MACOM Technology Solutions (MTSI) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.

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.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”) contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our business outlook, strategic plans and priorities, expectations, anticipated drivers of future revenue growth, industry trends, the potential impacts of COVID-19 on our future operations and results, our plans for use of our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, our ability to meet working capital requirements, estimates and objectives for future operations, our future results of operations and our financial position. Forward-looking statements generally may be identified by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “continue,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “targets,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions or variations or the negatives of those terms.

In this document, the words “MACOM,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” and similar terms refer only to MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, and not any other person or entity.

“MACOM,” “MACOM Technology Solutions” and related logos are trademarks of MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. All other brands and names listed are trademarks of their respective owners.

Overview

Many of our products have long life cycles ranging from five to ten years, and some of our products have been generating revenue for over 20 years. We continue to develop new products and technologies to improve our ability to serve our primary markets. Our growth strategy is focused on expanding our addressable markets and product portfolio, strengthening our customer relationships and capturing more design wins in order to increase our market share. As we grow our portfolio and technology base, we believe our customers will select more of our components for use in their systems.

We also utilize external semiconductor foundries to access additional process technologies and capacity. In aggregate, we utilize a broad array of internal, proprietary process technologies and commercially available foundry technologies, which allows us to select the most appropriate technology to solve our customers’ needs. This strategy is intended to provide us with dependable supply, control over quality, reduced capital investment requirements, faster time to market and additional outsourced capacity when needed. In addition, the know-how developed through the continued operation of our internal fabrication lines provides us with the expertise to better manage our external foundry suppliers.

Research and Development

Our research and development efforts aim to rapidly develop new and innovative products, process technologies and packaging techniques. The interaction of semiconductor process technology, circuit design and packaging technology defines the performance parameters and differentiation of our products. We believe some of our core competencies are the ability to model, design, test, integrate, package and manufacture differentiated solutions for our customers. We leverage these core competencies to solve difficult and complex challenges that our customers face during their system design phases. We believe our integrated and customized solutions offer customers high performance, quality, reliability and faster time to market.

We continue to invest in proprietary processes and packaging technologies to enable us to develop and manufacture high-value solutions. Our engineers’ radar, optical, microwave and millimeter wave system-level design expertise allow us to offer differentiated solutions that leverage multiple process technologies and are integrated into a single, higher-level assembly, thereby delivering our customers enhanced functionality.

Our Markets and Products

Our core strategy is to develop and innovate high-performance products that address our customers’ technical challenges in our primary markets: I&D, Data Center and Telecom. While sales in any or all of our primary markets may slow or decline from period to period, over the long term we expect to benefit from growth in these markets. We expect our revenue in the I&D market to be driven by the expansion of our product portfolio that services satellite and space communications, civil and military radar, test and measurement, scientific, medical and other industrial applications. We expect revenue growth in the Data Center market to be driven by the adoption of cloud-based services and the upgrade of data center architectures to 100G, 200G, 400G and 800G interconnects, which we expect will drive adoption of higher speed optical and photonic wireless links. We expect our revenue in the Telecom market to be driven, in part, by 5G deployments and expansion of optical networks, with continued upgrades and expansion of communications equipment and increasing adoption of bandwidth-rich services.

We believe our analog design capabilities, technology portfolio, in-depth knowledge of critical radar system requirements, integration expertise and track record of reliability make us a valued resource for our I&D customers faced with demanding application parameters. Further, we have been accredited by the United States Department of Defense with Trusted Foundry status which we believe differentiates us as a trusted manufacturer of ICs for U.S. military and aerospace applications. For radar applications, we offer standard and custom amplifiers, discrete components, switch limiters, phase shifters and integrated modules for transmit and receive functions in air traffic control, marine, weather, and military radar applications. For military communications data link and tactical radio applications, we offer a family of active, passive and discrete products, such as Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (“MMICs”), control components, voltage-controlled oscillators, transformers, power pallets, amplifiers and diodes.

We believe manufacturing products in our Lowell, Massachusetts Trusted Foundry offers us a competitive advantage in the I&D market because of certain customers’ requirements for a domestic supply chain.

Growth in the I&D business is also driven by multi-market applications encompassing industrial, medical, test and measurement and scientific applications, where analog RF, microwave and millimeter wave semiconductor solutions are gaining prevalence. In addition, evolving medical technology has increased the need for high-performance MMICs and other semiconductor solutions in medical imaging and patient monitoring to provide enhanced analysis and functionality.

In the medical industry, our custom designed non-magnetic diode product line is a critical component for certain MRI applications. For sensing and test and measurement applications, we believe our heterolithic microwave integrated circuit, or HMIC, process is ideal for high-performance, integrated bias networks and switches. Our catalog of general purpose GaAs ICs includes low noise amplifiers, switches and power amplifiers that address a wide range of applications such as industrial automation systems to test and measurement equipment.

We enable the market with a complete product portfolio of Pulse Amplitude Modulation (“PAM-4”) Physical Layers (“PHYs”), Transimpedance Amplifier (“TIAs”), Modulator Drivers, Lasers and Photodetectors, and, in some cases, individual component designs are optimized for use together as a chipset.

To address our primary markets, we offer a broad range of standard and custom ICs and components. Our product catalog currently consists of thousands of products, including the following key product platforms: amplifiers, ICs, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components and multi-chip modules. Many of our product platforms are leveraged across multiple markets and applications. For example, our application expertise in power amplifier technology is leveraged across both scientific laboratory equipment applications and commercial and defense radar system applications. Our diode technology is used in switch filter banks of military tactical radios as well as medical imaging MRI systems.

Our expertise in system-level architectures and advanced IC design capability enables us to offer network original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) customers highly integrated solutions optimized for performance and cost. Our portfolio of opto-electronics products includes clock and data recovery, optical post amplifiers, laser and modulator drivers, transimpedance amplifiers, transmitter and receiver applications in 2.5/10/40/100/400 gigabits per second long haul, metro, data center links and FTTx fiber optic network components that enable telecommunications carriers and data centers to cost-efficiently increase their network capacity by a factor of four to ten times over earlier generation solutions. We match our opto-electronic components to our laser and photodetector products enabling our customers to buy more complete solutions for their opto-electronic systems. For optical communications applications, we utilize a proprietary combination of GaAs, InP and Silicon Germanium (“SiGe”) technologies to obtain advantages in performance and size.

For wired broadband applications, we offer OEM customers the opportunity to streamline their supply chain through our broad catalog of active components such as active splitters, amplifiers, multi-function ICs and switches, as well as passive components such as transformers, diplexers, filters, power dividers and combiners.

Wireless applications include terrestrial and space-based radio frequency, microwave and millimeter wave communication systems, also known as satellite communications, or SATCOM. SATCOM systems can support commercial and defense applications and, in some cases, include deployment of large satellite constellations to support connectivity.

The table below presents our major product families.

We employ a global multi-channel sales strategy and support model intended to facilitate customers’ evaluations and selections of our products. We sell through our direct sales force, our application engineering staff, our global network of independent sales representatives, resellers and distributors. We have strategically positioned our direct sales and applications engineering staff in locations worldwide, augmented by independent sales representatives and distributors with additional domestic and foreign locations to offer responsive local support resources to our customers and to build long-term relationships. Our application engineers visit customers at their engineering and manufacturing facilities, aid them in understanding our capabilities and collaborate with them to deliver products that can optimize their system performance. Our global independent sales representatives and distributor network allow us to extend our sales capabilities to new customers in new geographies more cost effectively than using our direct sales force alone.

Our products are principally sold in North America, Asia and Europe, which is where we concentrate our direct sales force, applications engineering staff, independent sales representatives and distributors. Sales to our distributors accounted for 24.0%, 30.9% and 35.0% of our revenue in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our agreements with sales representatives, resellers and distributors may provide for an initial term of one or more years with the opportunity for subsequent renewals or for an indefinite term, and also typically provide that either party may terminate the agreement for convenience with a minimum period of prior notice to the other party, usually between 30 and 90 days.

Our sales efforts are focused on the needs of our customers in our three primary markets rather than on particular product lines, facilitating product cross-selling across end markets, and within key accounts. Through our website, customers can inquire about our products, request samples and access our product selection guides, detailed product brochures and data sheets, application notes, suggested design block diagrams and test fixture information, technical articles and information regarding quality and reliability.

Customers

Our orders from and sales to customers in the telecommunications infrastructure and networking markets may tend to be lower in our first fiscal quarter as compared to other quarters due to seasonal inventory management by large OEM and contract manufacturing customers. 

The markets for our products are highly competitive and are characterized by continuously evolving customer requirements. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our markets include:

We believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors. We compete primarily with both our customers’ internal design resources and other suppliers of high-performance analog semiconductor solutions for use in wireless and wireline RF, microwave, millimeter wave and photonic applications, some of whom have greater financial resources and scale than us. We expect competition in our markets to change as new competitors enter these markets, existing competitors merge or form alliances and new technologies emerge. We believe that in the future there will be increased competition from companies utilizing alternative technologies, including high-volume manufacturers using low-cost silicon process technology. Some of our competitors are also our customers, and in certain product categories we compete with semiconductor manufacturers from which we also obtain foundry services.

We primarily compete with Analog Devices, Inc. (“ADI”), Broadcom Inc. (“Broadcom”), Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (“Credo”), Marvell Technology Inc. (“Marvell”), MaxLinear Inc. (“MaxLinear”), Microchip Technology Incorporated (“Microchip”), NXP Semiconductors N.V. (“NXP”), Qorvo, Inc. (“Qorvo”), Semtech Corporation (“Semtech”), Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (“Skyworks”) and Wolfspeed, Inc. (“Wolfspeed”).

Our sales are made primarily on a purchase order basis, rather than pursuant to long-term contracts where the customer commits to buy any minimum amount of product over an extended period. We also frequently ship products from our inventory shortly after receipt of an order, which we refer to as “turns business.” Unanticipated fluctuations in turns business may result in material shifts in revenue between fiscal quarters. Due to the foregoing factors, different ordering patterns of our customers and the wide range of lead times to produce and deliver our products, we believe that backlog as of any particular date may not be a reliable indicator of our future revenue levels.

Our success depends in part upon our ability to protect our intellectual property. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, including patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, as well as customary contractual protections with our customers, suppliers, employees and consultants.

The semiconductor industry is characterized by the existence of a large number of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, and by the vigorous pursuit, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Many of our customer agreements require us to indemnify our customers for third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which may in the future require that we defend those claims and might require that we pay damages in the case of adverse rulings. Claims of this sort could harm our relationships with our customers and might deter future customers from doing business with us. With respect to any intellectual property rights claims against us or our customers or distributors, we may be required to cease manufacture of the infringing product, pay damages or settlement amounts, expend resources to develop non-infringing technology, seek a license, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or relinquish patents or other intellectual property rights.

When designing a product solution for our customers, we may choose to utilize our internal proprietary process technologies or technologies from external fabrication facilities, or a combination of both. We believe our ability to select both internal and external technologies in our product solutions is a competitive advantage because it helps us to provide a unique and optimized solution for our customers.

Our internal wafer fabrication and the majority of our internal assembly and test operations are conducted at our Lowell, Massachusetts headquarters. We believe having U.S.-based wafer fabrication is a competitive advantage for us over competitors that do not have this capability, because it enables us to offer proprietary processes, and provides us with greater control over quality, a secure source of supply and a domestic source for U.S. I&D customers. We also believe that our U.S.-based wafer fabrication facilitates shorter time to market for both new and existing products, shorter production lead times than if we utilized external foundries and allows us to efficiently produce a wide range of low, medium and high-volume products. We perform internal assembly

and test functions at our Lowell, Massachusetts, Nashua, New Hampshire, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Hamilton, New Jersey, Limeil-Brévannes, France, and Hsinchu, Taiwan locations.

We complement our internal manufacturing with outsourced foundry partners and other suppliers. Our operations team has extensive expertise in the management of outsourced manufacturing service providers and other supply chain participants. We believe our fab-lite model of outsourcing certain of our manufacturing activities rather than investing heavily in capital-intensive production facilities provides us with the flexibility to respond to new market opportunities, simplifies operations, provides access to a wider array of process technologies and additional manufacturing capacity and reduces our capital requirements. We also use third-party contract manufacturers for assembly, packaging and test functions, and in some cases for fully outsourced turnkey manufacturing of our products.

The principal materials used in the production of our IC products are high purity source materials such as gallium, aluminum, arsenic, nitrite, carbon and silicon. We purchase a wide variety of semiconductors, wafers, packages, metals, printed circuit boards, electromechanical components and other materials from hundreds of suppliers worldwide for use in our operations. These supply relationships are generally conducted on a purchase order basis. The use of external suppliers involves a number of risks, including the possibility of material disruptions in the supply of key raw materials and components, and the lack of control over delivery schedules, capacity, quality and costs.

Our operations involve the use of hazardous substances and are regulated under federal, state and local laws governing health and safety and the environment in the U.S. and other countries. These regulations include limitations on discharge of pollutants into the air, water and soil; remediation requirements; product chemical content limitations; manufacturing chemical use and handling restrictions; pollution control requirements; waste minimization considerations; and requirements regarding the treatment, transport, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes. We are also subject to regulation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and similar health and safety laws in other jurisdictions. While we are committed to compliance with applicable regulations, the risk of environmental liabilities can never be completely eliminated and there can be no assurance that the application of environmental and health and safety laws to our business will not require us to incur material future expenditures.

We are also regulated under a number of federal, state and local laws regarding responsible sourcing, recycling, product packaging and product content requirements in the U.S. and other countries, including legislation enacted in the European Union and other foreign jurisdictions that have placed greater restrictions on the use of lead, among other chemicals, in electronic products, which affects materials composition and semiconductor packaging. These laws are becoming more stringent and may in the future cause us to incur material expenditures or otherwise cause financial harm.

We market and sell our products both inside and outside the U.S. Certain products are subject to the Export Administration Regulations, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), which require that we obtain an export license before we can export certain controlled products or technology to specified countries. Additionally, some of our products are subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which restrict the export of information and material that may be used for military or intelligence applications by a foreign person. Similar controls exist in other jurisdictions. Failure to comply with these laws could result in sanctions by the government, including substantial monetary penalties, denial of export privileges and debarment from government contracts. We maintain an export compliance program staffed by dedicated personnel under which we screen export transactions against current lists of restricted exports, destinations and end users with the objective of managing export-related decisions, transactions and shipping logistics to ensure compliance with these requirements.

Approximately 69% of our workforce is male and 31% of our workforce is female. Females represented approximately 17% of our senior management and approximately 17% of our engineering roles.

We continue to create a culture of DEI&B in the workplace in order to promote and effect change at the corporate and community levels. We support establishing a work environment where everyone has equal opportunities to learn and grow. Our DEI&B efforts are guided by the following principles:

We regularly use our employee newsletter and communications meetings to share information, opportunities and updates with our workforce on our DEI&B and other initiatives. We are committed to providing equal opportunity in all aspects of employment and do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. We maintain a policy against unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation which sets forth our position on the prohibition of all forms of discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in March 2009. Our operations are conducted through our various subsidiaries, which are organized and operated according to the laws of their respective jurisdictions of incorporation.

MACOM Technology Solutions Inc., our primary operating subsidiary, which provides high-performance analog semiconductor solutions for use in wireless and wireline applications across the RF, microwave, millimeter wave and lightwave spectrum, was incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware on July 16, 2008. MACOM Technology Solutions Limited, our primary foreign operating subsidiary, was incorporated under the laws of Ireland on November 18, 2008. The heritage of some of our business operations dates back over 70 years to the founding of Microwave Associates, Inc. and the MACOM brand dates back over 30 years.

We maintain a website at www.macom.com, including an investors section, at which we routinely post important information, such as webcasts of quarterly earnings calls and other investor events in which we participate or host, and any related materials. We encourage investors to monitor our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts, as well as our social media channels (MACOM’s LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube pages and X account (@MACOMtweets)). You may access our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, as well as other reports relating to us that are filed with or furnished to the SEC, free of charge in the investors section of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov. The contents of the websites mentioned above, as well as our LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube pages and Twitter account, are not incorporated into and should not be considered a part of this report.

We operate in the semiconductor industry, which is cyclical and subject to significant downturns.

The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and is characterized by constant and rapid technological change, price erosion, product obsolescence, evolving standards, short product lifecycles and significant fluctuations in supply and demand. The industry has historically experienced significant fluctuations in demand and product obsolescence, resulting in product overcapacity, high inventory levels and accelerated erosion of average selling prices (“ASPs”). Downturns in this industry may be prolonged, and downturns in many sectors of the electronic systems industry have in the past contributed to extended periods of weak demand for semiconductor products. We have experienced decreases in our revenue, profitability, cash flows and stock price during such downturns in the past, and may be similarly harmed by future downturns, particularly if we are unable to effectively respond to reduced demand in a particular market.

Our revenue growth and gross margin are substantially dependent on our successful development and release of new products.

Maintaining or growing our revenue will depend, among other things, on our ability to timely develop products for existing and new markets that meet customers’ performance, reliability and price expectations. In addition, the ASPs of our products may decrease over time and we must introduce new products that can be manufactured at lower costs or that command higher prices based on superior performance to offset price erosion. If we are not able to introduce products that ship in volume, our revenue will likely not grow and may decline significantly and rapidly. The development of products is a highly complex process, and we have in the past and may in the future experience delays and failures in completing the development and introduction of new products. Our successful product development depends on a number of factors, including accurate prediction of market requirements, changes in technology and evolving standards; the availability of qualified product designers and process technologies needed to solve design challenges in a cost-effective, reliable manner; our ability to design products that meet customers’ requirements; our ability to successfully design and manufacture products at competitive prices and volumes; our customers’ acceptance of our product designs; the acceptance of our customers’ products by the market and the lifecycle of such products; the strength of and ability to protect our intellectual property rights; our ability to obtain, on commercially reasonable terms, licenses to necessary third party intellectual property rights; and our ability to maintain and increase our level of product content in our customers’ systems.

A new product design effort may last over one year, and requires significant investment in engineering, as well as sales and marketing, which may not be recouped. Our failure to anticipate or timely develop new or enhanced products or technologies in response to technological shifts could result in decreased revenue and others obtaining design wins. As a result, our gross margin may decrease, we may not reach our expected level of production orders and we may lose market share, which could adversely affect our ability to sustain our revenue growth or maintain our current revenue levels.

Sources for certain components, materials and services are limited, which could result in interruptions, delays or reductions in product shipments.

Our industry may be affected from time to time, and is currently being affected, by limited supplies of certain key components, materials and services. We have in the past and may in the future, experience delays or reductions in supply shipments, which could reduce our revenue and profitability. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic caused shortages of certain semiconductor components and delays in shipments, and these issues may be further exacerbated by supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitical unrest, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel. If key components, materials or services are unavailable, our costs could increase and our revenue could decline.

Our manufacturing headquarters, design facilities, assembly and test facilities and supply chain, and those of our contract manufacturers, are subject to risk of catastrophic loss due to fire, flood or other natural or man-made disasters. Any catastrophic loss or significant damage to any of these facilities, particularly our Lowell, Massachusetts, Nashua, New Hampshire and Hsinchu, Taiwan locations, could materially disrupt our operations, delay production, shipments and revenue and result in significant expenses to repair or replace the facility and, in some instances, could significantly curtail our R&D efforts, and adversely affect our business and financial results, revenue and profitability.

We are subject to supply, order and shipment uncertainties. Our profitability will decline if we fail to accurately forecast customer demand when managing inventory.

We generally sell our products on the basis of purchase orders rather than long-term purchase commitments from our customers. Our customers can typically cancel purchase orders or defer product shipments for some period without incurring liability to us. We typically plan production and inventory levels based on internal forecasts of customer demand, which can be highly unpredictable and can fluctuate substantially, leading to excess inventory write-downs and resulting negative impacts on gross margin and net income. We have limited visibility into our customers’ inventories, future customer demand and the product mix that our customers will require, which could adversely affect our production forecasts and operating margins. The difficulty in predicting demand may be compounded when we sell to OEM customers indirectly through distributors or contract manufacturers, as our forecasts of demand are then based on estimates provided by multiple parties. If we overestimate our customers’ requirements, we may have excess inventory, which could lead to obsolete inventory, write-downs and unexpected costs. Conversely, if we underestimate our customers’ requirements or are not able to secure components, materials and/or fabrication facility capacity, we may have inadequate inventory, which could lead to foregone revenue opportunities, loss of potential market share and damage to customer relationships. Furthermore, obtaining additional supply in the face of any component shortages may be costly or impossible, particularly in the short term, due to ongoing supply chain constraints and growing inflationary pressures, which could prevent us from fulfilling orders in a timely manner or at all. If our own supply chain or others from whom our customers source are unable to deliver required components to our customers, then our customers may delay or cancel their product orders from us. Any significant future cancellation or deferral of product orders could adversely affect our revenue and margins, increase inventory write-downs due to obsolete inventory or adversely affect our operating results and stock price.

Sustained inflation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Inflation rates in the markets in which we operate have increased and may continue to rise. Recent inflation has led us to experience higher labor costs, wafer and other costs for materials from suppliers, and transportation costs. Our suppliers have raised their prices and may continue to raise prices, and in the competitive markets in which we operate, we may not be able to make corresponding price increases to preserve our gross margins and profitability. If inflation rates continue to rise or remain elevated for a sustained period of time, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. We have generally been able to offset increases in these costs through various productivity and cost reduction initiatives, as well as adjusting our selling prices to pass through some of these higher costs to our customers; however, our ability to raise or maintain our selling prices depends on market conditions and competitive dynamics. Given the timing of our actions compared to the timing of these inflationary pressures, there may be periods during which we are unable to fully recover the increases in our costs.

Underutilization, price competition, acquisitions and various other factors may reduce our gross margin, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to utilize our design, fabrication, assembly and test facilities at a high level, the significant fixed costs associated with these facilities may not be fully absorbed, resulting in higher than average unit costs and lower gross margin. Similarly, when we compete for business on the basis of our products’ unit price, the ASP of our products is reduced, negatively affecting our gross margins. Increased sales of lower-margin products, increases in raw material costs, changes in manufacturing yields and other factors can reduce our gross margins from time to time, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations in the future. As a result of these or other factors, we may be unable to maintain or increase our gross margin in future periods and our gross margin may fluctuate from period to period.

Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from period to period. We may not meet investors’ quarterly or annual financial expectations and, as a result, our stock price may decline.

Our quarterly and annual operating results and related expectations may vary significantly in the future based upon a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including: general economic growth or decline in the U.S. or foreign markets; reduction or cancellation of orders by customers; the amount of new customer orders we book and ship in any particular fiscal quarter; relative linearity of our shipments within any particular fiscal quarter; the gain or loss of a key customer or significant changes in demand and/or fluctuations in the markets we serve; fluctuations in the levels of component inventories held by our customers and accurate forecasting by customers; fluctuations in manufacturing output, yields, capacity levels, quality control or other potential problems or delays we or our subcontractors may experience in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; success of our investments in R&D; availability, quality and cost of semiconductor wafers and other raw materials, equipment, components and internal or outsourced manufacturing, packaging and test capacity, particularly where we have only one qualified source of supply; effects of seasonal and other changes in customer demand; effects of competitive pricing pressures, including decreases in ASPs of our products; loss of key personnel or the shortage of available skilled workers; our failure to remain abreast of new and improved semiconductor process technologies; failure of our partners in strategic alliances, which may prevent us from achieving commercial success in such alliance; the exposure of our operations to possible capital and exchange controls, expropriation and other restrictive government actions, changes in intellectual property legal protections and remedies, as well as political unrest, unstable governments and legal systems and inter-governmental disputes; changes in laws and regulations in the U.S. and other countries, or the interpretations thereof; and the effects of war, natural disasters, global pandemics, acts of terrorism, macroeconomic uncertainty or decline including increased levels of inflation or geopolitical unrest.

The foregoing factors are difficult to forecast. These and similar factors could materially and adversely affect our quarterly and annual operating results and related expectations for future periods. If our operating results in any period do not meet our publicly stated guidance or the expectations of investors or securities analysts, our stock price may decline and has, in the past, declined as a result.

If demand for our products in our primary markets declines or fails to grow, our revenue and profitability may suffer.

Our future growth depends on our ability to anticipate demand and respond to it with products that address our customers' needs. To a significant extent, this growth depends on the continued growth in usage of advanced electronic systems in our primary markets: I&D, Data Center and Telecom. The rate and extent to which these markets will grow, if at all, is uncertain. For example, we have focused significant internal resources to meet potential product demand in the Cloud Data Center Market, but our ability to capitalize on this and other market opportunities in 100G optical networks and GaN technology will depend on, among other things, the future size and actual growth rates of these markets, the next generation technologies selected by customers, the timing of network upgrades in these markets and the pace of adoption of our products in these markets. If demand for electronic systems that incorporate our products declines, fails to grow or grows more slowly than we anticipate, purchases of our products may be reduced, which will adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on orders from a limited number of customers for a significant percentage of our revenue.

In the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023, no direct customer individually accounted for 10% or more of our revenue and sales to our top 10 direct and distribution customers accounted for an aggregate of 47.6% of our revenue. While the composition of our top 10 customers varies from year to year, we expect that sales to a limited number of customers will continue to account for a significant percentage of our revenue for the foreseeable future. The purchasing arrangements with our customers are typically conducted on a purchase order basis that does not require our customers to purchase any minimum amount of our products over a period of time. As a result, it is possible that any of our major customers could terminate their purchasing arrangements with us with little or no warning and without penalty, or significantly reduce or delay the amount of our products that they order, purchase products from our competitors or develop their own products internally. The loss of, or a reduction in, orders from any major customer may cause a material decline in revenue and adversely affect our results of operations.

We may incur significant risk and expense in attempting to win new business and such efforts may never generate revenue.

To obtain new business, we often need to win a competitive selection process to develop semiconductors for use in our customers’ systems, known in the industry as a “design win.” Failure to obtain a design win can result in lost or foregone revenue and could weaken our position in future competitive selection processes or cause us to fail to meet revenue projections or expectations.

Even when we achieve a design win, success is not guaranteed. Customer qualification and design cycles can be lengthy, and it may take a year or more following a successful design win and product qualification for one of our products to be purchased in volume by the customer. Furthermore, any difficulties our customer may experience in completing its own qualifications may delay or prevent us from translating the design win into revenue. Any of these events or any cancellation of a customer’s program or failure of our customer to market its own product successfully after our design win, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, as we may have incurred significant expense and generated no revenue.

Our business may be adversely affected if we experience product returns and product liability and defects claims.

Our products are complex and frequently operate in high-performance, challenging environments. We may not be able to anticipate all of the possible performance or reliability problems that could arise with our products after they are released to the market. If such problems occur or become significant, we may experience reduced revenue and increased costs related to product recalls, inventory write-offs, warranty or damage claims, delays in, cancellations of or returns of product orders and other expenses. Certain of our distributors have inventory return and or rotation rights, which may result in higher than expected product returns. The many materials and vendors used in the manufacture of our products increase the risk that some defects may escape detection in our manufacturing process and subsequently affect our customers, even in the case of long-standing product designs. Our use of newly-developed or less mature semiconductor process technologies, such as GaN and InP, which have a less extensive track record of reliability in the field than other more mature process technologies, also increases the risk of performance and reliability problems. These matters have arisen in our operations from time to time in the past, have resulted in significant expense to us per occurrence and will likely occur again in the future. The occurrence of defects could result in product returns and liability claims, reduced product shipments, damage to our customer or supplier relationships, the loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products, costly litigation, harm to our reputation, diversion of management’s time and resources, lower revenue, increased expenses and reduced profitability. Any warranty or other rights we may have against our suppliers for quality issues caused by them may be more limited than those our customers have against us, based on our relative size, bargaining power or otherwise. In addition, any product recall or product liability claim brought against us, particularly in high-volume consumer markets, could have a material negative impact on our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business and operations could suffer in the event of a security breach, cybersecurity incident or disruption of our information technology systems.

Any compromise of our information or operational technology systems could result in unauthorized publication, exfiltration or misappropriation of our confidential business or proprietary information or intellectual property; result in the unauthorized release of customer, supplier or employee data; lead to violations of privacy or other laws; extortion; allow competitors to profit from our intellectual property or trade secrets; delay or disrupt our operations; expose us to a risk of investigations and litigation; cause us to incur direct losses if attackers access our bank or investment accounts; undermine investor or market confidence, or damage our reputation. The direct and indirect cost and operational consequences of implementing data protection measures either as a response to specific breaches or as a result of evolving risks could be significant. In addition, our inability to use or access our information or operational systems at critical points in time could adversely affect the timely and efficient operation of our business. Any delayed sales, significant costs or lost customers resulting from a technology failure could adversely affect our business, operations and financial results.

Third parties with which we conduct business, such as foundries, assembly and test contractors and distributors, have access to certain portions of our sensitive data (including trade secrets and other intellectual property). In the event that these third parties do not properly safeguard our data, security breaches could result and negatively impact our business, operations and financial results.

The outcome of any litigation in which we are involved in is unpredictable and an adverse decision in any such matter could subject us to damage awards and lower the market price of our stock.

From time to time, we may be a party to certain litigation matters. Any such disputes, litigations, investigations, administrative proceedings or enforcement actions may divert financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit our operations, result in negative publicity and harm our customer or supplier relationships. An adverse resolution of any such matter in the future, including the results of any amicable settlement, could subject us to material damage awards or settlement payments, loss of contractual or other rights, injunctions or other limitations on the operation of our business or other material harm to our business.

We rely on third parties to provide corporate infrastructure services necessary for the operation of our business. Any failure of one or more of our vendors to provide these services could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We rely on third-party vendors to provide critical corporate infrastructure services, including, among other things, certain services related to information technology and network development and monitoring. We depend on these vendors to ensure that our corporate infrastructure will consistently meet our business requirements. The ability of these third-party vendors to successfully provide reliable, high quality services is subject to technical and operational uncertainties that are beyond our control. Any failure of our corporate infrastructure could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Variability in self-insurance liability estimates could adversely impact our results of operations.

We self-insure for employee health insurance and workers’ compensation insurance coverage up to a predetermined level, beyond which we maintain stop-loss insurance from a third-party insurer. Our aggregate exposure varies from year to year based upon the number of participants in our insurance plans. We estimate our self-insurance liabilities using an analysis provided by our claims administrator and our historical claims experience. Our accruals for insurance reserves reflect these estimates and other management judgments, which are subject to a high degree of variability. If the number or severity of claims for which we self-insure increases, it could cause a material and adverse change to our reserves for self-insurance liabilities, as well as to our earnings.

Our short-term investment portfolio and certain cash balances could experience a decline in market value or otherwise become illiquid, which could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

U.S. banks were closed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) was appointed as receiver. While we were not directly impacted by these closures and did not have any deposits with these banks, there can be no assurance that our current or future banks will not face similar risks, and that we would be able to recover in full our deposits in the event of similar closures. We regularly maintain cash balances that are not insured or are in excess of the FDIC’s insurance limit. If the global financial markets continue to experience volatility or deteriorate, our investment portfolio and cash balances may be impacted and some or all of our investments may become illiquid or otherwise experience loss which could adversely impact our financial results and position.

Any type of pandemic or epidemic related to an outbreak of communicable disease, including but not limited to COVID-19, is unpredictable and could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The ultimate impact of an outbreak on our business, financial condition and results of operations remains highly uncertain and subject to change.

We are subject to risks from our international sales and operations.

We have operations in Europe and Asia, and customers around the world. As a result, we are subject to regulatory, geopolitical and other risks associated with doing business outside of the U.S., including currency controls, currency exchange rate fluctuations, new or potential international trade agreements, tariffs, required import and export licenses, and other related international trade restrictions and regulations. Further, there is a risk that language barriers, cultural differences and other factors associated with our global operations may make them more difficult to manage effectively.

The legal systems in many of the regions where we conduct business or where we may potentially make future investments through expansion, which may include acquisitions, can lack transparency in certain respects relative to that of the U.S. and can accord local government authorities a higher degree of control and discretion over business than is customary in the U.S. This makes the process of obtaining necessary regulatory approvals and maintaining compliance inherently more difficult and unpredictable. In addition, the protection accorded to proprietary technology and know-how under certain legal systems may not be as strong as in the U.S., and, as a result, we may lose valuable trade secrets and competitive advantages. The cost of doing business in European jurisdictions can also be higher than in the U.S. due to exchange rates, local collective bargaining regimes and local legal requirements regarding employee benefits and employer-employee relations, in particular. We are also subject to U.S. legal requirements related to our foreign operations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Because the majority of our foreign sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, our products become less price-competitive in countries with currencies that are low or are declining in value against the U.S. dollar. Also, we cannot be sure that our international customers will continue to accept orders denominated in U.S. dollars. If they do not, our reported revenue and earnings will become more directly subject to foreign exchange fluctuations. Some of our customer purchase orders and agreements are governed by foreign laws, which may differ significantly from U.S. laws. As a result, we may be limited in our ability to enforce our rights under such agreements and to collect amounts owed to us.

The majority of our assembly, packaging and test vendors are located in Asia. We generally do business with our foreign assemblers in U.S. dollars. Our manufacturing costs could increase in countries with currencies that are increasing in value against the U.S. dollar. Also, our international manufacturing suppliers may not continue to accept orders denominated in U.S. dollars. If they do not, our costs will become more directly subject to foreign exchange fluctuations. From time to time, we may attempt to hedge our exposure to foreign currency risk by buying currency contracts or otherwise, and any such efforts involve expense and associated risk that the currencies involved may not behave as we expect and we may lose money on such hedging strategies or not properly hedge our risk.

In addition, if terrorist activity, armed conflict, civil, economic or military unrest, natural disasters, global pandemics, embargoes or other economic sanctions, enforcement actions against governments, governmental entities or private entities or political instability occurs in the U.S. or other locations, such events may disrupt our manufacturing, assembly, logistics, security and communications, labor issues and transportation and other disruptions, and could also result in reduced demand for our products. We have in the past and, may again in the future, experience difficulties relating to employees traveling in and out of countries facing civil unrest or political instability and with obtaining travel visas for our employees. There can be no assurance that we can mitigate all identified risks with reasonable effort. The occurrence of any of these events, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Adverse global economic conditions could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition and liquidity.

A general slowdown in the global economy, including a recession, or in a particular region or industry, an increase in trade tensions with U.S. trading partners, inflation or a tightening of the credit markets could negatively impact our business, financial condition and liquidity. Adverse global economic conditions have, from time to time, caused or exacerbated significant slowdowns in the industries and markets in which we operate, which have adversely affected our business and results of operations. Geopolitical issues, macroeconomic weakness and uncertainty also make it more difficult for us to accurately forecast revenue, gross margin and expenses. An escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China has resulted in trade restrictions and increased tariffs that harm our ability to participate in Chinese markets or compete effectively with Chinese companies. Sustained uncertainty about, or worsening of, current global economic conditions and further escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners could result in a global economic slowdown and long-term changes to global trade. Such events may also (i) cause our customers and consumers to reduce, delay or forgo technology spending, (ii) result in customers sourcing products from other suppliers not subject to such restrictions or tariffs, (iii) lead to the insolvency or consolidation of key suppliers and customers and (iv) intensify pricing pressures. Any or all of these factors could negatively affect demand for our products and our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face intense competition in our industry, and our inability to compete successfully could negatively affect our operating results.

We believe future competition could also come from companies developing new alternative technologies, component suppliers based in countries with lower production costs and IC manufacturers achieving higher levels of integration that exceed the functionality offered by our products. Our customers and suppliers could also develop products that compete with or replace our products. Increased competition has in the past and could in the future lead to lower prices for our products, reduced demand for our products and a corresponding reduction in our ability to recover development, engineering and manufacturing costs.

Many of our existing and potential competitors have entrenched market positions, historical affiliations with OEMs, considerable internal manufacturing capacity, established intellectual property rights, strong brand recognition and substantial technological capabilities. Many of them may also have greater financial, technical, manufacturing or marketing resources than we do. Consolidation among our competitors could negatively impact our competitive position and market share and harm our results of operations. In addition, certain countries such as China have begun implementing initiatives to build domestic semiconductor supply chains and we may be at a disadvantage in attempting to compete with entities associated with such foreign government efforts. Our failure to successfully compete could result in lower revenue, decreased profitability and a lower stock price.

We have made and may, in the future, make acquisitions and investments, which involve numerous risks.

We have made certain acquisitions and continue to routinely evaluate potential acquisitions, investments and strategic alliances involving complementary technologies, design teams, products and companies. We expect to continue to pursue such transactions if appropriate opportunities arise. However, we may not be able to identify suitable transactions in the future or if we do identify such transactions, we may not be able to complete them on commercially acceptable terms or at all and may face intense competition for such opportunities. In pursuing transactions, we have and will continue to face numerous risks, including diverting management’s attention from normal daily operations of our business; difficulties in integrating the financial reporting capabilities and operating systems of any acquired operations to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures; potential loss of key personnel of the acquired company as well as their know-how, relationships and expertise; challenges successfully integrating acquired personnel, operations and businesses; failing to realize the anticipated synergies and benefits of an acquisition; maintaining favorable business relationships of acquired operations; generating insufficient revenue from completed transactions to offset expenses associated with our efforts; acquiring material or unknown liabilities associated with any acquired operations; litigation associated with merger and acquisition transactions; and increasing expense associated with amortization or depreciation of intangible and tangible assets we acquire.

Our past and recent acquisitions have required and continue to require significant management time and attention relating to the transactions. Past transactions, whether completed or abandoned by us, have resulted, and in the future may result, in significant time and attention, costs, expenses, liabilities and charges to earnings. The accounting treatment for any future transaction may result in significant amortizable intangible assets which, when amortized, will negatively affect our consolidated results of operations. The accounting treatment may also result in significant goodwill, which, if impaired, will negatively affect our consolidated results of operations. Furthermore, we may incur debt or issue equity securities to pay for transactions. The incurrence of debt could limit our operating flexibility and be detrimental to our profitability, and the issuance of equity securities would be dilutive to our existing stockholders. Any or all of the above factors may differ from the investment community’s expectations in a given quarter, which could negatively affect our stock price. In the event we make future investments, the investments may decline in value, we may lose all or part of our investment.

We may be unable to successfully integrate the businesses and personnel of acquired companies and businesses, and may not realize the anticipated synergies and benefits of such acquisitions.

We may be unable to realize the expected benefits from acquisitions of companies and certain businesses of companies because of integration difficulties or other challenges. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to realize all or some of the anticipated synergies and other benefits from integrating the acquired businesses with our existing businesses. For example, assuming our acquisition of the RF business from Wolfspeed closes, we will need to integrate the operations of the business into our operations, including integrating the fabrication facility into our operations. The integration process may be complex, costly and time-consuming. The potential difficulties we may face in integrating the operations of our acquisitions include, among others: failure to implement our business plans for the combined businesses and consolidation or expansion of production capacity as planned and where applicable; unexpected losses of key employees, customers or suppliers of our acquired companies and businesses; unanticipated issues in conforming our acquired companies’ and businesses’ standards, processes, procedures and controls with our operations; coordinating new product and process development; increasing the scope, geographic diversity and complexity of our operations; diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns; adverse effects on our or our acquired companies’ and businesses’ existing business relationships; unanticipated changes in applicable laws and regulations; operating risks inherent in our acquired companies’ and businesses’ business and operations; unanticipated expenses and liabilities; potential unfamiliarity with our acquired companies and businesses technology, products and markets, which may place us at a competitive disadvantage; and other difficulties in the assimilation of our acquired companies and businesses operations, technologies, products and systems.

Any acquired companies and businesses may have unanticipated or larger than anticipated liabilities for patent and trademark infringement claims, violations of applicable laws, rules and regulations, commercial disputes, taxes and other known and unknown types of liabilities. There may be liabilities that we underestimated or did not discover in the course of performing our due diligence investigation of our acquired companies and businesses. We may have no recourse or limited recourse under the applicable acquisition-related agreement to recover damages relating to the liabilities of our acquired companies and businesses.

We may not be able to maintain or increase the levels of revenue, earnings or operating efficiency that we, and each of our acquired companies and businesses, had historically achieved or might achieve separately. In addition, we may not accomplish the integration smoothly, successfully or within the anticipated costs or timeframe. If we experience difficulties with the integration process or if the business of our acquired companies or businesses deteriorates, the anticipated cost savings, growth opportunities and other synergies of our acquired companies and businesses may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected. If any of the above risks occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be materially and adversely impacted, we may fail to meet the expectations of investors or analysts, and our stock price may decline as a result.

We may sell, wind down or exit one or more of our businesses or product lines, from time to time, as a result of our evaluation of our businesses, products and markets, and any such divestiture could adversely affect our continuing business.

We periodically evaluate our various businesses and product lines and may, as a result, consider the divestiture, wind down or exit of one or more of those businesses or product lines. Divestitures have inherent risks, including the inability to find potential buyers with favorable terms, the expense of selling the product line, the possibility that any anticipated sale will be delayed or will not occur and the potential delay or failure to realize the perceived strategic or financial merits of the divestment.

If we lose key personnel or fail to attract and retain key personnel, we may be unable to pursue business opportunities or develop our products.

We believe our continued ability to recruit, hire, retain and motivate highly skilled engineering, operations, sales, administrative and managerial personnel is key to our future success. Competition for these employees is intense. Our failure to retain our present employees and hire additional qualified personnel in a timely manner and on reasonable terms could harm our competitiveness and results of operations. In particular, the loss of any member of our senior management team could strengthen a competitor, weaken customer relationships or harm our ability to implement our business strategy. In addition, from time to time, we may recruit and hire employees from our competitors, customers, suppliers and distributors, which could result in liability to us and has in the past and could in the future, damage our business relationship with these parties.

We depend on third-party sales representatives and distributors for a material portion of our revenues.

We sell many of our products to customers through independent sales representatives and distributors, as well as through our direct sales force. We are unable to predict the extent to which our independent sales representatives and distributors will be successful in marketing and selling our products. Our relationships with our representatives and distributors typically may be terminated by either party at any time, and do not require them to buy any of our products. Sales to distributors accounted for approximately 24.0% of our revenue for the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023. If our sales representatives or distributors cease doing business with us or fail to successfully market and sell our products, our ability to sustain and grow our revenue could be materially adversely affected.

We may experience difficulties in managing any future growth.

To successfully conduct business in a rapidly evolving market, we must effectively plan and manage any current and future growth. Our ability to do so will be dependent on a number of factors, including maintaining access to sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet customer demands; securing sufficient supply of raw materials and services to avoid shortages or supply bottlenecks; adequately building out our administrative infrastructure to support any current and future sales growth while maintaining operating efficiencies; adhering to our high quality and process execution standards, particularly as we hire and train new employees and during periods of high volume; and maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. If we do not effectively manage any future growth, we may not be able to take advantage of attractive opportunities in our markets, our operations may be impacted, and we may experience delays in delivering products to our customers or damaged customer relationships and achieve lower than anticipated revenue and decreased profitability.

We may incur higher than expected expense from or not realize the expected benefits, or any benefits, of consolidation, outsourcing and restructuring initiatives designed to reduce costs and increase revenue across our operations.

We have pursued in the past and may pursue in the future various restructuring initiatives designed to reduce costs and increase revenue across our operations, including reductions in our number of manufacturing facilities and workforce, establishing certain operations closer in location to our global customers and evaluating functions that may be more efficiently performed through outsourcing arrangements. For example, in June 2019, we committed to a restructuring plan designed to streamline and improve our operations that included the refocusing of certain R&D activities and a reduction in workforce. Any restructuring initiatives could result in potential adverse effects on employee capabilities, our continued ability to recruit, hire, retain and motivate highly skilled engineering, operations, sales, administrative, managerial and other key personnel, our ability to achieve design wins and our ability to maintain and enhance our customer base. Such events could harm our efficiency and our ability to act quickly and effectively in the rapidly changing technology markets in which we sell our products. In addition, we may be unsuccessful in our efforts to realign our organizational structure and shift our investments. The potential negative impact of a restructuring plan on our employees may limit our ability to meet and satisfy the demands of our customers and, as a result, have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our internal and external manufacturing, assembly and test model subjects us to various manufacturing and supply risks.

We operate leased semiconductor wafer processing and manufacturing facilities at our headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, and at our Ann Arbor, Michigan site. These facilities are also important internal design, assembly and test facilities. We maintain other internal assembly and test operation facilities as well, including leased sites in Hamilton, New Jersey, Limeil-Brévannes, France, Nashua, New Hampshire, and Hsinchu, Taiwan. We also use multiple external foundries for outsourced semiconductor wafer supply, as well as multiple domestic and Asian assembly and test suppliers to assemble and test our products. A number of factors will affect

the future success of these internal manufacturing facilities and outsourced supply and service arrangements, including the level of demand for our products; our ability to expand and contract our facilities and purchase commitments in a timely and cost-effective manner; our ability to generate revenue in amounts that cover the significant fixed costs of operating our facilities; our ability to qualify our facilities for new products and process technologies in a timely manner and avoid complications; the availability of raw materials; the availability and continued operation of key equipment; our manufacturing cycle times and yields; political and economic risks; the occurrence of natural disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism, armed conflicts or unrest impacting our facilities and those of our outsourced suppliers; our ability to hire, train, manage and retain qualified production personnel; our compliance with applicable environmental and other laws and regulations; our ability to avoid prolonged periods of downtime or high levels of scrap in our and our suppliers’ facilities for any reason; and our ability to negotiate renewals to our existing lease agreements on favorable terms and without disruption to our wafer processing and manufacturing and internal assembly and test operations at our sites where such activities take place. The effectiveness of our supply chain could be adversely affected by such issues and harm our results of operations. In August 2022, the U.S. enacted the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 (the “CHIPS Act”), which provides certain financial incentives to the semiconductor industry, primarily for manufacturing activities within the U.S., which may potentially be available to us and our competitors; however, there can be no assurance as to which companies will receive such incentives and whether the CHIPS Act will have a positive or negative impact on our competitive position.

Minor deviations in the manufacturing process can cause substantial manufacturing yield loss or even cause halts in production, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and gross margin.

Our products involve complexities in both their design and the semiconductor process technology employed in their fabrication. In many cases, the products are also assembled in customized packages or feature high levels of integration. Our products must meet exacting customer specifications for quality, performance and reliability.

Our manufacturing yield, or the percentage of units of a given product in a given period that is usable relative to all such units produced, is a combination of yields including wafer fabrication, assembly and test yields. Due to the complexity of our products, we periodically experience difficulties in achieving acceptable yields as even minor deviations in the manufacturing process can cause substantial manufacturing yield loss or halt production. Our customers may also test our components once they have been assembled into their products. The number of usable products that result from our production process can fluctuate as a result of many factors, including design errors; defects in photomasks, used to print circuits on wafers; minute impurities in materials used; contamination of the manufacturing environment; equipment failure or variations in the manufacturing processes; losses from broken wafers or other human errors; defects in packaging; and issues and errors in testing. Typically, for a given level of sales, when our yields improve, our gross margin improves. Conversely, when our yields decrease, our unit costs are typically higher, our gross margin is lower and our profitability is adversely affected, any or all of which can harm our results of operations and lower our stock price.

Our business may be harmed if systems manufacturers choose not to use components made of the compound semiconductor materials we utilize.

Silicon semiconductor technologies are the dominant process technologies for the manufacture of ICs in high-volume, commercial markets and the performance of silicon ICs continues to improve. While we use silicon for some applications, we also often use compound semiconductor technologies such as GaAs, InP, SiGe or GaN to deliver reliable operation at higher power, higher frequency or smaller form factor than a silicon solution has historically allowed. While these compound semiconductor materials offer high-performance features, it is generally more difficult to design and manufacture products with reliability and in volume using them. Compound semiconductor technology tends to be more expensive than silicon technology. System designers in some markets may be reluctant to adopt our non-silicon products or may be likely to adopt silicon products in lieu of our products if silicon products meeting their demanding performance requirements are available, because of their unfamiliarity with designing systems using our products; concerns related to manufacturing costs and yields; unfamiliarity with our design and manufacturing processes; or uncertainties about the relative cost effectiveness of our products. We cannot be certain that additional systems manufacturers will design our compound semiconductor products into their systems or that the companies that have utilized our products will continue to do so in the future. If our products fail to achieve or maintain market acceptance for any of the above reasons, our results of operations will suffer.

We face risks associated with government contracting.

Some of our revenue is derived from contracts with agencies of the U.S. government or subcontracts with its prime contractors. As a U.S. government contractor or subcontractor, we may be subject to federal contracting regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulations, which govern, among other things, the allowability of costs incurred by us in the performance of U.S. government contracts. Certain contract pricing is based on estimated direct and indirect costs, which are subject to change. Additionally, the U.S. government is entitled after final payment on certain negotiated contracts to examine all of our cost records with respect to such contracts and to seek a downward adjustment to the price of the contract if it determines that we failed to furnish complete, accurate and current cost or pricing data in connection with the negotiation of the price of the contract. In connection with our U.S. government business, we may also be subject to government audits and to review and approval of our policies, procedures and internal controls for compliance with procurement regulations and applicable laws. In certain circumstances, if we do not comply with the terms of a contract or with regulations or statutes, we could be subject to downward contract price adjustments or refund obligations or could in extreme circumstances be assessed civil and criminal penalties or be debarred or suspended from obtaining future contracts for a specified period of time. Any such suspension or debarment or other sanction could have an adverse effect on

our business. In addition, if we are unable to comply with security clearance requirements, we might be unable to perform these contracts or compete for other projects of this nature, which could adversely affect our revenue.

Our investment in technology as well as R&D may not be successful, which may impact our profitability.

The semiconductor industry requires substantial investment in technology as well as R&D in order to bring to market new and enhanced technologies and products. Our R&D expenses were $148.5 million for the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023. In each of the last three fiscal years, we invested in R&D as part of our strategy toward the development of innovative products and solutions to help support our growth and profitability. We cannot assure you if, or when, the products and solutions where we have focused our R&D expenditures will become commercially successful. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to maintain the level of investment in R&D required to remain competitive or succeed in our strategy. Our efforts to develop new and improved process technologies for use in our products require substantial expenditures that may generate an inadequate return on investment, if any, or may take longer than we anticipate to generate a return. For example, we have in the past and may continue to experience additional and new unexpected difficulties, expenses or delays in qualifying and completing certain of our development projects including our GaN-on-Silicon, certain Laser products and our Air Force Research Laboratory related process technology transfer. These development risks may be associated with internal MACOM capabilities and/or external factors, which may include, but not limited to, matters with one or more third party foundries, assembly and test suppliers, qualifying related products with our customers and marketing efforts, and we may not be successful in process or product qualification and/or manufacturing cost reductions. In addition, we may not realize the competitive advantage we anticipate from related investments and may not realize customer demand that meets our expectations, any of which could lead to higher than expected operating expense, lower than expected revenue and gross margin, associated charges or otherwise reduce the price of our common stock. We may not be successful in our R&D efforts or may not realize the competitive advantages, revenues or profits we anticipate from new products, any of which may lead to higher R&D expense, lower than expected revenues and gross margin and reduced profitability, or may otherwise harm our business or reduce the price of our common stock. Such results, or anticipated results, may cause us to reevaluate our investment in those areas of our business.

We may incur liabilities for claims of intellectual property infringement relating to our products.

The semiconductor industry is generally subject to frequent litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. In the past we have been, and may in the future be, subject to claims that we have breached, infringed or misappropriated patent, license or other intellectual property rights. Our customers may assert claims against us for indemnification if they receive claims alleging that their or our products infringe upon others’ intellectual property rights, and have in the past and may in the future choose not to purchase our products based on their concerns over such a pending claim. In the event of an adverse result of any intellectual property rights litigation, we could be required to incur significant costs to defend or settle such litigation, pay substantial damages for infringement, expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology, incur material liability for royalty payments or fees to obtain licenses to the technology covered by the litigation or be subjected to an injunction, which could prevent us from selling our products, and materially and adversely affect our revenue and results of operations. Any claims relating to the infringement of third-party proprietary rights, even if not meritorious, could result in costly litigation, lost sales or damaged customer relationships and diversion of management’s attention and resources.

Certain of our products currently incorporate technology licensed or acquired from third parties and we expect our products in the future to also require technology from third parties. If the licenses to such technology that we currently hold become unavailable or the terms on which they are available become commercially unreasonable, or if we are unable to acquire or license necessary technology for our products in the future, our business could be adversely affected.

We sell products in markets that are characterized by rapid technological changes, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions and increasing levels of integration. Our ability to keep pace with these markets at times depends on our ability to obtain technology from third parties on commercially reasonable terms to allow our products to remain competitive. If licenses to such technology are not available on commercially reasonable terms and conditions or at all and we cannot otherwise acquire or integrate such technology, our products or our customers’ products could become unmarketable or obsolete, we could lose market share and our revenue and results of operations could materially decline. In addition, disputes with third party licensors over required payments, scope of licensed rights and compliance with contractual terms are common in our industry and we have in the past and may in the future be subjected to disputes over the terms of such licenses which could result in substantial unanticipated costs or delays in developing substitute technology to deliver competitive products, damaged customer and vendor relationships, indemnification liabilities and declining revenues and profitability. Such events could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on third parties for products and services required for our business, which may limit our ability to meet customer demand, assure product quality and control costs.

We purchase numerous raw materials, such as ceramic packages, precious metals, semiconductor wafers and ICs, from a limited number of external suppliers. We also currently use several external manufacturing suppliers for assembly and testing of our products,

and in some cases for fully outsourced turnkey manufacturing of our products. We expect to increase our use of outsourced manufacturing in the future as a strategy. The use of external suppliers involves a number of risks, including the possibility of material disruptions in the supply of key components, the lack of control over delivery schedules, capacity constraints, manufacturing yields, quality and fabrication costs and misappropriation of our intellectual property. If these vendors’ processes vary in reliability or quality, they could negatively affect our products and, therefore, our customer relations and results of operations. We generally purchase raw materials on a purchase order basis and we do not have significant long-term supply commitments from our vendors. The long-term supply commitments we have may result in an obligation to purchase excess material, which may materially and negatively impact our operating results. In terms of relative bargaining power, many of our suppliers are larger than we are, with greater resources, and many of their other customers are larger and have greater resources than we do. These vendors may choose to supply others in preference to us in times of capacity constraint or otherwise, particularly where the other customers purchase in higher volume. Third-party supplier capacity constraints have in the past and may in the future prevent us from supplying customer demand that we otherwise could have fulfilled at attractive prices. If we have a firm commitment to supply our customers but are unable to do so we may be liable for resulting damages and expense incurred by our customers.

We utilize sole source suppliers for certain semiconductor packages and other materials and, in some cases, for the particular semiconductor fabrication process technologies manufactured at that supplier’s facility. Such supplier concentrations involve the risk of a potential future business interruption if the supplier becomes unable or unwilling to supply us at any point. While in some cases alternate suppliers may exist, because there are limited numbers of third-party wafer suppliers that use the process technologies we select for our products and that have sufficient capacity to meet our needs, it may not be possible or may be expensive to find an alternative source of supply. Even if we are able to find an alternative source, moving production to an alternative supplier requires an extensive qualification or re-qualification process that could prevent or delay product shipments or disrupt customers’ production schedules, which could harm our business. The loss of a supplier can also significantly harm our business and operating results.

Our limited ability to protect our proprietary information and technology may adversely affect our ability to compete.

Our future success and ability to compete is dependent in part upon our protection of our proprietary information and technology through patent filings, enforcement of agreements related to intellectual property and otherwise. We cannot be certain that any patents we apply for will be issued or that any claims allowed from pending applications will be of sufficient scope or strength to provide meaningful protection or commercial advantage. Our competitors may also be able to design around our patents. Similarly, counterparties to our intellectual property agreements may fail to comply with their obligations under those agreements, requiring us to resort to expensive and time-consuming litigation in an attempt to protect our rights, which may or may not be successful. The laws of some countries in which our products are or may be developed, manufactured or sold, may not protect our products or intellectual property rights to the same extent as U.S. laws. Although we intend to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights, we may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our technology or may need to expend significant financial and other resources in defending our rights.

In addition, we rely on trade secrets, technical know-how and other unpatented proprietary information relating to our product development and manufacturing activities. While we enter into confidentiality agreements with employees and other parties to protect this information, we cannot be sure that these agreements will be adequate and will not be breached, that we would have adequate remedies for any breach or that our trade secrets and proprietary know-how will not otherwise become known or independently discovered by others.

Additionally, our competitors may independently develop technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our technology. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain or use our products or technology. Patent litigation is expensive and our ability to enforce our patents and other intellectual property, is limited by our financial resources and is subject to general litigation risks. If we seek to enforce our rights, we may be subject to claims that the intellectual property rights are invalid, are otherwise not enforceable or are licensed to the party against whom we assert a claim. In addition, our assertion of intellectual property rights could result in the other party seeking to assert alleged intellectual property rights of its own against us, which is a frequent occurrence in such litigations.

Risks Relating to Government Regulations

Changes in U.S. and international laws, accounting standards, export and import controls and trade policies or the enforcement of, or attempt to enforce, such laws, standards, controls and policies may adversely impact our business and operating results.

Our future results could be adversely affected by changes in interpretations of existing laws and regulations, or changes in laws and regulations, including, among others, changes in accounting standards, taxation requirements, competition laws, trade laws, import and export restrictions, privacy laws and environmental laws in the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. government has made statements and taken certain actions that have led to, and may lead to further, changes to U.S. and international export and import controls or trade policies, including tariffs affecting certain products exported by a number of U.S. trading partners, including China. In response, many of those trading partners, including China, have imposed or proposed new or higher tariffs on American products. It is unknown whether and to what extent new tariffs (or other new laws or regulations) will be adopted, or the effect that any such actions would have on us or our industry and customers. Any unfavorable government policies on international trade, such as export and import controls, capital controls or tariffs, may affect the demand for our products and services, increase the cost of components,

delay production, impact the competitive position of our products or prevent us from being able to sell products in certain countries. If any new export or import controls, tariffs, legislation or regulations are implemented or if existing trade agreements are renegotiated such changes could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, proceedings to enforce, or the enforcement of, any laws, regulations and policies by the U.S. or other countries, and the resulting response to such actions, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to comply with export control regulations, we could be subject to substantial fines or other sanctions, including loss of export privileges.

Certain of our products are subject to the Export Administration Regulations, administered by the BIS, which require that we obtain an export license before we can export products or technology to specified countries. Other products are subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which restrict the export of information and material that may be used for military or intelligence applications by a foreign person. Ongoing export control reform that has changed and is expected to continue to change rules applicable to us in the future in ways we do not yet fully understand and we have experienced and will continue to experience challenges in complying with the new rules as they become effective, resulting in difficulties or an inability to ship products to certain countries and customers.

We are also subject to U.S. import regulations and the import and export regimes of other countries in which we operate. Failure to comply with these laws could result in sanctions by the U.S. government, including substantial monetary penalties, denial of export privileges and debarment from government contracts. Any change in export or import regulations or related legislation (or the interpretation thereof), shift in approach by regulators to the enforcement or scope of existing regulations, specific sanctions by regulators or change in the countries, persons or technologies targeted by such regulations, could harm our business by resulting in decreased use of our products by, or our decreased ability to export or sell our products to, existing or potential customers with international operations. In addition, our sale of our products to or through third-party distributors, resellers and sales representatives creates the risk that any violation of these laws they may engage in may disrupt our markets or otherwise bring liability on us.

Our financial results may be adversely affected by increased tax rates and exposure to additional tax liabilities.

Our effective tax rate is highly dependent upon the geographic composition of our worldwide earnings and tax regulations governing each region, each of which can change from period to period. We are subject to income taxes in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions and significant judgment is required to determine our worldwide tax liabilities. Our effective tax rate as well as the actual tax ultimately payable could be adversely affected by changes in the amount of our earnings attributable to countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets, changes in tax laws (or the interpretation of those laws by regulators) or tax rates (particularly in the U.S. or Ireland), increases in non-deductible expenses, the availability of tax credits, material audit assessments or repatriation of non-U.S. earnings, each of which could materially affect our profitability. For example, as of September 29, 2023, we had $388.6 million of gross federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards, which, for those generated prior to the effective date of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”), will expire at various dates through 2038, while those generated subsequent to the Tax Act have an indefinite carryforward with no expiration. However, our ability to use these federal NOL carryforwards and other deferred tax assets may be limited. Realization of our deferred tax assets is dependent upon us generating sufficient future taxable income. Deferred tax assets are reviewed and assessed on a periodic basis for future realizability. Future charges against our earnings could result in all or some portion of the deferred tax asset to not be realized. This could be caused by, among other things, deterioration in our operational performance, future impairment charges, adverse market conditions, geopolitical unrest, adverse changes in tax and other applicable laws or regulations and a variety of other factors. Any significant increase in our effective tax rates could materially reduce our net income in future periods and decrease the value of your investment in our common stock.

We may need to modify our activities or incur substantial costs to comply with environmental laws, and if we fail to comply with environmental laws, we could be subject to substantial fines or be required to change our operations.

We are subject to a variety of international, federal, state and local governmental regulations directed at preventing or mitigating climate change and other environmental harms, as well as to the storage, discharge, handling, generation, disposal and labeling of toxic or other hazardous substances used to manufacture our products which could restrict our ability to expand our facilities or build new facilities, or require us to acquire additional expensive equipment, modify our manufacturing processes, or incur other substantial expenses which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we fail to comply with these regulations, substantial fines could be imposed on us and we could be required to suspend production, alter manufacturing processes, cease operations or remediate polluted land, air or groundwater, any of which could have a negative effect on our revenue, results of operations and business. Failure to comply with environmental regulations could subject us to civil or criminal sanctions and property damage or personal injury claims. We have incurred in the past and may in the future incur environmental liability based on the actions of prior owners, lessees or neighbors of sites we have leased or may lease in the future, third party commercial waste disposal sites we utilize or sites we become associated with due to acquisitions.

In addition, we may in the future incur costs defending against environmental litigation brought by government agencies, lessors at sites we currently lease or have been associated with in the past and other private parties. A significant judgment or fine levied against us or agreed settlement payment could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. For

example, since 1993, one of our legal entities has been named as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) along with more than 100 other companies that used the Omega Chemical Corporation waste treatment facility in Whittier, California (the “Omega Site”). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has alleged that the Omega Site failed to properly treat and dispose of certain hazardous waste material. We are a member of a large group of PRPs, which has agreed to fund certain ongoing remediation efforts at and nearby the Omega Site. Based on currently available information with respect to the total anticipated level of investigatory, remedial and monitoring costs to be incurred by the group of PRPs and our allocable share of those costs, we have a loss accrual for the Omega Site that is not material. However, the proceedings are ongoing and several factors beyond our control could cause this loss accrual to prove inadequate, and any future increases to our allocation of responsibility among the PRPs or the future reduction of parties participating in the PRP group could materially increase our potential liability relating to the Omega Site.

Environmental regulations such as the WEEE and RoHS directives limit our flexibility and may require us to incur material expense.

Various countries require companies selling a broad range of electrical equipment to conform to regulations such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”) and the European Directive on Restriction of Hazardous Substances (“RoHS”). Environmental standards such as these could require us to redesign our products in order to comply with the standards, require the development of compliance administration systems or otherwise limit our flexibility in running our business or require us to incur substantial compliance costs. We have already invested significant resources into complying with these regimes, and further investments may be required. Alternative designs implemented in response to regulation may be costlier to produce, resulting in an adverse effect on our gross profit margin. If we cannot develop compliant products in a timely fashion or properly administer our compliance programs, our revenue may also decline due to lower sales, which would adversely affect our operating results. Further, if we were found to be non-compliant with any rule or regulation, we could be subject to fines, penalties and/or restrictions imposed by government agencies that could adversely affect our operating results.

Environmental, social and governance responsibility regulations, policies and provisions, as well as customer and investor demands, may make our supply chain more complex and may adversely affect our relationships with customers and investors.

There has been an increased focus on corporate environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) responsibility in the semiconductor industry, particularly with OEMs that manufacture consumer electronics. A number of our customers have adopted, or may adopt, procurement policies that include ESG provisions or requirements that their suppliers should comply with, or they may seek to include such provisions or requirements in their procurement terms and conditions. An increasing number of investors are also requiring companies to disclose corporate ESG policies, practices and metrics. Legal and regulatory requirements, as well as investor expectations, on corporate ESG practices and disclosure are subject to change, can be unpredictable and may be difficult and expensive for us to comply with, given the complexity of our supply chain and manufacturing. If we are unable to comply, or are unable to cause our suppliers or contract manufacturers to comply, with such policies or provisions or meet the requirements of our customers or our investors, a customer may stop purchasing products from us or an investor may sell their shares and/or take legal action against us, which could harm our reputation, revenue and results of operations.

Customer demands and regulations related to “conflict” minerals may force us to incur additional expenses and liabilities.

Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC promulgated rules regarding disclosure and reporting requirements for companies who use “conflict” minerals mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries in their products. In the semiconductor industry, these minerals are most commonly found in metals used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and related assemblies. These requirements may adversely affect our ability to source related minerals and metals and increase our related costs. We face difficulties and increased expenses associated with complying with the related disclosure requirements, such as costs related to determining the source of any conflict minerals used in our products. Our supply chain is complex, and some suppliers may be unwilling to share related confidential information regarding the source of their products or may provide us information that is inaccurate or inadequate. If those risks arise or if our processes in obtaining that information do not fulfill the SEC’s requirements, we may face both reputational challenges and SEC enforcement risks based on our inability to sufficiently verify the origins of the subject minerals and metals or otherwise. Moreover, we may encounter challenges to satisfy any related requirements of our customers, which may be different from or more onerous than the requirements of SEC rules and executive orders. If we cannot satisfy such customers, they may choose a competitor’s products or disqualify us as a supplier, and we may experience lower than expected revenues or have to write off inventory in the event that it becomes unsalable as a result of these regulations.

Failure to comply with data privacy regimes could subject us to significant expenses, litigation and reputational harm.

In the ordinary course of our business, we have access to sensitive, confidential or personal data or information regarding our employees and others that is subject to privacy and security laws and regulations. The theft, loss, or misuse of personal data collected, used, stored or transferred by us, or by our third-party service providers, could result in damage to our reputation, disruption of our business activities, significantly increased business costs or costs related to defending legal claims or regulatory actions.

Global privacy legislation, enforcement and policy activity are rapidly expanding and creating a complex data privacy compliance environment and the potential for high-profile negative publicity in the event of any data breach. We are subject to many privacy and data protection laws and regulations in the United States and around the world, some of which place restrictions on

processing personal data across our business. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) requires compliance with rules regarding the handling of personal data belonging to individuals in the European Economic Area, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) provide enhanced privacy rights and consumer protection for residents of California. It is costly to comply with the GDPR, CCPA, CPRA and other similar laws and regulations. Further, the GDPR provides for significant penalties in the case of non-compliance. We have invested, and continue to invest, human and technology resources into our data privacy compliance efforts. Despite those efforts, there is a risk that we may be subject to fines and penalties, litigation and reputational harm if we fail to protect the privacy of third party data or to comply with the applicable data privacy regimes.

Risks Relating to Ownership of our Common Stock

We may engage in future capital-raising transactions that dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders or cause us to incur debt.

We may issue additional equity, debt or convertible securities to raise capital in the future. If we do, existing stockholders may experience significant further dilution. In addition, new investors may demand rights, preferences or privileges that differ from or are senior to, those of our existing stockholders. Our incurrence of indebtedness could limit our operating flexibility and be detrimental to our results of operations.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses for investors.

We cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, depending upon many factors, some of which may be beyond our control. In addition to the risks described in this Annual Report, other factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include changes in general economic, political, industry and market conditions; general market price and volume fluctuations, including increased inflationary pressure and other volatility including pandemics; domestic and international economic factors unrelated to our performance; actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly operating results; changes in or failure to meet publicly disclosed expectations as to our future financial performance; changes in securities analysts’ estimates of our financial performance, lack of research and reports by industry analysts or negative research and reports by industry analysts; addition or loss of significant customers; announcements by us or our competitors, customers or suppliers of significant products, contracts, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or other events; any future sales of our common stock or other securities; and additions or departures of directors, executives or key personnel.

For example, on August 1, 2017 we announced results of operations for our third quarter of fiscal year 2017 and a financial outlook for our fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017 that were below the then-current consensus of securities analyst expectations which resulted in a cumulative decline in the market price of our common stock of approximately 35.0%. Companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

If we fail to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations, investor confidence in our business and the trading prices of our securities.

Some of our stockholders can exert control over us and they may not make decisions that reflect our interests or those of other stockholders.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could prevent or delay a change in control of our company that stockholders may consider beneficial and may adversely affect the price of our stock.

Provisions of our fifth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and third amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or change of control that a stockholder may consider favorable. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions. The existence

of these provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. These provisions include authorization of the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, staggered elections of directors and advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors and for proposing matters to be submitted to a stockholder vote. Provisions of Delaware law may also discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring or merging with our company or obtaining control of our company. Specifically, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law may prohibit business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. Our board of directors could rely on Delaware law to prevent or delay an acquisition of the Company and this reliance could reduce our value.

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.

We do not intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. The payment of cash dividends is restricted under the terms of the agreements governing our indebtedness. In addition, because we are a holding company, our ability to pay cash dividends may be limited by restrictions on our ability to obtain sufficient funds through dividends from subsidiaries, including restrictions under the terms of the agreements governing our indebtedness. We anticipate that we will retain all of our future earnings for use in the development of our business and for general corporate purposes. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments.

Risks Relating to our 2026 Convertible Notes

Servicing our debt, including our 2026 Convertible Notes, requires a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow from our business to pay our indebtedness.

Our ability to make payments of the principal of, to pay interest on, or to refinance, our 2026 Convertible Notes (as defined below), or to make cash payments in connection with any conversion of the 2026 Convertible Notes depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not continue to generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service the 2026 Convertible Notes or other indebtedness and make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring indebtedness or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. Our ability to refinance the 2026 Convertible Notes or our other indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations.

Provisions in indenture governing the 2026 Convertible Notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial business combination.

The terms of the 2026 Convertible Notes require us to repurchase the 2026 Convertible Notes in the event of a “fundamental change” as defined under the indenture governing the 2026 Convertible Notes. A fundamental change of our Company would trigger an option of the holders of the 2026 Convertible Notes to require us to repurchase the 2026 Convertible Notes. In addition, if a make-whole fundamental change occurs prior to the maturity date of the 2026 Convertible Notes, we will in some cases be required to increase the conversion rate for a holder that elects to convert its 2026 Convertible Notes. Furthermore, the indenture that governs the 2026 Convertible Notes prohibits us from engaging in certain mergers or acquisitions unless, among other things, the surviving entity assumes our obligations under the 2026 Convertible Notes. This may have the effect of delaying or preventing an acquisition of our Company that could be beneficial to investors.

We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle conversions of the 2026 Convertible Notes in cash or to repurchase the 2026 Convertible Notes upon a fundamental change and our debt may limit our ability to pay cash upon conversion or repurchase of the 2026 Convertible Notes.

Holders of the 2026 Convertible Notes have the right to require us to repurchase their 2026 Convertible Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 2026 Convertible Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the fundamental change repurchase date. In addition, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock upon conversion, we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the 2026 Convertible Notes being converted. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make purchases of the 2026 Convertible Notes, and our failure to do so would constitute a default under the indenture governing the 2026 Convertible Notes. In addition, our ability to repurchase the 2026 Convertible Notes or to pay cash upon conversion of the 2026 Convertible Notes could be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements that will govern our future indebtedness. A default under the indenture governing the 2026 Convertible Notes or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our existing or future indebtedness.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

Our principal executive offices are located in a leased facility in Lowell, Massachusetts. In addition to our corporate headquarters facility the following is a list of our main leased facilities and their primary functions.

From time to time we may be subject to commercial and employment disputes, claims by other companies in the industry that we have infringed their intellectual property rights and other similar claims and litigation. Any such claims may lead to future litigation and material damages and defense costs. We were not involved in any pending legal proceedings as of the filing date of this Annual Report that we believe would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition or cash flows.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

Our common stock has been listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “MTSI” since March 15, 2012. The number of stockholders of record of our common stock as of November 8, 2023 was approximately 74. The number of stockholders of record does not include beneficial owners whose shares are held by nominees in street name.

The following graph shows a comparison from September 28, 2018 through September 29, 2023 of the total cumulative return of our common stock with the total cumulative return of the NASDAQ Composite Index and the PHLX Semiconductor Index. The amounts represented below assume an investment of $100.00 in our common stock at the closing price of $20.60 on September 28, 2018 and in the Nasdaq Composite Index and the PHLX Semiconductor Index on the closest month end date of September 28, 2018, and assume reinvestment of dividends. The comparisons in the graph are historical and are not intended to forecast or be indicative of possible future performance of our common stock.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION.

Basis of Presentation

We have one reportable operating segment and all intercompany balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

We have a 52 or 53-week fiscal year ending on the Friday closest to the last day of September. Fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 each consisted of 52 weeks. To offset the effect of holidays, for fiscal years in which there are 53 weeks, we typically include the extra week in the first quarter of our fiscal year.

Description of Our Revenue

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, our Statements of Operations data (in thousands):

Comparison of Fiscal Year Ended September 29, 2023 to Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2022

Revenue from our primary markets, the percentage of change between the years and revenue by primary markets expressed as a percentage of total revenue were (in thousands, except percentages):

In fiscal year 2023, our I&D market revenue increased by $22.8 million, or 7.7%, compared to fiscal year 2022. The increase was primarily driven by defense program shipments, incremental revenue from recent acquisitions, sales of GaN products and expansion of high-performance analog product lines into the I&D market, partially offset by a decrease in sales of legacy products.

In fiscal year 2023, our Data Center market revenue increased by $8.9 million, or 6.4%, compared to fiscal year 2022. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in sales of our legacy connectivity products, which were supply constrained in prior periods, and an increase in sales of 400G and 800G high-performance analog Data Center products, partially offset by a decrease in sales of optical semiconductor products.

In fiscal year 2023, our Telecom market revenue decreased by $58.4 million, or 24.1%, compared to fiscal year 2022. The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in sales of products targeted for 5G applications, a decrease in sales of carrier-based optical semiconductor products, a decrease in sales of RF and microwave products for broadband access and video infrastructure and a decrease in sales of legacy backhaul products, primarily in China, partially offset by higher sales to satellite communications customers and higher sales of legacy high-performance analog Telecom products.

For fiscal year 2023, our effective tax rate was 20.5% and was comparable to the U.S. federal income tax rate of 21%. Our effective tax rate for fiscal year 2023, as compared to the U.S. federal income tax rate, is impacted primarily by income earned outside the U.S. (i.e., global intangible low taxed income), resulting in a 15.7% increase, offset primarily by partial release of our valuation

Revenue from our primary markets, the percentage of change between the years and revenue by primary markets expressed as a percentage of total revenue were (in thousands, except percentages):

 

In fiscal year 2022, our I&D market revenue increased by $14.1 million, or 5.0%, compared to fiscal year 2021. The increase was primarily related to new program wins and expansion of our product lines, partially offset by lower sales of legacy products.

In fiscal year 2022, our Data Center market revenue decreased by $0.2 million, or 0.1%, compared to fiscal year 2021. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in sales of legacy products partially offset by an increase in sales of our high performance analog Data Center products.

The difference between the U.S. federal income tax rate of 21% and our effective income tax rate of (81.0)% for fiscal year 2022 was primarily driven by tax benefits arising from the release of the valuation allowance on domestic deferred tax assets and income taxed in foreign jurisdictions at generally lower tax rates. For fiscal year 2021, our effective income tax rate of 11.6% was primarily impacted by the continuation of a full valuation allowance against any tax expense associated with U.S. income and income taxed in foreign jurisdictions at generally lower tax rates.

The following table summarizes our cash flow activities for the fiscal years ended September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022, respectively (in thousands):

Our cash flow from operating activities for fiscal year 2022 was $177.0 million and consisted of a net income of $440.0 million, plus adjustments to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities of $216.3 million, and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $46.7 million. Adjustments to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities of $216.3 million primarily included a gain of $200.4 million primarily related to the release of the valuation allowance, a net gain of $114.9 million related to the sale of our equity method investment offset by equity method investment losses, depreciation and intangible amortization expense of $57.2 million and share-based compensation expense of $41.2 million. In addition, cash used by operating assets and liabilities was $46.7 million for fiscal year 2022, primarily driven by an increase in accounts receivable of $17.0 million, an increase in inventory of $32.3 million, a decrease in accrued and other liabilities of $5.6 million, partially offset by a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $5.6 million and an increase in accounts payable of $2.4 million.

Cash Flow from Financing Activities:

During fiscal year 2022, our cash used in financing activities of $28.9 million was primarily related to $36.0 million of repurchases of stock associated with employee tax withholdings on vested equity awards, partially offset by $8.1 million of proceeds from stock option exercises and employee stock purchases.

Liquidity

As of September 29, 2023, we held $174.0 million of cash and cash equivalents, primarily deposited with financial institutions as well as $340.6 million of liquid short-term investments. The undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries are considered indefinitely reinvested for the periods presented and we do not intend to repatriate such earnings. We believe the decision to reinvest these earnings will not have a significant impact on our liquidity. As of September 29, 2023, cash held by our indefinitely reinvested foreign subsidiaries was $16.5 million, which, along with cash generated from foreign operations, is expected to be used in the support of international growth and working capital requirements as well as the repayment of certain intercompany loans.

On August 2, 2023, we repaid the total outstanding principal balance on our Term Loans of $120.8 million and accrued interest of less than $0.1 million with cash-on-hand.

We plan to use our remaining available cash and cash equivalents as well as our short-term investments for general corporate purposes, including working capital, or for the acquisition of or investment in complementary technologies, design teams, products and businesses. On August 22, 2023, we announced the acquisition of Wolfspeed, Inc.’s RF business and in connection with the closing of the transaction we expect to pay $75.0 million, utilizing existing available cash, and also issue 711,528 shares during our fiscal first quarter of 2024. We believe that our cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and cash generated from operations will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements for at least the next twelve months. We may need to raise additional capital from time to time through the issuance and sale of equity or debt securities, and there is no assurance that we will be able do so on favorable terms or at all.

As of September 29, 2023, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements.

The following is a summary of our significant contractual payment obligations for consolidated debt, purchase agreements, leases, financing obligations, other commitments and long-term liabilities as of September 29, 2023, and the effect such obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods (in thousands):

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As of September 29, 2023, we estimated $1.9 million in asset retirement obligations primarily for the restoration of leased facilities upon the termination of the related leases. Although it is reasonably possible that our estimates could change materially in the next twelve months, we are presently unable to reliably estimate when any cash settlement of these obligations may occur.

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

 See notes to consolidated financial statements.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on March 25, 2009. We are a leading provider of high-performance analog semiconductor solutions that enable next-generation Internet applications, the cloud connected apps economy, and the modern, networked battlefield across the RF, microwave, millimeter wave and lightwave spectrum. We design, develop, manufacture and have manufactured differentiated, high-value products for customers who demand high performance, quality and reliability.

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

We have a 52- or 53-week fiscal year ending on the Friday closest to the last day of September. Fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 each included 52 weeks. To offset the effect of holidays, for fiscal years in which there are 53 weeks, we typically include the extra week arising in our fiscal years in the first quarter.

The financial statements of our foreign operations where the functional currency is the U.S. dollar, but where the underlying transactions are transacted in a different currency, are remeasured at the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date with respect to monetary assets and liabilities. Nonmonetary assets and liabilities, such as inventories and property and equipment and related statements of operations accounts, such as cost of revenue and depreciation, are remeasured at historical exchange rates. Revenue and expenses, other than cost of revenue, amortization and depreciation, are translated at the average exchange rate for the period in which the transaction occurred. The net gains and losses on foreign currency remeasurement are reflected in selling, general and administrative expense in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. Net foreign exchange transaction gains and losses for all periods presented were not material.

A decline in the fair value of any debt security below cost that is deemed to be attributable to credit loss results in a charge to earnings and the corresponding establishment of an allowance for credit losses against the cost basis of the security. Premiums and discounts are amortized (accreted) over the life of the related security as an adjustment to its yield. Dividend and interest income are recognized when earned. Realized gains and losses are included in Other (expense) income, net in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and are derived using the specific identification method for determining the cost of investments sold.

(loss) resulting from these investments are reported within the Other (expense) income, net line in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Our equity method investment was reported at cost and adjusted each period for our share of the investee’s income or loss and dividends paid, if any, as well as any changes attributable to the equity of the investee that would impact our ownership.

Property and equipment are depreciated or amortized using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives:

losses associated with the use of the asset and a current expectation that the asset will more likely than not, be sold or disposed of significantly before the end of its previously estimated useful life.

In evaluating a long-lived asset for recoverability, we estimate the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from our use and eventual disposition of the asset. If the sum of the expected undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset group, an impairment loss, equal to the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value of the asset, is recognized.

We determine that a contract contains a lease at lease inception if the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. In evaluating whether the right to control an identified asset exists, we assess whether we have the right to direct the use of the identified asset and obtain substantially all of the economic benefit from the use of the identified asset. Leases with a term greater than one year are recognized on the balance sheet as right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities. For leases with a term of one year or less, categorized as short-term leases, we elected not to recognize the lease liability for these arrangements and the lease payments are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations on a straight-line basis over the lease term. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the present value of future minimum lease payments over the lease term on the commencement date. ROU assets are initially measured as the amount of the initial lease liability, adjusted for initial direct costs, lease payments made at or before the commencement date, and reduced by lease incentives received. We include options to renew or terminate when determining the lease term when it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. Our lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants.

Our leases may contain lease and non-lease components. We elected to account for lease and non-lease components in a contract as part of a single lease component. Fixed payments are considered part of the single lease component and included in the ROU assets and lease liabilities. Additionally, lease contracts typically include variable payments and other costs that do not transfer a separate good or service, such as reimbursement for real estate taxes and insurance, which are expensed as incurred.

Our leases generally do not provide an implicit interest rate. As a result, we utilize our incremental borrowing rates, which are the rates incurred to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term and amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment.

We provide reserves for potential payments of tax to various tax authorities related to uncertain tax positions and other issues. Reserves are based on a determination of whether and how much of a tax benefit is taken by us in our tax filings or positions that are more likely than not to be realized following an examination by taxing authorities. We recognize the financial statement benefit of an uncertain tax position only after considering the probability that a tax authority would sustain the position in an examination. For tax positions meeting a “more-likely-than-not” threshold, the amount recognized in the financial statements is the benefit expected to be realized upon settlement with the tax authority. For tax positions not meeting the threshold, no financial statement benefit is recognized. Potential interest and penalties associated with such uncertain tax positions are recorded as a component of income tax expense.

Money market funds are actively traded and consist of highly liquid investments with original maturities of 90 days or less. They are measured at their fair value and classified as Level 1. U.S. Treasury securities consist of U.S. Treasury Notes and U.S. Treasury T-Bills that mature in less than 1 year and are classified as Level 1. Corporate and agency bonds and commercial paper are categorized as Level 2 assets except where sufficient quoted prices exist in active markets, in which case such securities are categorized as Level 1 assets. These securities are valued using third-party pricing services. These services may use, for example, model-based pricing methods that utilize observable market data as inputs. We generally use quoted prices for recent trading activity of assets with similar characteristics to the debt security or bond being valued. The securities and bonds priced using such methods are generally classified as Level 2. Broker dealer bids or quotes on securities with similar characteristics may also be used. Our common stock warrants were classified as Level 3 due to unobservable inputs.

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these assets and liabilities.

Share-based awards that are settled in cash are recorded as liabilities. The measurement of the liability and compensation cost for these awards is based on the fair value of the award as of each period end date, which is equivalent to the closing price of a share of our common stock on the period end date multiplied by the number of units earned, and is recorded in operating income over the award’s vesting period. Changes in our payment obligation prior to the settlement date of a stock-based award are recorded as compensation expense in operating income in the period of the change. The final payment amount for such awards is established on the date of vesting.

We have agreements with certain vendors, creditors, lessors and service providers pursuant to which we have agreed to indemnify the other party for specified matters, such as acts and omissions, its employees, agents or representatives.

We have procurement or license agreements with respect to technology used in our products and agreements in which we obtain rights to a product from an OEM. Under some of these agreements, we have agreed to indemnify the supplier for certain claims that may be brought against such party with respect to our acts or omissions relating to the supplied products or technologies.

Our certificate of incorporation and agreements with certain of our directors and officers and certain of our subsidiaries’ directors and officers provide them indemnification rights, to the extent legally permissible, against liabilities incurred by them in connection with legal actions in which they may become involved by reason of their service as a director or officer. As a matter of practice, we maintain director and officer liability insurance coverage, including coverage for directors and officers of acquired companies.

We have not experienced any losses related to these indemnification obligations in any period presented and no claims with respect thereto were outstanding as of September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022. We do not expect significant claims related to

these indemnification obligations and, consequently, have concluded that the fair value of these obligations is negligible. No liabilities related to indemnification liabilities have been established.

Pronouncements for Adoption in Subsequent Periods

3. REVENUE

Disaggregation of Revenue

Contract Balances

The purchase price for the Linearizer Acquisition has been allocated based on preliminary estimates of fair values of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities at the date of acquisition as follows (in thousands):

The purchase price for the MESC Acquisition has been allocated based on preliminary estimates of fair values of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities at the date of acquisition as follows (in thousands):

As part of the acquisition, we assumed a lease agreement for the manufacturing facilities in France that gives us the option to purchase the real property for an immaterial price at the end of the lease term, in October 2024. We expect to exercise this bargain purchase option and have recorded a right-of-use-asset of $24.7 million in Property and equipment. The real property was valued using a market approach.

Intangible assets consist of customer relationships and technology of $1.1 million and $4.9 million, respectively, and both having useful lives of 8.3 years. We used the income approach to determine the fair value of the definite-lived intangible assets and the cost and market approaches to determine the fair value of our property, plant and equipment. We amortize definite-lived assets based on the pattern over which we expect to receive the economic benefit from these assets.

The determination and allocation of purchase price consideration is based on preliminary estimates of fair value; such estimates and assumptions are subject to change within the measurement period (up to one year from the acquisition date). As of September 29, 2023, the purchase price allocation for the MESC Acquisition remains open as we gather additional information regarding the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed, primarily in relation to the valuation of intangibles, inventory, property and equipment, leases, liabilities and contingencies. We did not recognize goodwill associated with this acquisition and there were no measurement period adjustments recognized during the quarter ended September 29, 2023.

Pro forma financial information for the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023 and September 30, 2022 and the actual results of operations for MESC since the acquisition date are not material to our consolidated financial statements for the periods presented.

The purchase price for the RF Business Acquisition consists of $75.0 million payable in cash and 711,528 shares of our common stock, which was determined by dividing $50.0 million by the trailing average closing price of our common stock on Nasdaq on the thirty (30) trading days immediately preceding the date of the Purchase Agreement, which will be issued at the closing of the RF Business Acquisition but will be subject to restrictions on transfer until transfer of the RTP Fab to the Company is complete. We are not assuming any debt and intend to fund the cash purchase price for the RF Business Acquisition through cash-on-hand and the proposed transaction is expected to close in our fiscal first quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions.

5. INVESTMENTS