in certain foreign jurisdictions may be subject to a higher rate of failure or may not honor withdrawals of deposited funds. In addition, the countries in which these local banks operate may lack sufficient regulatory oversight or suffer from structural weaknesses in the local banking system. Due to uncertainties and risks relating to the political stability of certain foreign governments, these local banks also may be subject to exchange controls and, therefore, may be unable to perform transfers of certain currencies. If our ability to gain access to these funds was impaired, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We may not be able to achieve our stated goals, which may adversely affect our liquidity.

We face several risks, such as changes in economic conditions, changes in the leaf tobacco market, changes in regulations affecting the tobacco industry, other changes in demand for our products, increasing expenses, the occurrence of a public health crisis, including a pandemic or epidemic, and increasingly severe and frequent weather-related events and natural disasters. We

may need to raise additional funds through public or private debt, including the local short-term credit lines, equity financing, or other various means to fund our business, both at a holding-company level and at our foreign local leaf tobacco subsidiaries. Our access to necessary financing may be limited, if it is available at all. Therefore, adequate funds may not be available when needed, or on favorable terms, or at all.

Developments with respect to our liquidity needs and sources of liquidity could result in a deficiency in liquidity.

Our liquidity requirements are affected by various factors from our core tobacco leaf business, including crop seasonality, foreign currency and interest rates, green tobacco prices, customer mix and shipping requirements, crop size, and quality. Our leaf tobacco business is seasonal. Purchasing, processing, and selling activities have several associated peaks where cash on-hand and outstanding indebtedness may vary significantly during the fiscal year. We anticipate periods in the next twelve months during which our liquidity needs will approach the levels of our anticipated available cash and permitted borrowings under our credit facilities. To address a potential liquidity deficiency, we may continue to undertake plans to minimize cash outflows, which could include exiting operations that do not generate positive cash flow. It is possible that, depending on the occurrence of events affecting our liquidity needs and sources of liquidity, such plans may not be sufficient to adequately or timely address a liquidity deficiency.

Derivative transactions may expose us to potential losses and counterparty risk.

Changes in the fair value of these derivative financial instruments that are not accounted for as cash flow hedges are reported as income and could materially affect our reported income in any period. In addition, the counterparties to these derivative transactions may be financial institutions or affiliates of financial institutions, and we would be subject to risks that these counterparties default under these transactions. In some of these transactions, our exposure to counterparty credit risk may not be secured by any collateral. Global economic conditions over the last few years have resulted in the actual or perceived failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions, including bankruptcy. If one or more of the counterparties to one or more of our derivative transactions not secured by collateral becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we would become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at the time under those transactions. We cannot assure you of the financial stability or viability of our counterparties.

Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Common Stock

Certain shareholders have the ability to exercise controlling influence on various corporate matters.

Two shareholders and their respective affiliates, Glendon Capital Management LP (together with its affiliates, the "Glendon Investor") and Monarch Alternative Capital LP (together with its affiliates, the "Monarch Investor;" the Glendon Investor and the Monarch Investor are together referred to as the "Significant Shareholders") beneficially own in the aggregate approximately 59% of our issued and outstanding common stock and, therefore, have significant control on the outcome of matters submitted to a vote of shareholders, including, but not limited to, electing directors and approving corporate transactions. Under our articles of incorporation, the affirmative vote of each of the Glendon Investor and the Monarch Investor, so long as it continues to maintain an Investor Percentage Interest (as defined in the Shareholders Agreement) of at least five percent, is required for the approval of any amendment to the articles of incorporation. It is our understanding that each of the Glendon Investor and the Monarch Investor hold a significant amount of our senior secured indebtedness. Should conflicts arise, we can provide no assurance that the Significant Shareholders would act in the best interests of other shareholders or that any conflicts of interest would be resolved in a manner favorable to our other shareholders.

The price of our common stock may be negatively impacted by factors that are unrelated to our operations.

Although our common stock is currently listed for quotation on the OTC Markets, we understand that no securities brokerage firm is making a market in the Company’s common stock. Trading through the OTC Markets is frequently thin and may be highly volatile. There is no assurance that a sufficient market will continue in our stock, in which case it could be difficult for shareholders to sell their stock. The market price of our common stock could fluctuate substantially due to a variety of factors, including market perception of the industry and regions where our businesses operate, the operating results of our customers and competitors, trading volume in our common stock, changes in general conditions in the economy and the financial markets,

or other developments affecting us and our customers and competitors. In addition, the stock market is subject to extreme price and volume fluctuations.

Risks Related to the Tobacco Industry

Reductions in demand for consumer tobacco products could adversely affect our results of operations.

These issues, some of which are more fully discussed below, include:

•governmental actions seeking to ascribe to tobacco product manufacturers liability for adverse health effects associated with smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke,

•smoking and health litigation against tobacco product manufacturers,

•increased consumer acceptance of electronic cigarettes and other smoke-free products,

•tax increases on consumer tobacco products,

•current and potential actions by state attorneys general to enforce the terms of the Master Settlement Agreement between state governments in the U.S. and tobacco product manufacturers,

•the proliferation of investment policies and practices that restrict investments in tobacco-related companies,

•actual and proposed price controls and restrictions on imports in certain jurisdictions outside the U.S.,

•restrictions on tobacco product manufacturing, marketing, advertising, and sales,

•the diminishing social acceptance of smoking,

•tariffs and other trade restrictions on agricultural products, including tobacco,

•potential prohibition on the sale of menthol cigarettes,

•increased pressure from anti-smoking groups,

•other tobacco product legislation that may be considered by the U.S. Congress, states, municipalities, and other countries, and

•the impact of consolidation among multinational cigarette manufacturers.

Legislation, regulatory, and other governmental initiatives could impose burdensome restrictions on the tobacco industry and reduce consumption of consumer tobacco products and demand for our services.

The Tobacco Control Act ("TCA"), which amended the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, extended the authority of the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") to regulate tobacco products and authorized the FDA to adopt product standards for tobacco products, including the level of nicotine yield and the reduction or elimination of other constituents of the products, along with provisions for the testing of products against these standards. For packaging, the TCA also mandates warning labels and requires manufacturers to indicate the percentage of domestically and foreign-grown tobacco in the product.

Except for our U.S. cut rag processing facility, regulations under the TCA do not apply to tobacco leaf that is not in the possession of a manufacturer of tobacco consumer products, or to the producers of tobacco leaf, including tobacco suppliers, tobacco warehouses, and tobacco supplier cooperatives unless those entities are controlled by a tobacco product manufacturer.

Reports with respect to the harmful physical effects of cigarette smoking have been publicized for many years, and the sale, promotion, and use of cigarettes continue to be subject to increasing governmental regulation. Since 1964, the Surgeon General of the U.S. and the Secretary of Health and Human Services have released several reports linking cigarette smoking with a broad range of health hazards, including various types of cancer, coronary heart disease, and chronic lung disease, and recommending various governmental measures to reduce the incidence of smoking. More recent reports focus on the addictive nature of cigarettes, the effects of smoking cessation, the decrease in smoking in the U.S., the economic and regulatory aspects of smoking in the Western Hemisphere, and cigarette smoking by adolescents, particularly the addictive nature of cigarette smoking in adolescence.

Several countries have also taken steps to restrict or prohibit cigarette advertising and promotion, to increase taxes on cigarettes to discourage cigarette smoking and to ban flavored tobacco products. In some cases, such restrictions are more onerous than those in the U.S. For example, advertising and promotion of cigarettes has been banned or severely restricted in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Italy, Singapore and other countries and menthol and other flavored cigarettes are banned in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Further, in February 2005, the World Health Organization ("WHO") treaty, the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control ("FCTC"), entered into force.

A significant decrease in worldwide tobacco consumption brought about by existing or future governmental laws and regulations would reduce demand for tobacco products and services and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

The impact of potential regulations to prohibit the sale of cigarettes in the U.S., other than low-nicotine cigarettes, if they are adopted and become effective, is uncertain, but they could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

On January 15, 2025, the FDA published a proposed rule that would limit the nicotine level at 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco in cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products, which is significantly lower than the average concentration in these products on the market today. The FDA’s proposal would apply to cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, most cigars (including little cigars, cigarillos, and most large cigars), and pipe tobacco. The FDA's proposal does not include e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, noncombusted cigarettes (such as heated tobacco products that meet the definition of a cigarette), waterpipe tobacco (hookah), smokeless tobacco products, or premium cigars.

The proposal is subject to public comment prior to being adopted by the FDA. While the FDA announced that reducing the nicotine levels of cigarettes would reduce consumption of cigarettes by future generations and facilitate current smokers to stop consuming cigarettes, it is uncertain whether their proposal, if it is adopted and becomes effective, will have such effect.

Government actions can have a significant effect on the sourcing of tobacco. If some of the current efforts are successful, we could have difficulty obtaining sufficient tobacco to meet our customers’ requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our performance and results of operations.

If some of the current proposed efforts are successful, we could have increased barriers to meeting our customers’ requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our performance and results of operations.

The WHO, through the FCTC, has specifically issued policy options and recommendations to promote crop diversification initiatives and alternatives to growing leaf tobacco in countries whose economies depend upon tobacco production. If certain countries were to follow these policy recommendations and seek to eliminate or significantly reduce leaf tobacco production, we could encounter difficulty in sourcing leaf tobacco from these regions to fill customer requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Certain recommendations by the WHO, through the FCTC, may also cause shifts in customer usage of certain styles of tobacco. In countries such as Canada and Brazil and in the European Union, efforts have been taken to eliminate certain ingredients from the manufacturing process for tobacco products. The FCTC and national governments have also discussed formulating a strategy to place limitations on the level of nicotine allowed in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Such decisions could cause a change in requirements for certain styles of tobacco in particular countries. Shifts in customer demand from one type of tobacco to another could create sourcing challenges as requirements move from one origin to another.

Regulations impacting our customers that change the requirements for leaf tobacco or restrict their ability to sell their products would inherently impact our business. We have implemented a proprietary "track and trace" system that gathers data on leaf product beginning at the farm level to assist our customers’ collection of raw material information to support leaf traceability and customer testing requirements. Additionally, given our global presence, we also have the ability to source different types and styles of tobacco for our customers should their needs change due to regulation. Despite our capabilities, the extent to

which governmental actions will affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and demand for our products and services will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

In addition, continued government and public emphasis on environmental issues, including climate change, conservation, and natural resource management, could result in new or more stringent forms of regulatory oversight of industry activities, which may lead to increased levels of expenditures for environmental controls, land use restrictions affecting us or our suppliers, and other conditions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. For example, certain aspects of our business generate carbon emissions. Regulatory restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions have been proposed in certain countries in which we operate. These may include limitations on such emissions, taxes or emission allowance fees on such emissions, various restrictions on industrial operations, and other measures that could affect land-use decisions, the cost of agricultural production, and the cost and means of processing and transporting our products. These actions could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Certain of our predecessor companies have been subject to governmental investigations into, and litigation concerning, leaf tobacco industry buying and other payment practices.

The leaf tobacco industry, from time to time, has been the subject of government investigations regarding trade practices. For example, certain of our predecessor companies were the subject of an investigation by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice into certain buying practices alleged to have occurred in the industry, were named defendants in an antitrust class action litigation alleging a conspiracy to rig bids in the tobacco auction markets, and were the subject of an administrative investigation into certain tobacco buying and selling practices alleged to have occurred within the leaf tobacco industry in some countries within the European Union, including Italy, Greece, Spain, and potentially other countries.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity

Risk Management and Strategy

The Company recognizes the importance of maintaining cybersecurity measures to safeguard our information systems and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data. Our information security framework leverages information and guidance from external sources and is managed by an internal team, led by the Cybersecurity Manager. This team provides updates on the overall effectiveness of the cybersecurity framework, including information on cyber threats and incidents, to the Information Services leadership team consisting of the Executive Vice President ("EVP") – Global Business & Information Services, Vice President ("VP") – Global Business Systems, VP – Global Information Technology Operations and Governance, and Senior Director – Data Insights and Innovation. Our capabilities, processes, and security measures include, and are not limited to:

•reactive endpoint protection to detect and prevent virus and malware threats,

•network perimeter firewalls, including malware prevention,

•e-mail scanning to prevent spam and phishing campaigns,

•vulnerability scanning and remediation of vulnerabilities based on priority,

•logical access controls, including multi-factor authentication,

•incident response procedures, and

•disaster recovery protocols.

The Company educates its workforce as part of our security awareness program to understand the risks and potential impacts cybersecurity threats pose to our business, and ways employees can remain vigilant to prevent cybersecurity incidents from occurring. The program includes annual employee acknowledgement of security related policies, ongoing communication about prevalent vulnerabilities, security awareness training, and simulated phishing campaigns.

We maintain strategic partnerships with third-party service providers to enhance our security measures and improve resilience against cybersecurity threats. Annual penetration tests are conducted by a third party to evaluate existing security measures and identify improvements.

The Company maintains a cybersecurity insurance policy that provides coverage for potential losses arising from a cybersecurity incident. Although we maintain cybersecurity insurance, there can be no guarantee that our policy will cover all losses or all types of claims that may arise from such incidents.

Governance

Our processes for assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity are included in our Enterprise Risk Management ("ERM") program. Oversight of the Company's ERM program resides with the Audit Committee and our Board of Directors. The Audit Committee regularly reviews the results from the Company's ERM program with management. The Board of Directors receives updates from the EVP – Global Business & Information Services regarding cybersecurity framework developments and information that may impact the Company’s cybersecurity posture.

The Company’s EVP – Global Business & Information Services reports to the Chief Executive Officer and has 36 years of experience leading information technology functions, which includes information security and incident management prevention and response. Under the direction of the EVP – Global Business & Information Services and the Chief Executive Officer, an internal team within the Company's Information Services department analyzes cybersecurity risks, considers industry trends, and implements controls, as appropriate, to mitigate these risks.

Impact of Cybersecurity Risks and Threats

As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we are not aware of cybersecurity incidents that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. However, there can be no assurance that a material cybersecurity incident will not occur in the future. Additional information on cybersecurity risks is discussed in "Item 1A. Risk Factors," which should be read in conjunction with the foregoing information.

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