In the I&D markets, a domestic fabrication facility may be a requirement to be a strategic supplier, and we believe our status as a Trusted Foundry offers us a further competitive advantage.
We also utilize external semiconductor foundries to access additional process technologies and capacity. In aggregate, we utilize a broad array of internal, proprietary process technologies and commercially available foundry technologies, which allows us to select the most appropriate technology to solve our customers’ needs. This strategy is intended to provide us with dependable supply, control over quality, reduced capital investment requirements, faster time to market and additional outsourced capacity when needed. In addition, the know-how developed through the continued operation of our internal fabrication lines provides us with the expertise to better manage our external foundry suppliers.
We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in March 2009. Our operations are conducted through our various subsidiaries, which are organized and operated according to the laws of their respective jurisdictions of incorporation.
Research and Development
Our research and development efforts aim to rapidly develop new and innovative products, process technologies and packaging techniques. The interaction of semiconductor process technology, circuit design and packaging technology defines the performance parameters and differentiation of our products. We believe some of our core competencies are the ability to model, design, test, integrate, package and manufacture differentiated solutions for our customers. We leverage these core competencies to solve difficult and complex challenges that our customers face during their system design phases. We believe our integrated and customized solutions offer customers high performance, quality, reliability and faster time to market.
Circuit design and device modeling expertise. Our engineers are experts in the design of analog and mixed signal circuits capable of reliable, high-performance RF, microwave, millimeter wave and optical signal transmission and conditioning. Our staff has decades of experience in solving complex design challenges in applications involving high frequency, high power and environmentally rugged operating conditions.
Semiconductor process technology. We leverage our semiconductor wafer fabrication capabilities and our foundry suppliers to offer customers the right process technology to meet their particular requirements. Depending on the requirements for the application, our semiconductor products may be designed using an internally developed or externally sourced process technology.
Packaging expertise. Our extensive packaging expertise enables us to model the interaction between the semiconductor and its package. Our engineers adjust the design of both the semiconductor and the package, to optimize performance. We offer products in a variety of different package types for specific applications, including plastic over-molded, ceramic and laminate-based packaging.
Systems expertise.Our engineers’ radar, optical, microwave and millimeter wave system-level design expertise allow us to offer differentiated solutions that leverage multiple process technologies and are integrated into a single, higher-level assembly, thereby delivering our customers enhanced functionality. Our system-level RF design knowledge, broad technology portfolio, in-depth understanding of critical system requirements, integration expertise and track record of reliability make us a valued resource for our I&D customers faced with demanding application parameters.
We continue to invest in proprietary processes, circuit design and packaging technologies to enable us to develop and manufacture high-value solutions.
Our Markets and Products
Our core strategy is to develop and innovate high-performance products that address our customers’ technical challenges in our primary markets: I&D, Data Center and Telecom. While sales in any or all of our primary markets may slow or decline from period to period, over the long term we expect to benefit from growth in these markets. We expect our revenue in the I&D market to be driven by the expansion of our product portfolio that services satellite and space communications, civil and military radar, electronic warfare, test and measurement, scientific, medical and other industrial applications. We expect revenue growth in the Data Center market to be driven by the adoption of higher speed processing technologies and the upgrade of data center architectures utilizing 100G, 200G, 400G, 800G, and 1.6T interconnects, which we expect will drive adoption of higher speed optical and photonic links. We expect our revenue in the Telecom market to be driven, in part, by 5G and future generation telecommunication deployments and expansion of optical networks, with continued upgrades and expansion of communications equipment and increasing adoption of bandwidth-rich services.
Industrial & Defense. In the I&D market, military applications require advanced electronic systems, such as radar warning receivers, communications data links and tactical radios, unmanned aerial vehicles, RF jammers, electronic countermeasures, smart munitions and satellite communications. Military applications are becoming more sophisticated and requiring more high-speed bandwidth, favoring higher performance semiconductor ICs based on GaAs and GaN technologies due to their high power density, improved power efficiency and broadband capability.
We believe that our analog design capabilities, technology portfolio, in-depth knowledge of critical radar system requirements, integration expertise and track record of reliability make us a valued resource for our I&D customers faced with demanding
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application parameters. Further, we have been accredited by the United States Department of Defense with Trusted Foundry status which we believe differentiates us as a trusted manufacturer of ICs for U.S. military and aerospace applications. For radar applications, we offer standard and custom amplifiers, discrete components, switch limiters, phase shifters and integrated modules for transmit and receive functions in air traffic control, marine, weather, and military radar applications. For military communications data link and tactical radio applications, we offer a family of active, passive and discrete products, such as Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (“MMICs”), control components, voltage-controlled oscillators, transformers, power pallets, amplifiers and diodes. We believe manufacturing products in our Lowell, Massachusetts Trusted Foundry offers us a competitive advantage in the I&D market because of certain customers’ requirements for a domestic supply chain.
Growth in the I&D business is also driven by multi-market applications encompassing industrial, medical, test and measurement and scientific applications, where analog RF, microwave and millimeter wave semiconductor solutions are gaining prevalence. In addition, evolving medical technology has increased the need for high-performance MMICs and other semiconductor solutions in medical imaging and patient monitoring to provide enhanced analysis and functionality.
In MRI systems, we provide critical non-magnetic diode products for body coils. For sensing and test and measurement applications, we believe our heterolithic microwave integrated circuit, or HMIC, process is ideal for high-performance, integrated bias networks and switches. Our catalog of general purpose GaAs ICs includes low noise amplifiers, switches and power amplifiers that address a wide range of applications such as industrial automation systems to test and measurement equipment.
Data Center. Demand by Data Center providers for faster data delivery speeds at cost-effective prices is growing rapidly, where higher speeds are necessary to process the current growth in traffic. To solve these challenges, we leverage our broad optical and photonic portfolio of products to enable our customers to deliver optical transceivers that meet the requirements of today’s Data Center deployments. By building a comprehensive portfolio of complementary products that enable our customers’ optical transceiver applications, we can offer high performing, cost-effective component solutions for next-generation networks.
We enable the market with a complete product portfolio of Pulse Amplitude Modulation (“PAM-4”) Physical Layers (“PHYs”), Transimpedance Amplifier (“TIAs”), Modulator Drivers, Lasers and Photodetectors, and, in some cases, individual component designs are optimized for use together as a chipset.
To address our primary markets, we offer a broad range of standard and custom ICs and components. Our product catalog currently consists of thousands of products, including the following key product platforms: amplifiers, ICs, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components and multi-chip modules. Many of our product platforms are leveraged across multiple markets and applications. For example, our application expertise in power amplifier technology is leveraged across both scientific laboratory equipment applications and commercial and defense radar system applications. Our diode technology is used in switch filter banks of military tactical radios as well as medical imaging MRI systems.
Telecom. Underlying growth in the Telecom market is driven by the ever-growing need for increased bandwidth to support data rich applications and services such as video conferencing, cloud computing, video-on-demand and social media. Growth in next generation Internet and Internet of Things, or IoT, applications drives global demand for communications infrastructure equipment requiring amplifiers, filters, receivers, switches, synthesizers, transformers, upconverters and other components to expand and upgrade cellular backhaul, cellular infrastructure, wired broadband and fiber optic networks. Semiconductor products and solutions must continually deliver greater bandwidth and functionality as the demands of our customers and end users increase.
Our expertise in system-level architectures and advanced IC design capability enables us to offer network original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) customers highly integrated solutions optimized for performance and cost. Our portfolio of opto-electronics products includes clock and data recovery, optical post amplifiers, laser and modulator drivers, transimpedance amplifiers, transmitter and receiver applications in 2.5/10/40/100/400 gigabits per second long haul, metro, data center links and FTTx fiber optic network components that enable telecommunications carriers and data centers to cost-efficiently increase their network capacity by a factor of four to ten times over earlier generation solutions. We match our opto-electronic components to our laser and photodetector products enabling our customers to buy more complete solutions for their opto-electronic systems. For optical communications applications, we utilize a proprietary combination of GaAs, InP and Silicon Germanium (“SiGe”) technologies to obtain advantages in performance and size.
For wired broadband applications, we offer OEM customers the opportunity to streamline their supply chain through our broad catalog of active components such as active splitters, amplifiers, multi-function ICs and switches, as well as passive components such as transformers, diplexers, filters, power dividers and combiners.
Wireless applications include terrestrial and space-based radio frequency, microwave and millimeter wave communication systems, also known as satellite communications, or SATCOM. SATCOM systems can support commercial and defense applications and, in some cases, include deployment of large satellite constellations to support connectivity.
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The table below presents our major product families.
MAJOR PRODUCT FAMILIES
Amplifiers
Lasers
Pin Diodes
Amplifier Linearizers
Laser Drivers
Radar Core Chips
Attenuators
Modulator Drivers
RF over Fiber Modules
Bias Networks
Limiters & Detectors
RF Power Pallets
Capacitors
Linear Equalizers
Schottky Diodes
Clock and Data Recovery
Low Noise Amplifiers
Silicon Transistors
Crosspoint Switches
MMIC Power Amplifiers
SDI Cable Products
Filters
Network Connectivity Solutions
Space Qualified Modules
Frequency Conversion
Optical Clock Recovery Modules
SSPA Modules
Frequency Generation
Passives
RF Switches
Front End Modules
Phase Shifters
Transimpedance Amplifiers
GaN Power Amplifiers
Phase Detectors
True Time Delays
Hybrid Amplifiers
Photodiodes
Varactor Diodes
Integrated IC & Modules
Photoreceivers
Sales and Marketing
We employ a global multi-channel sales strategy and support model intended to facilitate customers’ evaluations and selections of our products. We sell through our direct sales force, our application engineering staff, our global network of independent sales representatives, resellers and distributors. We have strategically positioned our direct sales and applications engineering staff in locations worldwide, augmented by independent sales representatives and distributors with additional domestic and foreign locations to offer responsive local support resources to our customers and to build long-term relationships. Our application engineers visit customers at their engineering and manufacturing facilities, aid them in understanding our capabilities and collaborate with them to deliver products that can optimize their system performance. Our global independent sales representatives and distributor network allow us to extend our sales capabilities to new customers in new geographies more cost effectively than using our direct sales force alone.
Our products are principally sold in North America, Asia and Europe, which is where we concentrate our direct sales force, applications engineering staff, independent sales representatives and distributors. Sales to our distributors accounted for 29.3%, 24.0% and 30.9% of our revenue in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Our agreements with sales representatives, resellers and distributors may provide for an initial term of one or more years with the opportunity for subsequent renewals or for an indefinite term, and also typically provide that either party may terminate the agreement for convenience with a minimum period of prior notice to the other party, usually between 30 and 90 days.
Our sales efforts are focused on the needs of our customers in our three primary markets rather than on particular product lines, facilitating product cross-selling across end markets, and within key accounts. Through our website, customers can inquire about our products, request samples and access our product selection guides, detailed product brochures and data sheets, application notes, suggested design block diagrams and test fixture information, technical articles and information regarding quality and reliability.
Customers
Our customer base is diversified and includes OEM customers, contract manufacturers, resellers and distributors. One of our resellers accounted for 11.3% of our revenue in fiscal year 2024 but did not exceed 10% in fiscal years 2023 and 2022. For fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, no direct customer individually accounted for 10% or more of our revenue and sales to our top 25 direct customers accounted for an aggregate of 47.0%, 51.5% and 47.1% of our revenue, respectively.
Competition
The markets for our products are highly competitive and are characterized by continuously evolving customer requirements. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our markets include:
▪the ability of engineering talent to drive innovation and new product development;
▪the ability to timely design and deliver products and solutions that meet or exceed customers’ performance, reliability and price requirements;
▪the breadth and diversity of product offerings;
▪the ability to provide a reliable supply of products in sufficient quantities and in a timely manner;
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▪the quality of customer service and technical support; and
▪the financial reliability, operational stability and reputation of the supplier.
We believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors. We compete primarily with both our customers’ internal design resources and other suppliers of high-performance analog semiconductor solutions for use in wireless and wireline RF, microwave, millimeter wave and photonic applications, some of whom have greater financial resources and scale than us. We expect competition in our markets to change as new competitors enter these markets, existing competitors merge or form alliances and new technologies emerge. We believe that in the future there will be increased competition from companies utilizing alternative technologies, including high-volume manufacturers using low-cost silicon process technology. Some of our competitors are also our customers, and in certain product categories we compete with semiconductor manufacturers from which we also obtain foundry services.
We primarily compete with Analog Devices, Inc. (“ADI”), Broadcom Inc. (“Broadcom”), Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (“Credo”), Marvell Technology Inc. (“Marvell”), MaxLinear Inc. (“MaxLinear”), Microchip Technology Incorporated (“Microchip”), NXP Semiconductors N.V. (“NXP”), Qorvo, Inc. (“Qorvo”), Semtech Corporation (“Semtech”), Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (“Skyworks”) and Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc. (“Sumitomo”).
Backlog and Inventory
Our sales are made primarily on a purchase order basis, rather than pursuant to long-term contracts where the customer commits to buy any minimum amount of product over an extended period. We also frequently ship products from our inventory shortly after receipt of an order, which we refer to as “turns business.” Unanticipated fluctuations in turns business may result in material shifts in revenue between fiscal quarters. Due to the foregoing factors, different ordering patterns of our customers and the wide range of lead times to produce and deliver our products, we believe that backlog as of any particular date may not be a reliable indicator of our future revenue levels.
Intellectual Property
Our success depends in part upon our ability to protect our intellectual property. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, including patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, as well as customary contractual protections with our customers, suppliers, employees and consultants.
As of September 27, 2024, we had 726 U.S. and 451 foreign issued patents and 178 U.S. and 311 foreign pending patent applications covering elements of semiconductor devices, circuit design, manufacturing and wafer fabrication. We do not know whether any of our pending patent applications will result in the issuance of patents or whether the examination process will require us to narrow our claims. The expiration dates of our patents range from 2024 to 2043. We do not regard any of the patents scheduled to expire in the next twelve months as material to our overall intellectual property portfolio. Notwithstanding our active pursuit of patent protection when available, we believe that our future success will be determined by the innovation, technical expertise and management abilities of our engineers and management more than by patent ownership.
The semiconductor industry is characterized by the existence of a large number of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, and by the vigorous pursuit, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Many of our customer agreements require us to indemnify our customers for third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which may in the future require that we defend those claims and might require that we pay damages in the case of adverse rulings. Claims of this sort could harm our relationships with our customers and might deter future customers from doing business with us. With respect to any intellectual property rights claims against us or our customers or distributors, we may be required to cease manufacture of the infringing product, pay damages or settlement amounts, expend resources to develop non-infringing technology, seek a license, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or relinquish patents or other intellectual property rights.
Manufacturing, Sources of Supply and Raw Materials
When designing a product solution for our customers, we may choose to utilize our internal proprietary process technologies or technologies from external fabrication facilities, or a combination of both. We believe our ability to select both internal and external technologies in our product solutions is a competitive advantage because it helps us to provide a unique and optimized solution for our customers.
The majority of our internal wafer fabrication and internal assembly and test operations are conducted at our Lowell, Massachusetts headquarters. We also operate wafer fabrication facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan and in Limeil-Brévannes, France and we expect to assume control of a wafer fabrication facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina in the future. We believe having U.S.-based wafer fabrication is a competitive advantage for us over competitors that do not have this capability, because it enables us to offer proprietary processes, and provides us with greater control over quality, a secure source of supply and a domestic source for U.S. I&D customers. We also believe that our U.S.-based wafer fabrication facilitates shorter time to market for both new and existing products, shorter production lead times than if we utilized external foundries and allows us to efficiently produce a wide range of low,
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medium and high-volume products. We perform internal assembly and test functions at our Lowell, Massachusetts, Nashua, New Hampshire, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Hamilton, New Jersey, Morgan Hill, California, Limeil-Brévannes, France and Hsinchu, Taiwan locations.
We complement our internal manufacturing with outsourced foundry partners and other suppliers. Our operations team has extensive expertise in the management of outsourced manufacturing service providers and other supply chain participants. We believe our fab-lite model of outsourcing certain of our manufacturing activities rather than investing heavily in capital-intensive production facilities provides us with the flexibility to respond to new market opportunities, simplifies operations, provides access to a wider array of process technologies and additional manufacturing capacity and reduces our capital requirements. We also use third-party contract manufacturers for assembly, packaging and test functions, and in some cases for fully outsourced turnkey manufacturing of our products.
The principal materials used in the production of our IC products are high purity source materials such as gallium, aluminum, arsenic, nitrite, carbon and silicon. We purchase a wide variety of semiconductors, wafers, packages, metals, printed circuit boards, electromechanical components and other materials from hundreds of suppliers worldwide for use in our operations. These supply relationships are generally conducted on a purchase order basis. The use of external suppliers involves a number of risks, including the possibility of material disruptions in the supply of key raw materials and components, and the lack of control over delivery schedules, capacity, quality and costs.
While we attempt to maintain alternative sources for our principal raw materials to reduce the risk of supply interruptions or price increases, some of the raw materials and components are not readily available from alternate suppliers due to their unique nature, design or the length of time necessary for re-design or qualification. We routinely utilize single sources of supply for various materials based on availability, performance, efficiency or cost considerations. For example, wafers procured from merchant foundries for a particular process technology are generally sourced through a single foundry on which we rely for all of our wafers in that process. Our reliance on external suppliers puts us at risk of supply chain disruption if a supplier does not have sufficient raw material inventory to meet our manufacturing needs, goes out of business, experiences capacity constraints or temporary facility closures, changes or discontinues the process in which components or wafers are manufactured or declines to continue supplying us for competitive or other reasons, as discussed in more detail in “Item 1A - Risk Factors” herein. Where practical, we attempt to mitigate these risks by qualifying multiple sources of supply, redesigning products for alternative components and purchasing incremental inventory of raw materials and components in order to protect us against supply disruptions.
Quality Assurance
The goal of our quality assurance program is for our products to meet our customers’ requirements, be delivered on time, and function reliably throughout their useful lives. The ISO provides models for quality assurance for various operational disciplines, such as design, manufacturing, and testing, which comprise part of our overall quality management system. The following locations have each received ISO 9001:2015 certifications in one or more of their principal functional areas: Lowell, Massachusetts; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Ithaca, New York; Mesa, Arizona; Morgan Hill, Newport Beach and Santa Clara, California; Morrisville, North Carolina; Nashua, New Hampshire; Hamilton, New Jersey; Hsinchu, Taiwan; Cork, Ireland; and Limeil-Brévannes, France. The following facilities have also achieved certification to the AS9100D aerospace standard: Lowell, Massachusetts; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Hamilton, New Jersey; Mesa, Arizona; Morgan Hill, California; Morrisville, North Carolina; and Nashua, New Hampshire. In addition, our Lowell, Massachusetts facility has received IATF16949:2016 automotive quality management system certification and the ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system certification.
The ESD Association provides standards for safe and proper handling of electrostatic discharge (“ESD”) in electronic manufacturing environments. Our following locations have each received ANSI/ESD S20.20:2021 certification: Lowell, Massachusetts; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Newport Beach, California; Morrisville, North Carolina; Nashua, New Hampshire; and Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Environmental Regulation
Our operations involve the use of hazardous substances and are regulated under federal, state and local laws governing health and safety and the environment in the U.S. and other countries. These regulations include limitations on discharge of pollutants into the air, water and soil; remediation requirements; product chemical content limitations; manufacturing chemical use and handling restrictions; pollution control requirements; waste minimization considerations; and requirements regarding the treatment, transport, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes. We are also subject to regulation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and similar health and safety laws in other jurisdictions. While we are committed to compliance with applicable regulations, the risk of environmental liabilities can never be completely eliminated and there can be no assurance that the application of environmental and health and safety laws to our business will not require us to incur material future expenditures.
We are also regulated under a number of federal, state and local laws regarding responsible sourcing, recycling, product packaging and product content requirements in the U.S. and other countries, including legislation enacted in the European Union and other foreign jurisdictions that have placed greater restrictions on the use of lead, among other chemicals, in electronic products, which
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affects materials composition and semiconductor packaging. These laws are becoming more stringent and may in the future cause us to incur material expenditures or otherwise cause financial harm.
Export Regulations
We market and sell our products both inside and outside the U.S. Most of our products are subject to the Export Administration Regulations, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”). Certain of our products and technology require an export license from BIS before we can export them to specified countries. Additionally, some of our products are subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which restrict the export of information and material that may be used for military or intelligence applications by a foreign person. Our European products and technologies are subject to the European Union Dual-Use Regulation (EU) No. 2021/821 (the “EU Regulation”), which governs the export of certain goods, software and technology that can be used for both civil and military applications. Certain of our products and technology require an export license under the EU Regulation before we can export them to specified countries. Similar controls exist in other jurisdictions. Failure to comply with these laws could result in sanctions by the government, including substantial monetary penalties, denial of export privileges and debarment from government contracts. These regulations are constantly changing and may affect our ability to sell certain products in certain markets. We maintain an export compliance program staffed by dedicated personnel under which we screen export transactions against current lists of restricted products, destinations and end users with the objective of managing export-related decisions, transactions and shipping logistics to ensure compliance with these requirements.
Workforce
Employees. As of September 27, 2024, we employed approximately 1,700 individuals worldwide, including approximately 700 in research and development (“R&D”). We have employees across 17 countries, with 73% in North America, 15% in Asia Pacific and 12% in Europe. None of our U.S.- or Asia-based employees are represented by a collective bargaining agreement; however, as of September 27, 2024, approximately 128 of our employees working in certain European locations were covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relations with employees to generally be good and we have not experienced a work stoppage due to labor issues.
Approximately 70% of our workforce is male and 30% of our workforce is female. Females represented approximately 14% of our senior management and approximately 17% of our engineering roles.
Corporate Culture and Employee Engagement. We are committed to fostering a corporate culture that encourages and seeks the betterment of the Company and the communities in which we conduct business. Through our charitable giving program, we encourage employees to volunteer up to eight hours per year during working hours to the communities in which we operate. Additionally, our employees engage directly with the community, volunteering their time to a number of organizations. We strive to foster a sense of community and well-being that encourages our employees to focus on both their and the Company’s long-term success. We realize that continuous engagement with our employees in a transparent, collaborative manner that builds trust is vital to driving successful outcomes. Executive management regularly conducts town hall-style meetings with employees to address business operations, strategy, market conditions and other topics. This format encourages open dialogue and provides employees with an opportunity to ask questions and voice opinions and ideas.
Retention and Development. We devote substantial efforts to retaining, motivating and supporting our employees, including by providing tuition and professional development reimbursement to eligible employees as well as opportunities for internal growth and advancement. Performance reviews are conducted at least annually for all employees, during which employees and managers address goals, development opportunities, strengths and areas for improvement. We have also maintained an internship program that supports the professional development of interns and serves as a recruitment tool for full-time employees. We monitor voluntary attrition as an indicator of employee engagement. During fiscal year 2024, our voluntary attrition rate was approximately 7%.
Compensation. Our compensation policies recognize and reward individual and collective contributions to our growth and success. We offer, among other things, competitive and balanced compensation programs commensurate with those of our peers and competitors, including, but not limited to, well-rounded healthcare, prescription drug and disability insurance benefits for our employees and their families, a 401(k) plan for our U.S.-based employees and similar retirement savings programs for certain of our non-U.S.-based employees with a matching contribution by the Company and an employee stock purchase plan. We provide competitive paid time-off benefits, a parental leave program following the birth, adoption or fostering of a child and an employee assistance plan that provides professional support, access to special programs and certain resources to our employees experiencing personal-, work-, financial- or family-related issues.
Diversity, Equity Inclusion & Belonging (DEI&B). We have a diverse employee base, serving a wide variety of customers across multiple geographies. We are strengthened by the broad diversity of our employees’ perspectives, backgrounds, cultures, lifestyles and experiences.
We continue to create a culture of DEI&B in the workplace in order to promote and effect change at the corporate and community levels. We support establishing a work environment where everyone has equal opportunities to learn and grow. Our DEI&B efforts are guided by the following principles:
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•Diversity is the representation of different people in an organization.
•Equity is ensuring that everyone has fair, just and equal opportunities at work.
•Inclusion is ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute to and influence every part and level of a workplace.
•Belonging is ensuring that everyone feels safe and welcome at work.
We regularly use our employee newsletter, internal web page and communications meetings to share information, opportunities and updates with our workforce on our DEI&B and other initiatives. We are committed to providing equal opportunity in all aspects of employment and do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. We maintain a policy against unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation which sets forth our position on the prohibition of all forms of discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
Safety, Health and Well-being. We have health and safety team members to support compliance requirements and also promote and encourage employees to maintain healthy and safe lifestyles. Our goal is to reduce the potential for injury or illness by maintaining safe working conditions, such as providing proper tools and training to all employees. Additionally, we offer resources to our employees to encourage healthy habits, such as health coaches, wellness incentives and a diabetes prevention program.
History and Recent Developments
MACOM Technology Solutions Inc., our primary operating subsidiary, which provides high-performance analog semiconductor solutions for use in wireless and wireline applications across the RF, microwave, millimeter wave and lightwave spectrum, was incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware on July 16, 2008. MACOM Technology Solutions Limited, our primary foreign operating subsidiary, was incorporated under the laws of Ireland on November 18, 2008. The heritage of some of our business operations dates back over 70 years to the founding of Microwave Associates, Inc. and the MACOM brand dates back over 30 years.
We have completed several acquisitions and divestitures to attempt to further align our businesses to our primary markets. Those recent transactions include:
In March 2023, we completed the acquisition of Linearizer Technology, Inc. (“Linearizer”), a developer of modules and subsystems, including solid state amplifiers (“SSPAs”), microwave predistortion linearizers and microwave photonics based in Hamilton, New Jersey (the “Linearizer Acquisition”). We acquired Linearizer to further strengthen our component and subsystem design expertise in our target markets. See Note 4 - Acquisitions to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
In May 2023, we completed the acquisition of the key manufacturing facilities, capabilities, technologies and other assets and certain specified liabilities of OMMIC SAS, a semiconductor manufacturer based in Limeil-Brévannes, France with expertise in wafer fabrication, epitaxial growth and MMIC processing and design. We are referring to this acquisition as the MACOM European Semiconductor Center Acquisition (the “MESC Acquisition”). We completed the MESC Acquisition to expand our European footprint and to enable us to offer higher frequency GaAs and GaN MMICs. See Note 4 - Acquisitions to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
In December 2023, we completed the acquisition of certain assets and specified liabilities of the RF business of Wolfspeed, Inc. (“Wolfspeed”) (the “RF Business,”). The RF Business includes a portfolio of GaN on Silicon Carbide products used in high-performance RF and microwave applications. See Note 4 - Acquisitions to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for more information.
Our acquisition strategy is intended to accelerate our growth, expand our technology portfolio, grow our addressable market and further create stockholder value.
Available Information
We maintain a website at www.macom.com, including an investors section, at which we routinely post important information, such as webcasts of quarterly earnings calls and other investor events in which we participate or host, and any related materials. We encourage investors to monitor our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts, as well as our social media channels (MACOM’s LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube pages and X account (@MACOMtweets)). You may access our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, as well as other reports relating to us that are filed with or furnished to the SEC, free of charge in the investors section of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov. The contents of the websites mentioned above, as well as our LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube pages and X account, are not incorporated into and should not be considered a part of this report.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Annual Report in evaluating the Company and its common stock. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer. The risks described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial may also adversely affect our Company.
Risks Relating to General Business Conditions
We operate in the semiconductor industry, which is cyclical and subject to significant downturns.
The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and is characterized by constant and rapid technological change, price erosion, product obsolescence, evolving standards, short product lifecycles and significant fluctuations in supply and demand. The industry has historically experienced significant fluctuations in demand and product obsolescence, resulting in product overcapacity, high inventory levels and accelerated erosion of average selling prices (“ASPs”). Downturns in this industry may be prolonged, and downturns in many sectors of the electronic systems industry have in the past contributed to extended periods of weak demand for semiconductor products. We have experienced decreases in our revenue, profitability, cash flows and stock price during such downturns in the past, and may be similarly harmed by future downturns, particularly if we are unable to effectively respond to reduced demand in a particular market.
Our revenue growth and gross margin are substantially dependent on our successful development and release of new products.
Maintaining or growing our revenue will depend, among other things, on our ability to timely develop products for existing and new markets that meet customers’ performance, reliability and price expectations. In addition, the ASPs of our products may decrease over time and we must introduce new products that can be manufactured at lower costs or that command higher prices based on superior performance to offset price erosion. If we are not able to introduce products that ship in volume, our revenue will likely not grow and may decline significantly and rapidly. The development of products in our industry is a highly complex process, and we have in the past, and may in the future, experience delays and failures in completing the development and introduction of new products. Our ability to successfully develop products depends on a number of factors, including accurate prediction of market requirements, changes in technology and evolving standards; the availability of qualified product designers and process technologies needed to solve design challenges in a cost-effective, reliable manner; our ability to design products that meet customers’ requirements; our ability to successfully design and manufacture products at competitive prices and volumes; our customers’ acceptance of our product designs; the acceptance of our customers’ products by the market and the lifecycle of such products; the strength of and ability to protect our intellectual property rights; our ability to obtain, on commercially reasonable terms, licenses to necessary third party intellectual property rights; and our ability to maintain and increase our level of product content in our customers’ systems.
A new product design effort may last over one year, and requires significant investment in engineering, as well as sales and marketing, which may take several years to recoup, if at all. Our failure to anticipate or timely develop new or enhanced products or technologies in response to technological shifts could result in decreased revenue and others obtaining design wins. As a result, our gross margin may decrease, we may not reach our expected level of production orders and we may lose market share, which could adversely affect our ability to sustain our revenue growth or maintain our current revenue levels.
Sources for certain components, materials and services are limited, which could result in interruptions, delays or reductions in product shipments.
Our industry may be affected from time to time by limited supplies of certain key components, materials and services. We have in the past and may in the future, experience delays or reductions in supply shipments, which could reduce our revenue and profitability. If key components, materials or services are unavailable, our costs could increase and our revenue could decline.
Our manufacturing headquarters, design facilities, assembly and test facilities and supply chain, and those of our contract manufacturers, are subject to risk of catastrophic loss due to fire, flood or other natural or man-made disasters. Any catastrophic loss or significant damage to any of these facilities, particularly our Lowell, Massachusetts, Nashua, New Hampshire, Limeil-Brévannes, France, Morgan Hill, California and Hsinchu, Taiwan locations, as well as the Wolfspeed-managed fabrication facility in Durham, North Carolina, could materially disrupt our operations, delay production, shipments and revenue and result in significant expenses to repair or replace the facility and, in some instances, could significantly curtail our R&D efforts, and adversely affect our business and financial results, revenue and profitability.
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We are subject to supply, order and shipment uncertainties. Our profitability will decline if we fail to accurately forecast customer demand when managing inventory.
We generally sell our products on the basis of purchase orders rather than long-term purchase commitments from our customers. Our customers can typically cancel purchase orders or defer product shipments for some period without incurring liability to us. We typically plan production and inventory levels based on internal forecasts of customer demand, which can be highly unpredictable and can fluctuate substantially, leading to excess inventory write-downs and resulting negative impacts on gross margin and net income. We have limited visibility into our customers’ inventories, future customer demand and the product mix that our customers will require, which could adversely affect our production forecasts and operating margins. The difficulty in predicting demand may be compounded when we sell to OEM customers indirectly through distributors or contract manufacturers, as our forecasts of demand are then based on estimates provided by multiple parties. If we overestimate our customers’ requirements, we may have excess inventory, which could lead to obsolete inventory, write-downs and unexpected costs. Conversely, if we underestimate our customers’ requirements or are not able to secure components, materials and/or fabrication facility capacity, we may have inadequate inventory, which could lead to foregone revenue opportunities, loss of potential market share and damage to customer relationships. Furthermore, obtaining additional supply may be costly or impossible due to supply chain constraints and inflationary pressures, which could prevent us from fulfilling orders in a timely manner or at all. If our own supply chain or others from whom our customers source are unable to deliver required components to our customers, then our customers may delay or cancel their product orders from us. Any significant future cancellation or deferral of product orders could adversely affect our revenue and margins, increase inventory write-downs due to obsolete inventory or adversely affect our operating results and stock price.
If demand for our products in our primary markets declines or fails to grow, our revenue and profitability may suffer.
Our future growth depends on our ability to anticipate demand and respond to it with products that address our customers' needs. To a significant extent, this growth depends on the continued growth in usage of advanced electronic systems in our primary markets: I&D, Data Center and Telecom. The rate and extent to which these markets will grow, if at all, is uncertain. For example, we have focused significant internal resources to address growth trends in the Data Center Market, but our ability to capitalize on this will depend on, among other things, the future size and actual growth rates of these markets, the next generation technologies selected by customers, the timing of network upgrades in these markets and the pace of adoption of our products in these markets. If demand for electronic systems that incorporate our products declines, fails to grow or grows more slowly than we anticipate, purchases of our products may be reduced, which will adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Underutilization, price competition, acquisitions and various other factors may reduce our gross margin, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we are unable to utilize our design, fabrication, assembly and test facilities at a high level, the significant fixed costs associated with these facilities may not be fully absorbed, resulting in higher than average unit costs and lower gross margin. Similarly, when we compete for business on the basis of our products’ unit price, the ASP of our products is reduced, negatively affecting our gross margins. Increased sales of lower-margin products, increases in raw material costs, changes in manufacturing yields and other factors can reduce our gross margins from time to time, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations in the future. As a result of these or other factors, we may be unable to maintain or increase our gross margin in future periods and our gross margin may fluctuate from period to period.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from period to period. We may not meet investors’ quarterly or annual financial expectations and, as a result, our stock price may decline.
Our quarterly and annual operating results and related expectations may vary significantly in the future based upon a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including: general economic growth or decline in the U.S. or foreign markets; reduction or cancellation of orders by customers; the amount of new customer orders we book and ship in any particular fiscal quarter; relative linearity of our shipments within any particular fiscal quarter; the gain or loss of a key customer or significant changes in demand and/or fluctuations in the markets we serve; fluctuations in the levels of component inventories held by our customers and accurate forecasting by customers; fluctuations in manufacturing output, yields, capacity levels, quality control or other potential problems or delays we or our subcontractors may experience in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; success of our investments in R&D; availability, quality and cost of semiconductor wafers and other raw materials, equipment, components and internal or outsourced manufacturing, packaging and test capacity, particularly where we have only one qualified source of supply; effects of seasonal and other changes in customer demand; effects of competitive pricing pressures, including decreases in ASPs of our products; loss of key personnel or the shortage of available skilled workers; our failure to remain abreast of new and improved semiconductor process technologies; failure of our partners in strategic alliances, which may prevent us from achieving commercial success in such alliance; the exposure of our operations to possible capital and exchange controls, expropriation and other restrictive government actions, changes in intellectual property legal protections and remedies, as well as political unrest, unstable governments and legal systems and inter-governmental disputes; changes in laws and regulations in the U.S. and other countries, or the interpretations thereof; and the effects of war, natural disasters, global pandemics, acts of terrorism, macroeconomic uncertainty or decline including increased levels of inflation or geopolitical unrest.
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The foregoing factors are difficult to forecast. These and similar factors could materially and adversely affect our quarterly and annual operating results and related expectations for future periods. If our operating results in any period do not meet our publicly stated guidance or the expectations of investors or securities analysts, our stock price may decline and has, in the past, declined as a result.
We depend on orders from a limited number of customers for a significant percentage of our revenue.
In the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, no direct customer individually accounted for 10% or more of our revenue and sales to our top 10 direct and distribution customers accounted for an aggregate of 55.8% of our revenue. While the composition of our top 10 customers varies from year to year, we expect that sales to a limited number of customers will continue to account for a significant percentage of our revenue for the foreseeable future. The purchasing arrangements with our customers are typically conducted on a purchase order basis that does not require our customers to purchase any minimum amount of our products over a period of time. As a result, it is possible that any of our major customers could terminate their purchasing arrangements with us with little or no warning and without penalty, or significantly reduce or delay the amount of our products that they order, purchase products from our competitors or develop their own products internally. The loss of, or a reduction in, orders from any major customer may cause a material decline in revenue and adversely affect our results of operations.
We may incur significant risk and expense in attempting to win new business and such efforts may never generate revenue.
To obtain new business, we often need to win a competitive selection process to develop semiconductors for use in our customers’ systems, known in the industry as a “design win.” Failure to obtain a design win can result in lost or foregone revenue and could weaken our position in future competitive selection processes or cause us to fail to meet revenue projections or expectations.
Even when we achieve a design win, success is not guaranteed. Customer qualification and design cycles can be lengthy, and it may take a year or more following a successful design win and product qualification for one of our products to be purchased in volume by the customer. Furthermore, any difficulties our customer may experience in completing its own qualifications may delay or prevent us from translating the design win into revenue. Any of these events or any cancellation of a customer’s program or failure of our customer to market its own product successfully after our design win, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, as we may have incurred significant expense and generated no revenue.
Sustained inflation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
Inflation rates in the markets in which we operate may rise. Recent inflation has led us to experience higher labor costs, wafer and other costs for materials from suppliers, and transportation costs. Our suppliers have raised their prices and may continue to raise prices, and in the competitive markets in which we operate, we may not be able to make corresponding price increases to preserve our gross margins and profitability. If inflation rates rise or remain elevated for a sustained period of time, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. We have generally been able to offset increases in these costs through various productivity and cost reduction initiatives, as well as adjusting our selling prices to pass through some of these higher costs to our customers; however, our ability to raise or maintain our selling prices depends on market conditions and competitive dynamics. Given the timing of our actions compared to the timing of these inflationary pressures, there may be periods during which we are unable to fully recover the increases in our costs.
Our business and operations could suffer in the event of a security breach, cybersecurity incident or disruption of our information technology systems.
We rely on our information technology (“IT”) systems and services for the effective operation of our business and for the secure maintenance and storage of confidential data relating to our business. These systems and services are both internally managed and outsourced, and, in many cases, we rely upon third party service providers. Any failure of these internal or third party systems and services to operate effectively could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and/or results of operations. Our operations are dependent upon our ability to protect our IT infrastructure against damage from business continuity events that could have a significant disruptive effect. Although our internal IT team actively takes steps to protect our information and operational systems, unauthorized persons or disloyal insiders may be able to penetrate our security controls, and develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that compromise and/or exfiltrate our confidential information or that of third parties and cause a disruption or failure of our information and/or operational technology systems. In addition, we have in the past and may in the future be subject to attacks in which third parties attempt to obtain personal information and or infiltrate our systems to obtain proprietary or confidential information, disrupt operations by deploying malicious code, viruses or malware (such as ransomware). Cyberattacks are increasing in number and sophistication, are often well-financed, in some cases supported by state actors, and are designed to not only attack, but also to evade detection. Since the techniques used by cyber attackers change frequently and are often not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. In addition to other factors, our position within the supply chain to the U.S. Government may increase our risk of being targeted by malicious actors. Similarly, attackers could implant malicious code into software that we may purchase, and this supply chain vulnerability could disrupt our operations, compromise our data or lead to other cyber harms. Recent global developments have created an environment in which malicious actors may have increased opportunity and motivation for breaching or compromising our systems.
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Any compromise of our information or operational technology systems could result in unauthorized publication, exfiltration or misappropriation of our confidential business or proprietary information or intellectual property; result in the unauthorized release of customer, supplier or employee data; lead to violations of privacy or other laws; extortion; allow competitors to profit from our intellectual property or trade secrets; delay or disrupt our operations; expose us to a risk of investigations and litigation; cause us to incur direct losses if attackers access our bank or investment accounts; undermine investor or market confidence, or damage our reputation. The direct and indirect cost and operational consequences of implementing data protection measures either as a response to specific breaches or as a result of evolving risks could be significant. In addition, our inability to use or access our information or operational systems at critical points in time could adversely affect the timely and efficient operation of our business. Any delayed sales, significant costs or lost customers resulting from a technology failure could adversely affect our business, operations and financial results.
Third parties with which we conduct business, such as foundries, assembly and test contractors and distributors, have access to certain portions of our sensitive data (including trade secrets and other intellectual property), and certain aspects of effective cybersecurity are dependent upon our employees, contractors and other trusted partners reliably safeguarding such sensitive data. In the event that our employees or these third parties do not properly safeguard our data, security breaches could result and negatively impact our business, operations and financial results. In addition, despite our internal controls and investment in security measures, businesses we acquire may increase the scope and complexity of our IT networks, and this may increase our risk exposure to cyberattacks.
U.S. and foreign regulators, as well as customers and service providers, have also increased their focus on cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks. Compliance with laws, regulations and contractual provisions concerning privacy, cybersecurity, secure technology development, data governance, data protection, confidentiality and IP could result in significant expense, and any failure to comply could result in proceedings against us by regulatory authorities or other third parties and may also increase our overall compliance burden.
Our business may be adversely affected if we experience product returns and product liability and defects claims.
Our products are complex and frequently operate in high-performance, challenging environments. We may not be able to anticipate all of the possible performance or reliability problems that could arise with our products after they are released to the market. If such problems occur or become significant, we may experience reduced revenue and increased costs related to product recalls, inventory write-offs, warranty or damage claims, delays in, cancellations of or returns of product orders and other expenses. Certain of our distributors have inventory return and or rotation rights, which may result in higher than expected product returns. The many materials and vendors used in the manufacture of our products increase the risk that some defects may escape detection in our manufacturing process and subsequently affect our customers, even in the case of long-standing product designs. Our use of newly-developed or less mature semiconductor process technologies, such as GaN and InP, which have a less extensive track record of reliability in the field than other more mature process technologies, also increases the risk of performance and reliability problems. These matters have arisen in our operations from time to time in the past, have resulted in significant expense to us per occurrence and will likely occur again in the future. The occurrence of defects could result in product returns and liability claims, reduced product shipments, damage to our customer or supplier relationships, the loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products, costly litigation, harm to our reputation, diversion of management’s time and resources, lower revenue, increased expenses and reduced profitability. Any warranty or other rights we may have against our suppliers for quality issues caused by them may be more limited than those our customers have against us, based on our relative size, bargaining power or otherwise. In addition, any product recall or product liability claim brought against us, particularly in high-volume consumer markets, could have a material negative impact on our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations.
The outcome of any litigation in which we are involved in is unpredictable and an adverse decision in any such matter could subject us to damage awards and lower the market price of our stock.
From time to time, we may be a party to certain litigation matters. Any such disputes, litigations, investigations, administrative proceedings or enforcement actions may divert financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit our operations, result in negative publicity and harm our customer or supplier relationships. An adverse resolution of any such matter in the future, including the results of any amicable settlement, could subject us to material damage awards or settlement payments, loss of contractual or other rights, injunctions or other limitations on the operation of our business or other material harm to our business.
We rely on third parties to provide corporate infrastructure services necessary for the operation of our business. Any failure of one or more of our vendors to provide these services could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We rely on third-party vendors to provide critical corporate infrastructure services, including, among other things, certain services related to information technology and network development and monitoring. We depend on these vendors to ensure that our corporate infrastructure will consistently meet our business requirements. The ability of these third-party vendors to successfully provide reliable, high quality services is subject to technical and operational uncertainties that are beyond our control. Any failure of our corporate infrastructure could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Variability in self-insurance liability estimates could adversely impact our results of operations.
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We self-insure for employee health insurance and workers’ compensation insurance coverage up to a predetermined level, beyond which we maintain stop-loss insurance from a third-party insurer. Our aggregate exposure varies from year to year based upon the number of participants in our insurance plans. We estimate our self-insurance liabilities using an analysis provided by our claims administrator and our historical claims experience. Our accruals for insurance reserves reflect these estimates and other management judgments, which are subject to a high degree of variability. If the number or severity of claims for which we self-insure increases, it could cause a material and adverse change to our reserves for self-insurance liabilities, as well as to our earnings.
Our short-term investment portfolio and certain cash balances could experience a decline in market value or otherwise become illiquid, which could materially and adversely affect our financial results.
As of September 27, 2024, we had approximately $74.8 million in money market funds and $435.1 million in short-term investments, respectively. The debt security investments consisted of commercial paper, corporate bonds and U.S. Treasury securities. We currently do not use derivative financial instruments to adjust our investment portfolio risk or income profile. These investments, as well as any cash deposited in bank accounts, are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks. We regularly maintain cash balances that are not insured or are in excess of the FDIC’s insurance limit. If the global financial markets continue to experience volatility or deteriorate, our investment portfolio and cash balances may be impacted and some or all of our investments may become illiquid or otherwise experience loss which could adversely impact our financial results and position.
Risks Relating to International Operations
We are subject to risks from our international sales and operations.
We have operations in Europe and Asia, and customers around the world. As a result, we are subject to regulatory, geopolitical and other risks associated with doing business outside of the U.S., including currency controls, currency exchange rate fluctuations, new or potential international trade agreements, tariffs, required import and export licenses, and other related international trade restrictions and regulations. Further, there is a risk that language barriers, cultural differences and other factors associated with our global operations may make them more difficult to manage effectively.
The legal systems in many of the regions where we conduct business or where we may potentially make future investments through expansion, which may include acquisitions, can lack transparency in certain respects relative to that of the U.S. and can accord local government authorities a higher degree of control and discretion over business than is customary in the U.S. This makes the process of obtaining necessary regulatory approvals and maintaining compliance inherently more difficult and unpredictable. In addition, the protection accorded to proprietary technology and know-how under certain legal systems may not be as strong as in the U.S., and, as a result, we may lose valuable trade secrets and competitive advantages. The cost of doing business in European jurisdictions can also be higher than in the U.S. due to exchange rates, local collective bargaining regimes and local legal requirements regarding employee benefits and employer-employee relations, in particular. We are also subject to U.S. legal requirements related to our foreign operations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Sales to customers located outside the U.S. accounted for 55.1% of our revenue for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024. Sales to customers located in China and the Asia Pacific region typically account for a large portion of our overall sales to customers located outside the U.S. For example, fiscal year 2024 sales to customers in China and the Asia Pacific region accounted for 24.4% and 12.2% of total fiscal year 2024 sales, respectively. We expect that revenue from international sales generally, and sales to China and the Asia Pacific region specifically, will continue to be a material part of our total revenue. Therefore, any financial crisis, trade war or dispute, domestic semiconductor supply chain initiatives, health crisis or other major event causing business disruption in international jurisdictions generally, and China and the Asia Pacific region in particular, could negatively affect our future revenues and results of operations. For example, in October 2022 and 2023, the BIS introduced restrictions related to semiconductor manufacturing, supercomputer and advanced computing items and end-uses, which restrict or prohibit the ability to sell, ship and support certain equipment and services to China. Such actions in the future, as well as China’s continuously evolving policies, laws and regulations, including those related to antitrust, cybersecurity, data protection and data privacy, the environment, indigenous innovation (including actions in furtherance of China’s stated policy of reducing its dependence on foreign semiconductor manufacturers) and intellectual property rights and enforcement and protection of those rights, could increase the cost of doing business in China, foster the emergence of additional Chinese-based competitors and/or decrease the demand for our products in China, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Additionally, other factors affecting the Chinese economy, such as government-imposed lockdowns in response to a pandemic, inflation, geopolitical conflict, or otherwise, could limit the demand in China for electronic devices containing our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Because the majority of our foreign sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, our products become less price-competitive in countries with currencies that are low or are declining in value against the U.S. dollar. Also, we cannot be sure that our international customers will continue to accept orders denominated in U.S. dollars. If they do not, our reported revenue and earnings will become more directly subject to foreign exchange fluctuations. Some of our customer purchase orders and agreements are governed by foreign laws, which may differ significantly from U.S. laws. As a result, we may be limited in our ability to enforce our rights under such agreements and to collect amounts owed to us.
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The majority of our contract assembly, packaging and test vendors are located in Asia. We generally do business with our foreign assemblers in U.S. dollars. Our manufacturing costs could increase in countries with currencies that are increasing in value against the U.S. dollar. Also, our international manufacturing suppliers may not continue to accept orders denominated in U.S. dollars. If they do not, our costs will become more directly subject to foreign exchange fluctuations. From time to time, we may attempt to hedge our exposure to foreign currency risk by buying currency contracts or otherwise, and any such efforts involve expense and associated risk that the currencies involved may not behave as we expect and we may lose money on such hedging strategies or not properly hedge our risk.
In addition, if terrorist activity, armed conflict, civil, economic or military unrest, natural disasters, global pandemics, embargoes or other economic sanctions, enforcement actions against governments, governmental entities or private entities or political instability occurs in the U.S. or other locations, such events may disrupt our manufacturing, assembly, logistics, security and communications, labor issues and transportation and other disruptions, and could also result in reduced demand for our products. We have in the past and, may again in the future, experience difficulties relating to employees traveling in and out of countries facing civil unrest or political instability and with obtaining travel visas for our employees. There can be no assurance that we can mitigate all identified risks with reasonable effort. The occurrence of any of these events, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
Adverse global economic conditions could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition and liquidity.
A general slowdown in the global economy, including a recession, or in a particular region or industry, an increase in trade tensions with U.S. trading partners, inflation or a tightening of the credit markets could negatively impact our business, financial condition and liquidity. Adverse global economic conditions have, from time to time, caused or exacerbated significant slowdowns in the industries and markets in which we operate, which have adversely affected our business and results of operations. Geopolitical issues (including, but not limited to China-Taiwan relations), macroeconomic weakness and uncertainty also make it more difficult for us to accurately forecast revenue, gross margin and expenses. An escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China has resulted in trade restrictions and increased tariffs that harm our ability to participate in Chinese markets or compete effectively with Chinese companies. Sustained uncertainty about, or worsening of, current global economic conditions and further escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners could result in a global economic slowdown and long-term changes to global trade. Such events may also (i) cause our customers and consumers to reduce, delay or forgo technology spending, (ii) result in customers sourcing products from other suppliers not subject to such restrictions or tariffs, (iii) lead to the insolvency or consolidation of key suppliers and customers and (iv) intensify pricing pressures. Any or all of these factors could negatively affect demand for our products and our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Business Strategies and Personnel
We face intense competition in our industry, and our inability to compete successfully could negatively affect our operating results.
The semiconductor industry is highly competitive. While we compete with a wide variety of companies, our significant competitors include, among others, ADI, Broadcom, Credo, Marvell, MaxLinear, Microchip, NXP, Qorvo, Semtech, Skyworks and Sumitomo as well as increased competition from Chinese companies.
We believe future competition could also come from companies developing new alternative technologies, component suppliers based in countries with lower production costs and IC manufacturers achieving higher levels of integration that exceed the functionality offered by our products. Our customers and suppliers could also develop products that compete with or replace our products. Increased competition has in the past and could in the future lead to lower prices for our products, reduced demand for our products and a corresponding reduction in our ability to recover development, engineering and manufacturing costs.
Many of our existing and potential competitors have entrenched market positions, historical affiliations with OEMs, considerable internal manufacturing capacity, established intellectual property rights, strong brand recognition and substantial technological capabilities. Many of them may also have greater financial, technical, manufacturing or marketing resources than we do. Consolidation among our competitors could negatively impact our competitive position and market share and harm our results of operations. In addition, certain countries such as China have begun implementing initiatives to build domestic semiconductor supply chains and we may be at a disadvantage in attempting to compete with entities associated with such foreign government efforts. Our failure to successfully compete could result in lower revenue, decreased profitability and a lower stock price.
We have made and may, in the future, make acquisitions and investments, which involve numerous risks.
We have made certain acquisitions and continue to routinely evaluate potential acquisitions, investments and strategic alliances involving complementary technologies, design teams, products and companies. We expect to continue to pursue such transactions if appropriate opportunities arise. However, we may not be able to identify suitable transactions in the future or if we do identify such transactions, we may not be able to complete them on commercially acceptable terms or at all and may face intense competition for such opportunities. In pursuing transactions, we have and will continue to face numerous risks, including diverting management’s attention from normal daily operations of our business; difficulties in integrating the financial reporting capabilities and operating
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systems of any acquired operations to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures; potential loss of key personnel of the acquired company as well as their know-how, relationships and expertise; challenges successfully integrating acquired personnel, operations and businesses; failing to realize the anticipated synergies and benefits of an acquisition; maintaining favorable business relationships of acquired operations; generating insufficient revenue from completed transactions to offset expenses associated with our efforts; acquiring material or unknown liabilities associated with any acquired operations; litigation associated with merger and acquisition transactions; and increasing expense associated with amortization or depreciation of intangible and tangible assets we acquire.
Our past and recent acquisitions have required and continue to require significant management time and attention relating to the transactions. Past transactions, whether completed or abandoned by us, have resulted, and in the future may result, in significant time and attention, costs, expenses, liabilities and charges to earnings. The accounting treatment for any future transaction may result in significant amortizable intangible assets which, when amortized, will negatively affect our consolidated results of operations. The accounting treatment may also result in significant goodwill, which, if impaired, will negatively affect our consolidated results of operations. Furthermore, we may incur debt or issue equity securities to pay for transactions. The incurrence of debt could limit our operating flexibility and be detrimental to our profitability, and the issuance of equity securities would be dilutive to our existing stockholders. Any or all of the above factors may differ from the investment community’s expectations in a given quarter, which could negatively affect our stock price. In the event we make future investments, the investments may decline in value, we may lose all or part of our investment.
We may be unable to successfully integrate the businesses and personnel of acquired companies and businesses, and may not realize the anticipated synergies and benefits of such acquisitions.
We may be unable to realize the expected benefits from acquisitions of companies and certain businesses of companies because of integration difficulties or other challenges. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to realize all or some of the anticipated synergies and other benefits from integrating the acquired businesses with our existing businesses. Integration activities can be costly, complex and time consuming. The potential difficulties we may face in integrating the operations of our acquisitions include, among others: failure to implement our business plans for the combined businesses and consolidation or expansion of production capacity as planned and where applicable; unexpected losses of key employees, customers or suppliers of our acquired companies and businesses; unanticipated issues in conforming our acquired companies’ and businesses’ standards, processes, procedures and controls with our operations; coordinating new product and process development; increasing the scope, geographic diversity and complexity of our operations; diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns; adverse effects on our or our acquired companies’ and businesses’ existing business relationships; unanticipated changes in applicable laws and regulations; operating risks inherent in our acquired companies’ and businesses’ business and operations; unanticipated expenses and liabilities; potential unfamiliarity with our acquired companies and businesses technology, products and markets, which may place us at a competitive disadvantage; and other difficulties in the assimilation of our acquired companies and businesses operations, technologies, products and systems.
Any acquired companies and businesses may have unanticipated or larger than anticipated liabilities for patent and trademark infringement claims, violations of applicable laws, rules and regulations, commercial disputes, taxes and other known and unknown types of liabilities. There may be liabilities that we underestimated or did not discover in the course of performing our due diligence investigation of our acquired companies and businesses. We may have no recourse or limited recourse under the applicable acquisition-related agreement to recover damages relating to the liabilities of our acquired companies and businesses.
We may not be able to maintain or increase the levels of revenue, earnings or operating efficiency that we, and each of our acquired companies and businesses, had historically achieved or might achieve separately. In addition, we may not accomplish the integration smoothly, successfully or within the anticipated costs or timeframe. If we experience difficulties with the integration process or if the business of our acquired companies or businesses deteriorates, the anticipated cost savings, growth opportunities and other synergies of our acquired companies and businesses may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected. If any of the above risks occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be materially and adversely impacted, we may fail to meet the expectations of investors or analysts, and our stock price may decline as a result.
If we lose key personnel or fail to attract and retain key personnel, we may be unable to pursue business opportunities or develop our products.
We believe our continued ability to recruit, hire, retain and motivate highly skilled engineering, operations, sales, administrative and managerial personnel is key to our future success. Competition for these employees is intense. Our failure to retain our present employees and hire additional qualified personnel in a timely manner and on reasonable terms could harm our competitiveness and results of operations. In particular, the loss of any member of our senior management team could strengthen a competitor, weaken customer relationships or harm our ability to implement our business strategy. In addition, from time to time, we may recruit and hire employees from our competitors, customers, suppliers and distributors, which could result in liability to us and damage our business relationship with these parties.
We depend on third-party sales representatives and distributors for a material portion of our revenues.
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We sell many of our products to customers through independent sales representatives and distributors, as well as through our direct sales force. We are unable to predict the extent to which our independent sales representatives and distributors will be successful in marketing and selling our products. Our relationships with our representatives and distributors typically may be terminated by either party at any time, and do not require them to buy any of our products. Sales to distributors accounted for approximately 29.3% of our revenue for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024. If our sales representatives or distributors cease doing business with us or fail to successfully market and sell our products, our ability to sustain and grow our revenue could be materially adversely affected.
We may experience difficulties in managing any future growth.
To successfully conduct business in a rapidly evolving market, we must effectively plan and manage any current and future growth. Our ability to do so will be dependent on a number of factors, including maintaining access to sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet customer demands; securing sufficient supply of raw materials and services to avoid shortages or supply bottlenecks; adequately building out our administrative infrastructure to support any current and future sales growth while maintaining operating efficiencies; adhering to our high quality and process execution standards, particularly as we hire and train new employees and during periods of high volume; and maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. If we do not effectively manage any future growth, we may not be able to take advantage of attractive opportunities in our markets, our operations may be impacted, and we may experience delays in delivering products to our customers or damaged customer relationships and achieve lower than anticipated revenue and decreased profitability.
We may sell, wind down or exit one or more of our businesses or product lines, from time to time, as a result of our evaluation of our businesses, products and markets, and any such divestiture could adversely affect our continuing business.
We periodically evaluate our various businesses and product lines and may, as a result, consider the divestiture, wind down or exit of one or more of those businesses or product lines. Divestitures have inherent risks, including the inability to find potential buyers with favorable terms, the expense of selling the product line, the possibility that any anticipated sale will be delayed or will not occur and the potential delay or failure to realize the perceived strategic or financial merits of the divestment.
We may incur higher than expected expense from or not realize the expected benefits, or any benefits, of consolidation, outsourcing and restructuring initiatives designed to reduce costs and increase revenue across our operations.
We have pursued in the past and may pursue in the future various restructuring initiatives designed to reduce costs and increase revenue across our operations, including reductions in our number of manufacturing facilities and workforce, establishing certain operations closer in location to our global customers and evaluating functions that may be more efficiently performed through outsourcing arrangements. Any restructuring initiatives could result in potential adverse effects on employee capabilities, our continued ability to recruit, hire, retain and motivate highly skilled engineering, operations, sales, administrative, managerial and other key personnel, our ability to achieve design wins and our ability to maintain and enhance our customer base. Such events could harm our efficiency and our ability to act quickly and effectively in the rapidly changing technology markets in which we sell our products. In addition, we may be unsuccessful in our efforts to realign our organizational structure and shift our investments. The potential negative impact of a restructuring plan on our employees may limit our ability to meet and satisfy the demands of our customers and, as a result, have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Production Operations
Our internal and external manufacturing, assembly and test model subjects us to various manufacturing and supply risks.
We operate leased semiconductor wafer processing and manufacturing facilities at our headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, and at our Ann Arbor, Michigan and Limeil-Brévannes, France sites. These facilities are also important internal design, assembly and test facilities. We maintain other internal assembly and test operation facilities as well, including leased sites in Hamilton, New Jersey, Morgan Hill, California, Nashua, New Hampshire, and Hsinchu, Taiwan. We also use multiple external foundries for outsourced semiconductor wafer supply, as well as multiple domestic and Asian assembly and test suppliers to assemble and test our products. A number of factors will affect the future success of these internal manufacturing facilities and outsourced supply and service arrangements, including the level of demand for our products; our ability to expand and contract our facilities and purchase commitments in a timely and cost-effective manner; our ability to generate revenue in amounts that cover the significant fixed costs of operating our facilities; our ability to qualify our facilities for new products and process technologies in a timely manner and avoid complications; the availability of raw materials; the availability and continued operation of key equipment; our manufacturing cycle times and yields; political and economic risks; the occurrence of natural disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism, armed conflicts or unrest impacting our facilities and those of our outsourced suppliers; our ability to hire, train, manage and retain qualified production personnel; our compliance with applicable environmental and other laws and regulations; our ability to avoid prolonged periods of downtime or high levels of scrap in our and our suppliers’ facilities for any reason; and our ability to negotiate renewals to our existing lease agreements on favorable terms and without disruption to our wafer processing and manufacturing and internal assembly and test operations at our sites where such activities take place. The effectiveness of our supply chain could be adversely affected by such issues and harm our results of operations. In August 2022, the U.S. enacted the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 (the “CHIPS Act”), which provides certain financial incentives to the semiconductor industry, primarily for manufacturing activities within the U.S., which may potentially be available to us and our competitors;
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however, there can be no assurance as to which companies will receive such incentives and whether the CHIPS Act will have a positive or negative impact on our competitive position.
Minor deviations in the manufacturing process can cause substantial manufacturing yield loss or even cause halts in production, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and gross margin.
Our products involve complexities in both their design and the semiconductor process technology employed in their fabrication. In many cases, the products are also assembled in customized packages or feature high levels of integration. Our products must meet exacting customer specifications for quality, performance and reliability.
Our manufacturing yield, or the percentage of units of a given product in a given period that is usable relative to all such units produced, is a combination of yields including wafer fabrication, assembly and test yields. Due to the complexity of our products, we periodically experience difficulties in achieving acceptable yields as even minor deviations in the manufacturing process can cause substantial manufacturing yield loss or halt production. Our customers may also test our components once they have been assembled into their products. The number of usable products that result from our production process can fluctuate as a result of many factors, including design errors; defects in photomasks, used to print circuits on wafers; minute impurities in materials used; contamination of the manufacturing environment; equipment failure or variations in the manufacturing processes; losses from broken wafers or other human errors; defects in packaging; and issues and errors in testing. Typically, for a given level of sales, when our yields improve, our gross margin improves. Conversely, when our yields decrease, our unit costs are typically higher, our gross margin is lower and our profitability is adversely affected, any or all of which can harm our results of operations and lower our stock price.
Our business may be harmed if systems manufacturers choose not to use components made of the compound semiconductor materials we utilize.
Silicon semiconductor technologies are the dominant process technologies for the manufacture of ICs in high-volume, commercial markets and the performance of silicon ICs continues to improve. While we use silicon for some applications, we also often use compound semiconductor technologies such as GaAs, InP, SiGe or GaN to deliver reliable operation at higher power, higher frequency or smaller form factor than a silicon solution has historically allowed. While these compound semiconductor materials offer high-performance features, it is generally more difficult to design and manufacture products with reliability and in volume using them. Compound semiconductor technology tends to be more expensive than silicon technology. We cannot be certain that additional systems manufacturers will design our compound semiconductor products into their systems or that the companies that have utilized our products will continue to do so in the future. If our products fail to achieve or maintain market acceptance for any of the above reasons, our results of operations will suffer.
We face risks associated with government contracting.
Some of our revenue is derived from contracts with agencies of the U.S. government or subcontracts with its prime contractors. As a U.S. government contractor or subcontractor, we may be subject to federal contracting regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulations, which govern, among other things, the allowability of costs incurred by us in the performance of U.S. government contracts. Certain contract pricing is based on estimated direct and indirect costs, which are subject to change. Additionally, the U.S. government is entitled after final payment on certain negotiated contracts to examine all of our cost records with respect to such contracts and to seek a downward adjustment to the price of the contract if it determines that we failed to furnish complete, accurate and current cost or pricing data in connection with the negotiation of the price of the contract. In connection with our U.S. government business, we may also be subject to government audits and to review and approval of our policies, procedures and internal controls for compliance with procurement regulations and applicable laws. In certain circumstances, if we do not comply with the terms of a contract or with regulations or statutes, we could be subject to downward contract price adjustments or refund obligations or could in extreme circumstances be assessed civil and criminal penalties or be debarred or suspended from obtaining future contracts for a specified period of time. Any such suspension or debarment or other sanction could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, if we are unable to comply with security clearance requirements, we might be unable to perform these contracts or compete for other projects of this nature, which could adversely affect our revenue.
Risks Relating to Research and Development, Intellectual Property and New Technologies
Our investment in technology as well as R&D may not be successful, which may impact our profitability.
The semiconductor industry requires substantial investment in technology as well as R&D in order to bring to market new and enhanced technologies and products. Our R&D expenses were $182.2 million for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024. In each of the last three fiscal years, we invested in R&D as part of our strategy toward the development of innovative products and solutions to help support our growth and profitability. We cannot assure you if, or when, the products and solutions where we have focused our R&D expenditures will become commercially successful. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to maintain the level of investment in R&D required to remain competitive or succeed in our strategy. Our efforts to develop new and improved process technologies for use in our products require substantial expenditures that may generate an inadequate return on investment, if any, or may take longer than we anticipate to generate a return. For example, we have in the past and may continue to experience additional and new unexpected difficulties, expenses or delays in qualifying and completing certain of our development projects including our
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GaN-on-Silicon, certain Laser products and our Air Force Research Laboratory related process technology transfer. These development risks may be associated with internal MACOM capabilities and/or external factors, which may include, but not limited to, matters with one or more third party foundries, assembly and test suppliers, qualifying related products with our customers and marketing efforts, and we may not be successful in process or product qualification and/or manufacturing cost reductions. In addition, we may not realize the competitive advantage we anticipate from related investments and may not realize customer demand that meets our expectations, any of which could lead to higher than expected operating expense, lower than expected revenue and gross margin, associated charges or otherwise reduce the price of our common stock. We may not be successful in our R&D efforts or may not realize the competitive advantages, revenues or profits we anticipate from new products, any of which may lead to higher R&D expense, lower than expected revenues and gross margin and reduced profitability, or may otherwise harm our business or reduce the price of our common stock. Such results, or anticipated results, may cause us to reevaluate our investment in those areas of our business.
We may incur liabilities for claims of intellectual property infringement relating to our products.
The semiconductor industry is generally subject to frequent litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. In the past we have been, and may in the future be, subject to claims that we have breached, infringed or misappropriated patent, license or other intellectual property rights. Our customers may assert claims against us for indemnification if they receive claims alleging that their or our products infringe upon others’ intellectual property rights, and have in the past and may in the future choose not to purchase our products based on their concerns over such a pending claim. In the event of an adverse result of any intellectual property rights litigation, we could be required to incur significant costs to defend or settle such litigation, pay substantial damages for infringement, expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology, incur material liability for royalty payments or fees to obtain licenses to the technology covered by the litigation or be subjected to an injunction, which could prevent us from selling our products, and materially and adversely affect our revenue and results of operations. Any claims relating to the infringement of third-party proprietary rights, even if not meritorious, could result in costly litigation, lost sales or damaged customer relationships and diversion of management’s attention and resources.
We depend on third parties for products and services required for our business, which may limit our ability to meet customer demand, assure product quality and control costs.
We purchase numerous raw materials, such as ceramic packages, precious metals, semiconductor wafers and ICs, from a limited number of external suppliers. We also currently use several external manufacturing suppliers for assembly and testing of our products, and in some cases for fully outsourced turnkey manufacturing of our products. We expect to increase our use of outsourced manufacturing in the future as a strategy. Any substantial disruption in the contract manufacturing services that we utilize as a result of a natural disaster, climate change, water shortages, political unrest, military conflicts, geopolitical turmoil, trade tensions, government orders, labor shortages, medical epidemics, economic instability, equipment failure or other cause, could materially harm our business, customer relationships and results of operations. Further, the use of external suppliers involves a number of risks, including the possibility of material disruptions in the supply of key components, the lack of control over delivery schedules, capacity constraints, manufacturing yields, quality and fabrication costs and misappropriation of our intellectual property. If these vendors’ processes vary in reliability or quality, they could negatively affect our products and, therefore, our customer relations and results of operations. We generally purchase raw materials on a purchase order basis and we do not have significant long-term supply commitments from our vendors. The long-term supply commitments we have may result in an obligation to purchase excess material, which may materially and negatively impact our operating results. In terms of relative bargaining power, many of our suppliers are larger than we are, with greater resources, and many of their other customers are larger and have greater resources than we do. These vendors may choose to supply others in preference to us in times of capacity constraint or otherwise, particularly where the other customers purchase in higher volume. Third-party supplier capacity constraints have in the past and may in the future prevent us from supplying customer demand that we otherwise could have fulfilled at attractive prices. If we have a firm commitment to supply our customers but are unable to do so we may be liable for resulting damages and expense incurred by our customers.
We utilize sole source suppliers for certain semiconductor packages and other materials and, in some cases, for the particular semiconductor fabrication process technologies manufactured at that supplier’s facility. Such supplier concentrations involve the risk of a potential future business interruption if the supplier becomes unable or unwilling to supply us at any point. While in some cases alternate suppliers may exist, because there are limited numbers of third-party wafer suppliers that use the process technologies we select for our products and that have sufficient capacity to meet our needs, it may not be possible or may be expensive to find an alternative source of supply. Even if we are able to find an alternative source, moving production to an alternative supplier requires an extensive qualification or re-qualification process that could prevent or delay product shipments or disrupt customers’ production schedules, which could harm our business. The loss of a supplier can also significantly harm our business and operating results.
Our limited ability to protect our proprietary information and technology may adversely affect our ability to compete.
Our future success and ability to compete is dependent in part upon our protection of our proprietary information and technology through patent filings, enforcement of agreements related to intellectual property and otherwise. We cannot be certain that any patents we apply for will be issued or that any claims allowed from pending applications will be of sufficient scope or strength to provide meaningful protection or commercial advantage. Our competitors may also be able to design around our patents. Similarly, counterparties to our intellectual property agreements may fail to comply with their obligations under those agreements, requiring us
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to resort to expensive and time-consuming litigation in an attempt to protect our rights, which may or may not be successful. The laws of some countries in which our products are or may be developed, manufactured or sold, may not protect our products or intellectual property rights to the same extent as U.S. laws. Although we intend to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights, we may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our technology or may need to expend significant financial and other resources in defending our rights.
In addition, we rely on trade secrets, technical know-how and other unpatented proprietary information relating to our product development and manufacturing activities. While we enter into confidentiality agreements with employees and other parties to protect this information, we cannot be sure that these agreements will be adequate and will not be breached, that we would have adequate remedies for any breach or that our trade secrets and proprietary know-how will not otherwise become known or independently discovered by others.
Additionally, our competitors may independently develop technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our technology. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain or use our products or technology. Patent litigation is expensive and our ability to enforce our patents and other intellectual property, is limited by our financial resources and is subject to general litigation risks. If we seek to enforce our rights, we may be subject to claims that the intellectual property rights are invalid, are otherwise not enforceable or are licensed to the party against whom we assert a claim. In addition, our assertion of intellectual property rights could result in the other party seeking to assert alleged intellectual property rights of its own against us, which is a frequent occurrence in such litigations.
Certain of our products currently incorporate technology licensed or acquired from third parties and we expect our products in the future to also require technology from third parties. If the licenses to such technology that we currently hold become unavailable or the terms on which they are available become commercially unreasonable, or if we are unable to acquire or license necessary technology for our products in the future, our business could be adversely affected.
We sell products in markets that are characterized by rapid technological changes, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions and increasing levels of integration. Our ability to keep pace with these markets at times depends on our ability to obtain technology from third parties on commercially reasonable terms to allow our products to remain competitive. If licenses to such technology are not available on commercially reasonable terms and conditions or at all and we cannot otherwise acquire or integrate such technology, our products or our customers’ products could become unmarketable or obsolete, we could lose market share and our revenue and results of operations could materially decline. In addition, disputes with third party licensors over required payments, scope of licensed rights and compliance with contractual terms are common in our industry and we have in the past and may in the future be subjected to disputes over the terms of such licenses which could result in substantial unanticipated costs or delays in developing substitute technology to deliver competitive products, damaged customer and vendor relationships, indemnification liabilities and declining revenues and profitability. Such events could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Government Regulations
Changes in U.S. and international laws, accounting standards, export and import controls and trade policies or the enforcement of, or attempt to enforce, such laws, standards, controls and policies may adversely impact our business and operating results.
Our future results could be adversely affected by changes in interpretations of existing laws and regulations, or changes in laws and regulations, including, among others, changes in accounting standards, taxation requirements, competition laws, trade laws, import and export restrictions, privacy laws and environmental laws in the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. government has made statements and taken certain actions that have led to, and may lead to further, changes to U.S. and international export and import controls or trade policies, including tariffs affecting certain products exported by a number of U.S. trading partners, including China. In response, many of those trading partners, including China, have imposed or proposed new or higher tariffs on American products. It is unknown whether and to what extent new tariffs (or other new laws or regulations) will be adopted, or the effect that any such actions would have on us or our industry and customers. Any unfavorable government policies on international trade, such as export and import controls, capital controls or tariffs, may affect the demand for our products and services, increase the cost of components, delay production, impact the competitive position of our products or prevent us from being able to sell products in certain countries. If any new export or import controls, tariffs, legislation or regulations are implemented or if existing trade agreements are renegotiated such changes could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, proceedings to enforce, or the enforcement of, any laws, regulations and policies by the U.S. or other countries, and the resulting response to such actions, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to comply with export control regulations, we could be subject to substantial fines or other sanctions, including loss of export privileges.
Certain of our products are subject to the Export Administration Regulations, administered by the BIS, which require that we obtain an export license before we can export products or technology to specified countries. Other products are subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which restrict the export of information and material that may be used for military or intelligence applications by a foreign person. Ongoing export control reform that has changed and is expected to continue to change rules applicable to us in the future in ways we do not yet fully understand and we have experienced and will continue to experience
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challenges in complying with the new rules as they become effective, resulting in difficulties or an inability to ship products to certain countries and customers.
We are also subject to U.S. import regulations and the import and export regimes of other countries in which we operate. Failure to comply with these laws could result in sanctions by the U.S. government, including substantial monetary penalties, denial of export privileges and debarment from government contracts. Any change in export or import regulations or related legislation (or the interpretation thereof), shift in approach by regulators to the enforcement or scope of existing regulations, specific sanctions by regulators or change in the countries, persons or technologies targeted by such regulations, could harm our business by resulting in decreased use of our products by, or our decreased ability to export or sell our products to, existing or potential customers with international operations. In addition, our sale of our products to or through third-party distributors, resellers and sales representatives creates the risk that any violation of these laws they may engage in may disrupt our markets or otherwise bring liability on us.
Our financial results may be adversely affected by increased tax rates and exposure to additional tax liabilities.
Our effective tax rate is highly dependent upon the geographic composition of our worldwide earnings and tax regulations governing each region, each of which can change from period to period. We are subject to income taxes in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions and significant judgment is required to determine our worldwide tax liabilities. Our effective tax rate as well as the actual tax ultimately payable could be adversely affected by changes in the amount of our earnings attributable to countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets, changes in tax laws (or the interpretation of those laws by regulators) or tax rates (particularly in the U.S. or Ireland), increases in non-deductible expenses, the availability of tax credits (including, but not limited to through the CHIPS Act), material audit assessments or repatriation of non-U.S. earnings, each of which could materially affect our profitability. For example, as of September 27, 2024, we had $265.1 million of gross federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards, which, for those generated prior to the effective date of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”), will expire at various dates through 2036, while those generated subsequent to the Tax Act have an indefinite carryforward with no expiration. However, our ability to use these federal NOL carryforwards and other deferred tax assets may be limited. Realization of our deferred tax assets is dependent upon us generating sufficient future taxable income. Deferred tax assets are reviewed and assessed on a periodic basis for future realizability. Future charges against our earnings could result in all or some portion of the deferred tax asset to not be realized. This could be caused by, among other things, deterioration in our operational performance, future impairment charges, adverse market conditions, geopolitical unrest, adverse changes in tax and other applicable laws or regulations and a variety of other factors. Any significant increase in our effective tax rates could materially reduce our net income in future periods and decrease the value of your investment in our common stock.
We may need to modify our activities or incur substantial costs to comply with environmental laws, and if we fail to comply with environmental laws, we could be subject to substantial fines or be required to change our operations.
We are subject to a variety of international, federal, state and local governmental regulations directed at preventing or mitigating climate change and other environmental harms, as well as to the storage, discharge, handling, generation, disposal and labeling of toxic or other hazardous substances used to manufacture our products which could restrict our ability to expand our facilities or build new facilities, or require us to acquire additional expensive equipment, modify our manufacturing processes, or incur other substantial expenses which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we fail to comply with these regulations, substantial fines could be imposed on us and we could be required to suspend production, alter manufacturing processes, cease operations or remediate polluted land, air or groundwater, any of which could have a negative effect on our revenue, results of operations and business. Failure to comply with environmental regulations could subject us to civil or criminal sanctions and property damage or personal injury claims. We have incurred in the past and may in the future incur environmental liability based on the actions of prior owners, lessees or neighbors of sites we have leased or may lease in the future, third party commercial waste disposal sites we utilize or sites we become associated with due to acquisitions.
In addition, we may in the future incur costs defending against environmental litigation brought by government agencies, lessors at sites we currently lease or have been associated with in the past and other private parties. A significant judgment or fine levied against us or agreed settlement payment could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, since 1993, one of our legal entities has been named as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) along with more than 100 other companies that used the Omega Chemical Corporation waste treatment facility in Whittier, California (the “Omega Site”). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has alleged that the Omega Site failed to properly treat and dispose of certain hazardous waste material. We are a member of a large group of PRPs, which has agreed to fund certain ongoing remediation efforts at and nearby the Omega Site. Based on currently available information with respect to the total anticipated level of investigatory, remedial and monitoring costs to be incurred by the group of PRPs and our allocable share of those costs, we have a loss accrual for the Omega Site that is not material. However, the proceedings are ongoing and several factors beyond our control could cause this loss accrual to prove inadequate, and any future increases to our allocation of responsibility among the PRPs or the future reduction of parties participating in the PRP group could materially increase our potential liability relating to the Omega Site.
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Environmental regulations such as the WEEE and RoHS directives limit our flexibility and may require us to incur material expense.
Various countries require companies selling a broad range of electrical equipment to conform to regulations such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”) and the European Directive on Restriction of Hazardous Substances (“RoHS”). Environmental standards such as these could require us to redesign our products in order to comply with the standards, require the development of compliance administration systems or otherwise limit our flexibility in running our business or require us to incur substantial compliance costs. We have already invested significant resources into complying with these regimes, and further investments may be required. Alternative designs implemented in response to regulation may be costlier to produce, resulting in an adverse effect on our gross profit margin. If we cannot develop compliant products in a timely fashion or properly administer our compliance programs, our revenue may also decline due to lower sales, which would adversely affect our operating results. Further, if we were found to be non-compliant with any rule or regulation, we could be subject to fines, penalties and/or restrictions imposed by government agencies that could adversely affect our operating results.
Sustainability-related regulations, policies and provisions, as well as customer and investor demands, may make our supply chain more complex and may adversely affect our relationships with customers and investors.
There has been an increased focus on corporate sustainability responsibility in the semiconductor industry, particularly with OEMs that manufacture consumer electronics. A number of our customers have adopted, or may adopt, procurement policies that include sustainability-related provisions or requirements that their suppliers should comply with, or they may seek to include such provisions or requirements in their procurement terms and conditions. An increasing number of investors are also requiring companies to disclose corporate sustainability policies, practices and metrics. Legal and regulatory requirements, as well as investor expectations, on corporate sustainability practices and disclosure are subject to change, can be unpredictable and may be difficult and expensive for us to comply with, given the complexity of our supply chain and manufacturing. If we are unable to comply, or are unable to cause our suppliers or contract manufacturers to comply, with such policies or provisions or meet the requirements of our customers or our investors, a customer may stop purchasing products from us or an investor may sell their shares and/or take legal action against us, which could harm our reputation, revenue and results of operations.
Customer demands and regulations related to “conflict” minerals may force us to incur additional expenses and liabilities.
Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC promulgated rules regarding disclosure and reporting requirements for companies who use “conflict” minerals mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries in their products. In the semiconductor industry, these minerals are most commonly found in metals used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and related assemblies. These requirements may adversely affect our ability to source related minerals and metals and increase our related costs. We face difficulties and increased expenses associated with complying with the related disclosure requirements, such as costs related to determining the source of any conflict minerals used in our products. Our supply chain is complex, and some suppliers may be unwilling to share related confidential information regarding the source of their products or may provide us information that is inaccurate or inadequate. If those risks arise or if our processes in obtaining that information do not fulfill the SEC’s requirements, we may face both reputational challenges and SEC enforcement risks based on our inability to sufficiently verify the origins of the subject minerals and metals or otherwise. Moreover, we may encounter challenges to satisfy any related requirements of our customers, which may be different from or more onerous than the requirements of SEC rules and executive orders. If we cannot satisfy such customers, they may choose a competitor’s products or disqualify us as a supplier, and we may experience lower than expected revenues or have to write off inventory in the event that it becomes unsalable as a result of these regulations.
Failure to comply with data privacy regimes could subject us to significant expenses, litigation and reputational harm.
In the ordinary course of our business, we have access to sensitive, confidential or personal data or information regarding our employees and others that is subject to privacy and security laws and regulations. The theft, loss, or misuse of personal data collected, used, stored or transferred by us, or by our third-party service providers, could result in damage to our reputation, disruption of our business activities, significantly increased business costs or costs related to defending legal claims or regulatory actions.
Global privacy legislation, enforcement and policy activity are rapidly expanding and creating a complex data privacy compliance environment and the potential for high-profile negative publicity in the event of any data breach. We are subject to many privacy and data protection laws and regulations in the United States and around the world, some of which place restrictions on processing personal data across our business. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) requires compliance with rules regarding the handling of personal data belonging to individuals in the European Economic Area, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) provide enhanced privacy rights and consumer protection for residents of California. It is costly to comply with the GDPR, CCPA, CPRA and other similar laws and regulations. Further, a number of these laws and regulations provide for significant penalties in the case of non-compliance. We have invested, and continue to invest, human and technology resources into our data privacy compliance efforts. Despite those efforts, there is a risk that we may be subject to fines and penalties, litigation and reputational harm if we fail to protect the privacy of third party data or to comply with the applicable data privacy regimes.
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Risks Relating to Ownership of our Common Stock
The market price of our common stock may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses for investors.
We cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, depending upon many factors, some of which may be beyond our control. In addition to the risks described in this Annual Report, other factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include changes in general economic, political, industry and market conditions; general market price and volume fluctuations, including increased inflationary pressure and other volatility including pandemics; domestic and international economic factors unrelated to our performance; actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly operating results; changes in or failure to meet publicly disclosed expectations as to our future financial performance; changes in securities analysts’ estimates of our financial performance, lack of research and reports by industry analysts or negative research and reports by industry analysts; addition or loss of significant customers; announcements by us or our competitors, customers or suppliers of significant products, contracts, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or other events; any future sales of our common stock or other securities; and additions or departures of directors, executives or key personnel.
For example, between July 8, 2024 and August 7, 2024, the market price of our common stock had a cumulative decline of approximately 18.8%. 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. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.
If we fail to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations, investor confidence in our business and the trading prices of our securities.
We are required to maintain disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting that are effective for the purposes described in “Item 9A - Controls and Procedures” below. The existence of a material weakness in our internal controls may adversely affect our ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information timely and accurately and, as a result, our financial statements may contain material misstatements or omissions, which could result in regulatory scrutiny, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial condition and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flow results of operations or the trading price of our stock.
We may engage in future capital-raising transactions that dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders or cause us to incur debt.
We may issue additional equity, debt or convertible securities to raise capital in the future. If we do, existing stockholders may experience significant further dilution. In addition, new investors may demand rights, preferences or privileges that differ from or are senior to, those of our existing stockholders. Our incurrence of indebtedness could limit our operating flexibility and be detrimental to our results of operations.
Some of our stockholders can exert control over us and they may not make decisions that reflect our interests or those of other stockholders.
Our largest stockholder controls a significant amount of our outstanding common stock. As of September 27, 2024, Susan Ocampo beneficially owned17.8% of our common stock. As a result, these stockholders will be able to exert a significant degree of influence over our management and affairs and control over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of our directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. In addition, this concentration of ownership may delay or prevent a change in control of us and might affect the market price of our securities. In addition, the interests of this stockholder may not always coincide with your interests or the interests of other stockholders.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could prevent or delay a change in control of our company that stockholders may consider beneficial and may adversely affect the price of our stock.
Provisions of our fifth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and third amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or change of control that a stockholder may consider favorable. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions. The existence of these provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. These provisions include authorization of the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, staggered elections of directors and advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors and for proposing matters to be submitted to a stockholder vote. Provisions of Delaware law may also discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring or merging with our company or obtaining control of our company. Specifically, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law may prohibit business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. Our board of directors could rely on Delaware law to prevent or delay an acquisition of the Company and this reliance could reduce our value.
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We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.
We do not intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. The payment of cash dividends is restricted under the terms of the agreements governing our indebtedness. In addition, because we are a holding company, our ability to pay cash dividends may be limited by restrictions on our ability to obtain sufficient funds through dividends from subsidiaries, including restrictions under the terms of the agreements governing our indebtedness. We anticipate that we will retain all of our future earnings for use in the development of our business and for general corporate purposes. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments.
Risks Relating to our 2026 Convertible Notes
Servicing our debt, including our 2026 Convertible Notes, requires a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow from our business to pay our indebtedness.
Our ability to make payments of the principal of, to pay interest on, or to refinance, our 2026 Convertible Notes (as defined in Note 15 - Debt to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report), or to make cash payments in connection with any conversion of the 2026 Convertible Notes depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not continue to generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service the 2026 Convertible Notes or other indebtedness and make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring indebtedness or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. Our ability to refinance the 2026 Convertible Notes or our other indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations.
Provisions in indenture governing the 2026 Convertible Notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial business combination.
The terms of the 2026 Convertible Notes require us to repurchase the 2026 Convertible Notes in the event of a “fundamental change” as defined under the indenture governing the 2026 Convertible Notes. A fundamental change of our Company would trigger an option of the holders of the 2026 Convertible Notes to require us to repurchase the 2026 Convertible Notes. In addition, if a make-whole fundamental change occurs prior to the maturity date of the 2026 Convertible Notes, we will in some cases be required to increase the conversion rate for a holder that elects to convert its 2026 Convertible Notes. Furthermore, the indenture that governs the 2026 Convertible Notes prohibits us from engaging in certain mergers or acquisitions unless, among other things, the surviving entity assumes our obligations under the 2026 Convertible Notes. This may have the effect of delaying or preventing an acquisition of our Company that could be beneficial to investors.
We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle conversions of the 2026 Convertible Notes in cash or to repurchase the 2026 Convertible Notes upon a fundamental change and our debt may limit our ability to pay cash upon conversion or repurchase of the 2026 Convertible Notes.
Holders of the 2026 Convertible Notes have the right to require us to repurchase their 2026 Convertible Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 2026 Convertible Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the fundamental change repurchase date. In addition, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock upon conversion, we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the 2026 Convertible Notes being converted. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make purchases of the 2026 Convertible Notes, and our failure to do so would constitute a default under the indenture governing the 2026 Convertible Notes. In addition, our ability to repurchase the 2026 Convertible Notes or to pay cash upon conversion of the 2026 Convertible Notes could be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements that will govern our future indebtedness. A default under the indenture governing the 2026 Convertible Notes or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our existing or future indebtedness.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
ITEM 1C. Cybersecurity.
Risk management and strategy.
We recognize the importance of developing, implementing and maintaining cybersecurity measures designed to safeguard our information systems and protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our data.
Managing Material Risks & Integrated Risk Management
25
In the ordinary course of our business, we and our third-party service providers collect, maintain and transmit sensitive data on our networks and systems, including Company and third-party intellectual property and proprietary or confidential business information (such as research data and personal information). The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our business and reputation. In addition, we are heavily dependent on the functioning of our information technology infrastructure to carry out our business processes. While we have adopted administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect such systems and data, our systems and those of third-party service providers and customers may be vulnerable to a cyber-attack.
We have adopted processes designed to identify, assess and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats. Those processes include response to and an assessment of internal and external threats to the security, confidentiality, integrity and availability of our data and information systems, along with other material risks to our operations, at least annually or whenever there are material changes to our systems or operations.
We have strategically integrated cybersecurity risk management into our broader risk management framework to promote a company-wide culture of cybersecurity risk management. Our risk management team collaborates with our Head of Information Security to evaluate and address cybersecurity risks in alignment with our business objectives and operational needs. We have processes to detect potential vulnerabilities and anomalies through technical safeguards and have adopted policies and procedures around internal and external notification of cybersecurity incidents.
Engaging Third Parties on Risk Management
As part of our risk management process, we engage with a range of outside providers, including cybersecurity assessors, consultants, legal advisors and auditors, to conduct periodic internal and external assessments, including, but not limited to, penetration testing. Our collaboration with these third parties also includes regular audits, threat assessments and consultation on security enhancements.
Overseeing Third-party Risk
We rely on the third parties for various business functions. In certain circumstances, our third-party services providers have access to some of our information systems and data, depending on the nature of their engagements with us, and we rely on such third parties for the continuous operation of our business operations.Because we are aware of the risks associated with third-party service providers, we conduct vendor diligence and security assessments of third-party providers before engagement and maintain ongoing monitoring to oversee compliance with our cybersecurity standards.
Monitoring Cybersecurity Incidents
The Head of Information Security implements and oversees processes for the monitoring of our information systems. This includes, but is not limited to, the deployment of security measures and system audits to identify potential vulnerabilities. In the event of a cybersecurity incident, we have implemented an incident response plan, which includes actions to mitigate the impact and long-term strategies for remediation and prevention of future incidents.
Risks from Cybersecurity Threats
As of the date of this report, we are not aware of a cybersecurity incident that resulted in a material effect on our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition, but we cannot provide assurance that we will not be materially affected in the future by such risks or any future material incidents. Despite our continuing efforts, we cannot guarantee that our cybersecurity safeguards will prevent breaches or breakdowns of our or our third-party service providers’ information technology systems, particularly in the face of continually evolving cybersecurity threats and increasingly sophisticated threat actors. A cybersecurity incident may materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition, including where such an incident results in reputational, competitive or business harm or damage to our brand, lost sales, reduced demand, loss of intellectual property rights, significant costs or the Company being subject to government investigations, litigation, fines or damages. For more information, see “Our business and operations could suffer in the event of a security breach, cybersecurity incident or disruption of our information technology systems” under Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Governance.
Board of Directors Oversight
Our Board of Directors has established oversight mechanisms to manage risks from cybersecurity threats. Our Audit Committee has primary responsibility for oversight of cybersecurity. At least once per year and following any material cybersecurity incidents, the Audit Committee reviews our assessment and management of information security, cybersecurity and technology risks, including the information security and risk management programs and strategies and mitigation strategies. The Audit Committee also reviews the response to data security incidents and breaches as well as the management of third-party cybersecurity risk.
Management’s Role Managing Risk
At the management level, our cybersecurity program is managed by our Head of Information Security, who reports to our Vice President of Information Technology. Our Head of Information Security has over twenty-five years of information technology
26
experience, with five years of experience in the information security space. Our Head of Information Security holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Business Administration.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
Our principal executive offices are located in a leased facility in Lowell, Massachusetts. In addition to our corporate headquarters facility the following is a list of our main leased facilities and their primary functions.
Site
Major Activity (1)
Square Footage
Lease Expiration
Lowell, Massachusetts
A, P&F, T&A, AE, S&M and RT
281,700
October 2043
Limeil-Brévannes, France
A, P&F, T&A, S&M and RT
164,752
October 2024
Morgan Hill, California
A, P&F, R&D, AE, RT, T&A
83,828
February 2028
Newport Beach, California
R&D, AE and S&M
57,412
December 2029
Ann Arbor, Michigan
P&F, R&D and T&A, RT
50,335
May 2026
Santa Clara, California
R&D, AE and S&M
46,270
October 2024
Nashua, New Hampshire
R&D, T&A, P&F and RT
33,750
December 2027
Hamilton, New Jersey
A, T&A, AE, R&D, S&M and RT
25,750
November 2033
Durham, North Carolina
R&D, S&M
25,660
December 2025
Hsinchu, Taiwan
P&F, T&A and RT
24,282
December 2027
Milpitas, California
R&D, AE and S&M
22,246
September 2029
Cork, Ireland
A, R&D, S&M, AE and RT
21,422
August 2026
(1) Major activities include Administration (A), Research and Development (R&D), Production and Fabrication (P&F), Sales and Marketing (S&M), Application Engineering (AE), Test and Assembly (T&A) and Reliability Testing (RT).
For additional information regarding property and equipment by geographic region for each of the last two fiscal years and additional information on all of our lease obligations, see the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in “Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” below.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
From time to time we may be subject to commercial and employment disputes, claims by other companies in the industry that we have infringed their intellectual property rights and other similar claims and litigation. Any such claims may lead to future litigation and material damages and defense costs. We were not involved in any pending legal proceedings as of the filing date of this Annual Report that we believe would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition or cash flows.
Certain legal proceedings in which we are involved, if any, are discussed in Note 14 - Commitments and Contingencies to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report which is incorporated by reference herein.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Our common stock has been listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “MTSI” since March 15, 2012. The number of stockholders of record of our common stock as of November 6, 2024 was approximately 73. The number of stockholders of record does not include beneficial owners whose shares are held by nominees in street name.
Stock Price Performance Graph
The following graph shows a comparison from September 27, 2019 through September 27, 2024 of the total cumulative return of our common stock with the total cumulative return of the NASDAQ Composite Index and the PHLX Semiconductor Index. The amounts represented below assume an investment of $100.00 in our common stock at the closing price of $21.68 on September 27, 2019 and in the Nasdaq Composite Index and the PHLX Semiconductor Index on the closest month end date of September 27, 2019, and assume reinvestment of dividends. The comparisons in the graph are historical and are not intended to forecast or be indicative of possible future performance of our common stock.
27
September 27, 2019
October 2, 2020
October 1, 2021
September 30, 2022
September 29, 2023
September 27, 2024
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
$100.00
$155.90
$301.38
$238.88
$376.29
$514.39
Nasdaq Composite Index
$100.00
$140.86
$186.51
$136.43
$172.05
$237.60
PHLX Semiconductor Index
$100.00
$143.96
$211.37
$149.51
$222.59
$338.15
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table presents information with respect to purchases of common stock we made during the fiscal quarter ended September 27, 2024.
Period
Total Number of Shares
(or Units)
Purchased (1)
Average Price Paid per Share (or Unit)
Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs
Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares (or Units) that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
June 29, 2024—July 26, 2024
737
$
111.30
—
—
July 27, 2024—August 23, 2024
1,690
103.13
—
—
August 24, 2024—September 27, 2024
845
101.45
—
—
Total
3,272
$
104.53
—
—
(1)Our board of directors has approved “withhold to cover” as a tax payment method for vesting of restricted stock awards for our employees. Pursuant to an election for “withhold to cover” made by our employees in connection with the vesting of such awards, all of which were outside of a publicly announced repurchase plan, we withheld from such employees the shares noted in the table above to cover tax withholding related to the vesting of their awards. The average prices listed in the above table are averages of the fair market prices at which we valued shares withheld for purposes of calculating the number of shares to be withheld.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION.
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report. In addition to historical information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ substantially and adversely from those referred to herein due to a number of factors, including but not limited to those described below and in “Item 1A - Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.
The following section generally discusses our financial condition and results of operations for our fiscal year ended September 27, 2024 (“fiscal year 2024”) compared to our fiscal year ended September 29, 2023 (“fiscal year 2023”). A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for fiscal year 2023 compared to our fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 (“fiscal year 2022”) can be found in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 13, 2023.
OVERVIEW
We design and manufacture semiconductor products and solutions for I&D, Data Center and Telecom industries. Headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, we have more than 70 years of application expertise, with silicon, GaAs, GaN and InP fabrication, manufacturing, assembly and test, and operational facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia. We design, develop and manufacture differentiated semiconductor products and solutions for customers who demand high performance, quality and reliability. We offer a broad portfolio of thousands of standard and custom devices, which include ICs, MCMs, diodes, amplifiers, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components and RF and optical subsystems, which make up dozens of product lines that service over 6,000 end customers in our three primary markets. Our semiconductor products are electronic components that our customers generally incorporate into larger electronic systems, such as wireless basestations, high-capacity optical networks, data center networks, radar, medical systems and test and measurement applications. Our primary end markets are: (1) I&D, which includes military and commercial radar, RF jammers, electronic countermeasures, communication data links, satellite communications and various wired and wireless multi-market applications, which include industrial, medical, test and measurement and scientific applications; (2) Data Center, enabled by our broad portfolio of analog ICs and photonic components for high speed connectivity customers; and (3) Telecom, which includes carrier infrastructure such as long-haul/metro, 5G and future generation infrastructure, satellite communications and FTTx/PON, among others.
See “Item 1 - Business”for additional information.
Basis of Presentation
We have one reportable operating segment and all intercompany balances have been eliminated in consolidation.
We have a 52 or 53-week fiscal year ending on the Friday closest to the last day of September. Fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 each consisted of 52 weeks. To offset the effect of holidays, for fiscal years in which there are 53 weeks, we typically include the extra week in the first quarter of our fiscal year.
Description of Our Revenue
Revenue. Our revenue is derived from sales of high-performance RF, microwave, millimeter wave, optical and photonic semiconductor products. We design, integrate, manufacture and package differentiated, semiconductor-based products that we sell to customers through our direct sales organization, our network of independent sales representatives and our distributors.
We believe the primary drivers of our future revenue growth will include:
•continued growth in the demand for high-performance analog, digital and optical semiconductors in our three primary markets;
•introducing new products using advanced technologies, added features, higher levels of integration and improved performance;
•increasing content of our semiconductor solutions in customers’ systems through cross-selling our product lines;
•leveraging our core strength and leadership position in standard, catalog products that service all of our end applications; and
•engaging early with our lead customers to develop custom and standard products.
Our core strategy is to develop and innovate high-performance products that address our customers’ most difficult technical challenges in our primary markets: I&D, Data Center and Telecom.
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We expect our revenue in the I&D market to be driven by the expanding product portfolio that we offer which services applications such as test and measurement, satellite communications, civil and military radar, industrial, automotive, scientific and medical applications, further supported by growth in applications for our multi-market catalog products.
We expect our revenue in the Data Center market to be driven by the adoption of higher speed processing technologies and the upgrade of data center architectures to 100G, 200G, 400G, 800G and 1.6T interconnects, which we expect will drive adoption of higher speed optical and photonic components.
We expect our revenue in the Telecom market to be driven by 5G deployments, with continued upgrades and expansion of communications equipment, satellite communications networks and increasing adoption of our high-performance RF, millimeter wave, optical and photonic components.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements. The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. By their nature, these estimates and judgments are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty and could be material if our actual or expected experience were to change unexpectedly. On an ongoing basis, we re-evaluate our estimates and judgments.
We base our estimates and judgments on our historical experience and on other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making the judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates and material effects on our operating results and financial position may result. The accounting policies which our management believes involve the most significant application of judgment or involve complex estimation, are inventories and associated reserves; revenue reserves; business combinations; goodwill and intangible asset valuation; share-based compensation valuations and income taxes.
Inventory valuation
When we evaluate inventory for excess quantities and obsolescence, we utilize historical product usage experience and expected demand for establishing our reserve estimates. Our actual product usage may vary from the historical experience and estimating demand is inherently difficult, particularly given the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, both of these factors may result in us recording excess and obsolete inventory amounts that do not match the required amounts.
Revenue reserves
We establish revenue reserves, primarily for product returns, price adjustments and stock rotations for products sold. Each revenue reserve requires the use of judgment and estimates that impact the amount and timing of revenue recognition. We record reductions of revenue for such reserve adjustments, in the same period that the related revenue is recorded. The reserves are estimated based on the expected value method derived from historical data, current expectations and economic conditions, and contractual terms with customers, including distributors. The actual pricing adjustments granted may significantly exceed or be less than the historical estimates resulting in adjustments to revenue in the incorrect period.
Business Combinations
We apply significant estimates and judgments in order to determine the fair value of the identified tangible and intangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed and goodwill recognized in business combinations. The value of all assets and liabilities are recognized at fair value as of the acquisition date using a market participant approach. In measuring the fair value, we utilize a number of valuation techniques. When determining the fair value of property and equipment acquired, generally we must estimate the cost to replace the asset with a new asset taking into consideration such factors as age, condition and the economic useful life of the asset. When determining the fair value of intangible assets acquired, typically determined using a discounted cash flow valuation method, we use assumptions such as the timing and amount of future cash flows, discount rates, weighted average cost of capital and estimated useful lives. These assessments can be significantly affected by our judgments.
Goodwill and intangible asset valuation
Significant management judgment is required in our valuation of goodwill and intangible assets, many of which are based on the creation of forecasts of future operating results that are used in the valuation, including (i) estimation of future cash flows, (ii) estimation of the long-term rate of growth for our business, (iii) estimation of the useful life over which cash flows will occur, (iv) terminal values, if applicable, and (v) the determination of our weighted average cost of capital, which helps determine the discount rate. It is possible that these forecasts may change, and our performance projections included in our forecasts of future results may prove to be inaccurate. The value of our goodwill and purchased intangible assets could also be impacted by future adverse changes, such as a decline in the valuation of technology company stocks, including the valuation of our common stock, or a significant slowdown in the worldwide economy or in the semiconductor industry.
Share-based compensation expense
30
We account for share-based compensation arrangements using the fair value method as described in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report. There are a significant number of estimates and assumptions required for the initial valuation as well as for the ongoing valuation of certain share-based compensation items. These estimates may vary significantly and the assumptions may not be accurate resulting us to make adjustments to historically recorded balances.
Income taxes
We are required to estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. This process involves estimating our current tax exposure together and assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included within our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We then assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income within the relevant jurisdiction. To the extent we believe that recovery is not likely, we must establish a valuation allowance. We provide valuation allowances for certain deferred tax assets where it is more likely than not that any portion will not be realized.
On a periodic basis, we reassess valuation allowances on our deferred tax assets, weighing positive and negative evidence, to assess recoverability. We determined that the valuation allowance on the majority of our domestic Net Operating Losses (“NOL”) and R&D tax credit carryforwards and other deferred tax assets should be released as of September 30, 2022. In making this determination, we considered positive evidence, including significant cumulative consolidated and U.S. income over the three years ended September 30, 2022, continued revenue growth combined with profitability and expectations regarding financial forecasts. We also considered negative evidence, including the uncertainty relating to the economic and geopolitical environment and global supply chain.
Significant judgment is required in making these assessments to maintain or reverse the majority of our valuation allowances. To the extent our future expectations change, we would have to reassess the recoverability of our deferred tax assets at that time. This valuation allowance release resulted in a tax benefit of $202.8 million, or $2.91 per basic share in fiscal year 2022.
The application of tax laws and regulations to calculate our tax liabilities is subject to legal and factual interpretation, judgment and uncertainty in a multitude of jurisdictions. Tax laws and regulations themselves are subject to change as a result of changes in fiscal policy, changes in legislation, the evolution of regulations, and court rulings. We recognize potential liabilities for anticipated tax audit issues in the United States and other tax jurisdictions based on our estimate of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes and interest will be due. We record an amount as an estimate of probable additional income tax liability at the largest amount that we feel is more likely than not, based upon the technical merits of the position, to be sustained upon audit by the relevant tax authority.
Historically, we have not experienced material differences in our estimates and actual results.
For additional information related to these and other accounting policies refer to Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report which is incorporated by reference herein.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, our Statements of Operations data (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Revenue
$
729,578
$
648,407
$
675,170
Cost of revenue (1)
335,805
262,610
268,989
Gross profit
393,773
385,797
406,181
Operating expenses:
Research and development (1)
182,158
148,545
148,228
Selling, general and administrative (1) (2)
137,949
129,852
125,279
Total operating expenses
320,107
278,397
273,507
Income from operations
73,666
107,400
132,674
Other income (expense):
Interest income
22,986
20,807
4,251
Interest expense
(5,136)
(12,384)
(8,551)
Other income (expense), net (3)
10
(665)
114,746
Other income, net
17,860
7,758
110,446
Income before income taxes
91,526
115,158
243,120
Income tax expense (benefit) (4)
14,667
23,581
(196,835)
Net income
$
76,859
$
91,577
$
439,955
(1)Includes (a) amortization expense related to intangible assets arising from acquisitions and (b) share-based compensation expense included in our Consolidated Statements of Operations as set forth below (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
(a) Intangible amortization expense:
Cost of revenue
$
14,790
$
4,369
$
7,839
Research and development
4,763
—
—
Selling, general and administrative
17,612
23,735
25,592
Total intangible amortization expense
$
37,165
$
28,104
$
33,431
(b) Share-based compensation expense:
Cost of revenue
$
5,938
$
4,325
$
4,038
Research and development
18,072
14,808
14,940
Selling, general and administrative
21,634
18,970
22,207
Total share-based compensation expense
$
45,644
$
38,103
$
41,185
(2)Fiscal years 2024 and 2023 includes $7.7 million and $9.1 million, respectively, of acquisition transaction costs.
(3)Fiscal year 2022 includes a gain on sale of our equity method investment of $118.2 million and includes a non-cash net loss of $3.3 million associated with our equity method investment based on our proportionate share of its losses and changes in equity. See Note 5 - Investments to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.
(4)Fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 includes a non-cash benefit of $3.6 million, $12.1 million and $202.8 million, respectively, related to the partial release of our valuation allowance. See Note 20 - Income Taxes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.
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The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, our Statements of Operations data expressed as a percentage of our revenue:
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Revenue
100.0
%
100.0
%
100.0
%
Cost of revenue
46.0
40.5
39.8
Gross profit
54.0
59.5
60.2
Operating expenses:
Research and development
25.0
22.9
22.0
Selling, general and administrative
18.9
20.0
18.6
Total operating expenses
43.9
42.9
40.5
Income from operations
10.1
16.6
19.7
Other income (expense):
Interest income
3.1
3.2
0.6
Interest expense
(0.7)
(1.9)
(1.2)
Other income (expense), net
—
(0.1)
17.0
Total other income, net
2.4
1.2
16.4
Income before income taxes
12.5
17.8
36.0
Income tax expense (benefit)
2.0
3.7
(29.2)
Net income
10.5
%
14.1
%
65.2
%
Comparison of Fiscal Year Ended September 27, 2024 to Fiscal Year Ended September 29, 2023
Revenue. In fiscal year 2024, our revenue increased by $81.2 million, or 12.5%, to $729.6 million from $648.4 million for fiscal year 2023. Fiscal years 2024 and 2023 each consisted of 52 weeks.
Revenue from our primary markets, the percentage of change between the years and revenue by primary markets expressed as a percentage of total revenue were (in thousands, except percentages):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
% Change
Industrial & Defense
$
351,639
$
317,128
10.9
%
Data Center
197,875
146,982
34.6
%
Telecom
180,064
184,297
(2.3)
%
Total
$
729,578
$
648,407
12.5
%
Industrial & Defense
48.2
%
48.9
%
Data Center
27.1
%
22.7
%
Telecom
24.7
%
28.4
%
Total
100.0
%
100.0
%
In fiscal year 2024, our I&D market revenue increased by $34.5 million, or 10.9%, compared to fiscal year 2023. The increase was primarily driven by revenue from recent acquisitions, partially offset by lower sales of legacy products for industrial markets.
In fiscal year 2024, our Data Center market revenue increased by $50.9 million, or 34.6%, compared to fiscal year 2023. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in sales of 400G and 800G high-performance analog Data Center products, partially offset by a decrease in sales of our legacy connectivity products.
In fiscal year 2024, our Telecom market revenue decreased by $4.2 million, or 2.3%, compared to fiscal year 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in sales in broadband access, PON, carrier-based optical semiconductor products and other telecom markets, partially offset by incremental revenue from recent acquisitions.
We continue to be negatively impacted by the current macroeconomic conditions, which we expect may result in weaker near-term demand for our products across all three of our primary markets.
Gross profit. In fiscal year 2024, our gross profit increased by $8.0 million, or 2.1%, compared to fiscal year 2023. Gross margin of 54.0% in fiscal year 2024 decreased 550 basis points, compared to fiscal year 2023. The increase in gross profit during 2024 was primarily as a result of higher sales primarily driven by recent acquisitions, partially offset by product mix, increased employee-related costs, primarily driven by headcount from acquisitions, higher intangible asset amortization and depreciation expense.
Research and development. In fiscal year 2024, research and development expense increased by $33.6 million, or 22.6%, to $182.2 million, representing 25.0% of revenue, compared with $148.5 million, representing 22.9% of revenue, in fiscal year 2023. Research and development expense increased during fiscal year 2024 primarily as a result of increases in employee-related costs, driven by higher headcount associated with acquisitions, higher intangible asset amortization and share-based compensation expense.
33
Selling, general and administrative. In fiscal year 2024, selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $8.1 million, or 6.2%, to $137.9 million, or 18.9% of revenue, compared with $129.9 million, or 20.0% of revenue, for fiscal year 2023. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased during fiscal year 2024 primarily due to increases in employee-related costs, primarily driven by headcount from acquisitions, and share-based compensation, partially offset by lower professional fees and intangible amortization.
Interest income. In fiscal year 2024, interest income was $23.0 million, or 3.1% of our revenue, compared to $20.8 million of interest income, or 3.2% of our revenue, for fiscal year 2023. The change in fiscal year 2024 is primarily due to the general increase in interest rates on our short-term investments and due to the increase in our short-term investments.
Interest expense. In fiscal year 2024, interest expense was $5.1 million, or 0.7% of our revenue, compared to $12.4 million of interest expense, or 1.9% of our revenue, for fiscal year 2023. The decrease in fiscal year 2024 is primarily due to the August 2023 payment of the total outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans (as defined in Note 15 - Debt to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report).
Income tax expense. In fiscal year 2024, income tax expense was $14.7 million, or 2.0% of revenue, compared to an expense of $23.6 million, or 3.7% of revenue, for fiscal year 2023. The decrease in the provision is primarily due to lower Income before taxes, the Foreign-derived intangible income deduction in the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024 plus a $3.6 million partial release of the valuation allowance, primarily relating to our domestic NOL and R&D tax credit carryforwards, released in our fiscal fourth quarter of 2024.
For fiscal year 2024, our effective tax rate was 16.0%. Our effective tax rate for fiscal year 2024, as compared to the U.S. federal income tax rate of 21%, is impacted primarily by income earned outside the U.S. (i.e., global intangible low taxed income), resulting in a 12.7% increase, offset primarily by research and development credits, resulting in a 9.4% decrease, Foreign-derived intangible income deduction, resulting in a 4.5% decrease and partial release of our valuation allowance, resulting in a 4.0% decrease. See Note 20 - Income Taxes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The following table summarizes our cash flow activities for the fiscal years ended September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, respectively (in thousands):
Fiscal Year Ended
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
$
173,952
$
119,952
Net cash provided by operating activities
162,640
166,917
Net cash used in investing activities
(181,133)
36,341
Net cash used in financing activities
(9,064)
(149,020)
Effect of exchange rates on cash balances
411
(238)
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
$
146,806
$
173,952
Cash Flow from Operating Activities:
Our cash flow from operating activities for fiscal year 2024 was $162.6 million and consisted of a net income of $76.9 million, plus adjustments to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities of $116.8 million, and cash used by operating assets and liabilities of $31.0 million. Adjustments to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities of $116.8 million primarily included depreciation and intangible amortization expense of $67.2 million, share-based compensation expense of $45.6 million and deferred income tax expense of $4.9 million, partially offset by $7.6 million in amortization on marketable securities. In addition, cash used by operating assets and liabilities was $31.0 million for fiscal year 2024, primarily driven by an increase in inventory of $30.2 million, an increase in accounts receivable of $16.8 million and a decrease in accrued and other liabilities of $7.3 million, partially offset by an increase in accounts payable of $18.2 million.
Our cash flow from operating activities for fiscal year 2023 was $166.9 million and consisted of a net income of $91.6 million, plus adjustments to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities of $103.1 million, and cash used by operating assets and liabilities of $27.8 million. Adjustments to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities of $103.1 million primarily included depreciation and intangible amortization expense of $52.2 million, share-based compensation expense of $38.1 million and deferred income tax expense of $19.8 million, partially offset by $11.8 million in amortization on marketable securities. In addition, cash used by operating assets and liabilities was $27.8 million for fiscal year 2023, primarily driven by a decrease in accrued and other liabilities of $21.3 million, an increase in inventory of $10.6 million, a decrease in accounts payable of $6.7 million, partially offset by a decrease in accounts receivable of $12.3 million.
34
Cash Flow from Investing Activities:
Our cash flow used in investing activities for fiscal year 2024 of $181.1 million consisted primarily of cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired of $72.6 million, capital expenditures of $22.4 million, purchases of $426.6 million of short-term investments and other investing activities of $4.3 million, offset by proceeds of $344.8 million for the sale and maturities of short-term investments. For additional information on the cash paid for our acquisitions, net of cash acquired, see Note 4 - Acquisitions to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.
Our cash flow from investing activities for fiscal year 2023 of $36.3 million consisted primarily of proceeds of $515.8 million related to the sale and maturities of short-term investments and proceeds from the sale of equipment of $8.0 million, partially offset by $375.1 million in purchases of short-term investments, $87.7 million for acquisitions, net of cash acquired and capital expenditures of $24.7 million. For additional information on the cash paid for our acquisitions, net of cash acquired, see Note4 - Acquisitions to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.
Cash Flow from Financing Activities:
During fiscal year 2024, our cash used in financing activities of $9.1 million was primarily related to $14.2 million of common stock withheld associated with employee taxes on vested equity awards, partially offset by $6.6 million of proceeds from stock option exercises and employee stock purchases.
During fiscal year 2023, our cash used in financing activities of $149.0 million was primarily related to the $120.8 million payment of the total outstanding principal balance of our Term Loans (as defined in Note 15 - Debt), $32.6 million of common stock withheld associated with employee taxes on vested equity awards, partially offset by $5.6 million of proceeds from employee stock purchases. For additional information on the payment of the total outstanding principal balance of our Term Loans, see Note15 - Debt to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.
Liquidity
As of September 27, 2024, we held $146.8 million of cash and cash equivalents, primarily deposited with financial institutions as well as $435.1 million of liquid short-term investments. The undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries are considered indefinitely reinvested for the periods presented and we do not intend to repatriate such earnings. We believe the decision to reinvest these earnings will not have a significant impact on our liquidity. As of September 27, 2024, cash held by our indefinitely reinvested foreign subsidiaries was $6.5 million, which, along with cash generated from foreign operations, is expected to be used in the support of international growth and working capital requirements as well as the repayment of certain intercompany loans.
Holders of the 2026 Convertible Notes (as defined in Note 15 - Debt to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report) may convert their notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding December 15, 2025 in multiples of $1,000 principal amount, if the last reported sale price of our common stock for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding fiscal quarter is greater than or equal to $106.76 for the notes on each applicable trading day. We made an irrevocable election to pay cash for the principal amount of notes to be converted. The aggregate principal balance of the 2026 Convertible Notes is $450.0 million.
We plan to use our remaining available cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments for general corporate purposes, including working capital, payment on the 2026 Convertible Notes and leases, or for the acquisition of or investment in complementary technologies, design teams, products and businesses. We believe that our cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and cash generated from operations will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements for at least the next twelve months. We may need to raise additional capital from time to time through the issuance and sale of equity or debt securities, and there is no assurance that we will be able to do so on favorable terms or at all.
As of September 27, 2024, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements.
For additional information related to our Liquidity and Capital Resources, see Note15 - Debt to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.
Our other significant contractual payment obligations consist of purchase agreements and other commitments. We have purchase commitments of $151.1 million primarily related to services and inventory supply arrangements of which approximately $138.7 million is non-cancelable. In addition, we have $23.9 million in fixed payments associated with a power purchase agreement that commenced in fiscal 2023 and has a remaining 13-year term. See Note 16- Financing Obligation for additional detail on the power purchase agreement. Lastly, we have a purchase commitment of $6.7 million related to amounts payable for software over a two year period.
As of September 27, 2024, we estimated $1.9 million in asset retirement obligations primarily for the restoration of leased facilities upon the termination of the related leases. Although it is reasonably possible that our estimates could change materially in the next twelve months, we are presently unable to reliably estimate when any cash settlement of these obligations may occur.
35
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are exposed to market risk in the ordinary course of business, which consists primarily of interest rate risk associated with our cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and our variable rate debt, as well as foreign exchange rate risk.
Interest rate risk. The primary objectives of our investment activity are to preserve principal, provide liquidity and invest excess cash for an average rate of return. To minimize market risk, we maintain our portfolio in cash and diversified investments, which may consist of corporate bonds, bank deposits, money market funds, commercial paper and U.S. Treasury securities. The interest rates are variable and fluctuate with current market conditions. The risk associated with fluctuating interest rates is limited to this investment portfolio. We believe that a 1% change in interest rates would have a $5.8 million impact on our interest income, based on cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments balances as of September 27, 2024. We believe that a change in interest rates would not have a material impact on our results of operations, however, it could impact net income and earnings per share. We do not enter into financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.
The interest rates on our 2026 Convertible Notes are fixed and therefore not subject to interest rate risk. For additional information regarding our Convertible Notes, refer to Note 15 - Debt.
Foreign currency risk. To date, our international customer agreements have been denominated primarily in U.S. dollars. Accordingly, we have limited exposure to foreign currency exchange rates. The functional currency of a majority of our foreign operations continues to be in U.S. dollars with the remaining operations being local currency. Changes in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies could make our products more expensive, which could negatively impact demand in certain regions, reduce or delay customer orders, or otherwise negatively affect how customers do business with us. The effects of exchange rate fluctuations on the net assets of the majority of our operations are accounted for as transaction gains or losses. We believe that a change of 10% in such foreign currency exchange rates would not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.
We have entered into foreign currency exchange hedging contracts to reduce the impact of foreign currency changes on certain intercompany foreign currency denominated debt. These foreign currency forward contracts are entered into for periods consistent with currency transaction exposures, generally one month. They are not designated as cash flow or fair value hedges under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 815, Derivatives and Hedging. These forward contracts are marked-to-market with changes in fair value recorded to earnings. As of September 27, 2024, we had $34.4 million in notional forward foreign currency contracts, which were denominated in Euro and Yen. These forward contracts had a fair value of $0.1 million as of September 27, 2024.
36
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended September 27, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 27, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of September 27, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated November 12, 2024, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Inventories – Excess Quantities and Obsolescence — Refer to Notes 2 and 8 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
The Company evaluates inventory each reporting period for excess quantities and obsolescence, establishing reserves based upon historical experience, assessment of economic conditions, and expected demand. Once recorded, these reserves are considered permanent adjustments to the carrying value of inventory. As of September 27, 2024, the Company has inventories of $194.5 million, net of excess quantities and obsolescence reserves.
We identified the reserve for excess quantities and obsolete inventory as a critical audit matter because of the significant estimates and assumptions management makes to quantify and to record the reserve, including the determination of expected demand especially when considering the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort when performing audit procedures to evaluate the methodology and the reasonableness of assumptions including expected demand.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
38
Our audit procedures related to excess quantities and obsolete inventory including management’s estimate of expected demand, included the following, among others:
•We tested the effectiveness of controls over inventory, including those over the estimation of reserves for excess quantities and obsolescence and the review of any adjustments to the reserve methodology.
•We selected a sample of inventory parts and performed corroborative inquiry with product line managers associated with the selected part to corroborate our understanding of the expected demand and historical consumption of the part including future sales plans, product life cycle, and utilization in other products. For each selected part we tested the calculation of the excess and obsolete reserve pursuant to the Company's policy.
•We held discussions with senior financial and operations management to determine that any strategic, regulatory, or operational changes in the business were consistent with the projections of future demand that were utilized as the basis for the reserves recorded.
•We performed a retrospective review by comparing management’s prior year projections of future demand by product with actual product sales in the current year to identify potential bias in the inventory reserve.
•We compared the Company’s inventory reserve assumptions to events and trends discussed in industry and analyst reports, disclosed in recent press releases from the Company’s major customers (including financial information), and other industry data. In addition, we also considered any changes within the business including restructuring events and strategic changes.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
November 12, 2024
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2010
39
MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
146,806
$
173,952
Short-term investments
435,082
340,574
Accounts receivable, net
105,700
91,253
Inventories
194,490
136,300
Prepaid and other current assets
21,000
19,114
Total current assets
903,078
761,193
Property and equipment, net
176,017
149,496
Goodwill
332,201
323,398
Intangible assets, net
76,088
66,994
Deferred income taxes
212,495
218,107
Other long-term assets
55,761
34,056
Total assets
$
1,755,640
$
1,553,244
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
43,202
24,966
Accrued liabilities
64,336
57,397
Current portion of finance lease obligations
646
1,162
Total current liabilities
108,184
83,525
Finance lease obligations, less current portion
31,130
31,776
Financing obligation
9,006
9,307
Long-term debt
448,281
447,134
Other long-term liabilities
32,696
33,902
Total liabilities
629,297
605,644
Commitments and contingencies (Note 14)
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 10,000 shares authorized, no shares issued
—
—
Common stock, 0.001 par value, 300,000 shares authorized; 72,219 and 71,013 shares issued and 72,196 and 70,990 shares outstanding as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, respectively
72
71
Treasury Stock, at cost, 23 shares as of both September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023
(330)
(330)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
2,505
(3,635)
Additional paid-in capital
1,309,946
1,214,203
Accumulated deficit
(185,850)
(262,709)
Total stockholders' equity
1,126,343
947,600
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$
1,755,640
$
1,553,244
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
40
MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Revenue
$
729,578
$
648,407
$
675,170
Cost of revenue
335,805
262,610
268,989
Gross profit
393,773
385,797
406,181
Operating expenses:
Research and development
182,158
148,545
148,228
Selling, general and administrative
137,949
129,852
125,279
Total operating expenses
320,107
278,397
273,507
Income from operations
73,666
107,400
132,674
Other income (expense):
Interest income
22,986
20,807
4,251
Interest expense
(5,136)
(12,384)
(8,551)
Other income (expense), net
10
(665)
114,746
Total other income, net
17,860
7,758
110,446
Income before income taxes
91,526
115,158
243,120
Income tax expense (benefit)
14,667
23,581
(196,835)
Net income
$
76,859
$
91,577
$
439,955
Net income per share:
Income per share - basic
$
1.07
$
1.29
$
6.30
Income per share - diluted
$
1.04
$
1.28
$
6.18
Shares used:
Basic
71,959
70,801
69,783
Diluted
73,575
71,503
71,166
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
41
MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In thousands)
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Net income
$
76,859
$
91,577
$
439,955
Unrealized gain (loss) on short-term investments, net of tax
3,960
3,644
(5,895)
Foreign currency translation gain (loss), net of tax
2,180
(1,428)
(4,106)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
6,140
2,216
(10,001)
Total comprehensive income
$
82,999
$
93,793
$
429,954
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
42
MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands)
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Additional Paid-In Capital
Total
Common Stock
Treasury Stock
Accumulated
Stockholders'
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Deficit
Equity
Balance as of October 1, 2021
68,877
$
69
(23)
$
(330)
$
4,150
$
1,269,601
$
(801,754)
$
471,736
Stock option exercises
190
—
—
—
—
2,688
—
2,688
Vesting of restricted common stock and units
1,355
1
—
—
—
—
—
1
Issuance of common stock pursuant to employee stock purchase plan
121
—
—
—
—
5,364
—
5,364
Common stock withheld for taxes on employee equity awards
(521)
—
—
—
—
(36,003)
—
(36,003)
Share-based compensation
—
—
—
—
—
41,185
—
41,185
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax
—
—
—
—
(10,001)
—
—
(10,001)
Cumulative-effect adjustment from adoption of ASU 2020-06, net
—
—
—
—
—
(79,690)
7,513
(72,177)
Net income
—
—
—
—
—
—
439,955
439,955
Balance as of September 30, 2022
70,022
$
70
(23)
$
(330)
$
(5,851)
$
1,203,145
$
(354,286)
$
842,748
Vesting of restricted common stock and units
1,408
1
—
—
—
—
—
1
Issuance of common stock pursuant to employee stock purchase plan
121
—
—
—
—
5,574
—
5,574
Common stock withheld for taxes on employee equity awards
(538)
—
—
—
—
(32,619)
—
(32,619)
Share-based compensation
—
—
—
—
—
38,103
—
38,103
Other comprehensive income, net of tax
—
—
—
—
2,216
—
—
2,216
Net income
—
—
—
—
—
—
91,577
91,577
Balance as of September 29, 2023
71,013
$
71
(23)
$
(330)
$
(3,635)
$
1,214,203
$
(262,709)
$
947,600
Stock option exercises
10
—
—
—
—
161
—
161
Vesting of restricted common stock and units
557
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Issuance of common stock pursuant to employee stock purchase plan
116
—
—
—
—
6,425
—
6,425
Common stock withheld for taxes on employee equity awards
(189)
—
—
—
—
(14,219)
—
(14,219)
Share-based compensation
—
—
—
—
—
45,644
—
45,644
Issuance of common stock as consideration for acquisition
712
1
—
—
—
57,732
—
57,733
Other comprehensive income, net of tax
—
—
—
—
6,140
—
—
6,140
Net income
—
—
—
—
—
—
76,859
76,859
Balance as of September 27, 2024
72,219
$
72
(23)
$
(330)
$
2,505
$
1,309,946
$
(185,850)
$
1,126,343
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
43
MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income
$
76,859
$
91,577
$
439,955
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:
Depreciation and intangible amortization
67,249
52,153
57,229
Share-based compensation
45,644
38,103
41,185
Deferred financing costs amortization and write-offs
1,146
1,980
1,692
Deferred income taxes
4,947
19,798
(200,431)
Amortization on marketable securities, net
(7,562)
(11,780)
11
Gain on equity investments, net
—
—
(114,908)
Other adjustments, net
5,387
2,852
(1,059)
Change in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
(16,805)
12,253
(16,981)
Inventories
(30,225)
(10,570)
(32,261)
Prepaid expenses and other assets
3,407
(928)
5,567
Accounts payable
18,230
(6,730)
2,383
Accrued and other liabilities
(7,325)
(21,315)
(5,643)
Income taxes
1,688
(476)
243
Net cash provided by operating activities
162,640
166,917
176,982
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired
(72,615)
(87,692)
—
Proceeds from sale of equity method investment
—
—
127,750
Purchases of property and equipment
(22,440)
(24,699)
(26,513)
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment
—
8,005
23
Other investing
(4,326)
—
—
Proceeds from sales and maturities of short-term investments
344,812
515,823
244,644
Purchases of short-term investments
(426,564)
(375,096)
(528,765)
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
(181,133)
36,341
(182,861)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Payments on long-term debt
—
(120,766)
—
Payments for finance leases and other
(1,431)
(1,209)
(957)
Proceeds from stock option exercises and employee stock purchases
6,586
5,574
8,052
Common stock withheld for taxes on employee equity awards
(14,219)
(32,619)
(36,003)
Net cash used in financing activities
(9,064)
(149,020)
(28,908)
Foreign currency effect on cash
411
(238)
(1,798)
NET CHANGE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
(27,146)
54,000
(36,585)
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — Beginning of year
173,952
119,952
156,537
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — End of year
$
146,806
$
173,952
$
119,952
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash activities (See Note 23 - Supplemental Cash Flow Information)
Issuance of common stock in connection with the RF Business Acquisition (See Note 4 - Acquisitions
$
57,733
$
—
$
—
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
44
MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on March 25, 2009. We design, develop and manufacture differentiated semiconductor products and solutions for the I&D, Data Center and Telecom industries for customers who demand high performance, quality and reliability. We are headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, with operational facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Refer to Item 1 - Business, for additional information.
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation—We have one reportable operating segment that designs, develops, manufactures and markets semiconductors and modules. The accompanying consolidated financial statements include our accounts and the accounts of our majority-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
We have a 52- or 53-week fiscal year ending on the Friday closest to the last day of September. Fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 each included 52 weeks. To offset the effect of holidays, for fiscal years in which there are 53 weeks, we typically include the extra week arising in our fiscal years in the first quarter.
Use of Estimates—The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities during the reporting periods, the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we base estimates and assumptions on historical experience, currently available information and various other factors that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates and assumptions. The accounting policies which our management believes involve the most significant application of judgment or involve complex estimation, are inventories and associated reserves; revenue reserves; business combinations; goodwill and intangible asset valuation; share-based compensation valuations and income taxes.
Foreign Currency Translation and Remeasurement—Our consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars. While the majority of our foreign operations use the U.S. dollar as the functional currency, the financial statements of our foreign operations for which the functional currency is not the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet dates (for assets and liabilities), historical rates for equity and at average exchange rates (for revenue and expenses). The unrealized translation gains and losses on the net investment in these foreign operations are accumulated as a component of other comprehensive income (loss).
The financial statements of our foreign operations where the functional currency is the U.S. dollar, but where the underlying transactions are transacted in a different currency, are remeasured at the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date with respect to monetary assets and liabilities. Nonmonetary assets and liabilities, such as inventories and property and equipment and related statements of operations accounts, such as cost of revenue and depreciation, are remeasured at historical exchange rates. Revenue and expenses, other than cost of revenue, amortization and depreciation, are translated at the average exchange rate for the period in which the transaction occurred. The net gains and losses on foreign currency remeasurement are reflected in selling, general and administrative expense in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. Net foreign exchange transaction gains and losses for all periods presented were not material.
Cash and Cash Equivalents—Cash equivalents are primarily composed of short-term, highly-liquid instruments with an original maturity of 90 days or less and consist primarily of money market funds.
Investments— Short-term investments: We classify our short-term investments as available-for-sale. Our investments classified as available-for-sale are recorded at fair value at period end. Unrealized gains and losses that are deemed to be unrelated to credit losses are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of stockholders’ equity.
A decline in the fair value of any debt security below cost that is deemed to be attributable to credit loss results in a charge to earnings and the corresponding establishment of an allowance for credit losses against the cost basis of the security. Premiums and discounts are amortized (accreted) over the life of the related security as an adjustment to its yield. Dividend and interest income are recognized when earned. Realized gains and losses are included in Other income (expense), net in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and are derived using the specific identification method for determining the cost of investments sold.
Other investments: We use the equity method to account for investments in companies if the investment provides us with the ability to exercise significant influence over operating and financial policies of the investee. Our proportionate share of the net income (loss) resulting from these investments are reported within the Other income (expense), net line in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
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Our equity method investment, prior to its sale in fiscal year 2022, was reported at cost and adjusted each period for our share of the investee’s income or loss and dividends paid, if any, as well as any changes attributable to the equity of the investee that would impact our ownership.
Refer to Note 5 - Investments, for additional information.
Inventories—Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. We use a combination of standard cost and moving weighted-average cost methodologies to determine the cost basis for our inventories, approximating a first-in, first-out basis. The standard cost of finished goods and work-in-process inventory is composed of material, labor and manufacturing overhead, which approximates actual cost. In addition to stating inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value, we also evaluate inventory each reporting period for excess quantities and obsolescence, and establish reserves when necessary based upon historical experience, assessment of economic conditions and expected demand. Once recorded, these reserves are considered permanent adjustments to the carrying value of inventory.
Property and Equipment—Property and equipment is stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred, whereas major improvements that significantly extend the useful life of the assets are capitalized as additions to property and equipment.
Property and equipment are depreciated or amortized using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives:
Asset Classification
Estimated Useful Life (In Years)
Buildings and improvements
20 - 40
Computer equipment and software
2 - 5
Furniture and fixtures
7 - 10
Finance lease assets and leasehold improvements
Shorter of useful life or term of lease
Machinery and equipment
2 - 7
Business Combinations — Business combinations are accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Amounts paid for an acquisition are allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition. The accounting for business combinations requires estimates and judgment in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, regarding expectations of future cash flows of the acquired business, and the allocation of those cash flows to the identifiable intangible assets. The determination of fair value is based on management’s estimates and assumptions, as well as other information compiled by management, including valuations that utilize customary valuation procedures and techniques. If actual results differ from these estimates, the amounts recorded in the financial statements could be impaired.
Acquisition costs are expensed as incurred and recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses.
Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets—We have goodwill and certain intangible assets with indefinite lives which are not subject to amortization. These are reviewed for impairment annually as of the end of our fiscal August month end and more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the assets may be impaired. For our assessment of goodwill impairment, we compare the fair value to the carrying value of the reporting unit. For our assessment of indefinite-lived assets we compare the carrying value of the asset to the estimated fair value of the asset. If impairment exists, a loss is recorded to write down the value of the assets to their fair values. We performed our annual impairment tests of our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets and the results of these tests indicated that our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets were not impaired in any of the three fiscal years ended September 27, 2024.
Long-Lived Asset Valuation and Impairment Assessment—Long-lived assets include property and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets subject to amortization. We evaluate long-lived assets for recoverability when events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. Circumstances which could trigger a review include, but are not limited to, significant decreases in the market price of the asset or asset group, significant adverse changes in the business climate or legal factors, the accumulation of costs significantly in excess of the amount originally expected for the acquisition or construction of the asset, current period cash flow or operating losses combined with a history of losses or a forecast of continuing losses associated with the use of the asset and a current expectation that the asset will more likely than not, be sold or disposed of significantly before the end of its previously estimated useful life.
In evaluating a long-lived asset for recoverability, we estimate the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from our use and eventual disposition of the asset. If the sum of the expected undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset group, an impairment loss, equal to the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value of the asset, is recognized.
Other Intangible Assets—Our other intangible assets, including acquired technology, customer relationships, certain trade names and internal-use software, are definite-lived assets and are subject to amortization. We amortize definite-lived assets over their estimated useful lives, which range from two to fourteen years, generally based on the pattern over which we expect to receive the economic benefit from these assets.
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Leases—We have operating leases for certain facilities. We have financing leases for our corporate headquarters, our fabrication facility in France and to a lesser extent, various manufacturing equipment. These leases expire at various dates through 2043, and certain of these leases have renewal options with the longest ranging up to two ten-year periods.
We determine that a contract contains a lease at lease inception if the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. In evaluating whether the right to control an identified asset exists, we assess whether we have the right to direct the use of the identified asset and obtain substantially all of the economic benefit from the use of the identified asset. Leases with a term greater than one year are recognized on the balance sheet as right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities. For leases with a term of one year or less, categorized as short-term leases, we elected not to recognize the lease liability for these arrangements and the lease payments are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations on a straight-line basis over the lease term. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the present value of future minimum lease payments over the lease term on the commencement date. ROU assets are initially measured as the amount of the initial lease liability, adjusted for initial direct costs, lease payments made at or before the commencement date, and reduced by lease incentives received. We include options to renew or terminate when determining the lease term when it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. Our lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants.
Our leases may contain lease and non-lease components. We elected to account for lease and non-lease components in a contract as part of a single lease component. Fixed payments are considered part of the single lease component and included in the ROU assets and lease liabilities. Additionally, lease contracts typically include variable payments and other costs that do not transfer a separate good or service, such as reimbursement for real estate taxes and insurance, which are expensed as incurred.
Our leases generally do not provide an implicit interest rate. As a result, we utilize current industry borrowing rates for similar companies with similar ratings.
Revenue Recognition—Our revenue is derived primarily from sales of high-performance RF, microwave, millimeter wave, optical and photonic semiconductor products into three primary markets: I&D, Data Center and Telecom.
We recognize revenue within the scope of ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of products or services in an amount that reflects the consideration which we expect to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements within the scope of ASC 606, we perform the following five steps: (1) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determine the transaction price; (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) we satisfy performance obligations. Sales, value add and other taxes collected on behalf of third parties are excluded from revenue. Our revenue arrangements do not contain significant financing components.
Contracts with our customers principally contain only one distinct performance obligation, which is the sale of products. However, due to multiple products potentially being sold on a single order, we are required to allocate consideration based on the estimated relative standalone selling prices of the promised products.
Periodically, we enter into non-product development and license contracts with certain customers. We generally recognize revenue from these contracts over-time as services are provided based on the terms of the contract. Non-product development and license revenue is not significant to our Revenue or Consolidated Statements of Operations for the periods presented. Revenue is deferred for amounts billed or received prior to delivery of the services. Certain contracts may contain multiple performance obligations for which we allocate revenue to each performance obligation based on the relative standalone selling price.
Our product revenue is recognized when the customer obtains control of the product, which generally occurs at a point in time, and is based on the contractual shipping terms of a contract. For each contract, the promise to transfer the control of the products or services, each of which is individually distinct, is considered to be the identified performance obligation. We provide an assurance type warranty which is not sold separately and does not represent a separate performance obligation. Therefore, we account for such warranties under ASC 460, Guarantees, and the estimated costs of warranty claims are generally accrued as cost of revenue in the period the related revenue is recorded.
We have agreements with certain distribution customers which may include certain rights of return and pricing programs, including returns for aged inventory, stock rotation and price protection which affect the transaction price. Sales to these customers and programs offered are in accordance with terms set forth in written agreements, which require us to assess the potential revenue effects of this variable consideration utilizing the expected value method. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price if, in our judgment, it is probable that a significant future reversal of cumulative revenue under the contract will not occur. As such, revenue on sales to customers that include rights of return and pricing programs are recorded net of estimated variable consideration, utilizing the expected value method based on historical sales data. We believe that the judgments and estimates we utilize are reasonable based upon current facts and circumstances, however utilizing different judgments and estimates could result in different amounts.
Practical Expedients and Elections—ASC 606 requires that we disclose the aggregate amount of transaction price that is allocated to performance obligations that have not yet been satisfied as of the reporting periods presented. The guidance provides certain practical expedients that limit this requirement and, therefore, we do not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance
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obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less and (ii) contracts for which revenue is recognized at the amount to which we have the right to invoice for services performed. We have elected not to disclose the aggregate amount of transaction prices associated with unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts where these criteria are met.
Our policy is to capitalize any incremental costs incurred to obtain a customer contract, only to the extent that the benefit associated with the costs is expected to be longer than one year. Capitalizable contract costs were not significant as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023.
We account for shipping and handling activities related to contracts with customers as costs to fulfill the promise to transfer the associated products. When shipping and handling costs are incurred after a customer obtains control of the products, we have elected to account for these as costs to fulfill the promise and not as a separate performance obligation. Shipping and handling costs associated with the distribution of products to customers are recorded in costs of revenue generally when the related product is shipped to the customer.
Research and Development Costs—Costs incurred in the research and development of products are expensed as incurred.
Income Taxes—Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax bases of assets and liabilities, using rates anticipated to be in effect when such temporary differences reverse. A valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets is required if, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. On a periodic basis, we reassess the valuation allowance on our deferred income tax assets weighing positive and negative evidence, including both historical and prospective information, with greater weight given to evidence that is objectively verifiable, to assess the recoverability of our deferred tax assets. The periodic assessments include, among other things, our recent financial performance and our future projections.
We provide reserves for potential payments of tax to various tax authorities related to uncertain tax positions and other issues. Reserves are based on a determination of whether and how much of a tax benefit is taken by us in our tax filings or positions that are more likely than not to be realized following an examination by taxing authorities. We recognize the financial statement benefit of an uncertain tax position only after considering the probability that a tax authority would sustain the position in an examination. For tax positions meeting a “more-likely-than-not” threshold, the amount recognized in the financial statements is the benefit expected to be realized upon settlement with the tax authority. For tax positions not meeting the threshold, no financial statement benefit is recognized. Potential interest and penalties associated with such uncertain tax positions are recorded as a component of income tax expense.
Earnings Per Share—Basic net income per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, excluding the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents. Diluted net income per share reflects the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents, such as stock options, restricted stock units using the treasury stock method and convertible debt using the if-converted method.
Fair Value Measurements—Financial assets and liabilities are measured at fair value. Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability at the measurement date under current market conditions in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, we group financial assets and liabilities in a three-tier fair value hierarchy, according to the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:
•Level 1—observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities;
•Level 2—inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in markets that are not active and model-based valuation techniques for which significant assumptions are observable in active markets; and,
•Level 3—unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data, requiring us to develop our own assumptions for model-based valuation techniques.
This hierarchy requires us to use observable market data, when available, and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining fair value. We recognize transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period.
Money market funds are actively traded and consist of highly liquid investments with original maturities of 90 days or less. They are measured at their fair value and classified as Level 1. Certificates of deposit consist of investments that mature in less than 1 year and are classified as Level 1. U.S. Treasury securities consist of U.S. Treasury Notes and U.S. Treasury T-Bills that mature in less than 1 year and are classified as Level 1. Corporate and agency bonds and commercial paper are categorized as Level 2 assets except where sufficient quoted prices exist in active markets, in which case such securities are categorized as Level 1 assets. These securities are valued using third-party pricing services. These services may use, for example, model-based pricing methods that utilize observable market data as inputs. We generally use quoted prices for recent trading activity of assets with similar characteristics to the
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debt security or bond being valued. The securities and bonds priced using such methods are generally classified as Level 2. Broker dealer bids or quotes on securities with similar characteristics may also be used.
For forward foreign currency contracts, the significant inputs are over-the-counter quoted market prices for similar instruments and exchange rate curves of the foreign currency for translating future cash flows. These derivatives are classified as Level 2 as the fair value determination was based on observable inputs.
The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these assets and liabilities.
Share-Based Compensation—We account for all share-based compensation arrangements using the fair value method. We recognize compensation expense using the straight-line method for service-based awards and the accelerated method for performance-based awards, and providing that the minimum amount of compensation recorded is equal to the vested portion of the award. We record the expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the same manner in which the award recipients’ salary costs are classified. For restricted stock unit awards, we use the closing stock price on the date of grant to estimate the fair value of the awards. For restricted stock units with both service and performance conditions, this grant-date fair value is also impacted by the number of units that are expected to vest during the performance period and is adjusted through the related stock-based compensation expense at each reporting period based on the probability of achievement of that performance condition. If we determine that an award is unlikely to vest, any previously recorded stock-based compensation expense is reversed in the period of that determination. We use the Monte Carlo Simulation analysis to estimate the fair value of restricted stock units and stock options with market conditions, inclusive of assumptions for risk free interest rates, expected term, expected volatility and the target price. We derive the risk-free interest rate assumption from the U.S. Treasury’s rates for U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds with maturities similar to the expected term of the award being valued. We base the assumed dividend yield on our expectation of not paying dividends in the foreseeable future. We calculate the weighted-average expected term of the options using historical data. In addition, we calculate our estimated volatility using our historical stock price volatility data. We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock options with service and performance conditions, inclusive of assumptions for risk-free interest rates, dividends, expected terms and estimated volatility. We account for forfeitures when they occur.
Share-based awards that are settled in cash are recorded as liabilities. The measurement of the liability and compensation cost for these awards is based on the fair value of the award as of each period end date, which is equivalent to the closing price of a share of our common stock on the period end date multiplied by the number of units earned, and is recorded in operating income over the award’s vesting period. Changes in our payment obligation prior to the settlement date of a stock-based award are recorded as compensation expense in operating income in the period of the change. The final payment amount for such awards is established on the date of vesting.
Guarantees and Indemnification Obligations—We enter into agreements in the ordinary course of business with, among others, customers, distributors and OEMs. Most of these agreements require us to indemnify the other party against third-party claims alleging that a Company product infringes a patent and/or copyright. Certain agreements in which we grant limited licenses to Company intellectual property require us to indemnify the other party against third-party claims alleging that the use of the licensed intellectual property infringes a third-party's intellectual property. Certain of these agreements require us to indemnify the other party against certain claims relating to property damage, personal injury or the acts or omissions, its employees, agents or representatives. In addition, from time to time, we have made certain guarantees in the form of warranties regarding the performance of Company products to customers.
We have agreements with certain vendors, creditors, lessors and service providers pursuant to which we have agreed to indemnify the other party for specified matters, such as acts and omissions, its employees, agents or representatives.
We have procurement or license agreements with respect to technology used in our products and agreements in which we obtain rights to a product from an OEM. Under some of these agreements, we have agreed to indemnify the supplier for certain claims that may be brought against such party with respect to our acts or omissions relating to the supplied products or technologies.
Our certificate of incorporation and agreements with certain of our directors and officers and certain of our subsidiaries’ directors and officers provide them indemnification rights, to the extent legally permissible, against liabilities incurred by them in connection with legal actions in which they may become involved by reason of their service as a director or officer. As a matter of practice, we maintain director and officer liability insurance coverage, including coverage for directors and officers of acquired companies.
We have not experienced any losses related to these indemnification obligations in any period presented and no claims with respect thereto were outstanding as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023. We do not expect significant claims related to these indemnification obligations and, consequently, have concluded that the fair value of these obligations is negligible. No liabilities related to indemnification liabilities have been established.
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2022, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2022-03, Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions, which amends Account Standards Codification Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASU 2022-03”). ASU 2022-03 clarifies guidance for fair value measurement of an equity security subject to a contractual sale restriction and establishes new disclosure requirements for such equity securities. We elected to early adopt ASU 2022-03 on September 30, 2023, and applied the amendment in measuring consideration transferred in the RF Business Acquisition (as defined in Note 4 - Acquisitions). As a result, we have not applied a discount for lack of marketability related to the RF Business Acquisition stockholder restrictions set forth in the asset purchase agreement (discussed in Note 4 - Acquisitions). However, the fair value of the shares was discounted for lack of marketability as the shares that were transferred were unregistered and legally restricted from being sold. See Note 4 - Acquisitions for additional information.
Pronouncements for Adoption in Subsequent Periods
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280) Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which improves disclosures about a public entity’s reportable segments and addresses requests from investors and other allocators of capital for additional, more detailed information about a reportable segment’s expenses. The amendments in this update improve financial reporting by requiring disclosure of incremental segment information on an annual and interim basis for all public entities to enable investors to develop more decision-useful financial analyses. This ASU should be applied on a retrospective basis. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the future effect the adoption of this ASU will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740) Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which require greater disaggregation of income tax disclosures. The amendments in this update improve the transparency of income tax disclosures by requiring (1) consistent categories and greater disaggregation of information in the rate reconciliation and (2) income taxes paid disaggregated by jurisdiction. Other amendments in this update improve the effectiveness and comparability of disclosures by (1) adding disclosures of pretax income (or loss) and income tax expense (or benefit) and (2) removing disclosures that no longer are considered cost beneficial or relevant. This ASU should be applied on a prospective basis, with retrospective application permitted. The guidance in this update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. We are currently evaluating the future effect of the adoption of this ASU will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
3. REVENUE
Disaggregation of Revenue
We disaggregate revenue from contracts with customers by markets and geography, as we believe it best depicts how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors.
The following tables present our revenue disaggregated by markets and geography (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Industrial & Defense
$
351,639
$
317,128
$
294,341
Data Center
197,875
146,982
138,127
Telecom
180,064
184,297
242,702
Total
$
729,578
$
648,407
$
675,170
Fiscal Years
Revenue by Geographic Region
2024
2023
2022
United States
$
327,682
$
313,353
$
315,276
China
177,696
129,875
175,978
Asia Pacific, excluding China (1)
89,294
90,673
107,112
Other Countries (2)
134,906
114,506
76,804
Total
$
729,578
$
648,407
$
675,170
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(1)Asia Pacific primarily represents Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
(2)No country or region represented greater than 10% of our total revenue as of the dates presented, other than the United States, China and the Asia Pacific region as presented above.
Revenue by geographic region is aggregated by customer billing address.
Contract Balances
We record contract assets or contract liabilities depending on the timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collections on a contract-by-contract basis. Our contract liabilities primarily relate to deferred revenue, including advanced consideration received from customers for contracts prior to the transfer of control to the customer, and therefore revenue is subsequently recognized upon delivery of products and services.
As of September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022 our contract liabilities were $5.3 million, $2.8 million and $3.9 million, respectively. During the fiscal years ended September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022, we recognized net sales of $2.5 million, $3.8 million and $1.6 million, respectively, that were included in the contract liabilities balance at the beginning of the period. The increase in contract liabilities during the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024 was primarily related to deferral of revenue for invoiced products and services prior to when certain of our customers obtained control of the product and or services.
4. ACQUISITIONS
RF Business of Wolfspeed, Inc.—On December 2, 2023, we completed the acquisition of certain assets and specified liabilities of the RF business of Wolfspeed, Inc. (“Wolfspeed”) (the “RF Business,”), which was accounted for as a business combination (the “RF Business Acquisition”). The RF Business includes a portfolio of gallium nitride (“GaN”) on Silicon Carbide products used in high-performance RF and microwave applications. In connection with the RF Business Acquisition, we expect to assume control of a wafer fabrication facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (the “RTP Fab”) approximately two years following the closing of the RF Business Acquisition (the “RTP Fab Transfer”). Prior to the RTP Fab Transfer, Wolfspeed will continue to operate the facility and supply wafer product and other fabrication services to us pursuant to various agreements entered into between the parties concurrently with the closing of the RF Business Acquisition.
The purchase price for the RF Business Acquisition consisted of $75.0 million payable in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, and 711,528 shares of our common stock, with a fair value of $57.7 million, which were issued at the closing of the RF Business Acquisition. The shares of our common stock issued in connection with the RF Business Acquisition are subject to restrictions on the sale of shares until transfer of the RTP Fab to the Company is complete. In addition, if the RTP Fab has not transferred by the fourth anniversary of the closing date of the RF Business Acquisition, Wolfspeed will forfeit 25.0% of the share consideration. We funded the cash purchase price for the RF Business Acquisition through cash-on-hand.
During the fiscal years ended September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, we incurred acquisition-related transaction costs of approximately $7.4 million and $4.2 million, respectively, which are included in selling, general and administrative expense in our Consolidated Statement of Operations.
The following table summarizes the preliminary estimate of the purchase price (in thousands, except shares and closing share price amount):
At Acquisition Date as Reported December 29, 2023
Measurement Period Adjustments
At Acquisition Date as Reported September 27, 2024
Cash purchase consideration
$
75,000
$
(2,198)
$
72,802
Number of shares of MACOM common stock issued at closing
711,528
Fair value of shares issued
$
81.14
Equity purchase consideration
60,772
(3,039)
57,733
Total purchase consideration
$
135,772
$
(5,237)
$
130,535
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During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, the net working capital acquired was finalized, resulting in a refund of cash purchase consideration of $2.2 million. During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, we reduced the fair value of our common stock issued at the closing of the RF Business Acquisition by $3.0 million, representing the discount for lack of marketability as the shares were unregistered.
The purchase price for the RF Business Acquisition has been allocated based on preliminary estimates of fair values of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities at the date of acquisition as follows (in thousands):
At Acquisition Date as Reported December 29, 2023
Measurement Period Adjustments
At Acquisition Date as Reported September 27, 2024
Current assets
$
160
$
(121)
$
39
Inventory
23,574
7,523
31,097
Property and equipment
35,415
—
35,415
Intangible assets
60,000
(18,000)
42,000
Prepayment for net assets associated with the RTP Fab Transfer
19,450
(3,200)
16,250
Other non-current assets
6,735
(898)
5,837
Goodwill
—
9,967
9,967
Total assets acquired
145,334
(4,729)
140,605
Current liabilities
6,474
408
6,882
Long-term liabilities
3,088
100
3,188
Total liabilities assumed
9,562
508
10,070
Purchase Price
$
135,772
$
(5,237)
$
130,535
Intangible assets consist of technology, a favorable contract and customer relationships with fair values of $21.0 million, $14.5 million and $6.5 million, respectively, and useful lives of 4.8 years, 2.0 years and 8.8 years, respectively. We used variations of income approaches with estimates and assumptions developed by us to determine the fair values of technology, the favorable contract and customer relationships. We valued technology by using the relief-from-royalty method, the favorable contract by using the discounted cash flow method and customer relationships by using the multi-period excess earnings method. We valued backlog using the multi-period excess earnings method and determined that the value for backlog is zero. The process for estimating the fair values of identifiable intangible assets requires the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including revenue growth rates, royalty rates, operating margin and discount rates. We used the cost and market approaches to determine the fair value of our property and equipment. We amortize definite-lived assets based on the pattern over which we expect to receive the economic benefit from these assets. During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, based on additional information, we updated inputs and assumptions used to calculate the fair value of certain assets and liabilities, primarily resulting in a decrease to the fair value of intangible assets of $18.0 million, an increase to the fair value of inventory of $7.5 million, with an offsetting increase to Goodwill. The goodwill acquired will be deductible for tax purposes.
The prepayment of $16.3 million for the net assets associated with the RTP Fab Transfer, classified in Other long-term assets in our consolidated balance sheet, relates to the estimated fair value of property and equipment, inventory and liabilities that we will assume control of at the time of the RTP Fab Transfer. The cost and market approaches were used in determining the fair value of $10.4 million for property and equipment expected to transfer at the RTP Fab Transfer date. The remaining prepayment relates to inventory and liabilities, net, that we will assume control of at the time of the RTP Fab Transfer. We expect to enter into a 15-year lease for the RTP Fab after the RTP Fab Transfer occurs.
The determination and allocation of purchase price consideration is based on preliminary estimates of fair value; such estimates and assumptions are subject to change within the measurement period (up to one year from the acquisition date). As of September 27, 2024, the purchase price allocation for the RF Business remains open as we gather additional information regarding the fair value of consideration transferred, the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed, primarily in relation to the valuation of intangibles, inventory, property and equipment, leases, the prepayment for the assets and liabilities to be conveyed with the RTP Fab Transfer and contingencies.
The RF Business has been included in our consolidated financial statements since the date of acquisition. During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, the RF Business contributed $138.7 million of our total revenue. During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, the RF Business did not materially impact our consolidated net income.
Consolidated estimated pro forma unaudited revenue and net income (loss) as if the RF Business Acquisition had occurred on October 1, 2022, is as follows (in thousands):
52
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
Consolidated estimated pro forma unaudited revenue
$
756,415
$
793,017
Consolidated estimated pro forma unaudited net income (loss)
$
55,991
$
(72,728)
Pro forma revenue and net income (loss) was prepared for comparative purposes only and is not indicative of what would have occurred had the acquisition actually occurred on October 1, 2022, or of the results that may occur in the future. Pro forma net income (loss) includes business combination accounting effects from the RF Business Acquisition, primarily amortization expense from acquired intangible assets, acquisition transaction costs and tax-related effects. Pro forma earnings for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024 were adjusted to exclude transaction costs incurred of $15.8 million, and pro forma earnings for the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023 were adjusted and include $42.0 million of transaction costs associated with the RF Business Acquisition. MACOM incurred total transaction costs of $11.5 million and the remaining $30.5 million was incurred by Wolfspeed.
MESC—On May 31, 2023, we completed the acquisition of the key manufacturing facilities, capabilities, technologies and other assets and certain specified liabilities of OMMIC SAS, a semiconductor manufacturer based in Limeil-Brévannes, France with expertise in wafer fabrication, epitaxial growth and monolithic microwave integrated circuit (“MMIC”) processing and design. We are referring to this acquisition as the MACOM European Semiconductor Center Acquisition (the “MESC Acquisition”) and it was accounted for as a business combination. We completed the MESC Acquisition to expand our European footprint and to enable us to offer higher frequency gallium arsenide (“GaAs”) and GaN MMICs. Total cash consideration paid for the MESC Acquisition was approximately $36.9 million and was funded with cash-on-hand. During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, we incurred acquisition-related transaction costs of approximately $0.3 million and $2.8 million, respectively, which are included in selling, general and administrative expense in our Consolidated Statement of Operations. The MESC Acquisition was accounted for as a business combination and the operations of MESC have been included in our consolidated financial statements since the date of acquisition.
We finalized the MESC Acquisition purchase accounting during the fiscal quarter ended June 28, 2024. The final purchase price has been allocated as follows (in thousands):
At Acquisition Date as Reported June 28, 2024
Current assets
$
297
Inventory
3,790
Property and equipment
30,538
Intangible assets
5,966
Total assets acquired
40,591
Current liabilities
3,734
Total liabilities assumed
3,734
Purchase Price
$
36,857
53
As part of the acquisition, we assumed a lease agreement for the manufacturing facilities in France that provides us with the option to purchase the real property for one Euro at the end of the lease term; in October 2024 we exercised this option and purchased the real property. As of September 27, 2024, there was a finance lease right-of-use-asset of $24.7 million in Property and equipment for this lease, originally valued at acquisition using a market approach.
Intangible assets consist of technology and customer relationships of $4.9 million and $1.1 million, respectively, both having useful lives of 8.3 years. We used the income approach to determine the fair value of the definite-lived intangible assets and the cost and market approaches to determine the fair value of our property, plant and equipment. We amortize definite-lived assets based on the pattern over which we expect to receive the economic benefit from these assets.
Pro forma financial information for the fiscal years ended September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022 is not material to our consolidated financial statements.
Linearizer Technology, Inc.—On March 3, 2023, we completed the acquisition of Linearizer Technology, Inc. (“Linearizer”), a developer of modules and subsystems, including solid state power amplifiers (SSPAs), microwave predistortion linearizers and microwave photonics based in Hamilton, New Jersey (the “Linearizer Acquisition”), which was accounted for as a business combination. We acquired Linearizer to further strengthen our component and subsystem design expertise in our target markets. In connection with the Linearizer Acquisition, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of Linearizer for total cash consideration of approximately $51.4 million. We funded the Linearizer Acquisition with cash-on-hand. There were no transaction costs for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024 associated with this acquisition. During the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023, we incurred acquisition-related transaction costs of approximately $2.1 million, which are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in our Consolidated Statement of Operations. The Linearizer Acquisition was accounted for as a business combination and the operations of Linearizer have been included in our consolidated financial statements since the date of acquisition.
We finalized the Linearizer Acquisition purchase accounting during the fiscal quarter ended March 29, 2024. The final purchase price has been allocated as follows (in thousands):
At Acquisition Date as Reported September 29, 2023
Measurement Period Adjustments
At Acquisition Date as Reported March 29, 2024
Current assets
$
2,819
$
(100)
$
2,719
Inventory
8,907
1,407
10,314
Property and equipment
5,485
—
5,485
Intangible assets
29,600
—
29,600
Goodwill
12,332
(1,494)
10,838
Total assets acquired
59,143
(187)
58,956
Current liabilities
7,544
—
7,544
Total liabilities assumed
7,544
—
7,544
Purchase Price
$
51,599
$
(187)
$
51,412
Intangible assets consist of customer relationships, technology and a trade name with fair values of $20.7 million, $7.1 million and $1.8 million, respectively, and useful lives of 8.6 years, 7.6 years and 7.6 years, respectively. We used the income approach to determine the fair value of the definite-lived intangible assets and the cost and market approaches to determine the fair value of the property, plant and equipment. We amortize definite-lived assets based on the pattern over which we expect to receive the economic benefit from these assets. The intangible assets and goodwill acquired will be amortizable for tax purposes due to the IRC Section 338 election filed.
Pro forma financial information for the fiscal years ended September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022 is not material to our consolidated financial statements.
5. INVESTMENTS
All short-term investments are invested in certificates of deposit, corporate bonds, commercial paper, U.S. Treasury securities and agency bonds, and are classified as available-for-sale. The amortized cost, gross unrealized holding gains or losses and fair value of our available-for-sale investments by major investments type are summarized in the tables below (in thousands):
54
September 27, 2024
Amortized Cost
Gross Unrealized Holding Gains
Gross Unrealized Holding Losses
Aggregate Fair Value
Certificates of deposit
$
980
$
—
$
—
$
980
Corporate bonds
303,296
2,047
(193)
305,150
Commercial paper
73,641
149
—
73,790
U.S. Treasuries and agency bonds
54,931
248
(17)
55,162
Total investments
$
432,848
$
2,444
$
(210)
$
435,082
September 29, 2023
Amortized Cost
Gross Unrealized Holding Gains
Gross Unrealized Holding Losses
Aggregate Fair Value
Corporate bonds
$
145,234
$
—
$
(2,845)
$
142,389
Commercial paper
176,405
—
(129)
176,276
U.S. Treasury securities
21,895
18
(4)
21,909
Total investments
$
343,534
$
18
$
(2,978)
$
340,574
The contractual maturities of available-for-sale investments were as follows (in thousands):
September 27, 2024
Less than 1 year
$
284,479
Over 1 year
150,603
Total investments
$
435,082
We have determined that the gross unrealized losses on available for sale securities at September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023 are temporary in nature and/or do not relate to credit loss, therefore there is no expense for credit losses recorded in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The techniques used to measure the fair value of our investments are described in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies. We review our investments to identify and evaluate investments that have indications of possible impairment due to credit loss. Factors considered in determining whether a loss is due to credit loss include the extent to which fair value has been less than the cost basis, adverse conditions, the financial condition and near-term prospects of the investee, and our intent and ability to hold the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for any anticipated recovery in market value. All of our fixed income securities are rated investment grade as of September 27, 2024.
During the fiscal years ended September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022, we received proceeds from sales and maturities of available-for-sale securities of $344.8 million, $515.8 million and $244.6 million, respectively. The gross realized gains and losses of available-for-sale investments were immaterial in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 and were recorded within Other income (expense), net in each period presented in our Consolidated Statement of Operations.
During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022, Interest income on cash equivalents and short-term investments was $23.0 million, $20.8 million and $4.3 million, respectively.
Other Investments—On December 23, 2021, we sold our investment in a private company to one of the other limited liability company members, pursuant to the terms of a previously negotiated call option included in the private company’s limited liability company agreement, as amended and restated (the “LLC Agreement”), in exchange for a predetermined fixed price as set forth in the LLC Agreement of approximately $127.8 million in cash consideration. As a result of this transaction, during fiscal year 2022 we recorded a gain of $118.2 million in Other (expense) income, net in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
This investment’s carrying value was updated quarterly based on our proportionate share of the gains or losses, as well as any changes in the private company’s equity, utilizing the equity method. During fiscal year 2022, we recorded $3.3 million of non-cash net losses associated with this equity method investment in Other (expense) income, net in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
6. FAIR VALUE AND FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
Assets and Liabilities Measured and Recorded at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
We measure certain assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis such as our financial instruments. There have been no transfers between Level 1, 2 or 3 assets or liabilities during the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023.
55
Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis consist of the following (in thousands):
September 27, 2024
Fair Value
Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)
Observable Inputs (Level 2)
Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Assets
Money market funds
$
74,760
$
74,760
$
—
$
—
Certificates of deposit
980
980
—
—
U.S. Treasuries and agency bonds
55,162
50,163
4,999
—
Corporate bonds
305,150
—
305,150
—
Commercial paper
73,790
—
73,790
—
Total assets measured at fair value
$
509,842
$
125,903
$
383,939
$
—
Liabilities
Non-designated foreign currency hedge contracts
$
100
$
—
$
100
$
—
Total liabilities measured at fair value
$
100
$
—
$
100
$
—
September 29, 2023
Fair Value
Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)
Observable Inputs (Level 2)
Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Assets
Money market funds
$
111,388
$
111,388
$
—
$
—
U.S. Treasury securities
21,910
21,910
—
—
Commercial paper
176,276
—
176,276
—
Corporate bonds
142,388
—
142,388
—
Total assets measured at fair value
$
451,962
$
133,298
$
318,664
$
—
Derivatives
We have foreign currency exposure arising from certain intercompany foreign currency denominated debt. We have entered into foreign currency exchange hedging contracts to partially mitigate the impact of the Euro and Yen currency rate changes on certain of our Euro and Yen denominated intercompany debt. They are not designated as cash flow or fair value hedges under ASC 815. Changes in fair value are reported in current period earnings. These gains and losses are intended to offset the gains and losses recorded on certain intercompany debt that are denominated in the Euro and Yen. We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculation purposes.
As of September 27, 2024, we had $34.4 million in notional forward foreign currency contracts, which were denominated in Euro and Yen. As of September 27, 2024, the fair value of derivative instruments not designated as hedges was $0.1 million and was presented in Accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
7. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES ALLOWANCES
Summarized below is the activity in our accounts receivable allowances, including compensation credits and doubtful accounts as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Balance - beginning of year
$
2,004
$
2,446
$
2,795
Provision, net
5,404
3,600
7,097
Charge-offs
(4,746)
(4,042)
(7,446)
Balance - end of year
$
2,662
$
2,004
$
2,446
The balances at the end of fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 are comprised primarily of compensation credits of $2.4 million, $1.8 million and $2.1 million, respectively.
56
The allowance for doubtful accounts is immaterial as of September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022. We generate accounts receivable from customers and they are classified as short-term. We monitor collections and maintain a provision for expected credit losses based on historical trends, current conditions, and relevant forecasted information, in addition to provisions established for any specific collection issues that have been identified.
8. INVENTORIES
Inventories consist of the following (in thousands):
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Raw materials
$
121,231
$
82,589
Work-in-process
12,412
14,280
Finished goods
60,847
39,431
Total
$
194,490
$
136,300
9. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
Property and equipment consists of the following (in thousands):
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Construction in process
$
15,179
$
10,256
Machinery and equipment
282,920
238,037
Leasehold improvements
38,979
35,342
Furniture and fixtures
3,539
2,888
Computer equipment
19,809
18,824
Finance lease assets
65,596
64,126
Total property and equipment
426,022
369,473
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization
(250,005)
(219,977)
Property and equipment — net
$
176,017
$
149,496
Depreciation and amortization expense related to property and equipment for fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 was $30.1 million, $24.0 million and $23.8 million, respectively. Accumulated amortization on finance lease assets as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023 was $10.2 million and $7.8 million, respectively.
In August 2022, the U.S. government enacted the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (the “CHIPS Act”), which provides funding for manufacturing grants and research investments and establishes a 25% investment tax credit for certain qualifying investments in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment. As of September 27, 2024, we have reduced property and equipment, net in the Consolidated Balance Sheet by $5.2 million as a result of expected tax credits in connection with the CHIPS Act.
10. INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Amortization expense related to intangible assets is as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Cost of revenue
$
14,790
$
4,369
$
7,839
Research and development
4,763
—
—
Selling, general and administrative
17,612
23,735
25,592
Total
$
37,165
$
28,104
$
33,431
57
A summary of the activity in gross intangible assets as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023 is as follows (in thousands):
September 27, 2024
Gross Carrying Amount
Accumulated Amortization
Net Carrying Amount
Acquired technology
$
33,226
$
(7,320)
$
25,906
Customer relationships
180,214
(149,206)
31,008
Favorable contract
14,500
(7,620)
6,880
Software licenses
12,292
(4,775)
7,517
Trade name (1)
5,200
(423)
4,777
Balance as of September 27, 2024 (2)
$
245,432
$
(169,344)
$
76,088
Fully amortized intangible assets of $273.4 million were eliminated from both gross and accumulated amortization amounts in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.
September 29, 2023
Gross Carrying Amount
Accumulated Amortization
Net Carrying Amount
Acquired technology
$
191,369
$
(179,558)
$
11,811
Customer relationships
267,621
(225,827)
41,794
Software licenses
8,350
—
8,350
Trade name (1)
5,200
(161)
5,039
Balance as of September 29, 2023 (2)
$
472,540
$
(405,546)
$
66,994
(1) Includes an indefinite-lived trade name of $3.4 million that is not amortized.
As of September 27, 2024, our estimated amortization of our intangible assets in future fiscal years, was as follows (in thousands):
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
Thereafter
Amortization expense
$
25,274
14,705
11,506
7,989
4,735
8,479
The weighted-average amortization period for total intangible assets acquired during fiscal year 2024 is 4.5 years.
The following table presents a summary of the changes in goodwill during fiscal years 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
2024
2023
Balance at beginning of year
$
323,398
$
311,417
Acquired (1)
8,473
12,332
Foreign currency translation adjustment
330
(351)
Balance at end of year
$
332,201
$
323,398
(1) The acquired balance consists of an increase of $10.0 million to goodwill related to the RF Business Acquisition and a reduction of $1.5 million to goodwill related to measurement period adjustments for the Linearizer Acquisition. For additional information refer to Note 4 - Acquisitions.
58
11. ACCRUED LIABILITIES
Accrued liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Compensation and benefits
$
30,769
$
26,926
Distribution costs
7,494
5,156
Current portion of operating leases
7,727
7,258
Internal-use software
5,425
4,175
Product warranty
725
1,016
Deferred revenue
5,281
2,762
Professional fees
1,335
1,368
Other
5,580
8,736
Total accrued liabilities
$
64,336
$
57,397
12. PRODUCT WARRANTIES
We establish a product warranty liability at the time of revenue recognition. Product warranties generally have terms of 12 months and cover nonconformance with specifications and defects in material or workmanship. For sales to distributors, our warranty generally begins when the product is resold by the distributor. The liability is based on estimated costs to fulfill customer product warranty obligations and utilizes historical product failure rates. Should actual warranty obligations differ from estimates, revisions to the warranty liability may be required.
Product warranty liability activity is as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Balance — beginning of year
$
1,016
$
1,898
$
2,225
Acquired
—
231
—
Provisions
1,429
908
4,567
(Payments)
(1,720)
(2,021)
(4,894)
Balance — end of year
$
725
$
1,016
$
1,898
13. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
We established a defined contribution savings plan under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended on October 1, 2009 (“401(k) Plan”). The 401(k) Plan follows a calendar year, covers substantially all U.S. employees who meet minimum age and service requirements and allows participants to defer a portion of their annual compensation on a pretax basis, subject to legal limitations. Our contributions to the 401(k) Plan may be made at the discretion of the board of directors. During the fiscal years ended September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022, we contributed $5.9 million, $2.7 million and $2.5 million to our 401(k) Plan for calendar years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Our employees located in foreign jurisdictions meeting minimum age and service requirements participate in defined contribution plans whereby participants may defer a portion of their annual compensation on a pretax basis, subject to legal limitations. We expensed contributions of $2.1 million, $1.7 million and $1.6 million for fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
14. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Asset Retirement Obligations—We are obligated under certain facility leases to restore those facilities to the condition in which we or our predecessors first occupied the facilities. We are required to remove leasehold improvements and equipment installed in these facilities prior to termination of the leases. As of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, the estimated cost for the removal of these assets that are recorded as asset retirement obligations in other long-term liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets was $1.9 million.
Purchase Commitments—As of September 27, 2024, we had outstanding non-cancelable purchase commitments of $138.7 million primarily for purchases of services and inventory supply arrangements.In addition, we have $23.9 million in remaining fixed payments associated with a power purchase agreement that commenced in fiscal 2023 and has a remaining 13-year term. See Note 16-
59
Financing Obligation for additional detail on the power purchase agreement. We have $6.7 million in remaining amounts payable for software over a two-year period.
Litigation—From time to time we may be subject to commercial disputes, employment issues, claims by other companies in the industry that we have infringed their intellectual property rights and other similar claims and litigation. Any such claims may lead to future litigation and material damages and defense costs. We were not involved in any material legal proceedings during the year ended September 27, 2024.
15. DEBT
The following represents the outstanding balances and effective interest rates (in thousands, except percentages):
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Principal Balance
Effective Interest Rate
Principal Balance
Effective Interest Rate
0.25% convertible notes due March 2026
450,000
0.54
%
450,000
0.54
%
Unamortized discount on term loans and deferred financing costs
(1,719)
(2,866)
Total long-term debt
$
448,281
$
447,134
2026 Convertible Notes
On March 25, 2021, we issued 0.25% convertible senior notes due in fiscal year 2026, pursuant to an indenture dated as of such date (the “Indenture”), between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, with an aggregate principal amount of $400.0 million (the “Initial Notes”), and on April 6, 2021, we issued an additional $50.0 million aggregate principal amount (the “Additional Notes”) (together, the “2026 Convertible Notes”). The aggregate principal balance of the 2026 Convertible Notes is $450.0 million. The 2026 Convertible Notes will mature on March 15, 2026, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.
The Additional Notes were issued and sold to the initial purchaser of the Initial Notes, pursuant to the option to purchase the Additional Notes granted by the Company to the initial purchaser and have the same terms as the Initial Notes.
Holders of the 2026 Convertible Notes may convert their notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding December 15, 2025 in multiples of $1,000 principal amount, only under the following circumstances: (i) during any fiscal quarter commencing after the fiscal quarter ending on July 2, 2021 (and only during such fiscal quarter), if the last reported sale price of our common stock for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding fiscal quarter is greater than or equal to 130% of the conversion price for the notes on each applicable trading day; (ii) during the five business day period after any five consecutive trading day period (the “Measurement Period”) in which the “trading price” (as defined in the Indenture) per $1,000 principal amount of the notes for each trading day of the Measurement Period was less than98% of the product of the last reported sale price of our common stock and the conversion rate for the notes on each such trading day; (iii) if we call such notes for redemption, at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the applicable redemption date; or (iv) upon the occurrence of specified corporate events described in the Indenture. On or after December 15, 2025 until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, holders may convert their notes in multiples of $1,000 principal amount, regardless of the foregoing circumstances.
The initial conversion rate for the 2026 Convertible Notes is 12.1767 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the notes, equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $82.12 per share of common stock. The conversion rate will be subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain specified events in the Indenture.
In November 2021, we made an irrevocable election to pay cash for the aggregate principal amount of notes to be converted. Upon conversion of the 2026 Convertible Notes, we are required to pay cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the notes to be converted and pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, at our election, in respect of the remainder, if any, of our conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the notes being converted (subject to, and in accordance with, the settlement provisions of the Indenture). We may redeem for cash all or any portion of the notes, at our option, on or after March 20, 2024 if the last reported sale price per share of our common stock has been at least 130% of the conversion price then in effect for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive), including the trading day immediately preceding the date on which we provide notice of redemption, during any 30 consecutive trading day period ending on, and including, the trading day immediately preceding the date on which we provide notice of redemption, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, to, but not including, the redemption date.
The Indenture does not contain any financial or operating covenants or restrictions on the payments of dividends, the making of investments, the incurrence of indebtedness or the purchase or prepayment of securities by us or any of our subsidiaries.
60
In connection with the adoption of ASU 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, we reclassified $72.2 million, consisting of $73.1 million of principal and issuance costs of $0.9 million, previously allocated to the conversion feature, from additional paid-in capital to long-term debt in our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of October 2, 2021.
For each of fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 total interest expense for the 2026 Convertible Notes was $1.1 million.
The fair values of the 2026 Convertible Notes, including the conversion feature, were $640.6 million and $512.5 million as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, respectively, and were determined based on quoted prices in markets that are not active, which is considered a Level 2 valuation input.
There are no future minimum principal payments under the notes as of September 27, 2024; the full amount of $450.0 million is due on March 15, 2026.
Term Loans
We were party to a credit agreement dated as of May 8, 2014, with a syndicate of lenders and Goldman Sachs Bank USA, as administrative agent (as amended on February 13, 2015, August 31, 2016, March 10, 2017, May 19, 2017, May 2, 2018 and May 9, 2018, the “Credit Agreement”). On August 2, 2023, the Credit Agreement was terminated when we paid the total outstanding principal balance on our Term Loans of $120.8 million and accrued interest of less than $0.1 million with cash-on-hand. There was no interest expense for the Term Loans for fiscal year 2024. For fiscal years 2023 and 2022, total interest expense for the Term Loans was $6.9 million and $3.7 million, respectively.
16. FINANCING OBLIGATION
We are party to a power purchase agreement for the use of electric power and thermal energy producing systems at our fabrication facility in Lowell, Massachusetts. This system is expected to reduce our consumption of energy while delivering sustainable, resilient energy for heating and cooling. We do not own these systems; however, we control the use of the assets during construction and operation. As of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, the asset in Property and equipment, net was $8.2 million and $8.9 million, respectively, and the corresponding liability was $9.3 million and $9.6 million, respectively, classified primarily in Financing obligation on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The financing obligation was calculated based on future fixed payments allocated to the power generator of $16.8 million over the 15-year term, discounted at an implied discount rate of 7.4%, and the remaining future minimum payments are for power purchases. As of September 27, 2024, we have $23.9 million in remaining fixed payments over a remaining 13-year term, of which $14.9 million is included in our consolidated balance sheets.
As of September 27, 2024, expected future minimum payments for the financing obligation were as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal year ending:
Amount
2025
$
982
2026
1,007
2027
1,031
2028
1,057
2029
1,084
Thereafter
9,773
Total payments
$
14,934
Less: interest
5,627
Present value of financing obligation
$
9,307
.
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17. LEASES
Included in our Consolidated Balance Sheets were the following amounts related to operating and finance lease assets and liabilities (in thousands):
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Consolidated Balance Sheets Classification
Assets:
Operating lease ROU assets
$
29,279
$
25,572
Other long-term assets
Finance lease assets
55,389
56,282
Property and equipment, net
Total lease assets
$
84,668
$
81,854
Liabilities:
Current:
Operating lease liabilities
$
7,727
$
7,258
Accrued liabilities
Finance lease liabilities
646
1,162
Current portion of finance lease obligations
Long-term:
Operating lease liabilities
24,173
22,756
Other long-term liabilities
Finance lease liabilities
31,130
31,776
Finance lease obligations, less current portion
Total lease liabilities
$
63,676
$
62,952
Operating lease right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new lease liabilities includes $5.6 million operating lease right-of-use assets acquired as part of the RF Business Acquisition.
The weighted-average remaining lease terms and weighted-average discount rates for operating and finance leases were as follows:
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Weighted-average remaining lease term (in years):
Operating leases
4.7
5.1
Finance leases
19.0
19.6
Weighted-average discount rate:
Operating leases
6.4
%
5.6
%
Finance leases
6.7
%
6.7
%
The components of lease expense were as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Year Ended
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
September 30, 2022
Finance lease cost:
Amortization of lease assets
$
2,332
$
2,106
$
2,032
Interest on lease liabilities
2,160
2,089
1,878
Total finance lease cost
4,492
4,195
3,910
Operating lease cost
10,280
7,965
8,415
Variable lease cost
3,604
2,572
3,524
Short-term lease cost
36
25
21
Sublease income
1,324
1,340
912
62
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities were as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Year Ended
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
September 30, 2022
Cash paid for amounts included in measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows from operating leases
$
10,567
$
8,644
$
9,427
Operating cash flows from finance leases
$
2,160
$
2,089
$
1,878
Financing cash flows from finance leases
$
1,175
$
1,012
$
957
Non-cash activities:
Operating lease ROU assets obtained in exchange for new lease liabilities
$
10,643
$
6,758
$
2,536
Financing lease assets obtained in exchange for new lease liabilities
$
—
$
5,905
$
—
As of September 27, 2024, maturities of lease payments by fiscal year were as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal year ending:
Operating Leases
Finance Leases
2025
$
9,542
$
2,783
2026
8,085
2,680
2027
6,750
2,718
2028
5,249
2,754
2029
4,626
2,803
Thereafter
2,971
44,061
Total lease payments
$
37,223
$
57,799
Less: interest
(5,323)
(26,023)
Present value of lease liabilities
$
31,900
$
31,776
18. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
We have authorized 10.0 million shares of $0.001 par value preferred stock and 300.0 million shares of $0.001 par value common stock as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023. The outstanding shares of common stock as of September 27, 2024, presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity, exclude 2,138 unvested shares of restricted stock awards issued as compensation to employees that were subject to forfeiture.
19. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS
Stock Plans
We have four equity incentive plans: the 2012 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended (“2012 Plan”), the 2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan (“2021 Plan”), the 2012 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended and restated (“2012 ESPP”) and the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“2021 ESPP”).
The 2021 Plan replaced the 2012 Plan and, following the adoption of the 2021 Plan on March 4, 2021, no additional awards have been or will be made under the 2012 Plan. We have outstanding awards under the 2021 Plan, as well as the 2012 Plan. Under the 2021 Plan, we have the ability to issue incentive stock options (“ISOs”), non-statutory stock options (“NSOs”), stock appreciation rights (“SARS”), restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), unrestricted stock awards, stock units (including restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSUs”)), performance awards, cash awards, and other share-based awards to employees, directors, consultants and advisors. The ISOs and NSOs must be granted at an exercise price, and the SARS must be granted at a base value, per share of not less than 100% of the closing price of a share of our common stock on the date of grant (or, if no closing price is reported on that date, the closing price on the immediately preceding date on which a closing price was reported) (110% in the case of certain ISOs). Options granted primarily vested based on certain market-based and performance-based criteria as described below and generally have a term of four to seven years. Certain of the share-based awards granted and outstanding as of September 27, 2024, are subject to accelerated vesting upon a sale of the Company or similar changes in control.
As of September 27, 2024, we had 3.9 million shares available for future issuance under the 2021 Plan and 1.1 million shares available for issuance under our 2021 ESPP.
Incentive Stock Units
63
Outside of the four equity plans described above, we also grant incentive stock units (“ISUs”) to certain of our international employees which typically vest over three or four years and for which the fair value is determined by our underlying stock price, which are classified as liabilities and settled in cash upon vesting.
During fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, the fair value of awards granted were $2.2 million, $1.8 million and $1.8 million, respectively. ISU awards were paid out at a fair value of $2.0 million, $3.5 million and $4.0 million for the fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, the fair value of outstanding awards was $6.8 million and $5.0 million, respectively, and the associated accrued compensation liability was $4.6 million and $3.3 million, respectively.
During fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, we recorded an expense for these ISU awards of $3.3 million, $3.4 million and $1.1 million, respectively. These expenses are not included in the share-based compensation expense totals below.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The 2021 ESPP allows eligible employees to purchase shares of our common stock at a discount through payroll deductions of up to 15% of their eligible compensation, subject to any plan limitations. In administering the 2021 ESPP, the board of directors has limited discretion to set the length of the offering periods thereunder. In fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, 116,346, 120,774 and 121,697 shares of common stock were issued under the 2021 ESPP, respectively.
Share-Based Compensation
The following table shows a summary of share-based compensation expense included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations during the periods presented (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Cost of revenue
$
5,938
$
4,325
$
4,038
Research and development
18,072
14,808
14,940
Selling, general and administrative
21,634
18,970
22,207
Total
$
45,644
$
38,103
$
41,185
As of September 27, 2024, the total unrecognized compensation costs related to outstanding stock options, restricted stock awards and units including awards with time-based, performance-based, and market-based vesting was $59.4 million, which we expect to recognize over a weighted-average period of 1.8 years. As of September 27, 2024, total unrecognized compensation cost related to the 2021 ESPP was $0.4 million.
Restricted Stock Awards and Units
A summary of RSU, PRSU and RSA activity for fiscal year 2024 is as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Number of Shares
Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Issued and unvested - September 29, 2023
1,501
$
60.90
Granted
772
80.42
Performance-based adjustment (1)
62
35.43
Vested
(557)
49.80
Forfeited, canceled or expired
(144)
67.36
Issued and unvested - September 27, 2024
1,634
$
72.37
(1) The amount shown represents performance adjustments for performance-based awards. These were granted in prior fiscal years and vested during 2024 based on the Company’s achievement of adjusted earnings per share.
The weighted-average grant date fair value per share for restricted stock awards and units, inclusive of PRSUs, granted during the fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, was $80.42, $63.53 and $64.51, respectively. The total fair value of restricted stock awards and units vested, inclusive of PRSUs, was $42.8 million, $85.5 million and $92.9 million for fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. RSUs granted generally vest over a period of three or four years.
Performance-Based Equity Incentives
We issue PRSUs with specific performance vesting criteria. These PRSUs have both a service and performance-based vesting condition and awards are typically divided into three equal tranches and vest based on achieving certain adjusted earnings per share growth metrics. The service condition requires participants to be employed in November following the performance period in which the performance condition was met, when the Company's annual financial performance is announced to the financial markets.
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Depending on the actual performance achieved, a participant may earn between 0% to 300% of the target number of shares for each tranche, which is determined based on a straight-line interpolation applied for the achievement between the specified performance ranges.
During fiscal year 2024 we granted 65,262 PRSUs and 29,808 PRSUs were forfeited. The weighted-average grant date fair value per share for PRSUs granted during the fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 was $73.01, $56.15 and $66.34, respectively. During fiscal year 2024, the performance condition for 47,692 target shares issued in prior years were earned at 300% and 121%, and as a result a total of 109,392 shares vested in November 2023 when the service condition was achieved. The total fair value of PRSUs vested was $7.9 million, $19.0 million and $39.1 million in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of September 27, 2024, the total amount of PRSU awards that could ultimately vest if all performance criteria are achieved would be 383,133 shares assuming a maximum of 300% of the target shares.
Market-based PRSUs
We also issue PRSUs with specific market-based performance vesting criteria. Recipients may earn between 0% and 200% of the target number of shares based on the Company's achievement of total stockholder return in comparison to a peer group of companies in the Nasdaq composite index over a period of approximately three years. The fair value of the awards was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation and compensation expense is recognized ratably over the service period based on the grant date fair value of the awards subject to the market condition. The expected volatility of the Company's common stock was estimated based on the historical average volatility rate over the three-year period. The dividend yield assumption was based on historical and anticipated dividend payouts. The risk-free rate assumption was based on observed interest rates consistent with the three-year measurement period.
The weighted-average assumptions used to value the awards are as follows:
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Weighted-average grant date fair value
$
88.88
$
80.37
$
89.82
Assumptions:
Weighted-average grant date stock price
$
73.01
$
56.65
$
66.12
Weighted-average stock price at the start of the performance period
$
79.43
$
54.12
$
64.11
Weighted-average risk free interest rate
4.6%
4.2%
0.8%
Weighted-average years to maturity
2.9
2.9
3.0
Weighted-average expected volatility rate
41.7%
51.8%
57.8%
Weighted-average expected dividend yield
—
—
—
During fiscal year 2024, we granted 132,247 market-based PRSUs and 27,667 market-based PRSUs were forfeited. The total fair value of market-based PRSUs vested was $18.1 million in fiscal year 2023. No market-based PRSUs vested in fiscal years 2024 and 2022. As of September 27, 2024, the total amount of market-based PRSU awards that could ultimately vest if all performance criteria are achieved would be 869,542 shares assuming a maximum of 200% of the target shares.
Stock Options
As of September 27, 2024, there were 5,000 stock options outstanding and exercisable with a weighted-average exercise price per share of $16.06. As of September 27, 2024, the weighted-average remaining contractual term was 1.11 years and the aggregate intrinsic value was $0.5 million. Aggregate intrinsic value is calculated using the difference between our closing stock price on September 27, 2024 and the exercise price of outstanding, in-the-money options. The total intrinsic value of options exercised was $0.8 million and $11.0 million for fiscal years 2024 and 2022, respectively. There were no options exercised during the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023. There were no stock options granted for fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022.
Stock options with Market-based Vesting Criteria
We granted NSOs that were subject to vesting only upon the market price of our underlying public stock closing above a certain price target within seven years of the date of grant. Share-based compensation expense is recognized regardless of the number of awards that are earned based on the market condition and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the estimated service period of approximately three years. If the required service period is not met for these options, then the share-based compensation expense would be reversed.
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20. INCOME TAXES
The domestic and foreign income from operations before taxes were as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
United States
$
58,090
$
82,297
$
215,140
Foreign
33,436
32,861
27,980
Income from operations before income taxes
$
91,526
$
115,158
$
243,120
The components of the provision (benefit) for income taxes are as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Current:
Federal
$
4,530
$
80
$
72
State
1,588
781
644
Foreign
3,710
2,570
2,890
Current provision
9,828
3,431
3,606
Deferred:
Federal
11,165
30,608
34,616
State
(1,417)
(405)
285
Foreign
(1,294)
1,998
2,211
Change in valuation allowance
(3,615)
(12,051)
(237,553)
Deferred provision (benefit)
4,839
20,150
(200,441)
Total provision (benefit)
$
14,667
$
23,581
$
(196,835)
We recognize deferred tax assets to the extent that we believe that these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making this determination, we consider available positive and negative evidence and factors that may impact the valuation of our deferred tax asset including results of recent operations, future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, and tax-planning strategies. In the fiscal fourth quarter of 2022, we reassessed our valuation allowances and considered positive evidence including significant cumulative income, continued revenue growth and expectations regarding financial forecasts over the three years ended September 30, 2022, and negative evidence, including the uncertainty posed by the current economic and geopolitical environment and the global supply chain. After assessing the evidence, we released the valuation allowance on the majority of our domestic NOLs and R&D tax credit carryforwards and other deferred tax assets as of September 30, 2022, resulting in a benefit from income taxes of $202.8 million. In the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023, based upon an increase in our estimated future taxable income, we reduced our partial valuation allowance by $12.1 million, primarily related to California NOL and tax credit carryforwards resulting in a benefit from income taxes. During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, we reassessed the valuation allowance related to certain state NOLs as a result of the deferral and extension of the NOL carryforward period. This resulted in a benefit from income taxes of $3.6 million.
We had a $15.0 million valuation allowance as of September 27, 2024 on deferred tax assets whose recovery is not considered more likely than not. The major components are partial valuation allowances of $8.3 million and $6.3 million related to U.S. state NOL carryforwards and Canadian tax credits, respectively. We had a $18.7 million valuation allowance as of September 29, 2023, on deferred tax assets whose recovery is not considered more likely than not. The major components are partial valuation allowances of $11.3 million and $6.9 million related to U.S. state NOL carryforwards and Canadian tax credits, respectively.
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Our effective tax rates differ from the federal and statutory rate as follows:
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Federal statutory rate
21.0%
21.0%
21.0%
Benefit from income taxes attributable to valuation allowances
(4.0)
(10.6)
(97.5)
Global intangible low taxed income
12.7
15.7
2.5
Foreign-derived intangible income deduction
(4.5)
—
—
Research and development credits
(9.4)
(4.8)
(3.7)
Foreign rate differential
(4.5)
(2.8)
(1.6)
Share-based compensation
0.1
(1.3)
(1.1)
Provision to return adjustments
0.2
0.8
(0.5)
State taxes net of federal benefit
3.0
2.2
0.6
Other permanent differences
1.4
0.3
(0.7)
Effective income tax rate
16.0%
20.5%
(81)%
For fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, the effective tax rates on $91.5 million, $115.2 million and $243.1 million, respectively, of pre-tax income from continuing operations were 16.0%, 20.5% and (81.0)%, respectively. The effective income tax rates for fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 were primarily impacted by a lower income tax rate in many foreign jurisdictions in which our foreign subsidiaries operate, changes in valuation allowance, research and development tax credits and the inclusion of Global Intangible Low Taxed Income.
In fiscal year 2022, the change in the “Benefit from income taxes attributable to valuation allowances” on deferred tax assets in the tax rate reconciliation table above was primarily related to the release of our valuation allowances on the majority of our domestic NOLs and R&D tax credit carryforwards and other deferred tax assets related to the U.S. jurisdiction.
Deferred income taxes reflect the net effect of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and amounts used for income tax purposes. The components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows (in thousands):
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss and credit carryforward
$
151,397
$
178,743
Intangible assets
27,022
24,786
Section 174 R&D Cost Capitalization
35,465
19,706
Accrued expenses
20,309
19,442
Lease obligations
13,791
13,931
Minority equity investments
576
594
Gross deferred tax asset
248,560
257,202
Less valuation allowance
(15,038)
(18,653)
Deferred tax asset, net of valuation allowance
$
233,522
$
238,549
Deferred tax liabilities:
Convertible notes
$
—
$
—
Right of use lease asset
(14,507)
(14,663)
Property and equipment
(6,520)
(5,779)
Deferred tax liabilities
(21,027)
(20,442)
Net deferred tax asset
$
212,495
$
218,107
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As of September 27, 2024, we had $265.1 million of gross federal NOL carryforwards, primarily related to acquisitions made in prior fiscal years. The federal NOL carryforwards will expire at various dates through 2036 for losses generated prior to the tax period ended September 27, 2019. For losses generated during the tax period ended September 27, 2019 and future years, the NOL carryforward period is indefinite but the loss utilization will be limited to 80% of taxable income. The reported NOL carryforward includes any limitation under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) of 1986, as amended, which applies to an ownership change as defined under Section 382.
As of September 27, 2024, we had $33.6 million tax-effected state NOL carryforwards which will expire starting in fiscal year 2029 through fiscal year 2044, offset primarily by a partial valuation allowance of $8.3 million and $6.3 million related to U.S. state NOL carryforwards and Canadian tax credits, respectively. As of September 27, 2024, we had federal R&D tax credit carryforwards of $33.2 million and state R&D tax credit carryforwards of $22.6 million. Federal and state credits will expire starting in fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2044. California R&D tax credit carryforwards of $17.0 million have an indefinite life.
IRC Section 174 R&D amortization rules, amended as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, require capitalization and amortization of all R&D costs incurred in tax years beginning after December 31, 2021. This change was effective for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2023. Capitalized costs relating to R&D performed within the U.S. are to be amortized over five years. Costs relating to R&D performed outside the U.S. are to be amortized over 15 years. As of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023, the deferred tax asset related to IRC Section 174 was $35.5 million and $19.7 million, respectively.
The liability for unrecognized tax benefits was zero as of September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022, respectively. During the fiscal years ending September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022, we reported no change in unrecognized tax benefits.
A summary of the fiscal tax years that remain subject to examination, as of September 27, 2024, for the Company’s significant tax jurisdictions are:
Jurisdiction
Fiscal Years Subject to Examination
United States—federal
Fiscal Year 2021- forward
United States—various states
Fiscal Year 2020 - forward
Ireland
Fiscal Year 2019 - forward
We are no longer subject to federal income tax examinations for fiscal years before 2020, except to the extent of loss and tax credit carryforwards from those years.
21. RELATED-PARTY TRANSACTIONS
During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, we sold $0.2 million of commercial products to Mission Microwave Technologies, LLC (“Mission”), a MACOM customer and an affiliate of director Susan Ocampo. Mrs. Ocampo is MACOM's largest stockholder. Stephen G. Daly, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board, and director Jihye Whang Rosenband, each have an equity interest of less than 1% in Mission. During the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, we purchased $0.3 million of machinery and equipment from Gallium Semiconductor, an affiliate of director Susan Ocampo.
On March 3, 2023, in conjunction with the Linearizer Acquisition, we entered into a seven-year lease agreement with an entity that is majority-owned by certain former Linearizer employees, which was deemed to be a related-party agreement. The average annual base rent payments were $0.4 million. During the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023, we made lease-related payments of $0.5 million.
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22. EARNINGS PER SHARE
The following table sets forth the computation for basic and diluted net income per share of common stock (in thousands, except per share data):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Numerator:
Net income attributable to common stockholders
$
76,859
$
91,577
$
439,955
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding-basic
71,959
70,801
69,783
Dilutive effect of stock options, restricted stock awards and restricted stock units (1)
954
702
1,383
Dilutive effect of convertible debt (2)
662
—
—
Weighted average common shares outstanding-diluted
73,575
71,503
71,166
Net income to common stockholders per share-basic
$
1.07
$
1.29
$
6.30
Net income to common stockholders per share-diluted
$
1.04
$
1.28
$
6.18
(1) Excludes the effects of 29,719, 140,466 and 254,717 shares for fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, of potential shares of common stock issuable upon vesting of restricted stock and restricted stock units as the inclusion would be anti-dilutive, but they could become dilutive in the future.
(2) Each amount shown represents the number of shares that would be necessary to settle the conversion premium for the 2026 Convertible Notes as of the corresponding reporting period. For additional information on the 2026 Convertible Notes, see Note 15 - Debt.
23. SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION
The following is supplemental cash flow information for the periods presented (in thousands):
Fiscal Years
2024
2023
2022
Cash paid for interest
$
3,985
$
10,780
$
6,739
Cash paid for income taxes
$
5,997
$
2,870
$
2,194
Non-cash activities:
Non-cash capital expenditures
$
311
$
363
$
1,000
Purchase of software licenses included in liabilities
$
2,500
$
8,350
$
—
Purchase of software licenses included in liabilities relates to a commitment to purchase and pay for software over a two year period.
24. ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
The components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of income taxes, are as follows (in thousands):
Foreign Currency Items
Other Items
Total
Balance - September 30, 2022
$
21
$
(5,872)
$
(5,851)
Foreign currency translation loss, net of tax
(1,428)
—
(1,428)
Unrealized gain on short-term investments, net of tax
—
3,644
3,644
Balance - September 29, 2023
(1,407)
(2,228)
(3,635)
Foreign currency translation gain, net of tax
2,180
—
2,180
Unrealized gain on short-term investments, net of tax
—
3,960
3,960
Balance - September 27, 2024
$
773
$
1,732
$
2,505
25. GEOGRAPHIC AND SIGNIFICANT CUSTOMER INFORMATION
69
We have one reportable operating segment that designs, develops, manufactures and markets semiconductors and modules. The determination of reportable operating segments is based on the chief operating decision maker’s (“CODM”) use of financial information provided for the purposes of assessing performance and making operating decisions. The Company's CODM is its President and Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board. In evaluating financial performance and making operating decisions, the CODM primarily uses consolidated metrics. The Company assesses its determination of operating segments at least annually. We continue to evaluate our internal reporting structure and the potential impact of any changes on our segment reporting.
For information regarding revenue by geographic regions, based upon customer locations, see Note 3 - Revenue. Information regarding net property and equipment in different geographic regions is presented below (in thousands):
As of
September 27, 2024
September 29, 2023
Net Property and Equipment by Geographic Region
United States
$
123,618
$
111,865
France
33,934
31,142
Other Countries (1)
18,465
6,489
Total
$
176,017
$
149,496
(1) Other than the United States and France, no country or region represented greater than 10% of the total net property and equipment as of the dates presented.
The following is a summary of customer concentrations as a percentage of total sales and accounts receivable as of and for the periods presented:
Fiscal Years
Revenue
2024
2023
2022
Customer A
11
%
—
—
Customer A did not represent more than 10% of revenue in fiscal years ended 2023 or 2022. Customer A did not represent more than 10% of accounts receivable in the periods presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements. No other customer represented more than 10% of revenue or accounts receivable in the periods presented in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements. In fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, our top ten customers represented an aggregate of 56%, 48% and 48% of total revenue, respectively.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), that are intended to ensure that information that would be required to be disclosed in Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
An evaluation was performed, under the supervision, and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 27, 2024. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 27, 2024.
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Management's Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by the company’s board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:
•Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company;
•Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and
•Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of September 27, 2024. In making this assessment, the company’s management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control-Integrated 2013 Framework.
Based on this assessment, our management concluded that, as of September 27, 2024, our internal control over financial reporting is effective based on those criteria.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of September 27, 2024 has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included herein.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Company's fiscal quarter ended September 27, 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
71
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of September 27, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 27, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended September 27, 2024, of the Company and our report dated November 12, 2024 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting appearing in Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
November 12, 2024
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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
Transactions in our securities by directors and officers are required to be made in accordance with our insider trading policy, which requires that the transactions be in accordance with applicable U.S. federal securities laws that prohibit trading while in possession of material nonpublic information. Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act provides an affirmative defense that enables directors and officers to prearrange transactions in our securities in a manner that avoids concerns about initiating transactions while in possession of material nonpublic information.
The following table describes actions by our directors and Section 16 officers with respect to plans intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. None of our directors or Section 16 officers terminated a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement or took actions with respect to a “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as such term is defined in Item 408(c) of Regulation S-K, during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.
Name and Title
Action
Date
Expiration of Plan (2)
Potential Number of Shares to be Sold (1)
John Kober
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Adoption
August 21, 2024
November 21, 2025
46,692
(1) Represents the gross number of shares subject to the Rule 10b5-1 plan, excluding the potential effect of shares withheld for taxes. Amounts may include shares to be earned as PRSUs and are presented at their target amounts. The actual number of PRSUs earned following the end of the applicable performance period, if any, will depend on the relative attainment of the performance metrics.
(2) Date of plan termination or such earlier date upon which all transactions are completed or expire without execution.
ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS.
Not applicable.
PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after September 27, 2024.
We have adopted a written code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, and persons performing similar functions. We make available our code of business conduct and ethics free of charge through our website, which is located at www.macom.com. We intend to disclose any amendments to, or waivers from, our code of business conduct and ethics that are required to be publicly disclosed pursuant to rules of the SEC and the Nasdaq Global Select Market by posting any such amendment or waivers on our website.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after September 27, 2024.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
Certain information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after September 27, 2024.
73
Equity Compensation Plan Information
We have two equity compensation plans under which shares are currently authorized for issuance, our 2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”) and our 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. We also maintain our 2012 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2012 Plan”) and our 2012 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, however, no additional awards may be issued under these plans. Each of our aforementioned plans were approved by our stockholders. The following table provides information regarding securities authorized for issuance as of September 27, 2024 under our equity compensation plans.
Plan Category
(a)
Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights (1)
(b)
Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (1)
(c)
Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))
Equity Compensation Plans Approved by Security Holders
5,000
$
16.06
5,036,869
Equity Compensation Plans Not Approved by Security Holders
—
—
—
Total
5,000
$
16.06
5,036,869
(1) Does not include 1,634,199 unvested shares outstanding as of September 27, 2024 in the form of restricted stock awards or restricted stock units under the 2021 Plan and 2012 Plan, which do not require the payment of any consideration by the recipients.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after September 27, 2024.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after September 27, 2024.
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PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a)Financial Statements (included in “Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report):
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 27, 2024 and September 29, 2023
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Fiscal Years Ended September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity and Comprehensive Income for the Fiscal Years Ended September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Fiscal Years Ended September 27, 2024, September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(b)Exhibits
The exhibits required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K are filed herewith and incorporated by reference herein.
The following material from the Annual Report on Form 10-K of MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, formatted in Inline XBRL: (i) Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) Consolidated Statements of Operations, (iii) Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, (iv) Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity, (v) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, (vi) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and (vii) document and entity information, tagged as blocks of text and including detailed tags.
104
The cover page for the Annual Report on Form 10-K of MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, formatted in Inline XBRL and included as Exhibit 101.
*
Management contract or compensatory plan.
**
Management compensation plan or arrangement
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ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY.
None.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Annual Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: November 12, 2024
MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS, INC.
Registrant
By:
/s/ Stephen G. Daly
Stephen G. Daly
President and Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated on November 12, 2024.
Signature and Title
Signature and Title
/s/ Stephen G. Daly
/s/ Peter Chung
Stephen G. Daly
Peter Chung
President and Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board
