Because of the highly technical nature of our products, we market and sell products worldwide almost entirely through a direct sales force.
We have operations in many countries, with some of our business activities concentrated in certain geographic areas. Our business is based on capital equipment investments by major semiconductor, display and other manufacturers, and is subject to significant variability in customer demand for our products. Customers’ expenditures depend on many factors, including: general economic conditions; anticipated market demand and pricing for semiconductors, display technologies and other electronic devices; the development of new technologies; customers’ factory utilization; capital resources and financing; trade policies and export regulations; and government incentives.
The products and services offered by the AGS segment enhance those of the Semiconductor Systems and Display segments, particularly in markets with demanding global service requirements. Competition in the AGS segment includes a diverse group of third-party service providers as well as customers that choose to perform their own service.
To compete effectively, we offer products and services to improve system performance, lower overall cost of ownership, and increase yields and productivity of customers’ fab operations. Significant competitive factors include cost-effectiveness and the level of technical service and support. The importance of these factors varies according to customers’ needs and the type of products or services offered.
Products in the Display segment are generally subject to strong competition from a number of major competitors primarily in Asia. We hold established market positions with our technically-differentiated LCD and OLED manufacturing solutions for PECVD, color filter PVD, PVD array, PVD touch panel, and TFT array testing, although our market position could change quickly due to customers’ evolving requirements. Important factors affecting the competitive position of our Display products include: industry trends, our ability to innovate and develop new products, and the extent to which our products are technically-differentiated, as well as which customers within a highly concentrated customer base are making capital equipment investments and our existing position at these customers.
Protection of our technology assets through enforcement of our intellectual property rights, including patents, is important for our competitive position. Our practice is to file patent applications in the United States and other countries for inventions that we consider significant. We have more than 22,000 active patents in the United States and other countries, and additional applications are pending for new inventions. Although we do not consider our business materially dependent upon any one patent, our rights and the products made and sold under our patents, taken as a whole, are a significant element of our business. In addition to our patents, we possess other intellectual property, including trademarks, know-how, trade secrets, and copyrights.
We enter into patent and technology licensing agreements with other companies when it is determined to be in our best interest. We pay royalties under patent license agreements for the use, in some of our products, of certain patented technologies. We also receive royalties from licenses granted to third parties. Royalties received from or paid to third parties have not been material to our consolidated results of operations.
In the normal course of business, we periodically address the possibility of patent infringement. In responding to such inquiries, it may become necessary or useful for us to obtain or grant licenses or other rights. However, there can be no assurance that such licenses or rights will be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we are not able to resolve or settle claims, obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms, or successfully prosecute or defend our position, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Governmental Regulation
As a public company with global operations, we are subject to the laws and regulations of the United States and multiple foreign jurisdictions. These regulations, which differ among jurisdictions, include those related to financial and other disclosures, accounting standards, securities, corporate governance, public procurement and public funding, intellectual property, tax, trade (including import, export and customs), antitrust, cybersecurity, environment (including those related to sustainability and climate), health and safety employment, immigration and travel regulations, human rights, privacy, data protection and localization, and anti-corruption. See “Risk Factors – Legal, Compliance, and Other Risks – We are exposed to risks related to the global regulatory environment” for further details.
We are regulated under various international laws regarding the purchase and sale of goods and related items, including but not limited to those related to trade policies and export regulations, and limitations on transfer of intellectual property. See “Risk Factors – Business and Industry Risks – Global trade issues and changes in and uncertainties with respect to trade policies and export regulations, including import and export license requirements, trade sanctions, tariffs and international trade disputes, have adversely impacted and could further adversely impact our business and operations, and reduce the competitiveness of our products relative to local and global competitors” for further details.
With respect to environmental, health and safety regulations, we maintain a number of programs that are primarily preventative in nature and regularly monitor ongoing compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, we have trained personnel to conduct investigations of any environmental, health, or safety incidents, including, but not limited to, spills, releases, or possible contamination. See also “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Legal, Compliance, and Other Risks – We are subject to risks associated with environmental, health and safety regulations”for further details.
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. Our provision for income taxes, effective tax rate and financial results could be affected by numerous factors, including changes in applicable tax laws, interpretations of applicable tax laws, amount and composition of pre-tax income in jurisdictions with differing tax rates, and valuation of deferred tax assets. There have been a number of proposed changes in the tax laws that could increase our tax liability. See“Risk Factors – Operational and Financial Risks – We operate in jurisdictions with complex and changing tax laws” for further details. For additional discussions regarding the impact of compliance with income tax laws and regulations on our business and operations, see also “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations– Results of Operations – Income Taxes” and Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Our commitment to innovation begins with the commitment to creating an environment in which our employees can do their best work. Our ability to create differentiated value in the marketplace is driven by the capability of our people to anticipate technology inflections and integrate customer requirements. To achieve this level of value creation, we believe we must continue to attract, hire, develop and retain a world-class global workforce. We invest in our employees by providing quality training and learning opportunities, a compelling career path, promoting inclusion, equity and diversity, and upholding a high standard of ethics and respect for human rights.
As of October 27, 2024, we employed approximately 35,700 regular full-time employees, of whom approximately 45%, 43% and 12% resided in the Asia-Pacific region, North America, and Europe/Middle East, respectively. Our team spans 24 countries, reflecting various cultures, back grounds, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, and disability, veteran and military status.
Culture of Inclusion
We value great talent and different perspectives, knowing that diversity is one of our greatest strengths. We therefore strive to provide fair and equal opportunity for career development and advancement to all our employees and incorporate respect for diverse backgrounds and perspectives into our culture at every level – from strategy and policy down to everyday interactions.
We expect that our commitment to strengthening our culture of inclusion will broaden the diversity of our workplace and help us build a culture that benefits everyone. In recent years, we continued to make progress in our culture of inclusion journey, including, among other things, increasing female representation in the United States and global workforce, and increasing minority representation in the United States. As of October 27, 2024, our global workforce was 79.2% male and 20.6% female, and 19.8% of our workforce in the United States was composed of underrepresented minorities.
Talent Acquisition and Retention
We believe that our future success is highly dependent upon our continued ability to attract, develop, retain and engage employees. As part of our effort to attract and retain employees, we offer competitive rewards, compensation and benefits, including an Employee Stock Incentive Plan, an Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan, healthcare and retirement benefits, parental and family leave, adoption credits, holiday and paid time off, and tuition assistance.
Employee Learning & Development
We seek to create growth and development opportunities to support an engaged and inclusive workforce. We promote holistic employee learning and development based on the 70/20/10 model--70% on-the-job learning, 20% social/collaborative and 10% formal training, with a focus on advancing technical skills as well as improving general business acumen to address increasing work complexity. Also, to help expand professional breadth, the segments and functions provide technical and job-specific training tied to their disciplines, while general professional, management, and leadership training is provided at the corporate level. All training is coordinated centrally and aligned with common objectives through Applied Global University. In addition to instructor-led and web-based training, we offer state-of-the-art training modalities, such as AI-based simulations and Augmented and Virtual Reality learning capabilities, to further the development of our new products, train our manufacturing and field support employees, and facilitate remote collaboration.
Employee Engagement
We have historically measured employee engagement through surveys to gain insight into employees’ experiences, levels of workplace satisfaction, and key drivers for engagement, inclusion and overall well-being. We plan to conduct an all-employee survey anonymously in fiscal 2025 through an external partner to encourage maximal participation and elicit candid responses. We also plan to benchmark the survey results against a large and standardized data set involving large technology companies globally. We expect that the survey results and the benchmarking data will allow us to better understand enterprise-wide trends, gauge effectiveness of interventions, and define targeted employee populations (e.g., early tenure employees). The survey results are also expected to provide leaders and people managers with actionable insights tailored to their own groups that can further enhance employee engagement and inclusion. These actionable insights will then be integrated with the people strategy process and cadence within the Company.
Additional information regarding our activities related to our people and sustainability, as well as our workforce diversity data, can be found in our latest Sustainability Report, which is located on our website at https://www.appliedmaterials.com/us/en/corporate-responsibility.html. The Sustainability Report is updated annually. This website address is intended to be an inactive textual reference only. None of the information on, or accessible through, our website is part of this Form 10-K or is incorporated by reference herein.
The following table and notes set forth information about our executive officers:
Name of Individual
Position
Gary E. Dickerson(1)
President, Chief Executive Officer
Brice Hill(2)
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Global Information Services
Prabu Raja(3)
President, Semiconductor Products Group
Teri Little(4)
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Omkaram Nalamasu(5)
Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
Timothy M. Deane(6)
Group Vice President, Applied Global Services
(1)Mr. Dickerson, age 67, was named President of Applied in June 2012 and appointed Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors in September 2013. Before joining Applied, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (Varian) from 2004 until its acquisition by us in November 2011. Prior to Varian, Mr. Dickerson served 18 years with KLA-Tencor Corporation (KLA-Tencor), a supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related industries, where he held a variety of operations and product development roles, including President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Dickerson started his semiconductor career in manufacturing and engineering management at General Motors’ Delco Electronics Division and then AT&T Technologies.
(2)Mr. Hill, age 58, has been Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since March 2022. He also oversees Global Information Services for Applied. Prior to joining Applied, Mr. Hill was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Xilinx, Inc., a company that designed and developed programmable devices and associated technologies, from April 2020 until its acquisition by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. in February 2022. Prior to Xilinx, Mr. Hill served in various finance positions with Intel Corporation for 25 years, most recently as Corporate Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Technology, Systems and Core Engineering Group.
(3)Dr. Raja, age 62, has been President, Semiconductor Products Group since March 2023. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Semiconductor Products Group of Applied from November 2017 to March 2023, and before that served in various senior management, product development and operational roles since joining Applied in 1995, including Group Vice President and General Manager of the Patterning and Packaging Group.
(4)Ms. Little, age 60, joined Applied as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary in June 2020. Prior to joining Applied, Ms. Little served as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at KLA Corporation from August 2017 to June 2020. Prior to that she was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of KLA Corporation from October 2015 until August 2017, and prior to that she held various other positions at KLA Corporation since 2002. Prior to joining KLA Corporation, she was a Senior Corporate Associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and a Litigation Associate at Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe.
(5)Dr. Nalamasu, age 66, has been Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer since June 2013, and President of Applied Ventures, LLC, Applied’s venture capital arm, since November 2013. He had served as Group Vice President, Chief Technology Officer from January 2012 to June 2013, and as Corporate Vice President, Chief Technology Officer from January 2011 to January 2012. Upon joining Applied in June 2006 until January 2011, Dr. Nalamasu was an Appointed Vice President of Research and served as Deputy Chief Technology Officer and General Manager for the Advanced Technologies Group. From 2002 to 2006, Dr. Nalamasu was a NYSTAR distinguished professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he also served as Vice President of Research from 2005 to 2006. Prior to Rensselaer, Dr. Nalamasu served in several leadership roles at Bell Laboratories.
(6)Mr. Deane, age 59, has been Group Vice President, Applied Global Services since September 2022. He joined Applied in 1995 and previously served in various senior management and field operations roles, including head of Field Operations and Business Management for the Semiconductor Products Group, Account General Manager and Region General Manager.
Our website is http://www.appliedmaterials.com. We make available free of charge, on or through our website, our annual, quarterly and current reports, and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such reports with, or furnishing them to, the SEC. The SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. These website addresses are intended to be an inactive textual references only. None of the information on, or accessible through, these websites is part of this Form 10-K or is incorporated by reference herein.
The following risk factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations and cause reputational harm, and should be carefully considered in evaluating our business, in addition to other information presented elsewhere in this report.
Business and Industry Risks
The industries we serve can be volatile and difficult to predict.
We are a supplier to the global semiconductor and display and related industries, which historically have been cyclical and are subject to volatility in customer demand. Factors that impact demand for our products and services include technology inflections and advances in fabrication processes, new and emerging technologies and market drivers, such as demand for high-bandwidth memory and other forms of advanced packaging and technologies related to artificial intelligence and data center computing, production capacity relative to demand for semiconductor chips and electronic devices, end-user demand, customers’ capacity utilization, production volumes, access to affordable capital, business and consumer buying patterns and general economic and political conditions. Artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly and is a relatively new demand driver for semiconductors and semiconductor equipment, and it is difficult to accurately forecast such demand. Changes in demand can affect the timing and amounts of customer investments in technology and manufacturing equipment and can significantly impact our operating results. The amount and mix of our customers’ capital equipment spending between different products and technologies can also significantly impact our operating results.
To meet rapidly changing demand, we must accurately forecast demand and effectively manage our resources, investments, production capacity, supply chain, workforce, inventory, and other components of our business. We may incur unexpected or additional costs to align our business operations with changes in demand. If we do not effectively manage these challenges, our business performance and operating results may be adversely impacted. Even with effective allocation of resources and management of costs, our gross and operating margins, cash flows and earnings may be adversely impacted during periods of changing demand.
We are exposed to risks associated with an uncertain global economy.
Uncertain or adverse economic and business conditions, including uncertainties and volatility in the financial markets, national debt, fiscal or monetary concerns, inflation and changes in interest rates, bank failures, and economic recession, could materially and adversely impact our operating results. Markets for our semiconductor and display equipment and services depend largely on business and consumer spending and demand for semiconductor chips and electronic devices. Uncertain or adverse economic and business conditions could result in decreases in business and consumer spending and demand. Decreases in spending and demand have caused, and may in the future cause, our customers to push out, cancel or refrain from purchasing our equipment or services, which could negatively impact demand for our products and services, reduce our backlog, increase our inventory, and materially and adversely impact our operating results.
Increases in demand for semiconductor chips and electronic devices have caused, and may in the future cause, a shortage of parts and materials needed to manufacture our products. Such shortages, and shipment delays due to transportation capacity and interruptions, have adversely impacted, and may in the future adversely impact, our suppliers’ ability to meet our requirements. Accelerated digital transformation may further increase demand and exacerbate shortages and strain our manufacturing capacity, which may adversely impact our ability to meet customer demand and have an adverse impact on our revenues, operating results and financial condition.
Uncertain or adverse economic and market conditions, difficulties in obtaining capital, increased costs or reduced profitability may cause some customers to scale back operations, exit businesses, merge with other manufacturers, or file for bankruptcy protection and potentially cease operations, which can result in lower sales, additional inventory or bad debt expense. Economic and industry uncertainty may impair the ability of suppliers to deliver parts and negatively affect our ability to manage operations and deliver products. These conditions may also lead to consolidation or strategic alliances among other equipment manufacturers, which could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively.
Uncertain economic and industry conditions and supply chain challenges make it more difficult to accurately forecast operating results, make business decisions, and identify and prioritize the risks that may affect our businesses, sources and uses of cash, financial condition and results of operations. If we do not appropriately manage our business operations it could have a material and adverse impact on our business performance and financial condition. We may be required to implement additional cost reduction efforts, including restructuring activities, which may adversely impact our ability to capitalize on opportunities. Even during periods of economic uncertainty or lower demand, we must continue to invest in research and development and maintain a global business infrastructure to compete effectively and support our customers, which can have a negative impact on our operating results.
We maintain an investment portfolio that is subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks. The risks to our investment portfolio may be exacerbated if financial market conditions deteriorate due to rising inflation, rising interest rates, bank failures or economic recession and the value and liquidity of the investment portfolio and returns on pension assets could be negatively impacted and lead to impairment charges. We also maintain cash balances in various bank accounts globally to fund normal operations. If any of these financial institutions become insolvent, it could limit our ability to access cash in the affected accounts, which could affect our ability to manage our operations.
We are exposed to the risks of operating a global business.
We have product development, engineering, manufacturing, sales and other operations distributed throughout many countries, and some of our business activities are concentrated in certain geographic areas. In fiscal 2024, approximately 86% of our net revenue was to customers in regions outside the United States. As a result of the global nature of our operations, our business performance and results of operations may be adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
•uncertain or adverse global economic, political and business conditions and demand;
•global trade issues and changes in and uncertainties with respect to trade and export regulations, trade policies and sanctions, tariffs, and international trade disputes, including new and changing export regulations and their impact on our ability to export products and provide services to customers;
•positions taken by governmental agencies regarding national, commercial or security issues posed by the development, sale or export of certain products, technologies and raw materials, including critical materials and critical minerals;
•political instability, social unrest, terrorism, acts of war or other geopolitical turmoil, such as the conflict in the Middle East, in locations where we have operations, suppliers or sales, or that may influence the value chain of the industries we serve;
•cybersecurity incidents;
•political and social attitudes, laws, rules, regulations and policies within countries, including in China, the United States, and countries in Europe and Asia, that favor domestic companies over non-domestic companies, including efforts to promote the development and growth of local competitors and reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor equipment and manufacturing capabilities through policies and financial incentives;
•efforts to influence us to conduct more or less of our operations and sourcing in a particular country;
•different and changing local, regional, national or international laws and regulations, including contract, intellectual property, cybersecurity, data privacy, labor, tax, and import/export laws, and the interpretation and application of laws and regulations;
•ineffective or inadequate legal protection of intellectual property rights in certain countries;
•interruptions to our or our suppliers’ supply chain;
•the availability of raw materials, including critical materials and critical minerals, and increases and volatility of commodity, energy and shipping costs;
•delays or restrictions on personnel travel and in shipping materials or products;
•geographically diverse operations and projects, and our ability to maintain appropriate business processes, procedures and internal controls, and comply with environmental, health and safety, anti-corruption and other regulatory requirements;
•challenges in hiring and integrating workers in different countries, and in effectively managing a diverse workforce with different experience levels, languages, cultures, customs, business practices and worker expectations, and differing employment practices and labor issues;
•the ability to develop relationships with local customers, suppliers and governments;
•fluctuations in interest rates and currency exchange rates, including the relative strength or weakness of the U.S. dollar against the Japanese yen, Israeli shekel, euro, Taiwanese dollar, Singapore dollar, Chinese yuan or Korean won;
•the need to provide technical support in different locations around the world;
•performance of geographically diverse third-party providers, including certain engineering, software development, manufacturing, information technology and other functions;
•service interruptions from utilities, transportation, data hosting or telecommunications providers;
•impacts of natural disasters and extreme and chronic weather events on our operations and those of our customers and suppliers, which may be exacerbated by climate change;
•the increasing need for a mobile workforce and travel to different regions; and
•uncertainties with respect to economic growth rates in various countries, including for the manufacture and sale of semiconductors and displays in the developing economies of certain countries.
Global trade issues and changes in and uncertainties with respect to trade policies and export regulations, including import and export license requirements, trade sanctions, tariffs and international trade disputes, have adversely impacted and could further adversely impact our business and operations, and reduce the competitiveness of our products and services relative to local and global competitors.
A majority of our products and services are delivered to customers in jurisdictions outside of the United States, including China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. We also purchase a significant portion of equipment and supplies from suppliers outside of the United States. There is inherent risk, based on the complex relationships among the United States and the countries in which we conduct our business, that political, diplomatic, and national security factors can lead to global trade restrictions and changes in trade policies and export regulations that affect the semiconductor industry. The United States and other countries have imposed and may continue to impose new trade restrictions and export regulations, have levied tariffs and taxes on certain goods, and could significantly increase tariffs on a broad array of goods. Trade restrictions and export regulations, or increases in tariffs and additional taxes, including any retaliatory measures, can negatively impact end-user demand and customer investment in semiconductor equipment, increase our supply chain complexity and our manufacturing costs, decrease margins, reduce the competitiveness of our products, or restrict our ability to sell products, provide services or purchase necessary equipment and supplies, any or all of which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
For example, certain international sales depend on our ability to obtain export licenses, and our inability to obtain such licenses has limited and could further limit our markets and negatively impact our business. Over the past several years, the U.S. government announced additional export regulations for U.S. semiconductor technology sold in China, including wafer fabrication equipment and related parts and services, with disparate impact on companies in different jurisdictions, which have limited the market for certain of our products and services, adversely impacted our revenues, and increased our exposure to foreign and Chinese domestic competition. The U.S. Department of Commerce has promulgated regulations expanding export license requirements for U.S. companies that sell certain products or provide certain services to entities in China whose actions or functions are intended to support military end uses, eliminated certain export license exceptions that applied to exports of certain items to China, added certain Chinese companies to its “Entity List,” making those companies subject to additional licensing requirements, and expanded licensing requirements for exports to China of items for use in the development or production of integrated circuits and certain technologies. These regulations require us to obtain additional export licenses to supply certain of our products or provide services to certain customers in China. Obtaining export licenses may be difficult and time-consuming, and there is no assurance we will be issued licenses on a timely basis or at all. Our inability to obtain such licenses could limit our sales in China, may cause us to be displaced by foreign and Chinese domestic companies and adversely affect our results of operations. The implementation and interpretation of these complex rules and other regulatory actions taken by the U.S. government are uncertain and evolving and may make it more challenging for us to manage our operations and forecast our operating results. The U.S. and other governments may promulgate new or additional export licensing or other requirements that have the effect of further limiting our ability to provide certain products and services to customers outside the U.S., including China. The U.S. government may also revise or expand existing requirements or issue guidance clarifying the scope and application of these requirements, which could change the impact of these rules on our business and manufacturing operations. The U.S. government may also continue to add customers to its “Entity List” or promulgate additional restrictions, or take measures that could disrupt our product shipments or the provision of services to certain customers. These and other potential future regulatory changes could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
As a global business with customers, suppliers and operations in many countries around the world, from time to time we may receive inquiries from government authorities about transactions between us and certain foreign entities. For example, since 2022, we have received multiple subpoenas from government authorities requesting information relating to certain China customer shipments and export controls compliance, including from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We are cooperating fully with the U.S. government in these matters. We have continued to receive related subpoenas, as well as requests for information, and may in the future receive additional related subpoenas and requests for information from such or other government authorities. Any such inquiries are subject to uncertainties, and we cannot predict the outcome of these inquiries, or any other governmental inquires or proceedings that may occur. Any violation or alleged violation of law or regulations could result in significant legal costs or in legal proceedings in which we or our employees could be subjected to fines and penalties and could result in restrictions on our business and damage to our global brand and reputation, and could have a material and adverse impact on our business operations, financial condition and results of operations.
Furthermore, government authorities may take retaliatory actions, impose conditions that require the use of local suppliers or partnerships with local companies, require the license or other transfer of sensitive data or intellectual property, or engage in other efforts to promote local businesses and local competitors, which could have a material and adverse impact on our business. Many of these challenges are present in China and Korea, markets that represent a significant portion of our business.
We are exposed to risks associated with a highly concentrated customer base.
A relatively limited number of customers account for a substantial portion of our business. Our customer base is geographically concentrated, particularly in China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. As a result, the actions of even a single customer or export regulations that apply to customers in certain countries, such as those in China, have exposed and can further expose our business and operating results to greater volatility. The geographic concentration of our customer base could shift over time as a result of changes in technology and competitive landscape, as well as government policy and incentives to develop regional semiconductor industries. The mix and type of customers, and sales to any single customer, including as a result of changes in government policy, have varied and may vary significantly from quarter to quarter and from year to year, and have had, and may continue to have, a significant impact on our operating results. Our products are configured to customer specifications, and changing, rescheduling or canceling orders may result in significant, non-recoverable costs. If customers do not place orders, or they substantially reduce, delay or cancel orders (including as a result of uncertain or adverse economic conditions, our inability to fulfill orders due to export regulations, shortage of parts, transportation capacity/interruptions or any other reason), we may not be able to replace the business, which may have a material and adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition. The concentration of our customer base increases our risks related to the financial condition of our customers, and the deterioration in financial condition of a single customer or the failure of a single customer to perform its obligations could have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flow. To the extent our customers experience liquidity constraints, we may incur bad debt expense, which may have a significant impact on our results of operations. Major customers may seek pricing, payment, intellectual property-related, or other commercial terms that are less favorable to us, which may have a negative impact on our business, cash flow, revenue and gross margins.
Supply chain disruptions, manufacturing interruptions or delays, or the failure to accurately forecast customer demand, could affect our ability to meet customer demand, lead to higher costs, or result in excess or obsolete inventory.
Our business depends on our timely supply of products and services to meet the changing requirements of our customers, which depends in part on the timely delivery of parts, materials and services from suppliers and contract manufacturers. Increases in demand for our products and worldwide demand for semiconductor chips and electronic devices can impact our suppliers’ ability to meet our demand requirements, and have in the past resulted in, and may from time to time result in, a shortage of parts, materials and services needed to manufacture our products. Such shortages, as well as delays in and unpredictability of shipments due to transportation interruptions, have adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact, our manufacturing operations and our ability to meet customer demand. Volatility of demand for equipment can also increase our and our suppliers’ capital, technical, operational and other risks, and may cause some suppliers to exit businesses, or scale back or cease operations, which could impact our ability to meet customer demand. Supply chain constraints may increase costs of logistics and parts for our products and may cause us to pass on increased costs to our customers, which may lead to reduced demand for our products and materially and adversely impact our operating results. Supply chain disruptions have in the past caused, and may from time to time cause, delays in our equipment production and delivery schedules, which can lead to our business performance becoming significantly dependent on quarter-end production and delivery schedules, and could have an adverse impact on our operating and financial results.
Cybersecurity incidents affecting our suppliers could impact our supply chain. Such incidents have caused, and may from time to time cause, difficulties and delays in our ability to obtain parts, materials and services needed to manufacture our products and provide services, and have adversely impacted, and may from time to time adversely impact, our manufacturing operations, our ability to meet customer demand, and our operating results. Failure to timely recover from such delays could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, and may also cause our business and financial outlook to be inaccurate.
We may further experience supply chain disruptions, significant interruptions of our manufacturing operations, delays in our ability to deliver or install products or services, increased costs, customer order cancellations or reduced demand for our products as a result of:
•global trade issues and changes in and uncertainties with respect to trade and export regulations, trade policies and sanctions, tariffs, international trade disputes, particularly those relating to exports of certain technologies to China, where a significant portion of our supply chain is located, and any retaliatory measures, that adversely impact us or our direct or sub-tier suppliers;
•political instability, social unrest, terrorism, acts of war or other geopolitical turmoil, such as the conflict in the Middle East, in locations where we or our customers or suppliers have manufacturing, research, engineering or other operations;
•the failure or inability to accurately forecast demand and obtain quality parts on a cost-effective basis;
•volatility in the availability and cost of parts, commodities, energy and shipping related to our products, including increased costs due to rising inflation or interest rates or other market conditions;
•difficulties or delays in obtaining required import or export licenses and approvals;
•shipment delays due to transportation interruptions or capacity constraints;
•a worldwide shortage of semiconductor components as a result of sharp increases in demand for semiconductor products in general;
•limited availability of feasible alternatives to materials subject to existing or proposed regulations to limit their use (such as hydrofluorocarbons and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which are found in parts, components, process chemicals and other materials supplied to us or used in the manufacturing or operations of our products;
•information technology or infrastructure failures within our operations or those of a third-party supplier or service provider, including failures caused by cybersecurity incidents; impacts of natural disasters, extreme and chronic weather events (which may be exacerbated by climate change), or other events beyond our control (such as earthquakes, utility interruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, typhoons, floods, storms or fires); and
•regional or global health epidemics.
If a supplier fails to meet our requirements concerning quality, cost, intellectual property protection, socially-responsible and sustainable business practices, or other performance factors, or does not meet regulatory requirements applicable to our supply chain, we may transfer our business to alternative sources. Transferring business to alternative suppliers could result in manufacturing delays, additional costs or other difficulties, and may impair our ability to protect, enforce and extract the full value of our intellectual property rights, and the intellectual property rights of our customers and other third parties. These outcomes could have a material and adverse impact on our business and competitive position and subject us to legal proceedings and claims. If we are unable to meet our customers’ demand for a prolonged period due to our inability to obtain certain parts or components from suppliers on a timely basis or at all, our business, results of operations and customer relationships could be adversely impacted.
If we need to rapidly increase our business and manufacturing capacity to meet increases in demand or expedited shipment schedules, this may strain our manufacturing and supply chain operations, and negatively impact our working capital. If we are unable to accurately forecast demand for our products, we may purchase more or fewer parts than necessary or incur costs for canceling, postponing or expediting delivery of parts. If we purchase or commit to purchase inventory in anticipation of customer demand that does not materialize, or such inventory is rendered obsolete by the rapid pace of technological change, or if customers reduce, delay or cancel orders, we may incur excess or obsolete inventory charges.
We are exposed to various factors that impact the industries in which we operate.
The global semiconductor, display and related industries are characterized by factors that impact demand for and the profitability of our products and services and our operating results, including:
•the nature, timing and degree of visibility of changes in demand for semiconductor chips and electronic devices, including those related to fluctuations in consumer buying patterns tied to general economic or geopolitical conditions, seasonality or the introduction of new products, and the effects of these changes on customers’ businesses and on demand for our products;
•increasing capital requirements for building and operating new fabrication plants and customers’ ability to raise the necessary capital;
•trade, regulatory, tax or government incentives impacting the timing of customers’ investment in new or expanded fabrication plants;
•differences in growth rates among the semiconductor, display and other industries in which we operate;
•the importance of establishing, improving and maintaining strong relationships with customers;
•the cost and complexity for customers to move from product design to volume manufacturing, which may slow the adoption rate of new manufacturing technology;
•the importance of reducing the total cost of manufacturing system ownership;
•the importance to customers of system reliability and productivity and the effect on demand for fabrication systems as a result of their increasing productivity, device yield and reliability;
•manufacturers’ ability to reconfigure and re-use fabrication systems which can reduce demand for new equipment;
•the importance of developing products with sufficient differentiation to influence customers’ purchasing decisions;
•requirements for shorter cycle times for the development, manufacture and installation of our equipment;
•price and performance trends for semiconductor devices and displays, and the impact on demand for such products;
•the importance of the availability of spare parts to maximize the time that customers’ systems are available for production;
•government incentives for local suppliers and domestic semiconductor research and development, and increased investment in manufacturing capabilities;
•the increasing role for and complexity of software in our products; and
•the focus on reducing energy usage and improving the environmental impact and sustainability associated with manufacturing operations, and the availability of adequate and reliable sources of energy.
If we do not effectively address these factors, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely impacted.
We are exposed to factors specific to the semiconductor industry.
The largest proportion of our consolidated net revenue and profitability is derived from our Semiconductor Systems segment’s sale of a wide range of equipment used to fabricate semiconductor chips to the global semiconductor industry, and a majority of the revenues of Applied Global Services is from sales to semiconductor manufacturers. The semiconductor industry is characterized by factors particular to this industry that impact demand for and the profitability of our semiconductor manufacturing equipment and service products, including:
•the frequency and complexity of technology transitions and inflections, and our ability to timely and effectively anticipate and adapt to these changes;
•the cost of research and development due to many factors, including shrinking geometries, the use of new materials, new and more complex device structures, more applications and process steps, increasing chip design costs, and the cost and complexity of integrated manufacturing processes;
•the need to reduce product development time and meet technical challenges;
•the number of types and varieties of semiconductors and number of applications;
•the cost and complexity for semiconductor manufacturers to move more technically advanced capability and smaller geometries to volume manufacturing, and the impact on investment in capital equipment;
•semiconductor manufacturers’ levels of capital expenditures and the allocation of capital investment to market segments that we do not serve, such as lithography, or segments where our products have lower relative market presence;
•delays in installation of our equipment delivered to customers;
•the importance of increasing market positions in segments with growing demand;
•semiconductor manufacturers’ ability to reconfigure and re-use equipment, resulting in diminished need to purchase new equipment and services from us, and challenges in providing parts for reused equipment;
•shorter cycle times between order placements by customers and product shipment require greater reliance on forecasting of customer investment, which may lead to inventory write-offs and manufacturing inefficiencies that decrease gross margin;
•competitive factors that make it difficult to enhance position, including challenges in securing development-tool-of-record (DTOR) and production-tool-of-record (PTOR) positions with customers;
•consolidation in the semiconductor industry, including among semiconductor manufacturers and among semiconductor equipment suppliers;
•shifts in sourcing strategies by computer and electronics companies, and manufacturing processes for advanced circuit technologies, that impact the equipment requirements of our foundry customers;
•the concentration of new wafer starts in Korea and Taiwan, where our service penetration and service-revenue-per-wafer-start have been lower than in other regions;
•the increasing fragmentation of semiconductor markets, leading certain markets to become too small to support the cost of a new fabrication plant, while others require less technologically advanced products; the continuing importance of specialty markets (such as internet of things, communications, automotive, power and sensors) that use process technologies that have a low barrier to entry; and
•the importance of advanced packaging to artificial intelligence computing.
If we do not accurately forecast and allocate appropriate resources and investment towards addressing key technology changes and inflections, successfully develop and commercialize products to meet demand for new technologies, and effectively address industry trends, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely impacted.
We are exposed to factors specific to the display industry.
The global display industry has experienced considerable volatility in capital equipment investment levels, due in part to the limited number of display manufacturers, the concentrated nature of end-use applications, production capacity relative to end-use demand, the speed of adopting new technologies into production, and panel manufacturer profitability. Industry growth depends primarily on consumer demand for increasingly larger and more advanced TVs, and on demand for advanced smartphones and mobile device displays, which demand is highly sensitive to cost and improvements in technologies and features. The display industry is characterized by factors particular to this industry that impact demand for and the profitability of our display products and services, including:
•the importance of new types of display technologies, such as organic light-emitting diode (OLED), low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) and metal oxide transistor backplanes, flexible displays, and new touch panel films;
•the increasing cost of research and development, and complexity of technology transitions and inflections, and our ability to timely and effectively anticipate and adapt to these changes;
•the timing and extent of an expansion of manufacturing facilities in China, which may be affected by changes in economic conditions and governmental regulations, including trade policies and export regulations;
•the importance of increasing market positions in products and technologies with growing demand;
•the rate of transition to new display technologies for TVs, information technology products and mobile applications, and augmented and virtual reality applications, and the resulting effect on capital intensity in the industry and on our product differentiation, gross margin and return on investment;
•the concentration of display manufacturer customers, and fluctuations in customer spending quarter over quarter and year over year for display fabrication equipment; and
•the dependence on a limited number of display manufacturer customers’ selection of new technologies, and their ability to successfully commercialize new products and technologies, and uncertainty with respect to future display technology end-use applications and growth drivers.
The display industry has experienced decreased levels of investment in display fabrication equipment. If we do not successfully develop and commercialize products to meet demand for new and emerging display technologies, or if industry demand for display fabrication equipment and technologies does not grow, our business and our operating results may continue to be adversely impacted.
The industries in which we operate are highly competitive and subject to rapid technological and market changes.
We operate in a highly competitive environment in which innovation is critical, and our future success depends on many factors, including the development of new technologies and effective commercialization and customer acceptance of our equipment, services and related products, and our ability to increase our position in our current markets, expand into adjacent and new markets, and optimize operational performance. The development, introduction and support of products in a geographically diverse and competitive environment requires collaboration with customers and other industry participants, which has grown more complex and expensive over time. New or improved products may entail higher costs, longer development cycles, lower profits and may have unforeseen product design or manufacturing defects. To compete successfully, we must:
•identify and address technology inflections, market changes, competitor innovations, new applications, customer requirements and end-use demand in a timely and effective manner;
•develop new products and disruptive technologies, improve and develop new applications for existing products, and adapt products for use by customers in different applications and markets with varying technical requirements;
•complete major infrastructure projects on schedule and on budget, and realize the anticipated benefits of those projects;
•differentiate our products from those of competitors, meet customers’ performance specifications (including those related to energy consumption and environmental impact more broadly), appropriately price products, and achieve market acceptance;
•maintain operating flexibility to enable responses to changing markets, applications and customer requirements;
•enhance our worldwide operations across our businesses to reduce cycle time, enable continuous quality improvement, reduce costs, and enhance design for manufacturability and serviceability;
•focus on product development and sales and marketing strategies that address customers’ high value problems and strengthen customer relationships;
•effectively allocate resources between our existing products and markets, the development of new products, and expanding into new and adjacent markets;
•improve the productivity of capital invested in R&D activities;
•accurately forecast demand, work with suppliers and meet production schedules for our products;
•improve our manufacturing processes and achieve cost efficiencies across product offerings;
•adapt to changes in value offered by companies in different parts of the supply chain;
•qualify products for evaluation and volume manufacturing with our customers; and
•implement changes in our design engineering methodology to reduce material costs and cycle time, increase commonality of platforms and types of parts used in different systems, and improve product life cycle management.
If we do not successfully anticipate technology inflections, develop and commercialize new products and technologies, and respond to changes in customer requirements and market trends, our business performance and operating results may be materially and adversely impacted.
We are exposed to risks related to government incentives and other agreements that may involve government entities.
From time to time we enter into agreements with government entities for grants, tax benefits and other incentives, or other funding related to our investment, research and development and production activities, or for sale of our products to government entities or government-funded programs. These agreements typically include terms that are not common in similar agreements with non-governmental entities, including representations and warranties, covenants and certifications, and record-keeping, accounting, audit, intellectual property rights-sharing, information handling, supply chain management, headcount, security, disclosure and other requirements. These agreements may also require us to achieve or maintain certain levels of investment, capital spending and performance milestones. Compliance with these requirements may add complexity to our operations and increase our costs, and a failure to comply could result in cancelation of agreements or transactions, investigations, civil and criminal penalties, forfeiture of profits, reduction, termination or clawback of any funding, suspension or debarment from doing business with the government, or other penalties, any of which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are exposed to risks associated with expanding into new and related markets and industries.
As part of our growth strategy, we seek to continue to expand into related or new markets and industries, either with our existing products or with new products developed internally, or those developed in collaboration with third parties, or obtained through acquisitions. Our ability to successfully expand our business into new and related markets and industries may be adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
•the need to devote additional resources to develop new products for, and operate in, new markets;
•the need to develop new sales and technical marketing strategies, and to develop relationships with new customers;
•differing rates of profitability and growth among multiple businesses;
•our ability to anticipate demand, capitalize on opportunities, and avoid or minimize risks;
•the complexity of managing multiple businesses with variations in production planning, execution, supply chain management and logistics;
•the adoption of new business models, business processes and systems;
•the complexity of entering into and effectively managing strategic alliances or partnering opportunities;
•new materials, processes and technologies;
•the need to attract, motivate and retain employees with skills and expertise in these new areas;
•new and more diverse customers and suppliers, including some with limited operating histories, uncertain or limited funding, evolving business models or locations in regions where we do not have, or have limited, operations;
•new or different competitors with potentially more financial or other resources, industry experience and established customer relationships;
•entry into new industries and countries, with differing levels of government involvement, laws and regulations, and business, employment and safety practices and requirements;
•third parties’ intellectual property rights; and
•the need to comply with, or work to establish, industry standards and practices.
We are exposed to risks related to the use of artificial intelligence by us and our competitors.
We are increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence capabilities into the development of technologies and our business operations, and into our products and services. Artificial intelligence technology is complex and rapidly evolving, and may subject us to significant competitive, legal, regulatory, operational and other risks. The implementation of artificial intelligence can be costly, and there is no guarantee that our use of artificial intelligence will enhance our technologies, benefit our business operations, or produce products and services that are preferred by our customers. Our competitors may be more successful in their artificial intelligence strategy and develop superior products and services with the aid of artificial intelligence technology. Additionally, artificial intelligence algorithms or training methodologies may be flawed, and datasets may contain irrelevant, insufficient or biased information, which can cause errors in outputs. This may give rise to legal liability, damage our reputation, and materially harm our business. The use of artificial intelligence in the development of our products and services could also cause loss of intellectual property, as well as subject us to risks related to intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, data privacy and cybersecurity. Additionally, artificial intelligence technology may also create ethical issues, which could impair market adoption of such technology and impair demand for our products and services. Furthermore, the United States and other countries may adopt laws and regulations related to artificial intelligence. Such laws and regulations could cause us to incur greater compliance costs and limit the use of artificial intelligence in the development of our products and services. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with such regulatory requirements could subject us to legal liabilities, damage our reputation, or otherwise have a material and adverse impact on our business.
Operational and Financial Risks
We are exposed to risks related to protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Our success depends on the protection of our technology using patents, trade secrets, copyrights and other intellectual property rights. Infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights, such as the manufacture or sale of equipment or spare parts that use our technology without authorization, could result in uncompensated lost market and revenue opportunities. Monitoring and detecting any unauthorized access, use or disclosure of our intellectual property is difficult and costly and we cannot be certain that the protective measures we have implemented will completely prevent misuse. Our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights is subject to litigation risks and uncertainty as to the protection and enforceability of those rights in some countries. If we seek to enforce our intellectual property rights, we may be subject to claims that those rights are invalid or unenforceable, and others may seek counterclaims against us, which could have a negative impact on our business. If we are unable to enforce and protect intellectual property rights, or if they are circumvented, rendered obsolete, invalidated by the rapid pace of technological change, or stolen or misappropriated by employees or third parties, it could have an adverse impact on our competitive position and business. Changes in intellectual property laws or their interpretation may impact our ability to protect and assert our intellectual property rights, increase costs and uncertainties in the prosecution of patent applications or related enforcement actions, and diminish the value and competitive advantage conferred by our intellectual property assets.
From time to time third parties have asserted, and may continue to assert, intellectual property claims against us and our products. Claims that our products infringe the rights of others, whether or not meritorious, can be expensive and time-consuming to defend and resolve, and may divert the efforts and attention of management and personnel. The inability to obtain rights to use third-party intellectual property on commercially reasonable terms could have an adverse impact on our business. We may face claims based on the theft or unauthorized use or disclosure of third-party trade secrets and other confidential business information. Any such incidents and claims could severely harm our business and reputation, result in significant expenses, harm our competitive position, and prevent us from selling certain products, all of which could have a material and adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
We are exposed to cybersecurity threats and incidents.
In the conduct of our business, we collect, use, transmit, store, and otherwise process data using information technology systems, including systems owned and maintained by us or our third-party providers. These data include confidential information and intellectual property belonging to us or our customers or other business partners, and personal information of individuals. All information technology systems are subject to disruptions, outages, failures, and security breaches or incidents, which may be caused by a variety of internal and external factors. We and our third-party providers have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, cybersecurity incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may range from physical attacks on our computer system or network infrastructure, to employee or contractor error or misuse or unauthorized use of information
technology systems or confidential information, to individual attempts to gain unauthorized access to these information systems, to sophisticated cybersecurity attacks, or advanced persistent threats, any of which may target or impact us directly or indirectly through our third-party providers and global supply chain. Threat actors may also attempt to influence employees, suppliers and other third-party providers, or customers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our, our customers’ or business partners’ data. Cybersecurity attacks are increasing in number and the attackers are increasingly organized and well-financed, or at times supported by state actors. Geopolitical tensions or conflicts, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and increasing tension with China, may create a heightened risk of cybersecurity attacks. To the extent artificial intelligence capabilities improve and are increasingly adopted by threat actors, they may be used to identify vulnerabilities and craft increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity attacks. Artificial intelligence and deepfake technologies could be used to attack information systems by creating more effective phishing emails or social engineering and by exploiting vulnerabilities in electronic security programs utilizing false image or voice recognition. Vulnerabilities, technical errors and other risks may be introduced through the use of artificial intelligence by us, our customers, suppliers and other business partners and third-party providers, or through the use of third-party hardware and software. Although we are not aware of any cybersecurity incidents impacting our information systems that have been determined to have a material impact on us to date, we continue to devote significant resources to network security, data encryption, and other measures to protect our systems and data from unauthorized access or misuse, and we may be required to expend greater resources in the future, especially in the face of evolving and increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats and laws, regulations, and other actual and asserted obligations to which we are or may become subject relating to privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity. We may be unable to anticipate, prevent, or remediate future attacks, vulnerabilities, breaches, or incidents, and in some instances we may be unaware of vulnerabilities or cybersecurity breaches or incidents or their magnitude and effects, particularly as attackers are increasingly able to circumvent controls and remove forensic evidence. Cybersecurity incidents, including cybersecurity incidents on third-party provider networks, may result in business disruption; delay in the development and delivery of our products; disruption of our manufacturing processes, internal communications, interactions with customers and suppliers and processing and reporting financial results; the theft or misappropriation of intellectual property; corruption, loss of, or inability to access (e.g., through ransomware or denial of service) confidential information and critical data (i.e., that of our company and our third-party providers and customers); reputational damage; private claims, demands, and litigation or regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, or other proceedings related to contractual or regulatory privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, or other confidentiality obligations; diminution in the value of our investment in research, development and engineering; and increased costs associated with the implementation of cybersecurity measures to detect, deter, protect against, and recover from such incidents. Our efforts to comply with, and changes to, laws, regulations, and contractual and other actual and asserted obligations concerning privacy, cybersecurity, and data protection, including developing restrictions on cross-border data transfer and data localization, could result in significant expense, and any actual or alleged failure to comply could result in inquiries, investigations, and other proceedings against us by regulatory authorities or other third parties. Customers and third-party providers increasingly demand rigorous contractual provisions regarding privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, confidentiality, and intellectual property, which may increase our overall compliance burden.
We are exposed to risks associated with business combinations, acquisitions, strategic investments and divestitures.
We may engage in acquisitions of or investments in companies, technologies or products in existing, related or new markets. Business combinations, acquisitions and investments involve numerous risks to our business, financial condition and operating results, including:
•inability to complete proposed transactions timely or at all due to the failure to obtain regulatory or other approvals, including through expanding global national security regimes that impose prohibitions on foreign investments in or acquisitions of local businesses; litigation or other disputes, and any ensuing obligation to pay a termination fee;
•diversion of management’s attention and disruption of ongoing businesses;
•the failure to realize expected revenues, gross and operating margins, net income and other returns from acquired businesses;
•requirements imposed by government regulators in connection with their review of a transaction, which may include, among other things, divestitures and restrictions on the conduct of our existing business or the acquired business;
•following completion of acquisitions, ineffective integration of businesses, operations, systems, digital and physical security, technologies, products, employees, compliance programs, changes in laws or regulations, including tax laws, or other factors, may impact the ability to realize anticipated synergies or other benefits;
•failure to commercialize technologies from acquired businesses or developed through strategic investments;
•dependence on unfamiliar supply chains or relatively small supply partners;
•inability to capitalize on characteristics of new markets that may be significantly different from our existing markets and where competitors may have stronger market positions and customer relationships;
•failure to retain and motivate key employees of acquired businesses;
•the impact of the announcement or consummation of a proposed transaction on relationships with third parties;
•changes in our credit rating, which could adversely impact our access to and cost of capital;
•increases in debt obligations to finance activities associated with a transaction, which increase interest expense, and reductions in cash balances, which reduce the availability of cash flow for general corporate or other purposes, including share repurchases and dividends;
•exposure to new operational risks, rules, regulations, worker expectations, customs and practices to the extent acquired businesses are located in regions where we have not historically conducted business;
•challenges associated with managing new, more diverse and more widespread operations, projects and people;
•inability to obtain and protect intellectual property rights in key technologies;
•inadequacy or ineffectiveness of an acquired company’s internal financial controls, disclosure controls and procedures, cybersecurity, privacy policies and compliance programs, or environmental, health and safety, anti-corruption, human resource, or other policies or practices;
•impairment of acquired intangible assets and goodwill as a result of changing business conditions, technological advancements or worse-than-expected performance of the segment;
•the risk of litigation or claims associated with a proposed or completed transaction;
•unknown, underestimated, undisclosed or undetected commitments or liabilities, including potential intellectual property infringement claims, or non-compliance with laws, regulations or policies; and
•the inappropriate scale of acquired entities’ critical resources or facilities for business needs.
We make investments in other companies, including companies formed as joint ventures, which may decline in value or not meet desired objectives. The success of these investments depends on various factors over which we may have limited or no control and, particularly with respect to joint ventures, requires ongoing and effective cooperation with partners. In addition, new legislation, additional regulations or global economic or political conditions may affect or impair our ability to invest in certain countries or require us to obtain regulatory approvals to do so. We may not receive the necessary regulatory approvals, or the approvals may come with significant conditions or obligations. The risks to our investment portfolio may be exacerbated by unfavorable financial market and macroeconomic conditions and, as a result, the value of the investment portfolio could be negatively impacted and lead to impairment charges.
We may seek to divest portions of our business that are not deemed to fit with our strategic plan. Divestitures involve additional risks and uncertainties, such as ability to sell such businesses on satisfactory price and terms and in a timely manner, or at all, disruption to other parts of the businesses and distraction of management, allocation of internal resources that would otherwise be devoted to completing strategic acquisitions or other strategic projects or initiatives, loss of key employees or customers, loss of access by retained business units to critical intellectual property or other assets transferred with the divested business, exposure to unanticipated liabilities or ongoing obligations to support the businesses following such divestitures, and other adverse financial impacts.
The ability to attract, retain and motivate key employees is vital to our success.
Our success depends in large part on our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified employees and leaders with the necessary expertise and capabilities, representing diverse backgrounds and experiences. Achieving this objective may be difficult due to many factors, including fluctuations in global economic and industry conditions, management or organizational changes, ongoing competition for talent, the availability of qualified employees, the ability to obtain necessary authorizations for workers to provide services outside their home countries, the attractiveness of our compensation and benefit programs, our career growth and development opportunities, and our employment policies. If we are unable to attract, retain and motivate qualified employees and leaders, we may be unable to fully capitalize on current and new market opportunities, which could adversely impact our business and results of operations. The loss of knowledgeable and experienced employees may result in unexpected costs, reduced productivity, or difficulties with respect to internal processes and controls.
We operate in jurisdictions with complex and changing tax laws.
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required to determine and estimate worldwide tax liabilities. Our provision for income taxes and effective tax rates could be affected by numerous factors, including changes in applicable tax laws, interpretations of applicable tax laws, amount and composition of pre-tax income in jurisdictions with differing tax rates, and valuation of deferred tax assets.
There have been a number of proposed changes in the tax laws that could have a material impact on our provision for
income taxes and effective tax rate. An increase in our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate could, in turn, have a material and adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition. For example, several countries where we do business have enacted global minimum tax regimes based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project. This will change various aspects of the existing framework under which our global tax obligations are determined, and will unfavorably impact our existing tax incentives and effective tax rate, beginning in fiscal 2025. The OECD continues to release additional guidance on this new global minimum tax framework. We will continue to monitor these developments, as each jurisdiction incorporates changes into its tax laws.
Our conditional reduced tax rates in Singapore will expire in fiscal 2025, excluding potential renewal and subject to certain conditions with which we expect to comply. There is risk our conditional reduced tax rates may not be renewed.
Consistent with the international nature of our business, we conduct certain manufacturing, supply chain, and other operations in Asia, bringing these activities closer to customers and reducing operating costs. In some foreign jurisdictions, we must meet certain requirements to continue to qualify for tax incentives. There is no assurance we will be able to meet such requirements in the future to fully realize benefits from these incentives. Furthermore, the proposed plans to implement global minimum tax regimes could reduce or eliminate the benefits of our tax incentives.
We are subject to examination by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities, and from time to time amend previously filed tax returns. We regularly assess the likelihood of favorable or unfavorable outcomes resulting from these examinations and amendments to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes, which requires estimates and judgments. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, there can be no assurance the tax authorities will agree with such estimates. We may have to engage in litigation to achieve the results reflected in the estimates, which may be time-consuming and expensive. There can be no assurance that we will be successful or that any final determination will not be materially different from the treatment reflected in our historical income tax provisions and effective tax rates.
Our indebtedness and debt covenants could adversely affect our financial condition and business.
As of October 27, 2024, we had $6.2 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes outstanding. Under the indenture governing the senior unsecured notes, we may be required to offer to repurchase the notes at a price equal to 101% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if we experience a change of control and a contemporaneous downgrade of the notes below investment grade. We also have in place a $1.5 billion revolving credit facility. While no amounts were outstanding under this credit facility as of October 27, 2024, we may borrow amounts in the future under this credit facility or enter into new financing arrangements. Our ability to satisfy our debt obligations is dependent upon the results of our business operations and subject to other risks discussed in this section. If we fail to satisfy our debt obligations, or comply with financial and other debt covenants, we may be in default and any borrowings may become immediately due and payable, and such default may constitute a default under our other obligations. There can be no assurance that we would have sufficient financial resources or be able to arrange financing to repay any borrowings at such time. Significant changes in our credit rating, disruptions in the global financial markets, or incurrence of new or refinancing of existing indebtedness at higher interest rates could have a material and adverse impact on our access to and cost of capital for future financings, and financial condition.
Our business depends on the successful implementation and proper functioning of information systems we use.
Our business depends on certain information systems, including, enterprise resource planning, product research and development, financial reporting, information technology network management, and telecommunications. These systems may be maintained by us or by our third-party vendors. Failures of information systems we use could disrupt our operations, impede our ability to timely and accurately process and report financial results, and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We periodically implement new or enhanced information systems. Implementation of new business processes and information systems requires the commitment of significant personnel, training and financial resources, and entails risks to our business operations. If the implementation or improvement of information systems is delayed or unsuccessful, , we may not realize anticipated productivity improvements or cost efficiencies, and may experience interruptions in service and operational difficulties, which could result in quality issues, reputational harm, lost market and revenue opportunities, and otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may incur impairment charges related to goodwill or long-lived assets.
We have a significant amount of goodwill and other acquired intangible assets related to acquisitions. Goodwill and purchased intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are reviewed for impairment annually during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year, and more frequently when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. The review compares the fair value for each of our reporting units to its associated carrying value, including goodwill. Factors that could lead to impairment of goodwill and intangible assets include adverse industry or
economic trends, reduced estimates of future cash flows, declines in the market price of our common stock, changes in our strategies or product portfolio, and restructuring activities. Our valuation methodology for assessing impairment requires management to make judgments and assumptions based on historical experience and projections of future operating performance. We may be required to record future charges to earnings during the period in which an impairment of goodwill or intangible assets is determined to exist.
We may not continue to declare cash dividends or repurchase our shares.
Our ability to continue to pay quarterly dividends and to repurchase our shares is subject to capital availability and periodic determinations by our Board of Directors that cash dividends and share repurchases are in the best interest of our stockholders and are in compliance with applicable laws and agreements. Future dividends and share repurchases may be affected by, among other factors, our cash flow; potential future capital requirements for investments, acquisitions, infrastructure projects, and research and development; changes in applicable tax, corporate, or other laws; contractual restrictions, such as financial or operating covenants in our debt arrangements; and changes to our business model. Our dividend payments and share repurchases may change from time to time, and we cannot provide assurance that we will continue to declare dividends or repurchase shares in any particular amounts or at all. A reduction or suspension in our dividend payments or share repurchases could have a negative effect on the price of our common stock.
Legal, Compliance, and Other Risks
We are exposed to risks related to legal proceedings, claims and investigations.
From time to time we are, and in the future may be, involved in legal proceedings or claims regarding patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, other intellectual property rights, trade compliance, including import, export and customs, antitrust, environmental regulations, cybersecurity, privacy, data protection, securities, contracts, product performance, product liability, unfair competition, employment, workplace safety, and other matters. We may receive, and have received, inquiries, warrants, subpoenas, and other requests for information in connection with government investigations of potential or suspected violations of law or regulations by our company and/or our employees. For example, we have received subpoenas from government authorities requesting information relating to China customer shipments, export controls compliance, certain federal award applications and information submitted to the federal government. We also on occasion receive notifications from customers who believe we owe them indemnification, product warranty or have other obligations related to claims made against such customers by third parties.
Legal proceedings, claims, and government investigations, whether with or without merit, and internal investigations, may be time-consuming and expensive to prosecute, defend or conduct; divert management’s attention and our other resources; constrain our ability to sell our products and services; result in adverse judgments for damages, injunctive relief, penalties and fines; and negatively affect our business. We cannot predict the outcome of current or future legal proceedings, claims or investigations.
We are exposed to risks related to the global regulatory environment.
We are subject to the laws of the United States and multiple foreign jurisdictions and the rules and regulations of various governing bodies, which may differ among jurisdictions, including those related to financial and other disclosures, accounting standards, securities, corporate governance, public procurement and public funding, intellectual property, tax, trade (including import, export and customs), antitrust, cybersecurity, environment (including those relating to sustainability and climate), health and safety, employment, immigration and travel regulations, human rights, privacy, data protection and localization, and anti-corruption. Changing, inconsistent or conflicting laws, rules and regulations, and ambiguities in their interpretation and application create uncertainty and challenges, and compliance with laws, rules and regulations may be onerous and expensive, divert management time and attention from revenue-generating activities, and otherwise adversely impact our business operations. Violations of law, rules and regulations, including, among others, those related to financial and other disclosures, trade (including import and export regulations), antitrust, environment, health and safety, privacy, data protection, and anti-corruption, could result in fines, criminal penalties, restrictions on our business, and damage to our reputation, and could have an adverse impact on our business operations, financial condition and results of operations.
Implementation and reporting on our sustainability strategies and targets could result in additional costs, and our inability to achieve them could have an adverse impact on our reputation and performance.
We periodically communicate our strategies and targets related to sustainability matters, including greenhouse gas emissions, the sustainability of our products, diversity and inclusion, and human rights. These strategies and targets, and their underlying assumptions, reflect our current plans and aspirations, and we may be unable to achieve them. Changing customer and shareholder sustainability expectations, including increasing customer demand for sustainable products, and regulatory requirements, as well as actions taken to achieve our sustainability targets, could cause us to incur substantial expense and alter our manufacturing, operations or equipment designs and processes. Any failure or perceived failure to timely meet these
sustainability requirements, expectations or targets, or a failure to realize the anticipated benefits of planned investments and technology innovations related to sustainability, could adversely impact the demand for our products and subject us to significant costs and liabilities and reputational risks that could in turn adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, standards and processes for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and other sustainability metrics may change over time, and may result in inconsistent data, increase our costs, result in significant revisions to our strategies and targets, or impact our ability to achieve them. We also are or may become subject to new climate and sustainability laws and regulations, such as the State of California’s new climate change disclosure rules, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules on climate-related risks. Compliance with such laws and regulations, as well as increased scrutiny from regulators, customers and other stakeholders on our sustainability practices, could result in additional costs and expose us to new risks. Any scrutiny of our greenhouse gas emissions or other sustainability disclosures, our failure to achieve related strategies and targets, or our failure to disclose our sustainability measures consistent with applicable laws and regulations or to the satisfaction of regulators or our stakeholders could negatively impact our reputation or performance.
We are subject to risks associated with environmental, health and safety regulations.
We are subject to environmental, health and safety regulations in connection with our global business operations, including but not limited to: regulations related to the design, manufacture, sale, shipping, import, export and use of our products; use, handling, discharge, recycling, transportation and disposal of hazardous materials used in our products or in producing our products; the operation of our facilities; and the use of our real property, including in connection with construction of our infrastructure projects. The failure or inability to comply with existing or future environmental, health and safety regulations could result in: significant remediation or other legal liabilities; the imposition of penalties and fines; restrictions on the development, manufacture, sale, shipping or use of certain of our products; limitations on the operation of our facilities or ability to use our real property; and a decrease in the value of our real property. We could be required to alter our product design, manufacturing, and operations, and incur substantial expense in order to comply with environmental, health and safety regulations, including reporting requirements. Any failure to comply with these regulations could subject us to significant costs and liabilities that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have implemented processes for assessing, identifying and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats as part of our cybersecurity risk management program. This program includes processes for continuous cybersecurity risk and advanced persistent cybersecurity threat monitoring; cybersecurity attack, vulnerability and cloud security management; and penetration testing. Our cybersecurity risk management program includes a cybersecurity incident response plan and escalation protocols; cybersecurity and data protection policies and training to our employees; a supply chain cybersecurity program to increase awareness, assess supplier security controls, help improve supplier security controls and manage security incidents; a program to protect company, customer and supplier intellectual property by operationalizing strategy, policy and awareness; a privacy and data protection program to keep pace with rapidly evolving global data laws and regulations as well as emerging technologies; engagement of third-party auditors to help assure the effectiveness of internal controls, including cybersecurity controls; and partnership with industry groups, government agencies and third-party experts in an effort to continuously improve our cybersecurity risk management program. We conduct assessments based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity (“NIST”) Framework to evaluate our program, and we engage third-parties for assistance and to independently assess, proactively monitor, and provide an external view of our cybersecurity program. We conduct risk assessments and tabletop exercises to evaluate the effectiveness of our systems and processes in addressing cybersecurity threats, including threats associated with our use of third-party service providers, and to identify areas for improvements. Our cybersecurity risk management program is integrated with our enterprise risk management (“ERM”) program, and information about cybersecurity risks and our cybersecurity risk management program is reviewed as part of our ERM program, sharing common risk governance and reporting processes that apply across our ERM program.
While we are not aware of having directly experienced a cybersecurity incident that has materially impacted our business, financial condition or results of operations, we face risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, could reasonably likely materially affect us, our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. See “Risk Factors - Operational and Financial Risks – We are exposed to cybersecurity threats and incidents” for additional information about cybersecurity related risks.
Governance
Our Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the assessment of major risks facing us, and its Audit Committee oversees our ERM program, including oversight of cybersecurity risks and of our cybersecurity risk management program. The Audit Committee receives quarterly reports from management on our cybersecurity risks and cybersecurity risk management program, and our management regularly updates the Chair of the Audit Committee regarding cybersecurity incidents where appropriate in accordance with our cybersecurity incident response plan and escalation protocols. The Audit Committee reports to the full Board regarding its activities, including those related to cybersecurity, and management reports to the full Board on our cybersecurity risks and cybersecurity risk management program at least annually.
Our management has day-to-day responsibility for assessing and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats, including implementing risk mitigation plans, processes and controls, and managing our cybersecurity risk management program. Our Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”), who has more than 20 years of experience in information security management, is primarily responsible for managing our cybersecurity risk management program, cybersecurity incident response plan and escalation protocols, and reports at least quarterly to the Audit Committee and at least annually to the full Board on our cybersecurity, data and intellectual property security programs, policies, risks and controls. The CISO reports to our Chief Information Officer (“CIO”), who has more than 30 years of experience in information technology and is responsible for administering secure and scalable security infrastructure. The CIO reports to our Chief Digital Officer, who has more than 37 years of experience in information technology.
Our management team’s efforts to prevent, detect, mitigate and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents are informed by reviews with our information technology security teams, receipt of threat intelligence and other information obtained from governmental, public or private sources, including external consultants engaged by us, periodic assessments against the NIST Framework and through alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in our information technology environment.
We own and lease facilities throughout the world for use as offices, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and research and development centers, primarily in the United States, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Israel and India. As of October 27, 2024, we owned and leased approximately 9.0 million square feet and 4.9 million square feet of space, respectively. Our headquarters are in Santa Clara, California. Our products are manufactured primarily in the United States, Singapore, Israel and Taiwan. Because of the interrelation of our operations, properties within a country may be shared by the segments operating within that country.
We also own a total of approximately 279 acres of buildable land primarily in the United States that could accommodate additional facilities.
We consider the properties that we own or lease as adequate to meet our current and future requirements. We regularly assess the size, capability and location of our global infrastructure and periodically make adjustments based on these assessments.
The information set forth under “Legal Matters” in Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements is incorporated herein by reference. See also “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Legal, Compliance, and Other Risks –We are exposed to risks related to legal proceedings, claims and investigations.”
Item 5: Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol AMAT. As of December 6, 2024, there were 2,692 registered holders of our common stock. Information regarding quarterly cash dividends declared on our common stock during fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 may be found under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources”.
Performance Graph
The performance graph below shows the five-year cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock during the period from October 27, 2019 through October 27, 2024. This is compared with the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index and the PHLX Semiconductor Index over the same period. The comparison assumes $100 was invested on October 27, 2019 in our common stock and in each of the foregoing indices and assumes reinvestment of dividends, if any. Dollar amounts in the graph are rounded to the nearest whole dollar. The performance shown in the graph represents past performance and should not be considered an indication of future performance.
The graph below assumes that the value of the investment in our common stock and in each of the indexes was $100 at October 27, 2019, and that all dividends were reinvested.
In March 2023, our Board of Directors approved a common stock repurchase program authorizing $10.0 billion in repurchases, which supplemented the previously existing $6.0 billion authorization approved in March 2022. At October 27, 2024, approximately $8.9 billion remained available for future stock repurchases under the repurchase program.
The following table provides information as of October 27, 2024 with respect to the shares of common stock repurchased by us during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 pursuant to the foregoing Board authorization.
Period
Total Number of Shares Purchased
Average
Price Paid
per Share*
Aggregate
Price Paid*
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Programs
Maximum Dollar
Value of Shares
That May Yet be
Purchased Under
the Programs*
(In millions, except per share amounts)
Month #1
(July 29, 2024 to August 25, 2024)
1.5
$
195.93
$
292
1.5
$
10,030
Month #2
(August 26, 2024 to September 22, 2024)
2.6
$
187.33
492
2.6
$
9,538
Month #3
(September 23, 2024 to October 27, 2024)
3.5
$
191.41
669
3.5
$
8,869
Total
7.6
$
190.89
$
1,453
7.6
*Amounts include the 1% surcharge on stock repurchases under the Inflation Reduction Act’s excise tax. This excise tax is recorded in equity and reduces the amount available under the repurchase program, as applicable.
Item 7: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Introduction
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to facilitate an understanding of our business and results of operations. This MD&A should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements and should also be read in conjunction with the cautionary statement set forth at the beginning of this Form 10-K.
The following section generally discusses 2024 and 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2024 and 2023. Discussions of 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2023 and 2022 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 29, 2023, filed on December 15, 2023.
Overview
We provide equipment, services and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. Our customers include manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and chips, liquid crystal and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, and other electronic devices. Our customers’ products are used in a wide variety of products such as personal computing devices, mobile phones, artificial intelligence (AI) and data center servers, automobiles, connected devices, industrial applications and consumer electronics. Each of our segments is subject to variable industry conditions, as demand for equipment and services can change depending on supply and demand for chips, display technologies and other electronic devices, as well as other factors, such as global economic, political and market conditions, and the nature and timing of technological advances in fabrication processes.
Our strategic priorities include developing products that help solve customers’ challenges at technology inflections; expanding our served market opportunities in the semiconductor and display industries; and growing our service business. Our long-term growth strategy requires continued development of new materials engineering capabilities, including products and platforms that enable expansion into new and adjacent markets. Our significant investments in research, development and engineering (RD&E) are intended to enable us to deliver new products and technologies before the emergence of strong demand, allowing customers to incorporate these products into their manufacturing plans during early-stage technology selection. We collaborate closely with our global customers to design systems and processes to meet their technical and production requirements.
Our future operating results depend to a considerable extent on our ability to maintain a competitive advantage in the equipment and service products we provide. Development cycles depend on whether the product is an enhancement of an existing product, which typically has a shorter development cycle, or a new product, which typically has a longer development cycle. Most of our existing products resulted from internal development activities and innovations involving new technologies, materials and processes. In certain instances, we acquire technologies, either in existing or new product areas, to complement our existing technology capabilities and to reduce time to market. Product development and manufacturing activities occur primarily in the United States, Europe, Israel, and Asia. Our portfolio of equipment and service products are highly technical and are sold primarily through a direct sales force.
We believe that it is critical to make substantial investments in RD&E to assure the availability of innovative technology that meets the current and projected requirements of our customers’ most advanced designs. We have and continue to invest in RD&E in order to continue to offer new products and technologies.
We operate in three reportable segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services® (AGS), and Display. A summary of financial information for each reportable segment is found in Note 14 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. A discussion of factors that could affect our operations is set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Our results are driven primarily by customer spending on capital equipment and services to support key technology transitions or to increase production volume in response to worldwide demand for semiconductors and displays.
The Semiconductor Systems segment is comprised primarily of capital equipment used to fabricate semiconductor chips. Spending by semiconductor customers, which include companies that operate in the foundry, logic, memory, and other semiconductor chip markets, is driven by demand for products such as smartphones, mobile devices, personal computers, servers for artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, automobiles, clean energy, storage, and other products, and the nature and timing of technological advances in fabrication processes. The growth of data and emerging end-market drivers such as AI, the internet of things, 5G networks, electric and autonomous vehicles and augmented and virtual reality are also creating the next wave of growth for the industry. As a result, products within the Semiconductor Systems segment are subject to significant changes in customer requirements, including transitions to smaller dimensions, increasingly complex chip architectures, new materials and an increasing number of applications. Spending can also depend on customer facility readiness and timeline for installation of capital equipment at customer sites. Development efforts are focused on solving customers’ key technical challenges in patterning, transistor, interconnect, process control, and packaging performance.
The AGS segment provides services, spares and factory automation software to customer fabrication plants globally to help customers optimize performance of our large, global installed base of semiconductor, display and other equipment. The AGS segment also includes 200mm and other equipment, which is shipped to many customers globally that serve the non-leading-edge end markets. Demand for AGS’ service and spares is driven by our large and growing installed base of manufacturing systems, and customers’ needs to shorten ramp times, improve system performance, and optimize factory output and operating costs. Industry conditions that affect AGS’ sales of spares and services are primarily characterized by changes in semiconductor manufacturers’ wafer starts and utilization rates, growth of the installed base of equipment and growing service intensity of newer tools. Our strategy is to continue to shift the AGS’ service and spares business to a subscription agreement model, improving customer factory performance and optimizing operating costs, and providing us a more predictable revenue stream.
The Display segment encompasses products for manufacturing liquid crystal and OLED displays, and other display technologies for TVs, monitors, laptops, personal computers (PC), tablets, smart phones, other consumer-oriented devices, equipment upgrades and solar energy cells. The segment is focused on expanding its presence through technologically-differentiated equipment and products that provide customers with improved performance and yields. Display segment growth depends primarily on consumer demand for increasingly larger and more advanced TVs and high-resolution displays for mobile devices and information technology (IT) products, including laptops, monitors and tablets, as well as new form factors, including thin, light, curved and flexible displays, and new applications such as augmented and virtual reality. The timing of customer investment in manufacturing equipment is also affected by the timing of next-generation process development and of capacity expansion to meet end-market demand.
The Corporate and Other category includes revenues and costs of product sold from other products, as well as certain operating expenses that are not allocated to our reportable segments and are managed separately at the corporate level. These operating expenses include costs for certain management, finance, legal, human resource, and RD&E functions performed at the corporate level; and unabsorbed information technology and occupancy. In addition, we do not allocate to our reportable segments severance, asset impairment and any associated charges related to restructuring actions, unless these actions pertain to a specific reportable segment. Effective in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, management began including share-based compensation expense in the evaluation of reportable segments' performance. Prior-year numbers have been recast to conform to the current-year presentation.
The United States government has implemented export regulations for U.S. semiconductor technology sold or provided to customers in China, which have limited our ability to provide certain products and services to customers in China, over the past several years. The U.S. government continues to issue new export licensing requirements, and additional updates and other requirements that have had the effect of further limiting our ability to provide certain products and services to customers outside the U.S., including in China. For a description of these risks, see the risk factor entitled “Business and Industry Risks - Global trade issues and changes in and uncertainties with respect to trade policies and export regulations, including import and export license requirements, trade sanctions, tariffs and international trade disputes, have adversely impacted and could further adversely impact our business and operations, and reduce the competitiveness of our products and services relative to local and global competitors” in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”
The following table presents certain significant measurements for the periods indicated:
Change
2024
2023
2024 over 2023
(In millions, except per share amounts and percentages)
Net revenue
$
27,176
$
26,517
$
659
Gross margin
47.5
%
46.7
%
0.8 points
Operating income
$
7,867
$
7,654
$
213
Operating margin
28.9
%
28.9
%
— points
Net income
$
7,177
$
6,856
$
321
Earnings per diluted share
$
8.61
$
8.11
$
0.50
Net revenue by segment for the periods presented were as follows:
Change
2024
2023
2024 over 2023
(In millions, except percentages)
Semiconductor Systems
$
19,911
73%
$
19,698
74%
1
%
Applied Global Services
6,225
23%
5,732
22%
9
%
Display
885
3%
868
3%
2
%
Corporate and Other
155
1%
219
1%
(29)
%
Total
$
27,176
100%
$
26,517
100%
2
%
Net revenue for Semiconductor Systems by market for the periods presented were as follows:
2024
2023
Foundry, logic and other
68
%
77
%
Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM)
28
%
17
%
Flash memory
4
%
6
%
100
%
100
%
Net revenue in fiscal 2024 increased as compared to the prior year. Gross margin increased primarily driven by lower material, freight, logistics, and manufacturing costs, favorable changes in customer and product mix and lower depreciation expense as a result of changes in certain assets’ useful lives effective as of the beginning of fiscal 2024, partially offset by an increase in labor costs.
Semiconductor Systems net revenue increased in fiscal 2024 as compared to the prior year as customers continued to make strategic investments in new capacity and new technology transitions. Foundry and logic customers’ spending decreased driven primarily by lower customer investments in leading-edge manufacturing technologies, partially offset by increased customer investments in non-leading edge manufacturing technologies. Memory customers’ spending in fiscal 2024 was higher due to increased investments in DRAM technology transitions. Investments by semiconductor equipment customers are expected to remain strong with growth in the adoption of high-bandwidth memory and other forms of advanced packaging, continued demand for AI and data center computing, and for non-leading edge nodes. The Semiconductor Systems segment continued to represent the largest contributor of net revenue.
Our AGS net revenue in fiscal 2024 increased primarily due to an increase in net revenue associated with long-term service agreements and customer spending on spares, partially offset by lower customer spending on 200mm equipment. Demand for services is expected to grow as our installed base of systems and chambers increases and customers renew long-term service agreements.
Our Display net revenue increased in fiscal 2024 compared to the prior year primarily due to higher customer investments in display fabrication equipment for IT products including laptops, monitors and tablets, partially offset by lower customer investments in display fabrication equipment for TVs.
Over the longer term, we believe secular drivers such as AI, data center computing, the internet of things, 5G networks, electric and autonomous vehicles and augmented and virtual reality will create the next wave of growth for semiconductors and expand our served market opportunities.
Net revenue by geographic region, determined by the location of customers’ facilities to which products were shipped and services were performed, was as follows:
Change
2024
2023
2024 over 2023
(In millions, except percentages)
China
$
10,117
37%
$
7,247
27%
40
%
Korea
4,493
17%
4,609
18%
(3)
%
Taiwan
4,010
15%
5,670
21%
(29)
%
Japan
2,154
8%
2,075
8%
4
%
Southeast Asia
1,141
4%
758
3%
51
%
Asia Pacific
21,915
81%
20,359
77%
8
%
United States
3,818
14%
4,006
15%
(5)
%
Europe
1,443
5%
2,152
8%
(33)
%
Total
$
27,176
100%
$
26,517
100%
2
%
Net revenue increased from customers in China in fiscal 2024 primarily due to investments in semiconductor equipment and spending on spares and services, partially offset by a decrease in investments in 200mm equipment. Net revenue decreased from customers in Europe primarily due to lower investments in semiconductor equipment. Net revenue from customers in Taiwan decreased primarily due to lower investments in semiconductor equipment and spares, offset by higher spending on services. The changes in net revenue from customers in all other regions for fiscal 2024 primarily reflected changes in investment and spending on semiconductor equipment and services.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses for the periods presented were as follows:
Change
2024
2023
2024 over 2023
(In millions)
Research, development and engineering (RD&E)
$
3,233
$
3,102
$
131
Marketing and selling
$
836
$
776
$
60
General and administrative
$
961
$
852
$
109
The year-over-year change in RD&E expenses was primarily due to additional headcount to support our ongoing investments in product development initiatives, consistent with our growth strategy, offset by lower depreciation expense as a result of changes in certain assets’ useful lives effective as of the beginning of fiscal 2024. We continued to prioritize existing RD&E investments in technical capabilities and critical RD&E programs in current and new markets, with a focus on the development of new unit process systems and integrated materials solutions. Areas of investment in Semiconductor Systems include etch, deposition, metrology and inspection, patterning, packaging and other technologies to improve chip performance, power, area, cost and time-to-market. In Display, RD&E investments were focused on expanding our market opportunity with new display technologies.
Marketing and selling expenses for fiscal 2024 increased primarily due to additional headcount.
General and administrative expenses in fiscal 2024 increased primarily due to the increases in share-based compensation expense and professional fees.
Interest Expense and Interest and Other Income (expense), net
Interest expense and interest and other income (expense), net for the periods presented were as follows:
Change
2024
2023
2024 over 2023
(In millions)
Interest expense
$
247
$
238
$
9
Interest and other income (expense), net
$
532
$
300
$
232
Interest expense incurred was primarily associated with issued senior unsecured notes. Interest expense in fiscal 2024 increased slightly as a result of the issuance of senior unsecured notes in June 2024.
Interest and other income (expense), net in fiscal 2024 increased primarily driven by higher interest income due to higher cash balances and lower impairment on equity investment, partially offset by higher net loss on equity investment.
Income Taxes
Provision for income taxes and effective tax rates for the periods indicated were as follows:
Change
2024
2023
2024 over 2023
(In millions, except percentages)
Provision for income taxes
$
975
$
860
$
115
Effective income tax rate
12.0
%
11.1
%
0.9 points
Our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate are affected by the geographical composition of pre-tax income which includes jurisdictions with differing tax rates, conditional reduced tax rates and other income tax incentives. It is also affected by events that vary from period to period, such as changes in income tax laws and the resolution of prior years’ income tax filings.
Our effective tax rate for fiscal 2024 was higher than the prior fiscal year primarily due to lower tax credits in fiscal 2024, partially offset by higher proportion of pre-tax income in lower tax jurisdictions in fiscal 2024.
Operating income by segment for the periods presented were as follows:
Change
2024
2023
2024 over 2023
(In millions, except percentages and ratios)
Operating income (loss)
Semiconductor Systems
$
6,981
$
6,879
$
102
1
%
Applied Global Services
1,812
1,529
283
19
%
Display
51
114
(63)
(55)
%
Corporate and Other
(977)
(868)
(109)
13
%
Total
$
7,867
$
7,654
$
213
3
%
Operating margin
Semiconductor Systems
35.1
%
34.9
%
0.2 points
Applied Global Services
29.1
%
26.7
%
2.4 points
Display
5.8
%
13.1
%
(7.3) points
Semiconductor Systems’ operating margin for fiscal 2024 increased primarily driven by lower material, freight, logistics and manufacturing costs, favorable changes in customer and product mix and lower depreciation expense as a result of changes in certain assets’ useful lives effective as of the beginning of fiscal 2024, partially offset by increased RD&E expenses.
AGS’ operating margin for fiscal 2024 increased primarily due to the increase in net revenue and a favorable change in product mix.
Display’s operating margin for fiscal 2024 decreased primarily due to unfavorable changes in product mix.
Disaggregation of Income Statements Expenses. In November 2024, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an accounting standard update to improve income statement expenses disclosures (Subtopic 220-40). The standard requires more detailed information related to the types of expenses, including (among other items) the amounts of purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation and intangible asset amortization included within each interim and annual income statement’s expense caption, as applicable. This authoritative guidance can be applied prospectively or retrospectively and will be effective for us in fiscal 2028 for annual periods and in the first quarter of fiscal 2029 for interim periods, with early adoption permitted. We are evaluating the effect of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. In December 2023, the FASB issued an accounting standard update to improve income tax disclosures (Topic 740). The standard prescribes specific categories for the components of the effective tax rate reconciliation, requires disclosure of income taxes paid by jurisdiction, and modifies other income tax-related disclosures. This authoritative guidance will be effective for us beginning with our annual reporting for fiscal year 2026, with early adoption permitted. We are evaluating the effect of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. In November 2023, the FASB issued an accounting standard update to improve reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses (Topic 280). The standard requires interim and annual disclosure of significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision-maker (CODM) and included within the reported measure of a segment’s profit or loss, requires interim disclosures about a reportable segment’s profit or loss and assets that are currently required annually, requires disclosure of the position and title of the CODM, clarifies circumstances in which an entity can disclose multiple segment measures of profit or loss and contains other disclosure requirements. This authoritative guidance will be effective for us in fiscal 2025 for annual periods and in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 for interim periods, with early adoption permitted. We are evaluating the effect of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions. In June 2022, the FASB issued an accounting standard update which clarifies how the fair value of equity securities subject to contractual sale restrictions is determined (Topic 820). The amendment clarifies that a contractual sale restriction should not be considered in measuring fair value. It also requires certain qualitative and quantitative disclosures related to equity securities subject to contractual sale restrictions. We will adopt this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Accounting Standards Adopted
For a description of recently adopted accounting standards, including the date of adoption and the effect, if any, on our consolidated financial statements, see Note 1, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our cash, cash equivalents and investments consist of the following:
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
(In millions)
Cash and cash equivalents
$
8,022
$
6,132
Short-term investments
1,449
737
Long-term investments
2,787
2,281
Total cash, cash-equivalents and investments
$
12,258
$
9,150
Sources and Uses of Cash
A summary of cash provided by (used in) operating, investing, and financing activities is as follows:
2024
2023
(In millions)
Cash provided by operating activities
$
8,677
$
8,700
Cash used in investing activities
$
(2,327)
$
(1,535)
Cash used in financing activities
$
(4,470)
$
(3,032)
Operating Activities
Cash from operating activities for fiscal 2024 was $8.7 billion, which reflects net income adjusted for the effect of non-cash charges and changes in working capital components. Significant non-cash charges included depreciation, amortization, share-based compensation and deferred income taxes. Cash provided by operating activities in fiscal 2024 remained relatively flat primarily due to lower collections of customer receivable balances, partially offset by lower payments to vendors and higher net income.
We have agreements with various financial institutions to sell accounts receivable and discount promissory notes from selected customers. We sell our accounts receivable generally without recourse. From time to time, we also discount letters of credit issued by customers through various financial institutions. The discounting of letters of credit depends on many factors, including the willingness of financial institutions to discount the letters of credit and the cost of such arrangements. We sold $0.4 billion and $0.7 billion of accounts receivable during fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively. We did not discount letters of credit issued by customers in fiscal 2024 and 2023. There was no discounting of promissory notes in each of fiscal 2024 and 2023.
Our working capital was $12.8 billion at October 27, 2024 and $11.8 billion at October 29, 2023.
Days sales outstanding of our accounts receivable at the end of fiscal 2024 and 2023 was 68 days and 70 days, respectively. Days sales outstanding varies due to the timing of shipments and payment terms. The decrease in days sales outstanding was primarily due to favorable revenue linearity.
Investing Activities
We used $2.3 billion and $1.5 billion of cash in investing activities in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively. Capital expenditures in fiscal 2024 and 2023 were $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively. Capital expenditures were primarily for investments in real property acquisitions and improvements, demonstration and testing equipment, manufacturing and network equipment. Purchases of investments, net of proceeds from sales and maturities of investments, for 2024 and 2023 was $1.1 billion and $404 million, respectively. Net cash paid for acquisitions in fiscal 2023 was $25 million. Investing activities also included investments in technology to allow us to access new market opportunities or emerging technologies.
Our investment portfolio consists principally of investment grade money market mutual funds, U.S. Treasury and agency securities, municipal bonds, corporate bonds and mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, as well as equity securities. We regularly monitor the credit risk in our investment portfolio and take appropriate measures, which may include the sale of certain securities, to manage such risks prudently in accordance with our investment policies.
We used $4.5 billion of cash in financing activities in fiscal 2024, consisting primarily of repurchases of common stock of $3.8 billion, cash dividends to stockholders of $1.2 billion, tax withholding payments for vested equity awards of $291 million, and net payments of principal on financing leases of $102 million, partially offset by net proceeds received from the issuance of senior unsecured notes of $694 million and proceeds received from common stock issuances of $243 million.
We used $3.0 billion of cash in financing activities in fiscal 2023, consisting primarily of repurchases of common stock of $2.2 billion, cash dividends to stockholders of $975 million and tax withholding payments for vested equity awards of $179 million, offset by proceeds received from common stock issuances of $227 million and net proceeds from issuances of commercial paper of $91 million.
In March 2023, our Board of Directors approved a common stock repurchase program authorizing $10.0 billion in repurchases, which supplemented the previously existing $6.0 billion authorization approved in March 2022. At October 27, 2024, approximately $8.9 billion remained available for future stock repurchases under the repurchase program.
During each of fiscal 2024 and 2023 we paid four quarterly cash dividends, totaling $1.2 billion and $975 million, respectively. We currently anticipate that cash dividends will continue to be paid on a quarterly basis, although the declaration of any future cash dividend is at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions and other factors, as well as a determination by the Board of Directors that cash dividends are in the best interests of our stockholders.
We have credit facilities for unsecured borrowings in various currencies of up to $1.6 billion, of which $1.5 billion is comprised of a committed revolving credit agreement (Revolving Credit Agreement) with a group of banks. The Revolving Credit Agreement is scheduled to expire in February 2026, unless extended as permitted under the Revolving Credit Agreement. The Revolving Credit Agreement includes financial and other covenants with which we were in compliance as of October 27, 2024. No amounts were outstanding under the Revolving Credit Agreement as of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023. See Note 9, Borrowing Facilities and Debt, of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion related to our Revolving Credit Agreement and other credit facilities.
We have a short-term commercial paper program under which we may from time to time issue unsecured commercial paper notes of up to a total amount of $1.5 billion. The proceeds from the issuances of commercial paper are used for general corporate purposes. At October 27, 2024, we had $100 million of commercial paper notes outstanding. The commercial paper program is backstopped by the Revolving Credit Agreement and borrowings under the Revolving Credit Agreement reduce the amount of commercial paper notes we can issue.
In June 2024, we issued $700 million aggregate principal amount of 4.800% senior unsecured notes due 2029 in a registered public offering. The proceeds from the issuance of the senior unsecured notes are intended for general corporate purposes.
We had senior unsecured notes in the aggregate principal amount of $6.2 billion outstanding as of October 27, 2024. See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional discussion of existing debt. We may seek to refinance our existing debt and may incur additional indebtedness depending on our capital requirements and the availability of financing.
Others
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Tax Act). The Tax Act requires a one-time transition tax on certain unrepatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries. The transition tax expense is payable in installments over eight years, with eight percent due in each of the first five years starting with fiscal 2018. As of October 27, 2024, we had $459 million of total payments remaining, payable in installments in the next two years.
On August 9, 2022, the U.S. government enacted the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act (“CHIPS Act”). The CHIPS Act creates a 25% investment tax credit for certain investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The credit is provided for qualifying property, which is placed in service after December 31, 2022, for which construction begins before January 1, 2027, and is treated as a government grant. We recognize this investment tax credit when there is reasonable assurance that we will qualify for the credit and the benefit will be received. Investments related to the 25% investment tax credit reduced our income taxes payable by $170 million as of October 27, 2024.
On August 16, 2022, the U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act. The Inflation Reduction Act introduced a new 15% corporate minimum tax, based on adjusted financial statement income of certain large corporations. Applicable corporations are allowed to claim a credit for the minimum tax paid against regular tax in future years. We are subject to the minimum tax in fiscal 2024 and expect to claim a credit for the minimum tax in future years.
Several countries where we do business have enacted global minimum tax regimes based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project. This will change various aspects of the existing framework under which our global tax obligations are determined and is expected to increase our tax liabilities beginning in fiscal 2025. The OECD continues to release additional guidance on this new global minimum tax framework. We will continue to monitor these developments, as each jurisdiction incorporates changes into its tax laws.
Our conditional reduced tax rates in Singapore will expire in fiscal 2025, excluding potential renewal and subject to certain conditions with which we expect to comply.
Although cash requirements will fluctuate based on the timing and extent of factors such as those discussed above, our management believes that cash generated from operations, together with the liquidity provided by existing cash balances and borrowing capability, will be sufficient to satisfy our liquidity requirements for the next 12 months. For further details regarding our operating, investing and financing activities, see the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows in this report.
For details on standby letters of credit, guarantee instruments and other agreements with banks, see Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements below.
Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have certain on-balance sheet and off-balance sheet obligation arrangements to make future payments under various contracts. Certain contractual arrangements which are recorded on our balance sheet include borrowing facilities and debts and lease obligations.
Borrowing Facilities and Debt Obligations
As of October 27, 2024, we had $6.2 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes with varying maturities, of which $700 million is due within 12 months and the remaining notes are due beyond 12 months. Future interest payments associated with these unsecured notes were $2.8 billion, of which $239 million is due within 12 months and the remaining interest payments are due beyond 12 months. See Note 9, Borrowing Facilities and Debt, of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion related to our borrowing facilities and debt obligations.
Lease Obligations
As of October 27, 2024, our operating lease obligation was $384 million related to various operating lease arrangements for certain facilities, of which $96 million is payable within 12 months and the remaining amount is payable beyond 12 months.
Purchase Obligations
As of October 27, 2024, we had $8.1 billion of purchase obligations for goods and services, of which $4.2 billion is payable within 12 months and the remaining amount is payable beyond 12 months.
Deemed Repatriation Tax Payable
As of October 27, 2024, we had $459 million of transition tax liability, of which $204 million is payable within 12 months and the remaining amount is payable beyond 12 months. This transition tax liability is associated with the deemed repatriation of accumulated foreign earnings as a result of the enactment of the Tax Act.
Other Long-term Liabilities
We also have the obligation to fund our pension, postretirement and deferred compensation plans. We evaluate the need to make contributions to our pension and postretirement benefit plans after considering the funded status of the plans, movements in the discount rate, performance of the plan assets and related tax consequences. Payments to the plans would be dependent on these factors and could vary across a wide range of amounts and time periods. Payments for deferred compensation plans are dependent on activity by participants, making the timing of payments uncertain. As of October 27, 2024, the total of our future expected benefit payments for the pension plans and the postretirement plan over the next ten fiscal years were $214 million, of which $14 million is payable within 12 months and the remaining amount is payable beyond 12 months.
As of October 27, 2024, the gross liability for unrecognized tax benefits that was not expected to result in payment of cash within one year was $521 million. Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions that were not expected to result in payment of cash within one year of October 27, 2024 was $181 million. At this time, we are unable to reliably estimate the timing of payments due to uncertainties in the timing of tax audit outcomes.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
In the ordinary course of business, we provide standby letters of credit or other guarantee instruments to third parties as required for certain transactions initiated by either us or our subsidiaries. These include agreements with various banks to facilitate subsidiary banking operations worldwide, including overdraft arrangements. We also have agreements with various banks to facilitate subsidiary banking operations worldwide, including overdraft arrangements, issuance of bank guarantees, and letters of credit. See Note 13, Guarantees, Commitments and Contingencies, of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion relating to these arrangements.
The preparation of consolidated financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make judgments, assumptions and estimates that affect the amounts reported.
Estimates and assumptions about future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be applicable and reasonable under the circumstances. These estimates may change as new events occur, as additional information is obtained and as our operating environment changes. These changes have historically been minor and have been included in the consolidated financial statements as soon as they became known. In addition, management is periodically faced with uncertainties, the outcomes of which are not within our control and will not be known for prolonged periods of time. These uncertainties include those discussed in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”
Management believes that the following is a critical accounting estimate:
Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. The calculation of our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate involves significant judgment in estimating the impact of uncertainties in the application of complex and evolving tax laws. Resolution of these uncertainties in a manner inconsistent with our expectations could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. We recognize a current tax liability for the estimated amount of income taxes payable on tax returns for the current fiscal year. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax effects of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns. These estimates consider future operational results including realizability of our deferred tax assets. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted to reflect the effects of enacted changes in tax rates, laws and status, including changes in tax incentives.
Item 7A: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are exposed to financial market risks, including fluctuations in interest rate and foreign currency exchange rates.
Interest Rate Risk
Available-for-sale Debt Securities - The market value of our investments in available-for-sale securities was approximately $3.2 billion at October 27, 2024. An immediate hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rates would result in a decrease in the fair value of investments as of October 27, 2024 of approximately $36 million.
Debt - At October 27, 2024, the aggregate principal of long-term senior unsecured notes issued by us was $5.5 billion with an estimated fair value of $5.1 billion. A hypothetical decrease in interest rates of 100 basis points would result in an increase in the fair value of our long-term senior notes issuances of approximately $428 million at October 27, 2024. From time to time, we use interest rate swaps or rate lock agreements to mitigate the potential impact of changes in benchmark interest rates on interest expense and cash flows.
Foreign Currency Risk
Certain of our operations are conducted in foreign currencies, such as Japanese yen, Israeli shekel, euro and Taiwanese dollar. Hedges are used to reduce, but not eliminate, the impact of foreign currency exchange rate movements on the consolidated balance sheet, statement of operations, and statement of cash flows.
We use primarily foreign currency forward contracts to offset the impact of foreign exchange movements on non-U.S. dollar denominated monetary assets and liabilities. The foreign exchange gains and losses on the assets and liabilities are recorded in interest and other income (expense), net and are offset by the gains and losses on the hedges.
We use foreign currency forward and option contracts to hedge a portion of anticipated non-U.S. dollar denominated revenues and expenses expected to occur within the next 24 months. Gains and losses on these hedging contracts generally mitigate the effect of currency movements on our net revenue, cost of products sold, and operating expenses. A hypothetical 10% adverse change in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. Dollar would result in a decrease in the fair value of these hedging contracts of $141 million at October 27, 2024.
We do not use foreign currency forward or option contracts for trading or speculative purposes.
Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The consolidated financial statements required by this Item are set forth on the pages indicated at Item 15(a).
Item 9: Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
As of the end of the period covered by this report, our management conducted an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report in ensuring that information required to be disclosed was recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in such reports is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, our management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based upon the framework in “Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013)” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of October 27, 2024.
KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-K and, as part of the audit, has issued a report, included herein, on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of October 27, 2024.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, there were no changes in the internal control over financial reporting that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Inherent Limitations of Disclosure Controls and Procedures and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
It should be noted that any system of controls, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system will be met. In addition, the design of any control system is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events.
Item 9B: Other Information
During the three months ended October 27, 2024, no director or officer, as defined in Rule 16a-1(f), adopted or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or a “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” each as defined in Regulation S-K Item 408.
Item 9C: Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Item 10: Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Except for the information regarding executive officers required by Item 401 of Regulation S-K (which is included in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, under “Information about our Executive Officers”), and code of ethics and insider trading policy (which are set forth below), the information required by this item will be provided in accordance with Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K no later than February 24, 2025.
We have implemented the Standards of Business Conduct, a code of ethics with which every person who works for us and every member of the Board of Directors is expected to comply. If any substantive amendments are made to the Standards of Business Conduct or any waiver is granted, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the code to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or Chief Accounting Officer, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website or in a report on Form 8-K. The above information, including the Standards of Business Conduct, is available on our website under the Governance Documents section at https://www.appliedmaterials.com/us/en/about/corporate-governance.html. This website address is intended to be an inactive, textual reference only. None of the materials on, or accessible through, this website is part of this report or is incorporated by reference herein.
We have adopted an Insider Trading Policy governing the purchase, sale, and other dispositions of our securities by our directors, officers, employees and other individuals associated with us that we believe is reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations, and listing standards applicable to us. A copy of our Insider Trading Policy is filed as Exhibit 19.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Item 11: Executive Compensation
The information required by this Item will be provided in accordance with Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K no later than February 24, 2025.
Item 12: Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Except for the information regarding securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans (which is set forth below), the information required by this Item will be provided in accordance with Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K no later than February 24, 2025.
The following table summarizes information with respect to equity awards under our equity compensation plans as of October 27, 2024:
Equity Compensation Plan Information
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(2)
(c) Number of Securities Available for Future Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans (Excluding Securities Reflected in Column(a))
(In millions, except prices)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
10
$
—
31
(3)
Total
10
$
—
31
(1)Includes only restricted stock units and performance share units outstanding under our equity compensation plans, as no options, stock warrants or other rights were outstanding as of October 27, 2024.
(2)The weighted average exercise price calculation does not take into account any restricted stock units or performance shares.
(3)Includes 10 million shares of our common stock available for future issuance under the Applied Materials, Inc. Omnibus Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan. Of these 10 million shares, 1 million are subject to purchase during the purchase period in effect as of October 27, 2024.
We have the following equity compensation plan that has not been approved by stockholders:
Applied Materials Profit Sharing Scheme. The Applied Materials Profit Sharing Scheme was adopted effective July 3, 1996 and amended from time to time to enable employees of Applied Materials Ireland Limited and its participating subsidiaries to purchase our common stock at 100% of fair market value on the purchase date. Under this plan, eligible employees may elect to forego a certain portion of their base salary and certain bonuses they have earned and that otherwise would be payable in cash to purchase shares of our common stock at full fair market value. Since the eligible employees pay full fair market value for the shares, there is no reserved amount of shares under this plan and, accordingly, the table above does not include any set number of shares available for future issuance under the plan.
All other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is shown in the Consolidated Financial Statements or Notes thereto.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors
Applied Materials, Inc.:
Opinions on the ConsolidatedFinancial Statements and Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Applied Materials, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended October 27, 2024, and the related notes (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of October 27, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended October 27, 2024, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of October 27, 2024 based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
Basis for Opinions
The Company’s management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, 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 Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (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 audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated 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 consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
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.
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of a critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated 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.
Evaluation of sufficiency of audit evidence over revenue
As discussed in Notes 1 and 14 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recorded $27,176 million in net revenue, for the year ended October 27, 2024. The Company generates revenue by providing manufacturing equipment, services and software to customers in the semiconductor, display and related industries. The Company’s process to account for and recognize revenue differs across revenue streams.
We identified the evaluation of the sufficiency of audit evidence obtained over net revenue as a critical audit matter. Evaluating the sufficiency of audit evidence required subjective auditor judgment due to the number of revenue streams and separate processes to account for and recognize revenue. This included determining the nature and extent of audit evidence obtained over each revenue stream.
The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We applied auditor judgment to determine the revenue streams over which procedures were performed as well as the nature and extent of such procedures. For revenue streams where procedures were performed, we:
•evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls over the Company’s revenue recognition processes, including the Company’s controls over the accurate recording of revenue.
•evaluated the Company’s revenue recognition accounting policies.
•evaluated, for a sample of revenue transactions, (1) the accounting for consistency with the Company’s accounting policies, as applicable, including timing of revenue recognition, and (2) the recorded amounts by comparing them for consistency to underlying documentation, including the customer contracts.
In addition, we evaluated the sufficiency of audit evidence obtained by assessing the results of the procedures performed, including the appropriateness of the nature and extent of audit effort over revenue
/S/ KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2004.
Adjustments required to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
392
515
444
Severance and related charges
—
—
(4)
Deferred income taxes
(633)
24
(223)
Share-based compensation
577
490
413
Other
47
40
36
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of amounts acquired:
Accounts receivable
(69)
903
(1,109)
Inventories
304
207
(1,590)
Other current and non-current assets
287
(48)
(16)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
281
(138)
390
Contract liabilities
(126)
(167)
1,039
Income taxes payable
389
(20)
(541)
Other liabilities
51
38
35
Cash provided by operating activities
8,677
8,700
5,399
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures
(1,190)
(1,106)
(787)
Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired
—
(25)
(441)
Proceeds from sales and maturities of investments
2,451
1,268
1,363
Purchases of investments
(3,588)
(1,672)
(1,492)
Cash used in investing activities
(2,327)
(1,535)
(1,357)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Debt borrowings, net of issuance costs
694
—
—
Proceeds from commercial paper
401
991
—
Repayments of commercial paper
(400)
(900)
—
Proceeds from common stock issuances
243
227
199
Common stock repurchases
(3,823)
(2,189)
(6,103)
Tax withholding payments for vested equity awards
(291)
(179)
(266)
Payments of dividends to stockholders
(1,192)
(975)
(873)
Repayments of principals on finance leases
(102)
(7)
—
Cash used in financing activities
(4,470)
(3,032)
(7,043)
Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents
1,880
4,133
(3,001)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents — beginning of period
6,233
2,100
5,101
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents — end of period
$
8,113
$
6,233
$
2,100
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents
$
8,022
$
6,132
$
1,995
Restricted cash equivalents included in deferred income taxes and other assets
91
101
105
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents
$
8,113
$
6,233
$
2,100
Supplemental cash flow information:
Cash payments for income taxes
$
957
$
1,006
$
1,869
Cash refunds from income taxes
$
15
$
53
$
156
Cash payments for interest
$
205
$
205
$
205
See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
56
APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Recently Adopted Accounting Standards
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Applied Materials, Inc. and its subsidiaries (we, us, and our) after elimination of intercompany balances and transactions. All references to a fiscal year apply to our fiscal year which ends on the last Sunday in October. Fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 each contained 52 weeks. Each fiscal quarter of 2024, 2023 and 2022 contained 13 weeks.
Certain prior-year amounts have been reclassified to conform to current-year presentation.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to standalone selling price (SSP) related to revenue recognition, accounts receivable and sales allowances, fair values of financial instruments, inventories, intangible assets and goodwill, useful lives of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment, fair values of share-based awards, warranty, and income taxes, among others. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities.
Cash Equivalents
All highly-liquid investments with a remaining maturity of three months or less at the time of purchase are considered to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents consist primarily of investments in institutional money market funds and investment grade commercial paper.
Investments
All of our investments, except equity investments, are classified as available-for-sale at the respective balance sheet dates. Investments classified as available-for-sale are measured and recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value, and unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, are reported as a separate component of other comprehensive income. Interest earned on cash and investments, as well as realized gains and losses on sale of securities, are included in interest and other income, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Our equity investments with readily determinable values consist of publicly traded equity securities. These investments are measured at fair value using quoted prices for identical assets in an active market. Privately held equity investments without readily determinable fair value are measured at cost, less impairment, adjusted by observable price changes. Adjustments resulting from impairments and observable price changes are recorded in interest and other income, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Investments with remaining effective maturities of 12 months or less from the balance sheet date are classified as short-term investments. Investments with remaining effective maturities of more than 12 months from the balance sheet date are classified as long-term investments.
Fair Value Measurements
Our financial assets are measured and recorded at fair value on a recurring basis, except for equity investments in privately held companies. These equity investments are generally accounted for under the measurement alternative, defined as cost, less impairments, adjusted for subsequent observable price changes and are periodically assessed for impairment when events or circumstances indicate that a decline in value may have occurred. Our nonfinancial assets, such as goodwill, intangible assets, and property, plant and equipment, are recorded at cost and are assessed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable.
We use the following hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three levels and bases the categorization within the hierarchy upon the lowest level of input that is available and significant to the fair value measurement:
•Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
•Level 2 — Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; and
•Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
In determining the fair value of our debt securities investments, we use pricing information from pricing services that value securities based on quoted market prices and models that utilize observable market inputs. In the event a fair value estimate is unavailable from a pricing service, we generally obtain non-binding price quotes from brokers. In addition, to validate pricing information obtained from pricing services, we periodically perform supplemental analysis on a sample of securities. We review any significant unanticipated differences identified through this analysis to determine the appropriate fair value. As of October 27, 2024, substantially all of our available-for-sale, short-term and long-term investments were recognized at fair value that was determined based upon observable inputs or quoted prices.
Our equity investments with readily determinable values are measured at fair value using quoted prices for identical assets in an active market and the changes in fair value of these equity investments are recognized in the consolidated statements of operations.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with approximate cost determined on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis. We adjust inventory carrying value for estimated obsolescence equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated net realizable value based upon assumptions about future demand and market conditions. We fully write down inventories and noncancelable purchase orders for inventory deemed obsolete. We perform periodic reviews of inventory items to identify excess inventories on hand by comparing on-hand balances to anticipated usage using recent historical activity as well as anticipated or forecasted demand. If estimates of customer demand diminish further or market conditions become less favorable than those projected by us, additional inventory adjustments may be required.
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost. Depreciation is provided over the estimated useful lives of the assets using the straight-line method. In connection with our periodic review of estimated useful lives of the property, plant and equipment, we have increased the estimated useful lives of certain assets effective as of the beginning of fiscal 2024. The updated estimated useful lives of certain assets for financial reporting purposes are as follows: buildings and improvements, 3 to 30 years with certain buildings and improvements’ useful lives increased by 5 years; demonstration and manufacturing equipment increased to 5 to 8 years. The estimated useful lives for the following assets remained unchanged from fiscal 2023: software, 3 to 5 years; and furniture, fixtures and other equipment, 3 to 5 years. Land improvements are amortized over the shorter of 15 years or the estimated useful life. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of five years or the lease term.
The change in accounting estimate was applied on a prospective basis to the assets on our balance sheet as of October 29, 2023, as well as to subsequent asset purchases. Based on the net carrying amounts of assets in use as of the end of fiscal 2023, the impact of this change was a reduction of $128 million in depreciation expense during fiscal 2024, and an increase of $0.12 in both basic and diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2024.
Government Assistance
We receive government assistance from various domestic and foreign governments in the form of cash grants or refundable tax credits. These arrangements incentivize us to continue growing our capital investments and research and development activities. Government incentives generally contain conditions that must be met in order for the assistance to be earned. We recognize the incentives when there is reasonable assurance that we will comply with all conditions specified in the incentive arrangement and the incentive will be received.
We record capital expenditure related incentives as an offset to the associated property, plant and equipment, net within our Consolidated Balance Sheets and recognize a reduction to depreciation expense over the useful life of the corresponding acquired asset. We record incentives related to operating activities as a reduction to expense in the same line item on the Consolidated Statements of Operations as the expenditure for which the grant is intended to compensate.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Acquisitions
We account for the acquisition of a business using the acquisition method of accounting. Our methodology for allocating the purchase price relating to purchase acquisitions is determined through established and generally accepted valuation techniques. We allocate the fair value of the purchase consideration of our acquisitions to the tangible assets, liabilities, and intangible assets acquired, including in-process technology, based on their estimated fair values. Goodwill is measured as the excess of the purchase price over the sum of the amounts assigned to tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired less liabilities assumed. We assign assets acquired (including goodwill) and liabilities assumed to one or more reporting units as of the date of acquisition. Typically, acquisitions relate to a single reporting unit and thus do not require the allocation of goodwill to multiple reporting units. If the products obtained in an acquisition are assigned to multiple reporting units, the goodwill is distributed to the respective reporting units as part of the purchase price allocation process. The value assigned to intangible assets is usually based on estimates and judgments regarding expectations for the success and life cycle of products and technology acquired.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Goodwill is not amortized but is reviewed for impairment annually during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. The process of evaluating the potential impairment of goodwill requires judgment.
When reviewing goodwill for impairment, we first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. In performing a qualitative assessment, we consider business conditions and other factors including, but not limited to (i) adverse industry or economic trends, (ii) restructuring actions and lower projections that may impact future operating results, (iii) sustained decline in share price, and (iv) overall financial performance and other events affecting the reporting units. If we conclude that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then a quantitative impairment test is performed by estimating the fair value of the reporting unit and comparing it to its carrying value. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, we would record an impairment charge equal to the excess of the carrying value of the reporting unit over its fair value.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, we performed a qualitative assessment to test goodwill for all of our reporting units for impairment. we determined that it was more likely than not that each of our reporting units’ fair values exceeded their respective carrying values and that it was not necessary to perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test for any of our reporting units. No goodwill impairment was recorded during fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022.
Intangible assets with finite lives are presented at cost, net of accumulated amortization, and are amortized over their estimated useful lives of 1 to 15 years using the straight-line method. We evaluate the useful lives of our intangible assets each reporting period to determine whether events and circumstances require revising the remaining period of amortization. Intangible assets with infinite lives are not subject to amortization and consist primarily of in-process technology, which will be subject to amortization upon commercialization. If an in-process technology project is abandoned, the acquired technology attributable to the project will be written-off. The carrying values of our intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. The balances of our intangible assets were not material as of October 27, 2024 or October 29, 2023 and amortization expenses were not material for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022.
Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. We assess the recoverability of the assets by comparing the undiscounted future cash flow expected to result from the use and eventual disposal of the assets to their respective carrying value. If not recoverable, we recognize an impairment loss to the excess of the carrying value over the fair value of those assets, and reduce the carrying value of the assets to their respective fair value. Fair value is determined by available market valuations, when available and appropriate, or by discounted cash flows.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Leases
A contract contains a lease when we have the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. We lease certain facilities, vehicles and equipment under non-cancelable operating leases, many of which include options to renew. Options that are reasonably certain to be exercised are included in the calculation of the right-of-use asset and lease liability. Our finance leases are those that contain a purchase option which we are reasonably certain to exercise at the end of the lease term. Our leases do not contain residual value guarantees or significant restrictions that impact the accounting for leases. As implicit rates are not available for the leases, we use the incremental borrowing rate as of the lease commencement date in order to measure the right-of-use asset and liability. Operating lease expense is generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Finance lease expense is generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the life of the underlying leased asset.
We elected the practical expedient to account for lease and non-lease components as a single lease component for all leases. For leases with a term of one year or less, we elected not to record a right-of-use asset or lease liability and to account for the associated lease payments as they become due.
A majority of our lease arrangements are operating leases. The balances of our operating leases right-of-use assets and liabilities were not material as of October 27, 2024 or October 29, 2023. Operating lease cost for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 was not material.
Revenue Recognition from Contracts with Customers
We recognize revenue when promised goods or services are transferred to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. We determine revenue recognition through the following five steps: (1) identification of the contract(s) with customers, (2) identification of the performance obligations in the contract, (3) determination of the transaction price, (4) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (5) recognition of revenue when, or as, a performance obligation is satisfied.
Identifying the contract(s) with customers. We sell equipment, services, and spare parts directly to our customers in the semiconductor, display, and related industries. We generally consider written documentation including, but not limited to, signed purchase orders, master agreements, and sales orders as contracts provided that collection is probable. Collectability is assessed based on the customer’s creditworthiness determined by reviewing the customer’s published credit and financial information, historical payment experience, as well as other relevant factors.
Identifying the performance obligations. Our performance obligations include delivery of equipment, service agreements, spare parts, installation, extended warranty and training. Our service agreements are considered one performance obligation and may include multiple goods and services that we provide to the customer to deliver against a performance metric. Judgment is used to determine whether multiple promised goods or services in a contract should be accounted for separately or as a group.
Determine the transaction price. The transaction price for our contracts with customers may include fixed and variable consideration. We include variable consideration in the transaction price to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.
Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations. A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation identified within the contract. We generally estimate the standalone selling price of a distinct performance obligation based on historical cost plus an appropriate margin. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we allocate the contract’s transaction price to each performance obligation using the relative standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract.
Recognizing the revenue as performance obligations are satisfied. We recognize revenue from equipment and spares parts at a point in time when we have satisfied our performance obligation by transferring control of the goods to the customer which typically occurs at shipment or delivery. Revenue from service agreements is recognized over time, typically within 12 months, as customers receive the benefits of services.
The incremental costs to obtain a contract are not material.
Payment Terms. Payment terms vary by contract. Generally, the majority of payments are due within a certain number of days from shipment of goods or performance of service. The remainder is typically due upon customer technical acceptance. In certain circumstances we may receive deposits from customers for future deliverables. Our payment terms do not generally contain a significant financing component.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Shipping and Handling Costs
We account for shipping and handling activities related to contracts with customers as costs to fulfill our promise to transfer the associated products. Accordingly, amounts billed for shipping and handling costs are recorded as a component of net revenue and costs as a component of cost of products sold.
Warranty
Our products are generally sold with a warranty for a 12-month period following installation. Parts and labor are covered under the terms of the warranty agreement. We provide for the estimated cost of warranty when revenue is recognized. Estimated warranty costs are determined by analyzing specific product, current and historical configuration statistics and regional warranty support costs. Our warranty obligation is affected by product and component failure rates, material usage and labor costs incurred in correcting product failures during the warranty period. If actual warranty costs differ substantially from our estimates, revisions to the estimated warranty liability would be required. Quarterly warranty consumption is generally associated with sales that occurred during the preceding four quarters, and quarterly warranty provisions are generally related to the current quarter’s sales.
We also sell extended warranty contracts to our customers which provide an extension of the standard warranty coverage period of up to 2 years. We receive payment at the inception of the contract and recognizes revenue ratably over the extended warranty coverage period, as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits of the extended warranty.
Our warranty reserves balances and the components of changes in our warranty reserves were not material for all periods presented.
Sales and Value Added Taxes
Taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities are presented on a net basis in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Research, Development and Engineering Costs
Research, development and engineering costs are expensed as incurred.
Income Taxes
We recognize a current tax liability for the estimated amount of income tax payable on tax returns for the current fiscal year. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax effects of temporary differences between the book and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets are also recognized for net operating loss and tax credit carryovers. Deferred tax assets are offset by a valuation allowance to the extent it is more likely than not that they are not expected to be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured based on enacted tax rates that are expected to apply in the period in which the assets are realized or the liabilities are settled. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effect of a change in tax rates, laws, or status when the change is enacted.
We recognize tax benefits from uncertain tax positions only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized from such positions are estimated based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Any changes in judgment related to uncertain tax positions are recognized in our provision for income taxes in the quarter in which such change occurs. Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions are recognized in our provision for income taxes.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Derivative Financial Instruments
We use financial instruments, such as foreign currency forward and option contracts, to hedge a portion of, but not all, existing and anticipated foreign currency denominated transactions typically expected to occur within 24 months. The purpose of our foreign currency management is to mitigate the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on certain foreign currency denominated revenues, costs and eventual cash flows. In certain cases, we also use interest rate swap or lock agreements to hedge against the variability of cash flows due to changes in the benchmark interest rate of fixed rate debt. The terms of derivative financial instruments used for hedging purposes are generally consistent with the timing of the transactions being hedged. Our derivative financial instruments are recorded as assets or liabilities at fair value and reported gross on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. However, under master netting agreements in place with our counterparties, we may net settle transactions of the same currency under certain circumstances. For derivative instruments designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges, the gain or loss is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders’ equity, and is reclassified into earnings when the hedged transaction affects earnings. Any portion excluded from the assessment of effectiveness is recognized in the same line as the hedged transaction but may be recognized in a different manner, e.g. amortized. If a hedged transaction becomes probable of not occurring according to the original strategy, the hedge relationship is discontinued and we recognize the gain or loss on the associated derivative in earnings. For hedges of existing foreign currency denominated assets or liabilities, the gain or loss is recorded in earnings in the same period to offset the changes in the fair value of the assets or liabilities being hedged.
Foreign Currency
As of October 27, 2024, all of our subsidiaries use the United States dollar as their functional currency. Accordingly, assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are remeasured using exchange rates in effect at the end of the period, except for non-monetary assets, such as inventories and property, plant and equipment, which are remeasured using historical exchange rates. Foreign currency-denominated revenues and costs are remeasured using average exchange rates for the period, except for costs related to the non-monetary assets and liabilities, which are remeasured using historical exchange rates. The resulting remeasurement gains and losses are included in interest and other income, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as incurred.
Concentrations of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject us to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash equivalents, investments, trade accounts receivable and derivative financial instruments used in hedging activities. We invest in a variety of financial instruments, such as, but not limited to, commercial paper, corporate bonds, municipal securities, United States Treasury and agency securities, and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, and, by policy, limits the amount of credit exposure with any one financial institution or commercial issuer. We are exposed to credit-related losses in the event of nonperformance by counterparties to derivative financial instruments but do not expect any counterparties to fail to meet their obligations. We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers’ financial condition and generally require no collateral to secure accounts receivable. We maintain an allowance for potentially uncollectible accounts receivable based on our assessment of the collectability of accounts receivable. We regularly review the allowance by considering factors such as historical experience, credit quality, age of the accounts receivable balances, and current economic conditions that may affect a customer’s ability to pay. In addition, we utilize deposits and/or letters of credit to mitigate credit risk when considered appropriate.
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards
Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Revenue Contracts with Customers in a Business Combination. In October 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an accounting standard update to improve the accounting for contract assets and contract liabilities from revenue contracts with customers in a business combination (Topic 805). This amendment improves comparability for both the recognition and measurement of acquired revenue contracts with customers at the date of and after a business combination. We adopted this authoritative guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 and the impact of the adoption depends on the facts and circumstances of future acquisitions. During fiscal 2024, the adoption of this guidance had no impact to our consolidated financial statements as there were no acquisitions during the year.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Note 2 Earnings Per Share
Basic earnings per share is determined using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is determined using the weighted average number of common shares and potential common shares (representing the dilutive effect of restricted stock units and employee stock purchase plan shares) outstanding during the period. Our net income has not been adjusted for any period presented for purposes of computing basic or diluted earnings per share due to our non-complex capital structure.
Fiscal Year
2024
2023
2022
(In millions, except per share amounts)
Numerator:
Net income
$
7,177
$
6,856
$
6,525
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding
827
840
871
Effect of weighted dilutive restricted stock units and employee stock purchase plan shares
7
5
6
Denominator for diluted earnings per share
834
845
877
Basic earnings per share
$
8.68
$
8.16
$
7.49
Diluted earnings per share
$
8.61
$
8.11
$
7.44
Potentially weighted dilutive securities
—
—
3
Excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share are securities attributable to outstanding restricted stock units where the combined exercise price and average unamortized fair value are greater than the average market price of our common stock, and therefore their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
October 29, 2023
Cost
Gross Unrealized Gains
Gross Unrealized Losses
Estimated Fair Value
(In millions)
Cash
$
1,417
$
—
$
—
$
1,417
Cash equivalents:
Money market funds*
3,260
—
—
3,260
Municipal securities
26
—
—
26
Commercial paper, corporate bonds and medium-term notes
1,429
—
—
1,429
Total cash equivalents
4,715
—
—
4,715
Total cash and cash equivalents
$
6,132
$
—
$
—
$
6,132
Short-term and long-term investments:
Bank certificates of deposit and time deposits
$
18
$
—
$
—
$
18
U.S. Treasury and agency securities
381
—
7
374
Non-U.S. government securities**
7
—
1
6
Municipal securities
438
—
11
427
Commercial paper, corporate bonds and medium-term notes
760
—
12
748
Asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities
502
—
15
487
Total fixed income securities
2,106
—
46
2,060
Publicly traded equity securities
543
171
16
698
Equity investments in privately held companies
192
78
10
260
Total equity investments
735
249
26
958
Total short-term and long-term investments
$
2,841
$
249
$
72
$
3,018
Total cash, cash equivalents and investments
$
8,973
$
249
$
72
$
9,150
________________________
*Excludes $101 million of restricted cash equivalents invested in money market funds related to deferred compensation plans.
**Includes Canadian provincial government debt.
During fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, interest income from our cash, cash equivalents and fixed income securities was $486 million, $262 million and $44 million, respectively.
Maturities of Investments
The following table summarizes the contractual maturities of our investments at October 27, 2024:
Cost
Estimated Fair Value
(In millions)
Due in one year or less
$
1,405
$
1,403
Due after one through five years
1,163
1,165
No single maturity date*
1,454
1,668
Total
$
4,022
$
4,236
_________________________
*Securities with no single maturity date include publicly traded and privately held equity securities and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Gains and Losses on Investments
At October 27, 2024, gross unrealized losses related to our fixed income portfolio were not material. We regularly review our fixed income portfolio to identify and evaluate investments that have indications of possible impairment from credit losses or other factors. Factors considered in determining whether an unrealized loss is considered to be a credit loss include: the significance of the decline in value compared to the cost basis; the financial condition; credit quality and near-term prospects of the investee; and whether it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security prior to recovery. Credit losses related to available-for-sale debt securities are recorded as an allowance for credit losses through interest and other income (expense), net. Any additional changes in fair value that are not related to credit losses are recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI).
During fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, gross realized gains and losses related to our fixed income portfolio were not material.
During fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, we did not recognize material credit losses and the ending allowance for credit losses was not material.
The components of gain (loss) on equity investments for each fiscal year were as follows:
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Note 4 Fair Value Measurements
Assets Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
The following table presents our fair value hierarchy for our financial assets (excluding cash balances) measured at fair value on a recurring basis:
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
Level 1
Level 2
Total
Level 1
Level 2
Total
(In millions)
Assets:
Available-for-sale debt security investments
Money market funds*
$
3,512
$
—
$
3,512
$
3,361
$
—
$
3,361
Bank certificates of deposit and time deposits
—
103
103
—
18
18
U.S. Treasury and agency securities
2,684
14
2,698
331
43
374
Non-U.S. government securities
—
5
5
—
6
6
Municipal securities
—
460
460
—
453
453
Commercial paper, corporate bonds and medium-term notes
—
2,590
2,590
—
2,177
2,177
Asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities
—
654
654
—
487
487
Total available-for-sale debt security investments
$
6,196
$
3,826
$
10,022
$
3,692
$
3,184
$
6,876
Equity investments with readily determinable values
Publicly traded equity securities
$
723
$
—
$
723
$
698
$
—
$
698
Total equity investments with readily determinable values
$
723
$
—
$
723
$
698
$
—
$
698
Total
$
6,919
$
3,826
$
10,745
$
4,390
$
3,184
$
7,574
_________________________
*Amounts as of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023 include $91 million and $101 million, respectively, invested in money market funds related to deferred compensation plans. Due to restrictions on the distribution of these funds, they are classified as restricted cash equivalents and are included in deferred income taxes and other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
We did not have any financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis within Level 3 fair value measurements as of October 27, 2024 or October 29, 2023.
Assets and Liabilities without Readily Determinable Values Measured on a Non-recurring Basis
Our equity investments without readily determinable values consist of equity investments in privately held companies. We elected the measurement alternative, defined as cost, less impairments, adjusted for subsequent observable price changes on a prospective basis for certain equity investments without readily determinable fair values and are required to account for any subsequent observable changes in fair value within the statements of operations. These investments are classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy and periodically assessed for impairment when an event or circumstance indicates that a decline in value may have occurred. Impairment losses on equity investments in privately held companies, included in the above table, were not material during fiscal 2024 and 2022 and were $121 million during fiscal 2023. These impairment losses are included in interest and other income (expense), net in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.
Other
The carrying amounts of our financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents, accounts receivable, commercial paper notes, and accounts payable and accrued expenses, approximate fair value due to their short maturities. At October 27, 2024, the aggregate principal amount of long-term senior unsecured notes was $5.5 billion, and the estimated fair value was $5.1 billion. At October 29, 2023, the aggregate principal amount of long-term senior unsecured notes was $5.5 billion and the estimated fair value was $4.7 billion. The estimated fair value of long-term senior unsecured notes is determined by Level 2 inputs and is based primarily on quoted market prices for the same or similar issues. See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further detail of existing debt.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Note 5 Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities
Derivative Financial Instruments
We conduct business in a number of foreign countries, with certain transactions denominated in local currencies, such as the Japanese yen, Israeli shekel, euro and Taiwanese dollar. We use derivative financial instruments, such as foreign currency forward and option contracts, to hedge certain forecasted foreign currency denominated transactions expected to occur typically within the next 24 months. The purpose of our foreign currency management is to mitigate the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on certain foreign currency denominated revenues, costs and eventual cash flows. The terms of currency instruments used for hedging purposes are generally consistent with the timing of the transactions being hedged.
We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. Derivative instruments and hedging activities, including foreign exchange and interest rate contracts, are recognized on the balance sheet at fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment are recognized currently in earnings. All of our derivative financial instruments are recorded at their fair value in other current assets or in accounts payable and accrued expenses.
Hedges related to anticipated transactions are designated and documented at the inception of the hedge as cash flow hedges and foreign exchange derivatives are typically entered into once per month. Cash flow hedges are evaluated for effectiveness quarterly. The effective portion of the gain or loss on these hedges is reported as a component of AOCI in stockholders’ equity and is reclassified into earnings when the hedged transaction affects earnings. The majority of the after-tax net income or loss related to foreign exchange derivative instruments included in AOCI at October 27, 2024 is expected to be reclassified into earnings within 12 months. Changes in fair value caused by changes in time value of option contracts designated as cash flow hedges are excluded from the assessment of effectiveness. The initial value of this excluded component is amortized on a straight-line basis over the life of the hedging instrument and recognized in the financial statement line item to which the hedge relates. If the transaction being hedged is probable not to occur, we recognize the gain or loss on the associated financial instrument in the consolidated statement of operations. The amount recognized due to discontinuance of cash flow hedges that were probable of not occurring by the end of the originally specified time period was not significant for fiscal years 2024, 2023 or 2022.
Foreign currency forward contracts are generally used to hedge certain foreign currency denominated assets or liabilities. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of these hedges are recorded in earnings to offset the changes in the fair value of the assets or liabilities being hedged.
As of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023, the total outstanding notional amount of foreign exchange contracts was $2.0 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively. The fair values of foreign exchange derivative instruments at October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023 were not material.
We are also exposed to interest rate risk associated with our potential future borrowings. During fiscal 2024, we entered into a series of interest rate contracts to hedge against the variability of cash flows due to changes in the benchmark interest rate of fixed rate debt. These instruments were designated as cash flow hedges at inception and were settled in conjunction with the issuance of debt in June 2024.
The gain (loss) on derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships recognized in AOCI for derivatives designated as hedging instruments were not material for fiscal year 2024, 2023 and 2022.
The effects of derivative instruments, both those designated as cash flow hedges and those that are not designated, on the Consolidated Statements of Operations were not material for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022.
Credit Risk Contingent Features
If our credit rating were to fall below investment grade, we would be in violation of credit risk contingent provisions of the derivative instruments discussed above, and certain counterparties to the derivative instruments could request immediate payment on derivative instruments in net liability positions. The aggregate fair value of all derivative instruments with credit-risk related contingent features that were in a net liability position was immaterial as of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023.
Entering into derivative contracts with banks exposes us to credit-related losses in the event of the banks’ nonperformance. However, our exposure is not considered significant.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Note 6 Accounts Receivable, Net
We have agreements with various financial institutions to sell accounts receivable and discount promissory notes from selected customers. We sell our accounts receivable generally without recourse. From time to time, we also discount letters of credit issued by customers through various financial institutions. The discounting of letters of credit depends on many factors, including the willingness of financial institutions to discount the letters of credit and the cost of such arrangements.
We sold $0.4 billion, $0.7 billion and $1.0 billion of accounts receivable during fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We did not discount letters of credit issued by customers in fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022. There was no discounting of promissory notes in each of fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022. Financing charges on the sale of receivables and discounting of letters of credit are included in interest expense in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations and were not material for all years presented.
We maintain an allowance for credit losses for estimated losses resulting from the inability of our customers to make required payments. This allowance is based on historical experience, credit evaluations, specific customer collection history and any customer-specific issues we have identified. Changes in circumstances, such as an unexpected material adverse change in a major customer’s ability to meet its financial obligation to us or its payment trends, may require us to further adjust our estimates of the recoverability of amounts due to us. Bad debt expense and any reversals are recorded in marketing and selling expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.
The balances of allowance for credit losses and changes in allowance for credit losses were not material for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022.
We sell our products principally to manufacturers within the semiconductor and display industries. While we believe that our allowance for credit losses is adequate and represents our best estimate as of October 27, 2024, we continue to closely monitor customer liquidity and industry and economic conditions, which may result in changes to our estimates.
Note 7 Contract Balances and Performance Obligations
Contract Assets and Liabilities
Contract assets primarily result from receivables for goods transferred to customers where payment is conditional upon technical sign off and not just the passage of time. Contract liabilities consist of unsatisfied performance obligations related to advance payments received and billings in excess of revenue recognized. Our contract assets and liabilities are reported in a net position on a contract-by-contract basis at the end of each reporting period.
Contract assets are generally classified as current and are included in Other Current Assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Contract liabilities are classified as current or non-current based on the timing of when performance obligations will be satisfied and associated revenue is expected to be recognized.
Contract balances at the end of each reporting period were as follows:
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
(In millions)
Contract assets
$
269
$
274
Contract liabilities
$
2,849
$
2,975
The decrease in contract assets during fiscal 2024, was primarily due to a reduction in goods transferred to customers where payment was conditional upon technical sign off.
During fiscal 2024, we recognized revenue of approximately $2.7 billion related to contract liabilities at October 29, 2023. This reduction in contract liabilities was partially offset by new billings for products and services for which there were unsatisfied performance obligations to customers and revenue had not yet been recognized as of October 27, 2024.
There were no credit losses recognized on our accounts receivables and contract assets during fiscal 2024 and 2023.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Performance Obligations
As of October 27, 2024, the amount of remaining unsatisfied performance obligations on contracts, primarily consisting of written purchase orders received from customers, with an original estimated duration of one year or more was approximately $3.7 billion, of which approximately 62% is expected to be recognized within 12 months and the remainder is expected to be recognized within the following 24 months thereafter.
New export rules and regulations issued in December 2024 are expected to have an immaterial impact on remaining unsatisfied performance obligations on contracts with an original estimated duration of one year or more.
We have elected the available practical expedient to exclude the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an original expected duration of one year or less.
Note 8 Balance Sheet Detail
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
(In millions)
Inventories
Customer service spares
$
1,742
$
1,589
Raw materials
1,680
1,653
Work-in-process
879
997
Finished goods
Deferred cost of sales
217
413
Evaluation inventory
459
423
Manufactured on-hand inventory
444
650
Total finished goods
1,120
1,486
Total inventories
$
5,421
$
5,725
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
(In millions)
Other Current Assets
Prepaid income taxes and income taxes receivable
$
120
$
412
Prepaid expenses and other
974
976
$
1,094
$
1,388
Useful Life
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
(In years)
(In millions)
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net
Land and improvements
$
492
$
393
Buildings and improvements
3-30
2,359
2,194
Demonstration and manufacturing equipment
5-8
2,578
2,353
Furniture, fixtures and other equipment
3-5
782
762
Construction in progress
898
672
Gross property, plant and equipment
7,109
6,374
Accumulated depreciation
(3,770)
(3,651)
$
3,339
$
2,723
Depreciation expense was $346 million, $471 million and $404 million for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
(In millions)
Deferred Income Taxes and Other Assets
Non-current deferred income taxes
$
2,393
$
1,729
Operating lease right-of-use assets
375
370
Finance lease right-of-use assets
—
108
Income tax receivables and other assets
314
345
$
3,082
$
2,552
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
(In millions)
Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses
Accounts payable
$
1,570
$
1,478
Compensation and employee benefits
1,188
1,024
Warranty
364
332
Dividends payable
327
267
Income taxes payable
535
282
Operating lease liabilities, current
87
84
Finance lease liabilities, current
—
102
Other
749
728
$
4,820
$
4,297
October 27, 2024
October 29, 2023
(In millions)
Other Liabilities
Defined and postretirement benefit plans
$
142
$
126
Operating lease liabilities, non-current
259
252
Other
409
336
$
810
$
714
Government Assistance
Capital expenditure related incentives reduced gross property, plant and equipment, net by $479 million as of October 27, 2024. Contra-depreciation expense was not material in fiscal 2024. Operating incentives recognized as a reduction to research, development and engineering expense was $38 million in fiscal 2024. Capital expenditure related incentives reduced our income taxes payable by $170 million as of October 27, 2024, of which $159 million is in accounts payable and accrued expenses and $11 million is in deferred income taxes and other assets, in our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Note 9 Borrowing Facilities and Debt
Revolving Credit Facilities
In February 2020, we entered into a five-year $1.5 billion committed unsecured revolving credit agreement (Revolving Credit Agreement) with a group of banks. The Revolving Credit Agreement includes a provision under which we may request an increase in the amount of the facility of up to $500 million for a total commitment of no more than $2.0 billion, subject to the receipt of commitments from one or more lenders for any such increase and other customary conditions. The Revolving Credit Agreement is scheduled to expire in February 2026, unless extended as permitted under the Revolving Credit Agreement. The Revolving Credit Agreement provides for borrowings that bear interest for each advance at one of two rates selected by us, plus an applicable margin, which varies according to our public debt credit ratings.
No amounts were outstanding under the Revolving Credit Agreement as of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023.
In addition, we have revolving credit facilities with Japanese banks pursuant to which we may borrow up to approximately $52 million in aggregate at any time. Our ability to borrowunder these facilities is subject to bank approval at the time of the borrowing request, and any advances will be at rates indexed to the banks’ prime reference rate denominated in Japanese yen. As of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023, no amounts were outstanding under these revolving credit facilities.
Short-term Commercial Paper
We have a short-term commercial paper program under which we may issue unsecured commercial paper notes of up to a total amount of $1.5 billion. The proceeds from the issuances of commercial paper are used for general corporate purposes. At October 27, 2024, we had $100 million of commercial paper notes outstanding and recorded as short-term debt with a weighted-average interest rate of 5.06% and maturities of 63 days, and as of October 29, 2023, we had $100 million of commercial paper notes outstanding and recorded as short-term debt with a weighted-average interest rate of 5.39% and maturities of 90 days.
Senior Unsecured Notes
In June 2024, we issued $700 million aggregate principal amount of 4.800% senior unsecured notes due 2029 in a registered public offering. The proceeds from the issuance of the senior unsecured notes are intended for general corporate purposes.
Debt outstanding as of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023 was as follows:
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Note 10 Stockholders’ Equity, Comprehensive Income and Share-Based Compensation
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Changes in the components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI), net of tax, were as follows:
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments, Net
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Derivative Instruments Qualifying as Cash Flow Hedges
Defined and Postretirement Benefit Plans
Cumulative Translation Adjustments
Total
(In millions)
Balance at October 31, 2021
$
(1)
$
(103)
$
(169)
$
13
(260)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications
(60)
100
71
—
111
Amounts reclassified out of AOCI
(14)
(49)
10
—
(53)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
(74)
51
81
—
58
Balance at October 30, 2022
$
(75)
$
(52)
$
(88)
$
13
$
(202)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications
16
(44)
17
—
(11)
Amounts reclassified out of AOCI
9
(22)
9
—
(4)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax
25
(66)
26
—
(15)
Balance at October 29, 2023
$
(50)
$
(118)
$
(62)
$
13
$
(217)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications
34
28
—
—
62
Amounts reclassified out of AOCI
9
3
(25)
—
(13)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
43
31
(25)
—
49
Balance at October 27, 2024
$
(7)
$
(87)
$
(87)
$
13
$
(168)
The tax effects on net income of amounts reclassified from AOCI were not material for the fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022.
In March 2023, our Board of Directors approved a common stock repurchase program authorizing $10.0 billion in repurchases, which supplemented the previously existing $6.0 billion authorization approved in March 2022. At October 27, 2024, approximately $8.9 billion remained available for future stock repurchases under the repurchase program.
The following table summarizes our stock repurchases, including excise tax, for each fiscal year:
2024
2023
2022
(In millions, except per share amounts)
Shares of common stock repurchased
20
18
54
Cost of stock repurchased (including excise tax)*
$
3,851
$
2,202
$
6,103
Average price paid per share (including excise tax)*
$
190.27
$
123.63
$
113.84
Cost of stock repurchased (excluding excise tax)
$
3,823
$
2,189
$
6,103
Average price paid per share (excluding excise tax)
$
188.87
$
122.89
$
113.84
(*) Effective January 1, 2023, stock repurchase amounts include the 1% surcharge on stock repurchases under the Inflation Reduction Act’s excise tax. This excise tax is recorded in equity and reduces the amount available under the repurchase program, as applicable.
We record treasury stock purchases under the cost method using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. Upon reissuance of treasury stock, amounts in excess of the acquisition cost are credited to additional paid in capital. If we reissue treasury stock at an amount below our acquisition cost and additional paid in capital associated with prior treasury stock transactions is insufficient to cover the difference between the acquisition cost and the reissue price, this difference is recorded against retained earnings.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Dividends
During fiscal 2024, our Board of Directors declared one quarterly cash dividend of $0.32 per share and three quarterly cash dividends of $0.40 per share. During fiscal 2023, our Board of Directors declared one quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share and three quarterly cash dividends of $0.32 per share. During fiscal 2022, our Board of Directors declared one quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share and three quarterly cash dividends of $0.26 per share. Dividends paid during fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 amounted to $1.2 billion, $975 million and $873 million, respectively. We currently anticipate that cash dividends will continue to be paid on a quarterly basis, although the declaration of any future cash dividend is at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions and other factors, as well as a determination by the Board of Directors that cash dividends are in the best interests of our stockholders.
Share-Based Compensation
We have a stockholder-approved equity plan, the Employee Stock Incentive Plan (ESIP), which permits grants to employees of share-based awards, including stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance share units and performance units. In addition, the plan provides for the automatic grant of restricted stock units to non-employee directors and permits the grant of share-based awards to non-employee directors and consultants. Share-based awards made under the plan may be subject to accelerated vesting under certain circumstances in the event of a change in control. In addition, we have an Omnibus Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), which enables eligible employees to purchase our common stock.
We recognized share-based compensation expense related to equity awards and ESPP shares. The effect of share-based compensation on the results of operations and the related tax benefits for each fiscal year were as follows:
2024
2023
2022
(In millions)
Cost of products sold
$
134
$
180
$
147
Research, development, and engineering
219
179
151
Marketing and selling
72
55
49
General and administrative
152
76
66
Total share-based compensation
$
577
$
490
$
413
Income tax benefits recognized
$
73
$
63
$
51
The cost associated with share-based awards is typically recognized over the awards’ service period for the entire award on a straight-line basis, adjusting for estimated forfeitures. However, in the case of share-based awards granted to certain members of senior management that allow for partial accelerated vesting in the event of a qualifying retirement based on age and years of service, the compensation expense is recognized once the individual meets the conditions for a qualifying retirement. We calculate estimated forfeiture rate on an annual basis, based on historical forfeiture activities. The cost associated with performance-based equity awards, which include performance and/or market goals, is recognized for each tranche over the service period. The cost of the portion of performance-based equity awards subject to performance goals is recognized based on an assessment of the likelihood that the applicable performance goals will be achieved, and the cost of the portion of performance-based equity awards subject to market goals is recognized based on the assumption of 100% achievement of the goal.
At October 27, 2024, we had $911 million in total unrecognized compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, related to grants of share-based awards under the ESIP and shares issued under the ESPP, which will be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.4 years. At October 27, 2024, there were 21 million shares available for grant of share-based awards under the ESIP, and an additional 10 million shares available for issuance under the ESPP.
Stock Options
Stock options are rights to purchase, at future dates, shares of our common stock. There were no stock options granted during fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 and no outstanding stock options at the end of fiscal 2024.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Restricted Stock Units, Restricted Stock, Performance Share Units and Performance Units
Restricted stock units are converted into shares of our common stock upon vesting on a one-for-one basis. Restricted stock has the same rights as other issued and outstanding shares of our common stock except these shares generally have no right to dividends and are held in escrow until the award vests. Performance share units and performance units are awards that result in a payment to a grantee, generally in shares of our common stock on a one-for-one basis, if performance goals, market goals and/or other vesting criteria are achieved or the awards otherwise vest. Restricted stock units, restricted stock, performance share units and performance units typically vest over three to four years and vesting is usually subject to the grantee’s continued service with us and, in some cases, achievement of specified performance and/or market goals.
The compensation expense related to share-based awards subject solely to time-based vesting requirements (Service-Based Awards) is determined using the market value of our common stock, adjusted to exclude the present value of expected dividends during the vesting period. The market value of our common stock is calculated using the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant, or if the grant date is not a trading date, the average of the closing prices on the trading dates immediately preceding and following the grant date.
During fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, certain members of senior management were granted awards that are subject to the achievement of certain levels of specified performance and market goals, in addition to time-based vesting requirements (Performance Based-Awards). These Performance-Based Awards are subject to the achievement of targeted levels of adjusted operating margin and targeted levels of total shareholder return (TSR) relative to the TSR of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Each of these two metrics will be weighted 50% and will be measured over a three-year period. The number of shares that may vest in full after three years ranges from 0% to 200% of the target amount. The awards become eligible to vest only if the goals are achieved and will vest only if the grantee remains employed by us through each applicable vesting date, subject to a qualifying retirement based on age and years of service. The awards provide for a partial vesting based on actual performance at the conclusion of the three-year performance period in the event of a qualifying retirement.
The fair value of the portion of the Performance-Based Awards subject to targeted levels of relative TSR is estimated on the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model. Compensation expense is recognized based upon the assumption of 100% achievement of the TSR goal and will not be reversed even if the threshold level of TSR is never achieved, and is reflected over the service period and reduced for estimated forfeitures.
The fair value of the portion of the Performance-Based Awards subject to targeted levels of adjusted operating margin is estimated on the date of grant based on the market value of our common stock, adjusted to exclude the present value of expected dividends during the vesting period. The market value of our common stock is calculated using the closing price of our common stock on the date of the grant or, if the grant date is not a trading date, the average of the closing prices on the trading dates immediately preceding and following the grant date. If the performance goals are not met as of the end of the performance period, no compensation expense is recognized and any previously recognized compensation expense is reversed. The expected cost is based on the portion of the awards that is probable to vest and is reflected over the service period and reduced for estimated forfeitures.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
The following tables summarize the assumptions used for the valuation of share-based awards for the periods presented:
2024
2023
2022
Service-Based Awards and the portion of Performance-Based Awards subject to performance goals:
Grant date market value
$148.39 - $241.26
$104.22 - $143.97
$74.62 - $157.29
Risk-free interest rate
3.48% - 5.37%
3.64% - 5.48%
0.16% - 4.48%
Dividend yield
0.72% - 2.62%
0.70% - 3.59%
0.47% - 3.83%
Fair value
$144.79 - $237.94
$102.09 - $141.33
$72.24 - $154.88
2024
2023
2022
Portion of Performance-Based Awards subject to market goals:
Grant date market value
$148.39 - $173.89
$109.37
$146.49
Risk-free interest rate
4.24% - 4.30%
4.10%
0.87%
Dividend yield
0.74% - 0.86%
0.95%
0.66%
Expected volatility
40.99% - 43.35%
52.38%
47.35%
Fair value
$195.32 - $249.37
$162.72
$210.69
A summary of the changes in restricted stock units, restricted stock, performance share units and performance units outstanding under our equity compensation plans during fiscal 2024 is presented below:
Shares
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term
Aggregate Intrinsic Value
(In millions, except per share amounts)
Non-vested restricted stock units, restricted stock, performance share units and performance units at October 29, 2023
12
$
106.24
Granted
4
$
149.20
Vested
(5)
$
97.50
Canceled
(1)
$
120.91
Non-vested restricted stock units, restricted stock, performance share units and performance units at October 27, 2024
10
$
129.31
2.3 years
$
1,931
Non-vested restricted stock units, restricted stock, performance share units and performance units expected to vest
10
$
130.71
2.2 years
$
1,903
At October 27, 2024, 0.7 million additional performance-based awards could be earned based upon achievement of certain levels of specified performance and/or market goals.
A summary of the weighted-average grant date fair value per share of the granted restricted stock units, restricted stock, performance share units and performance units and total fair value vested awards for indicated periods is presented below:
2024
2023
2022
(In millions, except per share amounts)
Weighted average grant date fair value per share of awards granted
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Under the ESPP, substantially all employees may purchase our common stock through payroll deductions at a price equal to 85 percent of the lower of the fair market value of our common stock at the beginning or end of each 6-month purchase period, subject to certain limits. Our purchasing cycles began in March and September of each of fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022. We issued 2 million shares in fiscal 2024 at a weighted average price of $147.38 per share, 2 million shares in fiscal 2023 at a weighted average price of $87.75 per share and 2 million shares in fiscal 2022 at a weighted average price of $93.30 per share, under the ESPP. Compensation expense is calculated using the fair value of the employees’ purchase rights under the Black-Scholes model. Underlying assumptions used in the model are outlined in the following table:
2024
2023
2022
ESPP:
Dividend yield
0.82
%
0.98
%
0.97
%
Expected volatility
40.1
%
39.4
%
46.8
%
Risk-free interest rate
5.03
%
5.29
%
2.24
%
Expected life (in years)
0.5
0.5
0.5
Weighted average estimated fair value
$52.31
$35.31
$30.23
Note 11 Employee Benefit Plans
Employee Bonus Plans
We have various employee bonus plans. A discretionary bonus plan provides for the distribution of a percentage of pre-tax income to our employees who are not participants in other performance-based incentive plans, up to a maximum percentage of eligible compensation. Other plans provide for bonuses to our executives and other key contributors based on the achievement of profitability and/or other specified performance criteria. Charges under these plans for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 were $837 million, $702 million and $623 million, respectively.
Defined Benefit Pension Plans of Foreign Subsidiaries and Other Postretirement Benefits
Several of our foreign subsidiaries have defined benefit pension plans covering substantially all of their eligible employees. Benefits under these plans are typically based on years of service and final average compensation levels. The plans are managed in accordance with applicable local statutes and practices. We deposit funds for certain of these plans with insurance companies, pension trustees, government-managed accounts, and/or accrue the expense for the unfunded portion of the benefit obligation on our Consolidated Financial Statements. Our practice is to fund the various pension plans in amounts sufficient to meet the minimum requirements as established by applicable local governmental oversight and taxing authorities. Depending on the design of the plan, local custom and market circumstances, the liabilities of a plan may exceed the qualified plan assets. The differences between the aggregate projected benefit obligations and aggregate plan assets of these plans have been recorded as liabilities by us and are included in other liabilities and accrued expenses in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The net funded status and periodic benefit cost were not material for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022.
Our investment strategy for our defined benefit plans is to invest plan assets in a prudent manner, maintaining well-diversified portfolios with the long-term objective of meeting the obligations of the plans as they come due. Asset allocation decisions are typically made by plan fiduciaries with input from our international pension committee. Our asset allocation strategy incorporates a sufficient equity exposure in order for the plans to benefit from the expected better long-term performance of equities relative to the plans’ liabilities. We retain investment managers, where appropriate, to manage the assets of the plans. Performance of investment managers is monitored by plan fiduciaries with the assistance of local investment consultants. The investment managers make investment decisions within the guidelines set forth by plan fiduciaries. Risk management practices include diversification across asset classes and investment styles, and periodic rebalancing toward target asset allocation ranges. Investment managers may use derivative instruments for efficient portfolio management purposes.
Asset return assumptions are derived based on actuarial and statistical methodologies, from analysis of long-term historical data relevant to the country in which each plan is in effect and the investments applicable to the corresponding plan. The discount rate for each plan was derived by reference to appropriate benchmark yields on high quality corporate bonds, allowing for the approximate duration of both plan obligations and the relevant benchmark yields.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Executive Deferred Compensation Plans
We sponsor two unfunded deferred compensation plans, the Executive Deferred Compensation Plan (Predecessor EDCP) and the 2016 Deferred Compensation Plan (2016 DCP) (formerly known as the 2005 Executive Deferred Compensation Plan), under which certain employees may elect to defer a portion of their following year’s eligible earnings. The Predecessor EDCP was frozen as of December 31, 2004 such that no new deferrals could be made under the plan after that date and the plan would qualify for “grandfather” relief under Section 409A of the Code. The Predecessor EDCP participant accounts continue to be maintained under the plan and credited with deemed interest. The 2016 DCP was originally implemented by us effective as of January 1, 2005, and amended and restated as of October 12, 2015, and is intended to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. In addition, we also sponsor a non-qualified deferred compensation plan as a result of a previous acquisition. Amounts payable for all plans, including accrued deemed interest, totaled $357 million and $245 million at October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023, respectively, which were included in other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Note 12 Income Taxes
The components of income before income taxes for each fiscal year were as follows:
2024
2023
2022
(In millions)
U.S.
$
833
$
1,234
$
1,171
Foreign
7,319
6,482
6,428
Total
$
8,152
$
7,716
$
7,599
The components of the provision for income taxes for each fiscal year were as follows:
2024
2023
2022
(In millions)
Current:
U.S.
$
1,254
$
708
$
590
Foreign
366
456
275
State
33
54
14
1,653
1,218
879
Deferred:
U.S.
(697)
(255)
(62)
Foreign
30
(61)
265
State
(11)
(42)
(8)
(678)
(358)
195
Total
$
975
$
860
$
1,074
A reconciliation between the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate and our actual effective income tax rate for each fiscal year is presented below:
2024
2023
2022
Tax provision at U.S. statutory rate
21.0
%
21.0
%
21.0
%
Effect of foreign operations taxed at various rates
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate are affected by the geographical composition of pre-tax income which includes jurisdictions with differing tax rates, conditional reduced tax rates and other income tax incentives. It is also affected by events that vary from period to period, such as changes in income tax laws and the resolution of prior years’ income tax filings.
Our effective tax rate for fiscal 2024 was higher than fiscal 2023 primarily due to lower tax credits in fiscal 2024, partially offset by higher proportion of pre-tax income in lower tax jurisdictions in fiscal 2024. Our effective tax rate for fiscal 2023 was lower than fiscal 2022 primarily due to a reduction of deferred tax assets that occurred in fiscal 2022, related to a new tax incentive in Singapore.
In the reconciliation between the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate and the effective income tax rate, the effect of foreign operations taxed at various rates represents the difference between an income tax provision at the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate and the recorded income tax provision, with the difference expressed as a percentage of worldwide income before income taxes. This effect is substantially related to the tax effect of pre-tax income in jurisdictions with lower statutory tax rates. The foreign operations with the most significant effective tax rate impact are in Singapore. The statutory tax rate for fiscal 2024 for Singapore is 17%. We have been granted conditional reduced tax rates that expire beginning in fiscal 2025, excluding potential renewal and subject to certain conditions with which we expect to comply. The tax benefits arising from these tax rates were $393 million or $0.47 per diluted share and $369 million or $0.44 per diluted share and $232 million or $0.26 per diluted share for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax effects of temporary differences between the book and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets are also recognized for net operating loss and tax credit carryovers. Deferred tax assets are offset by a valuation allowance to the extent it is more likely than not that they are not expected to be realized. The components of deferred income tax assets and liabilities were as follows:
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
A valuation allowance is recorded to reflect the estimated amount of net deferred tax assets that may not be realized. Changes in the valuation allowance in each fiscal year were as follows:
2024
2023
2022
(In millions)
Beginning balance
$
530
$
460
$
361
Increases
39
70
99
Ending balance
$
569
$
530
$
460
At October 27, 2024, we have state research and development tax credit carryforwards of $592 million, including $553 million of credits that are carried over until exhausted and $35 million that are carried over for 15 years and begin to expire in fiscal 2034. It is more likely than not that all tax credit carryforwards, net of valuation allowance, will be utilized.
We maintain liabilities for uncertain tax positions. These liabilities involve considerable judgment and estimation and are continuously monitored based on the best information available. Gross unrecognized tax benefits are classified as non-current income taxes payable or as a reduction in deferred tax assets. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of gross unrecognized tax benefits in each fiscal year is as follows:
2024
2023
2022
(In millions)
Beginning balance of gross unrecognized tax benefits
$
510
$
498
$
537
Settlements with tax authorities
—
—
(25)
Increases in tax positions for current year
25
28
26
Increases in tax positions for prior years
13
—
28
Decreases in tax positions for prior years
(4)
(16)
(68)
Ending balance of gross unrecognized tax benefits
$
544
$
510
$
498
Tax expense for interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 was $45 million, $34 million and $14 million, respectively. The income tax liability for interest and penalties for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 was $181 million, $136 million and $103 million, respectively, and was classified as non-current income taxes payable.
Included in the balance of unrecognized tax benefits for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 are $397 million, $386 million, and $388 million, respectively, of tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate.
Our tax returns remain subject to examination by taxing authorities. These include U.S. returns for fiscal 2015 and later years, and foreign tax returns for fiscal 2011 and later years.
The timing of the resolution of income tax examinations, as well as the amounts and timing of various tax payments that may be part of the settlement process, is highly uncertain. This could cause fluctuations in our financial condition and results of operations. We continue to have ongoing negotiations with various taxing authorities throughout the year, and evaluate all domestic and foreign tax audit issues in the aggregate, along with the expiration of applicable statutes of limitations.
We believe it is reasonably possible that the amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits related to foreign operations could be reduced by approximately $200 million in the next 12 months as a result of the resolution of tax matters or the lapse of statute of limitations.
Note 13 Guarantees, Commitments and Contingencies
Guarantees
In the ordinary course of business, we provide standby letters of credit or other guarantee instruments to third parties as required for certain transactions initiated by either us or our subsidiaries. As of October 27, 2024, the maximum potential amount of future payments that we could be required to make under these guarantee agreements was approximately $284 million. We have not recorded any liability in connection with these guarantee agreements beyond that required to appropriately account for the underlying transaction being guaranteed. We do not believe, based on historical experience and information currently available, that it is probable that any amounts will be required to be paid under these guarantee agreements.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
We also have agreements with various banks to facilitate subsidiary banking operations worldwide, including overdraft arrangements, issuance of bank guarantees, and letters of credit. As of October 27, 2024, we have provided parent guarantees to banks for approximately $292 million to cover these arrangements.
Legal Matters
From time to time, we receive notification from third parties, including customers and suppliers, seeking indemnification, litigation support, payment of money or other actions by us in connection with claims made against them. In addition, from time to time, we receive notification from third parties claiming that we may be or are infringing or misusing their intellectual property or other rights. We also are subject to various legal proceedings, government investigations or inquiries, and claims, both asserted and unasserted, that arise in the ordinary course of business. These matters are subject to uncertainties, and we cannot predict the outcome of these matters, or governmental inquiries or proceedings that may occur. Although the outcome of the above-described matters, claims and proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not believe at this time that any of the above-described matters will have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
Since 2022, we have received multiple subpoenas from government authorities requesting information relating to certain China customer shipments and export controls compliance, including from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We also have received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice requesting information related to certain federal award applications and information submitted to the federal government. We are cooperating fully with the U.S. government in these matters. We have continued to receive related subpoenas, as well as requests for information, and may in the future receive additional related subpoenas and requests for information from such or other government authorities. Any such matters are subject to uncertainties, and we cannot predict the outcome, nor reasonably estimate a range of loss or penalties, if any, relating to these matters.
Note 14 Industry Segment Operations
Our three reportable segments are: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services (AGS), and Display. As defined under the accounting literature, our chief operating decision-maker has been identified as the President and Chief Executive Officer, who reviews operating results to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance for the entire company. Segment information is presented based upon our management organization structure as of October 27, 2024 and the distinctive nature of each segment. Future changes to this internal financial structure may result in changes to our reportable segments.
The Semiconductor Systems reportable segment includes semiconductor capital equipment for etch, rapid thermal processing, deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, metrology and inspection, wafer packaging, and ion implantation.
The AGS segment provides integrated solutions to optimize equipment and fab performance and productivity, including spares, upgrades, services, 200mm and other equipment and factory automation software for semiconductor, display and other products.
The Display segment includes products for manufacturing liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), equipment upgrades and other display technologies for TVs, monitors, laptops, personal computers, smart phones, other consumer-oriented devices and solar energy cells.
Each operating segment is separately managed and has separate financial results that are reviewed by our chief operating decision-maker. Each reportable segment contains closely related products that are unique to the particular segment. Segment operating income is determined based upon internal performance measures used by our chief operating decision-maker. The chief operating decision-maker does not evaluate operating segments using total asset information.
We derive the segment results directly from our internal management reporting system. Effective in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, management began including share-based compensation expense in the evaluation of reportable segments' performance. Prior-year numbers have been recast to conform to the current-year presentation. The accounting policies we use to derive reportable segment results are substantially the same as those used for external reporting purposes. Management measures the performance of each reportable segment based upon several metrics including orders, net revenue and operating income. Management uses these results to evaluate the performance of, and to assign resources to, each of the reportable segments.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
The Corporate and Other category includes revenues and costs of products from other products, as well as certain operating expenses that are not allocated to our reportable segments and are managed separately at the corporate level. These operating expenses include costs related to certain management, finance, legal, human resources, and research, development and engineering functions provided at the corporate level; and unabsorbed information technology and occupancy. In addition, we do not allocate to our reportable segments severance, asset impairment and any associated charges related to restructuring actions, unless these actions pertain to a specific reportable segment. Segment operating income also excludes interest income/expense and other financial charges and income taxes. Management does not consider the unallocated costs in measuring the performance of the reportable segments.
Information for each reportable segment for and as of the end of each fiscal year were as follows:
Net revenue
Operating Income (Loss)
Depreciation/ Amortization
Capital Expenditures
Accounts Receivable
Inventories
(In millions)
2024:
Semiconductor Systems
$
19,911
$
6,981
$
168
$
425
$
3,816
$
2,988
Applied Global Services
6,225
1,812
22
35
1,297
2,306
Display
885
51
12
29
197
113
Corporate and Other
155
(977)
190
701
(76)
14
Total
$
27,176
$
7,867
$
392
$
1,190
$
5,234
$
5,421
2023:
Semiconductor Systems
$
19,698
$
6,879
$
235
$
381
$
3,943
$
3,433
Applied Global Services
5,732
1,529
31
39
1,111
2,073
Display
868
114
19
13
184
200
Corporate and Other
219
(868)
230
673
(73)
19
Total
$
26,517
$
7,654
$
515
$
1,106
$
5,165
$
5,725
2022:
Semiconductor Systems
$
18,797
$
6,790
$
203
$
249
$
4,924
$
3,995
Applied Global Services
5,543
1,555
31
38
997
1,788
Display
1,331
243
31
30
148
129
Corporate and Other
114
(800)
179
470
(1)
20
Total
$
25,785
$
7,788
$
444
$
787
$
6,068
$
5,932
Semiconductor Systems and Display revenues are recognized at a point in time. AGS revenue is recognized at a point in time for tangible goods such as spare parts and equipment, and over time for service agreements. The majority of revenue recognized over time is recognized within 12 months of the contract inception.
Details of goodwill by reportable segment as of October 27, 2024 and October 29, 2023 were as follows:
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Net revenue for Semiconductor Systems by market for the periods indicated were as follows:
2024
2023
2022
Foundry, logic and other
68
%
77
%
66
%
Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM)
28
%
17
%
19
%
Flash memory
4
%
6
%
15
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
The reconciling items included in Corporate and Other were as follows:
2024
2023
2022
(In millions)
Unallocated Net revenue
$
155
$
219
$
114
Unallocated cost of products sold and expenses
(1,132)
(1,087)
(918)
Severance and related charges
—
—
4
Total
$
(977)
$
(868)
$
(800)
For geographical reporting, revenue by geographic location is determined by the location of customers’ facilities to which products were shipped and services were performed. Long-lived assets consist primarily of property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets and are attributed to the geographic location in which they are located. Net revenue and long-lived assets by geographic region for and as of each fiscal year were as follows:
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
The following customers accounted for at least 10 percent of our Net revenue in each fiscal year, which were for products and services in multiple reportable segments:
2024
2023
2022
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
12
%
15
%
12
%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
By:
/s/ GARY E. DICKERSON
Gary E. Dickerson
President, Chief Executive Officer
Dated: December 13, 2024
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Gary E. Dickerson, Brice Hill and Teri Little, jointly and severally, his or her attorneys-in-fact, each with the power of substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact, or his substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
******
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 and on the dates indicated.
Title
Date
/s/ GARY E. DICKERSON
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)
