GMS Inc. - Annual Report: 2017 (Form 10-K)

Table of Contents

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Commission File Number: 001-37784

GMS INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(800) 392-4619
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

         SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:

         SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(g) OF THE ACT: None

         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o    No ý

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ý

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer", "accelerated filer", "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

         If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o    No ý

         The aggregate market value of the common stock of the Registrant held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on October 31, 2016, the last business day of the Registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $402,473,503 (based on the closing sale price of the Registrant's common stock on that date as reported on the New York Stock Exchange).

         There were 40,970,905 shares of the registrant's common stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding as of June 30, 2017.

         DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

Portions of the Registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report for Form 10-K.

FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

        On April 1, 2014, GMS Inc. acquired, through its wholly-owned entities, GYP Holdings II Corp. and GYP Holdings III Corp., all of the capital stock of Gypsum Management and Supply, Inc. We refer to this acquisition as the "Acquisition."

        Our fiscal year ends on April 30 of each year. References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to a fiscal year mean the year in which that fiscal year ends.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

        This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). You can generally identify forward-looking statements by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "seek," or "should," or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. In particular, statements about the markets in which we operate, including growth of our various markets, and statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives, prospects, assumptions or future events or performance contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and Item 1, "Business" are forward-looking statements.

        We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors, including those discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and Item 1, "Business," may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include:

•

general economic and financial conditions;



•

our dependency upon the commercial and residential construction and residential repair and remodeling, or R&R, markets;



•

competition in our highly fragmented industry and the markets in which we operate;



•

the fluctuations in prices of the products we distribute;



•

the consolidation of our industry;



•

our inability to pursue strategic transactions and open new branches;



•

our inability to expand into new geographic markets;



•

product shortages and potential loss of relationships with key suppliers;



•

the seasonality of the commercial and residential construction markets;



•

the potential loss of any significant customers;



•

exposure to product liability and various other claims and litigation;



•

our inability to attract key employees;



•

rising health care costs;



•

the reduction of the quantity of products our customers purchase;

1

Table of Contents

•

the credit risk from our customers;



•

our inability to renew leases for our facilities;



•

our inability to effectively manage our inventory as our sales volume increases or the prices of the products we distribute fluctuate;



•

our inability to engage in activities that may be in our best long-term interests because of restrictions in our debt agreements;



•

our current level of indebtedness and our potential to incur additional indebtedness;



•

our inability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, if at all;



•

our holding company structure;



•

an impairment of our goodwill;



•

the impact of federal, state and local regulations;



•

the cost of compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and other regulations;



•

significant increases in fuel costs or shortages in the supply of fuel;



•

a disruption or breach in our IT systems;



•

natural or man-made disruptions to our facilities; and



•

other risks and uncertainties, including those listed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors."

        Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not guarantees of future performance and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate, may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and events in the industry in which we operate, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, they may not be predictive of results or developments in future periods.

        Any forward-looking statement that we make in this Annual Report on Form 10-K speaks only as of the date of such statement. Except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise, or to publicly announce any update or revision to, any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You should, however, review the factors and risks we describe in the reports we will file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, after the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

2

Table of Contents

PART I

Item 1.    Business

History and Company Overview

        Founded in 1971, we are the leading North American distributor of wallboard and suspended ceilings systems, or ceilings. Our core customer is the interior contractor, who typically installs wallboard, ceilings and our other interior construction products in commercial and residential buildings. As a leading specialty distributor, we serve as a critical link between our suppliers and a highly fragmented customer base of over 20,000 contractors. Our operating model combines a national platform with a local go-to-market strategy through over 200 branches across the country. We believe this combination enables us to generate economies of scale while maintaining the high service levels, entrepreneurial culture and customer intimacy of a local business.

        On April 1, 2014, GMS Inc. acquired, through its wholly-owned entities, GYP Holdings II Corp. and GYP Holdings III Corp., all of the capital stock of Gypsum Management and Supply, Inc. We refer to this acquisition as the "Acquisition." Prior to the secondary offering of the Company's common stock on June 7, 2017, GMS was a controlled company, within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of the New York Stock Exchange, by certain affiliates of AEA Investors LP, which we refer to as "AEA" and certain of our other stockholders through a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock.

Initial and Secondary Public Offerings

        On June 1, 2016, we completed our initial public offering, or IPO, of 8,050,000 shares of common stock at a price of $21.00 per share, including 1,050,000 shares of common stock that were issued as a result of the exercise in full by the underwriters of an option to purchase additional shares to cover over-allotments. Our common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, on May 26, 2016 under the ticker symbol "GMS". After underwriting discounts and commissions but before expenses, we received net proceeds from the IPO of approximately $156.9 million. We used these proceeds together with cash on hand to repay $160.0 million principal amount, of our term loan debt outstanding under our senior secured second lien term loan facility, or the Second Lien Facility, which was a payment in full of the entire loan balance due under the Second Lien Facility.

        On May 13, 2016, we amended and restated our certificate of incorporation to increase our authorized share count to 550,000,000 shares of stock, including 500,000,000 shares of common stock and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, each with a par value $0.01 per share and to split our common stock 10.158-for-1. Unless otherwise noted herein, historic share data has been adjusted to give effect to the stock split.

        On February 28, 2017, certain of our stockholders completed a secondary public offering of 7,992,500 shares of the Company's common stock at a price to the public of $29.25 per share, including 1,042,500 shares of common stock that were sold as a result of the exercise in full by the underwriters of an option to purchase additional shares that was granted by the selling stockholders. We did not receive any proceeds from the sale of our common stock by the selling stockholders. We, however, bear the costs associated with the sale of shares by the Selling Stockholders, other than underwriting discounts and commissions.

        Subsequent to the end of fiscal 2017, on June 7, 2017, certain of our stockholders completed an additional secondary public offering of 5,750,000 shares of the Company's common stock at a price to the public of $33.00 per share, including 750,000 shares of common stock that were sold as a result of the exercise in full by the underwriters of an option to purchase additional shares that was granted by the selling stockholders. As a result of such offering, the control group consisting of certain affiliates of AEA and certain other of our stockholders no longer controls a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. Accordingly, we are no longer a "controlled company" within the meaning of the New York Stock Exchange corporate governance standards. We did not receive any proceeds from the sale of our common stock by the selling stockholders. We, however, bear the costs associated with the sale of shares by the Selling Stockholders, other than underwriting discounts and commissions.

3

Table of Contents

Products

        We provide a comprehensive product offering of over 20,000 stock-keeping-units, or SKUs, of wallboard, ceilings and complementary interior construction products for interior contractors. By carrying a full line of wallboard and ceilings along with steel framing and ancillary products, we are able to serve as a one-stop-shop for our customers.

Wallboard

        Wallboard is one of the most widely used building products for interior and exterior walls and ceilings in residential and commercial structures due to its low cost, ease of installation and superior performance in providing comfort, fire resistance, thermal insulation, sound insulation, mold and moisture resistance, impact resistance, aesthetics and design elements. Wallboard is sold in panels of various dimensions, suited to various applications. In commercial and institutional construction projects, architectural specifications and building codes provide requirements related to the thickness of the panels and, in some cases, other characteristics, including fire resistance. In addition, there are wallboard products that provide some additional value in use. These include lighter weight panels, panels with additional sound insulation, and panels coated to provide mold and moisture resistance. In addition to the interior wallboard products described above, exterior sheathing is a water-resistant wallboard product designed for attachment to exterior side-wall framing as an underlayment for various exterior siding materials. These panels are manufactured with a treated, water-resistant core faced with water-repellent paper on both face and back surfaces and long edges.

        While highly visible and essential, wallboard typically comprises only 3% to 5% of a new home's total cost. Given its low price point relative to other materials, we believe that there is no economical substitute for wallboard in either residential or commercial applications. We believe wallboard demand is driven by a balanced mix of both residential and commercial new construction as well as repair and remodeling ("R&R") activity.

Ceilings

        Our ceilings product line consists of suspended mineral fiber, soft fiber and metal ceiling systems primarily used in offices, hotels, hospitals, retail facilities, schools and a variety of other commercial and institutional buildings. The principal components of our ceiling systems are typically square mineral fiber tiles and the metal grid that holds the tile in place. The systems vary by acoustical performance characteristics, reflectivity, color, fire protection and aesthetic appeal. In addition to these systems, we have expanded our ceilings product offering to include architectural specialty ceilings. This product line consists of a variety of specialty shapes that provide a room with a unique visual effect as well as enhanced acoustical performance. As a result of the specified, often customized nature of these products, architectural specialty ceilings are a growing, high margin component of our product offering.

        Our ceilings product line is almost exclusively sold into commercial and institutional applications. Because interior contractors who purchase ceilings frequently buy wallboard from the same distributor, carrying our ceilings product line helps increase our sales of wallboard and other complementary products, which are often delivered together with ceilings to the same worksite as part of a commercial package.

        In the ceilings market, brand is highly valued and often specified by the architect of a commercial building. Because of our strong market position, we have exclusive access to the leading ceilings brand in many of our local markets. Where we have exclusivity, these specifications help us drive sales of ceilings products as well as all of the complementary products we sell as part of our commercial package. In effect, our exclusivity on the leading ceiling tile brand creates a virtuous cycle which helps reinforce our market position in our other products. In addition, because ceiling tile systems differ in size, shape and aesthetic appeal between manufacturers, they are often replaced with the same brand for R&R projects. As a result, the leading brand's installed base of product generates built in demand for replacement product over time. Because we have exclusive access to that brand in certain markets, we benefit from these recurring sales.

4

Table of Contents

Steel Framing

        Our steel framing product line consists of steel track, studs and the various other steel products used to frame the interior walls of a commercial or institutional building. Typically the contractor who installs the steel framing also installs the wallboard, and the two products, along with ceilings, insulation and other products are sold together as part of a commercial package. Nearly all of our steel framing products are sold for use in commercial buildings.

Other Products

        In addition to our three main product lines, we supply our customers with complementary products, including insulation, ready-mix-joint compound and various other interior construction products. We also supply our customers with the ancillary products they need to complete the job including tools and safety products. We partner with leading branded vendors for many of these products and allow them to merchandise their products in our show rooms that are adjacent to many of our warehouses.

Our Industry

        As the U.S. construction market evolved during the second half of the 20^th century, contractors began to specialize in specific trades within the construction process, and specialty distributors emerged to supply them. One of these trades was wallboard and ceilings installation, and we, along with other specialty distributors, tailored our product offerings and service capabilities to meet the unique needs of that trade. Today, specialty distributors comprise the preferred distribution channel for wallboard and ceilings in both the commercial and residential construction markets.

        We believe the success of the specialty distribution model in wallboard and ceilings is driven by the strong value proposition provided to our customers. Given the logistical complexity of the distribution services we provide, the expertise needed to execute effectively, and the special equipment required, we believe specialty distributors focused on wallboard and ceilings are best suited to meet contractors' needs. The main drivers for our products are commercial new construction, commercial R&R, residential new construction and residential R&R.

Commercial

        Our addressable commercial construction market is comprised of a variety of commercial and institutional sub-segments with varying demand drivers. Our commercial markets include offices, hotels, retail stores and other commercial buildings, while our institutional markets include educational facilities, healthcare facilities, government buildings and other institutional facilities. The principal demand drivers across these markets include the overall economic outlook, the general business cycle, government spending, vacancy rates, employment trends, interest rates, availability of credit and demographic trends.

        We believe commercial R&R spending is typically more stable than new commercial construction activity. Commercial R&R spending is driven by a number of factors, including commercial real estate prices and rental rates, office vacancy rates, government spending and interest rates. Commercial R&R spending is also driven by commercial lease expirations and renewals, as well as tenant turnover. Such events often result in repair, reconfiguration and/or upgrading of existing commercial space.

Residential

        Residential construction activity is driven by a number of factors, including the overall economic outlook, employment, income growth, home prices, availability of mortgage financing, interest rates and consumer confidence, among others.

        While residential R&R activity is typically more stable than new construction activity, we believe the prolonged period of under-investment during the recent downturn will result in above-average growth for the next

5

Table of Contents

several years. The primary drivers of residential R&R spending include changes in existing home prices, existing home sales, the average age of the housing stock, consumer confidence and interest rates.

Our Growth Strategy

        Our growth strategy entails taking market share within our existing footprint, expanding into new markets by opening new branches and strategic acquisitions. We expect to continue to capture profitable market share in our existing footprint by delivering industry-leading customer service. Our strategy for opening new branches is to further penetrate markets that are adjacent to our existing operations. Typically, we have pre-existing customer relationships in these markets but need a new location to fully capitalize on those relationships. Since May 1, 2013, we have opened 25 new branches and we currently expect to open several new branches each year depending on market conditions. In addition, we will continue to selectively pursue tuck-in acquisitions and have a dedicated team of professionals to manage the process. Due to the large, highly fragmented nature of our market and our reputation throughout the industry, we believe we have the potential to access a robust acquisition pipeline that will continue to supplement our organic growth. We use a rigorous targeting process to identify acquisition candidates that will fit our culture and business model. As a result of our scale, purchasing power and ability to improve operations through implementing best practices, we believe we can achieve substantial synergies and drive earnings accretion from our acquisition strategy.

Customers

        Our diverse customer base consists of more than 20,000 contractors as well as home builders. We maintain local relationships with our contractors through our network of branches and our extensive salesforce. We also serve our large homebuilder customers through our local branches, but are able to coordinate the relationships on a national basis through our Yard Support Center in Tucker, Georgia. Our ability to serve multi-regional homebuilders across their footprints provides value to them and differentiates us from most of our competitors. During fiscal 2017 and 2016, our single largest customer accounted for 1.9% and 2.4%, respectively, of our net sales and our net sales from our top ten customers accounted for 8.7% and 9.0%, respectively.

Suppliers

        Our leading market position, national footprint and superior service capabilities have allowed us to develop strong relationships with our suppliers. We maintain exceptional, long-term relationships with all seven major North American wallboard manufacturers, as well as the three major ceilings manufacturers: Armstrong World Industries, Inc., or Armstrong, CertainTeed Corporation and USG Corporation, or USG. Because we account for a meaningful portion of their volumes and provide them with an extensive salesforce to market their products, we are viewed by our suppliers as a key channel partner. We believe this position provides us with advantaged procurement.

Sales and Marketing

        Our sales and marketing strategy is to provide a comprehensive set of high-quality products and superior services to contractors and builders reliably, safely, accurately and on-time. We have a highly experienced sales force of over 600 people who manage our customer relationships and grow our customer base. We have strategies to increase our customer base at both the corporate and local branch levels, which focus on building and growing strong relationships with our customers, whether they serve a small local market, or a national footprint. We believe that the experience and expertise of our salesforce differentiates us from our competition particularly in the commercial market, which requires a highly technical and specialized product knowledge and a sophisticated delivery plan.

6

Table of Contents

Competition

        We compete against other specialty distributors as well as big box retailers and lumberyards. Among specialty distributors, we compete against a small number of large distributors and many small, local, privately-owned distributors. Our largest competitors include: Allied Building Products (a subsidiary of CRH plc), Foundation Building Materials and L&W Supply Co. Inc (a subsidiary of ABC Supply Company). However, we believe smaller, regional or local competitors still comprise more than half of the North American specialty distribution market. The principal competitive factors in our business include, but are not limited to, availability of materials and supplies; technical product knowledge and expertise; advisory or other service capabilities; delivery capabilities; pricing of products; and availability of credit.

Seasonality

        In a typical year, our operating results are impacted by seasonality. Historically, sales of our products have been slightly higher in the first and second quarters of each fiscal year due to favorable weather and longer daylight conditions during these periods. Seasonal variations in operating results may be impacted by inclement weather conditions, such as cold or wet weather, which can delay construction projects.

Intellectual Property

        We own United States trademark registrations for approximately 33 trademarks that we use in our business. Generally, registered trademarks have a perpetual life, provided that they are renewed on a timely basis and continue to be used properly as trademarks. We intend to maintain these trademark registrations as long as they remain valuable to our business. Other than certain of our local brands, the retention of which we believe helps maintain customer loyalty, we do not believe our business is dependent to a material degree on trademarks, patents, copyrights or trade secrets. In addition, other than commercially available software licenses, we do not believe that any of our licenses for third-party intellectual property are material to our business, taken as a whole.

Employees

        As of April 30, 2017, we had over 4,400 employees, of which less than 3% were affiliated with labor unions. We believe that we have good relations with our employees. Additionally, we believe that the training provided through our employee development programs and our entrepreneurial, performance-based culture provides significant benefits to our employees.

Government Regulation

        While we are not engaged in a "regulated industry," we are subject to various federal, state and local government regulations applicable to the business in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including laws and regulations relating to our relationships with our employees, public health and safety, workplace safety, transportation, zoning and fire codes. We strive to operate each of our branches in accordance with applicable laws, codes and regulations. We believe we are in compliance in all material respects with existing applicable environmental laws and regulations and, in addition, that our employment, workplace health and workplace safety practices comply with related regulations.

        Our operations in domestic interstate commerce are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, or DOT, which has broad administrative powers with respect to our transportation operations. We are subject to safety requirements governing interstate operations prescribed by the DOT. Vehicle dimension and driver hours of service also are subject to both federal and state regulations. See Item 1A, "Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—Federal, state, local and other regulations could impose substantial costs and restrictions on our operations that would reduce our net income." Our operations are also subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, which has broad administrative powers with respect to workplace and jobsite safety.

7

Table of Contents

Environmental, Health and Safety

        We are subject to various federal, state and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including laws and regulations governing the investigation and cleanup of contaminated properties, air emissions, water discharges, waste management and disposal, product safety and workplace health and safety. These laws and regulations impose a variety of requirements and restrictions on our operations and the products we distribute. The failure by us to comply with these laws and regulations could result in fines, penalties, enforcement actions, third party claims, damage to property or natural resources and personal injury, requirements to investigate or clean up property or to pay for the costs of investigation or cleanup, or regulatory or judicial orders requiring corrective measures, including the installation of pollution control equipment or remedial actions and could negatively impact our reputation with customers. Environmental, health and safety laws and regulations applicable to our business, the products we distribute and the business of our customers, and the interpretation or enforcement of these laws and regulations, are constantly evolving and it is impossible to predict accurately the effect that changes in these laws and regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, may have upon our business, financial condition or results of operations. Should environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, become more stringent, our costs, or the costs of our customers, could increase, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

        Under certain laws and regulations, such as the U.S. federal Superfund law or its state equivalents, the obligation to investigate, remediate, monitor and clean up contamination at a facility may be imposed on current and former owners, lessees or operators or on persons who may have sent waste to that facility for disposal. Liability under these laws and regulations may be imposed without regard to fault or to the legality of the activities giving rise to the contamination. Moreover, we may incur liabilities in connection with environmental conditions currently unknown to us relating to our prior, existing or future owned or leased sites or operations or those of predecessor companies whose liabilities we may have assumed or acquired.

Available Information

        We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act, and in accordance therewith, we file reports, proxy and information statements and other information with the SEC. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available through the investor relations section of our website at www.gms.com. Reports are available free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file them with, or furnish them to, the SEC. The information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

        In addition to our website, you may read and copy public reports we file with or furnish to the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains our reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that we file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Item 1A.    Risk Factors

        The following risk factors may be important to understanding any statement in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or elsewhere. Our business, financial condition and operating results can be affected by a number of factors, whether currently known or unknown, including but not limited to those described below. Any one or more of such factors could directly or indirectly cause our actual results of operations and financial condition to vary materially from past or anticipated future results of operations and financial condition. Any of these factors, in whole or in part, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and stock price.

8

Table of Contents

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

Our business is affected by general business, financial market and economic conditions, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

        Our business and results of operations are significantly affected by general business, financial market and economic conditions. General business, financial market and economic conditions that could impact the level of activity in the commercial and residential construction and the R&R markets include, among others, interest rate fluctuations, inflation, unemployment levels, tax rates, capital spending, bankruptcies, volatility in both the debt and equity capital markets, liquidity of the global financial markets, the availability and cost of credit, investor and consumer confidence, global economic growth, local, state and federal government regulation and the strength of regional and local economies in which we operate.

        There was a significant decline in economic growth, both in the United States and worldwide, that began in the second half of 2007 and continued through 2011. During this period, the U.S. construction markets we serve experienced unprecedented declines since the post-World War II era. There can be no guarantee that any improvement in these markets will be sustained or continue.

Our sales are in part dependent upon the commercial new construction market and the commercial R&R market.

        The recent downturn in the U.S. commercial new construction market was one of the most severe of the last 40 years. Previously, such downturns in the construction industry have typically lasted about 2 to 3 years, resulting in market declines of approximately 20% to 40%, while the recent downturn in the commercial construction market lasted over 4 years, resulting in a market decline of approximately 60%. According to Dodge Data & Analytics, commercial construction put in place began to recover in 2013 and continued to increase 7% in 2015. However, 2015 levels of new commercial construction square footage put in place, measured by square footage of construction, are still well below the historical market average of 1.3 billion square feet annually since 1970. We cannot predict the duration of the current market conditions or the timing or strength of any future recovery of commercial construction activity in our markets. Continued weakness in the commercial construction market and the commercial R&R market, would have a significant adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Continued uncertainty about current economic conditions will continue to pose a risk to our business that serves the commercial construction and R&R markets as participants in this industry may postpone spending in response to tighter credit, negative financial news and/or declines in income or asset values, which could have a continued material negative effect on the demand for our products and services.

Our sales are also in part dependent upon the residential new construction market and home R&R activity.

        The distribution of our products, particularly wallboard, to contractors serving the residential market represents a significant portion of our business. Though its cyclicality has historically been somewhat moderated by R&R activity, wallboard demand is highly correlated with housing starts. Housing starts and R&R activity, in turn, are dependent upon a number of factors, including housing demand, housing inventory levels, housing affordability, foreclosure rates, geographical shifts in the population and other changes in demographics, the availability of land, local zoning and permitting processes, the availability of construction financing and the health of the economy and mortgage markets. Unfavorable changes in any of these factors beyond our control could adversely affect consumer spending, result in decreased demand for homes and adversely affect our business.

        Beginning in mid-2006 and continuing through late-2011, the homebuilding industry experienced a significant downturn. This decrease in homebuilding activity led to a steep decline in wallboard demand which, in turn, had a significant adverse effect on our business during this time. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1.2 million housing units were started in 2016, representing an increase of 5% from 2015. Nevertheless, housing starts in 2016 remained below their historical long-term average. In addition, some analysts project that the demand for residential construction may be negatively impacted as the number of renting households has increased in recent years and a shortage in the supply of affordable housing is expected to result in lower home ownership rates. The timing and extent of a recovery, if any, in homebuilding and the resulting impact on demand for our products are

9

Table of Contents

uncertain. Further, even if homebuilding activity fully recovers, the impact of such recovery on our business may be suppressed if, for example, the average selling price or average size of new single family homes decreases, which could cause homebuilders to decrease spending on our services and the products we distribute.

        Beginning in 2007, the mortgage markets were also substantially disrupted as a result of increased defaults, primarily due to weakened credit quality of homeowners. In reaction to the disruption in the mortgage markets, stricter regulations and financial requirements were adopted and the availability of mortgages for potential homebuyers was significantly reduced as a result of a limited credit market and stricter standards to qualify for mortgages. Mortgage financing and commercial credit for smaller homebuilders, as well as for the development of new residential lots, continue to be constrained. If the residential construction industry continues to experience weakness and a reduction in activity, our business, financial condition and operating results will be significantly and adversely affected.

        We also rely, in part, on home R&R activity. High unemployment levels, high mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates, lower home prices, limited availability of mortgage and home improvement financing and significantly lower housing turnover may restrict consumer spending, particularly on discretionary items such as home improvement projects, and affect consumer confidence levels leading to reduced spending in the R&R end markets. We cannot predict the timing or strength of a significant recovery in R&R activity, if any. Furthermore, without a significant recovery of the general economy, consumer preferences and purchasing practices and the strategies of our customers may adjust in a manner that could result in changes to the nature and prices of products demanded by the end consumer and our customers and could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our industry and the markets in which we operate are highly fragmented and competitive, and increased competitive pressure may adversely affect our results.

        We currently compete in the wallboard, ceilings and complementary interior construction products distribution markets primarily with smaller distributors, but we also face competition from a number of national and multi-regional distributors of building materials, some of which are larger and have greater financial resources than us.

        Competition varies depending on product line, type of customer and geographic area. If our competitors have greater financial resources, they may be able to offer higher levels of service or a broader selection of inventory than we can. As a result, we may not be able to continue to compete effectively with our competitors. Any of our competitors may (i) foresee the course of market development more accurately than we do, (ii) provide superior service and sell or distribute superior products, (iii) have the ability to supply or deliver similar products and services at a lower cost, (iv) develop stronger relationships with our customers and other consumers in the industry in which we operate, (v) adapt more quickly to evolving customer requirements than we do, (vi) develop a superior network of distribution centers in our markets or (vii) access financing on more favorable terms than we can obtain. As a result, we may not be able to compete successfully with our competitors.

        Competition can also reduce demand for our products, negatively affect our product sales or cause us to lower prices. The consolidation of homebuilders may result in increased competition for their business. Certain product manufacturers that sell and distribute their products directly to homebuilders may increase the volume of such direct sales. Our suppliers may also elect to enter into exclusive supplier arrangements with other distributors.

        Our customers consider the performance of the products we distribute, our customer service and price when deciding whether to use our services or purchase the products we distribute. Excess industry capacity for certain products in several geographic markets could lead to increased price competition. We may be unable to maintain our operating costs or product prices at a level that is sufficiently low for us to compete effectively. If we are unable to compete effectively with our existing competitors or new competitors enter the markets in which we operate, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows may be adversely affected.

10

Table of Contents

We are subject to significant pricing pressures.

        Large contractors and homebuilders in both the commercial and residential industries have historically been able to exert significant pressure on their outside suppliers and distributors to keep prices low in the highly fragmented building products supply and services industry. The recent construction industry downturn significantly increased the pricing pressures from homebuilders and other customers. In addition, continued consolidation in the commercial and residential industries and changes in builders' purchasing policies and payment practices could result in even further pricing pressure. A decline in the prices of the products we distribute could adversely impact our operating results. When the prices of the products we distribute decline, customer demand for lower prices could result in lower sales prices and, to the extent that our inventory at the time was purchased at higher costs, lower margins. Alternatively, due to the rising market price environment, our suppliers may increase prices or reduce discounts on the products we distribute and we may be unable to pass on any cost increase to our customers, thereby resulting in reduced margins and profits. Overall, these pricing pressures may adversely affect our operating results and cash flows.

The trend toward consolidation in our industry may negatively impact our business.

        Customer demands and supplier capabilities have resulted in consolidation in our industry, which could cause markets to become more competitive as greater economies of scale are achieved by distributors that are able to efficiently expand their operations. We believe these customer demands could result in fewer overall distributors operating multiple locations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to effectively take advantage of this trend toward consolidation which may make it more difficult for us to maintain operating margins and could also increase the competition for acquisition targets in our industry, resulting in higher acquisition costs and prices.

We may be unable to successfully implement our growth strategy, which includes pursuing strategic acquisitions and opening new branches.

        Our long-term business strategy depends in part on increasing our sales and growing our market share through strategic acquisitions and opening new branches. If we fail to identify and acquire suitable acquisition targets on appropriate terms, our growth strategy may be materially and adversely affected. Further, if our operating results decline as a result of reduced activity in the residential or commercial construction markets, we may be unable to obtain the capital required to effect new acquisitions or open new branches.

        In addition, we may not be able to integrate the operations of future acquired businesses in an efficient and cost-effective manner or without significant disruption to our existing operations. Moreover, acquisitions involve significant risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties as to the future financial performance of the acquired business, difficulties integrating acquired personnel and corporate cultures into our business, the potential loss of key employees, customers or suppliers, difficulties in integrating different computer and accounting systems, exposure to unknown or unforeseen liabilities of acquired companies, difficulties implementing disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting for the acquired businesses, and the diversion of management attention and resources from existing operations. We may be unable to successfully complete potential acquisitions due to multiple factors, such as issues related to regulatory review of the proposed transactions. We may also be required to incur additional debt in order to consummate acquisitions in the future, which debt may be substantial and may limit our flexibility in using our cash flow from operations. Our failure to integrate future acquired businesses effectively or to manage other consequences of our acquisitions, including increased indebtedness, could prevent us from remaining competitive and, ultimately, could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and cash flows.

        In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing our equity securities or securities convertible into our equity securities, our existing stockholders would be diluted, which, in turn, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. We could also finance an acquisition with debt, resulting in higher leverage and interest costs relating to the acquisition. As a result, if we fail to evaluate and execute acquisitions efficiently, we may not

11

Table of Contents

ultimately experience the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions, and we may incur costs that exceed our expectations.

We may not be able to expand into new geographic markets, which may impact our ability to grow our business.

        We intend to continue to pursue our growth strategy to expand into new geographic markets for the foreseeable future. Our expansion into new geographic markets may present competitive, distribution and other challenges that differ from the challenges we currently face. In addition, we may be less familiar with the customers in these markets and may ultimately face different or additional risks, as well as increased or unexpected costs, compared to those we experience in our existing markets. Expansion into new geographic markets may also expose us to direct competition with companies with whom we have limited or no past experience as competitors. To the extent we rely upon expanding into new geographic markets and do not meet, or are unprepared for, any new challenges posed by such expansion, our future sales growth could be negatively impacted, our operating costs could increase, and our business operations and financial results could be negatively affected.

Product shortages, loss of key suppliers or failure to develop relationships with qualified suppliers, and our dependence on third-party suppliers and manufacturers could affect our financial health.

        We distribute wallboard, ceilings and related specialty building materials that are manufactured by a number of major suppliers. Our ability to offer a wide variety of products to our customers is dependent upon our ability to obtain adequate product supply from manufacturers and other suppliers. Generally, the products we distribute are obtainable from various sources and in sufficient quantities. Any disruption in our sources of supply, particularly of the most commonly sold items, could result in a loss of revenues, reduced margins and damage to our relationships with customers. Supply shortages may occur as a result of unanticipated increases in demand, shortage of raw materials or difficulties in production or delivery. When shortages occur, our suppliers often allocate products among distributors. The loss of, or a substantial decrease in the availability of, products from our suppliers or the loss of key supplier arrangements, such as those whereby we are afforded exclusive distribution rights in certain geographic areas, could adversely impact our financial condition, operating results and cash flows. For example, if our relationship with Armstrong were to be damaged or lost, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows may suffer.

        Our ability to maintain relationships with qualified suppliers who can satisfy our high standards for quality and our need to be supplied with products in a timely and efficient manner is a significant challenge. Our suppliers' ability to provide us with products can also be adversely affected in the event they become financially unstable, particularly in light of continuing economic difficulties in various regions of the United States and the world, fail to comply with applicable laws, encounter supply disruptions, shipping interruptions or increased costs, or they become faced with other factors beyond our control.

        Although in many instances we have agreements with our suppliers, these agreements are generally terminable by either party on limited notice. If market conditions change, suppliers may stop offering us favorable terms. Failure by our suppliers to continue to supply us with products on favorable terms, commercially reasonable terms, or at all, could put pressure on our operating margins or have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, operating results and cash flows.

The commercial and residential construction markets are seasonal.

        The markets in which we operate are seasonal. Although weather patterns affect our operating results throughout the year, the months of November through February have historically been, and are generally expected to continue to be, adversely affected by weather patterns in some of our markets, causing reduced commercial and residential construction activity. We experience seasonal variation as a result of our customers' dependence on suitable weather to engage in construction, R&R projects. For example, during the winter months, construction activity generally declines due to inclement weather and shorter daylight hours. In addition, to the extent that

12

Table of Contents

hurricanes, severe storms, earthquakes, floods, fires, other natural disasters or similar events occur in the markets in which we operate, our business may be adversely affected. As a result, our operating results have historically varied significantly between fiscal quarters, and we anticipate that we will continue to experience these quarterly fluctuations in the future.

The loss of any of our significant customers or a reduction in the quantity of products they purchase could affect our financial health.

        Our ten largest customers generated approximately 8.7%, 9.0% and 10.6% of our net sales in the aggregate for fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. We cannot guarantee that we will maintain or improve our relationships with these customers, or successfully assume the customer relationships of any businesses that we acquire, or that we will continue to supply these customers at historical levels. Due to the weak housing market in recent years in comparison to long-term averages, many of our homebuilder customers substantially reduced their construction activity. Some of our homebuilder customers exited or severely curtailed building activity in certain of our markets.

        In addition, professional homebuilders, commercial builders and other customers may: (i) purchase some of the products that we currently sell and distribute directly from manufacturers; (ii) elect to establish their own building products manufacturing and distribution facilities or (iii) give advantages to manufacturing or distribution intermediaries in which they have an economic stake. Continued consolidation among professional homebuilders and commercial builders could also result in a loss of some of our present customers to our competitors. The loss of one or more of our significant customers or deterioration in our existing relationships with any of our customers could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and cash flows. Furthermore, our customers typically are not required to purchase any minimum amount of products from us. Should our customers purchase the products we distribute in significantly lower quantities than they have in the past, or should the customers of any businesses that we acquire purchase products from us in significantly lower quantities than they had prior to our acquisition of the business, such decreased purchases could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, operating results and cash flows.

We are exposed to product liability, warranty, casualty, construction defect, contract, tort, employment and other claims and legal proceedings related to our business, the products we distribute, the services we provide and services provided for us by third parties.

        In the ordinary course of business, we are subject to various claims and litigation. Any such claims, whether with or without merit, could be time consuming and expensive to defend and could divert management's attention and resources. The building materials industry has been subject to personal injury and property damage claims arising from alleged exposure to raw materials contained in building products as well as claims for incidents of catastrophic loss, such as building fires. As a distributor of building materials, we face an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of the products we have distributed in the past or may in the future distribute is alleged to have resulted in economic loss, personal injury or property damage or violated environmental, health or safety or other laws. Such product liability claims have included and may in the future include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. In particular, certain of our subsidiaries have been the subject of claims related to alleged exposure to asbestos-containing products they distributed prior to 1979, which have not materially impacted our financial condition or operating results. See "Item 3, Legal Proceedings." We are also from time to time subject to casualty, contract, tort and other claims relating to our business, the products we have distributed in the past or may in the future distribute, and the services we have provided in the past or may in the future provide, either directly or through third parties. If any such claim were adversely determined, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected if we were unable to seek indemnification for such claims or were not adequately insured for such claims. We rely on manufacturers and other suppliers to provide us with the products we sell or distribute. Since we do not have direct control over the quality of products that are manufactured or supplied to us by third-parties, we are particularly vulnerable to

13

Table of Contents

risks relating to the quality of such products. In addition, we are exposed to potential claims arising from the conduct of our employees, builders and their subcontractors, and third-party installers for which we may be liable. We and they are subject to regulatory requirements and risks applicable to general contractors, which include management of licensing, permitting and quality of third-party installers. As they apply to our business, if we fail to manage these processes effectively or provide proper oversight of these services, we could suffer lost sales, fines and lawsuits, as well as damage to our reputation, which could adversely affect our business and the results of our operations.

        In addition, claims and investigations may arise related to distributor relationships, commercial contracts, antitrust or competition law requirements, employment matters, employee benefits issues and other compliance and regulatory matters, including anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters. While we have processes and policies designed to mitigate these risks and to investigate and address such claims as they arise, we cannot predict or, in some cases, control the costs to defend or resolve such claims.

        Although we believe we currently maintain suitable and adequate insurance in excess of our self-insured amounts, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain such insurance on acceptable terms or that such insurance will provide adequate protection against potential liabilities, and the cost of any product liability, warranty, casualty, construction defect, contract, tort, employment or other litigation or other proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. Additionally, we do not carry insurance for all categories of risk that our business may encounter. Any significant uninsured liability may require us to pay substantial amounts. There can be no assurance that any current or future claims will not adversely affect our financial position, cash flows or results of operations.

Our operations are subject to various hazards that may cause personal injury or property damage and increase our operating costs, and which may exceed the coverage of our insurance.

        There are inherent risks to our operations. Our delivery employees are subject to the usual hazards associated with providing services on construction sites, while our distribution center personnel are subject to the hazards associated with moving and storing large quantities of heavy materials. In addition, we employ approximately 1,300 drivers in connection with our distribution operations and, from time to time, these drivers are involved in accidents which may cause injuries and in which goods carried by these drivers may be lost or damaged. Our trucks with articulating boom loaders, particularly when loaded, expose our drivers and others to traffic hazards.

        Operating hazards can cause personal injury and loss of life, damage to or destruction of property, building and equipment and environmental damage, and we cannot eliminate these risks. We maintain vehicle and commercial insurance to cover property damages and personal injuries resulting from traffic accidents, and rely on state mandated social insurance for work-related injuries of our employees. Nevertheless, any claim that exceeds the scope of our insurance coverage, if successful and of sufficient magnitude, could result in the incurrence of substantial costs and the diversion of resources, which could have a material adverse effect on us. A material increase in the frequency or severity of accidents, claims for lost or damaged goods, liability claims, workers' compensation claims, or unfavorable resolutions of any such claims could also adversely affect our results of operations to the extent such claims are not covered by our insurance or such losses exceed our reserves. Further, significant increases in insurance costs or the inability to purchase insurance as a result of these claims could reduce our profitability and have an adverse effect on our results of operations. The timing of the incurrence of these costs could significantly and adversely impact our operating results compared to prior periods.

Failure to attract and retain key employees could have a significant adverse effect on our business.

        Our success depends to a large extent on our ability to attract, hire, train and retain qualified managerial, operational, sales and other personnel. We face significant competition for qualified and experienced employees in our industry and from other industries and, as a result, we may be unable to attract and retain the personnel needed to successfully conduct and grow our operations. Additionally, key personnel, including members of management and our sales team with key customer relationships, may leave and compete against us.

14

Table of Contents

        Our continued success also depends to a significant degree on the continued service of our senior management team. With an average of over 25 years of experience in the building products distribution sector, our senior management team has been integral to our successful acquisition and integration of businesses to grow our market share. The loss of any member of our senior management team or other experienced, senior employees or sales team members could significantly impair our ability to execute our business plan, cause us to lose customers and reduce our net sales, or lead to challenges with employee morale and the loss of other key employees. In any such event, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected.

        Additionally, the recent downturn in the general economy and the markets we serve resulted in a reduction of the workforce in the construction industry. There can be no assurance that we or our customers will be able to efficiently attract employees as activity in the markets we serve returns to historical levels. As a result, we and our customers may experience higher costs in attracting and retaining such employees. Any significant increases in these costs may have an adverse effect on our financial position, cash flows or results of operations.

Higher health care costs and labor costs could adversely affect our business.

        As a result of the passage in 2010 of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or the ACA, we are required to provide affordable coverage, as defined in the ACA, to all employees, or otherwise be subject to a payment per employee based on the affordability criteria in the ACA. Additionally, some states and localities have passed state and local laws mandating the provision of certain levels of health benefits by some employers. Efforts to modify, repeal or otherwise invalidate all, or certain provisions of, the ACA and/or adopt a replacement healthcare reform law may impact our employee healthcare costs. At this time, there is uncertainty concerning whether the ACA will be repealed or what requirements will be included in a new law, if enacted. Increased health care and insurance costs as well as other changes in federal or state workplace regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

        Various federal and state labor laws govern our relationships with our employees and affect our operating costs. These laws include employee classifications as exempt or non-exempt, minimum wage requirements, unemployment tax rates, workers' compensation rates, overtime, family leave, safety standards, payroll taxes, citizenship requirements and other wage and benefit requirements for employees classified as non-exempt. As our employees may be paid at rates that relate to the applicable minimum wage, further increases in the minimum wage could increase our labor costs. Significant additional government regulations could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

        In addition, we compete with other companies for many of our employees in hourly positions, and we invest significant resources to train and motivate our employees to maintain a high level of job satisfaction. Our hourly employment positions have historically had high turnover rates, which can lead to increased spending on training and retention and, as a result, increased labor costs. If we are unable to effectively retain highly qualified employees in the future, it could adversely impact our operating results.

The majority of our net sales are credit sales that are made primarily to customers whose ability to pay is dependent, in part, upon the economic strength of the industry and geographic areas in which they operate, and the failure to collect or timely collect monies owed from customers could adversely affect our financial condition.

        The majority of our net sales volume is facilitated through the extension of credit to our customers whose ability to pay is dependent, in part, upon the economic strength of the industry in the areas where they operate. We offer credit to customers, either through unsecured credit that is based solely upon the creditworthiness of the customer, or secured credit for materials sold for a specific construction project where we establish a security interest in the material used in the project. The type of credit we offer depends both on the customer's financial strength and the nature of the business in which the customer is involved. End users, resellers and other non-contractor customers typically purchase more on unsecured credit than secured credit. If any of our customers are unable to repay credit that we have extended in a timely manner, or at all, our financial condition, operating

15

Table of Contents

results and cash flows would be adversely affected. Further, our collections efforts with respect to non-paying or slow-paying customers could negatively impact our customer relations going forward.

        Because we depend on certain of our customers to repay extensions of credit, if the financial condition of our customers declines, our credit risk could increase as a result. Significant contraction in the commercial and residential construction markets, coupled with limited credit availability and stricter financial institution underwriting standards, could adversely affect the operations and financial stability of certain of our customers. Should one or more of our larger customers declare bankruptcy, it could adversely affect the collectability of our accounts receivable, bad debt reserves and net income.

We occupy many of our facilities under long-term non-cancellable leases, and we may be unable to renew our leases at the end of their terms.

        Many of our facilities and distribution centers are located on leased premises subject to non-cancellable leases. Typically, our leases have initial terms ranging from three to five years, with options to renew for specified periods of time. We believe that our future leases will likely also be long-term and non-cancellable and have similar renewal options. If we close or stop fully utilizing a facility, we will most likely remain obligated to perform under the applicable lease, which would include, among other things, making the base rent payments, and paying insurance, taxes and other expenses on the leased property for the remainder of the lease term. Our future minimum aggregate rental commitments for leases for our facilities and distribution centers, as of April 30, 2017, is approximately $91.9 million of which $89.6 million is not reflected as liabilities on our balance sheet. Our inability to terminate a lease when we stop fully utilizing a facility or exit a geographic market can have a significant adverse impact on our financial condition, operating results and cash flows.

        In addition, at the end of the lease term and any renewal period for a facility, we may be unable to renew the lease without substantial additional cost, if at all. If we are unable to renew our facility leases, we may close or relocate a facility, which could subject us to construction and other costs and risks, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. Further, we may not be able to secure a replacement facility in a location that is as commercially viable, including access to rail service, as the lease we are unable to renew. Having to close a facility, even briefly to relocate, would reduce the sales that such facility would have contributed to our revenues. Additionally, a relocated facility may generate less revenue and profit, if any, than the facility it was established to replace.

Our operating results and financial position could be negatively impacted by accounting policies, rules and regulations.

        Our operating results and financial position could be negatively impacted by implementation of our various accounting policies as well as changes to accounting rules and regulations or new interpretations of existing accounting standards. For example, while we are still evaluating the impact of our pending adoption of ASU No. 2016-02, "Leases" on our consolidated financial statements, we expect that upon adoption we will recognize right of use, or ROU, assets and liabilities that could be material to our financial statements. In addition, from time to time we could incur impairment charges that adversely affect our operating results. For example, changes in economic or operating conditions impacting our estimates and assumptions could result in the impairment of intangible assets (such as goodwill) or long-lived assets in accordance with applicable accounting guidance. In the event that we determine our intangible or long-lived assets are impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We may be unable to effectively manage our inventory and working capital as our sales volume increases or the prices of the products we distribute fluctuate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

        We purchase certain products, including wallboard, ceilings, steel framing and other specialty building materials, from manufacturers which are then sold and distributed to customers. We must maintain, and have

16

Table of Contents

adequate working capital to purchase, sufficient inventory to meet customer demand. Due to the lead times required by our suppliers, we order products in advance of expected sales. As a result, we are required to forecast our sales and purchase accordingly. In periods characterized by significant changes in economic growth and activity in the commercial and residential building and home R&R industries, it can be especially difficult to forecast our sales accurately. We must also manage our working capital to fund our inventory purchases. Excessive increases in the market prices of certain building products, such as wallboard, ceilings and steel framing, can put negative pressure on our operating cash flows by requiring us to invest more in inventory. In the future, if we are unable to effectively manage our inventory and working capital as we attempt to expand our business, our cash flows may be negatively affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

The agreements that govern our indebtedness contain various financial covenants that could limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our best long-term interests.

        The agreements that govern our indebtedness include covenants that, among other things, may impose significant operating and financial restrictions, including restrictions on our ability to engage in activities that may be in our best long-term interests. These covenants may restrict our ability to:

•

incur additional indebtedness;



•

create or maintain liens on property or assets;



•

make investments, loans and advances;



•

sell certain assets or engage in acquisitions, mergers or consolidations;



•

redeem debt;



•

pay dividends and distributions; and



•

enter into transactions with affiliates.

        In addition, under the terms of our senior secured asset based revolving credit facility, or the ABL Facility, we may at times be required to comply with a specified fixed charge coverage ratio. Our ability to meet this ratio could be affected by events beyond our control, and we cannot assure that we will meet this ratio.

        A breach of any of the covenants under any of our debt agreements would result in a default under such agreement. If any such default occurs, the administrative agent under the agreement would be entitled to take various actions, including the acceleration of amounts due under the agreement and all actions permitted to be taken by a secured creditor. This could have serious adverse consequences on our financial condition and could cause us to become insolvent.

Our current indebtedness, degree of leverage and any future indebtedness we may incur, may adversely affect our cash flow, limit our operational and financing flexibility and negatively impact our business and our ability to make payments on our indebtedness and declare dividends and make other distributions.

        Our subsidiary, GYP Holdings III Corp., entered into the ABL Facility, a senior secured first lien term loan facility, or the First Lien Facility, and a senior secured lien term facility, or the Second Lien Facility (which is no longer outstanding) in connection with the Acquisition. As of April 30, 2017, $103.4 million was outstanding under the ABL Facility and $231.2 million was available for future borrowings under the ABL Facility, $477.6 million was outstanding under the First Lien Facility. On June 7, 2017, we amended our First Lien Credit Agreement to provide for a new First Lien Facility and borrowed $577.6 million, of which the net proceeds were used to repay the existing outstanding balance of $477.6 million under the First Lien Facility and $94.0 million of loans under our ABL Facility. We may incur substantial additional debt in the future.

17

Table of Contents

        The ABL Facility, the First Lien Facility and other debt instruments we may enter into in the future, may have significant consequences to our business and, as a result, may impact our stockholders, including:

•

impairing our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or general corporate purposes;



•

requiring us to dedicate a significant portion of our cash flows from operations to pay interest on any outstanding indebtedness, which would reduce the funds available to us for operations and other purposes;



•

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



•

making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our indebtedness;



•

making us more vulnerable to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;



•

placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that are less leveraged and, therefore, more able to take advantage of opportunities that our leverage prevents us from exploiting;



•

impairing our ability to refinance existing indebtedness or borrow additional amounts for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our business strategy or other purposes;



•

restricting our ability to pay dividends and make other distributions; and



•

adversely affecting our credit ratings.

        Any of the above listed factors could materially adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity or results of operations.

        Furthermore, we expect that we will depend primarily on cash generated by our operations in order to pay our expenses and any amounts due under our existing indebtedness and any future indebtedness we may incur. As a result, our ability to repay our indebtedness depends on the future performance of our business, which will be affected by financial, business, economic and other factors, many of which we cannot control. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flows from operations in the future and we may not achieve our currently anticipated growth in revenues and cash flows, either or both of which could result in our being unable to repay indebtedness or to fund other liquidity needs. If we do not have enough funds, we may be required to refinance all or part of our then existing indebtedness, sell assets or borrow additional funds, in each case on terms that may not be acceptable to us, if at all. In addition, the terms of existing or future debt agreements, including our existing ABL Facility, may restrict us from engaging in any of these alternatives. Our ability to recapitalize and incur additional debt in the future could also delay or prevent a change in control of our Company, make certain transactions more difficult to complete or impose additional financial or other covenants on us.

Despite our current level of indebtedness, we may still be able to incur substantially more debt. This could further exacerbate the risks to our financial condition described above.

        We may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness in the future, including secured debt. Although the agreements governing our indebtedness contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions also will not prevent us from incurring obligations that do not constitute indebtedness, including obligations under lease arrangements that are currently recorded as operating leases even if operating leases were to be treated as debt under GAAP. In addition, the ABL Facility provides a commitment of up to $345.0 million, subject to a borrowing base. As of April 30, 2017, we are able to borrow an additional $231.2 million under the ABL Facility. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could intensify. See also Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Our Credit Facilities."

18

Table of Contents

An increase in interest rates would increase the cost of servicing our debt and could reduce our profitability.

        A significant portion of our outstanding debt bears interest at variable rates. We have entered into an interest rate cap on three-month U.S. dollar LIBOR based on a strike rate of 2.0%, which effectively caps the interest rate at 5.75% on an initial notional amount of $275.0 million of our variable rate debt obligation under the First Lien Facility, or any replacement facility with similar terms. However, increases in interest rates with respect to any amount of our debt not covered by the interest rate cap could increase the cost of servicing our debt and could materially reduce our profitability and cash flows. Excluding the effect of the interest rate cap and the interest rate floor on the First Lien Facility, each 1% increase in interest rates on the First Lien Facility would increase our annual interest expense by approximately $4.8 million based on balances outstanding under the First Lien Facility as of April 30, 2017. Assuming the ABL Facility was fully drawn up to the $345.0 million maximum commitment, each 1% increase in interest rates would result in a $3.5 million increase in annual interest expense on the ABL Facility. The impact of increases in interest rates could be more significant for us than it would be for some other comparable companies because of our substantial indebtedness.

We incurred a net loss in a recent period and we may experience net losses in the future.

        We experienced net losses of $11.7 million for fiscal 2015. There is no guarantee that we will be successful in sustaining net income or otherwise achieving profitability or sustaining positive Adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flow in future periods. Any failure to achieve or sustain net income or sustain positive Adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flow could, among other things, impair our ability to complete future financings, increase the cost of obtaining financing or force us to seek additional capital through sales of our equity securities, which could dilute the value of our common stock. In addition, a lack of profitability could adversely affect the price of our common stock.

We may have future capital needs that require us to incur additional debt and may be unable to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, if at all.

        We rely substantially on the liquidity provided by our existing ABL Facility and cash on hand to provide working capital and fund our operations. Our working capital and capital expenditure requirements are likely to grow as the commercial and residential construction markets improve and we execute our strategic growth plan. Economic and credit market conditions, the performance of the commercial and residential construction markets, and our financial performance, as well as other factors, may constrain our financing abilities. Our ability to secure additional financing, if available, and to satisfy our financial obligations under indebtedness outstanding from time to time will depend upon our future operating performance, the availability of credit, economic conditions and financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. The prolonged continuation or worsening of current housing market conditions and the macroeconomic factors that affect our industry could require us to seek additional capital and have a material adverse effect on our ability to secure such capital on favorable terms, if at all.

        We may be unable to secure additional financing or financing on favorable terms or our operating cash flow may be insufficient to satisfy our financial obligations under our outstanding indebtedness. If additional funds are raised through the issuance of additional equity or convertible debt securities, our stockholders may experience significant dilution. We may also incur additional indebtedness in the future, including secured debt, subject to the restrictions contained in the ABL Facility and the First Lien Facility. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could intensify.

Because we are a holding company with no operations of our own, we are financially dependent on receiving distributions from our subsidiaries and we could be harmed if such distributions could not be made in the future.

        We are a holding company and all of our operations are conducted through subsidiaries. Consequently, we rely on payments or distributions from our subsidiaries. We do not currently expect to declare or pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future; however, to the extent that we determine in the future to pay

19

Table of Contents

dividends on our common stock, we will be dependent on our subsidiaries to make funds available to us for the payment of such dividends. The ability of such subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments or distributions to us is subject to applicable local law. Such laws and restrictions could limit the payment of dividends and distributions to us, which would restrict our ability to continue operations. In addition, the terms of the agreements governing the ABL Facility and the First Lien Facility restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends, make loans or otherwise transfer assets to us. Furthermore, our subsidiaries are permitted under the terms of the ABL Facility and the First Lien Facility to incur additional indebtedness that may restrict or prohibit the making of distributions, the payment of dividends or the making of loans by such subsidiaries to us.

        Some of our subsidiaries sponsor deferred compensation arrangements that entitle selected employees of those subsidiaries to participate in increases in the adjusted book value of a specified number of shares of common stock of those subsidiaries. Employees participate in these arrangements through cash-based stock appreciation rights, by holding common stock of the applicable subsidiary and/or through deferred compensation programs. As of April 30, 2017, we have reflected an aggregate fair value of $48.7 million of liabilities related to these compensation arrangements on our consolidated balance sheets, of which $2.9 million is classified as a current liability and the remainder is classified as a long-term liability. Upon termination of employment of those with whom we have these arrangements, these subsidiaries are required to make payments to these individuals. Settlements of these awards are typically made with cash or through execution of an installment note payable to the employee over a period of four to five years. Any requirement to make payments to employees pursuant to these deferred compensation arrangements could impact the cash flows of these subsidiaries and their ability to make funds available to us.

An impairment of goodwill could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

        Acquisitions frequently result in the recording of goodwill and other intangible assets. At April 30, 2017, goodwill represented 30.4% of our total assets. Goodwill is not amortized and is subject to impairment testing at least annually using a fair value based approach. The identification and measurement of goodwill impairment involves the estimation of the fair value of our reporting units, which are consistent with our operating segments. The estimates of fair value of reporting units are based on the best information available as of the date of the assessment and incorporate management assumptions about expected future cash flows and other valuation techniques. Future cash flows can be affected by changes in industry or market conditions, among other factors. The recoverability of goodwill is evaluated at least annually and when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit has more likely than not declined below its carrying value. The annual impairment test resulted in no impairment of goodwill during fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015.

        We cannot accurately predict the amount and timing of any impairment of assets, and, in the future, we may be required to take additional goodwill or other asset impairment charges relating to certain of our reporting units. Any such non-cash charges would have an adverse effect on our financial results.

Federal, state, local and other regulations could impose substantial costs and restrictions on our operations that would reduce our net income.

        We are subject to various federal, state, local and other laws and regulations, including, among other things, transportation regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, or the DOT, work safety regulations promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, employment regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, regulations of the U.S. Department of Labor, accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or similar entities, and state and local zoning restrictions, building codes and contractors' licensing regulations. More burdensome regulatory requirements in these or other areas may increase our general and administrative costs and adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and cash flows. Moreover, failure to comply with the regulatory requirements applicable to our business could expose us to litigation and substantial fines and penalties that could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and cash flows.

20

Table of Contents

        Our transportation operations, upon which we depend to distribute products from our distribution centers, are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the DOT, which has broad administrative powers with respect to our transportation operations. Vehicle dimensions and driver hours of service also are subject to both federal and state regulation. More restrictive limitations on vehicle weight and size, trailer length and configuration, or driver hours of service would increase our costs, which, if we are unable to pass these cost increases on to our customers, may increase our selling, general and administrative expenses and adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and cash flows. If we fail to comply adequately with the DOT regulations or regulations become more stringent, we could experience increased inspections, regulatory authorities could take remedial action including imposing fines or shutting down our operations or we could be subject to increased audit and compliance costs. If any of these events were to occur, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows would be adversely affected.

        In addition, the commercial and residential construction industries are subject to various local, state and federal statutes, ordinances, codes, rules and regulations concerning zoning, building design and safety, construction, contractor licensing, energy conservation and similar matters, including regulations that impose restrictive zoning and density requirements on the residential new construction industry or that limit the number of homes or other buildings that can be built within the boundaries of a particular area. Regulatory restrictions may increase our operating expenses and limit the availability of suitable building lots for our customers, any of which could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations could be expensive. Failure to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations could subject us to significant liability.

        We are subject to various federal, state and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including laws and regulations governing the investigation and cleanup of contaminated properties, air emissions, water discharges, waste management and disposal, product safety and the health and safety of our employees and customers. These laws and regulations impose a variety of requirements and restrictions on our operations and the products we distribute. Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in fines, penalties, enforcement actions, third party claims, damage to property or natural resources and personal injury, requirements to investigate or cleanup property or to pay for the costs of investigation or cleanup, or regulatory or judicial orders requiring corrective measures, including the installation of pollution control equipment or remedial actions and could negatively impact our reputation with customers. Environmental, health and safety laws and regulations applicable to our business, the products we distribute and the business of our customers, and the interpretation or enforcement of these laws and regulations, are constantly evolving and it is difficult to accurately predict the effect that changes in these laws and regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, may have upon our business, financial condition or results of operations. Should environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, become more stringent, our costs, or the costs of our customers, could increase, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

        Under certain environmental laws and regulations, such as the U.S. federal Superfund law or its state equivalents, the obligation to investigate, remediate, monitor and clean up contamination at a facility may be imposed on current and former owners, lessees or operators or on persons who may have sent waste to that facility for disposal. Liability under these laws and regulations may be imposed without regard to fault or to the legality of the activities giving rise to the contamination. Contamination has been identified at several of our current and former facilities, and we have incurred and will continue to incur costs to investigate, remediate, monitor and otherwise address these conditions. Moreover, we may incur liabilities in connection with environmental conditions currently unknown to us relating to our prior, existing or future owned or leased sites or operations or those of predecessor companies whose liabilities we may have assumed or acquired.

21

Table of Contents

Any significant fuel cost increases or shortages in the supply of fuel could disrupt our ability to distribute products to our customers, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

        We currently use our own fleet of over 1,900 owned and leased delivery vehicles to service customers in the regions in which we operate. As a result, we are inherently dependent upon energy to operate and are impacted by changes in diesel fuel prices. The cost of fuel has reached historically high levels during portions of the last several years, is largely unpredictable and has a significant impact on our results of operations. Fuel availability, as well as pricing, is also impacted by political and economic factors. It is difficult to predict the future availability of fuel due to the following factors, among others:

•

dependency on foreign imports of crude oil and the potential for hostilities or other conflicts in oil producing areas;



•

limited refining capacity; and



•

the possibility of changes in governmental policies on fuel production, transportation and marketing.

        Significant disruptions in the supply of fuel could have a negative impact on fuel prices and thus our financial condition and results of operations.

A disruption or breach of our IT systems could adversely impact our business and operations.

        We rely on the accuracy, capacity and security of our IT systems, some of which are managed or hosted by third parties, and our ability to continually update these systems in response to the changing needs of our business. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data, including our proprietary business information and that of our customers, suppliers and business partners, and personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our data centers and on our networks. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations. We have incurred costs and may incur significant additional costs in order to implement the security measures that we feel are appropriate to protect our IT systems. Our security measures are focused on the prevention, detection and remediation of damage from computer viruses, natural or man-made disasters, unauthorized access, cyber attacks and other similar disruptions. Despite our security measures, our IT systems and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any attacks on our IT systems could result in our systems or data being breached or damaged by computer viruses or unauthorized physical or electronic access. Such a breach could result in not only business disruption, but also theft of our intellectual property or other competitive information or unauthorized access to controlled data and any personal information stored in our IT systems. To the extent that any data is lost or destroyed or any confidential information is inappropriately disclosed or used, it could adversely affect our competitive position or customer relationships. In addition, any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, damage our reputation and cause a loss of confidence in our business, products and services, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, profitability and cash flows. To date, we have not experienced a material breach of our IT systems. However, during the course of preparing for our IPO, we identified a material weakness in our general IT computer controls. See "—Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Common Stock—We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If our remediation of these material weaknesses is not effective, or if we experience additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls in the future, we may not be able to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of operations, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock."

Natural or man-made disruptions to our facilities may adversely affect our business and operations.

        We currently maintain a broad network of distribution facilities throughout the United States, as well as our Yard Support Center in Tucker, Georgia, which supports our branches with various back office functions. In the

22

Table of Contents

event any of our facilities are damaged or operations are disrupted from fire, earthquake, weather-related events, an act of terrorism or any other cause, a significant portion of our inventory could be damaged and our ability to distribute products to customers could be materially impaired. Moreover, we could incur significantly higher costs and experience longer lead times associated with distributing products to our customers during the time that it takes for us to reopen or replace a damaged facility. Disruptions to the national or local transportation infrastructure systems, including those related to a domestic terrorist attack, may also affect our ability to keep our operations and services functioning properly. If any of these events were to occur, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

Anti-terrorism measures and other disruptions to the transportation network could impact our distribution system and our operations.

        Our ability to efficiently distribute products to our customers is an integral component of our overall business strategy. In the aftermath of terrorist attacks in the United States, federal, state and local authorities have implemented and continue to implement various security measures that affect many parts of the transportation network in the United States. Our customers typically need quick delivery and rely on our on-time delivery capabilities. If security measures disrupt or impede the timing of our deliveries, we may fail to meet the needs of our customers, or may incur increased expenses to do so.

Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you paid for them.

        The trading price of our common stock could be volatile, and you can lose all or part of your investment. The following factors, in addition to other factors described in this "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, may have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock:

•

announcements of innovations or new products or services by us or our competitors;



•

any adverse changes to our relationship with our customers, manufacturers or suppliers;



•

variations in the costs of products that we distribute;



•

any legal actions in which we may become involved;



•

announcements concerning our competitors or the building supply industry in general;



•

achievement of expected product sales and profitability;



•

manufacture, supply or distribution shortages;



•

adverse actions taken by regulatory agencies with respect to our services or the products we distribute;



•

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;



•

changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts;



•

trading volume of our common stock;



•

sales of our common stock by us, our executive officers and directors or our stockholders (including certain affiliates of AEA) in the future;



•

general economic and market conditions and overall fluctuations in the U.S. equity markets;



•

changes in accounting principles; and



•

the loss of any of our management or key personnel.

        In addition, broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance, and factors beyond our control may cause our stock price to decline rapidly and unexpectedly.

23

Table of Contents

We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.

        Our share price may be volatile and, in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of management's attention and resources, which could adversely impact our business. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.

Because AEA controls a significant percentage of our common stock, it may influence major corporate decisions and its interests may conflict with the interests of other holders of our common stock.

        Certain affiliates of AEA beneficially own approximately 27.6% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. Through this beneficial ownership and a stockholders agreement and voting proxies, which provide voting control over additional shares of our common stock, AEA controls approximately 37.9% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. As a result of this control, AEA is able to influence matters requiring approval by our stockholders and/or our board of directors, including the election of directors and the approval of business combinations or dispositions and other extraordinary transactions. AEA may also have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. The concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our Company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our Company and may materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In addition, AEA may in the future own businesses that directly compete with ours. See Item 13, "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions and Director Independence."

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market by us or our existing stockholders could cause our stock price to fall.

        Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.

        As of April 30, 2017, we had outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of 2,087,645 shares of our common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $13.39 per share. The exercise of such outstanding options will result in dilution of the value of our common stock and could further depress the market price of our common stock. If our existing stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or if the public perceives that such sales could occur, this could have an adverse impact on the market price of our common stock, even if there is no relationship between such sales and the performance of our business. Sales of stock by these stockholders could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.

        Moreover, holders of an aggregate of 19,928,405 shares of our common stock have rights, subject to certain conditions to require us to file registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in the shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, except for shares held by our affiliates as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Any sales of securities by these stockholders could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our markets, or if they adversely change their recommendations or publish negative reports regarding our business or our stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

        The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our markets or our competitors. We do not have any control over these analysts and we cannot provide any assurance that analysts will cover us or provide favorable coverage. If any of the analysts who may cover us adversely change their recommendation regarding our stock, or

24

Table of Contents

provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our stock price could decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our Company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Because we do not intend to declare cash dividends on our shares of common stock in the foreseeable future, stockholders must rely on appreciation of the value of our common stock for any return on their investment.

        We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, the terms of the ABL Facility, the First Lien Facility and any future debt agreements may preclude our subsidiaries from paying dividends to us which, in turn, may preclude us from paying dividends to our stockholders. As a result, we expect that only appreciation of the price of our common stock, if any, will provide a return to investors in our common stock for the foreseeable future.

The requirements of being a public company, including compliance with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the New York Stock Exchange, may strain our resources, increase our costs and distract management, and we may be unable to comply with these requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner.

        As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the corporate governance standards of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the New York Stock Exchange. These requirements place a strain on our management, systems and resources and we will continue to incur significant legal, accounting, insurance and other expenses. The Exchange Act requires us to file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition within specified time periods and to prepare a proxy statement with respect to our annual meeting of shareholders. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. The New York Stock Exchange requires that we comply with various corporate governance requirements. To maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting and comply with the Exchange Act and the New York Stock Exchange requirements, significant resources and management oversight will be required. This may divert management's attention from other business concerns and lead to significant costs associated with compliance, which could have a material adverse effect on us and the price of our common stock.

        These requirements and standards could be difficult and will be significantly more expensive to obtain directors' and officers' liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage available to a non-public company. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. Advocacy efforts by shareholders and third parties may also prompt even more changes in governance and reporting requirements. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of these costs.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If our remediation of these material weaknesses is not effective, or if we experience additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls in the future, we may not be able to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of operations, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock.

        As a public company, we are required to comply with the SEC's rules implementing Section 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, as well as a statement that our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an opinion on our internal control over financial reporting.

25

Table of Contents

        During the course of preparing for our IPO, we identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company's annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weaknesses included an insufficient complement of personnel with a level of U.S. GAAP accounting knowledge commensurate with our financial reporting requirements, a lack of formal accounting policies and procedures, ineffective IT general computer controls and a lack of controls over the preparation and review of manual journal entries.

        As of April 30, 2017, we have remediated the material weaknesses associated with personnel and manual journal entries, and we are in the process of remediating the material weaknesses related to accounting policies and procedures and IT general controls. The material weaknesses related to our accounting policies and procedures and IT general controls could result in our inability to prevent or detect material misstatements in our financial statement accounts or disclosures. These deficiencies previously resulted in material adjustments to correct the consolidated financial statements of our wholly owned subsidiary, GYP Holdings III Corp., that were issued for fiscal 2013 and 2014 and could result in material misstatements to our consolidated financial statements that may not be prevented or detected.

        Our current efforts to design and implement an effective control environment may not be sufficient to remediate the material weaknesses related to accounting policies and procedures and IT general controls or to prevent future material weaknesses or control deficiencies from occurring. There can be no assurance that we will not identify additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in the future.

        If we fail to effectively remediate the material weaknesses in our control environment, if we identify future material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting or if we are unable to comply with the demands that we face as a public company, including the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in a timely manner, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results, or report them within the timeframes required by the SEC. We also could become subject to sanctions or investigations by the New York Stock Exchange, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In addition, if we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, we may face restricted access to the capital markets and our stock price may be adversely affected.

Upon completion of the secondary offering of our common stock on June 7, 2017, we are no longer a "controlled company" within the meaning of the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. However, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements during the ninety day and one-year transition periods.

        Following the completion of the secondary offering of our common stock on June 7, 2017, the control group consisting of certain affiliates of AEA and certain other of our stockholders no longer controls a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. Accordingly, we are no longer a "controlled company" within the meaning of the New York Stock Exchange corporate governance standards. Consequently, the New York Stock Exchange rules require that we (i) have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors within one year of the date we no longer qualified as a "controlled company" (ii) have at least one independent director on each of the compensation and nominating/corporate governance committees on the date we no longer qualified as a "controlled company," at least a majority of independent directors on each of the compensation and nominating/corporate governance committees within 90 days of such date and the compensation and nominating/corporate governance committees composed entirely of independent directors within one year of such date and (iii) perform an annual performance evaluation of the compensation and nominating/corporate governance committees. During this transition period, we may continue to utilize the available exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements as permitted by the New York Stock Exchange rules. Accordingly, during the transition period you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the New York Stock Exchange.

26

Table of Contents

        As of the date we no longer qualified as a "controlled company" and as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have (i) at least one independent director on each of the compensation and nominating/corporate governance committees and (ii) at least a majority of independent directors on the compensation committee. On April 26, 2017, our board of directors accepted the resignation of J. Louis Sharpe from the audit committee and appointed J. David Smith to the audit committee. As a result, the audit committee of the board of directors consists entirely of independent directors and is in compliance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange.

Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

        Provisions in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions include:

•

establishing a classified board of directors such that not all members of the board are elected at one time;



•

allowing the total number of directors to be determined exclusively (subject to the rights of holders of any series of preferred stock to elect additional directors) by resolution of our board of directors and granting to our board the sole power (subject to the rights of holders of any series of preferred stock or rights granted pursuant to the stockholders' agreement) to fill any vacancy on the board;



•

limiting the ability of stockholders to remove directors without cause;



•

authorizing the issuance of "blank check" preferred stock by our board of directors, without further shareholder approval, to thwart a takeover attempt;



•

prohibiting stockholder action by written consent (and, thus, requiring that all stockholder actions be taken at a meeting of our stockholders);



•

eliminating the ability of stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders;



•

establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at annual stockholder meetings; and



•

requiring the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of the voting power of all outstanding stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, to amend or repeal our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws if AEA.

        In addition, while we have opted out of Section 203 of the DGCL, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains similar provisions providing that we may not engage in certain "business combinations" with any "interested stockholder" for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:

•

prior to such time, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;



•

upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding certain shares; or



•

at or subsequent to that time, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and by the affirmative vote of holders of at least two-thirds of our outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

27

Table of Contents

        Generally, a "business combination" includes a merger, asset or stock sale or other transaction provided for or through our Company resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions, an "interested stockholder" is a person who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock and the affiliates and associates of such person. For purposes of this provision, "voting stock" means any class or series of stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.

        Under certain circumstances, this provision will make it more difficult for a person who would be an "interested stockholder" to effect certain business combinations with our Company for a three year period. This provision may encourage companies interested in acquiring us to negotiate in advance with our board of directors in order to avoid the stockholder approval requirement if our board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction that results in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our board of directors and may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

        These anti-takeover defenses could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause us to take corporate actions other than those you desire.

Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.

        Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed to us or our stockholders by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising under the DGCL or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. By becoming a stockholder in our Company, you will be deemed to have notice of and have consented to the provisions of our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation related to choice of forum. The choice of forum provision in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation may limit our stockholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.

Item 1B.    Unresolved Staff Comments

        None.

Item 2.    Properties

Facilities

        Our corporate headquarters is in Tucker, Georgia. In addition, we have one owned office in Riverview, Florida. We operate our business through over 200 branches, across 42 states and the District of Columbia. The covered square footage of our warehouses is equal to an aggregate of approximately 6.7 million square feet. As of April 30, 2017, we owned 78 of our facilities, some of which were used as collateral to secure the First Lien Facility. We believe that substantially all of our property and equipment is in good condition, subject to normal wear and tear.

28

Table of Contents

        As of April 30, 2017, we operated 205 branches, a few with multiple facilities, located in the following locations:

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

        From time to time, we are involved in lawsuits that are brought against us in the normal course of business. We are not currently a party to any legal proceedings that would be expected, either individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition.

        The building materials industry has been subject to personal injury and property damage claims arising from alleged exposure to raw materials contained in building products as well as claims for incidents of catastrophic loss, such as building fires. As a distributor of building materials, we face an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of the products we have distributed in the past or may in the future distribute is alleged to have resulted in economic loss, personal injury or property damage or violated environmental, health or safety or other laws. Such product liability claims have included and may in the future include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. In particular, certain of our subsidiaries have been the subject of claims related to alleged exposure to asbestos-containing products they distributed prior to 1979, which have not materially impacted our financial condition or operating results. Since 2002, as of April 30, 2017, approximately 979 asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits have been brought and we vigorously defend against them. Of these, 891 have been dismissed without any payment by us, 29 are on deferred or inactive court dockets, 53 are pending and only 6 have been settled. See Item 1A, "Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—We are exposed to product liability, warranty, casualty, construction defect, contract, tort, employment and other claims and legal proceedings related to our business, the products we distribute, the services we provide and services provided for us by third parties."

Item 4.    Mine Safety Disclosures

        None.

29

Table of Contents

PART II

Item 5.    Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

        The Company's common stock began trading on the NYSE under the symbol "GMS" on May 26, 2016. Before then, there was no public market for the Company's common stock.

        We used the net proceeds from our IPO together with cash on hand to repay $160.0 million principal amount of our term loan debt outstanding under the Second Lien Facility, which was a payment in full of the entire loan balance due under the Second Lien Facility.

        As of April 30, 2017, there were 88 holders of record of the Company's common stock, which does not reflect those shares held beneficially or those shares held in "street" name. Accordingly, the number of beneficial owners of our common stock exceeds this number.

        The following table sets forth, for the indicated periods, the high and low sales prices per share for our common stock on the NYSE.

Dividend Policy

        No dividends were paid to stockholders during fiscal 2017. The Company currently intends to retain all of its future earnings, if any, to finance operations, development and growth of its business and repay indebtedness. Most of the Company's indebtedness contains restrictions on the Company's activities, including paying dividends on its capital stock. 7, "Long-Term Debt" of Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any future determination relating to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of the Company's board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including future earnings, capital requirements, financial conditions, future prospects, contractual restrictions and covenants and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant.

30

Table of Contents

Performance Graph

        The following graph shows a comparison of cumulative total return to holders of shares of GMS Inc.'s common stock against the cumulative total return of S&P 500 Index and S&P 500 Specialty Retail Index from May 26, 2016 (the date our common stock commenced trading on the NYSE) through April 28, 2017 (the last trading day in fiscal 2017). The comparison of the cumulative total returns for each investment assumes that $100 was invested in GMS Inc. common stock and the respective indices on May 26, 2016 through April 28, 2017 including reinvestment of any dividends. Historical share price performance should not be relied upon as an indication of future share price performance.

        This performance graph and related information shall not be deemed "soliciting material" or to be "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act or Exchange Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing. The points on the graph represent stock prices at the date of the IPO and the last trading day in fiscal 2017.

31

Table of Contents

Item 6.    Selected Financial Data

        The selected consolidated financial information presented below for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2017, 2016 and 2015 and as of April 30, 2017 and 2016 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected consolidated financial information presented below as of the fiscal year ended April 30, 2015 has been derived from our consolidated financial statements not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected consolidated financial information presented below for the one month ended April 30, 2014, eleven months ended March 31, 2014, and the fiscal year ended April 30, 2013 and as of April 30, 2014 and 2013 has been derived from our consolidated financial statements not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

        The historical results presented below are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future period. The following information should be read in conjunction with Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and our financial statements and the notes thereto contained in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected operating data has been prepared on an unaudited basis.

32

Table of Contents

33

Table of Contents

34

Table of Contents

35

Table of Contents

        The following is a reconciliation from working capital, the most directly comparable financial measure under GAAP, to adjusted working capital as of the dates presented:

Item 7.    Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Recent Events

        On June 7, 2017, we completed an offering of 5,750,000 shares of common stock by certain of the Company's existing stockholders, including certain affiliates of AEA Investors, at a public offering price of $33.00 per share, including 750,000 shares of common stock that were sold as a result of the exercise in full by the underwriters of an option to purchase additional shares that was granted by the Selling Stockholders. As a result of such offering, the control group consisting of certain affiliates of AEA and certain other of our stockholders no longer control a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. Accordingly, we are no longer a "controlled company" within the meaning of the New York Stock Exchange corporate governance standards. We did not receive any proceeds from the sale of our common stock by the selling stockholders. We, however, bear the costs associated with the sale of shares by the Selling Stockholders, other than underwriting discounts and commissions.

36

Table of Contents

        On June 7, 2017 we entered into a second amendment to our First Lien Credit Agreement, dated April 1, 2014, among GYP Holdings III Corp., as borrower, GYP Holdings II Corp., the financial institutions from time to time party thereto, as lenders, and Credit Suisse AG, as administrative agent and collateral agent. Under the terms of the agreement, we borrowed $577.6 million which will mature on April 1, 2023 and will bear interest at a floating rate based on LIBOR, with a 1% floor, plus 3%. The previous rate was 3.5%. The net proceeds were used to repay the existing First Lien Term Loan outstanding balance of $477.6 million and approximately $94.0 million of loans under our asset based revolving credit facility, or the ABL Facility, as well as to pay related expenses.

Business Overview

        Founded in 1971, we are the leading North American distributor of wallboard and ceilings. Our core customer is the interior contractor, who typically installs wallboard, ceilings and our other interior construction products in commercial and residential buildings. As a leading specialty distributor, we serve as a critical link between our suppliers and a highly fragmented customer base of over 20,000 contractors. Our operating model combines a national platform with a local go-to-market strategy through over 200 branches across the country. We believe this combination enables us to generate economies of scale while maintaining the high service levels, entrepreneurial culture and customer intimacy of a local business.

        Our growth strategy entails taking market share within our existing footprint, expanding into new markets by opening new branches and strategic acquisitions. We expect to continue to capture profitable market share in our existing footprint by delivering industry-leading customer service. Our strategy for opening new branches is to further penetrate markets that are adjacent to our existing operations. Typically, we have pre-existing customer relationships in these markets but need a new location to fully capitalize on those relationships. Since the beginning of full year 2014, we have opened 25 new branches and we currently expect to open several new branches each year depending on market conditions. In addition, we will continue to selectively pursue tuck-in acquisitions and have a dedicated team of professionals to manage the process. Due to the large, highly fragmented nature of our market and our reputation throughout the industry, we believe we have the potential to access a robust acquisition pipeline that will continue to supplement our organic growth. We use a rigorous targeting process to identify acquisition candidates that will fit our culture and business model. As a result of our scale, purchasing power and ability to improve operations through implementing best practices, we believe we can achieve substantial synergies and drive earnings accretion from our acquisition strategy.

Factors and Trends Affecting our Operating Results

General Economic Conditions and Outlook

        Our business is sensitive to changes in general economic conditions, including, in particular, conditions in the North American commercial construction and housing markets. The markets we serve are broadly categorized as commercial new construction, commercial R&R, residential new construction and residential R&R. We believe all four end markets are currently in an extended period of expansion following a deep and prolonged downturn.

        Our addressable commercial construction market is composed of a variety of commercial and institutional sub-segments with varying demand drivers. Our commercial markets include offices, hotels, retail stores and other commercial buildings, while our institutional markets include educational facilities, healthcare facilities, government buildings and other institutional facilities. The principal demand drivers across these markets include the overall economic outlook, the general business cycle, government spending, vacancy rates, employment trends, interest rates, availability of credit and demographic trends. Given the extreme depth of the last recession, despite the growth to date, activity in the commercial construction market remains well below average historical levels. According to Dodge Data & Analytics, new commercial construction put in place was 946 million square feet during the 2016 calendar year, which is an increase of 34% from 704 million square feet during the 2011 calendar year. However, new commercial construction activity remains well below historical levels. New commercial construction square footage put in place of 946 million square feet in 2016 would have needed to increase by 34%

37