SEC Form 10-K filed by Ubiquiti Inc.
$UI
Radio And Television Broadcasting And Communications Equipment
Technology
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
| ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the fiscal year ended June 30 , 2024
OR
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the transition period from ______ to ______
Commission File No. 001-35300
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||||||
(Address of principal executive offices, Zip Code)
(646 ) 780-7958
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller
reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | ||||||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) | Smaller reporting company | |||||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $583,781,006 based upon the closing price of $139.56 of such common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on December 29, 2023 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter). Shares of common stock held as of December 31, 2023 by each director and executive officer of the registrant, as well as shares held by each holder of 5% of the common stock known to the registrant, have been excluded for purposes of the foregoing calculation. This determination of affiliate status is not a conclusive determination for other purposes.
As of August 22, 2024, 60,469,583 shares of common stock were issued and outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:
Portions of the registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the registrant’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated herein by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the extent stated herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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UBIQUITI INC.
PART I
Note About Forward-Looking Statements
When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and negatives of those terms are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These are statements that relate to future periods and include statements about our future results, sources of revenue, our dividend, our continued growth, our gross margins, market trends, our product development, our introduction of new products, technological developments, the features, benefits and performance of our current and future products, the ability of our products to address a variety of markets, our growth strategies, future prices, our competitive status, our efforts to mitigate shortages of components used to manufacture our products, our dependence on our senior management and our ability to attract and retain key personnel, dependency on and concentration of our distributors, our employee relations, current and potential litigation, current or potential indemnification liabilities, the effects of government regulations, the impact of tariffs, the expected impact of taxes on our liquidity and results of operations, our compliance with laws and regulations, our expected future operating costs and expenses and expenditure levels for research and development, selling, general and administrative expenses, fluctuations in operating results, fluctuations in our stock price, our payment of dividends, our future liquidity and cash needs, and the adequacy of and our reliance on our source of liquidity to meet such needs, the Facilities (as defined herein), future acquisitions of and investments in complimentary businesses, the expected impact of various accounting policies and rules adopted by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ,the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan on our business and results of operations. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact of the global shortage of components and pricing inflation associated therewith, the impact of U.S. tariffs on results of operations, our ability to procure products, our ability to manage our growth, our ability to sustain or increase profitability, demand for our products, our ability to compete, our ability to rapidly develop new technology and introduce new products, our ability to safeguard our intellectual property, trends in the markets that we compete and fluctuations in general economic conditions, the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan on our business, results and liquidity, and the risks set forth throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under Item 1, “Business” and under Item 1A, “Risk Factors.” These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K also contains estimates and other information concerning our industry, including market size and growth rates, which are based on industry publications, surveys and forecasts. This information involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to these estimates. These industry publications, surveys and forecasts generally indicate that their information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. While we believe these industry publications, surveys and forecasts are reliable, we have not independently verified such data. The industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described under Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”
Unless the context requires otherwise, the words “we,” “us,” “our” “Company” and “Ubiquiti” refer to Ubiquiti Inc. and its subsidiaries as a whole. Ubiquiti refers to the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022 as fiscal 2024, fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022, respectively.
Item 1. Business
Business Overview
The Company was founded by Robert Pera in 2005. We sell equipment, and provide the related software platforms, worldwide through a network of over 100 distributors, on-line retailers and direct to customers through our webstores. Ubiquiti Inc. is focused on democratizing network technology on a global scale. Our devices play a role in creating networking infrastructure in over 200 countries and territories around the world. Our professional networking products are powered by our UISP and UniFi OS software platforms to provide high-capacity distributed Internet access and unified information technology management, respectively.
We develop technology platforms for high-capacity distributed Internet access, unified information technology, and consumer electronics for professional, home and personal use. We categorize our solutions into three main categories: high performance networking technology for enterprises, service providers and consumers. We target the enterprise and service provider markets through our highly engaged community of service providers, distributors, value added resellers, webstores, systems integrators and corporate IT professionals, which we refer to as the Ubiquiti Community. We target consumers through digital marketing, including
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through our webstores, retail chains and, to a lesser extent, the Ubiquiti Community.
In addition to Mr. Pera, our founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, who is central to our business, the majority of our human capital resources consist of entrepreneurial and de-centralized research and development (“R&D”) personnel. We do not employ a traditional direct sales force, but instead drive brand awareness through online reviews and publications, our website, our distributors and the Company’s user community where customers can interface directly with our R&D, marketing, and support teams. Our technology platforms were designed from the ground up with a focus on delivering highly-advanced and easily-deployable solutions that appeal to a global customer base.
We offer a broad and expanding portfolio of networking products and solutions for operator-owners of wireless internet services (“WISP’s”), enterprises and smart homes. Our operator-owner service-provider-product platforms provide carrier-class network infrastructure for fixed wireless broadband, wireless backhaul systems and routing and the related software for WISP’s to easily control, track and bill their customers. Our enterprise product platforms provide wireless LAN (“WLAN”) infrastructure, video surveillance products, switching and routing solutions, security gateways, door access systems, and other complimentary WLAN products along with a unique software platform, which enables users to control their network from one simple, easy to use software interface. Our consumer products are targeted to the smart home and highly connected consumers. We believe that our products are differentiated due to our proprietary software, firmware expertise, and hardware design capabilities.
We operate our business as one reportable and operating segment. Further information regarding Segments can be found in Note 13 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Our revenues were $1.9 billion, $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion in the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We reported net income of $350.0 million, $407.6 million and $378.7 million in the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Refer to our Consolidated Financial Statements included under Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more financial information.
Industry Overview
Internet traffic worldwide has grown rapidly in recent years, driven by an increase in the number of users, increasing mobility of those users and high bandwidth applications, such as video, audio, cloud-based applications, online gaming and social networking. Wired networking solutions have traditionally been used to address increasing consumer and enterprise bandwidth needs. However, the high initial capital requirements and ongoing operating costs and long market lead times associated with building and installing infrastructure for wired networks has severely limited the widespread deployment of these networks in underserved and underpenetrated markets. Wireless networks have emerged as an attractive alternative for addressing the broadband access needs of underserved and underpenetrated markets in both emerging and developed countries.
Our Technology and Products
We offer products and solutions based on our proprietary technology across multiple markets. Utilizing low-cost hardware and innovative software and firmware, we seek to build price- performance solutions to address both enterprises and service providers.
Key Technology Platforms
Our current Enterprise Provider solutions include:
•UniFi Cloud Gateway - UniFi Cloud Gateway is an Enterprise class internet and security gateway device that provides reliable routing, advanced cybersecurity and powerful site management.
•UniFi WiFi - An enterprise WiFi system that combines state-of-the-art hardware with intuitive software management for configuration of access points at scale.
•UniFi Protect - our UniFi Protect platform is a video surveillance platform with private local storage, secure remote access and cameras designed for every deployment.
•UniFi Switch - UniFi Switch is a versatile switching platform that delivers high-capacity performance, and power over ethernet to scale enterprise networks.
•UniFi Access - UniFi Access is a state-of-the art door access solution that is easily expandable with touchscreen readers, live video, and mobile application credential support.
•UniFi Talk - UniFi Talk is a plug-and-play business phone system and VoIP subscription service designed to elevate productivity in organizations.
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Our current Service Provider and carrier solutions include:
•airMAX - our airMAX platform includes proprietary protocols developed by us that contain advanced technologies for minimizing signal noise. Devices on the airMAX platform, such as customer premise equipment (“CPE”), base station, and backhaul, are able to support a wireless network that can scale to hundreds of clients per base station over long distances while maintaining low latency and high throughput.
•airFiber - our airFiber platform is a wireless backhaul point-to-point radio system, a wireless method of transmitting data to and from network backbone. Components of the airFiber products were designed to provide low latency with high throughput. Our airFiber product uses an integrated split antenna and a global positioning system to simultaneously send data packets from each side of the link.
•UFiber GPON - UFiber GPON platform, a plug and play fiber network technology, that allows users to build passive optical network deployment with minimal effort and cost. It is designed to enable internet providers (“ISPs”) to quickly build high speed fiber internet networks for many users and over long distance.
•Wave - Products built on the proprietary Wave Technology platform are engineered to maximize speed/performance across long distances using the worldwide, unlicensed 60GHz band.
Research and Development
Our research and development organization is responsible for the design, development and testing of our products. Our geographically-distributed engineering team has deep expertise and experience in networking and antenna design, and we have a number of personnel with longstanding experience with network architecture and operation. We have developed and intend to continue to develop our technology in part by operating with a relatively flat reporting structure that relies on individual contributors or small development teams to develop, test and obtain feedback for our products.
As of June 30, 2024, our research and development team consisted of 1,134 full time equivalent employees, including contractors, located in the United States, Taiwan, China, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, Sweden, and elsewhere. Our research and development operations work on product development of new products and new versions of existing products. Our research and development expenses were $159.8 million, $145.2 million and $137.7 million for fiscal 2024, fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022, respectively. We expect that the number of our research and development personnel will increase over time and that our research and development expenses will also increase. For a further discussion of the uncertainties and business risks associated with our international workforce and operations, refer to risk factors under “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our International Operations.”
Manufacturing and Suppliers
We use contract manufacturers, primarily located in Vietnam and China, to manufacture our products. Over the long term, our contract manufacturers are not required to manufacture our products for any specific period or in any specific quantity. If necessary, we expect that it would take approximately three to six months to transition manufacturing, quality assurance and shipping services to new providers. For a further discussion of the uncertainties and risks associated with our contract manufacturers, see “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business and Industry - We rely on a limited number of contract manufacturers to produce our products. Shortages of components or manufacturing capacity could increase our costs or delay our ability to fulfill future orders and could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.”
We rely on third party components and technology to build and operate our products, and we rely on our contract manufacturers to obtain the components, subassemblies and products necessary for the manufacture of our products. While components and supplies in the past have been generally available from a variety of sources, we and our contract manufacturers currently depend on a single or limited number of suppliers for several components for our products. We and our contract manufacturers rely on purchase orders rather than long-term contracts with these suppliers. The majority of our product revenues are dependent upon the sale of products that incorporate components from a small number of suppliers. We are party to non-exclusive license agreements with some of these suppliers whereby we license certain technology that we incorporate into our products. These agreements generally automatically renew for successive one-year periods unless the agreements are terminated by written notice of nonrenewal with advance notice prior to the end of their then-current term. The Company has not received any termination notice as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We depend on these license agreements to modify and replace firmware on certain chipsets with our proprietary firmware. While our agreements with suppliers remains effective, the terms of these agreements, allow either party to terminate the agreements without cause at the end of the annual contract term.
We have experienced in the past, particularly from 2020 to 2023, and may experience in the future, periodic volatility in the supply of components used to manufacture our products. This has resulted in supply constraints and corresponding increases in component delivery lead times and costs to obtain components, and resulted in delays in product production.
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We do not stockpile sufficient components, to cover the time it would take to re-engineer our products to replace the components used to manufacture our products and we generally do not have any guaranteed supply arrangements with our suppliers for these components (including the chipsets). While we have attempted to mitigate supply shortages through our contract manufacturers and exploring open-market avenues to procure the necessary components, there is no assurance that we will be able to obtain sufficient supply of such components on suitable terms, including the pricing terms. If we need to seek a suitable second source for these components for our products, there can be no assurance that we would be able to successfully source our chipsets on suitable terms, if at all. In any event, our use of chipsets from multiple sources may require us to significantly modify our designs and manufacturing processes to accommodate these different chipsets. We believe any shortage or delay in the supply of these components would harm our ability to continue to manufacture and supply our products, which would adversely affect our product offerings and revenues. For a further discussion of the uncertainties and business risks associated with the shortages of components, see “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business and Industry - We rely upon a limited number of suppliers. If these sources fail to satisfy our supply requirements or we are unable to manage our supply requirements through other sources, it could disrupt our business or have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.”
We have experienced significant supply constraints caused, in part, by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our efforts to mitigate these supply constraints have included, for example, increasing our inventory build in an attempt to secure supply and meet customer demand, paying higher component and shipping costs to secure supply and modifying our product designs to leverage alternate suppliers. Although these mitigation efforts are intended to optimize our access to the components required to meet customer demand for our products, we have limited visibility into future sales, which makes it difficult to forecast our future results of operations. These mitigation efforts have caused our inventory and vendor deposit balances to increase in the past, and they may cause such increases in the future. These mitigation efforts therefore significantly increase the risks of future material excess, obsolete inventory and related losses. We believe that we have taken the right actions to mitigate these supply constraints; however, we recognize the associated risks. For a further discussion of the uncertainties and business risks associated with the supply constraints, refer to “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business and Industry - Our contract manufacturers, logistics centers and certain administrative and research and development operations, as well as our customers and suppliers, are located in areas likely to be subject to natural disasters, public health problems, military conflicts and geopolitical tensions, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.”
Tariffs
In June 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced new proposed tariffs for certain products imported into the U.S. from China. The vast majority of our products that are imported into the U.S. from China are currently subject to tariffs that range between 7.5% and 25%. On January 22, 2020, the United States of Trade Representative announced it will reduce Section 301 List 4A additional tariffs from 15% to 7.5% and the List 4B tariffs would not go into effect. These tariffs have affected our operating results and margins. For so long as such tariffs are in effect, we expect it will continue to affect our operating results and margins. As a result, our historical and current gross profit margins may not be indicative of our gross profit margins for future periods. Refer to “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our International Operations”. Our business may be negatively affected by political events and foreign policy responses” for additional information.
Sales and Distribution
We sell our products and solutions globally to enterprises and service providers primarily through our extensive network of distributors, and, to a lesser extent, direct customers. During fiscal 2024, we sold our products to over 100 distributors and direct to customers through our webstores (collectively, “customers”) in over 75 countries. In fiscal 2024, 2023, and 2022, there were no customers that represented 10% or more of our revenue. Refer to Note 13 in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information regarding financial data by geographic areas.
A majority of our sales are made outside the United States and we anticipate that non-U.S. sales will continue to be a significant portion of our revenues. We do not have any visibility on the location or extent of purchases of our products by individual network operators and service providers from our distributors. For further discussion of the risks associated with foreign operations, see “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors-Risks Related to Our International Operations”.
Backlog
Our sales are primarily made through standard sale orders for delivery of products. Our inability to procure sufficient product due to COVID-19 and the worldwide chip shortage had led to a significant increase in our backlog of unfulfilled orders in fiscal 2022. However, with the abatement of supply constraints, we were able to reduce our backlog of unfulfilled orders in 2023 and 2024. However, we do not believe our backlog information is a reliable indicator of our ability to achieve any particular level of revenue or financial performance.
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Competition
The markets for networking solutions for service providers, enterprise WLAN, video surveillance, microwave backhaul and machine-to-machine communications technology are highly competitive and are influenced by the following competitive factors, among others:
•total cost of ownership and return on investment associated with the solutions;
•simplicity of deployment and use of the solutions;
•ability to rapidly develop high performance integrated solutions;
•reliability and scalability of the solutions;
•market awareness of a particular brand;
•ability to provide secure access to wireless networks;
•ability to offer a suite of products and solutions;
•ability to allow centralized management of the solutions; and
•ability to provide quality product support.
We believe we compete favorably with respect to these factors. We have been successful in rapidly developing high performance integrated solutions because we use individual contributors and small, experienced development teams that focus on the key needs of the markets. Our products and solutions are designed to meet the price- performance characteristics demanded by our customers to achieve a strong overall return on their investment. Our products are designed to operate in growing networks without degradation in performance or operational complexity.
In the backhaul market, our competitors include Cambium Networks, Ceragon Networks, MikroTîkls, Airspan and Trango. In the CPE market, our competitors include Cambium Networks, MikroTîkls, Ruckus Wireless (CommScope), TP-Link Technologies and Tarana Wireless. In the antenna market, we primarily compete with PCTEL, ARC, ITELITE and Radio Waves. In the enterprise WLAN market, we primarily compete with Aerohive Networks, Aruba Networks (HPE), Cisco Meraki and Cisco and Ruckus Wireless (CommScope). In the video surveillance market, we primarily compete with Axis Communications, HIKVISION, Hanwha Vision and Vivotek. We expect increased competition from other established and emerging companies if our market continues to develop and expand. As we enter new markets, we expect to face competition from incumbent and new market participants.
Intellectual Property
We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our proprietary rights. These laws, procedures and restrictions provide only limited protection and the legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property rights are uncertain and still evolving. Furthermore, effective patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which our services and products are available. We seek patent protection for certain of our key concepts, components, protocols, processes and other inventions.
We have obtained a number of patents and trademarks in the United States and other countries. We have also filed, and will continue to file, patent applications and trademark applications in the United States and other countries where we believe there to be a strategic technological or business reason to do so. Any patents or trademarks issued to us now or in the future may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented and may not provide sufficiently broad protection or may not prove to be enforceable in actions against alleged infringers. There can be no assurance that others will not assert intellectual property rights to technologies that are relevant to us or that our intellectual property rights will give us competitive advantage.
We endeavor to enter into agreements with our employees and contractors and with parties with whom we do business in order to limit access to and disclosure of our proprietary information. We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use or reverse engineering of our technology. Moreover, others may independently develop technologies that are competitive with ours or that infringe on our intellectual property. The enforcement of our intellectual property rights also depends on the success of our legal actions against infringers and counterfeiters, but these actions may not be successful, even when our rights have been infringed. For further discussion of the risks associated with intellectual property, see “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Intellectual Property”.
Environmental matters
We are subject to various environmental regulations governing materials usage, packaging and other environmental impacts in the United States and in various countries where our products are manufactured and sold. We are also subject to regulatory developments, including SEC disclosure regulations relating to "conflict minerals," relating to ethically responsible sourcing of the
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components and materials used in our products. To date, compliance with federal, state, local, and foreign laws enacted for the protection of the environment has had no material effect on our capital expenditures, earnings, or competitive position.
Human Capital Management
Employee Overview
Our employees are at the center of everything we do at Ubiquiti and are the driving force for our innovation and success. Ubiquiti seeks to provide a safe, inclusive and positive employee experience for all its employees. It is our policy to make employment decisions and opportunities based on merit, qualifications, potential and competency. As of June 30, 2024, we employed and or contracted with 1,515 full time equivalent employees, of which 1,134 were in research and development, 264 in operations, and 117 in sales, general and administrative. Our workforce is diversified across multiple locations with 64%, 23% and 13% located in (i) Asia Pacific, (ii) Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (“EMEA”) and (iii) the Americas, respectively. The Company believes that its entrepreneurial, decentralized, and diversified work environment has contributed to its success. We seek to maintain a culture of accountability and performance that enables us to deliver highly-advanced and easily deployable solutions that appeal to a global market.
Talent and Human Capital Management
We believe that human capital management is key to our continued growth and success, and is critical to our ability to attract, retain and develop talented and skilled employees. We hire and compensate our talent based on their role, experiences, contributions and performance, regardless of their gender, race or ethnic background or other personal characteristics.
Our human capital is governed by employment regulations in each country in which we operate. We monitor key employment activities, such as hiring, termination and pay practices to comply with established regulations across the world.
Incentive Plans
Our incentive plans are designed to increase stockholder value by attracting, retaining and motivating high value personnel through the granting of equity and non-equity-based compensation awards. The principal purpose of our incentive plans is to motivate individuals to perform to the best of their abilities to achieve our short- and long-term objectives
Available Information
The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), are filed or furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Such reports and other information filed or furnished by the Company with the SEC are available free of charge on the Company’s website at http://ir.ui.com when such reports are available on the SEC website. Reports of beneficial ownership filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act are also available on our website. Also posted on our website on the Corporate Governance page is the Company’s Code of Ethics for Principal Executive and Senior Financial Officers and Section 16 Officers. We will, if required, disclose future amendments to our Code of Ethics that apply to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or persons performing similar functions, or certain waivers of such provisions granted to such persons, on our website identified above.
The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.
Our executive office is located at 685 Third Avenue, 27th Floor, New York, New York 10017. Our website address is www.ui.com. From time to time, we may use our website and its subdomains as a channel of distribution of material information. The information on, or that can be assessed through, any websites cited herein are not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Further, the Company's references to any URLs for any websites cited herein are intended to be inactive textual references only.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth below. These risks and uncertainties are not the only ones we face. If any event related to these known or unknown risks or uncertainties actually occurs, our business prospects, operating results, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Risk Factors Summary
•our limited ability to forecast our results of operations and sales;
•volatility and competition in the markets we serve or our inability to compete effectively with our competitors;
•our reliance on a limited number of distributors for our products and the inability of our distributors to manage inventory of our products effectively, timely sell our products or estimate future demand for our products;
•our inventory decisions, including, without limitation, for new product introductions, are based on assumptions and forecasts, which, if inaccurate, may result in write-downs of inventory or components and increases of vendor deposits;
•our inability to keep pace with rapid technological and market changes or to maintain competitive prices for products;
•the technological complexity of our products, which may contain undetected hardware defects or software bugs;
•our inability to anticipate or mitigate cyberattacks, security vulnerabilities or other fraudulent or illegal activity;
•our inability to manage our growth and expand our operations;
•our inability to maintain or enhance the strength of our brand;
•our reliance on a limited number of contract manufacturers to manufacture our products, and potential quality or product supply problems for our products if we are unable to secure sufficient components for our products or there is a shortage of manufacturing capacity;
•our reliance on a limited number of suppliers and our inability to predict shortages in components or other supply disruptions as a result of, including, without limitation, the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan, or our failure to identify or qualify alternative suppliers;
•disruption to the manufacturing or shipping of our products due to natural disasters, labor shortages or operational reductions from outbreaks of diseases or other public health events, the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan, or similar disruptions in the countries or regions in which our contract manufacturers or logistics contractors are located;
•a global economic downturn;
•lower than expected returns and exposure to increased operational risks from our investments in business lines, products, services, technologies, joint ventures and other strategic transactions;
•the ineffective management of product introductions, product transitions and marketing or our inability to remain competitive and stimulate customer demand for our products;
•our inability to anticipate consumer preferences and develop desirable products and solutions, or to execute our strategy for our products or develop our sales channels;
•general credit, liquidity, market, and interest rate risks to our investment securities;
•exposure to adverse developments affecting financial institutions at which we maintain deposits
•exposure to increased economic and operational uncertainties from our international operations, including, without limitation, as a result of foreign policy and geopolitical developments, particularly those involving China and Russia, varying legal and regulatory regimes and the effects of foreign currency exchange rates;
•the failure of our foreign warehouse and logistics providers to safeguard, manage and properly report our inventory;
•exposure to increased operational risks and liability to the extent we develop our own foreign manufacturing capacity;
•our inability to manage geographically dispersed research and development teams;
•our limited ability to obtain and enforce our intellectual property rights, particularly in China, Russia and South America;
•the misappropriation of our intellectual property and trade secrets by our contract manufacturers or others to manufacture competitive products or counterfeit products;
•our exposure to extensive intellectual property litigation;
•the risks of using open source software in our products;
•our use of artificial intelligence technologies which may present business, compliance, and reputational risks:
•our debt levels and the impact our debt levels may have on our ability to raise capital or otherwise finance our business;
•the risks of expanding our product offerings or our operations or increases in our operating expenses;
•our reliance on third-party software and services for certain aspects of our operations, including, without limitation, our financial reporting functions;
•our reliance on our founder and chief executive officer, who owns a majority of our common stock;
•volatility in the price of our common stock due to volatility in our results of operations or our failure to pay cash dividends or to repurchase shares of our common stock;
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•the reliance of our products on unlicensed radio frequency spectrum, and the increasing reliance of consumer and other products on the same spectrum or from the introduction of regulation of such spectrum;
•potential liability under trade protection, anti-corruption, and other laws resulting from our global operations;
•changes in laws and regulations relating to the handling of personal data;
•the adverse impact from litigation matters;
•the adverse impact to our results of operations from successful warranty claims, product losses or recalls;
•indemnification claims against us for intellectual property infringement, defective products, and security vulnerabilities;
•our inability to maintain an effective system of internal controls; and
•changes in tax laws and regulations or reviews or audits of our tax returns.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We have limited visibility into future sales as a result of our reliance on distributors, which may increase volatility in our results and makes it difficult to forecast our future results of operations.
Because of our limited visibility into end customer demand and channel inventory levels, our ability to accurately forecast our future sales is limited. We sell our products and solutions globally to network operators, service providers and consumers, primarily through our network of distributors and resellers. We do not employ a traditional direct sales force. Sales to our distributors have accounted for the majority of our revenues. Our distributors do not make long term purchase commitments to us, and do not typically provide us with information about market demand for our products. We endeavor to obtain information on inventory levels and sales data from our distributors. This information has been generally difficult to obtain in a timely manner, and we cannot always be certain that the information is reliable. If we over forecast demand, we may build excess inventory, increase vendor deposits and we may not be able to decrease our expenses in time to offset any shortfall in revenues and we may be required to record write-downs for excess or obsolete inventory, which could harm our ability to achieve or sustain expected results of operations. If we under forecast demand, our ability to fulfill sales orders will be compromised and sales to distributors may be deferred or lost altogether, which may impair our distributor relationships, would reduce our revenues and could harm our ability to achieve or sustain expected results of operations.
Our distributors purchase and maintain their own inventories of our products, and we do not control their inventory management. Distributors may manage their inventories in a manner that causes significant fluctuations in their purchases from quarter to quarter, and which may not be in alignment with the actual demand of end customers for our products. If some distributors decide to purchase more of our products than are required to satisfy their customers’ demand in any particular quarter, because they do not accurately forecast demand or otherwise, they may reduce future orders until their inventory levels realign with their customers’ demand. If some distributors decide to purchase less of our products than are required to satisfy their customers’ demand in any particular quarter, because they do not accurately forecast demand or otherwise, sales of our products may be deferred or lost altogether, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations.
In addition, the lead times that we face for the procurement of components and subsequent manufacturing of our products are usually much longer than the lead time from our customers’ orders to the expected delivery date. This increases the risk that we may manufacture too many or not enough products in any given period. This risk may be further exacerbated by supply chain constraints on the global supply of components that we use to manufacture our products, as well as longer shipping lead times and delays.
The markets we serve can be especially volatile, and weakness in orders could harm our future results of operations.
Weakness in orders, directly or indirectly, from the markets we serve, including as a result of any slowdown in capital expenditures by the markets we serve (which may be more prevalent during a global economic downturn, or periods of economic, political or regulatory uncertainty), could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition. Such slowdowns may continue or recur in future periods. Orders from the markets we serve could decline for many reasons other than the competitiveness of our products and services within their respective markets. These conditions have harmed our business and results of operations in the past, and some of these or other conditions in the markets we serve could affect our business and results of operations, liquidity or financial condition in any future period of such slowdowns.
We may need to build inventory for new product announcements and shipments or decide to increase or maintain higher levels of inventory, which may result in inventory write-downs and/or increased vendor deposits.
The Company must order components for its products, build inventory, both of finished products and components, and in certain cases, pay vendor deposits in advance of new product announcements and shipments. Decisions to build inventory for new products or to increase or maintain higher inventory levels and vendor deposit levels are typically based upon uncertain forecasts or other assumptions and may expose us to a greater risk of carrying excess or obsolete inventory. Because the markets in which the Company competes are volatile, competitive and subject to rapid technology changes, price changes, shortages and other disruptions, if the assumptions on which we base these decisions turn out to be incorrect, our financial performance could suffer and we could be required to write-off the value of excess products or components inventory, increase vendor deposits or not fully utilize firm purchase commitments.
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We rely upon a limited number of distributors, and changes in our relationships with our distributors or changes within our distributors may disrupt our sales.
Although we have a large number of distributors in numerous countries who sell our products, a limited number of these distributors represent a significant portion of our sales. One or more of our major distributors may suffer from a decline in their financial condition, decrease in demand from their customers, or a decline in other aspects of their business which could impair their ability to purchase and resell our products. Any distributor may also cease doing business with us at any time with little or no notice. The termination of a relationship with a major distributor, either by us or by the distributor, could result in a temporary or permanent loss of revenues, slower or impaired collection on accounts receivable and costly and time-consuming litigation or arbitration. We may not be successful in finding other suitable distributors on satisfactory terms, or at all, and this could adversely affect our ability to sell in certain geographic markets or to certain network operators and service providers. We do not generally obtain letters of credit or other security for payment from the distributors, so we are not protected against accounts receivable default by the distributors.
We may not be able to enhance our products to keep pace with technological and market developments while offering competitive prices.
The market for our wireless broadband networking equipment is characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions and short product life cycles. The markets for enterprise networking equipment and consumer products possess similar characteristics of rapid technological updates, evolving industry standards, frequent changes in consumer preferences, frequent new product introductions and short and unpredictable product life cycles. Our ability to keep pace in these markets depends upon our ability to enhance our current products, and to continue to develop and introduce new products rapidly and at competitive prices. The success of new product introductions or updates on existing products depends on a number of factors including, but not limited to, timely and successful product development, market acceptance, development of sales channels, our ability to manage the risks associated with new product forecast, production ramp-up, the effective management of our inventory and manufacturing schedule and the risk that new products may have defects or other deficiencies in the early stages of introduction.
The development of our products is complex and costly, and we typically have several products in development at the same time. Given the complexity, we occasionally have experienced, and could experience in the future, lower than expected yields on new or enhanced products and delays in completing the development and introduction of new products and enhancements to existing products, including the maintenance of compatibility between older and newer versions of our products. In addition, new products may have lower selling prices or higher costs than existing products and may be more prone to technical problems, which could negatively impact our results of operations. Our ability to compete successfully will depend in large measure on our ability to maintain a technically skilled development and engineering staff, to successfully innovate, and to adapt to technological changes and advances in the industry. Development and delivery schedules for our products are difficult to predict. We may fail to introduce new products or enhancements to existing products in a timely fashion. If new releases of our products are delayed, our distributors may curtail their efforts to market and promote our products and our users may switch to competing products.
The markets in which we compete are highly competitive.
The networking, enterprise WLAN, routing, switching, video surveillance, door access, VoIP, wireless backhaul, machine-to-machine communications and consumer markets in which we primarily compete are highly competitive and are influenced by competitive factors including:
• our ability to rapidly develop and introduce new high-performance integrated solutions;
• the price and total cost of ownership and return on investment associated with the solutions;
• the simplicity of deployment and use of the solutions;
• the reliability and scalability of the solutions;
• the market awareness of a particular brand;
• our ability to provide secure access to wireless networks;
• our ability to offer a suite of products and solutions;
• our ability to allow centralized management of the solutions; and
• our ability to provide product support.
New entrants seeking to gain market share by introducing new technology and new products may also make it more difficult for us to sell our products, and could create increased pricing pressure. In addition, broadband equipment providers or system integrators may also offer wireless broadband infrastructure equipment for free or as part of a bundled offering, which could force us to reduce our prices or change our selling model to remain competitive.
If there is a shift in the market such that network operators and service providers begin to use closed network solutions that only operate with other equipment from the same vendor, we could experience a significant decline in sales because our products would not be interoperable.
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We expect competition to continuously intensify as other established and new companies introduce new products in the same markets that we serve or intend to enter, as these markets consolidate. Our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition will suffer if we do not maintain our competitiveness.
A number of our current or potential competitors have longer operating histories, greater brand recognition, larger customer bases and significantly greater resources than we do.
As we move into new markets for different types of products, our brand may not be as well-known as the incumbents’ brands in those markets. Potential customers may prefer to purchase from their existing suppliers or well-known brands rather than a new supplier, regardless of product performance or features. We expect increased competition from other established and emerging companies as our market continues to develop and expand. As we enter new markets, we expect to face competition from incumbent and new market participants and there is no assurance that our entry into new markets will be successful. Many of these companies have significantly greater financial, technical, marketing, distribution and other resources than we do and are better positioned to acquire and offer complementary products and technologies.
Industry consolidation, acquisitions and other arrangements among competitors may adversely affect our competitiveness because it may be more difficult to compete with entities that have access to their combined resources. As a result of such consolidation, acquisition or other arrangements, our current and potential competitors might be able to adapt more quickly to new technologies and consumer preference, devote greater resources to the marketing and promotion of their products, initiate or withstand price competition, and take advantage of acquisitions or other opportunities more readily and develop and expand their products more quickly than we do. These combinations may also affect customers’ perceptions regarding the viability of companies of our size and, consequently, affect their willingness to purchase our products.
The complexity of our products could result in unforeseen delays or expenses caused by undetected defects or bugs.
Our products may contain defects and bugs when they are introduced, or as new versions are released. Due to our rapid product introductions, defects and bugs that may be contained in our products may not yet have manifested. We have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, defects and bugs. If any of our products contain material defects or bugs, or have reliability, quality or compatibility problems, we may not be able to correct these problems promptly or successfully. The existence of defects or bugs in our products may damage our reputation and disrupt our sales. If any of these problems are not found until after we have commenced commercial production and distribution of a new product, we may be required to incur additional development costs, repair or replacement costs, and other costs relating to regulatory proceedings, product recalls and litigation, which could harm our reputation and results of operations. Undetected defects or bugs may lead to negative online Internet reviews of our products, which are increasingly becoming a significant factor in the success of our new product launches. If we are unable to quickly respond to negative reviews, including end user reviews posted on various prominent online retailers, our ability to sell these products will be harmed. Moreover, we may offer stock rotation rights to our distributors. If we experience greater returns from retailers or end customers, or greater warranty claims, in excess of our reserves, our business, revenue and results of operations could be harmed.
Security vulnerabilities in our or our service providers' products, services and systems, in our distribution channel, or supply chain could lead to reduced revenues and claims against us.
The quality and performance of some of our products and services may depend upon their ability to withstand cyber-attacks. Third parties may develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs, some of which may be designed to attack our products, systems, or networks. Because we use our products in our own operations, any security vulnerabilities in our products could be disruptive to our business and harm our reputation. Some of our products and services also involve the storage and transmission of users’ and customers’ proprietary information which may be the target of cyber-attacks. Hardware and software that we produce or procure from third parties also may contain defects in manufacture or design, including bugs and other problems, which could compromise their ability to withstand cyber-attacks. In addition, customers not deploying security updates in a timely manner or deciding not to upgrade products, services or solutions could result in claims of liability against us, damage our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business.
Additionally, our sales to end customers through our webstores have increased, which may expose us to liabilities associated with the online collection of customer data, including credit card information, and the costs we may incur to mitigate such risks. Our sales to end customers through our webstores require the transmission of confidential information, including credit card information, securely over public networks. Third parties may have the technology or knowledge to breach the security of customer transaction data. Although we and our service providers have security measures related to our systems and the privacy of our end customers, we cannot guarantee these measures will effectively prevent others from obtaining unauthorized access to our information and our customers’ information. Any person who circumvents our security measures could destroy or steal valuable information and/or disrupt our operations. Any security breach could also expose us and our service providers to risks of data loss, litigation and liability, and could seriously disrupt operations and harm our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, state and federal laws and regulations are increasingly enacted to protect consumers against identity theft. These laws and regulations will likely increase the costs of doing business and if we or our service providers fail to implement appropriate security measures, or to detect and provide prompt notice of unauthorized access as required by some of these laws and
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regulations, we could be subject to potential claims for damages and other remedies, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. For additional information regarding the impact of privacy regulations applicable to our business, see “—Risks Related to Regulatory, Legal and Tax Matters — Our failure to comply with U.S. and foreign laws related to privacy, data security, cybersecurity and data protection, such as the E.U. Data Protection Directive and China Cybersecurity Law, could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and our brand.”
We and certain of our vendors have experienced cyber-attacks in the past, and we, our vendors, suppliers, and distributors may experience cyber-attacks in the future. As a result, unauthorized parties have obtained, and may in the future obtain, access to our systems, our confidential business information and data and may have obtained, and may in the future obtain, our users’ or customers’ data. Our security measures have in the past, and may in the future, be breached due to human error, malfeasance, or otherwise. Third parties may also attempt to induce employees, users, or customers or those of our vendors to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data or our users’ or customers’ data. Any such breach or unauthorized access could result in significant legal and financial exposure, costly and time-intensive notice requirements or other remediation efforts, damage to our reputation, and a loss of confidence in the security of our products and services. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently, and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures.
For example, in January 2021, we became aware that certain of our information technology systems hosted by a third-party cloud provider were improperly accessed and certain of our source code and the credentials used to access the information technology systems themselves had been compromised. We received a threat to publicly release these materials unless we made a payment, which we did not do and the party responsible was ultimately prosecuted. As a result, it is possible that the source code and other information could be publicly disclosed or made available to our competitors. Due to the nature of the source code and the other information that we believe was improperly accessed, we at this time do not believe that any public disclosure will have a material adverse effect on our business or operations, but it is impossible to gauge the precise impact of any such disclosure. We have taken, and will continue to take, steps to remediate access controls to our information technology systems.
The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate security vulnerabilities in our products, services and system can be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be successful and could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers that may impede our sales, manufacturing, distribution or other critical functions, as well as potential liability to the company. The risk that these types of events could seriously harm our business is likely to increase as we expand the products and services that we offer.
We may be unable to anticipate or fail to adequately mitigate against increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal or fraudulent activities against us.
Despite any defensive measures we take to manage threats to our business, our risk and exposure to these matters remain heightened because of, among other things, the evolving nature of such threats in light of advances in computer capabilities and artificial intelligence, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, new and sophisticated methods used by criminals including phishing, social engineering or other illicit acts, the increasing use of our webstores by customers, or other events or developments that we may be unable to anticipate or fail to adequately mitigate. In June 2015, we determined that we were the victim of criminal fraud known to law enforcement authorities as business e-mail compromise fraud which involved employee impersonation and fraudulent requests targeting our finance department. The fraud resulted in transfers of funds aggregating $46.7 million held by a Company subsidiary incorporated in Hong Kong to other overseas accounts held by third parties. As of March 2021, the Company has recovered $18.6 million. No additional recoveries have been made since March 31, 2021. Any additional recoveries are likely remote and therefore cannot be assured.
While we do not expect the fraud to have a material impact on our business, we have borne, and will continue to bear additional expenses in connection with the remediation and investigation of the fraud.
Any future illegal acts such as phishing, social engineering or other fraudulent conduct that go undetected may have significant negative impacts on our reputation, operating results and stock price.
Our business and prospects depend on the strength of our brand.
Maintaining and enhancing our brand is critical to expanding our base of distributors and end customers. Maintaining and enhancing our brand will depend largely on our ability to continue to develop and provide products and solutions that address the price performance characteristics sought by end customers and the users of our products and services, particularly in developing markets which comprise a significant part of our business. If we fail to promote, maintain and protect our brand successfully, our ability to sustain and expand our business and enter new markets will suffer.
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We may fail to effectively manage the challenges associated with our growth.
Over the past several years we have expanded, and continue to expand, our product offerings, the number of customers we sell to, our transaction volumes, the number and type of our facilities, and the number of contract manufacturers that we utilize to produce our products. Failure to effectively manage the increased complexity associated with this expansion, particularly in light of our lean management structure, would make it difficult to conduct our business, fulfill customer orders, and pursue our strategies. We may also need to increase costs to add personnel, upgrade or replace our existing reporting systems, as well as improve our business processes and controls as a result of these changes. If we fail to effectively manage any of these challenges, we could suffer inefficiencies, errors and disruptions in our business, which in turn would adversely affect our results of operations.
We rely upon a limited number of contract manufacturers to produce our products. Shortages of components or manufacturing capacity could increase our costs or delay our ability to fulfill future orders and could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
We retain contract manufacturers, located primarily in Vietnam and China, to manufacture our products. Any significant change in our relationship with these manufacturers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our reliance on contract manufacturers for manufacturing our products can present significant risks to us because, among other things, we do not have direct control over their activities. If we fail to manage our relationship with our manufacturers effectively, or if they experience operational difficulties, our ability to ship products to our retailers and distributors could be impaired and our competitive position and reputation could be harmed.
We significantly depend upon our contract manufacturers to:
• assure the quality of our products;
• manage capacity during periods of volatile demand;
• qualify appropriate component suppliers;
• ensure adequate supplies of components and materials;
• deliver finished products at agreed upon prices and schedules; and
• safeguard materials and finished goods.
The ability and willingness of our contract manufacturers to perform is largely outside our control.
Additionally, from time to time, unexpected events, such as health crises or pandemics, have had, and may have in the future, adverse effects on the ability of our contract manufacturers to fulfill their obligations to us due to, among other things, work stoppages or slowdowns due to facility closures or other social distancing mitigation efforts, and the inability of our contract manufacturers to procure adequate supplies of the components to manufacture our products. A shortage of adequate component supply or manufacturing capacity could increase our costs by requiring us to use alternative contract manufacturers or component suppliers, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. Moreover, our use of chipsets from different or multiple sources may require us to significantly modify our designs and manufacturing processes to accommodate these different chipsets, which would also increase our manufacturing costs and could delay our ability to manufacture products and result in decreased sales of our products. These increases in manufacturing costs or delays in manufacturing could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations. For additional discussion of the risks associated with supply chain issues or supplies of components, see the risk factor below captioned “We rely upon a limited number of suppliers. If these sources fail to satisfy our supply requirements or we are unable to manage our supply requirements through other sources, it could disrupt our business or have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.”
In the event that we receive shipments of products that fail to comply with our technical specifications or that fail to conform to our quality control standards, and we are not able to obtain replacement products in a timely manner, we risk revenue losses from the inability to sell those products, increased administrative and shipping costs, and lower profitability. Additionally, if defects are not discovered until after distributors and/or end users purchase our products, they could lose confidence in the technical attributes of our products and our business and results of operations could be harmed.
We do not control our contract manufacturers or suppliers, including their labor, environmental or other practices. Environmental regulations or changes in the supply, demand or available sources of natural resources may affect the availability and cost of goods and services necessary to run our business. Non-compliance or deliberate violations of labor, environmental or other laws by our contract manufacturer or suppliers, or a failure of these parties to follow ethical business practices, could lead to negative publicity and harm our reputation or brand.
We believe that our orders may not represent a material portion of our contract manufacturers’ total orders and, as a result, fulfilling our orders may not be a priority in the event our contract manufacturers are constrained in their capacity. If any of our contract
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manufacturers experiences problems in its manufacturing operations, or if we have to change or add additional contract manufacturers, our ability to ship products to our customers would be impaired.
Additionally, any or all of the following could either limit supply or increase costs, directly or indirectly, to us or our contract manufacturers:
• labor strikes or shortages;
• financial problems of either contract manufacturers or component suppliers;
• reservation of manufacturing capacity at our contract manufactures by other companies, inside or outside of our industry;
• changes or uncertainty in tariffs, economic sanctions, and other trade barriers; and
• industry consolidation occurring within one or more component supplier markets, such as the semiconductor market.
We rely upon a limited number of suppliers. If these sources fail to satisfy our supply requirements or we are unable to manage our supply requirements through other sources, it could disrupt our business or have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We use components that are subject to price fluctuations, shortages or interruptions of supply. The cost, quality and availability of these components are essential to the production and sale of all of our products and disruptions in our supply of these components could delay or disrupt the supply of our products and affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In 2020 and through most of 2023, we experienced reduced availability of components used to manufacture our products, especially the chipsets, which impacted our ability and costs to manufacture our products. These supply shortages have resulted in increased component delivery lead times and increased costs to obtain components, particularly chipsets, and resulted in delays in product production. We do not stockpile sufficient components, particularly the chipsets, to cover the time it would take to re-engineer our products to replace the components used to manufacture our products. If there are shortages of chipsets or other components used to manufacture our products, while we expect to work closely with our suppliers and contract manufacturers to minimize the potential adverse impacts of such supply shortage, there are many companies seeking to purchase the same components, many of which have greater resources and larger market share than we have, which may limit the effectiveness of our efforts. There is also no assurance that we will be able to obtain sufficient chipsets or other components on acceptable terms, if at all, which could delay or disrupt the supply of our products and affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We purchase components, directly or through our contract manufacturers, from third parties that are necessary for the manufacture of our products. Shortages in the supply of components or other supply disruptions, including, without limitation, due to increasing demand for electronics and reductions in supply as a result of unforeseen events such as health crises or pandemics, geopolitical conditions (including China-Taiwan relations) or commercial disputes with the suppliers, may not be predicted in time to design-in different components or qualify other suppliers. Shortages or supply disruptions may also increase the prices of components due to market conditions and reduce our gross margin and profitability if we are unable to pass these price increases through to our customers. While many components are generally available from a variety of sources, we and our contract manufacturers currently depend on a single or limited number of suppliers for several components for our products. For example, we currently rely upon some chipset suppliers, such as Qualcomm and Broadcom, as single-source suppliers of certain components for some of our products, and a disruption in the supply of those components would significantly disrupt our business.
We and our contract manufacturers generally rely on short-term purchase orders rather than long-term contracts with the suppliers of components for our products, particularly chipsets. As a result, even if the components for our products (including chipsets) are available, we and our contract manufacturers may not be able to procure sufficient components at reasonable prices to build our products in a timely manner. Further, in order to minimize their inventory risk, our manufacturers might not order components from third-party suppliers with adequate lead time, thereby impacting our ability to meet our demand forecast. We may, therefore, be unable to meet customer demand for our products, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our products, especially new products, sometimes utilize custom components available from only one or limited number of sources. When a component or product uses new technologies, capacity constraints may exist until the suppliers’ yields have matured or manufacturing capacity has increased. Many factors may affect the continued availability of these components at acceptable prices, including if those suppliers decide to concentrate on the production of common components instead of components customized to meet our requirements. There is no assurance that the supply of such components will not be delayed or constrained.
Our contract manufacturers, logistics centers and certain administrative and research and development operations, as well as our customers and suppliers, are located in areas likely to be subject to natural disasters, public health problems, military conflicts and geopolitical tensions, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The manufacturing or shipping of our products at one or more facilities may be disrupted because our manufacturing and logistics contractors are primarily located in Vietnam and China. Our principal executive offices are located in New York, New York and we
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have operations in Ukraine, Taiwan and their surrounding countries. The risks of earthquakes, extreme storms and other natural disasters (including as a result of climate change), military conflicts or geopolitical tensions in these geographic areas are significant. In addition, global climate change may result in significant natural disasters occurring more frequently or with greater intensity, such as drought, wildfires, storm, sea-level rise, changing precipitation and flooding. Any disruption resulting from these events could cause significant delays in product development or shipments of our products until we are able to shift our development, manufacturing or logistics centers from the affected contractor to another vendor, or shift the affected administrative or research and development activities to another location. Our business may be materially adversely affected by public health problems, particularly in China. For example, in the last decade, China has suffered health crises related to the outbreak of avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome and COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic, the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan and resulting global disruptions have caused significant volatility in financial markets and the domestic and global economy. This disruption can contribute to potential payment delays or defaults in our accounts receivable, affect asset valuations resulting in impairment charges, and affect the availability of financing credit as well as other segments of the credit markets. Public health problems may also result in quarantines, business closures, unavailability of key personnel, domestic and international transportation restrictions, import and export complications, and otherwise cause shortages in the supply of components or cause other disruptions within our supply chain. Public health problems have caused and, along with the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan, may cause in the future disruptions, delays, shortages, and increased costs within our supply chain, and distribution channels. In addition, public health problems may require us to take precautionary measures to minimize the risk to our employees, including requiring our employees to work remotely and suspending non-essential travel, which could negatively affect our business. Additionally, when our suppliers’ ability to manufacture or provide key components or services is impacted by supply chain disruptions, we have incurred, and may incur in the future, additional costs to expedite deliveries of components and services. As a result of the transition to a remote working environment, we may experience disruptions or inefficiencies in our ability to operate our business. The continuation of these remote working measures also introduces additional operational risk, including increased cybersecurity risk. These cybersecurity risks include greater phishing, social engineering, malware, and other cybersecurity attacks, greater risk of a security breach resulting in the unauthorized release, destruction or misuse of valuable information, and potential impairment of our ability to perform critical functions, all of which could expose us to risks of data or financial loss, litigation and liability and could seriously disrupt our operations, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Public health problems may expose us to unanticipated liability or require us to change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the outbreak of communicable diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect general commercial activity and the economies and financial markets of many countries which may affect the demand for our products and services and our ability to obtain financing for our business. The extent to which public health problems may impact our business, results of operations and financial conditions will depend on developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Such developments may include the geographic spread of the public health problems, the severity of the public health problems, the duration of the outbreak and the type and duration of actions that may be taken by various governmental authorities in response to the outbreak and the impact on the U.S. and the global economy. An outbreak of public health problems, or the perception that such an outbreak could occur, and the measures taken by the government of countries affected, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.
Additionally, the extent to which the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine or the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan may impact our business or results of operations in future periods will depend on future developments, including the severity and duration of the conflicts, their impact on regional and global economic conditions, as well as their impact on surrounding countries, including their impact on our employees and contractors in Ukraine, Taiwan, China and their surrounding countries, and its impact on global supply chains. A worsening of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine or the tensions between China and Taiwan, or the spread of either conflict to surrounding countries could adversely affect our business, results of operations, liquidity, and financial condition.
General global economic downturns and macroeconomic trends, including inflation or slowed economic growth, may negatively affect our customers and their ability to purchase our products. A downturn or such other trends may decrease our revenues and increase our costs and may increase credit risk with our customers and impact our ability to collect account receivable and recognize revenue.
The global macroeconomic environment has been challenging and inconsistent caused by inflation, instability in the global credit markets, the impact of uncertainty regarding global central bank monetary policy, and the instability in the geopolitical environment in many parts of the world.
Inflation in the United States and the other countries that we operate has decreased from its previous elevated level, however, it is uncertain whether inflation will continue to decrease or whether it may rise again. Rising inflation could have an adverse impact on our expenses. Our costs are subject to fluctuations, including due to the costs of raw materials, labor, transportation and energy. Therefore, our business results depend, in part, on our continued ability to manage these fluctuations through pricing actions, cost
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saving projects and sourcing decisions, while maintaining and improving margins and market share. Failure to manage these fluctuations could adversely impact our results of operations or financial conditions.
Unfavorable macroeconomic conditions, such as a recession or continued slowed economic growth, may negatively affect demand for our products and exacerbate some of the other risks that affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Factors affecting the level of consumer spending include general market conditions, macroeconomic conditions, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and interest rates, and other factors such as consumer confidence, the availability and cost of consumer credit, levels of unemployment and tax rates. A tighter credit market for consumer, business, and service provider spending may have several adverse effects, including reduced demand for our products, increased price competition or deferment of purchases and orders by our customers. If global economic conditions are volatile or if economic conditions deteriorate, the consumer demand for our products may not reach our sales targets. Additional effects of unfavorable macroeconomic conditions may include increased demand for customer finance, difficulties in collection of accounts receivable, higher overhead costs as a percentage of revenue and higher interest expense, risk of supply constraints, risk of excess and obsolete inventories, risk of excess facilities and manufacturing capacity and increased risk of counterparty failures. Our sensitivity to economic cycles and any related fluctuation in consumer demand could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have been investing and expect to continue to invest in growth areas in our enterprise and service provider technologies, and if the return on these investments is lower or develops more slowly than we expect, our results of operations may be harmed.
We have and we may continue to invest and dedicate resources into new growth areas, such as expansion in our enterprise and service provider technologies and subscription services. However, the return on our investments may be lower, or may develop more slowly, than we expect. If we do not achieve the benefits anticipated from these investments (including if our selection of areas for investment does not play out as we expect), or if the achievement of these benefits is delayed, our results of operations may be adversely affected. Additionally, as we invest and dedicate resources into new growth areas, there is no assurance that we may succeed at maintaining our competitive position in existing enterprise and service provider technologies.
To remain competitive and stimulate customer demand, we must effectively manage product introductions, product transitions and marketing.
We believe that we must continually develop and introduce new products, enhance our existing products, effectively stimulate customer demand for new and upgraded products, and successfully manage the transition to these new and upgraded products to maintain or increase our revenue. The success of new product introductions depends on a number of factors including, but not limited to, timely and successful research and development, pricing, market and consumer acceptance, the effective forecasting and management of product demand, purchase commitments, inventory levels and vendor deposit levels, the availability of products in appropriate quantities to meet anticipated demand, the management of manufacturing and supply costs, the management of risks associated with new product production ramp-up issues, and the risk that new products may have quality issues or other defects or bugs in the early stages of introduction. Therefore, we may not correctly determine in advance the ultimate effect of new product introductions and transitions. Additionally, if the assumptions on which we based our forecasts and management of product demand, purchase commitments, inventory levels or vendor deposit levels turn out to be incorrect, our financial performance could suffer and we could be required to write-off the value of excess products or components inventory, increase the vendor deposit levels, or not fully utilize firm purchase commitments.
In addition, the introduction or announcement of new products or product enhancements may shorten the life cycle of our existing products or reduce demand for our current products, thereby offsetting any benefits of successful product introductions and potentially lead to challenges in managing inventory of existing products. Failure to complete product transitions effectively or in a timely manner could harm our brand and lead to, among other things, lower revenue, excess prior generation product inventory, or a deficit of new product inventory and reduced profitability.
In connection with introduction of new products, we may spend significant amount on advertising and other marketing campaigns, such as television, print advertising, social media and others, as well as increased promotional activities, to build brand awareness and acquire new users. While we seek to structure our advertising campaigns in the manner that we believe is most likely to encourage people to use our products and services, we may fail to identify advertising opportunities that satisfy our anticipated return on advertising spend, accurately predict customer acquisition, or fully understand or estimate the conditions and behaviors that drive customer behavior.
Our strategy for our products depends upon effectively maintaining and further developing our sales channels, including developing and supporting our retail sales channel and distributors.
We depend upon effective sales channels to reach the customers who are the ultimate purchasers of our products. We sell our products through a mix of retail channels, including our webstores, distributors, e-commerce, big box, mid-market and specialty retailers.
With some of our products, we depend on third party retailers to provide adequate and attractive placement for our products in their stores, both physical and online. We further depend on these retailers to employ, educate and motivate their sales personnel to
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effectively sell our products. If our retailers do not adequately display our products, choose to reduce the space for our products in their stores or locate them in less than premium positioning, choose not to carry some or all of our products or promote competitors’ products over ours, or do not effectively explain to customers the advantages of our products, our sales could decrease and our business could be harmed. Similarly, our business could be adversely affected if any of our distributors and other retail partners were to experience financial difficulties, or change the focus of their businesses in a way that de-emphasized the sale of our products.
Our distributors generally offer products from several different manufacturers. Accordingly, we are at risk that these distributors may give higher priority to selling other companies’ products. We have limited number of distributors in certain regions, and if we were to lose the services of a distributor, we might need to find another distributor in that area and there can be no assurance of our ability to do so in a timely manner or on favorable terms. Further, our distributors build inventory in anticipation of future sales, and if such sales do not occur as rapidly as they anticipate, our distributors will decrease the size of their future product orders. We are also subject to the risks of our distributors encountering financial difficulties, which could impede their effectiveness and also expose us to financial risk if they are unable to pay for the products they purchase from us. Additionally, our international distributors buy from us in U.S. dollars and generally sell to retailers in local currency so significant currency fluctuations could impact their profitability, and in turn, affect their ability to buy future products from us.
Any reduction in sales by our current distributors, loss of key distributors or decrease in revenue from our distributors could adversely affect our revenue, results of operations and financial condition.
We may experience risks in our investments due to changes in the market, which could adversely affect the value or liquidity of our investments.
From time to time, we may maintain a portfolio of marketable securities in a variety of instruments, which may include, but not be limited to, money market funds, corporate bonds, U.S. agency bonds and commercial papers. These investments are subject to general credit, liquidity, market, and interest rate risks. As a result, we may experience a reduction in value or loss of liquidity of our investments. These market risks associated with our investment portfolio may have a negative adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We maintain cash deposits in excess of federally insured limits. Adverse developments affecting financial institutions, including bank failures, could adversely affect our liquidity and financial performance.
We maintain domestic cash deposits in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insured banks that exceed the FDIC insurance limits. We also maintain cash deposits in foreign banks where we operate, some of which are not insured or are only partially insured by the FDIC or similar agencies. Bank failures, events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance, or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, or concerns or rumors about such events, may lead to liquidity constraints. For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank, in which we did not have deposits at the time, failed and was taken into receivership by the FDIC. The failure of a bank, or other adverse conditions in the financial or credit markets impacting financial institutions at which we maintain balances, could adversely impact our liquidity and financial performance. There can be no assurance that our deposits in excess of the FDIC or other comparable insurance limits will be backstopped by the U.S. or applicable foreign government, or that any bank or financial institution with which we do business will be able to obtain needed liquidity from other banks, government institutions, or by acquisition in the event of a failure or liquidity crisis.
Our reputation and/or business could be negatively impacted by ESG matters and/or our reporting of such matters.
There is an increasing focus from regulators, certain investors, and other stakeholders concerning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, both in the United States and internationally. ESG-related initiatives, goals, and/or commitments such as those regarding environmental matters, diversity, responsible sourcing and social investments, and other matters, could be difficult to achieve and costly to implement. The achievement of any goals that we may announce may rely on the accuracy of our estimates and assumptions supporting those goals. We could fail to achieve, or be perceived to fail to achieve, ESG-related initiatives, goals or commitments that we might set, and the timing, scope or nature of these initiatives, goals, or commitments, or for any revisions to them may not be acceptable to the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulators or stakeholders, including our shareholders. Our actual or perceived failure to adopt or achieve any ESG-related initiatives, goals, or commitments that we make could negatively impact our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business.
If we are unable to anticipate customer preferences and successfully develop desirable products and solutions, we might not be able to maintain or increase revenue and profitability.
Our success depends on our ability to identify and originate product trends as well as to anticipate, gauge and react to changing customer demands in a timely manner. All of our products are subject to changing preferences that cannot be predicted with certainty and lead times for our products may make it more difficult for us to respond rapidly to new or changing product or consumer preferences. If we are unable to introduce appealing new consumer products or novel technologies in a timely manner, or our new products or technologies are not accepted or adopted by customers, our competitors may increase their market share, which could hurt our competitive position. It is also possible that competitors could introduce new products and services that negatively impact
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customer preference in the type of products that we supply, which could result in decreased sales of our product and a loss in market share. We may not be able to achieve an acceptable return, if any, on our research and development efforts, and our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition may be adversely affected. As we continually seek to enhance our products, we will incur additional costs to incorporate new or revised features. We might not be able to, or determine that it is not in our interests to, raise prices to compensate for any additional costs.
Risks Related to Our International Operations
Our business is susceptible to risks associated with operations outside of the United States.
We have operations in China, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Ukraine, India, Taiwan, Vietnam and elsewhere, with our operations in Taiwan and Vietnam, in particular, increasingly important to our overall business. We also sell to distributors in numerous countries throughout the world. Our operations outside of the United States subject us to risks that we generally do not face in the United States. These include:
•the burdens of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations, and the risks of non-compliance, including the increased burden of complying with anti-bribery regulations, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) of the United States, and the risk associated with non-compliance with such laws;
•fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
•impact of inflation on local economies;
•import and export license requirements, tariffs, economic sanctions, contractual limitations and other trade barriers;
•increasing labor costs, especially in Vietnam and China;
•difficulties in managing the geographically remote personnel;
•the complexities of foreign tax systems and changes in their tax rates and rules;
•stringent consumer protection and product compliance regulations that are costly to comply with and may vary from country to country;
•limited protection and enforcement regimes for intellectual property rights in some countries;
•business disruptions created by health crises, pandemics and outbreaks of communicable diseases, especially in China, such as the outbreak of COVID-19;
•increased financial accounting and reporting burdens and complexity; and
•political, social and economic instability in some jurisdictions, including impacts of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan and the responses by governments worldwide to such conflicts.
Additionally, changes in the local political, social and economic environment in the countries in which we operate, including Taiwan and Ukraine and its surrounding countries, could adversely affect our operations outside of the United States, as well as our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If any of these risks were to come to fruition, it could negatively affect our business outside the United States and, consequently, our results of operations. Additionally, operating in markets outside the United States requires significant management attention and financial resources. We cannot be certain that the investment and additional resources required to establish, acquire or integrate operations in other countries will produce anticipated levels of revenues or profitability.
Our third-party logistics and warehousing providers in Vietnam and China and elsewhere may fail to safeguard and accurately manage and report our inventory.
We use third-party logistics and warehousing providers located in Vietnam, China and other countries to fulfill a portion of our worldwide sales. We also rely on our third-party logistics and warehousing providers to safeguard and manage and report on the status of our products at their warehouse and in transit. These service providers may fail to safeguard our products, fail to accurately segregate and report our inventory, or fail to manage and track the delivery of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We face significant political risks associated with doing business in mainland China and Taiwan, particularly due to the tense relationship between mainland China and Taiwan, that could negatively affect our business.
We conduct a portion of our business in mainland China and Taiwan, and our operations in mainland China and Taiwan are critical to our business. For example, we currently operate significant R&D activities and a warehousing facility in Taiwan. Accordingly, our product development, supply chain operation and overall business, financial condition and results of operations and the market price of our shares may be affected by changes in governmental policies, taxation, inflation or interest rates in mainland China and Taiwan and by social instability and diplomatic developments in or affecting mainland China and Taiwan, which are outside of our control. Relations between mainland China and Taiwan and other factors affecting military, political or economic conditions in mainland China and Taiwan, including responses by governments worldwide to the geopolitical tension or conflict between mainland China and Taiwan, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, both China and
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Taiwan are leading manufacturers of the world’s semiconductor supply. Conflict between China and Taiwan might lead to trade sanctions, technology disputes, or supply chain disruptions, which could, in particular, affect the semiconductor industry, which might result in reduced availability of components used to manufacture our products, especially chipsets, which may impact our ability and costs to manufacture our products.
To the extent that we develop some of our own manufacturing capacity, we will be subject to various risks associated with such activities.
We invested in developing our own manufacturing capacity to support our product development and prototyping. To the extent that we may invest in and expand or relocate these manufacturing capabilities, and increasingly rely upon such activities, we will face increased risks associated with:
•bearing the fixed costs of these activities;
•directly procuring components and materials;
•regulatory and other compliance requirements, including import and export license requirements, tariffs, economic sanctions, contractual limitations and other trade barriers;
•exposure to casualty loss and other disruptions;
•quality control;
•labor relations; and
•our limited experience in operating manufacturing facilities.
Since these activities are currently conducted in Vietnam, Taiwan and China and could be expanded to other foreign countries, some of these risks may be more significant due to the less predictable legal and political environment. Additionally, changes in the local political, social and economic environment could adversely affect our ability and plans to develop our own manufacturing capacity.
Our business may be negatively affected by political events and foreign policy responses.
Geopolitical uncertainties and events could cause damage or disruption to international commerce and the global economy, and thus could have a material adverse effect on us, our suppliers, logistics providers, manufacturing vendors and customers, including our distributors and other channel partners. Changes in commodity prices may also cause political uncertainty and increase currency volatility that can affect economic activity. For example, escalating tensions between the U.S., China and other countries may result in changes in laws or regulations that will affect our ability to manufacture and sell our products. The vast majority of our products that are imported into the U.S. from China are currently subject to tariffs that range between 7.5% and 25%. These tariffs have affected our operating results and margins. Additionally, the imposition of tariffs is dependent upon the classification of items under the Harmonized Tariff System (“HTS”), the value determination of the item and the country of origin of the item. Determination of the HTS, the value and the origin of the item is a technical matter that can be subjective in nature. Accordingly, although we believe our valuation determinations and classifications of HTS and origin are appropriate, there is no certainty that government agencies will agree with us. If these agencies do not agree with our determinations, we could be subject to investigation and could be required to pay additional amounts, including potential penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The progress and continuation of trade negotiations between the U.S. and China continues to be uncertain and a further escalation of the trade war remains a possibility. These tariffs have, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our results of operations and margins. We can provide no assurance regarding the magnitude, scope or duration of the imposed tariffs or the magnitude, scope or duration from any relief in increases to such tariffs, as well as the potential for additional tariffs or trade barriers by the U.S., China or other countries, nor that any strategies we may implement to mitigate the impact of such tariffs or other trade actions will be successful.
Changes in U.S. social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories and countries where we currently develop and sell products, and any negative sentiments towards the U.S. as a result of such changes, could also adversely affect our business. For example, if the U.S. government withdraws or materially modifies existing or proposed trade agreements, places greater restriction on free trade generally or imposes increases on tariffs on goods imported into the U.S., particularly from China, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, negative sentiments towards the U.S. among non-U.S. customers and among non-U.S. employees or prospective employees could adversely affect sales or hiring and retention, respectively.
The foreign policies of governments may be volatile and may result in rapid changes to import and export requirements, customs classifications, tariffs, trade sanctions and embargoes or other retaliatory trade measures that may cause us to raise prices, prevent us from offering products or providing services to particular entities or markets, may cause us to make changes to our operations, or create delays and inefficiencies in our supply chain. For example, political unrest and uncertainties in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific, including the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan,
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may lead to disruptions in commerce in those regions, which would in turn impact our sales to those regions. Furthermore, if the U.S. government imposes new sanctions against certain countries or entities, such sanctions could sufficiently restrict our ability to market and sell our products and may materially adversely affect our results of operations.
In addition, reports of certain intelligence gathering methods of the U.S. government could affect customers’ perception of the products of companies based in the United States. Trust and confidence in us as an equipment supplier is critical to the development and growth of our markets. Impairment of that trust, or foreign regulatory actions taken in response to reports of certain intelligence gathering methods of the U.S. government, could affect the demand for our products from customers outside of the United States and could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our ability to introduce new products and support our existing products depends on our ability to manage geographically dispersed research and development teams.
Significant parts of our research and development operations are conducted in geographically dispersed localities. Our success depends on the effectiveness of our research and development activities. We must successfully manage these geographically dispersed teams in order to meet our objectives for new product introduction, product quality and product support. It can be difficult to effectively manage geographically dispersed research and development teams. If we fail to do so, we could incur unexpected costs or delays in product development.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
We have limited ability to obtain and enforce intellectual property rights, and may fail to effectively obtain and enforce such rights.
Our success can depend significantly upon our intellectual property rights. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret laws, and contractual rights to establish, maintain and protect these intellectual property rights, all of which afford only limited protection. Our patent rights, and the prospective rights sought in our pending patent applications, may not be meaningful or provide us with any commercial advantage and they could be opposed, contested, circumvented or designed around by our competitors or be declared invalid or unenforceable in legal proceedings. In addition, patents may not be issued from any of our current or future patent applications. Any failure of our patents or other intellectual property rights to adequately protect our technology might make it easier for our competitors to offer similar products or technologies.
We may fail to apply for patents on important products, services, technologies or designs in a timely fashion, or at all. We may not have sufficient intellectual property rights in all countries where unauthorized third party copying or use of our proprietary technology occurs and the scope of our intellectual property might be more limited in certain countries. Our existing and future patents may not be sufficient to protect our products, services, technologies or designs and/or may not prevent others from developing competing products, services, technologies or designs. We cannot predict the validity and enforceability of our patents and other intellectual property with certainty.
We have registered, and applied to register, certain of our trademarks in several jurisdictions worldwide. In some of those jurisdictions, third party filings exist for the same, similar or otherwise related products or services, which could block the registration of our marks. Even if we are able to register our marks, competitors may adopt or file similar marks to ours, register domain names that mimic or incorporate our marks, or otherwise infringe upon our trademark rights. Although we police our trademark rights carefully, there can be no assurance that we are aware of all third party uses or that we will prevail in enforcing our rights in all such instances. Any of these negative outcomes could impact the strength, value and effectiveness of our brand, as well as our ability to market our products. We have also registered domain names for websites, or URLs, that we use in our business, such as www.ui.com. If we are unable to protect our domain names, our brand, business, and results of operations could be adversely affected. Domain names similar to ours have already been registered in the United States and elsewhere, and we may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring and using domain names that infringe, are similar to, or otherwise decrease the value of, our brand or our trademarks. In addition, although we own www.ui.com and various other global top-level domains, we might not be able to, or may choose not to, acquire or maintain other country-specific URLs in which we currently conduct or intend to conduct business.
Confidentiality agreements with our employees, licensees, independent contractors and others may not effectively prevent disclosure of our trade secrets, and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets. We may also fail or have failed to obtain such agreements from such persons due to administrative oversights or other reasons. Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly. Unauthorized use of our intellectual property, such as the production of counterfeits of our products, and unauthorized registration and use of our trademarks by third parties, is a matter of ongoing concern. The steps we have taken may not prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property. We may fail to detect infringements of, or take appropriate steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights. Our competitors might independently develop similar technology without infringing our intellectual property rights. Our inability or failure to effectively protect our intellectual property could reduce the value of our technology and could impair our ability to compete. Any inability or failure by us to
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meaningfully protect our intellectual property could result in competitors offering products that incorporate our most technologically advanced features.
We have initiated and may continue to initiate legal proceedings to enforce our intellectual property rights. Litigation, whether we are a plaintiff or a defendant, can be expensive and time-consuming, may place our intellectual property at risk of being invalidated or narrowed in scope, and may divert the efforts of our technical staff and managerial personnel.
Enforcement of our intellectual property rights abroad, particularly in China, Russia and South America, is limited.
The intellectual property protection and enforcement regimes in certain countries outside the United States are generally not as comprehensive as in the United States, and may not adequately protect our intellectual property. The legal regimes relating to the recognition and enforcement of intellectual property rights in China, Russia and South America are particularly limited. Legal proceedings to enforce our intellectual property in these jurisdictions may progress slowly, during which time infringement may continue largely unimpeded. Countries that have relatively inefficient intellectual property protection and enforcement regimes represent a significant portion of the demand for our products. These factors may make it more challenging for us to enforce our intellectual property rights against infringement. The infringement of our intellectual property rights, particularly in these jurisdictions, may materially harm our business in these markets and elsewhere by reducing our sales, and adversely affecting our results of operations, and diluting our brand or reputation.
Our contract manufacturers may not respect our intellectual property, and may produce products that compete with ours.
Our contract manufacturers operate primarily in Vietnam and China, where the prosecution of intellectual property infringement and trade secret theft is more difficult than in the United States. In the past, our contract manufacturers, their affiliates, their other customers or their suppliers have attempted to participate in efforts to misappropriate our intellectual property and trade secrets to manufacture our products for themselves or others without our knowledge. Even if the agreements with our contract manufacturers, and applicable laws, prohibit them from misusing our intellectual property and trade secrets, we may be unsuccessful in monitoring and enforcing our intellectual property rights against them. We have in the past, and may continue to discover, counterfeit goods being sold as our products or as other brands.
We operate in an industry with extensive intellectual property litigation.
Our commercial success depends in part upon us and our component suppliers not infringing intellectual property rights owned by others, and being able to resolve intellectual property claims without major financial expenditures. Our key component suppliers are often targets of intellectual property claims, and we are subject to claims as well.
There are numerous patents and patent applications in the United States and other countries relating to communications technologies. It can be difficult or impossible to conduct meaningful searches for patents relating to our technologies, or to approach third parties to seek a license to their patents. Even extensive searches for patents that may be relevant to our products may not uncover all relevant patents and patent applications. Because of the existence of a large number of patents in the networking field, the secrecy of some pending patents, and the rapid rate of issuance of new patents, it is not economically practical or even possible to determine in advance whether a product or any of its components infringes or will infringe on the patent rights of others. The asserted claims and/or initiated litigation can include claims against us or our manufacturers, suppliers, or customers, alleging infringement of their proprietary rights with respect to our existing or future products or components of those products. Regardless of the merit of these claims, they can be time-consuming, result in costly litigation and diversion of technical and management personnel, or require us to develop a non-infringing technology or enter into license agreements. Where claims are made by customers, resistance even to unmeritorious claims could damage customer relationships.
We cannot determine with certainty whether any existing or future third-party intellectual property rights would require us to alter our technologies, obtain licenses or cease certain activities. There can be no assurance that licenses will be available on acceptable terms and conditions, if at all, or that our suppliers will indemnify us, or that any indemnification will be adequate to cover our costs if a claim were brought directly against us or our customers. Furthermore, because of the potential for high court awards that are not necessarily predictable, it is not unusual to find even arguably unmeritorious claims settled for significant amounts.
We have received, and may in the future receive, claims from third parties, including competitors and non-practicing entities, asserting intellectual property infringement and other related claims. We expect to continue to receive such intellectual property claims in the future. As our revenues grow and our profile increases, the frequency and significance of these claims may increase.
Whether or not there is merit to a given claim, it can be time consuming and costly to defend against, and could:
•adversely affect our relationships with our current or future users, customers and suppliers;
•cause delays or stoppages in the shipment of our products;
•cause us to modify or redesign our products;
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•cause us to rebrand our products or services;
•subject us to a temporary or permanent injunction;
•divert management’s attention and resources;
•subject us to significant damages or settlements;
•cause us to give up some of our intellectual property;
•require us to enter into costly licensing agreements; or
•require us to cease offering certain of our products or services.
Some of our competitors may have substantially greater resources than we do and may be able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater degree and for longer periods of time than we could. In addition, patent holding companies and other third-party non-practicing entities that focus on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target our component suppliers, manufacturers, us, our distributors, members of our sales channels, our network operators and service providers, or other purchasers of our products. These companies typically have little or no product revenues and therefore our patents may provide little or no deterrence against such companies filing patent infringement lawsuits against our component suppliers, manufacturers, us, our distributors, members of our sales channels, network operators and service providers, or other purchasers of our products.
In addition to liability for monetary damages against us or, in certain circumstances, against end users of our products, we may be prohibited from developing, commercializing or continuing to provide certain of our products unless we obtain licenses from the holders of the patents or other intellectual property rights. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain any such licenses on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we do not obtain licenses, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially affected and we could, for example, be required to cease offering our products or be required to materially alter our products, which could involve substantial costs and time to develop.
The production of counterfeit versions of our products may reduce our sales levels and damage our brand.
We have in the past and continue to discover counterfeit versions of our products. Although we have taken steps to combat counterfeiting, it is difficult or impossible to detect or prevent all instances of counterfeiting. Particularly if the quality of counterfeit products is poor, damage could be done to our brand. Counterfeit sales, to the extent they replace otherwise legitimate sales, could also adversely affect our operating results. Combating counterfeiting is difficult and expensive, and may not be successful, especially in countries that have a relatively weak legal regime for the protection of intellectual property.
We use open source software in our products that may subject source code to public release or require us to re-engineer our products.
We use open source software in certain of our products, and may use more open source software in the future. There have been claims challenging the ownership of software and claims of copyright infringement against companies that use open source software in the development of their products. We could become subject to claims regarding the ownership of what we believe to be our proprietary software and claims of copyright infringement.
Usage of open source software can also lead to greater risks than the use of third-party commercial software, because open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on origin of the software.
Some open source licenses contain requirements that users make available and license the source code for the modifications or derivative works that they create based upon the open source software. If we combine our proprietary software with open source software we could, in some circumstances, be required to release our proprietary source code publicly or license such source code on unfavorable terms or at no cost. That could significantly diminish the value of some of our products and negatively affect our business.
We are incorporating artificial intelligence technologies into our products, services and processes. These technologies may present business, compliance, and reputational risks.
Recent technological advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning technology both present opportunities and pose risks to us. If we fail to keep pace with rapidly evolving technological developments in AI, our competitive position and business results may suffer. At the same time, use of AI has recently become the source of significant media attention and political debate. The introduction of these technologies, particularly generative AI, into internal processes, new and existing offerings may result in new or expanded risks and liabilities, including due to enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, compliance issues, ethical concerns, confidentiality or security risks, as well as other factors that could adversely affect our business, reputation, and financial results. In addition, our personnel could, unbeknownst to us, improperly utilize AI and machine learning-technology while carrying out their responsibilities. The use of artificial intelligence can lead to unintended consequences, including generating content that appears correct but is factually inaccurate, misleading or otherwise flawed, or that results in unintended biases and discriminatory outcomes, which could harm our reputation and business and expose us to risks related to inaccuracies or errors in the output of such
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technologies. We also face risks of competitive disadvantage if our competitors more effectively use AI to create new or enhanced products or services that we are unable to compete against.
Risks Related to Our Management and Structure
We are reliant on our founder and Chief Executive Officer, Robert J. Pera, and the departure or loss of Mr. Pera or other key personnel would disrupt our business.
Our success and future growth depend on the skills, working relationships and continued services of our founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robert J. Pera, as well as the other members of our management team. We do not maintain any significant key person insurance with regard to any of our personnel. Mr. Pera, in particular, is central to our product development efforts and overall strategic direction. The departure or loss of Mr. Pera or any of the other members of our management team and the inability to identify and hire a qualified replacement timely would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our business model relies in part on leanly staffed, independent and efficient research and development teams. Our research and development teams are organized around small groups or individual contributors for a given platform, and there is little overlap in knowledge and responsibilities. In the event that we are unable to retain the services of any key contributors or are unable to identify and attract additional contributors, we may be unable to bring our products or product improvements to market in a timely manner, if at all, due to disruption in our development activities.
Our future success also depends on our ability to attract, retain and motivate our management and skilled personnel. Competition for personnel exists in the industries in which we participate, particularly for persons with specialized experience in areas such as antenna design and radio frequency equipment. If we are unable to attract and retain the necessary personnel our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
We may fail to manage our growth effectively and develop and implement appropriate control systems.
We have substantially expanded our business and operations in recent periods, including increases in the number of our distributors, contract manufacturers, headcount locations and facilities. This rapid expansion places a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, and operational resources. Our business model reflects our decision to operate with streamlined infrastructure, with lower support and administrative headcount. This may increase the risks associated with managing our growth, and we may not have sufficient internal resources to adapt or respond to unexpected challenges and compliance requirements.
Our profitability may decline as we expand into new product areas.
We receive a substantial majority of our revenues from the sale of outdoor wireless networking equipment and enterprise WLAN. As we expand into other products and services, such as video surveillance equipment, voice communication equipment, security access equipment, wireless backhaul, consumer electronics, and Software-as-a-Services, we may not be able to compete effectively with existing market participants and may not be able to realize a positive return on the investment we have made in these products or services. Entering these markets may result in increased product development costs, and our new products may have extended time to market relative to our current products. If our introduction of a new product is not successful, or if we are not able to achieve the revenues or margins that we expect, our results of operations may be harmed and we may not recover our product development and marketing expenditures.
We may also be required to add a traditional direct sales force and customer support personnel to market and support new or existing products, which would cause us to experience substantially lower product margins or increase our operating expenses. Adding a traditional direct sales force or customer support personnel would reduce our operating income and may not be successful.
Our operating expenses are increasing as we make expenditures to enhance and expand our operations.
Over the past several years, we have increased our expenditure on infrastructure to support our anticipated growth. We are continuing to make significant investments in information systems, hiring more administrative personnel, using more professional services and expanding our operations outside the United States. We intend to make additional investments in systems and personnel and continue to expand our operations to support anticipated growth in our business. As a result, we expect our operating expenses to increase.
In addition, we may need in the future to build a traditional direct sales force to market and sell our products or provide additional resources or cooperative funds to our distributors. Such changes to our existing sales model would likely result in higher selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of our revenues.
We rely on third-party software and services to conduct our enterprise resource planning, financial planning and analysis, and financial reporting. We also rely on third party software and service for our computing, storage, bandwidth, and other services. Any disruption of or interference with these services would negatively affect our operations and seriously harm our business.
We currently use NetSuite and other software and services to conduct our order management and financial processes. The availability of this service is essential to the management of our business. As we expand our operations, we expect to utilize additional systems
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and service providers that may also be essential to managing our business. Although the systems and services that we require are typically available from a number of providers, it is time consuming and costly to qualify and implement these relationships.
We rely on third party service providers, such as G-Suite, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, to provide distributed computing infrastructure platforms for business operations, or what is commonly referred to as a “cloud” computing service. Any transition of the cloud services currently provided by these service providers to another cloud provider would be difficult to implement and will cause us to incur significant time and expense. If our existing cloud service providers experience interruptions in service regularly or for a prolonged basis, or other similar issues, our business would be seriously harmed. Additionally, our existing cloud service providers have broad discretion to change and interpret its terms of service and other policies with respect to us, and they may take actions beyond our control that could harm our business.
Our ability to manage our business would suffer if one or more of our providers suffer an interruption in their business, or experience delays, disruptions or quality control problems in their operations, or we have to change or add additional systems and services. We may not be able to control the quality of the systems and services we receive from third party service providers, which could impair our financial reporting and may negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our debt levels could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to pay dividends, repurchase our shares of common stock and fund our operations or limit our ability to react to changes in our industry or the economy.
As of June 30, 2024, our balance outstanding under the Amended Credit Agreement for our Term Facilities and Revolving Facility (each as defined herein), was $533.1 million and $175.0 million, respectively. In the future we may need to raise additional capital to finance our payment of dividends or repurchase shares of our common stock and fund our growth and operational goals. If additional financing is not available when required or on acceptable terms, we may not be able to pay dividends, repurchase shares of common stock, expand our business, develop or enhance our products, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, which could result in lower revenues and reduce the competitiveness of our products.
In addition, any potential debt level increases could have important consequences, including:
•requiring a substantial portion of cash flows from operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing our ability to use our cash flows to fund our operations and capital expenditures, pay dividends, repurchase shares of our common stock and pursue business opportunities;
•increasing our vulnerability to general industry and economic conditions;
•limiting our ability to make strategic acquisitions or causing us to make non-strategic divestitures;
•limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions and general corporate or other purposes; and
•limiting our ability to adjust to changing market conditions and placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors who are less highly leveraged or have access to more capital.
If we are unable to integrate future acquisitions successfully, our business, results of operations and prospects could be harmed.
We may make acquisitions to improve or expand our product offerings. Our future acquisition strategy will depend on our ability to identify, negotiate, complete and integrate acquisitions. These transactions involve numerous risks, including:
•difficulties or delays in integrating and managing the operations, systems, technologies, personnel and products of the companies we acquire, particularly in light of our lean organizational structure;
•diversion of our management’s attention from normal daily operation of our business;
•our inability to maintain the key business relationships and the brand equity of the businesses we acquire;
•our inability to retain key personnel of the acquired business, particularly in light of the demands we place on individual contributors;
•uncertainty of entry into markets in which we have limited or no prior experience and in which competitors have stronger market positions;
•our dependence on unfamiliar affiliates and partners of the companies we acquire;
•insufficient revenues to offset our increased expenses associated with acquisitions;
•our responsibility for the liabilities of the businesses we acquire, including those which we may not anticipate; and
•our inability to maintain internal standards, controls, procedures and policies, particularly in light of our lean organizational structure.
We may be unable to secure the equity or debt funding necessary to finance future acquisitions on terms that are acceptable to us. Completing acquisitions could consume significant amounts of cash. If we finance acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders will likely experience dilution, and if we finance future acquisitions with debt funding, we will incur interest expense and may have to comply with covenants and secure that debt obligation with our assets.
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Our investments in new businesses, products, services, technologies, joint ventures and other strategic transactions are inherently risky, and could disrupt our current operations.
We have invested and expect to continue to invest in new businesses, products, services, technologies, joint ventures and other strategic initiatives. These investments may involve significant risks and uncertainties, including insufficient revenues from such investments to offset any new liabilities assumed and expenses incurred in connection with these new investments, inadequate return of or loss of our investments, distraction of management from current operations, and unidentified issues not discovered in our due diligence of such investments that could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such investments and incur unanticipated costs, expenses and liabilities. Because these investments are inherently risky, no assurance can be given that such investments will be successful and will not adversely affect our reputation, business prospects, results of operation and financial condition.
Compliance with conflict mineral disclosure requirements necessitates additional compliance cost and may create reputational challenges.
Pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, United States publicly-traded companies are required to disclose use or potential use of certain minerals and their derivatives, including tantalum, tin, gold and tungsten, that are mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries and deemed conflict minerals.
These requirements necessitate due diligence efforts to assess whether such minerals are used in our products in order to make the relevant required annual disclosures. There are, and will be, ongoing costs associated with complying with these disclosure requirements, including diligence to determine the sources of those minerals that may be used or necessary to the production of our products. Accordingly, our ability to determine with certainty the origin and chain of custody of these raw materials is limited. We may face reputational challenges that could impact future sales if we determine that certain of our products contain minerals not determined to be conflict free or if we are unable to verify with sufficient accuracy the origins of all conflict minerals used in our products.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Our Chief Executive Officer owns a majority of our common stock.
Robert J. Pera, our founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, is able to exercise voting rights with respect to a majority of the voting power of our outstanding stock and therefore has the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentrated control could delay, defer, or prevent a change of control, merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets that our other stockholders support, or conversely this concentrated control could result in the consummation of such a transaction that our other stockholders do not support. This concentrated control could also discourage certain potential investors from acquiring our common stock and might harm the trading price of our stock. In addition, Mr. Pera has the ability to control the management and major strategic investments of our company as a result of his position as our Chief Executive Officer and his ability to control the election or replacement of our directors. In the event of his death, the shares of our stock that Mr. Pera owns will be transferred to his successors, who may desire or be required to sell a significant portion of such shares. As a board member and officer, Mr. Pera owes a fiduciary duty to our stockholders and must act in good faith in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of our stockholders. As a stockholder, even a controlling stockholder, Mr. Pera is entitled to vote his shares in his own interests, which may not always be in the interests of our stockholders generally.
As of August 23, 2024, Mr. Pera beneficially owned 56,278,181 shares of our common stock. These shares are eligible for resale into the public market within the restrictions imposed by Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933. Sales of a significant amount of Mr. Pera’s shares could adversely affect the market price for our common stock. Mr. Pera has indicated to us that he may in the future from time to time pledge shares of common stock as collateral for margin or other loans, enter into derivative transactions based on the value of our common stock, dispose of shares of common stock, otherwise monetize shares of his common stock and/or engage in other transactions relating to shares of our common stock and/or other securities of the company. In the event Mr. Pera pledges shares of common stock as collateral for margin or other loans, Mr. Pera may need to sell shares of our common stock to meet applicable repayment requirements. Upon a default under such loans, the lender could sell the pledged shares into the market without limitation on volume or manner of sale. Any of these activities by Mr. Pera may adversely affect the price of our common stock. However, Mr. Pera has also indicated that he intends to continue to own at least a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock.
Not paying cash dividends to our stockholders, or repurchasing shares of our common stock could cause the market price for our common stock to decline.
Our payment of cash dividends is subject to, among other things, declaration by the Board of Directors of the Company, our financial position and results of operations, available cash and cash flow, capital requirements, our obligations, contingent liabilities, applicable corporate legal requirements, and other factors. If the Company fails to meet expectations related to dividends, its stock price may decline, which could have a material adverse impact on investor confidence and employee retention. These and other factors may also
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affect our ability to repurchase shares of our common stock. Failure to pay cash dividends could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. Failure to repurchase shares of our common stock could also result in a lower market price of our common stock.
Fluctuations in our results of operations could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
Our quarterly results of operations fluctuate significantly due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control and are difficult or impossible to predict. We expect our results of operations will continue to fluctuate. You should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance. If our revenues or results of operations fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, or below any estimates we may provide to the market, the price of our common stock would likely decline substantially, which could have a material adverse impact on investor confidence and employee retention. Our common stock has experienced substantial price volatility since our initial public offering. In addition, the stock market as a whole has experienced major price and volume fluctuations that have affected the stock price of many technology companies in ways that may have been unrelated to these companies’ operating performance.
Factors that could cause our results of operation and stock price to fluctuate include:
•varying demand for our products due to the financial and operating condition of our distributors and their customers, distributor inventory management practices and general economic conditions;
•shifts in our fulfillment practices including increasing inventory levels as part of efforts to decrease our delivery lead times;
•failure of our suppliers to provide components;
•failure of our contract manufacturers and suppliers to meet our demand;
•success and timing of new product introductions by us, and our competitors;
•increased warranty costs;
•announcements by us or our competitors regarding products, promotions or other transactions;
•costs related to legal proceedings or responding to government inquiries;
•our ability to control and reduce product costs; and
•expenses of our entry into new markets.
In addition, our business may be subject to seasonality, although our recent growth rates and timing of product introductions may have historically masked our seasonal changes in demand. For example, our products may be subject to general seasonal spending trends associated with holidays.
Risks Related to Regulatory, Legal and Tax Matters
We are subject to export control and economic sanctions laws in the United States and elsewhere which could impair our ability to compete in international markets and subject us to liability if we do not comply with applicable laws.
A substantial majority of our sales are into countries outside of the United States. Sales of our products into certain countries are restricted or prohibited under U.S. export control and economic sanctions laws. In addition, certain of our products incorporate encryption components that are subject to export control regulations.
In May 2011, we filed a self-disclosure statement with the U.S. Commerce Department, Bureau of Industry and Security’s (“BIS”) Office of Export Enforcement (“OEE”) relating a review conducted by us regarding certain export transactions from 2008 through March 2011 in which products may have been later sold into Iran by third parties. In June 2011, we also filed a self-disclosure statement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) regarding these compliance issues. We resolved the matters described in our self-disclosures with the BIS and OFAC, and have taken significant steps towards ensuring our compliance with export control regulations and embargoes. It is, however, possible that violations may occur in the future. If violations should occur in the future, the response of regulators may be more severe in light of prior compliance concerns.
In addition to U.S. export regulations, various other countries regulate the import of certain encryption technology and products, and these laws could limit our ability to distribute our products or our customers’ ability to implement our products in those countries. Changes in our products or changes in export and import regulations may create delays in the introduction of our products in other countries, prevent our customers with international operations from deploying our products or, in some cases, prevent the transfer of our products to certain countries altogether. Any change in export or import regulations or related legislation, shift in approach to the enforcement or scope of existing regulations, or change in the countries, persons or technologies targeted by such regulations, could negatively impact our ability to sell our products to existing customers or the ability of our current and potential distributors, network operators and service providers outside the United States.
Even though we take precautions to prevent our products from being provided to targets of U.S. sanctions, our products, including our firmware updates, could be provided by our distributors, resellers and/or end users despite such precautions. Any such provision could
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have negative consequences, including government investigations, penalties and reputational harm. Our failure or inability to obtain required import or export approval for our products could harm our international and domestic sales and adversely affect our revenue.
Existing and new regulations, changes in existing regulations, or the enforcement of any regulations related to our products may result in unanticipated burdens, reduced demand, costs and liabilities and could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and our brand.
Our products are subject to governmental regulations in a variety of jurisdictions. In order to achieve and maintain market acceptance, our products must continue to comply with these regulations as well as a significant number of industry standards. For example, our wireless communication products operate through the transmission of radio signals, and radio emissions are subject to regulation in the United States and in other countries in which we do business. In the United States, various federal agencies including the Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and various state agencies have promulgated regulations that concern the use of radio/electromagnetic emissions standards. Member countries of the European Union and other countries have enacted similar standards concerning electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility and emissions, and chemical substances and use standards.
As these regulations and standards evolve, and if new regulations or standards are implemented, we will be required to modify our products or develop and support new versions of our products, and our compliance with these regulations and standards may become more burdensome. The failure of our products to comply, or delays in compliance, with the various existing and evolving industry regulations and standards could prevent or delay introduction of our products, which could harm our business. End customer uncertainty regarding future policies may also affect demand for communications products, including our products. For example, changes in government regulations providing funding for capital investment in new industries, products or services, such as any government funding of products supporting wireline connectivity rather than wireless connectivity, could adversely impact products that are purchased by our end customers and adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. Further, government requirements around the world requiring or providing preference to, domestically produced goods may limit our ability to sell our products to customers in such jurisdictions, impacting our ability to grow our sales in such jurisdictions, adversely impacting our revenues, operations and financial condition.
If existing laws or regulations regarding the use of our products or services are enforced in a manner not previously contemplated by us, our channel partners or our end customers, it could expose us or them to liability and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and our brand. Moreover, channel partners or end customers may require us, or we may otherwise deem it necessary or advisable, to alter our products to address actual or anticipated changes in the regulatory environment. Our inability to alter our products to address these requirements and any regulatory changes may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and our brand. Further, the enforcement of laws and regulations may force us to withdraw one or more of our products from sale in certain jurisdictions or to recall one or more of our products in certain jurisdictions. We may incur costs and expenses relating to a withdrawal from a particular market or a recall of one or more of our products. The process of identifying products that have been widely distributed for withdrawals and recalls may be lengthy and require significant resources and we may incur significant replacement costs, damage claims and harm to our reputation. We are and expect to continue to be the subject of investigations, inquiries, data requests, actions, orders, and audits by government authorities and regulators in the United States, the European Union, and around the world. Orders issued by, or inquiries or enforcement actions initiated by, government or regulatory authorities could cause us to incur substantial costs, expose us to unanticipated liability or penalties or require us to change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our financial condition, results of operations, and our brand.
Our failure to comply with U.S. and foreign laws related to privacy, data security, cybersecurity and data protection, such as the E.U. Data Protection Directive and China Cybersecurity Law, could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and our brand.
We are or may become subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and abroad regarding privacy, data security, cybersecurity and data protection. These laws and regulations are continuously evolving and developing. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to us and our business, including our webstore sales, are often uncertain and may be conflicting, particularly with respect to foreign laws.
In particular, there are numerous U.S. federal, state, and local laws and regulations and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy and the collection, sharing, use, processing, disclosure, and protection of personal information and other user data. Such laws and regulations often have changes in scope, may be subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among different jurisdictions. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, these regulations may limit the use and adoption of our products and services and could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
For example, in April 2016, the E.U. Parliament approved a new data protection regulation, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which came into force on May 25, 2018. The GDPR includes operational requirements for companies that receive or process personal data of residents of the European Union that are different than those previously in place in the European Union, and that include significant penalties for non-compliance. Another example, in November 2016, the Standing Committee of
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China’s National People’s Congress passed China’s first Cybersecurity Law (“CSL”), which took effect in June 2017. The CSL is the first Chinese law that systematically lays out the regulatory requirements on cybersecurity and data protection, subjecting many previously under-regulated or unregulated activities in cyberspace to government scrutiny. More recently, the Personal Information Security Specification went into effect in October 2020, which has broad but uncertain applications and imposes a number of new privacy and data security obligations. China is also implementing new legislation on the protection of privacy and personal data, including a Personal Information Protection Law and a Data Security Law, each of which went into effect in September 2021 and may impose new obligations on us.
Additionally, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended (the “CCPA”) that, among other things, requires covered companies to provide new disclosures to California consumers, and afford such consumers new abilities to opt-out of certain sales of personal information. The CCPA took effect on January 1, 2020 with the privacy provisions enforceable by the California Attorney General as of July 1, 2020, and the regulations becoming enforceable as of August 1, 2020. The CCPA was significantly expanded on January 1, 2023, when the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) became effective. The CPRA amendments, among other things, give California residents the ability to limit use of certain sensitive personal information, further restrict the use of cross-contextual advertising, establish restrictions on the retention of personal information, expand the types of data breaches subject to the CCPA’s private right of action, provide for increased penalties for CCPA violations concerning California residents under the age of 16, and establish a new California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the new law. In addition, data privacy and security laws have been proposed at the federal, state, and local levels in recent years, which could further complicate compliance efforts. For example, states such as Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Utah have enacted their own data privacy laws. Given the recent implementation of these regulations, we cannot yet predict the impact of these regulations on our business or operations.
We strive to comply with all applicable laws, policies and legal obligations relating to privacy, data security, cybersecurity and data protection. However, given that the scope, interpretation, and application of these laws and regulations are often uncertain and may be conflicting, it is possible that these obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. Any failure or perceived failure by us or third-party service-providers to comply with our privacy or security policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other user data, may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation, or negative publicity, and could have an adverse effect on our brand, results of operations and financial condition.
Governments are continuing to focus on privacy, cybersecurity, data protection and data security and it is possible that new privacy or data security laws will be passed or existing laws will be amended in a way that is material to our business. Any significant change to applicable laws, regulations, or industry practices regarding our employees’ and users’ data could require us to modify our business, services and products features, possibly in a material manner, and may limit our ability to develop new products, services, and features. Although we have made efforts to design our policies, procedures, and systems to comply with the current requirements of applicable state, federal, and foreign laws, changes to applicable laws and regulations in this area could subject us to additional regulation and oversight, any of which could significantly increase our operating costs.
Government regulations designed to protect personal privacy may make it difficult for us to sell our products.
Our products may transmit and store personal information. The handling of such information is increasingly subject to regulations in numerous jurisdictions around the world. These regulations are typically intended to protect the privacy and security of personal information that is collected, stored and transmitted in or from the governing jurisdiction. In addition, because various foreign jurisdictions have different regulations concerning the storage and transmission of personal information, we may face unknown requirements that pose compliance challenges in new geographic markets that we seek to enter. Our efforts to protect the privacy of information may also fail if our encryption and security technology is inadequate or fails to operate as expected. The difficulties in complying with privacy and data protection regulations could subject us to costs, delayed product launches, liabilities or negative publicity that could impair our ability to maintain or expand our operations into some countries and therefore limit our future growth.
The vast majority of our products rely on the availability of specific unlicensed radio frequency spectrum.
The vast majority of our products operate in unlicensed radio frequency (“RF”) spectrum, which is used by a wide range of devices such as cordless phones, baby monitors, and microwave ovens, and is becoming increasingly crowded. If such spectrum usage continues to increase through the proliferation of consumer electronics and products competitive with ours, and others, the resultant higher levels of clutter and interference in the frequency bands used by our products could decrease the usage of our products. Our business could be further harmed if currently unlicensed RF spectrum becomes subject to licensing in the United States or elsewhere. Network operators and service providers that use our products may be unable to obtain licenses for RF spectrum at reasonable prices or at all. Even if the unlicensed spectrum remains unlicensed, existing and new government regulations may require we make changes in our products. For example, to provide products for network operators and service providers who utilize unlicensed RF spectrum, we may be required to limit their ability to use our products in licensed RF spectrum. The operation of our products by network operators
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or service providers in the United States or elsewhere in a manner not in compliance with local law could result in fines, operational disruption, or harm to our reputation. In addition, if new spectrums, either licensed or unlicensed, are made available by government regulatory agencies for broadband wireless communication that may disrupt the competitive landscape of our industry and impact our business.
We could be adversely affected by unfavorable results in litigation.
We may be involved, from time to time, in a variety of claims, lawsuits, investigations, and proceedings relating to contractual disputes, intellectual property rights, employment matters, regulatory compliance matters, consumer or securities class-actions and other litigation matters relating to various claims that arise in the normal course of business and otherwise. It can be difficult or impossible to predict the outcome of legal proceedings with any degree of certainty, particularly given that laws may be ambiguous and factual findings can often be the result of incomplete evidence, opinions, varying standards or proof, and extraneous factors. Any such proceedings or matters may adversely affect how we operate the business, divert the attention of management from the operation of the business, have an adverse effect on our reputation, result in additional costs and adversely affect our results of operations. If one or more of the legal proceedings to which we may be or become a party are resolved against us, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We may become subject to warranty claims, product liability and product recalls.
We have received, and may in the future receive, warranty or product liability claims that may require us to make significant expenditures to defend these claims or pay damage awards. In the event of a successful warranty claim, we may also incur costs if we compensate the affected network operator or service provider. Such claims may require a significant amount of time and expense to resolve and defend against, and could also harm our reputation by calling into question the quality of our products. We also may incur costs and expenses relating to a recall of one or more of our products. The process of identifying recalled products that have been widely distributed may be lengthy and require significant resources and we may incur significant replacement costs, contract damage claims and harm to our reputation.
Our customers and the users of our products may expect us to indemnify them against claims for intellectual property infringement, defective products and other losses.
Our customers, users and other parties may expect us to indemnify them for losses incurred in connection with our products, including as a result of intellectual property infringement, defective products, and security vulnerabilities, even if our agreements with them do not require us to provide this indemnification. In some instances, we may decide to defend and indemnify them, irrespective of whether we believe that we have an obligation to do so. The expenses associated with providing indemnification can be substantial. We may also reject demands for indemnification, which may lead to disputes with a customer or other party and may negatively impact our relationships with them.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial condition or results of operations or safeguard our assets.
Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with other controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, and prevent us from producing accurate and timely financial statements to manage our business. If we fail to do so, our business could be negatively affected and our independent registered public accounting firm may be unable to attest to the fair presentation of our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud, our reputation and results of operations could be harmed. Even effective internal controls have inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud. Therefore, even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. The preparation of consolidated financial statements also requires us to make estimates and assumptions. We base our estimates on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. To the extent that there are differences between our estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected. As events continue to evolve our estimates may change materially in future periods. In addition, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting in future periods are subject to the risk that the control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or a deterioration in the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures. We have in the past and may in the future fail to maintain adequate internal controls. For example, as reported in the Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the years ended June 30, 2015 and 2016, management of the Company determined that the Company did not maintain an effective control environment, which contributed to three material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting. As described in more detail in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, under Item 9A. “Controls and Procedures”, the Company completed the remediation efforts of such material weakness, completed testing of the controls to address such material weaknesses and concluded that the previously reported material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting have been satisfactorily remediated as of
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June 30, 2017. Any such failure (including any failure to implement new or improved controls, difficulties in the execution of such implementation or deterioration of our current control practices) may result in an inability to prevent fraud, or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Any such failures may cause a material adverse effect on our business and financial results, and investor confidence and the market price of our stock may be adversely affected.
Failure to comply with the FCPA and similar laws could subject us to penalties and other adverse consequences.
We face significant risks if we fail to comply with the FCPA and other laws (such as the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010) that prohibit improper payments or offers of payment to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by us and other business entities acting on our behalf for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, particularly as our foreign operations, such as in Taiwan, become increasingly important to our business.
In many foreign countries, particularly in countries with developing economies, which represent our principal markets, it may be a local custom that businesses operating in such countries engage in business practices that are prohibited by the FCPA or other laws and regulations. Although we have implemented a company policy requiring our employees and consultants to comply with the FCPA and similar laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, and agents, as well as those companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, will not take actions in violation of our policies, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. Any violation of FCPA or similar laws could result in severe criminal or civil sanctions and suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracting, which could have a material and adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our results could be adversely affected by unfavorable tax law changes, an unfavorable government review of our tax returns, or changes in our geographic earnings mix.
We are subject to periodic audits or other reviews by tax authorities in the jurisdictions in which we conduct our activities. Tax authorities could challenge our assertions with respect to how we have conducted our business operations which might result in a claim for larger tax payments from us, including, but not limited to, income and withholding taxes and potential fines or penalties. The expense of defending and resolving such audits may be significant. The amount of time to resolve such audits is also unpredictable and may divert management’s attention from our business operations. We regularly assess the likelihood of favorable or unfavorable outcomes resulting from these audits or other reviews to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. Although we believe our interpretation of tax laws and tax estimates are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any final determination by taxing authorities will not be materially different from the treatment reflected in our historical income tax provisions and accruals, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In the ordinary course of our business, there are many instances where the determination of tax implications is uncertain. We record a liability for unrecognized tax benefits associated with uncertain tax positions which often involves significant management judgment as to the interpretations of applicable tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we file. The final determination of our income tax liabilities by taxing authorities may be materially different than what is reflected in our income tax provisions and accruals which could materially affect our tax obligations and effective tax rate.
The legislative bodies in many jurisdictions regularly consider proposed legislation that, if adopted, could affect our tax rate in such jurisdictions, and the carrying value of our deferred tax assets or our tax liabilities. Multi-jurisdictional changes enacted in response to the guidelines provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) to address base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”), and additional amendments or guidance regarding comprehensive U.S. tax reform, among other things, may change certain U.S. tax rules impacting the way U.S. multinationals are taxed, increase tax uncertainty and adversely impact our provision for income taxes.
As a global company, we conduct operations in multiple jurisdictions, and therefore our effective tax rate is influenced by the amounts of income and expense attributed to each such jurisdiction and the amount and type of presence in each such jurisdiction. If such amounts were to change so as to increase the amounts of our net income subject to taxation in higher tax jurisdictions, or if we were to increase our operations in jurisdictions assessing relatively higher tax rates, our effective tax rate could be adversely affected. Additionally, withholding taxes vary by jurisdiction and any changes to our operations in each jurisdiction could result in greater taxation to the company. A number of factors may affect our future effective tax rates including, but not limited to:
• the interpretation of country-by-country reports and outcome of discussions with various tax authorities regarding intercompany transfer pricing arrangements;
• changes that involve Ubiquiti’s supply chain outside of the United States;
• changes in the composition of earnings in countries or states with differing tax rates;
• the resolution of issues arising from tax audits with various tax authorities,
• changes to tax laws regarding R&D tax credits;
• changes in share-based compensation; and
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• changes in tax law and/or generally accepted accounting principles.
From time to time the United States, foreign and state governments make substantive changes to tax laws and regulations. For example, in 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which made a number of changes, including changing the taxation of certain foreign earnings and the requirement to capitalize and amortize research and development expenditures. Further, in 2022, the U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act, which made a number of changes, including adding a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks by publicly-traded corporations and a 15% corporate minimum tax for companies with higher than $1 billion of certain adjusted financial statement income. As a result of the 1% excise tax, the cost to us of making repurchases will increase. Changes in tax laws and regulations and interpretations of such laws and regulations, including taxation of earnings outside of the U.S., may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 1C. Cybersecurity
Risk Management and Strategy
As part of our overall enterprise risk management function, we have implemented and currently maintain various information security processes designed to assess, identify, and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats to our critical computer network, third-party hosted services, and our critical data (collectively, our “Information Systems”).
We have engaged an outside consultant that assists our efforts to prevent threats toward our Information Systems. This consultant monitors data feeds from certain of our key Information Systems. The consultant notifies and works with the Company to investigate and resolve any potential cybersecurity threats identified.
Internally, to help manage risk from potential cybersecurity threats, we require our employees to participate in mandatory cybersecurity trainings provided by a third-party specialist which focuses on building awareness of common tactics by threat actors, such as phishing. This training is provided on an annual basis.
All of our offices use our own gateway consoles, which have intrusion detection features built in. Additionally, access to our key Information Systems requires an in-office network or VPN with multi-factor authentication, and we employ additional protective measures including the use of our proprietary identity management tool. We also use third-party tools to protect our employee laptops and self-hosted servers and have implemented a public bug bounty program that helps to identify vulnerabilities in our products.
We and certain of our vendors have experienced cyber-attacks in the past and may experience cyber-attacks in the future. For example, as previously disclosed, we became aware in January 2021 that certain of our information technology systems hosted by a third-party cloud provider were improperly accessed and certain of our source code and the credentials used to access the information technology systems themselves had been compromised. We received a threat to publicly release these materials unless we made a payment, which we have not done. As a result, it is possible that the source code and other information could be publicly disclosed or made available to our competitors. Due to the nature of the source code and the other information that we believe was improperly accessed, we at this time do not believe that any public disclosure will have a material adverse effect on our business or operations, but it is impossible to gauge the precise impact of any such disclosure.
Except as described above, to date, risks from cybersecurity threats have not previously materially affected us, and we currently do not expect that the risks from cybersecurity threats are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our business, strategy, results of operations or financial condition. For additional information about cybersecurity risks, see Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”
Governance
Role of the Board
Our Board of Directors (the “Board”) has the responsibility for the oversight of risk management, including those risks related to cybersecurity. Our Board holds strategic planning sessions with senior management to discuss strategies, key challenges, risks and opportunities for us. This involvement of our Board in setting our business strategy is a key part of its oversight of risk management, its assessment of management’s appetite for risk, and its determination of what constitutes an appropriate level of risk for us. Our senior management attends meetings of our Board and its committees on a quarterly basis, and as otherwise needed, and are available to address any questions or concerns raised by our Board on risk management and any other matters.
Role of Management
Our senior management, with the oversight of the Board, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the material risks we face, including those related to cybersecurity. We believe it is important to work cross functionally within the Company to manage cybersecurity risks and threats. Therefore, our cybersecurity team is made up of individuals from multiple different departments throughout the Company, including but not limited to our security, IT, R&D and legal teams. The cybersecurity team as a whole has academic degrees related to cybersecurity, technical know-how, and real-world experience managing cybersecurity incidents and risks. Material issues identified by our cybersecurity team are brought to the attention of our Chief Executive Officer and/or our Executive Vice President of Operations and Legal Affairs who in turn will update the Board, as necessary.
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Item 2. Properties
Our headquarters are located in New York, NY, which we lease through September 30, 2027. In addition, we also lease office and building space around the world and within the facilities of certain suppliers for use as research and development facilities, business development and support offices, warehouses and logistics centers, and test facilities. The size and location of these properties change from time to time based on business requirements. For our research and development and business development and support personnel, we have leased offices in Taiwan, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, India, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and elsewhere, including various locations within China and the United States of America. We believe that our existing properties are in good condition and suitable for the conduct of our business.
Below are our material locations as of June 30, 2024, all of which we lease.
| Location | Sq. Ft | Lease expiration | Purpose | |||||||||||||||||
| New York | 6,400 | 9/30/2027 | Corporate Office | |||||||||||||||||
| Taiwan | 328,000 | 7/31/2027 | R&D and Administration | |||||||||||||||||
| Czech Republic | 64,000 | 3/31/2029 | Warehouse | |||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 72,000 | 6/30/2028 | Warehouse and R&D | |||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 86,000 | 10/31/2028 | Warehouse | |||||||||||||||||
| Suzhou | 93,000 | 6/16/2025 | Manufacturing Facility | |||||||||||||||||
| Netherlands | 149,000 | 5/31/2036 | Warehouse | |||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 161,000 | 8/31/2031 | Warehouse | |||||||||||||||||
| Chicago - Schaumburg | 30,000 | 7/31/2031 | R&D and Administration | |||||||||||||||||
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Information with respect to this item may be found in Note 9 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included under Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Common Stock Information
As of August 22, 2024, the number of record holders of our common stock, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "UI", was 6. Because most of our shares are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of beneficial stockholders represented by these record holders.
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return for our common stock from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2024, with the comparable cumulative return the NYSE Composite Index and the S&P Computer & Retail Index. The graph assumes that $100 was invested on July 1, 2019 in our common stock, the NYSE Composite Index and the S&P Computer & Retail Index and assumes reinvestment of any dividends. The stock price performance on the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance. This performance graph shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
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COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
Among Ubiquiti Inc., the NYSE Composite Index and the S&P 500 Computer & Electronics Retail Index
*$100 invested on July 1, 2019 in stock or index, including reinvestments of dividends.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
None.
Dividends
The following tables provides information with respect to the Company’s cash dividends declared and frequency of payments during fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 and 2023:
| Year ended June 30, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Dividends declared date | August 25, 2023 | November 2, 2023 | February 5, 2024 | May 7, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dividends payment date | September 11, 2023 | November 20, 2023 | February 26, 2024 | May 28, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Cash dividend paid per common stock | $0.60 | $0.60 | $0.60 | $0.60 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Year ended June 30, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Dividends declared date | August 26, 2022 | November 4, 2022 | January 31, 2023 | May 5, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dividends payment date | September 13, 2022 | November 21, 2022 | February 21, 2023 | May 22, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Cash dividend paid per common stock | $0.60 | $0.60 | $0.60 | $0.60 | |||||||||||||||||||
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On August 23, 2024, the Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.60 per share payable on September 9, 2024 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 3, 2024. The Company intends to pay regular quarterly cash dividends of at least $0.60 per share during each remaining quarter of fiscal 2025, however any future dividends will be subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors. In determining whether to approve future dividends, the Company’s Board of Directors will take into account such matters as our financial position and results of operations, available cash and cash flow, capital requirements, growth opportunities, applicable corporate legal requirements, and other factors deemed relevant.
Unregistered Securities Sold During fiscal 2024
We did not sell any unregistered securities during fiscal 2024.
Item 6. Reserved
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Overview
We develop technology platforms for high-capacity distributed Internet access, unified information technology, and consumer electronics for professional, home and personal use. We categorize our solutions into three main categories: high performance networking technology for enterprises, service providers and consumers. We target the enterprise and service provider markets through our highly engaged community of service providers, distributors, value added resellers, webstores, systems integrators and corporate IT professionals, which we refer to as the Ubiquiti Community. We target consumers through digital marketing, including through our webstores, retail chains and, to a lesser extent, the Ubiquiti Community.
In addition to Mr. Pera, our founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, who is central to our business, the majority of our human capital resources consist of entrepreneurial and de-centralized research and development (“R&D”) personnel. We do not employ a traditional direct sales force, but instead drive brand awareness through online reviews and publications, our website, our distributors and our user community where customers can interface directly with our R&D, marketing, and support teams. Our technology platforms were designed from the ground up with a focus on delivering highly-advanced and easily-deployable solutions that appeal to a global customer base.
We offer a broad and expanding portfolio of networking products and solutions for operator-owners of wireless internet services (“WISPs”), enterprises and smart homes. Our operator-owner service-provider-product platforms provide carrier-class network infrastructure for fixed wireless broadband, wireless backhaul systems and routing and the related software for WISPs to easily control, track and bill their customers. Our enterprise product platforms provide wireless LAN (“WLAN”) infrastructure, video surveillance products, switching and routing solutions, security gateways, door access systems, and other complimentary WLAN products along with a unique software platform, which enables users to control their network from one simple, easy to use software interface. Our consumer products are targeted to the smart home and highly connected consumers. We believe that our products are differentiated due to our proprietary software, firmware expertise, and hardware design capabilities.
We distribute our products through a worldwide network of over 100 distributors and online retailers and direct to customers through our webstores.
Supply Constraints and Risks – We have experienced significant supply constraints in the past, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our efforts to mitigate these supply constraints have included, for example, increasing our inventory build in an attempt to secure supply and meet customer demand, paying higher component and shipping costs to secure supply and modifying our product designs to leverage alternate suppliers. Although these mitigation efforts are intended to optimize our access to the components required to meet customer demand for our products, we have limited visibility into future sales, which makes it difficult to forecast our future results of operations. These mitigation efforts have caused our inventory and vendor deposit balances to increase in the past, and they may cause such increases in the future. These mitigation efforts therefore significantly increase the risks of future material excess, obsolete inventory and related losses. We believe that we have taken the right actions to mitigate these supply constraints; however, we recognize the associated risks.
Russia-Ukraine Military Conflict - We are monitoring the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, escalating tensions in surrounding countries, and associated economic sanctions. While the impact on our operations in Ukraine and its surrounding countries has not been material to our business or results of operations as of the date hereof, the full impact of the military conflict on our business and results of operations remains uncertain. The extent to which the conflict may impact our business or results of
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operations in future periods will depend on future developments, including the severity and duration of the conflict, its impact on regional and global economic conditions, as well as its impact on surrounding countries, including its impact on our operations in Ukraine and its surrounding countries, and its impact on global supply chains. Refer to “Part I – Item IA. Risk Factors” for a discussion of these factors and other risks.
China-Taiwan Tensions - We are monitoring the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan, and associated tensions between the U.S. and China. While the impact on our operations in Taiwan has not been material to our business or results of operations as of the date hereof, the full impact of the escalating tensions and potential military conflict on our business and results of operations remains uncertain. The extent to which the conflict may impact our business or results of operations in future periods will depend on future developments, including the severity and duration of the conflict, its impact on regional and global economic conditions, as well as its impact on China-U.S. relations, including its impact on our operations in Taiwan, and its impact on global supply chains. Refer to “Part I – Item IA. Risk Factors” for a discussion of these factors and other risks.
Key Components of Our Results of Operations and Financial Condition
Revenues
We operate our business as one reportable and operating segment. Further information regarding Segments can be found in Note 13, "Segment Information, Revenues by Geography and Significant Customers," to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Our revenues are derived principally from the sale of networking hardware. Because we have historically included implied post-contract customer support (“PCS”) free of charge in many of our arrangements, we attribute a portion of our systems revenues to this implied PCS.
We classify our revenues into two primary product categories: Enterprise Technology and Service Provider Technology.
•Enterprise Technology includes our UniFi platforms, including UniFi Cloud Gateways, UniFi WiFi, UniFi Switches, UniFi Protect, UniFi Access, UniFi Talk, UniFi Connect and our AmpliFi platform.
•Service Provider Technology includes our airMAX, UISP, EdgeMAX, UFiber, Wave, GPON and airFiber platforms, as well as embedded radio products and other 802.11 standard products including base stations, radios, backhaul equipment and CPE.
We sell our products and solutions globally to enterprises and service providers primarily through our extensive network of distributors, and, to a lesser extent, through sales through our webstores. Sales to distributors accounted for 62% and 64% of our revenues during the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Webstore sales accounted for 38% and 36% of our revenues during the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Cost of Revenues
Our cost of revenues is comprised primarily of the costs of procuring finished goods from our contract manufacturers and certain key components that we consign to certain of our contract manufacturers. In addition, cost of revenues includes labor and other costs which include salary, benefits and share-based compensation, in addition to costs associated with tooling, testing and quality assurance, warranty costs, logistics costs, tariffs and excess and obsolete inventory write-downs.
We currently operate warehouses located in the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. In addition, we outsource other logistics warehousing and order fulfillment functions located in Vietnam and to a lesser extent in other countries. We also evaluate and utilize other vendors for various portions of our supply chain from time to time. Our operations organization consists of employees and consultants engaged in the management of our contract manufacturers, new product introduction activities, logistical support and engineering.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit has been, and may in the future be, influenced by several factors including changes in product mix, target end markets for our products, channel inventory levels, tariffs, pricing due to competitive pressure, production costs and global demand for electronic components. Although we procure and sell our products mostly in U.S. dollars, our contract manufacturers incur many costs, including labor costs, in other currencies. To the extent that the exchange rates move unfavorably for our contract manufacturers, they may try to pass these additional costs on to us, which could have a material impact on our future average selling prices and unit costs. In June 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced new proposed tariffs for certain products imported into the U.S. from China. The vast majority of our products that are imported into the U.S. from China are currently subject to tariffs that range between 7.5% and 25%. These tariffs have affected our operating results and margins. For so
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long as such tariffs are in effect, we expect it will continue to affect our operating results and margins. As a result, our historical and current gross profit margins may not be indicative of our gross profit margins for future periods. Refer to “Part I — Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our International Operations — Our business may be negatively affected by political events and foreign policy responses” for additional information.
Operating Expenses
We classify our operating expenses as research and development and sales, general and administrative expenses.
•Research and development expenses consist primarily of salary and benefit expenses, including share-based compensation, for employees and costs for contractors engaged in research, design and development activities, as well as costs for prototypes, licensed or purchased intellectual property, facilities and travel. Over time, we expect our research and development costs to increase as we continue making significant investments in developing new products in addition to new versions of our existing products.
•Sales, general and administrative expenses include salary and benefit expenses, including share-based compensation, for employees and costs for contractors engaged in sales, marketing and general and administrative activities, as well as the costs associated with credit card processing fees, legal expenses, trade shows, marketing programs, promotional materials, bad debt expense, professional services, facilities, general liability insurance and travel. As our product portfolio and targeted markets expand, we may need to employ different sales models, such as building a traditional direct sales force. These sales models would likely increase our costs. Over time, we expect our sales, general and administrative expenses to increase in absolute dollars due to continued growth in headcount, expansion of our efforts to register and defend trademarks and patents and to support our business and operations.
Provisions for Income Taxes
We use the asset and liability method to account for income taxes. Significant management judgment is required in determining the provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against net deferred tax assets. In preparing the consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. We must assess potential exposures and, where necessary, provide a reserve to cover any expected loss. To the extent that we establish a reserve, the provision for income taxes would be increased. If we ultimately determine that payment of these amounts is unnecessary, we reverse the liability and recognize a tax benefit during the period in which we determine that the liability is no longer necessary. We record an additional charge in our provision for taxes in the period in which we determine that tax liability is greater than our original estimate. We recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits on the income tax expense line in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income. Refer to “Part I —Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Regulatory, Legal and Tax Matters — Changes in applicable tax regulations could negatively affect our financial results” for additional information.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by GAAP and does not require management’s judgment in its application. In other cases, management’s judgment is required in selecting among available alternative accounting standards that provide for different accounting treatment for similar transactions. The preparation of consolidated financial statements also requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts we report as assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses and affect the related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. In many instances, we could reasonably use different accounting estimates, and in some instances changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period. Accordingly, our actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are differences between our estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected. As events continue to evolve our estimates may change materially in future periods. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.
Recognition of Revenues
Revenue consists of revenue from sales of hardware and the related essential software (“Products”) as well as related implied PCS. We recognize revenue when obligations under the terms of a contract with our customers are satisfied, generally, upon transfer of control of promised goods or services to customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for those goods or services. We apply the following five-step revenue recognition model:
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•Identification of the contract, or contracts with a customer
•Identification of the performance obligations in the contract
•Determination of the transaction price
•Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract
•Recognition of revenue when, or as, we satisfy the performance obligation
Transfer of control to the customer for products generally occurs at the point in time when products have been shipped to our customer as this represents the point in time when the customer has a present obligation to pay and physical possession including title and risk of loss have been transferred to the customer. Revenue for PCS is recognized ratably over time over the estimated period for which implied PCS services will be delivered.
PCS is the right to receive, on a when-and-if available basis, future unspecified software upgrades and features relating to the product’s essential software as well as technical support and bug fixes.
We account for a contract with a customer when there is an approval and commitment from both parties, the rights of the parties are identified, payment terms are identified, the contract has commercial substance and collectability of the consideration is probable. Our distinct performance obligations consist mainly of transferring control of our products identified in the contracts, purchase orders or invoices and implied PCS services.
Our contracts with the majority of our distribution customers do not include provisions for cancellations, returns, inventory swaps, or refunds that materially impact recognized revenue. Internet or Web based sales include regulatory provisions which allow customers to return the goods, generally within 30 days. We record a provision for returns related to this variable consideration based upon its historical returns experience with these customers.
We record amounts billed for shipping and handling costs as revenues. We classify shipping and handling costs incurred by us as cost of revenue. Deposits payments received from distributors in advance of recognition of revenues are included in current liabilities of our balance sheet and are recognized as revenues when all the criteria for recognition of revenues are met.
Transaction price and allocation to performance obligations
Transaction prices are typically based on contracted rates. Although payment terms vary, payment is generally due from distribution customers within 60 days of the invoice date and the contracts do not have significant financing components or include extended payment terms. We are directly responsible for fulfilling the performance obligations in contracts with customers and do not rely on another party to fulfill our promise. We use observable list prices to determine the stand-alone selling price of our performance obligation related to our products, and we utilize a cost-plus margin approach to estimate the stand-alone selling price of our implied PCS obligation. When our contracts contain multiple performance obligations, we allocate the transaction price based on the estimated standalone selling prices of the promised products or services underlying each performance obligation.
The expected costs associated with our base warranties continue to be recognized as an expense when the products are sold and is not considered a separate performance obligation.
Costs for research and development and sales and marketing are expensed as incurred. If the estimated life of the hardware product should change, the future rate of amortization of the revenues allocated to PCS could also change.
Key factors considered by the Company in developing the estimated cost in the cost plus margin approach for PCS include reviewing the activities of specific employees engaged in support and software enhancements to determine the amount of time that is allocated to the development of the undelivered elements, determining the cost of the development effort, and then adding an appropriate level of gross profit to these costs.
Inventory and Inventory Valuation
Our inventories are comprised of finished goods and raw materials. Inventories are stated at the lower of actual cost, computed using the first-in, first-out method, or net realizable value (NRV). NRV is based upon an estimated average selling price reduced by the estimated costs of disposal. The determination of NRV involves numerous judgments including estimating average selling prices based upon recent sales. Should actual market conditions differ from our estimates, future results of operations could be materially affected. We reduce the value of our inventory for estimated obsolescence or lack of marketability by the difference between the cost of the affected inventory and the NRV. Write-downs are not reversed until the related inventory has been subsequently sold or scrapped.
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The valuation of inventory also requires us to estimate excess and obsolete inventory. The determination of excess or obsolete inventory is estimated based on a comparison of the quantity and cost of inventory on hand to our forecast of customer demand which is dependent on various factors and requires us to use judgment in forecasting future demand for its products. We also consider the rate at which new products will be accepted in the marketplace and how quickly customers will transition from older products to newer products. If actual market conditions are less favorable than those projected by us, additional inventory write-downs may be required, which would have a negative impact on our gross margin. If we ultimately sell inventory that has been previously written down, our gross margins in future periods would be positively impacted.
We capitalize manufacturing overhead expenditures as part of inventory costs. Capitalized costs primarily include management’s best estimate of the indirect labor, tariffs, shipping and logistics costs incurred related to inventory acquired or produced but not sold during the respective period. Manufacturing overhead costs are capitalized to inventory and are recognized as cost of revenues in future periods based on when the inventory is sold or written-down.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes by recognizing deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in our financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. We establish valuation allowances when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount we expect to realize. The assessment of whether or not a valuation allowance is required often requires significant judgment including current operating results, the forecast of future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning initiatives.
In addition, our calculation of our tax liabilities involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax laws. We may be subject to income tax audits in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate and, as a result, must also assess exposures to any potential issues arising from current or future audits of current and prior years’ tax returns. Accordingly, we must assess such potential exposures and, where necessary, provide a reserve to cover any expected loss. We recognize tax benefits from uncertain tax positions only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such positions are then measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement.
The calculation of tax liabilities involves significant judgment in estimating the impact of uncertainties in the application of GAAP and complex tax laws. Resolution of these uncertainties in a manner inconsistent with management’s expectations could have a material impact on our financial condition and operating results. We reflect changes in recognition or measurement in the period in which our change in judgment occurs.
We recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits on the income tax expense line in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income. Accrued interest and penalties are included on the related tax liability line in the consolidated balance sheet.
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Results of Operations
Comparison of Years Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except percentages) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 1,928,490 | 100 | % | $ | 1,940,512 | 100 | % | |||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues (1) | 1,188,728 | 62 | % | 1,179,781 | 61 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 739,762 | 38 | % | 760,731 | 39 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Research and development (1) | 159,768 | 8 | % | 145,172 | 7 | % | |||||||||||||||||
Sales, general and administrative (1) | 80,997 | 4 | % | 70,993 | 4 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 240,765 | 12 | % | 216,165 | 11 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income from operations | 498,997 | 26 | % | 544,566 | 28 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense and other, net | 75,169 | 4 | % | 58,224 | 3 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 423,828 | 22 | % | 486,342 | 25 | % | |||||||||||||||||
Provision for income taxes | 73,868 | 4 | % | 78,701 | 4 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 349,960 | 18 | % | $ | 407,641 | 21 | % | |||||||||||||||
| (1) Includes share-based compensation as follows | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | 159 | $ | 73 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 4,831 | 3,541 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales, general and administrative | 1,368 | 1,120 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total share-based compensation | $ | 6,358 | $ | 4,734 | |||||||||||||||||||
Revenues
Total revenues decreased $12.0 million, or 0.6%, from $1,940.5 million in fiscal 2023 to $1,928.5 million in fiscal 2024. The decrease in revenue was driven by a decrease in revenue from both our Enterprise Technology platform and our Service Provider Technology platform. During fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, we experienced an increase in direct sales through our webstores compared to fiscal 2023 and a corresponding decline in sales through distributors.
Revenues by Product Type
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except percentages) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enterprise Technology | $ | 1,617,665 | 84 | % | $ | 1,621,426 | 84 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Service Provider Technology | 310,825 | 16 | % | 319,086 | 16 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 1,928,490 | 100 | % | $ | 1,940,512 | 100 | % | |||||||||||||||
Enterprise Technology revenues decreased $3.8 million, or 0.2%, from $1,621.4 million in fiscal 2023 to $1,617.7 million in fiscal 2024, primarily due to decline in revenue from our Enterprise Technology platform in the Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (“EMEA”) and Asia Pacific regions.
Service Provider Technology revenues decreased $8.3 million, or 2.6%, from $319.1 million in fiscal 2023 to $310.8 million in fiscal 2024, primarily due to decline in revenue in our Service Provider Technology platform in South America and Asia Pacific regions.
Revenues by Geography
We have determined the geographical distribution of our product revenues based on our customers’ ship-to destinations. A majority of our sales are to distributors who either sell to resellers or directly to end customers, who may be located in different countries than the initial ship-to destination. The following are our revenues by geography for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023:
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| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except percentages) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
North America (1) | $ | 946,428 | 49% | $ | 922,230 | 48% | |||||||||||||||||
| Europe, the Middle East and Africa | 740,113 | 38% | 759,405 | 39% | |||||||||||||||||||
| Asia Pacific | 127,901 | 7% | 148,502 | 8% | |||||||||||||||||||
| South America | 114,048 | 6% | 110,375 | 5% | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 1,928,490 | 100% | $ | 1,940,512 | 100% | |||||||||||||||||
(1) Revenue for the United States was $881.0 and $855.3 in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively.
North America
Revenues in North America increased $24.2 million, or 2.6%, from $922.2 million in fiscal 2023 to $946.4 million in fiscal 2024. The year-over-year increase was due to increased revenue from both our Enterprise Technology products and Service Provider Technology products.
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (“EMEA”)
Revenues in EMEA decreased $19.3 million, or 2.5%, from $759.4 million in fiscal 2023 to $740.1 million in fiscal 2024. The year-over-year decrease was due to a decline in revenues from our Enterprise Technology products, partially offset by an increase in revenue from our Service Provider Technology products.
Asia Pacific
Revenues in the Asia Pacific region decreased $20.6 million, or 13.9%, from $148.5 million in fiscal 2023 to $127.9 million in fiscal 2024. The year-over-year decrease was due to a decline in revenues from both our Enterprise Technology products and Service Provider Technology products.
South America
Revenues in South America increased $3.7 million, or 3.3%, from $110.4 million in fiscal 2023 to $114.0 million in fiscal 2024. The year-over-year increase was due to increased revenues from Enterprise Technology products, partially offset by decreased revenue from Service Provider Technology products.
Gross Profit Margin
Gross profit margin decreased to 38.4% in fiscal 2024 from 39.2% in fiscal 2023. The decline in gross profit margin for fiscal 2024 as compared to fiscal 2023 was primarily driven by incremental excess and obsolete inventory charges and warehouse-related operating expenses, partially offset by lower shipping costs and lower tariffs.
Operating Expenses
Research and Development
R&D expenses increased $14.6 million, or 10.1%, from $145.2 million in fiscal 2023 to $159.8 million in fiscal 2024. As a percentage of revenues, R&D expenses increased from 7% in fiscal 2023 to 8% in fiscal 2024. The increase in R&D expense for fiscal 2024 versus fiscal 2023 was primarily driven by higher prototype-related expenses and employee-related expenses.
Sales, General and Administrative
Sales, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses increased $10.0 million, or 14.1%, from $71.0 million in fiscal 2023 to $81.0 million in fiscal 2024. As a percentage of revenues, SG&A expenses remained consistent at 4% for both fiscal 2023 and 2024. The increase in fiscal 2024 SG&A expenses as compared to fiscal 2023 was primarily driven by higher fees associated with webstore credit card processing, marketing expenses, employee-related expenses and professional fees.
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Interest Expense and Other, net
Interest expense and other, net ("I&O") expenses increased $16.9 million, or 29.1%, from $58.2 million in fiscal 2023 to $75.2 million in fiscal 2024. As a percentage of Revenue, I&O expense increased from 3% in fiscal 2023 to 4% in fiscal 2024. The increase in I&O expense for fiscal 2024 as compared to fiscal 2023 was primarily driven by higher interest expense due to increased levels of average debt outstanding and higher interest rates.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our provision for income taxes decreased 6.1% from $78.7 million for fiscal 2023 to $73.9 million for fiscal 2024. Our effective tax rate increased to 17.4% in fiscal 2024 as compared to 16.2% for fiscal 2023. The change in effective tax rates for fiscal 2024 as compared to fiscal 2023 was primarily driven by changes in the mix of income earned in various tax jurisdictions.
During 2021 the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced an agreed-upon framework for its members to implement a global minimum corporate tax of 15% for multinational enterprises, commonly referred to as Pillar Two. Many countries have already proposed or enacted legislation to implement elements of the framework which will apply to Ubiquiti beginning in fiscal year 2025. While we are monitoring developments and evaluating the potential impact on future periods, we do not expect Pillar Two to have a significant impact on our fiscal year 2025 financial results. As additional jurisdictions enact Pillar Two legislation, transactional rules lapse, and other provisions of the minimum tax legislation become effective in our fiscal year 2026, we anticipate that our effective tax rate and cash tax payments may increase in future years.
Comparison of Year Ended June 30, 2023 and 2022
Pursuant to Regulation S-K item 303, a detailed review of our fiscal 2023 performance compared to our fiscal 2022 performance is incorporated by reference from Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, filed with the SEC on August 25, 2023.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Cash
Our principal sources of liquidity are cash and cash equivalents, cash generated by operations and the availability of additional funds under the Facilities (as defined herein). We had cash and cash equivalents of $126.3 million and $114.8 million at June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Consolidated Cash Flow Data
The following table sets forth the major components of our consolidated statements of cash flows data for the periods presented (in thousands):
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 541,516 | $ | (145,428) | |||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (11,975) | (20,934) | |||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (518,025) | 144,964 | |||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | $ | 11,516 | $ | (21,398) | |||||||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
For fiscal 2024 the net cash provided by operating activities was $541.5 million, primarily due to net income of $350.0 million, and the benefit of decreasing inventories by $250.7 million and non-cash adjustments of $59.5 million. These cash inflows were partially offset by other changes in operating assets and liabilities that resulted in net cash outflows of $118.6 million. This net change in operating assets and liabilities consisted primarily of a $70.5 million decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, a $17.1 million decrease in income taxes payable, a $18.3 million increase in vendor deposits, a $17.6 million increase in prepaid expenses and other assets partially offset by a $6.6 million increase in deferred revenues.
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For fiscal 2023 the net cash used in operating activities was $145.4 million, primarily due to a significant increase in inventory and to a lesser extent, increases in vendor deposits and accounts receivable. The key uses of cash resulting in the net cash outflow from operations was a $487.9 million increase in inventory, a $39.5 million increase in vendor deposits and a $48.2 million increase in accounts receivable, partially offset by $407.6 million of net income. The increase in inventories is a result of the strategic decision to secure inventory while components were available in an effort to increase product availability. The increase in account receivable is a result of higher sales.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
We used $12.0 million of cash in investing activities during fiscal 2024. Our investing activities consisted primarily of $12.0 million of capital expenditures.
We used $20.9 million of cash in investing activities during fiscal 2023. Our investing activities consisted primarily of $20.9 million of capital expenditures and purchase of intangible assets.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
We had cash outflows of $518.0 million from financing activities during fiscal 2024, which primarily consisted of repayments of debt and payment of common stock dividends. During fiscal 2024, we repaid $215.0 million on our Revolving Facility, $157.5 million on our Term Loan Facilities, and paid $145.1 million for dividends on our common stock. See Note 7 – Debt of the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the Facilities.
We had cash inflows of $145.0 million from financing activities during fiscal 2023. During fiscal 2023, in order to support the increase in inventories, we borrowed a net of $291.9 million under our facilities. We also paid $145.0 million for dividends on our common stock and debt issuance costs of $1.2 million. During fiscal 2023 we increased the size of our facility to include an additional $250.0 million term loan. The proceeds from this new term loan were used to repay a portion of the outstanding revolver loans under the revolving facility. See Note 7 – Debt of the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the Facilities.
Liquidity
We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents, in addition to the ability to draw cash under the Revolving Facility, if needed, will be sufficient to meet our near-term working capital requirements, dividends, and capital expenditure needs for the next twelve months, as well as long-term liquidity requirements in the event that the cash from operations is not adequate to meet our cash needs. However, this estimate is based on a number of assumptions that may prove to be wrong and we could exhaust our available cash and cash equivalents earlier than presently anticipated or need to rely more heavily on the Facilities or other sources of liquidity to continue to meet our needs. Our future capital requirements may vary materially from those currently planned and will depend on many factors, including our rate of revenue growth, the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts, the timing of new product introductions, market acceptance of our products, management of inventory and vendor deposits, the availability of additional funds under the Facilities and overall economic conditions. Inflation and the current geopolitical environment have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility in financial markets and the domestic and global economy. This volatility can contribute to potential payment delays or defaults in our accounts receivable, affect asset valuations resulting in impairment charges, and affect the availability of financing credit as well as other segments of the credit markets. See “Part I-Item 1A. Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Business and Industry - Our contract manufacturers, logistics centers and certain administrative and research and development operations, as well as our customers and suppliers, are located in areas likely to be subject to natural disasters, public health problems, military conflicts and geopolitical tensions, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition” and “Part I-Item 1A. Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Business and Industry - General global economic downturns and macroeconomic trends, including inflation or slowed economic growth, may negatively affect our customers and their ability to purchase our products. A downturn or such other trends may decrease our revenues and increase our costs and may increase credit risk with our customers and impact our ability to collect account receivable and recognize revenue," for additional information. We expect to continue to maintain financing flexibility in the current market conditions. However, due to the rapidly evolving global situation, it is not possible to predict whether unanticipated consequences of global economic downturns and macroeconomic trends are reasonably likely to materially affect our liquidity and capital resources in the future.
Warranties and Indemnifications
Our products are generally accompanied by a twelve to twenty-four month warranty from date of purchase, which covers both parts
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and labor. Generally, the distributor is responsible for the freight costs associated with warranty returns, and we absorb the freight costs of replacing items under warranty. In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s ("FASB's"), Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC"), 450-20, Loss Contingencies, we record an accrual when we believe it is reasonably estimable and probable based upon historical experience. We record a provision for estimated future warranty work in cost of goods sold upon recognition of revenues, and we review the resulting accrual regularly and periodically adjust it to reflect changes in warranty estimates.
We have entered and may in the future enter into standard indemnification agreements with certain distributors as well as other business partners in the ordinary course of business. These agreements may include provisions for indemnifying the distributor, OEM or other business partner against any claim brought by a third-party to the extent any such claim alleges that a Ubiquiti product infringes a patent, copyright or trademark or violates any other proprietary rights of that third-party. The maximum amount of potential future indemnification is unlimited. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is not estimable.
We have agreed to indemnify our directors, officers and certain other employees for certain events or occurrences, subject to certain limits, while such persons are or were serving at our request in such capacity. We may terminate the indemnification agreements with these persons upon the termination of their services with us, but termination will not affect claims for indemnification related to events occurring prior to the effective date of termination. The maximum amount of potential future indemnification is unlimited. We have a Directors and Officers insurance policy that limits our potential exposure for our indemnification obligations to our directors, officers and certain other employees. We believe the fair value of these indemnification agreements is minimal. We have not recorded any liabilities for these agreements as of June 30, 2024 or 2023.
Based upon our historical experience and information known as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we do not believe it is likely that we will have material liability for the above indemnities as of June 30, 2024.
Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Our contractual obligations represent material expected or contractually committed future payment obligations. We believe that we will be able to fund these obligations through our existing cash and cash equivalents, cash generated from operations and the availability of additional funds under the Facilities.
Purchase Obligations
We subcontract with third parties to manufacture our products and supply key components. As of June 30, 2024 we had $981.7 million of purchase commitments with these third parties. If we cancel all or part of the orders, we may still be liable to the contract manufacturers for the cost of the components purchased by the subcontractors to manufacture our products. There have been no significant liabilities for current or anticipated cancellations recorded as of June 30, 2024. Our consolidated financial position and results of operations could be negatively impacted if we were required to compensate these third parties. In addition, we may be subject to additional purchase obligations to our contract manufacturers for supply agreements and components ordered by them based on manufacturing forecasts we provide them each month. See Note 9 – Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part IV, Item 15, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for future payment commitments under purchase commitments as of June 30, 2024.
Transition Tax
We have obligations of $50.6 million as of June 30, 2024, related to the mandatory transition tax on accumulated foreign earnings from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Payment of these obligations are expected to be $22.5 million for fiscal 2025 and $28.1 million for fiscal 2026. These obligations are included within Income tax payable and Long-term taxes payable on our consolidated balance sheets.
Other Obligations
As of June 30, 2024, we have other obligations of $6.1 million which consisted primarily of commitments related to research and development projects.
Unrecognized Tax Benefits
As of June 30, 2024, we had $33.0 million of unrecognized tax benefits and an additional $4.8 million of accrued interest classified as non-current liabilities. At this time, we are unable to make a reasonably reliable estimate of timing of payments in individual years in connection with these tax liabilities.
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements, refer to Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Interest Rate Sensitivity
We had cash and cash equivalents of $126.3 million and $114.8 million as of June 30, 2024 and 2023. Cash and cash equivalents includes securities that have a maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase. These amounts were held primarily in cash deposit accounts in U.S. dollars. The fair value of our cash and cash equivalents would not be significantly affected by either a 10% increase or decrease in interest rates due mainly to the short-term nature of these instruments.
Debt
We are exposed to interest rates risks primarily through borrowing under our credit facility. Interest on our borrowings is based on variable rates. Based on a sensitivity analysis, as of June 30, 2024, an instantaneous and sustained 200-basis-point increase in interest rates affecting our floating rate debt obligations, and assuming that we take no counteractive measures, would result in an incremental charge to our income before income taxes of approximately $14.2 million over the next twelve months.
Foreign Currency Risk
Certain of our sales, labor and other costs included in costs of revenue and operating expenses are denominated in the currencies of the countries in which our operations are located and may be subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly changes in the Chinese Yuan, Euro, and Taiwan Dollar. A 10% appreciation or depreciation in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the other currencies in which our revenue and expenses are denominated would result in a charge or benefit to our income before income taxes of approximately $1.9 million for fiscal year June 30, 2024.
We have certain bank accounts outside the US, which are denominated in the currencies of the countries in which our operations are located, and may be subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates , particularly changes in the Chinese Yuan, Euro, and Taiwan Dollar. A 10% appreciation or depreciation in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the other currencies in which bank accounts as at June 30,2024 are denominated would result in a charge or benefit to our income before income taxes of approximately $ 4.7 million for fiscal year June 30, 2024.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The response to this Item is submitted as a separate section of this Form 10-K. See Item 15.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Accounting and Finance Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2024. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2024, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Accounting and Finance Officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
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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 Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Accounting and Finance Officer, and effected by such company’s board of directors, management and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:
| (i) | pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; | ||||
| (ii) | 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 | ||||
| (iii) | 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.
Management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Accounting and Finance Officer, has conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, based on the framework set forth in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on this assessment, management has concluded that the Company maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024 has been audited by KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears herein.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended June 30, 2024, that materially affected, or that are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
PART III
Item 10. Directors and Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The information required by this Item 10 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of our June 30, 2024 fiscal year end) under the headings "Executive Officers," "Proposal One Election of Directors – Information Regarding Nominees,” "Proposal One Election of Directors - Information Regarding Continuing Directors," and “Corporate Governance.”
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information required by this Item 11 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of our June 30, 2024 fiscal year end) under the headings “Executive Compensation”, “Proposal One Election of Directors – Directors’ Compensation” and “Corporate
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Governance – Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation.”
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The information required by this Item 12 with respect to security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of our June 30, 2024 fiscal year end) under the headings “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management Related Stockholder Matters,” and "Equity Compensation Plan Information."
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The information required by this Item 13 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of our June 30, 2024 fiscal year end) under the headings “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” and “Corporate Governance—Committees of the Board of Directors.”
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
The information required by this Item 14 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of our June 30, 2024 fiscal year end) under the headings “Proposal Two Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm—Audit and Non-Audit Fees” and “Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies.”
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PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a) 1. Financial Statements
The financial statements filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K are identified in the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on page 54 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
2. Financial Statement Schedules
See Item 15(c) below.
3. Exhibits
See Item 15(b) below.
(b) Exhibits
The following exhibits are filed herewith or are incorporated by reference to exhibits previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ubiquiti Inc. (the “Registrant”) shall furnish copies of exhibits for a reasonable fee (covering the expense of furnishing copies) upon request.
| Exhibit Number | Description | Incorporated by Reference from Form | Incorporated by Reference from Exhibit Number | Date Filed | Filed Herewith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10-K | August 21, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8-K | 3.1 | December 18, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S-1 | 4.1 | October 3, 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S-1 | 4.2 | June 17, 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S-1 | 4.3 | June 17, 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S-1 | 10.1 | October 3, 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S-1 | 10.2 | June 17, 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8-K | 10.1 | December 11, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10-K | 10.6 | August 22, 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.5 | S-1 | 10.1 | June 17, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10-Q | 10.15 | November 14, 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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8-K | 10.1 | April 5, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8-K | 10.1 | April 7, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.INS | Inline XBRL Instance Document | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Schema Linkbase Document | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Labels Linkbase Document | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Presentation Linkbase Document | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Date File - (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| # | Management contracts or compensation plans or arrangements in which directors or executive officers are eligible to participate. | ||||
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| ~ | In accordance with Item 601(b)(32)(ii) of Regulation S-K and SEC Release No. 33-8238 and 34-47986, Final Rule: Management’s Reports on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and Certification of Disclosure in Exchange Act Periodic Reports, the certifications furnished in Exhibit 32.1 hereto are deemed to accompany this Form 10-K and will not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act. Such certifications will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filings under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except to the extent that the registrant specifically incorporates it by reference. | ||||
(c) Financial Statement Schedules.
Schedules not listed above have been omitted because they are not applicable or required, or the information required to be set forth therein is included in the Consolidated Financial Statements or Notes thereto.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
Not applicable.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Ubiquiti Inc. | |||||||||||||||||
| Dated: | August 23, 2024 | By: | /s/ Robert J. Pera | ||||||||||||||
| Robert J. Pera | |||||||||||||||||
| Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | |||||||||||||||||
| Dated: | August 23, 2024 | By: | /s/ Kevin Radigan | ||||||||||||||
| Kevin Radigan | |||||||||||||||||
| Chief Accounting and Finance Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | |||||||||||||||||
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.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||||||||||||
/s/ Robert J. Pera Robert J. Pera | Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | August 23, 2024 | ||||||||||||
/s/ Kevin Radigan Kevin Radigan | Chief Accounting and Finance Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | August 23, 2024 | ||||||||||||
/s/ Ronald A. Sege Ronald A. Sege | Director | August 23, 2024 | ||||||||||||
/s/ Rafael Torres Rafael Torres | Director | August 23, 2024 | ||||||||||||
/s/ Brandon Arrindell Brandon Arrindell | Director | August 23, 2024 | ||||||||||||
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UBIQUITI INC.
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| Page | |||||
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID | |||||
54
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors
Ubiquiti Inc.:
Ubiquiti Inc.:
Opinions on the Consolidated Financial Statements and Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Ubiquiti Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended June 30, 2024, and the related notes (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 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 June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended June 30, 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 June 30, 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 audit 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 audit 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
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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.
Critical Audit Matter
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.
Valuation of excess or obsolete inventory
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s inventories are stated at the lower of actual cost, computed using the first-in, first-out method, and net realizable value (NRV). The Company reduces the value of its inventory for estimated obsolescence or lack of marketability by the difference between the cost of the affected inventory and the NRV. The Company’s determination of the valuation of excess or obsolete inventory is based on a comparison of the quantity and cost of inventory on hand to anticipated demand, alternative uses, and other factors. As of June 30, 2024, the Company’s inventories totaled $462.0 million.
We identified the assessment of the valuation of certain excess or obsolete finished goods inventory as a critical audit matter. Subjective auditor judgement was required to evaluate the Company’s estimates of anticipated demand, alternative uses, and other factors, which can be affected by market and economic conditions outside the Company’s control.
The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls related to the Company’s finished goods inventory valuation process. This included controls related to the development of estimates of anticipated demand of inventory. We evaluated current year estimates of anticipated demand used to determine the value of excess or obsolete inventory when they differed significantly from historical sales volumes. We selected certain inventory items and compared the Company’s prior year estimate of anticipated demand to actual sales results to assess the Company’s ability to accurately forecast.
/s/ KPMG LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2016.
August 23, 2024
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UBIQUITI INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
| June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Investments — short-term | |||||||||||
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $ | |||||||||||
| Inventories | |||||||||||
| Vendor deposits | |||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | |||||||||||
| Total current assets | |||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | |||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets, net | |||||||||||
| Deferred tax assets | |||||||||||
| Other long-term assets | |||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) | |||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Income taxes payable | |||||||||||
| Debt — short-term | |||||||||||
| Other current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Income taxes payable — long-term | |||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities — long-term | |||||||||||
| Debt — long-term | |||||||||||
| Deferred tax liability — long-term | |||||||||||
| Other long-term liabilities | |||||||||||
| Total liabilities | |||||||||||
Commitments and contingencies (Note 9) | |||||||||||
| Stockholders’ equity (deficit): | |||||||||||
Preferred stock—$ | |||||||||||
Common stock—$ | |||||||||||
| Additional paid–in capital | |||||||||||
| Retained earnings (deficit) | ( | ||||||||||
| Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) | ( | ||||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity (deficit) | $ | $ | |||||||||
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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UBIQUITI INC.
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | |||||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | |||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | |||||||||||||||||
| Sales, general and administrative | |||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | |||||||||||||||||
| Income from operations | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense and other, net | |||||||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Net income per share of common stock: | |||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Diluted | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average shares used in computing net income per share of common stock: | |||||||||||||||||
| Basic | |||||||||||||||||
| Diluted | |||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income: | |||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive loss | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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UBIQUITI INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
In thousands, except share data
| Common Stock | Additional Paid-In Capital | Retained Earnings (Deficit) | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss | Total Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at June 30, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock options exercised | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock units issued, net of tax withholdings | — | ( | — | — | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Repurchase of Common Stock | ( | ( | ( | ( | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation expense | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends paid on Common Stock ($ | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at June 30, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclassification adjustment for loss on investments included in net income | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock options exercised | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock units issued, net of tax withholdings | — | ( | — | — | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation expense | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends paid on Common Stock ($ | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at June 30, 2023 | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock units issued, net of tax withholdings | — | ( | — | — | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation expense | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends paid on Common Stock ($ | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at June 30, 2024 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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UBIQUITI INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
| Years Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of debt issuance costs | |||||||||||||||||
| Non-cash lease expense | |||||||||||||||||
| Premium amortization and (discount accretion), net | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for excess and obsolete inventory | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for loss on vendor deposits | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | |||||||||||||||||
| Deferred taxes | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Change in unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for sales returns | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Other, net | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||||||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Inventories | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Vendor deposits | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Income taxes payable | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Deferred revenues | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Accrued and other liabilities | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | |||||||||||||||||
| Purchase of property and equipment and other long-term assets | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Purchase of investments | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sale of investments | |||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from maturities of investments | |||||||||||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | |||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from borrowing under the credit facility - Term | |||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from borrowing under the credit facility- Revolver | |||||||||||||||||
| Repayment against credit facility- Revolver | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Repayment against credit facility- Term | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Debt issuance costs | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Repurchases of common stock | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Payment of common stock cash dividends | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from exercise of stock options | |||||||||||||||||
| Tax withholdings related to net share settlements of restricted stock units | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | |||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information: | |||||||||||||||||
| Income taxes paid, net of refunds | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Interest paid | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities: | |||||||||||||||||
| Right-of-use asset recognized | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Unpaid property and equipment and other long-term assets | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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UBIQUITI INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1—BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Business— Ubiquiti Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, “Ubiquiti” or the “Company”) develop high performance networking technology for service providers, enterprises and consumers globally.
The Company operates on a fiscal year ending June 30. In these notes, Ubiquiti refers to the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022 as fiscal 2024, fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022, respectively.
Basis of Presentation— The Company’s consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principle (“GAAP”) and include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. The Company has reclassified certain amounts reported in the previous period to conform to the current period presentation.
NOTE 2—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Use of Accounting Estimates
Segments
Recognition of Revenues
Revenue consists of revenue from sales of hardware and the related essential software (“Products”) as well as related implied post-contract customer support (“PCS”). We recognize revenue when obligations under the terms of a contract with our customers are satisfied, generally, upon transfer of control of promised goods or services to customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for those goods or services. We apply the following five-step revenue recognition model:
•Identification of the contract, or contracts with a customer
•Identification of the performance obligations in the contract
•Determination of the transaction price
•Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract
•Recognition of revenue when, or as, we satisfy the performance obligation
Transfer of control to the customer for products generally occurs at the point in time when products have been shipped to our customer as this represents the point in time when the customer has a present obligation to pay and physical possession including title and risk of loss have been transferred to the customer. Revenue for PCS is recognized ratably over time over the estimated period for which implied PCS services will be delivered.
PCS is the right to receive, on a when-and-if available basis, future unspecified software upgrades and features relating to the product’s essential software as well as technical support and bug fixes.
The Company accounts for a contract with a customer when there is an approval and commitment from both parties, the rights of the parties are identified, payment terms are identified, the contract has commercial substance and collectability of the consideration is probable. The Company’s distinct performance obligations consist mainly of transferring control of its products identified in the
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contracts, purchase orders or invoices and implied PCS services.
Our contracts with the majority of our distribution customers do not include provisions for cancellations, returns, inventory swaps, or refunds that materially impact recognized revenue. Internet or Web based sales include regulatory provisions which allow customers to return the goods, generally within 30 days. The Company records a provision for returns related to this variable consideration based upon its historical returns experience with these customers.
We record amounts billed for shipping and handling costs as revenues. We classify shipping and handling costs incurred by us as cost of revenue. Deposit payments received from distributors in advance of recognition of revenues are included in current liabilities of our balance sheet and are recognized as revenues when all the criteria for recognition of revenues are met.
Transaction price and allocation to performance obligations
Transaction prices are typically based on contracted rates. Although payment terms vary, payment is generally due from distribution customers within 60 days of the invoice date and the contracts do not have significant financing components or include extended payment terms. The Company is directly responsible for fulfilling its performance obligations in contracts with customers and does not rely on another party to fulfill its promise. We use observable list prices to determine the stand-alone selling price of our performance obligation related to our products, and we utilize a cost-plus margin approach to estimate the stand-alone selling price of our implied PCS obligation. When our contracts contain multiple performance obligations, we allocate the transaction price based on the estimated standalone selling prices of the promised products or services underlying each performance obligation.
The expected costs associated with our base warranties continue to be recognized as an expense when the products are sold and are not considered a separate performance obligation.
Costs for research and development and sales and marketing are expensed as incurred. If the estimated life of the hardware product should change, the future rate of amortization of the revenues allocated to PCS could also change.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers investments purchased with a maturity period of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are stated at cost which approximates fair value. The Company deposits cash and cash equivalents with financial institutions that management believes are of high credit quality. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of cash deposited in U.S. dollar denominated interest-bearing deposit accounts and money market funds. We maintain domestic cash deposits in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insured banks that exceed the FDIC insurance limits. We also maintain cash deposits in foreign banks where we operate, some of which are not insured or are only partially insured by the FDIC or similar agencies. An immaterial portion of our cash balances are covered by FDIC insurance.
Concentration of Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and accounts receivable. The Company limits its exposure by primarily placing its cash in interest-bearing deposit accounts and marketable securities with high credit quality financial institutions.
The Company derives its accounts receivable from revenues earned from customers located worldwide. The Company bases credit decisions primarily upon a customer’s past credit history. If upfront deposits or prepayments are not required, customers then may be granted standard credit terms, which range from net 30 to 60 days.
The Company subcontracts with third parties to manufacture most of our products. The Company relies on the ability of these contract manufacturers to produce the products sold to its distributors. A significant portion of the Company’s products are manufactured by a few contract manufacturers.
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Inventory and Inventory Valuation
The Company’s inventories are finished goods and raw materials. Inventories are stated at the lower of actual cost, computed using the first-in, first-out method, and net realizable value (“NRV”). NRV is based upon an estimated average selling price reduced by the estimated costs of disposal. The determination of net realizable value involves certain judgments including estimating average selling prices based on recent sales. Should actual market conditions differ from the Company’s estimates, future results of operations could be materially affected. The Company reduces the value of its inventory for estimated obsolescence or lack of marketability by the difference between the cost of the affected inventory and the NRV. Write-downs are not reversed until the related inventory has been subsequently sold or scrapped.
The valuation of inventory also requires the Company to estimate excess and obsolete inventory. The determination of excess or obsolete inventory is estimated based on a comparison of the quantity and cost of inventory on hand to the Company’s forecast of customer demand, which is dependent on various factors and requires the Company to use judgment in forecasting future demand for its products. The Company also considers the rate at which new products will be accepted in the marketplace and how quickly customers will transition from older products to newer products. If actual market conditions are less favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required, which would have a negative impact on the Company’s gross margin. If the Company ultimately sells inventory that has been previously written down, the Company’s gross margins in future periods would be positively impacted.
The Company capitalizes manufacturing overhead expenditures as part of inventory costs. Capitalized costs primarily include management’s best estimate of the indirect labor, tariffs, shipping and logistics costs incurred related to inventory acquired or produced but not sold during the respective period. Manufacturing overhead costs are capitalized to inventory and are recognized as cost of revenues in the future periods based on when the inventory is sold or written-down.
Product Warranties
Allowance for Credit Losses
The Company records an allowance for its estimate of expected credit losses on its trade receivables based on its assessment of various factors, including historical experience, age of the accounts receivable balances, credit quality of the Company’s customers, current economic conditions and other factors that may affect the customers’ abilities to pay.
In cases where the Company is aware of circumstances that may impair a specific customer’s ability to meet its obligations to the Company, the Company records a specific allowance against amounts due from the customer, and thereby reduces the net recognized receivable to the amounts it reasonably believes will be collected.
The changes in the estimate of expected credit losses for the Company's trade receivables were as follows (in thousands):
| Year ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Charged to expenses | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ending balance | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
Long Lived Assets
In accordance with the authoritative guidance for impairment or disposal of long-lived assets (ASC 360), we assess potential impairments to our long-lived assets, including property and equipment, when there is evidence that events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. We recognize an impairment loss when the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by an asset or group of assets, are less than the asset’s carrying value. Any required impairment
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Property and Equipment
Furniture, fixtures and equipment are recorded at cost.
The Company computes depreciation or amortization using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives, as follows:
| Estimated Useful Life | ||||||||
| Testing equipment | ||||||||
| Computer and other equipment | ||||||||
| Furniture and fixtures | ||||||||
| Software | up to | |||||||
| Corporate aircraft | ||||||||
| Leasehold improvements | shorter of lease term or useful life | |||||||
Upon retirement or disposition, the asset cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed with any gain or loss recognized in the consolidated statement of operations. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred.
Intangible Assets
The Company’s intangible assets consist primarily of domain name purchase and legal costs associated with application for and registration of the Company’s trademarks, which are all included in other long-term assets. The Company amortizes all definite-lived intangible assets that are subject to amortization over the estimated useful life based on economic benefit. Domain names are amortized over 15 years, while other intangible assets are generally amortized over 5 years. All patent filing and defense costs are expensed as incurred, however, to date these costs have not been significant.
Leases
Advertising Costs
Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and are included in selling, general and administrative expenses.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with accounting guidance which requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in its financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the temporary difference between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or
64
settled. The Company establishes valuation allowances when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount it expects to realize. The assessment of whether or not a valuation allowance is required often requires significant judgment including current operating results, the forecast of future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning initiatives. The Company’s calculation of its tax liabilities involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax regulations. The Company may be subject to income tax audits in all of the jurisdictions in which it operates and, as a result, must also assess exposures to any potential issues arising from current or future audits of current and prior years’ tax returns. Accordingly, the Company must assess such potential exposures and, where necessary, provide a reserve to cover any expected loss. The Company recognizes tax benefits from uncertain tax positions only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such positions are then measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The calculation of tax liabilities involves significant judgment in estimating the impact of uncertainties in the application of GAAP and complex tax laws. Resolution of these uncertainties in a manner inconsistent with management’s expectations could have a material impact on the Company’s financial condition and operating results. We reflect changes in recognition or measurement in the period in which our change in judgment occurs. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits on the income tax expense line in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations. Accrued interest and penalties are included on the related tax liability line in the consolidated balance sheet.
Share-based Compensation
The Company measures share-based compensation cost at the grant date, based on the estimated fair value of the award, and recognizes expense for restricted stock units and stock options on a straight-line basis over the employee’s requisite service period. The Company did no
Commitments and Contingencies
The Company periodically evaluates all pending or threatened contingencies and any commitments, if any, that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, financial position or cash flows. The Company assesses the probability of an adverse outcome and determines if it is remote, reasonably possible or probable. If information available prior to the issuance of the Company’s financial statements indicates that it is probable that an asset had been impaired or a liability had been incurred at the date of the Company’s financial statements, and the amount of the loss, or the range of probable loss can be reasonably estimated, then such loss is accrued and charged to operating expenses. If no accrual is made for a loss contingency because one or both of the conditions pursuant to the accounting guidance are not met, but the probability of an adverse outcome is at least reasonably possible, the Company discloses the nature of the contingency and provides an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss, or states that such an estimate cannot be made.
Foreign Currency Remeasurement
The functional currency of the Company and its subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. For foreign operations, local currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities are remeasured at the period end exchange rates, and revenues, costs and expenses are remeasured at the average exchange rates during the fiscal year. Foreign exchange gains and losses have been immaterial to the Company’s results of operations to date.
Research and Development Costs
Research and development expenses are expensed as incurred and consist primarily of payroll and payroll-related costs and facilities costs. Research and development expenses associated with software development are typically expensed as incurred as our software is usually released to end customers immediately after technological feasibility has been established. However, the Company capitalizes development costs when material costs are incurred subsequent to technological feasibility but prior to commercial release.
Earnings Per Share
The Company applies the treasury stock method for calculating and presenting earnings per share (“EPS”). Basic EPS is computed by dividing the net income available to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS available to common stockholders is computed by dividing the amount of net income available to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, including potential dilutive common shares assuming the dilutive effect of outstanding stock options and restricted stock units using the treasury stock method.
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Newly Adopted Accounting Standards
The Company did not adopt any new accounting standards in fiscal 2024 that were significant to the Company.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Effective
Segment Reporting
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280) (“ASU 2023-07”), which enhances the segment disclosure requirements for public entities on an annual and interim basis. Under this proposal, public entities will be required to disclose significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the CODM and included within each reported measure of segment profit or loss. Additionally, current annual disclosures about a reportable segment’s profit or loss and assets will be required on an interim basis. Entities will also be required to disclose information about the CODM’s title and position at the Company along with an explanation of how the CODM uses the reported measures of segment profit or loss in their assessment of segment performance and deciding whether how to allocate resources. Finally, ASU 2023-07 requires all segment disclosures for public entities, even those with a single reportable segment. The amendments in ASU 2023-07 will become effective on a retrospective basis for annual disclosures in the Company's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, with interim period disclosures required effective with the Company's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. Early adoption of ASU 2023-07 is permitted. We do not expect this ASU to have a significant impact on our disclosures or results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.
Income Taxes
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740) ("ASU 2023-09"), which amends the existing guidance relating to the annual disclosures for accounting for income taxes. ASU 2023-09 requires a public business entity to disclose a tabular rate reconciliation using specified categories and providing additional information for reconciling items that exceed a quantitative threshold. In addition, ASU 2023-09 requires the disaggregation of federal, state and foreign income taxes paid (net of funds received), with further disaggregation required for individual jurisdictions in which the income taxes paid exceed five percent of the Company's total income taxes paid. The provision for income taxes in the Company's statement of operations will also be required to be disaggregated by federal, state and foreign jurisdictions. The amendments in ASU 2023-09 will become effective for annual disclosures in the Company's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, with early adoption permitted. The FASB indicated ASU 2023-09 should be applied on a prospective basis, but retrospective application is permitted. We expect this ASU to only impact our disclosures with no impact to our results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.
NOTE 3—REVENUES
Revenue is primarily generated from the sale of hardware as well as the related implied PCS.
Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. Revenue is recognized when obligations under the terms of a contract with our customers are satisfied; generally, this occurs with the transfer of control of our products and PCS to our customers. Transfer of control to the customer for products generally occurs at the point in time when products have been shipped to our customer as this represents the point in time when the customer has a present obligation to pay and physical possession including title and risk of loss have been transferred to the customer. Revenue for PCS is recognized ratably over time over the estimated period for which implied PCS services will be delivered.
Disaggregation of Revenue
See Note 13 “Segment Information, Revenues by Geography and Significant Customers” for disaggregation of revenue by product category and geography.
Contract Balances
The timing of revenue recognition, billing and cash collections results in billed accounts receivable, deferred revenue primarily attributable to PCS and customer deposits on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Accounts receivable are recognized in the period the Company’s right to the consideration is unconditional. Our contract liabilities consist of advance payments (customer deposits) as well as billing in excess of revenue recognized primarily related to deferred revenue. We classify customer deposits as a current liability, and deferred revenue as a current or non-current liability based on the timing of when we expect to fulfill these remaining performance obligations. The current portion of deferred revenue is included in other current liabilities and the non-current portion is included in other long-term liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets.
As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company’s customer deposits were $1.3 million and $1.2 million, respectively.
As of June 30, 2024, the Company’s deferred revenue, included in other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, was $20.3
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million and $13.4 million, respectively.
As of June 30, 2023, the Company’s deferred revenue, included in other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, was $17.9 million and $7.8 million, respectively.
We expect the majority of our deferred revenue to convert to revenue in two years . For fiscal years 2024 and 2023 we recognized revenues amounting to $17.9 million and $20.8 million, respectively from previous years' deferred revenue balances.
Variable Consideration
NOTE 4—EARNINGS PER SHARE
The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the periods indicated (in thousands, except per share data):
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Numerator: | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Denominator: | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average shares used in computing basic earnings per share | |||||||||||||||||
| Add—dilutive potential common shares: | |||||||||||||||||
| Stock options | |||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock units | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average shares used in computing diluted earnings per share | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income per share of common stock: | |||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Diluted | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
The Company excludes potentially dilutive securities from its diluted earnings per share calculation when their effect would be anti-dilutive to earnings per share amounts. The following table summarizes the total potential shares of common stock that were excluded from the diluted per share calculation, because to include them would have been anti-dilutive for the period (in thousands):
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock units | |||||||||||||||||
NOTE 5—BALANCE SHEET COMPONENTS
Inventories
Inventories consisted of the following (in thousands):
| June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Finished goods | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Raw materials | |||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | |||||||||
Property and Equipment, Net
Property and equipment, net consisted of the following (in thousands):
| June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Testing equipment | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Tooling equipment | |||||||||||
| Leasehold improvements | |||||||||||
| Computer and other equipment | |||||||||||
| Software | |||||||||||
| Furniture and fixtures | |||||||||||
| Corporate aircraft | |||||||||||
| Property and equipment, gross | |||||||||||
| Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | $ | $ | |||||||||
The Company recorded depreciation and amortization expense of $17.7 million, $14.7 million and $12.1 million in fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Other Long-term Assets
Other long-term assets consisted of the following (in thousands):
| June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
Hong Kong tax deposit (1) | $ | $ | |||||||||
Intangible assets, net (2) | |||||||||||
| Other long-term assets | |||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | |||||||||
(1) The Company expects the deposits made with Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") to be refunded upon completion of the audit. See Note 12 to the consolidated financial statements for additional details regarding this ongoing tax audit.
(2) Accumulated amortization was $7.5 million and $5.9 million for the periods ending June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, respectively.
Other Current Liabilities
Other current liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):
| June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Deferred revenue — short term | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses | |||||||||||
| Warranty accrual | |||||||||||
| Accrued compensation and benefits | |||||||||||
| Customer deposits | |||||||||||
| Reserves for sales returns | |||||||||||
| Inventory received not billed | |||||||||||
| Other payables | |||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | |||||||||
Other Long-Term Liabilities
Other long-term liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):
| June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Deferred revenue — long-term | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | |||||||||
NOTE 6—ACCRUED WARRANTY
Warranty obligations, included in other current liabilities, were as follows (in thousands):
| June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accruals for warranties issued during the period | |||||||||||
| Changes in liability for pre-existing warranties during the period | |||||||||||
| Settlements made during the period | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | |||||||||
NOTE 7—DEBT
On March 30, 2021, the Company, as borrower and certain domestic subsidiaries, as guarantors (the "Domestic Guarantors"), entered into an amended and restated credit agreement (the “Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”), the other financial institutions named as lenders therein, and Wells Fargo as administrative agent and collateral agent for the lenders, that extended the $700 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Facility,” together with the Term Loan Facilities, as defined below, the "Facilities") and provided a $500 million senior secured term loan facility (the “Initial Term Loan Facility”), and extended the maturity of the Facilities to March 30, 2026. In addition, the Facilities include an option to request increases in the amounts of such credit facilities by up to an additional $500 million in the aggregate. The loans under the Initial Term Loan Facility are payable in quarterly installments of $6.25 million per quarter, commencing with the quarter ending June 30, 2021.
On April 3, 2023, the Company as borrower and the Domestic Guarantors entered into a first amendment (the “First Amendment”) to the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (as amended, the “Amended Credit Agreement”) with the financial institutions named as lenders therein and Wells Fargo. The First Amendment added a new term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of $250 million (the “First Amendment Term Loan Facility,” together with the Initial Term Loan Facility, the "Term Loan Facilities") which is payable in quarterly installments equal to $3.125 million, commencing with the quarter ended June 30, 2023, and has a maturity date of March 30, 2026. The obligations of the Company and certain domestic subsidiaries under the Amended Credit Agreement are required to be guaranteed by the Domestic Guarantors and are collateralized by substantially all assets (excluding intellectual property) of the Company and the Domestic Guarantors.
The Company's unamortized balance of debt issuance costs are $1.7 million as of June 30, 2024, which are amortized as interest expense over the life of the Facilities.
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Our debt consisted of the following (in thousands):
| June 30, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Initial Term Loan - short term | $ | $ | |||||||||
| First Amendment Term Loan - short-term | |||||||||||
| Debt issuance costs, net | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total Debt - short term | |||||||||||
| Initial Term Loan - long term | |||||||||||
| First Amendment Term Loan - long-term | |||||||||||
| Revolver - long term | |||||||||||
| Debt issuance costs, net | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total Debt - long term | $ | $ | |||||||||
The Revolving Facility includes a sub-limit of $25.0 million for letters of credit and a sub-limit of $25.0 million for swingline loans. The Facilities are available for working capital and general corporate purposes that comply with the terms of the Amended Credit Agreement, including to finance the repurchase of the Company’s common stock or to make dividends to the holders of the Company's common stock. Under the Amended Credit Agreement, revolving loans and swingline loans may be borrowed, repaid and reborrowed until March 30, 2026, at which time all amounts borrowed must be repaid. Loans under the Facilities may be prepaid at any time without penalty.
The revolving loans and term loans under the Initial Term Loan Facility bear interest, at the Company’s option, at either (i) a floating rate per annum equal to the Base Rate (as defined below) plus a margin of between 0.50 % and 1.25 %, depending on the Company’s consolidated total leverage ratio as of the most recently ended fiscal quarter or (ii) a floating per annum rate equal to the Adjusted Term SOFR (as defined below) for a specified period, plus a margin of between 1.50 % and 2.25 %, depending on the Company’s consolidated total leverage ratio as of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. Swingline loans bear interest at a floating rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus a margin of between 0.50 % and 1.25 %, depending on the Company’s consolidated total leverage ratio as of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. The loans under the First Amendment Term Loan Facility bear interest, at the Company's option, at either (i) a floating rate per annum equal to Base Rate plus a margin of between 1.00 % and 1.75 %, depending on the Company’s consolidated total leverage ratio as of the most recently ended fiscal quarter or (ii) a floating per annum rate equal to the applicable Adjusted Term SOFR rate for a specified period, plus a margin between 2.00 % and 2.75 %, depending on the Company's consolidated total leverage ratio as of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. Base Rate is defined in the Amended Credit Agreement as the highest of (a) the Prime Rate (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement), (b) the Federal Funds Rate (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement) plus 0.50 % and (c) Adjusted Term SOFR for a one-month tenor in effect on such day plus 1.00 %; each change in the Base Rate shall take effect simultaneously with the corresponding change or changes in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Rate or Adjusted Term SOFR, as applicable (provided that clause (c) shall not be applicable during any period in which Adjusted Term SOFR is unavailable or unascertainable). The Base Rate shall not be less than 1.00 %. Adjusted Term SOFR is Term SOFR (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement) plus 0.10 % per annum; provided that Adjusted Term SOFR shall in no event be less than 0.00 %.
A default interest rate shall apply on all obligations during certain events of default under the Amended Credit Agreement at a rate per annum equal to 2.00 % above the applicable interest rate. The Company will pay to each lender a facility fee on a quarterly basis based on the unused amount of each lender’s commitment to make revolving loans, of between 0.20 % and 0.35 %, depending on the Company’s consolidated total leverage ratio as of the most recently ended fiscal quarter. The Company will also pay to the applicable lenders on a quarterly basis certain fees based on the daily amount available to be drawn under each outstanding letter of credit, including aggregate letter of credit commissions of between 1.50 % and 2.25 %, depending on the Company’s consolidated total leverage ratio as of the most recently ended fiscal quarter, and issuance fees of 0.125 % per annum. The Company is also obligated to pay Wells Fargo, as agent, fees customary for a credit facility of this size and type.
The Amended Credit Agreement requires the Company to maintain during the term of the Facilities a maximum consolidated total leverage ratio of 3.50 to 1.00 and a minimum consolidated interest coverage ratio of 3.50 to 1.00. In addition, the Amended Credit Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to, among other things, grant liens or enter into agreements restricting their ability to grant liens on property, enter into mergers, dispose of assets, change their accounting or reporting policies, change their business and incur indebtedness, in each case subject to customary exceptions for a credit facility of this size and type. The Amended Credit Agreement includes customary events of default that include, among other things, non-payment of principal, interest or fees, inaccuracy of representations and warranties, violation of covenants, cross default to certain other indebtedness, bankruptcy and insolvency events, material judgments, change of control and certain ERISA events. The occurrence of an event of default could result in the
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acceleration of the obligations under the Amended Credit Agreement.
The Facilities
As of June 30, 2024, $418.8 million was outstanding on the Initial Term Loan Facility, $114.4 million was outstanding on the First Amendment Term Loan Facility, and $175.0 million was outstanding on the Revolving Facility, leaving $525.0 million available on the Revolving Facility.
Term Facility:
During fiscal year 2024, the Company made aggregate payments of $209.2 million under the Term Loan Facilities, of which $157.5 million was a repayment of principal and $51.7 million was a payment of interest.
Revolving Facility:
During fiscal year 2024, the Company made aggregate payments of $238.4 million under the Revolving Facility, of which $215.0 million was a repayment of principal and $23.4 million was a payment of interest.
The following table summarizes our estimated debt and interest payment obligations as of June 30, 2024, for fiscal 2025 and future fiscal years (in thousands):
| Fiscal Year | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | Thereafter | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Debt payment obligations | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest and other payments on debt payment obligations (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) - Interest payments are calculated based on the applicable rates and payment dates as of June 30, 2024. Although our interest rates on our debt obligations may vary, we have assumed the most recent available interest rates for all periods presented.
NOTE 8—LEASES
The Company has entered into agreements under which we lease various real estate spaces in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, under non-cancellable leases that expire on various dates through fiscal 2036. Some of our leases include options to extend the term of such leases for a period from 12 months to 60 months, and/or have options to early terminate the lease. As of June 30, 2024, we included such options in determining the lease terms for certain of our leases as we were reasonably certain that we would exercise those options. Most of our leases require us to pay certain operating expenses in addition to base rent, such as taxes, insurance and maintenance costs.
The following table summarizes our lease costs for fiscal years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
| June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease costs: | Financial Statement Classification | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fixed lease costs | Operating expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Fixed lease costs | Cost of revenues | |||||||||||||||||||
| Variable lease costs | Operating expenses | |||||||||||||||||||
| Variable lease costs | Cost of revenues | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total lease costs | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||
The operating lease costs in the table above include costs for long-term and short-term leases. Total short-term costs for fiscal years June 30, 2024 and 2023 were $0.2 million and $0.6 million, respectively. Variable lease costs primarily include maintenance, utilities and operating expenses that are incremental to the fixed base rent payments and are excluded from the calculation of operating lease liabilities and ROU assets. For fiscal years June 30, 2024 and 2023, the cash paid for amounts associated with our operating lease liabilities were approximately $17.3 million and $16.1 million, respectively. Cash paid for amounts associated with the Company's operating lease liabilities were classified as operating activities in the consolidated statement of cash flows.
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The following table shows our undiscounted future fixed payment obligations under our recognized operating leases and a reconciliation to the operating lease liabilities as of June 30, 2024:
| Fiscal 2025 | $ | |||||||
| Fiscal 2026 | ||||||||
| Fiscal 2027 | ||||||||
| Fiscal 2028 | ||||||||
| Fiscal 2029 | ||||||||
| Thereafter | ||||||||
| Total future fixed operating lease payments | $ | |||||||
| Less: Imputed interest | $ | |||||||
| Total operating lease liabilities | $ | |||||||
| Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases | ||||||||
| Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases | % | |||||||
NOTE 9—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Purchase Obligations
We subcontract with third parties to manufacture our products and supply key components. As of June 30, 2024 we had $981.7 million of purchase commitments with these third parties. If we cancel all or part of the orders, we may still be liable to the contract manufacturers for the cost of the components purchased by the subcontractors to manufacture our products. There have been no significant liabilities for current or anticipated cancellations recorded as of June 30, 2024. Our consolidated financial position and results of operations could be negatively impacted if we were required to compensate these third parties. In addition, we may be subject to additional purchase obligations to our contract manufacturers for supply agreements and components ordered by them based on manufacturing forecasts we provide them each month.
Transition Tax
We have an obligation of $50.6 million as of June 30, 2024, related to the mandatory transition tax on accumulated foreign earnings from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We expect to make payments of $22.5 million and $28.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 and 2026, respectively, in relation to this obligation. This obligation is included within Income tax payable and Long-term taxes payable on our consolidated balance sheets.
Other Obligations
As of June 30, 2024, the Company has other obligations of $6.1 million which consisted primarily of commitments related to research and development projects.
Indemnification Obligations
The Company enters into standard indemnification agreements with many of its business partners in the ordinary course of business. These agreements include provisions for indemnifying the business partner against any claim brought by a third-party to the extent any such claim alleges that a Company product infringes a patent, copyright or trademark, or violates any other proprietary rights of that third-party. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is not estimable and the Company has not incurred any material costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification agreements to date.
Legal Matters
The Company may be involved, from time to time, in a variety of claims, lawsuits, investigations, and proceedings relating to contractual disputes, intellectual property rights, employment matters, regulatory compliance matters and other litigation matters relating to various claims that arise in the normal course of business. The Company determines whether an estimated loss from a
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contingency should be accrued by assessing whether a loss is deemed probable and can be reasonably estimated. The Company assesses its potential liability by analyzing specific litigation and regulatory matters using available information. The Company develops its views on estimated losses in consultation with inside and outside counsel, which involves a subjective analysis of potential results and outcomes, assuming various combinations of appropriate litigation and settlement strategies. Taking all of the above factors into account, the Company records an amount where it is probable that the Company will incur a loss and where that loss can be reasonably estimated. However, the Company’s estimates may be incorrect and the Company could ultimately incur more or less than the amounts initially recorded. The Company may also incur significant legal fees, which are expensed as incurred, in defending against these claims. The Company is not currently aware of any pending or threatened litigation that would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Vivato/XR
On April 19, 2017, XR Communications, LLC, d/b/a Vivato Technologies (“Vivato”), filed a complaint against the Company in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that at least one of the Company’s products infringes United States Patent Numbers 7,062,296 (the “'296 Patent”), 7,729,728 (the “'728 Patent”), and 6,611,231 (the “'231 Patent” and, collectively, the “Patents-in-Suit”). (the “Original Action”). On April 11, 2018, the Court stayed the Original Action pending completion of certain inter partes review (“IPR”) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTO”). The PTO invalidated asserted claims of two of the three Patents-in-Suit.
On June 16, 2021, Vivato filed a new suit against the Company in the Central District of California, alleging that various Company products infringe some of the non-invalidated claims of the ’728 Patent and U.S. Patent No. 10,594,376 (the “New Action”). On November 24, 2021, the Company and the remaining defendants in the Original Action filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings regarding the '231 Patent. On January 4, 2022, the Court granted defendants’ motion and dismissed Vivato’s claims based on the '231 Patent. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the invalidity of the '231 Patent on May 18, 2023. All claims asserted against the Company in the Original Action have been dismissed.
On July 28, 2022, Vivato voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice, its remaining claims related to the '728 patent, as well as claims 22-31 of the '376 Patent. On October 20, 2022, an IPR was instituted with respect to the asserted claims of the '376 Patent. On October 26, 2022, the court stayed the case pending completion of the IPR. On October 3, 2023, the IPR with respect to the '376 Patent was terminated after the petitioners entered into a settlement agreement with Vivato. On December 4, 2023, the court lifted the stay.
On May 16, 2024, the court entered a stipulated 30 -day stay pending settlement discussions. On June 18, 2024 and July 19, 2024, the court issued further stipulated 30
The Company plans to vigorously defend itself against these claims; however, there can be no assurance that the Company will prevail in the lawsuit. The Company cannot currently estimate the possible loss or range of losses, if any, that it may experience in connection with this litigation.
Network-1 Technologies, Inc.
On October 5, 2022, Network-1 Technologies, Inc. ("Network-1") filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the Company in the District of Delaware, alleging that various Company products infringe United States Patent Number 6,218,930, which relates to 802.3af and 802.3at “Power over Ethernet” standards. Network-1 seeks compensatory and enhanced damages, attorneys' fees and costs, and pre- and post-judgment interest. The Company plans to vigorously defend itself against these claims; however, there can be no assurance that the Company will prevail in the lawsuit. The Company cannot currently estimate the possible loss or range of losses, if any, that it may experience in connection with this litigation.
Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Ubiquiti Inc.
On August 8, 2023, Intellectual Ventures I LLC ("IV") filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the Company in the District of Delaware, alleging that various Company products infringe United States Patent Number 8,594,122, which relates to 802.11ac “Beamforming” standards. IV seeks compensatory and enhanced damages, attorneys' fees and costs, and pre- and post-judgment interest. The Company plans to vigorously defend itself against these claims; however, there can be no assurance that the Company will prevail in the lawsuit. The Company cannot currently estimate the possible loss or range of losses, if any, that it may experience in connection with this litigation.
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NOTE 10—COMMON STOCK AND TREASURY STOCK
Common Stock Repurchases
On May 3, 2022, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a $200 million stock repurchase program (the “2022 May Program”). Under the 2022 May Program, the Company was authorized to repurchase up to $200 million of common stock. The 2022 May Program expired on September 30, 2023, and the Company did not make any repurchases under the 2022 May Program.
The following table summarizes total activity related to our stock repurchase programs for the fiscal year end as indicated (in millions, except average price per share):
| June 30, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Number of shares repurchased and retired | |||||||||||||||||
| Average price per share | N/A | N/A | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Aggregate purchase price | N/A | N/A | $ | ||||||||||||||
NOTE 11—SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
Share-Based Compensation Plans
2010 Equity Incentive Plan
In March 2010, the Company’s Board of Directors and stockholders approved the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2010 Plan”). Under the terms of the 2010 Plan, non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) may be granted to employees or non-employee service providers. Incentive stock options may be granted only to employees.
2020 Equity Incentive Plan
In December 2020, the Company's stockholders approved the Ubiquiti Inc. 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2020 Equity Plan”) that replaced the 2010 Plan, and no additional awards will be granted under the 2010 Plan. Under the terms of the 2020 Equity Plan, the Company is authorized to grant awards for up to five million shares of common stock over the term of the 2020 Equity Plan. Outstanding awards under the 2010 Plan remain in effect pursuant to the terms of the 2010 Plan.
The 2020 Equity Plan and the 2010 Plan are each administered by the Company’s Board of Directors or a committee of the Company’s Board of Directors. Subject to the terms and conditions of the 2020 Equity Plan and the 2010 Plan, the administrator has the authority to select the persons to whom awards are to be made, to determine the number of shares to be subject to awards and the terms and conditions of awards, and to make all other determinations and to take all other actions necessary or advisable for the administration of the 2020 Equity Plan and the 2010 Plan. The administrator is also authorized to adopt, amend or rescind rules relating to administration of the 2020 Equity Plan and the 2010 Plan. Options and RSUs generally vest over a four-year period from the date of grant and generally expire 10 years from the date of grant. The terms of the 2020 Equity Plan and the 2010 Plan provide that an option price shall not be less than 100 % of fair market value on the date of grant.
As of June 30, 2024, the Company had 4,876,805 authorized shares available for future issuance under all of its stock incentive plans.
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Share-based Compensation
The following table shows total share-based compensation expense included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands):
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Research and development | |||||||||||||||||
| Sales, general and administrative | |||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
Stock Options
During fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, the aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised under the Company’s stock incentive plans was $0.0 million, $0.6 million, and $2.3 million, respectively, as determined as of the date of option exercise.
As of June 30, 2024, the Company had no unrecognized compensation cost related to stock options.
The Company did no
Forfeiture rate
The Company estimates its forfeiture rate based on an analysis of its actual forfeitures and will continue to evaluate the adequacy of the forfeiture rate based on actual forfeiture experience, analysis of employee turnover behavior and other factors. The impact from a forfeiture rate adjustment will be recognized in full in the period of adjustment, and if the actual number of future forfeitures differs from that estimated, the Company may be required to record adjustments to share-based compensation expense in future periods.
Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”)
The following table summarizes the activity of the RSUs made by the Company:
| Number of Shares | Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value | ||||||||||
Non-vested RSUs, June 30, 2023 | $ | ||||||||||
| RSUs granted | $ | ||||||||||
| RSUs vested | ( | $ | |||||||||
| RSUs forfeited | ( | $ | |||||||||
Non-vested RSUs, June 30, 2024 | $ | ||||||||||
The intrinsic value of RSUs vested in fiscal 2024, 2023, and 2022 was $3.5 million, $5.8 million and $8.2 million, respectively. The total intrinsic value of all outstanding RSUs was $14.9 million as of June 30, 2024.
As of June 30, 2024, there was unrecognized compensation costs related to RSUs of $13.6 million which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted average period of 3.1 years.
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NOTE 12—INCOME TAXES
The components of income before provision for income taxes were as follows (in thousands):
| Year ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Foreign | ||||||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||
The provision for income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):
| Year ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Federal | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| State | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Current tax expense | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Federal | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||
| State | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||
| Foreign | ( | |||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred tax benefit (expense) | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
For tax years beginning after December 31, 2021, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("TCJA") eliminates the right to deduct research and development expenditures for tax purposes in the period the expenses were incurred and instead requires all U.S. and foreign research and development expenditures to be amortized over five and fifteen tax years, respectively. Congress has considered legislation that would defer the amortization requirement to later years, but as of June 30, 2024, the requirement has not been modified. Accordingly, the Company has capitalized research and development expenses for tax purposes, resulting in higher cash paid for taxes as compared to prior years.
The reconciliation of federal statutory income tax to the Company’s provision for income taxes is as follows:
| Year ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Statutory rate | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Effect of foreign operations | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||
| State tax expense | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | ( | |||||||||||||||||||
| Subpart F income | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other permanent items | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||
| Effective tax rate | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||
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Significant components of the Company's deferred tax assets and liabilities as of June 30, 2024 are as follows (in thousands):
| June 30, | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Deferred tax assets | ||||||||||||||
| Reserves and allowances | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | ||||||||||||||
| Accrued expenses | ||||||||||||||
| Capitalized research expenditures | ||||||||||||||
| State tax | ||||||||||||||
| Investments | ||||||||||||||
| Lease liabilities | ||||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||||
| Total deferred tax assets | ||||||||||||||
| Deferred tax liabilities | ||||||||||||||
| Property and equipment | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Right of use assets | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Other liabilities | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Total deferred tax liabilities | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Valuation allowance | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
| Net deferred tax assets | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the unrecognized tax benefits during the years ended June 30, 2024, 2023, and 2022 consists of the following (in thousands):
| Year ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Unrecognized benefit—beginning of year | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Gross increases—current year tax positions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross decreases—prior year tax positions due to statute lapse | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||
| Unrecognized benefit—end of year | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
As of June 30, 2024, the Company had approximately $33.0 million of unrecognized tax benefits, substantially all of which would, if recognized, affect its tax expense. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within the income tax expense line in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. Accrued interest and penalties are included within the related tax liability line in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had $4.8 million and $2.9 million accrued interest related to uncertain tax matters, respectively.
The Company and one or more of its subsidiaries, file income tax returns in the United States federal jurisdiction, and various state, local, and foreign jurisdictions and is currently undergoing income tax examinations by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department ("IRD"). All material consolidated federal, state and local income tax matters have been concluded for years through 2014. The majority of the Company's foreign jurisdictions have been concluded through 2014, with the exception of Hong Kong which has been reviewed through 2009 and is currently under audit for the 2010-2018 statutory tax years.
In July 2018, the Company received a draft Notice of Proposed Adjustment (“Draft NOPA”) from the IRS proposing an adjustment to income for the fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016 tax years based on its interpretation of certain obligations of the non-US entities under the credit facility. This Draft NOPA was superseded by an Acknowledgement of Facts (“AOF”) issued to the Company by the IRS on January 17, 2020. The IRS in its AOF continued to propose an adjustment to the Company’s income for its fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016 tax years based on the IRS’ interpretation of certain obligations of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries under the Company’s credit facilities. On May 12, 2020, the IRS issued a final NOPA to the Company with respect to the 2015/2016 tax years. The Company formally protested the adjustment and the case was moved from the Examination Division to the IRS Appeals Division where a formal review of the facts and the applicable law took place on May 9, 2022. The Appeals Officer issued a Notice of
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Deficiency on August 3, 2022, which upheld the position of the Examination Division. The Company filed a petition with the United States Tax Court seeking to have the Notice of Deficiency reversed. On November 8, 2023, the Company filed a Motion for Summary Judgement. The IRS responded to the Company's Motion on December 26, 2023 and filed a Cross-Motion for Summary Judgement. On January 22, 2024, the judge assigned to this case rejected both Motions for Summary Judgement. As such, the Company is awaiting a trial date to be set which it currently expects to receive by the end of December 2024. The Company continues to believe that its tax position filed with the IRS with regard to this matter is more likely than not to be sustained based on technical merits. However, there can be no assurance that this matter will be resolved in the Company’s favor. Regardless of whether the matter is resolved in the Company’s favor, the final resolution of this matter could be expensive and time-consuming to defend and/or settle. The Company estimates the incremental tax liability associated with the income adjustment proposed in the AOF would be approximately $50.0 million, excluding potential interest and penalties, after adjusting for the impact of an adjustment on the amount of transition tax payable in future years by the Company. As the Company believes that the tax originally paid in fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016 is correct, it has not provided a reserve for this tax uncertainty. However, an adverse outcome may have a material and adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations and financial condition.
Between fiscal years 2018 and 2023, the Company made payments totaling a combined amount of $60.4 million as deposits, with the Hong Kong IRD in connection with extending the statute of limitation for income tax examinations currently under audit for 2010-2017 statutory tax years. On March 27, 2024, the Company received notification that the Hong Kong IRD is seeking an additional $0.8 million deposit covering the 2018 statutory tax year. The Company filed a formal protest in response to this notice and the Assessor's office agreed to a reduced deposit of under $0.1 million covering the 2018 statutory tax year. The refundable deposits are included within other long-term assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The IRD is examining the Company’s claims that its revenue is generated through activities performed wholly outside of the Hong Kong tax jurisdiction and are therefore exempt from Hong Kong tax. The Company is fully cooperating with the examination including submitting documentation in support of its position. The Company continues to believe that its tax positions filed with IRD are more likely than not to be sustained based on their technical merits and therefore no reserve has been provided for this tax uncertainty and the Company expects the $60.4 million (net of foreign currency impact) of deposits made with IRD to be refunded upon completion of the audit. However, there can be no assurance that this matter will be resolved in the Company’s favor and therefore it's possible that an adverse outcome of the matter could have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations and financial condition.
NOTE 13—SEGMENT INFORMATION, REVENUES BY GEOGRAPHY AND SIGNIFICANT CUSTOMERS
Management has determined that the Company operates as one two primary categories: Service Provider Technology and Enterprise Technology.
Revenue
Revenues by product type were as follows (in thousands, except percentages):
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enterprise Technology | $ | % | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service Provider Technology | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | % | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues by geography based on customer’s ship-to destinations were as follows (in thousands, except percentages):
| Year ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
North America (1) | $ | % | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Europe, the Middle East and Africa | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asia Pacific | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South America | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | % | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NOTE 14—SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Dividends
On August 23, 2024, the Company announced that its Board of Directors had approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.60 per share payable on September 9, 2024 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 3, 2024. Any future dividends will be subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors.
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