During a daily check-in a team member reports that licenses for a key component will expire in a couple of months and the renewal cost is significant. What should the project manager do next?

The project manager's immediate next step should be to evaluate the impact of not renewing the license. This is a critical first step in understanding the problem's scope and potential consequences. Before taking any action, the project manager needs to determine how essential the component is, what risks are associated with its absence, and what the financial and schedule implications are if it's not renewed. Escalating to the product owner is premature without understanding the impact; the product owner needs data to make informed decisions. Adding a spike to explore an alternative design is also premature as it assumes non-renewal is the chosen path without first assessing the current component's necessity. Raising a change request to secure renewal is a potential solution, but it should only be considered after understanding the impact and confirming that renewal is the most viable option.