Stratasys (SSYS) 20-F2021 FY Annual report (foreign)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

Date of event requiring this shell company report ........................................

Commission file number: 001-35751

STRATASYS LTD.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Not Applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

Israel

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or Organization)

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:

65,676,945 Ordinary Shares, NIS 0.01 par value, at December 31, 2021.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232,405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or an emerging growth company. See definition of “accelerated filer,” “large accelerated filer” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 ☐ Item 18 ☐

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain information included or incorporated by reference in this annual report may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “believe,” “should,” “intend,” “project” or other similar words, but are not the only way these statements are identified.

These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our objectives, plans and strategies, statements that contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition and all statements (other than statements of historical facts) that address activities, events or developments that we intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties. We have based these forward-looking statements on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate.

Important factors that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, among other things:

•

the extent of our success at introducing new or improved products and solutions that gain market share;

•

the extent of growth of the 3D printing market generally;

•

the duration, degree of severity of, and strength of recovery from, the global COVID-19 pandemic, which may continue to have material adverse consequences for our operations, financial position, cash flows, and those of our customers and suppliers;

•

changes in our overall strategy, including as related to any restructuring activities and our capital expenditures;

•

the impact of shifts in prices or margins of the products that we sell or services we provide;

•

the impact of competition and new technologies;

•

impairments of goodwill or other intangible assets in respect of companies that we acquire;

•

the extent of our success at efficiently and successfully integrating the operations of various companies that we have acquired or may acquire;

•

global market, political and economic conditions, and in the countries in which we operate in particular;

•

government regulations and approvals;

•

litigation and regulatory proceedings;

•

infringement of our intellectual property rights by others (including for replication and sale of consumables for use in our systems), or infringement of others’ intellectual property rights by us;

•

the extent of our success at maintaining our liquidity and financing our operations and capital needs;

•

impact of tax regulations on our results of operations and financial condition; and

•

any additional factors referred to in Item 3.D “Key Information - Risk Factors”, Item 4 “Information on the Company”, and Item 5 “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects”, as well as in other parts of this Annual report.

Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made throughout this annual report, which are designed to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Any forward-looking statements in this annual report are made as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

USE OF TRADE NAMES

CERTAIN TERMS AND CONVENTIONS

In this annual report, unless the context otherwise requires:

•

references to “Stratasys,” “our company,” “the Company,” “the consolidated company,” “the registrant,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Stratasys Ltd. (formerly known as Objet Ltd.), and its consolidated subsidiaries;

•

references to “Objet” generally refer to Objet Ltd. and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the effective time of the Stratasys, Inc.- Objet Ltd. merger on December 1, 2012. We may also use “Objet” to refer to the line of products previously sold by Objet Ltd. and the related current, ongoing operations that have continued following the Stratasys, Inc.-Objet Ltd. merger.

•

references to “Stratasys, Inc.” generally refer to Stratasys, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the effective time of the Stratasys, Inc.-Objet Ltd. merger, but sometimes (as the context requires) refer to the current, ongoing operations of our Stratasys, Inc. subsidiary;

•

references to “ordinary shares”, “our shares” and similar expressions refer to our Ordinary Shares, par value NIS 0.01 per share;

•

references to “dollars”, “U.S. dollars”, “U.S. $” and “$” are to United States Dollars;

•

references to “shekels” and “NIS” are to New Israeli Shekels, the Israeli currency;

•

references to the “articles” or “amended articles” are to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, which became effective upon the closing of the Stratasys, Inc.- Objet Ltd. merger, as subsequently amended;

•

references to the “Companies Law” are to the Israeli Companies Law, 5759-1999, as amended;

•

references to the “Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;

•

references to the “Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;

•

references to “Nasdaq” are to the Nasdaq Stock Market; and

•

references to the “SEC” are to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

PART I

ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS.

Not applicable.

ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE.

Not applicable.

ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION.

A. [Reserved]

B. Capitalization and Indebtedness.

Not applicable.

C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds.

Not applicable.

D. Risk Factors.

You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information in this annual report on Form 20-F. The risks described below are not the only risks facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect our business operations. If any of these risks actually materializes, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer and the price of our shares could decline.

Risks related to our business and financial condition

Risks related to operations in Israel

We may not be able to introduce new 3D printers, high-performance systems and consumables acceptable to customers or to improve the technology, software or consumables used in our current systems in response to changing technology and end-user needs.

Our operating results and financial condition may fluctuate.

•

the degree of market acceptance of our products and services, particularly in the fast-growing sector of mass production parts;

•

the mix of products and services that we sell during any period;

•

the geographic distribution of our sales;

•

our responses to price competition;

•

long sales cycles;

•

unforeseen liabilities or difficulties in integrating our acquisitions or newly acquired businesses;

•

changes in the amount that we spend to develop, acquire or license new products, consumables, technologies or businesses;

•

changes in the amounts that we spend to promote our products and services;

•

changes in the cost of satisfying our warranty obligations and servicing our installed base of systems;

•

delays between our expenditures to develop and market new or enhanced systems and consumables and the generation of sales from those products;

•

delays in orders of our products from period to period due to outside factors, such as U.S. government shutdowns, which may delay orders by U.S. government agencies or other end-users whose business activities are heavily dependent on U.S. government agency contracts;

• global interruptions and delays involving freight carriers and other third parties, which may interfere with our supply chain and distribution network and frustrate our ability to sell our existing and new products;

•

development of new competitive products and services by others;

•

difficulty in predicting sales patterns and reorder rates that may result from multi-tier distribution strategy associated with new product categories such as entry level desktop 3D printers;

•

impairment charges that we may be required to record in respect of our goodwill and/or other long-lived assets;

•

potential cyber attacks against, or other breaches to, our information technologies systems;

•

litigation or threats of litigation, including intellectual property claims by third parties;

•

changes in accounting rules and tax laws;

•

tax benefit that we may record due to partial or full release of valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets;

•

general economic and industry conditions that affect end-user demand and end-user levels of product design and manufacturing; and

•

changes in dollar-shekel and dollar-Euro exchange rates that affect the value of our net assets, revenues and expenditures from and/or relating to our activities carried out in those currencies;

Due to all of the foregoing factors, and the other risks discussed in this annual report, you should not rely on quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year comparisons of our operating results as an indicator of our future performance.

If demand for our products and services, or in the 3D printing market generally, does not grow as expected, our revenues may stagnate or decline and our profitability may be adversely affected.

Declines in the prices of our products and services, or in our volume of sales, together with our relatively inflexible cost structure, may adversely affect our financial results.

Our business is subject to price competition. Such price competition may adversely affect our ability to maintain the same degree of profitability, especially during periods of decreased demand. Decreased demand also adversely impacts the volume of our systems sales. If our business is not able to offset price reductions resulting from these pressures, or decreased volume of sales due to contractions in the market, by improved operating efficiencies and reduced expenditures, then our operating results will be adversely affected.

Certain of our operating costs are fixed and cannot readily be reduced, which diminishes the positive impact of our reorganization programs on our operating results. To the extent the market for our products slows, or the 3D printing market contracts, we may be faced with excess manufacturing capacity and excess related costs that cannot readily be reduced, which will adversely impact our results of operations.

To the extent that other companies are successful in developing or marketing consumables for use in our systems, our revenues and profits would likely be adversely affected.

We sell a substantial portion of the consumables used in our systems. We attempt to protect against replication of our proprietary consumables through patents and trade secrets and provide that warranties on those systems may be invalid if customers use non-genuine consumables. Other companies have developed and sold, and may continue to develop and sell, consumables that are used with our systems, which may reduce our consumables sales and impair our overall revenues and profitability.

If our product mix shifts too far into lower margin products or our revenues mix shifts significantly towards our AM services business, our profitability could be reduced.

Sales of certain of our existing products have higher margins than others. For instance, our high-end systems and related consumables yield a greater gross margin than our entry-level systems. Sales of our entry-level systems may displace sales of our other systems. If sales of our entry-level desktop 3D printers have the effect of reducing sales of our higher margin products, or if for any other reason, our product mix shifts too far into lower margin products, and we are not able to sufficiently reduce the engineering, production and other costs associated with those products or substantially increase the sales of those products, our profitability could be reduced. A similar negative impact on our gross margins could result due to a significant shift towards revenues generated by our AM parts service business, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, which are characterized by lower margins relative to our products.

The markets in which we participate are competitive. Our failure to compete successfully could cause our revenues and the demand for our products to decline.

Some of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories and more extensive name recognition than we have and may also have greater financial, marketing, manufacturing, distribution and other resources than we have. Current and future competitors may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in end-user demands and to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can. Our current and potential competitors may develop and market new technologies that render our existing or future products obsolete, unmarketable or less competitive (whether from a price perspective or otherwise). We cannot assure that we will be able to maintain or enhance our current competitive position or continue to compete successfully against current and future sources of competition.

If additional goodwill or other intangible assets that we have recorded become impaired, we could have to take future charges against earnings

Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, we are required to review goodwill for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable.

Our success depends upon the continued service and performance of our senior management and other key personnel. Our executive team is critical to the management of our business and operations, as well as to the development of our strategy. The loss of the services of any members of our senior executive team could delay or prevent the successful implementation of our strategy, or our commercialization of new applications for our systems or other products, or could otherwise adversely affect our ability to manage our company effectively and carry out our business plan. Members of our senior management team may resign at any time, as was recently the case with our chief financial officer, Lilach Payorski, who will be succeeded by our Vice President of Finance, Eitan Zamir. There is no assurance that if any additional senior executives leave in the future, we will be able to rapidly replace them and transition smoothly towards their successors, without any adverse impact on our operations.

In light of the foregoing, there can be no assurance that qualified employees will remain in our employ or that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Failure to retain or attract qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Defects in new products or in enhancements to our existing products could give rise to product returns or product liability, warranty or other claims that could result in material expenses, diversion of management time and attention, and damage to our reputation.

Our products are complex and may contain defects or experience failures or unsatisfactory performance due to any number of issues in design, fabrication, packaging, materials, and/or use within a system. These defects or errors could result in significant warranty, support and repair or replacement costs, cause us to lose market share and divert the attention of our engineering personnel from our product development efforts to find and correct the issue.

This risk of product liability claims may also be greater due to the use of certain hazardous chemicals used in the manufacture of certain of our products. Those hazardous chemicals fall within three different categories (with several of the chemicals falling within multiple categories): irritants, harmful chemicals and chemicals dangerous for the environment. In addition, we may be subject to claims that our 3D printers have been, or may be, used to create parts that are not in compliance with legal requirements or that intellectual property posted by third parties on our Thingiverse and GrabCAD websites infringes the intellectual property rights of others.

Any claim brought against us, regardless of its merit, could result in material expense, diversion of management time and attention, and damage to our reputation, and could cause us to fail to retain existing end-users or to attract new end-users. Although we maintain product liability insurance, such insurance is subject to significant deductibles and there is no guarantee that such insurance will be available or adequate to protect against all such claims, or we may elect to self-insure with respect to certain matters. Costs or payments made in connection with warranty and product liability claims and product recalls or other claims could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

If our relationships with suppliers for our products and services, especially with single source suppliers of components of our products, were to terminate or our manufacturing arrangements were to be disrupted, our business could be interrupted.  

•

potential shortages of some key components;

•

product performance shortfalls, if traceable to particular product components, since the supplier of the faulty component cannot readily be replaced;

•

discontinuation of a product or certain materials on which we rely;

•

potential insolvency of these vendors; and

•

reduced control over delivery schedules, manufacturing capabilities, quality and costs.

In addition, we require any new supplier to become “qualified” pursuant to our internal procedures. The qualification process involves evaluations of varying durations, which may cause production delays if we were required to qualify a new supplier unexpectedly. We generally assemble our systems and parts based on our internal forecasts and the availability of raw materials, assemblies, components and finished goods that are supplied to us by third parties, which are subject to various lead times. If certain suppliers were to decide to discontinue production of an assembly, component or raw material that we use, the unanticipated change in the availability of supplies, or unanticipated supply limitations, could cause delays in, or loss of, sales, increased production or related costs and consequently reduced margins, and damage to our reputation. If we were unable to find a suitable supplier for a particular component, material or compound, we could be required to modify our existing products or the end-parts that we offer to accommodate substitute components, material or compounds. While we have introduced periodic risk analysis internally concerning our sourcing (particularly concerning raw materials), which has increased the levels of our inventories, there is no guarantee that will sufficiently protect us if we suddenly lose access to supplies unexpectedly.

Discontinuation of operations at our manufacturing sites could prevent us from timely filling customer orders and could lead to unforeseen costs for us.

A loss of, or reduction in revenues from, a significant number of our resellers and our independent sales agents would impair our ability to sell our products and services and could reduce our revenues and adversely impact our operating results.  

We rely heavily on our network of resellers and independent sales agents to sell and (in the case of resellers) to service our products for end-users in their respective geographic regions. These resellers and sales agents may not be as effective in selling our products or servicing our end-users as we are. Further, if our relationships with a significant number of these resellers and sales agents were to be terminated or if a significant number of these resellers and sales agents would otherwise fail or refuse to sell our products, we may not be able to find replacements that are as qualified or as successful in a timely manner, if at all. If these resellers and independent sales agents do not perform as anticipated or if we are unable to find qualified and successful replacements, our sales will suffer, which would have an adverse effect on our revenues and operating results. Additionally, a default by one or more resellers that have a significant receivables balance could have an adverse financial impact on our financial results.

Our business model is predicated in part on building an end-user base that will generate a recurring stream of revenues through the sale of our consumables and service contracts. If that recurring stream of revenues does not develop as expected, or if our business model changes as the industry evolves, our operating results may be adversely affected.

Our business model is dependent in part on our ability to maintain and increase sales of our proprietary consumables and service contracts as they generate recurring revenues. Existing and future end-users of our systems may not purchase our consumables or related service contracts at the same rate at which end-users currently purchase those consumables and services. In addition, our entry-level systems generally use a lower volume of consumables relative to our higher end systems. If our current and future end-users purchase a lower volume of our consumables or service contracts, or if our entry level systems represent an increasing percentage of our future installed base mix uses less consumables than our current installed base, our recurring revenue stream relative to our total revenues would be reduced, and our operating results would be adversely affected.

Global economic, political and social conditions may adversely impact our sales.

•

threats of massive cyber attacks that could cause severe economic damage;

•

extended U.S. federal government shutdowns (resulting from the failure to pass budget appropriations or adopt continuing funding resolutions) may delay orders of our products by U.S. government agencies or other end-users whose business activities are heavily dependent on U.S. government agency contracts;

•

end-user demand for products and manufacturing activity levels may be reduced;

•

distributors and end-users may be unable to obtain credit financing to finance purchases of our products;

•

suppliers may be unable to obtain credit financing to finance purchases of sub-assemblies used to build components of products or purchases of raw materials to produce consumables;

•

end-users or distributors may face financial difficulties or may become insolvent, which could lead to our inability to obtain payment for our products; and

•

key suppliers of raw materials, finished products or components used in our products and consumables may face financial difficulties or may become insolvent, which could lead to disruption in the supply of systems, consumables or spare parts to our end-users.

Our existing and planned international operations currently expose us and will continue to expose us to additional market and operational risks, and failure to manage these risks may adversely affect our business and operating results.

We expect to derive a substantial percentage of our sales from international markets. We derived 36% of our revenues in 2021 from countries outside the Americas. Accordingly, we face significant operational risks from doing business internationally, including:

•

fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;

•

potentially longer sales and payment cycles;

•

potentially greater difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;

•

potentially adverse tax consequences;

•

reduced protection of intellectual property rights in certain countries, particularly in Asia and South America;  

•

difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations;

•

laws and business practices favoring local competition;

•

costs and difficulties of customizing products for foreign countries;

•

compliance with a wide variety of complex foreign laws, treaties and regulations;

•

tariffs, trade barriers and other regulatory or contractual limitations on our ability to sell or develop our products in certain foreign markets; and

•

being subject to the laws, regulations and the court systems of many jurisdictions.

Our failure to manage the market and operational risks associated with our international operations effectively could limit the future growth of our business and adversely affect our operating results.

Significant disruptions of our information technology systems or breaches of our data security could adversely affect our business.

A significant invasion, interruption, destruction or breakdown of our information technology, or IT, systems and/or infrastructure by persons with authorized or unauthorized access could negatively impact our business and operations. We could also experience business interruption, information theft and/or reputational damage from cyber attacks, which may compromise our systems and lead to data leakage either internally or at our third party providers. Both data that has been inputted into our main IT platform, which covers records of transactions, financial data and other data reflected in our results of operations, as well as data related to our proprietary rights (such as research and development, and other intellectual property- related data), are subject to material cyber security risks. Our IT systems have been, and are expected to continue to be, the target of malware and other cyber attacks. To date, we are not aware that we have experienced any loss of, or disruption to, material information as a result of any such malware or cyber attack.

 We are subject to environmental laws and export control laws due to the import and export of our products, as well as environmental, health and safety laws and regulations related to our operations and the use of our systems and materials, including requirements imposed due to use of our products by our customers, which could subject us to compliance costs and/or potential liability in the event of non-compliance.

The export of our products internationally subjects us to environmental laws and regulations concerning the import and export of chemicals and hazardous substances such as the United States Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances, or REACH. These laws and regulations require the testing and registration of some chemicals that we ship along with, or that form a part of, our systems and other products. If we fail to comply with these or similar laws and regulations, we may be required to make significant expenditures to reformulate the chemicals that we use in our products and materials or incur costs to register such chemicals to gain and/or regain compliance. Additionally, we could be subject to significant fines or other civil and criminal penalties should we not achieve such compliance.

The export of our products that are manufactured in the United States is also subject specifically to export controls governing dual-use products under the U.S. Export Controls Act of 2018, which may potentially lead to the imposition of greater restrictions on our ability to export those products and penalties if we fail to comply with those restrictions.

We are furthermore subject to extensive environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and permitting requirements in multiple jurisdictions due to our use of chemicals and production of waste materials as part of our operations and in connection with the operation of our systems by our customers. In certain cases, the required compliance with health or safety regulations is imposed by our customers themselves. These laws, regulations and requirements (which include the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment of the European Union (EU) and the EU Directive on Restriction of Use of Certain Hazardous Substances) govern, among other things, the generation, use, storage, registration, handling and disposal of chemicals and waste materials, the presence of specified substances in electrical products, the emission and discharge of hazardous materials into the ground, air or water, the cleanup of contaminated sites, including any contamination that results from spills due to our failure to properly dispose of chemicals and other waste materials and the health and safety of our employees. Under these laws, regulations and requirements, we could also be subject to liability for improper disposal of chemicals and waste materials, including those resulting from the use of our systems and accompanying materials by end-users. These or future laws and regulations could potentially require the expenditure of significant amounts for compliance and/or remediation. If our operations fail to comply with such laws or regulations, we may be subject to fines and other civil, administrative or criminal sanctions, including the revocation of permits and licenses necessary to continue our business activities. In addition, we may be required to pay damages or civil judgments in respect of third-party claims, including those relating to personal injury (including exposure to hazardous substances that we generate, use, store, handle, transport, manufacture or dispose of), property damage or contribution claims. Some environmental laws allow for strict, joint and several liabilities for remediation costs, regardless of fault. We may be identified as a potentially responsible party under such laws. Such developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As a public company with significant operations in several countries, we are subject to regulation and must comply with reporting, privacy and other requirements in a number of jurisdictions and, to the extent that regulatory authorities assert that we are not in compliance, we could be subject to sanctions which, if material, could materially and adversely affect our business.

As a public company with significant operations in Israel, the United States, Europe and many other countries, we are subject to regulation and must comply with reporting and other requirements in a number of jurisdictions. In particular, we are subject to the rules and regulations of the SEC and FINRA, which may elect from time to time to review or investigate our operations, various aspects of our financial statements, our disclosure practices and other matters. As such reviews progress, the regulating agencies may determine that we are and have been in compliance with applicable rules, or they may determine to pursue enforcement actions or other sanctions against us for alleged noncompliance.

New privacy laws are also beginning to impose on our company increased compliance costs. Our California operations are now subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, a statute that went into effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA imposes enhanced disclosure requirements for us vis-à-vis our interactions with customers that are residents of California, such as comprehensive privacy notices for consumers when we or our agents collect their personal information. We may be further required to ensure third party compliance, as under the CCPA we could be liable if third parties that collect, process or retain personal information on our behalf violate the CCPA’s privacy requirements. The sanctions for non-compliance could include fines and/or civil lawsuits.

In addition to the imposition of U.S.-based regulations on our operations, our European activities are subject to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which has created additional compliance requirements for us. GDPR broadens the scope of personal privacy laws to protect the rights of European Union citizens and requires organizations to report on data breaches within 72 hours and be bound by stringent rules for obtaining the consent of individuals on how their data can be used. GDPR became enforceable on May 25, 2018, and non-compliance exposes entities such as our company to significant fines or other regulatory claims. While we have invested in, and intend to continue to invest in, reasonably necessary resources to comply with these new privacy standards (both in Europe and in California), to the extent that we fail to adequately comply, that failure could have an adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations and cash flows.

Failure to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or other applicable anti-corruption legislation could result in fines, criminal penalties and an adverse effect on our business.

We operate in a number of countries throughout the world, including countries known to have a reputation for corruption. We are committed to doing business in accordance with applicable anti-corruption laws. We are subject, however, to the risk that our affiliated entities or our and our affiliates’ respective officers, directors, employees and agents (including distributors of our products) may take action determined to be in violation of such anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, as well as trade sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Any violation by any of these persons could result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil and/or criminal penalties, or curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions, and might adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, actual or alleged violations could damage our reputation and ability to do business.  

We own a number of our manufacturing and office facilities, which may limit our ability to move those operations. If we were to move some or all of those operations, we could incur unforeseen charges.

We own buildings in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, which we use to conduct our FDM manufacturing and assembly operations, as well as our office facility in Rehovot, Israel and manufacturing facility in Kiryat Gat, Israel. Ownership of these buildings and facilities may adversely affect our ability to move some or all of those operations to other locations that may be more favorable. If we were to move any of those operations to other locations, we may have difficulty selling or leasing the property that we vacate. This risk also applies to the facilities that we lease under non-cancellable lease agreements, where we cannot freely vacate the facilities. In order to combat these risks, we have limited our commitment under our leases by providing ourselves with a “break” option after three years or less. In most of our leases we have also obtained for ourselves the right to sublease a portion or all of the facilities under the lease.

These limitations on our ability to move could result in an impairment charge, as occurred in the prior periods in respect of some of our leased facilities, which negatively impacted our results of operations, and could, in future periods, once again have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Default in payment by one or more resellers or customers from which we have large account receivable balances could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

From time to time, our accounts receivable balances have been concentrated with certain resellers or customers. Default by one or more of these resellers or customers could result in a significant charge against our current reported earnings. We have reviewed our policies that govern credit and collections, and will continue to monitor them in light of current payment status and economic conditions. In addition, we try to reduce the credit exposures of our accounts receivable by credit limits and credit insurance for many of our customers. However, there can be no assurance that our efforts to identify potential credit risks will be successful. Our inability to timely identify resellers and customers that are credit risks could result in defaults at a time when such resellers or customers have high accounts receivable balances with us. Any such default would result in a significant charge against our earnings and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We are, and have been in the recent past, subject to litigation. Any current or future lawsuits to which we are subject may have a significant adverse effect on our financial condition or profitability.

We are currently, and have been in the recent past, subject to litigation, and could be subject to further litigation in the future. In November 2017, a former employee, whose employment had been terminated by our company in 2008 and who had previously unsuccessfully filed a suit against our company, brought an additional proceeding against us under Section 134 of the Israeli Patent Law seeking compensation and royalties for service inventions he invented while he served as an employee of our company.

Under applicable employment laws, we may not be able to enforce covenants not to compete and therefore may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of some of our former employees.

We rely on our management information systems for inventory management, distribution, and other key functions. If our information systems fail to adequately perform these functions, or if we experience an interruption in their operation, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

The efficient operation of our business is dependent on our management information systems. We rely on our management information systems: to, among other things, effectively manage our accounting and financial functions, including maintaining our internal controls; to manage our manufacturing and supply chain processes; and to maintain our research and development data. The failure of our management information systems to perform properly could disrupt our business and product development, which may result in decreased sales, increased overhead costs, excess or obsolete inventory, and product shortages, causing our business and operating results to suffer. Although we take steps to secure our management information systems, including our computer systems, intranet and internet sites, email and other telecommunications and data networks, the security measures we have implemented may not be effective and our systems may be vulnerable to theft, loss, damage and interruption from a number of potential sources and events, including unauthorized access or security breaches, natural or man-made disasters (such as floods or earthquakes), cyber-attacks, computer viruses, power loss, or other disruptive events. Our reputation, brand, and financial condition could be adversely affected if, as a result of a significant cyber event or otherwise, our operations are disrupted or shut down; our confidential, proprietary information is stolen or disclosed; we incur costs or are required to pay fines in connection with stolen customer, employee, or other confidential information; we must dedicate significant resources to system repairs or increase cyber security protection; or we otherwise incur significant litigation or other costs.

Risks related to our intellectual property

 We rely on a combination of patent and trademark laws in the United States and other countries, trade secret protection, confidentiality agreements and other contractual arrangements with our employees, end-users and others to maintain our competitive position. In particular, our success depends, in part, on our ability, and the ability of our licensors, to obtain patent protection for our and their products, technologies and inventions, maintain the confidentiality of our and their trade secrets and know-how, operate without infringing upon the proprietary rights of others and prevent others from infringing upon our and their proprietary rights. As we acquire additional companies and their technologies, such as Origin and its P³ technology, acquired in December 2020, RPS and its stereolithography technology, acquired in February 2021, and Xaar and its powder-based SAF technology, acquired fully in November 2021, the risks related to potential infringement of our proprietary rights in technology become more pronounced.

Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, it is possible that competitors or other unauthorized third parties may obtain, copy, use or disclose our technologies, inventions, processes or improvements. We cannot assure you that any of our existing or future patents or other intellectual property rights will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, or will otherwise provide us with meaningful protection. Our pending patent applications may not be granted, and we may not be able to obtain foreign patents or pending applications corresponding to our U.S. patents. The laws of certain countries, such as China, may not provide the same level of patent protection and intellectual property right enforcement as in the United States, so even if we enforce our intellectual property rights or obtain additional patents in China or elsewhere outside of the United States, enforcement of such rights may not be effective. If our patents and other intellectual property do not adequately protect our technology, our competitors may be able to offer additive manufacturing systems, consumables or other products similar to ours. Our competitors may also be able to develop similar technology independently or design around our patents, and we may not be able to detect the unauthorized use of our proprietary technology or take appropriate steps to prevent such use.

If we attempt enforcement of our intellectual property rights, we may be (as we have been in the past) subject or party to claims, negotiations or complex, protracted litigation. Intellectual property disputes and litigation, regardless of merit, can be costly and disruptive to our business operations by diverting attention and energies of management and key technical personnel, and by increasing our costs of doing business. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our operating results.

We may be subject to claims that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others, especially in light of the heightened pace of adoption of new technologies in our industry and the multiple additional technologies that we have been acquiring.

 Our products and technology, including technology that we acquire as a result of our ongoing acquisitions of other businesses and technology that we license from others, about which we may be less knowledgeable that our organically developed technology, may infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of third parties. This risk is especially relevant to our industry, where the pace of innovation and adoption of new technologies by industry players has been accelerated in recent years. Patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time until they are published, and the publication of discoveries in scientific or patent literature typically lags actual discoveries by several months or more. As a result, the nature of claims contained in unpublished patent filings around the world is unknown to us, and we cannot be certain that we or our acquired companies were the first to conceive inventions covered by our self-developed or our acquired patents or patent applications or that we or our acquired companies were the first to file patent applications covering such inventions. Furthermore, it is not possible to know in which countries patent holders may choose to extend their filings under the Patent Cooperation Treaty or other mechanisms. In addition, we may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims from individuals, vendors and other companies, including those that have acquired patents in the fields of 3D printing or consumable production for the sole purpose of asserting claims against us.

Under the Israeli Patent Law, 5727-1967, or the Patent Law, we may also be subject to royalty claims for “service inventions” conceived by employees in the course and as a result of or arising from their employment with us. Section 134 of the Patent Law provides that if there is no agreement between an employer and an employee as to whether the employee is entitled to consideration for service inventions, the Israeli Compensation and Royalties Committee, or the Committee, a body constituted under the Patent Law, shall determine these issues. We believe that virtually all of our employees have executed invention assignment agreements in which they have assigned to us their rights to potential inventions and acknowledged that they will not be entitled to additional compensation or royalties from commercialization of inventions. We may, nevertheless, face claims demanding remuneration in consideration for assigned inventions.

We have devoted substantial resources to the development of our technology, trade secrets, know-how and other unregistered proprietary rights. While we enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements intended to protect such rights, such agreements can be difficult and costly to enforce or may not provide adequate remedies if violated, and we may not have entered into such agreements with all relevant parties. Such agreements may be breached and confidential information may be willfully or unintentionally disclosed, including by employees who may leave our company and join our competitors, or our competitors or other parties may learn of the information in some other way. The disclosure to, or independent development by, a competitor of any of our trade secrets, know-how or other technology not protected by a patent or other intellectual property system could materially reduce or eliminate any competitive advantage that we may have over such competitor.

This concern could manifest itself in particular with respect to our proprietary consumables that are used with our systems. Portions of our proprietary consumables may not be afforded patent protection. Chemical companies or other producers of raw materials used in our consumables may be able to develop consumables that are compatible to a large extent with our systems, whether independently or in contravention of our trade secret rights and related proprietary and contractual rights. If such consumables are made available to owners of our systems, and are purchased in place of our proprietary consumables, our revenues and profitability would be reduced and we could be forced to reduce prices for our proprietary consumables.

Some of our patents have expired and others will expire in coming years. Upon expiration of those patents, our competitors have introduced, and are likely to continue to introduce, products using the technology previously protected by the expired patents, which products may have lower prices than those of our products. To compete, we may need to reduce our prices for those products, which would adversely affect our revenues, margins and profitability. Additionally, the expiration of our patents could reduce barriers to entry into AM systems, which could result in the reduction of our sales and earnings potential.

Risks related to operations in Israel

Furthermore, many of our male employees in Israel, including members of our senior management, are obligated to perform one month, and in some cases longer periods, of annual military reserve duty until they reach certain ages, and, in the event of a military conflict, may be called to active duty. Our operations could be disrupted by the absence of a significant number of Israeli employees or of one or more of our key Israeli employees who may be called to active duty due to a future military conflict. Such disruption could materially adversely affect our business and operations.

Our commercial insurance does not cover losses that may occur as a result of an event associated with the security situation in the Middle East. Although the Israeli government is currently committed to covering the reinstatement value of direct damages that are caused by terrorist attacks or acts of war, we cannot assure you that this government coverage will be maintained, or if maintained, will be sufficient to compensate us fully for damages incurred. Any losses or damages incurred by our Israeli operations could have a material adverse effect on our business. Any armed conflicts or political instability in the region would likely negatively affect business conditions generally and could harm our results of operations.

Furthermore, Israeli tax considerations may make potential transactions unappealing to us or to our shareholders whose country of residence does not have a tax treaty with Israel exempting such shareholders from Israeli tax. For example, Israeli tax law does not recognize tax-free share exchanges to the same extent as U.S. tax law. With respect to mergers, Israeli tax law allows for tax deferral in certain circumstances but makes the deferral contingent on the fulfillment of a number of conditions, including a holding period of two years from the date of the transaction during which sales and dispositions of shares of the participating companies are subject to certain restrictions.

Moreover, with respect to certain share swap transactions, the tax deferral is limited in time, and when such time expires, the tax becomes payable even if no disposition of the shares has occurred.

These and other similar provisions could delay, prevent or impede an acquisition of our company or our merger with another company, even if such an acquisition or merger would be beneficial to us or to our shareholders.

We also have substantial revenues and expenses that are denominated in non-US currencies other than the New Israeli Shekel, particularly the Euro. Therefore, our operating results and cash flows are also subject to fluctuations due to changes in the relative values of the U.S. dollar and those foreign currencies. These fluctuations could negatively affect our operating results and could cause our revenues and net income or loss to vary from quarter to quarter. Furthermore, to the extent that our revenues increase in regions such as Asia Pacific, where our sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, a strengthening of the dollar against other currencies could make our products less competitive in those foreign markets and collection of receivables more difficult.

From time to time we engage in currency hedging activities. These measures, however, may not adequately protect us from material adverse effects due to the impact of inflation in Israel or from fluctuations in the relative values of the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies in which we transact business, and may result in a financial loss. For further information, please see “Item 11. Quantitative And Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in this annual report.

The computation of income taxes is complex because it is based on the laws of numerous taxing jurisdictions and requires significant judgment on the application of complicated rules governing accounting for tax provisions under GAAP. Income taxes for interim quarters are based on a forecast of our effective tax rate for the year, which includes forward-looking financial projections. Such financial projections are based on numerous assumptions, including the expectations of profit and loss by jurisdiction. It is difficult to accurately forecast various items that make up the projections, and such items may be treated as discrete accounting. Examples of items that could cause variability in our income tax rate include our mix of income by jurisdiction, changes in our uncertain tax positions, the application of transfer pricing rules, and tax audits. Future events, such as changes in our business and the tax law in the jurisdictions where we do business, could also affect our rate.

One important assumption that goes into calculation of our tax rate is the tax benefit that we are eligible for in respect of some of our operations in Israel, referred to as “Approved Enterprise”, “Beneficiary Enterprise”, “Preferred Enterprise” and/or “Preferred Technology Enterprise” (as applicable), under the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 5719-1959, or the Investment Law. Based on an evaluation of the relevant factors under the Investment Law, including the level of foreign (that is, non-Israeli) investment in our company, we have estimated that our average effective tax rate to be paid with respect to all profit from the Israeli operations under these benefit programs is 7% to 14%, based on the current balance of activity between our Rehovot, Israel and Kiryat Gat, Israel facilities and the available level of benefits under the law. If we do not meet the requirements for maintaining these benefits, they may be reduced or cancelled and the relevant operations would be subject to Israeli corporate tax at the standard rate, which for 2018 and onwards is set at 23%. In addition to being subject to the standard corporate tax rate, we would be required to refund any tax benefits that we have already received as adjusted by the Israeli consumer price index, plus interest or other monetary penalties. Even if we continue to meet the relevant requirements, the tax benefits that we are eligible for may not be continued in the future at their current levels or at all. If these tax benefits were reduced or eliminated, the amount of taxes that we pay would likely increase, as all of our operations would consequently be subject to corporate tax at the standard rate, which may cause our effective tax rate to be materially different than our estimates and could adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, if we increase our activities outside of Israel, for example, via acquisitions, our increased activities may not be eligible for inclusion in Israeli tax benefit programs, and that could also adversely affect our effective tax rate and our results of operations.

The Israeli government may furthermore independently determine to reduce, phase out or eliminate entirely the benefit programs under the Investment Law, regardless of whether we then qualify for benefits under those programs at the time, which would also adversely affect our effective tax rate and our results of operations. 

We must comply with the requirements of the Israeli Encouragement of Research, Development and Technological Innovation Law, 5744-1984, or the Innovation Law (formerly known as the Encouragement of Industrial Research and Development Law, 5744-1984, or the Research Law), and related regulations, with respect to those current and past grants.

When a company develops know-how, technology or products using grants provided by the Authority, the terms of these grants and the Innovation Law restrict the transfer of such know-how, and the transfer of manufacturing or manufacturing rights of such products, technologies or know-how outside of Israel. Even after the repayment of such grants in full, we will remain subject to the restrictions set forth under the Innovation Law, including:

•

Local manufacturing obligation. The terms of the grants under the Innovation Law require that the manufacturing of products resulting from Authority-funded programs be carried out in Israel, unless a prior written approval of the Authority is obtained (except for a transfer of up to 10% of the production rights, for which a notification to the Authority is sufficient).

Therefore, if aspects of our technologies are deemed to have been developed with OCS funding, the discretionary approval of an OCS committee would be required for any transfer to third parties outside of Israel of know-how or manufacturing or manufacturing rights related to those aspects of such technologies. We may not receive those approvals. Furthermore, the OCS may impose certain conditions on any arrangement under which it permits us to transfer technology or development out of Israel.

The transfer of OCS-supported technology or know-how outside of Israel may involve the payment of significant amounts, depending upon the value of the transferred technology or know-how, the amount of OCS support, the time of completion of the OCS-supported research project and other factors. Furthermore, the consideration available to our shareholders in a transaction involving the transfer outside of Israel of technology or know-how developed with OCS funding (such as a merger or similar transaction) may be reduced by any amounts that we are required to pay to the OCS.

We received grants from the OCS prior to an extensive amendment to the Research Law that came into effect as of January 1, 2016, or the Amendment, which may also affect the terms of existing grants. The Amendment provides for an interim transition period (which has not yet expired), after which time our grants will be subject to terms of the Amendment. Under the Research Law, as amended by the Amendment, the Authority is provided with a power to modify the terms of existing grants. Such changes, if introduced by the Authority in the future, may impact the terms governing our grants.

It may be difficult to enforce a U.S. judgment against us and our officers and directors in Israel or the United States, or to serve process on our officers and directors.

Risks related to an investment in our ordinary shares

The market price of our ordinary shares may be subject to fluctuation, regardless of our operating results and financial condition. As a result, our shareholders could incur substantial losses.

The market price of our ordinary shares since the Stratasys, Inc.- Objet Ltd. merger has been subject to substantial fluctuation. From the start of 2019 through the early part of 2022 (through February 18, 2022), our ordinary shares have traded with closing prices that have ranged from $12.07 to $54.37, which low and high prices were each recorded since the start of 2020, evidencing a trend towards greater share price fluctuations. The price of our ordinary shares may continue to be subject to substantial fluctuation regardless of our operating results or financial condition due to a number of factors, including:

•

the extent of growth of the 3D printing market generally;

•

changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by securities analysts;

•

development of new competitive systems and services by others;

•

success or failure of research and development projects of our company or our competitors;

•

developments concerning our or our competitors’ intellectual property rights;  

•

successes or failures of the acquisitions or dispositions that we consummate, as perceived by financial or industry analysts;

•

the general tendency towards volatility in the market prices of shares of technology companies; and

•

general market conditions and other factors, including factors unrelated to our operating performance.

These factors and any corresponding price fluctuations may materially and adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares and result in substantial losses being incurred by our shareholders.

Market prices for securities of technology companies historically have been very volatile. The market for these securities has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations for reasons unrelated to the operating performance of any one company. In the past, following periods of market volatility, public company shareholders have often instituted securities class action litigation, as was the case in February and March, 2015, when class actions of our shareholders, alleging violations of the Exchange Act, were initiated against the Company and certain of our officers as defendants. Any such additional securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert the resources and attention of our management from our business.

We may need or desire to raise substantial capital in the future. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, among others:

•

the extent to which we acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies (as we did in acquiring Origin in December 2020, RPS in February 2021, and Xaar in November 2021) and other strategic relationships;

•

our degree of success in capturing a larger portion of additive manufacturing demand;

•

the costs of establishing or acquiring sales, marketing and distribution capabilities for our products;

•

the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our issued patents and defending intellectual property-related claims; and

•

the costs of financing unanticipated working capital requirements and responding to competitive pressures.

Even if we decide to pay dividends on our ordinary shares, we may be restricted from doing so or payment of such dividends may have adverse consequences for our company.

Under the Companies Law, dividends may only be paid out of our profits and other surplus funds (as defined in the Companies Law) as of the end of the most recent year or as accrued over a period of the most recent two years, whichever amount is greater, provided that there is no reasonable concern that payment of a dividend will prevent us from satisfying our existing and foreseeable obligations as they become due. In the event that we do not meet the profit and surplus funds criteria, we can seek the approval of an Israeli court in order to distribute a dividend. The court may approve our request if it is convinced that there is no reasonable concern that the payment of a dividend will prevent us from satisfying our existing and foreseeable obligations as they become due. Due to the acquisition method of accounting utilized, under GAAP, for the Stratasys, Inc.- Objet Ltd. merger and the Origin transaction, pursuant to which we were deemed to have acquired Objet’s assets and Origin's assets, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant annual amounts of amortization expense in respect of those assets. We are also subject to the risk of impairment charges from time to time to our acquired assets. These significant annual expenses under GAAP have reduced, and may continue to reduce or eliminate, our profits and surplus funds as determined under the Companies Law, and, hence, may restrict our ability to pay dividends (absent court approval).

As a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act, including the proxy rules, which impose certain disclosure and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as domestic U.S. companies with securities registered under the Exchange Act; and are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which imposes certain restrictions on the selective disclosure of material information. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules under the Exchange Act with respect to their purchases and sales of our ordinary shares. Accordingly, you receive less information about our company and trading in our shares by our affiliates than you would receive about a domestic U.S. company, and are afforded less protection under the U.S. federal securities laws than you would be afforded in holding securities of a domestic U.S. company.

As a foreign private issuer, we are also permitted, and have begun, to follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of those otherwise required under the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market for domestic U.S. issuers. We have informed Nasdaq that we follow home country practice in Israel with regard to, among other things, director nomination procedure and approval of compensation of officers. In addition, we have opted to follow home country law instead of the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market that require that a listed company obtain shareholder approval for certain dilutive events, such as the establishment or amendment of certain equity-based compensation plans, an issuance that will result in a change of control of the company, certain transactions other than a public offering involving issuances of a 20% or greater interest in the company, and certain acquisitions of the stock or assets of another company. Following our home country governance practices as opposed to the requirements that would otherwise apply to a United States company listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market may provide our shareholders with less protection than they would have as shareholders of a domestic U.S. company.

Our status as a foreign private issuer is subject to an annual review and test, and will be tested again as of June 30, 2021 (the last business day of our second fiscal quarter of 2021). If we lose our status as a foreign private issuer, we will no longer be exempt from such rules. Among other things, beginning on January 1, 2022, we would be required to file periodic reports and financial statements on a periodic basis (including both an annual report in respect of 2021 and quarterly reports in respect of each of the quarters of 2022) as if we were a company incorporated in the U.S., which, among other things, would result in increased compliance and reporting costs to us.

If we are classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, our U.S. shareholders may suffer adverse tax consequences.

Generally, if for any taxable year, after applying certain look-through rules, 75% or more of our gross income is passive income, or at least 50% of the value of our assets are held for the production of, or produce, passive income, we may be characterized as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Passive income for this purpose generally includes, among other things, certain dividends, interest, royalties, rents and gains from commodities and securities transactions and from the sale or exchange of property that gives rise to passive income. If we are a PFIC, gain realized by a U.S. shareholder on the sale of our ordinary shares may be taxed as ordinary income (rather than as capital gain income), and an interest charge added to the tax. Rules similar to those applicable to the taxation of gains realized on the disposition of our stock would apply to distributions exceeding certain thresholds.

Although we do not believe that we were a PFIC in 2021, we cannot assure you that the IRS will agree with that conclusion or that we will not become a PFIC in 2022 or in a subsequent year. The tests for determining PFIC status are applied annually, and it is difficult to make accurate predictions of our future income and the future value of our assets. U.S. shareholders should consult with their own U.S. tax advisors with respect to the U.S. tax consequences of investing in our ordinary shares. For a discussion of how we might be characterized as a PFIC and related tax consequences, please see Item 10.E, “Additional Information—Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Tax Consequences if We Are a Passive Foreign Investment Company”.

ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY.

A. History and Development of the Company

In 2021, 2020 and 2019, our capital expenditures amounted to $26.8 million, $29.0 million and $25.2 million, respectively, of which $25.0 million, $26.9 million and $22.5 million, respectively, was principally related to the purchase and construction of property, plant and equipment.

During 2021 and 2020, our principal property and equipment investment was the construction of our new facility, which we own, at our new property in Rehovot, Israel, where we moved our Israeli headquarters during January 2017. This new facility, towards which we paid $11.1 million and $19.8 million during 2021 and 2020, respectively, also houses research and development facilities. As of December 31, 2021, we had invested an aggregate of $118.9 million in our new facility in Israel and its related equipment.

During 2021, we made other purchases of property and equipment, mainly for the enhancement of our manufacturing capabilities to support new solution offerings, primarily for our facilities in Israel and the United States.

B. Business overview

We now offer a broader range of systems, consumables and services for additive manufacturing. Our wide range of solutions, based on our proprietary 3D printing technologies and materials, enhances the ability of designers, engineers and manufacturers to:

•

visualize and communicate product ideas and designs;

•

verify the form, fit and function of prototypes;

•

manufacture tools, jigs, fixtures, casts and injection molds used in the process of manufacturing end-products;

•

manufacture customized and short-to-medium-run end-products more efficiently, with greater agility, and more sustainably; and

•

produce objects that could not otherwise be manufactured through subtractive manufacturing methodologies.

Industry overview

Historically, prototype development and customized manufacturing have been performed by traditional methods using metal extrusion, computer-controlled machining, and manual modeling techniques, in which blocks of material are carved or milled into specific objects. These subtractive manufacturing methodologies have numerous limitations. They often require heavy involvement of specialist technicians and can be time- and labor-intensive, and traditional molds for injection molding are expensive. The time intensity of traditional modeling can leave little room for design error or subsequent redesign without meaningfully impacting a product’s time-to-market and development cost. As a result, prototypes have traditionally been created only at selected milestones late in the design process, which prevents designers from truly visualizing and verifying the design and geometry of an object in the preliminary design stage. The inability to iterate a design rapidly hinders collaboration among design team members and other stakeholders and reduces the ability to optimize a design, as time-to-market and optimization become necessary trade-offs in the design process.

Desktop 3D printer usage has shown rapid growth in recent years, with the introduction and adoption of affordable entry-level 3D printers and increased availability and content. These entry-level desktop printers have increased market adoption by professional designers and education institutions. We expect that the adoption of 3D printing will continue to increase in the future, in terms of design applications and more importantly manufacturing applications. We believe that the expansion of the market will be spurred by increased proliferation of 3D content and 3D authoring tools (3D computer-aided-design, or CAD, and other simplified 3D authoring tools), as well as increased availability of 3D scanners. We also believe that increased adoption of 3D printing will be facilitated by continued improvements in 3D printing technology and greater affordability of entry-level systems. We are active in facilitating the growth of the 3D printing market by bringing intuitive, design-to-3D print solutions to the market. We also believe that the increasing adoption of 3D printing in manufacturing processes serves as an important source of growth in the 3D printing industry.

Stratasys solutions

Range of solutions

Our solutions offerings are characterized by the following distinguishing qualities:

• material properties of printed objects, such as heat resistance, toughness, brittleness, elongation-to-break, color and flexibility;

• quality of printed objects measured by, among other things, resolution, accuracy and surface quality;

• consistency of produced parts in a run or batch;

• multiple production-grade modeling materials;

• reliability of printing systems;

• fast time to part;

• efficiency of operations with software workflows;

• customer service; 

•

ease of use; and

•

automatic, hands-free support removal and minimal post processing.

Range of technologies and differentiating factors

We believe this technology is differentiated by factors making it appropriate for 3D printing and additive manufacturing, including:

•

ability to use FDM^® systems in an office environment due to the absence of hazardous emissions;

•

low post-production processing requirements;

•

minimal material waste;

•

build repeatability;

•

ease of use, with minimal system set-up requirements;

•

absence of costly replacement lasers and laser parts; and

•

a high degree of precision and reliability.

Our competitive strengths

We believe that the following are our key competitive strengths:

•

Differentiated product offerings with superior model quality. Our portfolio of 3D printing systems is differentiated through a combination of superior printing qualities, accuracy, print speed, the ability to print a range of materials with varying levels of strength, chemical and heat resistance, color and mechanical properties, the ability to print multiple materials simultaneously and suitability for office environments. Our offering spans the entire spectrum from entry-level desktop printers to high-end solutions for complex manufacturing operations.

• Our PolyJet inkjet-based systems are used in multiple prototyping solutions as well as in manufacturing applications, particularly in higher growth industries such as healthcare and dental.  The systems jet ultra-thin layers of material, enabling voxel level control of the deposited materials, part realism (multi materials and colors), high accuracy and resolution and smooth finish to printed models. For use with these various types of systems we offer a wide variety of office-friendly resin consumables, including rigid, flexible (rubber-like), transparent and color materials.  This unique quality printing system utilizes the simultaneous jetting of up to six materials to enable end-users to print models, in virtually unlimited combinations, in a single build.

• Our industrial stereolithography RPS’ Neo line of systems/printers feature dynamic and variable laser beam technology that enables build accuracy, feature detail, excellent side wall quality and low variability across the full extent of a large build platform. As open resin systems, the Neo products provide customers a choice of materials that deliver a wide range of properties such as chemical resistance, heat tolerance, flexibility durability and optical clarity.

• Our powder bed fusion (PBF) SAF-based systems, which launched at the end of 2021, expand our total addressable market across multiple segments, including commercial goods (frequent demand for short and medium run production), automotive (production parts at competitive speeds), consumer goods (pre-production parts, short runs, and specialty production), and service bureaus (an excellent high-utilization environment for a wide variety of components.

• Our P³-based systems, which we added to our solutions portfolio via the acquisition of Origin, offer a best-in-class combination of detail, mechanical properties and throughput for mass manufacturing production parts.  This addition allows us to expand our leadership through innovation in the fast-growing mass production parts segment in industries such as dental, medical, tooling, and select industrial, defense, and consumer good segments. The P³ technology is an advancement on DPL principles ,whereby liquid photopolymer resin is cured with light.  Our Origin One offering precisely controls light, heat, and force, among other parameters, via Origin's closed-loop feedback software. This new technology enables customers to build parts with industry-leading accuracy, consistency, size and detail, while using a wide range of commercial-grade, durable resins.
  

• Our FDM-based systems enable the highly precise printing of engineering and high-performance thermoplastic materials, enabling a wide range of manufacturing applications with little or no post-production processing.

•

Integrated solutions offering/ecosystem. We believe our customers are looking for primary partner for polymer additive manufacturing, which we believe we are uniquely able to provide. We provide integrated solutions offering that include compatible products and services that are designed to meet the full gamut of our clients’ needs in an efficient manner, consisting of a broad range of systems, consumables, software and services, including:

•

3D printers;

•

materials;

•

GrabCAD Print software;

•

professional services;

•

parts on demand;

•

vertical applications;

•

partnerships and alliances; and

•

enhanced collaboration among industry professionals, via our GrabCAD Community, which provides engineers and designers a resource for CAD models and helps them communicate ideas and share designs.

•

Proprietary technology platforms with multidisciplinary technological expertise. We believe that our proprietary 3D FDM and 3D inkjet-based PolyJet printing engines offer end users the versatility and differentiated features necessary for a wide variety of current and potential applications. We combine our proprietary hardware platforms, featuring widely-deployed inkjet printer heads or easy-to-use extrusion heads with integrated software and a wide range of proprietary materials to develop and produce leading 3D printing systems.

•

Leading Direct Manufacturing Business. Our Stratasys Direct Manufacturing service business is one of the largest and leading AM parts service providers globally. This unit’s knowledge of and experience in AM, including materials and systems know-how, and AM end-use parts production is expected to enhance our DDM offering suite. This unit offers a wide array of underlying printing technologies and materials. Furthermore, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing enables us to offer a broader solution to our customers, catering to more of their 3D printing needs, whether by supply of 3D printers or of 3D printed parts. We believe this offering creates better customer intimacy and a competitive advantage for Stratasys.

• Diverse, global customer base. We have a broad customer base, ranging from global market leading brands to small businesses and professionals and individuals. Our end-users include companies across a wide range of industries and applications, including automotive, aerospace, architecture, consumer products, educational institutions, defense, medical analysis, medical systems, electronics, and heavy equipment.

•

Synergies between SDM and 3D printer sales businesses. Our Stratasys Direct Manufacturing’s AM parts service business has been capitalizing on the synergies between it and our 3D printer sales business. As a result of organizational changes we made in 2018, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing is now directly under our North American sales organization and benefits from access to some of the largest customers for our 3D printing systems, who have been increasingly relying upon Stratasys Direct Manufacturing for production parts and development needs. This has also favorably shifted the mix of production parts sold by Stratasys Direct Manufacturing towards more profitable additive manufacturing parts in place of conventional parts.  

•

Large and growing installed base. Our differentiated offerings have led to a large and growing installed base. The significant installed base has resulted in greater distribution reach and enhanced opportunities for cross selling, given the significantly broadened and complementary product offerings. It furthermore presents us with an opportunity to generate recurring revenues from sales of consumables and services to the installed base.

•

Leading position in desktop 3D printing. Our MakerBot performance and desktop categories of 3D printers provide accessible desktop 3D printers and materials and leading content creation and sharing solutions. We believe the desktop 3D printing category is poised for future growth driven by the broader adoption of 3D printing and an increase the in number of applications where 3D printing is used. We believe our installed base, brand awareness and portfolio of solutions in this category positions us to capitalize on the continued growth of this category.

•

Extensive global reach. With over 200 channel partners around the world, we are well positioned to leverage the extensive geographic reach of our marketing, sales and support organization to serve customers and grow awareness of 3D printing for prototyping, design and manufacturing. This level of service and support is becoming an especially critical differentiator as our customers adopt 3D printing for more operationally critical manufacturing applications. In addition, through our MakerBot subsidiary we deploy an online sales channel.

•

Increased accessibility and ease of use for customers. Our GrabCAD Additive Manufacturing software platform enables designers, engineers, and machine operators to easily manage our 3D printing systems at scale. GrabCAD Print provides native CAD job programming along with traditional 3D file formats (STL, VRML) reducing time and errors in job planning and resulting in high quality printed parts. Additionally, our advanced scheduling, remote monitoring and analytics provide visibility to managers and operators across our technologies. GrabCAD Shop provides work order management for organizations that have dedicated operators providing centralized, 3D Printing services to engineers and designers. GrabCAD SDK provides two-way integration for a variety of third party software applications, dramatically extending the value of our platform GrabCAD Community is the online community of over 6 million professional engineers, designers, manufacturers and students who share best practices via tutorials, discussion forums, design/print challenges and 3D content.

Our growth strategy

•

Having the broadest technology offering in the sector. We offer five best-in-class technologies for every step in the product lifecycle – from concept through manufacturing. We believe that the proliferation of 3D content, advancements in AM technology platforms and the introduction of improved materials will continue to drive growth in 3D printing.  We expect to see that growth result in a major shift towards more manufacturing application solutions as compared to primarily focusing on design and prototyping.  We will continue to invest in the identification of new applications (especially manufacturing applications) for which our proprietary printing technologies, software and materials are appropriate. This approach has resulted in the broadest offering of Polymer 3D printing solutions in our industry, serving an unequalled array of end markets.

•

Possessing an unmatched Go-to-Market infrastructure. We believe our network of over 200 channel partners is the largest and most experienced in the industry. This is a competitive advantage that we believe is not easily or inexpensively replicated. Our goal is to reach new customers and increase sales to existing customers by leveraging that network and providing access to new solutions that address customers’ specific needs. These solutions include those offered by our Stratasys Direct Manufacturing service. As part of this strategy, we intend to grow awareness of 3D printing solutions for prototyping and manufacturing and to develop industry-specific sales channels as part of our effort to commercialize a broader range of new manufacturing and production applications.

•

Possessing deep application engineering experience. Our people have the deepest application engineering expertise in the industry, which allows us to educate customers and drive future innovation.  We have in place today an offering of solutions that includes the complete gamut of compatible systems, consumables, software and services (parts on-demand, professional and expert consulting services) that are designed to meet our clients’ needs in an integrated, complete manner. We will seek to extend our technological capabilities by addressing manufacturing applications and continuing to invest in our R&D efforts, which focus on enhancing our 3D PolyJet and FDM printing technologies as well as developing new innovative solutions for 3D printing and exploring inorganic opportunities for new printing technologies. We believe that by enhancing our AM technological capabilities and by developing and introducing new materials for our 3D printing and production systems, we will be able to increase both the size of, and our share of, the 3D printing marketplace.

•

Having a resilient business model designed to scale as opportunities present themselves. Our corporate and Go-to-Market infrastructures are positioned to effectively absorb,  scale and create operating leverage for key opportunities that can complement and grow our leading position in polymers  as they arise, all while providing operating leverage to the company.  We are also positioned to weather unexpected downturns like the one we have seen from the pandemic, and to scale up during times of growth, capturing market share and increasing revenues, margins, and earnings. We are not dependent on any one client or end market, as evidenced by our not having any one customer represent greater than 10% of our revenues.

•

Having a growing software partner ecosystem. We offer Industry 4.0-ready systems that include API integration to leading manufacturing software solutions. This network of software partners means our customers get more value from their investment in Stratasys, making it easier to add more systems and use them more intensively. It also helps us to enhance our own technological offerings while at the same time receive real-time feedback on those offerings. For example, our GrabCAD Community, which fosters collaboration among engineers and designers and helps them to communicate ideas and share designs, enhances the likelihood that we can draw from these new collaborations and enhance awareness, and, as a result, generate sales of our integrated solutions.

Products and services

Our products

We offer a dedicated suite of products for applications such as rapid prototyping (RP), tooling, and manufacturing parts. Our products include 3D printing systems, consumable materials, software and services.

Collectively, this portfolio of products offers a broad range of performance options for our customers, depending on their application, the nature and size of the designs, prototypes, and/or final parts desired. Our products are available at a variety of different price points and include entry-level desktop 3D printers, a range of systems for RP, and large production systems for additive manufacturing. We also offer a range of 3D printing materials (as described under “Consumable materials” below). The performance of our different systems varies in terms of capabilities, which are related to the following features:

•

print speed;

•

resolution;

•

materials;

•

resin cartridge capacity / filament spool size;

•

maximum model (or tray) size;

•

repeatability; and

•

duty cycle, or the number of parts that a printer can produce over a given period of time without requiring maintenance.

Printing systems

We offer a series of printing systems suitable for RP, from design validation, visualization and communication to form, fit and functional performance testing. These systems are targeted at work groups and provide customers with a broad range of features such as printing capacity, production speed and price.

Our 3D printing systems, which are based on our proprietary FDM, PolyJet and stereolithography technologies, are described below:

PolyJet printers

Our PolyJet technology-based, high-end printing systems offer the ability to print eight multiple materials including color printing in a single part build. The Stratasys J8 Series printers break restrictive technology barriers, enabling customers to print more than 500,000 different color shades and textures, including Pantone® Validated colors, and multiple material properties— ranging from rigid to flexible, and opaque to transparent. They also 3D prints concept models twice as fast as our previous generation printers, supported by a low-cost DraftGrey material.

The F123 Series printers enable end-to-end rapid prototyping for every stage of the prototyping process, as well as preparation of jigs and fixtures. The prototypes that can be created include: rapid, economically effective concept verification models in PLA material and fast-draft mode and advanced design validation prototypes using a 0.005-inch slice resolution and soluble support for unmatched precision, repeatability and aesthetics. The F123 Series product line allows users to create parts in PLA, ABS plus, ASA, TPU, ABS-ESD, Diran and PC-ABS materials. These materials can produce parts with the strength required for true form, fit and functional testing. The F123 Series printers are designed to enable ease of use and maintenance while offering an easy-to-use yet rich user experience with GrabCAD Print software. In 2020 we added a large format 3D printer to the family, the F770. This 3D printer provide a meter-long build platform and 13 cubic-foot build volume for large prototypes, tools and end use parts with the same easy-to-use interface of the other members of the F123 family.

Stereolithography printers

Key vertical target markets for printing systems

To further strengthen our leadership position and following our strategy to deepen the focus on additive manufacturing, tooling and rapid prototyping for specific vertical markets, we have announced a variety of technology and go-to-market partnerships for various key vertical markets, such as automotive, aerospace, consumer products and healthcare.

Consumable materials

The materials we sell are described below:

FDM materials

The modeling and support filament used in the FDM-based 3D printers and production systems features a wide variety of production grade thermoplastic materials. We continue to develop filament modeling materials that meet our customers’ needs for increased speed, strength, accuracy, surface resolution, chemical and heat resistance, color, and mechanical properties. These materials are processed into our proprietary filament form, which is then utilized by our FDM systems. Our spool-based system has proven to be a significant advantage for our products, because it allows the user to quickly change material by simply mounting the lightweight spool and feeding the desired filament into the office-friendly FDM devices. Currently, we have a variety of build materials in multiple colors commercially available for use with our FDM technology.

Each material has specific characteristics that make it appropriate for various applications. The ability to use different materials allows the user to match the material to the end use application, whether it is a pattern for tooling, a concept model, a functional prototype, a manufacturing tool, or a DDM end use part.

Our FDM printing materials are also environmentally friendly, as the packaging in which they are sold is returned to us for reuse after the contents are consumed.

PolyJet materials

We have invested significant research and development efforts in optimizing our PolyJet materials for use with inkjet technology. These efforts are reflected in the properties of these materials, which enable them to be packaged, stored, combined and readily cured upon printing. Our PolyJet materials are packaged in cartridges for safe handling and are suitable for use in office environments. The polymerized materials can also be machined, drilled, chrome-plated or painted in most cases.

Stereolithography materials

Software

GrabCAD Print natively reads commonly used 3D CAD file formats as well as traditional STL and VRML files, transforming them into the appropriate code to operate our 3D printing systems. Our software provides a robust range of features, including structural toolpath and infill controls, color and appearance management, multi-material management, automatic support generation, part scaling, positioning and nesting, as well as geometric editing capabilities.

Our scheduling software includes capabilities to manage the operations of one or more printers including tray packing and optimization, job estimation, system availability, scheduling and monitoring via desktop, web or mobile devices. Additionally, analytics information is available in the form of standard utilization, material usage and job history reports enabling managers and operators to maximize the use of our 3D printing systems.

GrabCAD Shop simplifies the 3D Printing Shop workflow by substantially improving the way teams manage and collaborate on prototyping work orders. Engineers, designers and shop operators minimize time-to-part by sharing a common work space to simplify print work order management, communicating requirements accurately and focusing on delivering quality prints on time.

Our software is available in 9 languages to promote usage in the regions worldwide in which we operate.

Online Community

Thingiverse.com

      Thingiverse is our online community for sharing downloadable, digital 3D designs. The Thingiverse platform enables users to share and customize their digital designs. We believe that Thingiverse is the largest repository of free 3D printable content available to consumers. Thingiverse includes approximately four million public designs available for downloading.

GrabCAD Community

We operate the GrabCAD Community for mechanical engineers, designers, manufacturers and students where members can share best practices via tutorials, discussion forums, and design/print challenges. They can also upload and download free CAD models and access our GrabCAD Print and Workbench software. This community had more than 8 million members and over 5.1 million CAD files available for free download as of the end of 2021.

Our services

Support services and warranty

Customer support

Our customer support department provides on-site system installation, operator training, a full range of maintenance and repair services and remote technical support to users of our products. We provide support to our customers directly and through our resellers, ensuring that support and parts may be readily obtained worldwide. We also offer advanced training to our customers and preventive maintenance, particularly on our high-performance systems. Our support network consists of the following:

•

Stratasys-certified engineers who provide worldwide, on-site installation, training and support;

•

direct support engineers through our company;

•

indirect support engineers through certified partners, including third-party service organizations or selected resellers who provide support for our systems;

•

phone and direct on-site company support in eight languages, and resellers indirect support in local languages;

•

service logistics in key regional centers;

•

training facilities and resources in regional centers;

•

customer-relationship management (CRM) system and learning management system (LMS) to ensure high-quality support for our customers and resellers, including secure remote access to a customer service database containing service history and technical documentation to aid in troubleshooting and repairing systems;

•

support, tools and up-to-date information to our direct customer and distribution channels from our product support engineering team;

•

full range of commercial service programs to support the high utilization of our 3D printers and our customers’ unique needs; and

•

an e-commerce platform allowing for smooth and fast purchasing of our 3D printing materials.

Our goal is to ensure maximum uptime and productivity for our AM systems. In order to do so, we regularly update the technical documentation related to our systems, offer extensive training courses for operators and promote proactive knowledge sharing designed to help users maximize the value of their equipment and to expand the applications for which they employ our 3D printing and production systems.

We offer services on a time and materials basis, as well as a full range of post-warranty maintenance contracts with varying levels of support and pricing, as described below under “Extended support programs.” Customer support is represented on cross-functional product development teams within our company to ensure that products are designed for serviceability and to provide our internal design and engineering departments with feedback on field issues. Failure analysis, corrective action, and continuation engineering efforts are driven by data collected in the field. Ongoing customer support initiatives include the development of advanced diagnostic and troubleshooting techniques and comprehensive preventative maintenance programs, an expanded training and certification program for Stratasys and Stratasys partners’ technical personnel, and improved communication between the field and the factory.

Basic warranty

Our printing systems are sold with warranties that range from 90 days to, typically, one year from installation, depending upon the product line and geographic location. Warranties are typically accompanied by on-site maintenance support. Receipt of maintenance and repair services after the warranty period is subject to the terms of our extended support programs, to the extent purchased by the end-user, as described below.

Extended support programs

Recognizing that our end-users have varying support needs, we offer a range of support programs that enable our end-users to continue to receive maintenance services beyond the initial warranty period. These support programs contain varying degrees of the support services described above and are priced accordingly.

Leasing and other services

We have arrangements, in certain countries, in which third-party financial institutions independently provide lease financing directly to our customers, on a non-recourse basis to the Company. In these arrangements, we sell and transfer title of the equipment to these financial institutions. Generally, we have no continuing ownership rights in the equipment subsequent to its sale. In addition, we provide pay-per-usage subscription services for our 3D printers and 3D production systems via partners in our global manufacturing network. The revenues generated from such program were insignificant.

We also offer a ‘Try and Buy’ program, which provides businesses the ability to try out a 3D printer prior to deciding whether or not it’s the right fit for their company. The potential purchasers of a 3D printer receive customer support from our company during the trial period.

Stratasys Direct Manufacturing paid-parts service

Customers

Marketing, sales and distribution

Marketing

Our marketing strategies are focused on increasing awareness and thought leadership for our product and solution areas, strengthening our leadership brand position in the market, and in key vertical industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical, dental, education and consumer goods, accelerating and supporting sales growth, and increasing customer loyalty and customer lifetime value. We initiate thought-leadership, public and industry analyst relations and product launch programs as well as integrated campaigns targeted to extend and deepen the relationship with our existing customers and win new customers, driving demand and lead generation throughout our strategic markets in which we and our resellers and agents operate.

We measure and analyze the success of various marketing initiatives and strive to identify current and future customer needs. Based on our analysis, we create and update our product roadmaps and individual marketing plans to help optimize distribution while helping ensure a smooth process of release, ramp-up and sales of our products.

Sales distribution methods

In addition to our direct and indirect seller network, we also offer our MakerBot Replicator and Method series and related consumables and services through our online and retail channels.

Geographical structure of sales organization

The primary sales organization for our 3D printers and production systems including related consumables, materials and services is divided into groups based on the following geographical regions: Americas; Europe and Middle East; and Asia Pacific. This structure allows us to align our sales and marketing resources with our diverse customer base. Our sales organization in each region provides sales support to the network of independent reseller and sales agent locations throughout the particular region. We also operate sales and service centers in various locations throughout North America and internationally, including: Baden-Baden, Germany; Shanghai, China; and Tokyo, Japan.

Manufacturing and suppliers

Manufacturing

Our filament production have used Factory Physics^® techniques to manage critical buffers of time, capacity and inventory to ensure product availability. We also use the “5S” method (Sort, Set-in-order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain) and a continuous improvement system as part of our lean manufacturing initiatives to improve organization and efficiency.

Inventory and suppliers

We maintain an inventory of parts to facilitate the timely assembly of products required by our production plan. While most components are available from multiple suppliers, certain components used in our systems and consumables are only available from single or limited sources. In particular, the printer heads for our PolyJet 3D printing systems are supplied by a sole supplier, Ricoh. We consider our single and limited-source suppliers (including Ricoh) to be reliable, but the loss of one of these suppliers could result in the delay of the manufacture and delivery of the relevant components (and, ultimately, of our products). This type of delay could require us to find and re-qualify the component supplied by one or more new vendors. Although we consider our relationships with our suppliers to be good, we continue to develop risk management plans for these critical suppliers. In order to hedge against the risk of a discontinuation of the supply of our inkjet printer heads in particular, we maintain a reasonable supply of excess inventory of printer heads.

Ricoh Agreement

We purchase the printer heads for our inkjet 3D printing systems from Ricoh pursuant to an OEM Purchase and License Agreement with Ricoh, or the Ricoh Agreement.

Under the Ricoh Agreement, we place orders for print heads and associated electronic components, or the Ricoh Products. Together with provision of these items, Ricoh provides us with a non-transferable, non-exclusive right to assemble, use and sell the Ricoh Products under Ricoh’s patent rights and trade secrets.

Pricing under the Ricoh Agreement depends on the quantity of Ricoh Products that we purchase during any given month, and to the extent that we commit to a certain annual minimum prior to an upcoming year, we receive a set, discounted price for all Ricoh Products ordered during that upcoming year.

The Ricoh Agreement ran for an initial term of five years (which we renewed in September 2016) and automatically renews for additional one-year periods thereafter unless either party provides the other six months’ advance written notice of termination prior to the end of the then-current term. The Ricoh Agreement may be cancelled by either party if (i) the other party substantially breaches any material provision of the agreement and has not cured such breach within 30 days of receipt of written notice thereof, or (ii) upon the occurrence of certain bankruptcy events, and may furthermore be cancelled by Ricoh if we fail to cure a breach of an undisputed payment obligation within thirty (30) days of the breach.

At any time during the term of the Ricoh Agreement, Ricoh may discontinue the manufacture and supply of a print head model, so long as it provides us with at least eighteen (18) months’ prior written notice of such discontinuance and honors all of our purchase orders for the subject print head model within the notice period. During the period of five years from the earlier of either the termination of the Ricoh Agreement or the date of discontinuance of the manufacture of Ricoh Products (that is, following the 18-month notice period described in the previous sentence), we are entitled to purchase additional Ricoh Products for the sole purpose of providing replacements for the installed base of Ricoh Products, including one final purchase order that we may place in the final year of such five-year period and that must be filled by Ricoh within twelve months of when it is placed.

The Ricoh Agreement may not be assigned by either party without the other party’s prior written consent, which may not be unreasonably withheld.

Research and development

We maintain an ongoing program of research and development, or R&D, to develop new systems and materials and to enhance our existing product lines, as well as to improve and expand the capabilities of our systems and related software and materials. This includes significant technology platform developments for our FDM,  PolyJet, P³, SAF and SL technologies, our AM systems, including our integrated software, and our family of proprietary acrylic-based photopolymer materials for PolyJet printing, and our family of proprietary thermoplastic materials for FDM printing. Our research aims to develop both incremental and disruptive improvements, as well as more affordable products. Our engineering development efforts also focus on customer requested enhancements, and development of new modeling processes, software and user applications. In particular, we have devoted significant time and resources to the development of a universally compatible and user-friendly software system.

Our R&D department is divided into groups based on scientific disciplines and product lines. We continue to standardize our product platforms, leveraging each new design so that it will result in multiple product offerings that are developed faster and at reduced expense.

Intellectual property

We are also a party to various licenses and other arrangements that allow us to practice and improve our technology under a broad range of patents, patent applications and other intellectual property, including a cross-license agreement with 3D Systems Corporation under which each party licensed certain patents of the other party, an assignment of rights to us related to UV polymer-based U.S. patents, which underlie certain technologies that compete with ours, and a patent license agreement with Cornell University providing access to certain tool changer patents.

We believe that, while our patents provide us with a competitive advantage, our success depends on our marketing, business development, applications know-how and ongoing research and development efforts, in addition to our rights under granted and pending patents. Accordingly, we believe that the expiration of any single patent, or the failure of any of single patent application to result in an issued patent, would not be material to our business or financial position. In any event, there can be no assurance that our patents or other intellectual property rights will afford us a meaningful competitive advantage. Please see the risk factor related to the expiration of our patents in “Item 3.D Risk Factors—Risks related to our intellectual property.”

Competition

These technologies, which compete for additive manufacturing users, possess various competitive advantages and disadvantages relative to one another within the key categories upon which competition centers, including resolution, accuracy, surface quality, variety and properties of the materials they use and produce, capacity, speed, color, transparency, the ability to print multiple materials and others. Due to these multiple categories, end-users usually make purchasing decisions as to which technology to choose based on the characteristics that they value most. This decision is often application specific. The competitive environment that has developed is therefore intense and dynamic, as players often position their technologies to capture demand in various verticals simultaneously.

For our desktop systems and materials, we face competition from a variety of sources, including companies using material extrusion and vat polymerization systems, such as Markforged, Ultimaker, XYZ Printing and Formlabs. The competing offerings in the lower-end categories vary based on cost, printer and part quality, support materials, speed, ease of use, software ecosystem and reliability.

We are positioned to compete in our industry mainly on the following bases, which we view as competitive strengths:

•

material properties of printed objects, such as heat resistance, toughness, brittleness, elongation-to-break, color and flexibility;

•

quality of printed objects measured by, among other things, resolution, accuracy and surface quality;

•

multiple production-grade modeling materials;

•

our offering of the best multi-color, multi-material 3D printing systems in the market;

•

reliability and repeatability of our printing systems;  

•

ease of use, including of one-step automated modeling process.

•

automatic, hands-free support removal;

•

high level of customer service; and

•

deep application domain know-how and expert services, including among our channel network.

We offer a wide range of systems with varying features, capacities and price points. We believe that this enables us to compete with the other additive manufacturing technologies for a wide range of customers with a variety of applications and goals for their additive manufacturing.

We also compete with companies that use traditional prototype development and customized manufacturing technologies, and expect future competition to arise from the development of new technologies or techniques.

Seasonality

Historically, our results of operations have been subject to seasonal factors. Stronger demand for our products has historically occurred in our fourth quarter primarily due to our customers’ capital expenditure budget cycles and our sales compensation incentive programs. Our first and third quarters have historically been our weakest quarters for overall unit demand. The first quarter is typically a slow quarter for capital expenditures in general. The third quarter is typically when we see our largest volume of educational related sales, which normally qualify for special discounts as part of our long-term penetration strategy.

We furthermore experience seasonality within individual fiscal quarters, as a substantial percentage of our system sales often occur within the last month of each fiscal quarter. This trend has the potential to expose our quarterly or annual operating results to the risk of unexpected, decreased revenues in the case of our inability to build systems, consummate sales and recognize the accompanying revenues prior to the end of a given quarter.

Global operations

Employees

Government regulation

We are subject to various local, state and federal laws, regulations and agencies that affect businesses generally. These include:

•

regulations promulgated by federal and state environmental and health agencies;

•

foreign environmental regulations, as described under “Environmental, Social and Governance Matters” immediately below;

•

the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration;

•

the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act;

•

laws pertaining to the hiring, treatment, safety and discharge of employees;

•

export control regulations for U.S. made products;

•

CE regulations for the European market.

Israeli Tax Considerations and Government Programs

Tax regulations also have a material impact on our business, particularly in Israel where we are organized and have one of our headquarters. The following is a summary of certain aspects of the current tax structure applicable to companies in Israel, with special reference to its effect on us (and our operations, in particular). The following also contains a discussion of the Israeli government programs benefiting us. To the extent that the discussion is based on new tax legislation that has not been subject to judicial or administrative interpretation, we cannot assure you that the tax authorities or the courts will accept the views expressed in this discussion. This discussion does not address all of the Israeli tax provisions that may be relevant to our Company. For a discussion of the Israeli tax consequences related to ownership of our capital stock, please see “Israeli Taxation Considerations” in Item 10.E below.

General Corporate Tax Structure in Israel

Generally, Israeli companies are subject to corporate tax on their taxable income. Since 2018, the corporate tax rate has been 23%. However, the effective tax rate payable by a company that derives income from an “Approved Enterprise”, a “Beneficiary Enterprise” or a “Preferred Enterprise”, a “Special Preferred Enterprise”, a “Preferred Technology Enterprise” or “Special Preferred Technology Enterprise” as further discussed below, may be considerably lower. See “Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments” in this Item below. Capital gains derived by an Israeli company are generally subject to the prevailing regular corporate tax rate.

Besides being subject to the general corporate tax rules in Israel, we have also, from time to time, applied for and received certain grants and tax benefits from, and participate in, programs sponsored by the Government of Israel, described below.

Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments

The Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 5719-1959, to which we refer as the Investment Law, provides certain incentives for capital investments in a production facility (or other eligible assets). Generally, an investment program that is implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law, which may be either an “Approved Enterprise”, a “Beneficiary Enterprise” or a “Preferred Enterprise”, a “Special Preferred Enterprise”, a “Preferred Technology Enterprise” or “Special Preferred Technology Enterprise”, is entitled to benefits as discussed below. These benefits may include cash grants from the Israeli government and tax benefits, based upon, among other things, the location within Israel of the facility in which the investment and manufacture activity are made. In order to qualify for these incentives, an Approved Enterprise, a Beneficiary Enterprise or, a Preferred Enterprise, a Special Preferred Enterprise, a Preferred Technology Enterprise or Special Preferred Technology Enterprise, is required to comply with the requirements of the Investment Law.

The Investment Law has been amended several times over the recent years, with the three most significant changes effective as of April 1, 2005, to which we refer as the 2005 Amendment, as of January 1, 2011, to which we refer as the 2011 Amendment, and as of January 1, 2017, to which we refer as the 2017 Amendment. Pursuant to the 2005 Amendment, tax benefits granted in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law prior to its revision by the 2005 Amendment, remain in force, but any benefits granted subsequently are subject to the provisions of the amended Investment Law. Similarly, the 2011 Amendment introduced new benefits instead of the benefits granted in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law prior to the 2011 Amendment, yet companies entitled to benefits under the Investment Law as in effect up to January 1, 2011, were entitled to choose to continue to enjoy such benefits, provided that certain conditions are met, or elect instead, irrevocably, to forego such benefits and elect for the benefits of the 2011 Amendment. The 2017 Amendment introduces new benefits for Technological Enterprises, alongside the existing tax benefits.

The following discussion is a summary of the Investment Law prior to its amendments as well as the relevant changes contained in the new legislations.

Tax benefits for Approved Enterprises approved before April 1, 2005.

Under the Investment Law prior to the 2005 Amendment, a company that wished to receive benefits on its investment program that is implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law, to which we refer as an “Approved Enterprise”, had to receive an approval from the Israeli Authority for Investments and Development of the Industry and Economy, to which we refer as the Investment Center. Each certificate of approval for an Approved Enterprise relates to a specific investment program in the Approved Enterprise, delineated both by the financial scope of the investment, including sources of funds, and by the physical characteristics of the facility or other assets.

An Approved Enterprise may elect to forego any entitlement to the cash grants otherwise available under the Investment Law and, instead, participate in an alternative benefits program. We have chosen to receive the benefits through the alternative benefits program. Under the alternative benefits program, a company’s undistributed income derived from an Approved Enterprise will be exempt from corporate tax for a period of between two and ten years from the first year of taxable income, depending on the geographic location within Israel of the Approved Enterprise, and a reduced corporate tax rate of between 10% to 25% for the remainder of the benefits period, depending on the level of foreign investment in the company in each year, as detailed below. The benefits commence on the date in which that taxable income is first earned. The benefits period under Approved Enterprise status is limited to 12 years from the year in which the production commenced (as determined by the Investment Center), or 14 years from the year of receipt of the approval as an Approved Enterprise, whichever ends earlier. If a company has more than one Approved Enterprise program or if only a portion of its capital investments are approved, its effective tax rate is the result of a weighted combination of the applicable rates. The tax benefits available under any certificate of approval relate only to taxable income attributable to the specific program and are contingent upon meeting the criteria set out in the certificate of approval. Income derived from activity that is not integral to the activity of the Approved Enterprise will not enjoy tax benefits. Our entitlement to the above benefits is subject to fulfillment of certain conditions, according to the law and related regulations.

A company that has an Approved Enterprise program is eligible for further tax benefits if it qualifies as a Foreign Investors’ Company, to which we refer as an FIC. An FIC eligible for benefits is essentially a company with a level of foreign investment, as defined in the Investment Law, of more than 25%. The level of foreign investment is measured as the percentage of rights in the company (in terms of shares, rights to profits, voting and appointment of directors), and of combined share and loan capital, that are owned, directly or indirectly, by persons who are not residents of Israel. The determination as to whether or not a company qualifies as a FIC is made on an annual basis according to the lowest level of foreign investment during the year. An FIC that has an Approved Enterprise program will be eligible for an extension of the period during which it is entitled to tax benefits under its Approved Enterprise status (so that the benefits period may be up to ten years) and for further tax benefits if the level of foreign investment exceeds 49%. If a company that has an Approved Enterprise program is a wholly owned subsidiary of another company, then the percentage of foreign investments is determined based on the percentage of foreign investment in the parent company.

The corporate tax rates and related levels of foreign investments with respect to an FIC that has an Approved Enterprise program are set forth in the following table:

A company that has elected to participate in the alternative benefits program and that subsequently pays a dividend out of the income derived from the portion of its facilities that have been granted Approved Enterprise status during the tax exemption period will be subject to tax in respect of the amount of dividend distributed (grossed up to reflect such pre-tax income that it would have had to earn in order to distribute the dividend) at the corporate tax rate that would have been otherwise applicable if such income had not been tax-exempted under the alternative benefits program. This rate generally ranges from 10% to 25%, depending on the level of foreign investment in the company in each year, as explained above.

In addition, dividends paid out of income attributed to an Approved Enterprise (or out of dividends received from a company whose income is attributed to an Approved Enterprise) are generally subject to withholding tax at the rate of 15%, or at a lower rate provided under an applicable tax treaty (subject to the receipt in advance of a valid certificate from the Israel Tax Authority allowing for a reduced tax rate). The 15% tax rate is limited to dividends and distributions out of income derived during the benefits period and actually paid at any time up to 12 years thereafter. After this period, the withholding tax is applied at a rate of up to 30%, or at the lower rate under an applicable tax treaty (subject to the receipt in advance of a valid certificate from the Israel Tax Authority allowing for a reduced tax rate). In the case of an FIC, the 12-year limitation on reduced withholding tax on dividends does not apply.

The Investment Law also provides that an Approved Enterprise is entitled to accelerated depreciation on its property and equipment that are included in an approved investment program in the first five years of using the equipment. This benefit is an incentive granted by the Israeli government regardless of whether the alternative benefits program is elected.

The benefits available to an Approved Enterprise are subject to the continued fulfillment of conditions stipulated in the Investment Law and its regulations and the criteria in the specific certificate of approval, as described above. If a company does not meet these conditions, it would be required to refund the amount of tax benefits, adjusted to the Israeli consumer price index and interest, or other monetary penalty.

Tax benefits under the 2005 Amendment that became effective on April 1, 2005.

The 2005 Amendment applies to new investment programs and investment programs commencing after 2004, and does not apply to investment programs approved prior to April 1, 2005. The 2005 Amendment provides that terms and benefits included in any certificate of approval that was granted before the 2005 Amendment became effective (April 1, 2005) will remain subject to the provisions of the Investment Law as in effect on the date of such approval. Pursuant to the 2005 Amendment, the Investment Center will continue to grant Approved Enterprise status to qualifying investments. However, the 2005 Amendment limits the scope of enterprises that may be approved by the Investment Center by setting criteria for the approval of a facility as an Approved Enterprise.

An enterprise that qualifies under the new provisions is referred to as a “Beneficiary Enterprise”, rather than “Approved Enterprise”. The 2005 Amendment provides that the approval of the Investment Center is required only for Approved Enterprises that receive cash grants. As a result, a company is no longer required to obtain the advance approval of the Investment Center in order to receive the tax benefits previously available under the alternative benefits program. Rather, a company may claim the tax benefits offered by the Investment Law directly in its tax returns, provided that its facilities meet the criteria for tax benefits set forth in the 2005 Amendment. A company that has a Beneficiary Enterprise may, at its discretion, approach the Israel Tax Authority for a pre-ruling confirming that it is in compliance with the provisions of the Investment Law.

Tax benefits are available under the 2005 Amendment to production facilities (or other eligible facilities) which are generally required to derive 25% or more of their business income from export to specific markets with a population of at least 14 million in 2012 (such export criteria will further be increased in the future by 1.4% per annum). In order to receive the tax benefits, the 2005 Amendment states that a company must make an investment which meets certain conditions set forth in the amendment for tax benefits and which exceeds a minimum amount specified in the Investment Law. Such investment entitles a company to receive a Beneficiary Enterprise status with respect to the investment and may be made over a period of no more than three years ending in the year in which the company chose to have the tax benefits apply to the Beneficiary Enterprise. The benefits period under the Beneficiary Enterprise status is limited to 12 years from the year the company chose to have its tax benefits apply. Where a company requests to have the tax benefits apply to an expansion of existing facilities, only the expansion will be considered to be a Beneficiary Enterprise and the company’s effective tax rate will be the weighted average of the applicable rates. In such case, the minimum investment required in order to qualify as a Beneficiary Enterprise must exceed a certain percentage of the value of the company’s production assets before the expansion.  

The extent of the tax benefits available under the 2005 Amendment to qualifying income of a Beneficiary Enterprise depends on, among other things, the geographic location within Israel of the Beneficiary Enterprise. Such tax benefits include an exemption from corporate tax on undistributed income for a period of between two to ten years, depending on the geographic location of the Beneficiary Enterprise within Israel, and a reduced corporate tax rate of between 10% to 25% for the remainder of the benefits period, depending on the level of foreign investment in the company in each year, as explained above.

Dividends paid out of income attributed to a Beneficiary Enterprise will be treated similarly to payment of dividends by an Approved Enterprise under the alternative benefits program. Therefore, dividends paid out of income attributed to a Beneficiary Enterprise (or out of dividends received from a company whose income is attributed to a Beneficiary Enterprise) are generally subject to withholding tax at the rate of 15% or such lower rate as may be provided in an applicable tax treaty (subject to the receipt in advance of a valid certificate from the Israel Tax Authority allowing for a reduced tax rate). The reduced rate of 15% is limited to dividends and distributions out of income attributed to a Beneficiary Enterprise during the benefits period and actually paid at any time up to 12 years thereafter except with respect to an FIC, in which case the 12-year limit does not apply.

Furthermore, a company qualifying for tax benefits under the 2005 Amendment, which pays a dividend out of income attributed to its Beneficiary Enterprise during the tax exemption period, will be subject to tax in respect of the amount of the dividend distributed (grossed-up to reflect the pre-tax income that it would have had to earn in order to distribute the dividend) at the corporate tax rate which would have otherwise beeIsrael Tax Authority allowing for a reduced tax rate). However, if such dividends are paid to an Israeli company, no tax is required to be withheld. If such dividends are distributed to a foreign company and other conditions are met, the withholding tax rate will be 4n applicable.

As of December 31, 2021, we had accumulated tax-exempt income of approximately $198.7 million that is attributable to our various Approved and Beneficiary Enterprise programs. If such tax exempt income were to be distributed, it would be taxed at the reduced corporate tax rate applicable to such income, which would have amounted to approximately $19.9 million of tax liability as of December 31, 2021.

The benefits available to a Beneficiary Enterprise are subject to the continued fulfillment of conditions stipulated in the Investment Law and its regulations. If a company does not meet these conditions, it would be required to refund the amount of tax benefits, as adjusted by the Israeli consumer price index and interest, or other monetary penalty.

In 2021, the Company noticed the Israeli tax authorities that it waived the Approved / Beneficiary Enterprise regime starting from tax year 2021

Tax benefits under the 2011 Amendment that became effective on January 1, 2011.

The 2011 Amendment canceled the availability of the benefits granted in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law prior to 2011 and, instead, introduced new benefits for income generated by a “Preferred Company” through its Preferred Enterprise (as such terms are defined in the Investment Law) as of January 1, 2011. A Preferred Company is defined as either (i) a company incorporated in Israel which is not wholly owned by a governmental entity, or (ii) a limited partnership that: (a) was registered under the Israeli Partnerships Ordinance and; (b) all of its limited partners are companies incorporated in Israel, but not all of them are governmental entities; which has, among other things, Preferred Enterprise status and is controlled and managed from Israel. Pursuant to the 2011 Amendment, a Preferred Company was entitled to a reduced corporate tax rate of 15% with respect to its preferred income attributed to its Preferred Enterprise in 2011 and 2012, unless the Preferred Enterprise was located in a certain development zone, in which case the rate was 10%. Such corporate tax rate was reduced to 12.5% and 7%, respectively, in 2013 and was increased to 16% and 9%, respectively, in 2014 until 2016. Pursuant to the 2017 Amendment, in 2017 and thereafter, the corporate tax rate for Preferred Enterprise which is located in a certain development zone was decreased to 7.5%, while the reduced corporate tax rate for other development zones remains 16%. Income derived by a Preferred Company from a ‘Special Preferred Enterprise’ (as such term is defined in the Investment Law) would be entitled, during a benefits period of 10 years, to further reduced tax rates of 8%, or to 5% if the Special Preferred Enterprise is located in a certain development zone. Since January 1, 2017, the definition for “Special Preferred Enterprise” includes less stringent conditions.

Dividends paid out of preferred income attributed to a Preferred Enterprise or to a Special Preferred Enterprise are generally subject to withholding tax at source at the rate of 20% or such lower rate as may be provided in an applicable tax treaty (subject to the receipt in advance of a valid certificate from the Israel Tax Authority allowing for a reduced tax rate). However, if such dividends are paid to an Israeli company, no tax is required to be withheld (although, if such dividends are subsequently distributed to individuals or a non-Israeli company, withholding tax at a rate of 20% or such lower rate as may be provided in an applicable tax treaty will apply). In 2018-2020, dividends paid out of preferred income attributed to a Special Preferred Enterprise, directly to a foreign parent company, were subject to withholding tax at source at the rate of 5% (temporary provisions).

The 2011 Amendment also provided transitional provisions to address companies already enjoying current benefits under the Investment Law. These transitional provisions provide, among other things, that unless an irrevocable request is made to apply the provisions of the Investment Law as amended in 2011 with respect to income to be derived as of January 1, 2011: (i) the terms and benefits included in any certificate of approval that was granted to an Approved Enterprise, which chose to receive grants, before the 2011 Amendment became effective, will remain subject to the provisions of the Investment Law as in effect on the date of such approval, and subject to certain conditions;. (ii) the terms and benefits included in any certificate of approval that was granted to an Approved Enterprise, that had participated in an alternative benefits program, before the 2011 Amendment became effective will remain subject to the provisions of the Investment Law as in effect on the date of such approval, provided that certain conditions are met; and (iii) a Beneficiary Enterprise can elect to continue to benefit from the benefits provided to it before the 2011 Amendment came into effect, provided that certain conditions are met.  

We have examined the possible effect, if any, of these provisions of the 2011 Amendment on our financial statements and have decided, at this time, not to opt to apply the new benefits under the 2011 Amendment.

New Tax benefits under the 2017 Amendment that became effective on January 1, 2017.

The 2017 Amendment was enacted as part of the Economic Efficiency Law that was published on December 29, 2016, and was effective as of January 1, 2017. The 2017 Amendment provides new tax benefits for two types of “Technology Enterprises”, as described below, and is in addition to the other existing tax beneficial programs under the Investment Law.

The 2017 Amendment provides that a technology company satisfying certain conditions will qualify as a “Preferred Technology Enterprise” and will thereby enjoy a reduced corporate tax rate of 12% on income that qualifies as “Preferred Technology Income,” as defined in the Investment Law. The tax rate is further reduced to 7.5% for a Preferred Technology Enterprise located in development zone A. In addition, a Preferred Technology Company will enjoy a reduced corporate tax rate of 12% on capital gain derived from the sale of certain “Benefitted Intangible Assets” (as defined in the Investment Law) to a related foreign company if the Benefitted Intangible Assets were acquired from a foreign company on or after January 1, 2017 for at least NIS 200 million, and the sale receives prior approval from the National Authority for Technological Innovation (previously known as the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist), to which we refer as IIA.

The 2017 Amendment further provides that a technology company satisfying certain conditions will qualify as a “Special Preferred Technology Enterprise” and will thereby enjoy a reduced corporate tax rate of 6% on “Preferred Technology Income” regardless of the company’s geographic location within Israel. In addition, a Special Preferred Technology Enterprise will enjoy a reduced corporate tax rate of 6% on capital gain derived from the sale of certain “Benefitted Intangible Assets” to a related foreign company if the Benefitted Intangible Assets were either developed by the Special Preferred Technology Enterprise or acquired from a foreign company on or after January 1, 2017, and the sale received prior approval from IIA. A Special Preferred Technology Enterprise that acquires Benefitted Intangible Assets from a foreign company for more than NIS 500 million will be eligible for these benefits for at least ten years, subject to certain approvals as specified in the Investment Law.

Dividends distributed by a Preferred Technology Enterprise or a Special Preferred Technology Enterprise, paid out of Preferred Technology Income, are generally subject to withholding tax at source at the rate of 20% or such lower rate as may be provided in an applicable tax treaty (subject to the receipt in advance of a valid certificate from the Israel Tax Authority allowing for a reduced tax rate). However, if such dividends are paid to an Israeli company, no tax is required to be withheld. If such dividends are distributed to a foreign company and other conditions are met, the withholding tax rate will be 4%.

C. Organizational Structure.

Our corporate structure includes Stratasys Ltd., our Israeli parent company, and the following main active wholly-owned subsidiary entities:

• Stratasys, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which was formerly a publicly held company and which became our indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary as a result of the Stratasys, Inc.- Objet Ltd. merger. Following our acquisition of Origin in December 2020, Stratasys, Inc. now has offices and warehouses in San Francisco, California;
• Baccio Corporation (formerly known as Cooperation Technology Corporation), to which we refer as MakerBot, a Delaware corporation which is the direct parent company of MakerBot Industries, LLC, which we acquired in August 2013;
• Stratasys Direct, Inc. (our parts service business unit), a California corporation;
• Stratasys AP Limited, a Hong Kong limited company, which together with several other subsidiaries (including Stratasys Japan Co. Ltd., our Japanese subsidiary, and Stratasys Shanghai Ltd., our Chinese subsidiary), carries out most of our operations in the Asia Pacific region; 
• Stratasys GMBH, a German limited liability company, which together with other subsidiaries (including Stratasys Schweiz AG (Stratasys Switzerland Ltd.), our Swiss subsidiary) carries out our European operations; and
• Stratasys Latin America Representacao De Equipamentos Ltd., a Brazilian subsidiary, which has commenced our Brazilian operations.

      Please see the list of subsidiaries appended to this annual report as Exhibit 8 for a complete list of our subsidiaries as of the date of this annual report.

D. Property, Plants and Equipment.

We have dual headquarters, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and Rehovot, Israel.

Our Eden Prairie, Minnesota headquarters (near Minneapolis) is comprised of executive offices and production facilities that encompassed, as of December 31, 2021, approximately 308,646 square feet, of which we owned 227,100 square feet, in three buildings. Those buildings served the following purposes: system assembly, inventory storage, operations and sales support; manufacturing for one of our Stratasys Direct Manufacturing paid parts service locations; research and development, filament manufacturing, administrative, marketing and sales activities; and expansion of our production capacity for systems and consumables.

As of December 31, 2021, we lease office space (except with respect to our Eden Prairie headquarters facilities and our Rehovot, Israel and Kiryat Gat, Israel facilities, where we own the property) for various purposes, as set forth in the table below. Unless otherwise stated, all of our facilities are fully utilized. Our material tangible fixed assets include, among other things, the properties listed below.

ITEM 4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS.

A. Operating Results.

Overview

COVID-19 Impact and Business Strategy  

Key measures of our performance

Revenues

Our revenues results primarily from sales of (i) our products, which include both our AM systems and related consumable materials, (ii) provision of related services and (iii) our direct manufacturing service. We generate revenues and deliver services principally through the following channels:

•

sales to resellers, who purchase and resell our products and who provide support services for our printing systems;

•

sales of systems that are marketed by independent sales agents, pursuant to which we sell directly to end-users, pay commissions to such agents, and directly handle the sale of consumables and provision of support services; and

•

sales of systems (and all related products and services) as well as our direct manufacturing solutions that we provide to our customers directly.

Product revenues

Product revenues are influenced by a number of factors, including, among other things, (i) the adoption rate for our products, (ii) end-user product design application and manufacturing activity, and (iii) the capital expenditure budgets of end-users and potential end-users, all of which may be significantly influenced by macroeconomic factors. Product revenues are also impacted by the mix of 3D printers that we sell. Purchases of our 3D printing and production systems, especially our higher-end, higher-priced systems, typically involve longer sales cycles.

Product revenues also depend upon the volume of consumables that we sell. Sales of our consumable materials are linked to the number of AM systems that are installed and active worldwide. Sales of consumables are also driven by system usage, which is generally a function of the size of the particular system and the level of design and manufacturing activity and budget of the particular end-user. Larger systems generally use greater amounts of consumables due to their greater capacity and the higher levels of design and production.

Services revenues

Services revenues derive from (i) maintenance contracts and initial systems warranty; (ii) direct manufacturing paid-parts services; and (iii) other professional service contracts. In addition, in connection with direct sales, we generally charge separately for installation and training. Additional services revenues are generated from services contracts most often entered into directly with end-users subsequent to the expiration of the initial warranty period.    

Costs of revenues

Our most significant components of costs of revenues are costs of materials used for our products, wages and related benefits costs, which together accounted for approximately 61% of our total direct cost of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021. An additional significant component of our costs of revenues is the amortization expense that we primarily incur in connection with developed technology assets acquired as part of our business combinations. These amortization expenses vary based on the timing and type of acquisitions and estimated useful lives of the respective intangible assets. These amortization expenses were $22.4 million, $15.6 million and $16.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2020 , we recorded under cost of revenues impairment charges $5.3 million, related to our definite life intangible assets. No impairment charges were recorded during 2021 and 2019. Refer to Note 8 of our consolidated financial statements included in Item 18 of this annual report.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, a hypothetical 10% rise in commodity prices for raw materials would have caused an approximate $14.3 million increase in costs of revenues in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive loss. As to wages and related benefits, a 10% increase in wages due to wage inflation would have caused an approximate $7 million increase in costs of revenues in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive loss. During 2021, we did not notice particular trends that changed, or were expected to change in the near future, the absolute or relative significance of the components of our costs of revenues in a material manner. We also believe that inflation has not had a material effect on our operations or on our financial condition during the three most recent fiscal years.

Currently, we do not foresee a significant change in either the raw materials used for production or wage inflation that would materially impact our business. For further information, please see “Item 11. Quantitative And Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in this annual report.

Gross profit

The gross profit and gross margin for our products are influenced by a number of factors. The most important of these is the mix of our products sold. Specifically, the gross margins on our higher-end AM systems, as well as on our consumables, are typically higher than the gross margins on our entry-level products and MakerBot desktop printers. Accordingly, an increase in the share of revenues of our entry-level products out of total revenues could cause our profit margins to decrease. Furthermore, we believe that as our worldwide installed base of AM systems increases, subsequent sales of our proprietary consumables will also increase. We also seek to reduce our costs of revenues by improving our ability to use less costly components, better management of our inventories levels and increasing manufacturing efficiencies in the production of our systems. In addition, we will also seek to achieve lower material costs and leverage our overall capabilities in our direct manufacturing service business.

Products gross margins are also impacted by the mix of revenues generated from sales to resellers based in different geographical areas as opposed to sales that are facilitated by independent sales agents or directly by us.

Service gross margins are influenced mainly by the volume of revenues generated from our direct manufacturing service business as well as the ratio of service engineers to our installed base in a given geographic area.

Operating expenses

Our operating expenses for 2021 consisted of (i) research and development expenses, and (ii) selling, general and administrative expenses.

Research and development expenses, net

Our research and development activities consist of projects aimed at developing new printing systems and materials and projects aimed at enhancing the capabilities of our existing product lines, as well as significant technology platform and applications, developments for our current technologies, including our integrated software. We also seek to develop disruptive technologies and other process improvement solutions in the additive manufacturing ecosystem. Our research and development expenses consist primarily of employee compensation and employee-related personnel expenses, materials, laboratory supplies, costs for related software and costs for facilities. Expenditures for research, development and engineering of products are expensed as incurred. Our research and development efforts are essential to our future growth and our ability to remain competitive in the AM market. We work closely with existing and potential customers, distribution channels and major resellers, who provide significant feedback for product development and innovation.    

We are also entitled to reimbursements from certain government funding plans. These reimbursements are recognized as a reduction of expenses as the related cost is incurred. We are not required to pay royalties on sales of products developed using our government funding.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

      Our selling, general and administrative expenses include employee compensation and employee-related expenses for marketing, sales and other sales-operation positions, and for managerial and administrative functions, including executive officers, accounting, legal, information technology and human resources. This category of expenses also covers commissions, advertising and promotions expenses, professional service fees, respective depreciation, amortization expenses related to certain intangible assets, as well as associated overhead.

Commissions consist of sales-based commissions to independent sales agents and internal sales personnel. Commission rates vary, depending on the geographic location of the agent, type of products sold, and the degree of achievement of certain performance targets. Our advertising and promotion expenses consist primarily of media advertising costs, trade and consumer marketing expenses and public relations expenses which aim to strengthen the leadership of our brand in key vertical markets.

Facilities costs that are included in our selling, general and administrative expenses include an allocated portion of the occupancy costs for our facilities in countries where sales, marketing and administrative personnel are located. Professional service fees for accounting and legal services are also included in selling, general and administrative expenses.

2021 Financial Highlights

Significant highlights of our financial performance in 2021 included:

•

    Revenues increased by $86.4 million, or 16.6%, compared to 2020.  The increase reflects a recovery from COVID-19 as well as revenue from RPS, which we acquired in early 2021.

•     Operating expenses decreased by $336.2 million, or 49.8% compared to 2020. The decrease reflects not recording a goodwill impairment charge in 2021 as compared to recognize a goodwill impairment charge of $386.2 million in 2020. Excluding the change in the goodwill charge, the operating expenses increased by $50 million, or 17.3% compared to 2020, mainly driven by our return to a five-day workweek, post-COVID expenses as the market started opening up, and cost related to our acquisitions (Origin, RPS and Xaar).

•

   Net loss attributable to Stratasys amounted to $62 million or basic and diluted net loss per share of $0.98 in 2021, compared to net loss attributable to Stratasys of $443.7 million, or basic and diluted net loss per share of $8.08, in 2020, which was mainly due to the non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $386.2 million.

• Total cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash amounted to $243.3 million as of December 31, 2021, a decrease of $28.9 million compared to December 31,2020. The decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in 2021 was due to cash used in investing activities of $291.2 million, offset by cash provided by operating and financing activities of $35.8 million and $227.3 million, respectively. In our investment activities for 2021 we used $25.0 million mainly to purchase property and equipment, an additional $232.0 million as investments in short-term bank deposits and $20.6 million of net cash for recent acquisitions.

Results of Operations

We are providing within this section a discussion and analysis of our historical statement of operations data in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United State of America, or GAAP. While our financial statements included in Item 18 of this annual report include data for each of the three years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, the discussion and analysis contained in this Item 5.A is limited to a comparison of our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. For a discussion and analysis of our results for the year ended December 31, 2019, and a comparison of those results with those of the year ended December 31, 2020, please see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Results of Operations” in our annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, which we filed with the SEC on March 1, 2021.

The following table sets forth certain financial data derived from our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, presented as percentages of our revenues for the years indicated:

Discussion of Results of Operations 

        The below tables and related discussion present an item by item comparison of our results of operations for each of the two years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Revenues

Our products and services revenues for the last two years, as well as the percentage change from year to year, were as follows:

Our total consolidated revenues in 2021 were $607.2 million, an increase of $86.4 million, or 16.6%, compared to 2020.

Products Revenues

Revenues derived from products (including systems and consumable materials) increased by $77.8 million , or 22.9%, in 2021 as compared to 2020.

System revenues increased by 32.3% in 2021 as compared to 2020. Consumables revenues increased by 15.3% in 2021 as compared to 2020. 

Services Revenues

Services revenues (including SDM, service type warranty and maintenance contracts, spare parts and other services) increased by $8.6 million in 2021, or 4.8%, as compared to 2020. Within services revenues, customer support revenues, which includes revenues generated mainly by service type warranty and maintenance contracts on our systems, increased by 5.3%. The results demonstrates than an end-market recovery is well underway compared to 2020 as our customers are increasing their utilization of our systems.

Revenues by Region

Revenue amounts and the percentage of our overall revenues by region for the last two years, as well as the percentage change in revenue amounts for each such region from year to year, were as follows:

Revenues in the Americas region increased by $44.8 million, or 13.1%, to $388.3 million in 2021 compared to $343.5 million in 2020. The increase reflected recovery from COVID-19 for both product revenue and service revenue.

Revenues in the EMEA region increased by $28.7 million, or 28.3%, to $130.3 million in 2021 compared to $101.6 million in 2020. The increase reflected recovery from COVID-19 for both product and service revenue as well as revenues from RPS which we acquired in early 2021. 

Revenues in the Asia Pacific region increased by $12.8 million, or 17.0%, to $88.6 million in 2021 compared to $75.8 million in 2020. The increase was primarily driven by higher products revenues and reflected recovery from COVID-19.   

Gross Profit

Gross profit from our products and services for the last two years, as well as the percentage change from year to year, were as follows:

Gross profit as a percentage of revenues for our products and services for the last two years, as well as the percentage change from year to year, were as follows:

Gross profit attributable to products revenues increased by $38.1 million, or 22.6%, to $206.6 million in 2021, as compared to $168.5 million in 2020. Gross profit attributable to products revenues as a percentage of revenues decreased to 49.5% in 2021, as compared to 49.6% in 2020. Our gross profit from products revenues was favorably impacted by the mix of revenue sources driven by an increase in sales of hardware and consumables, partially offset by increased global cost pressures that included both logistics and raw materials and ramp-up production costs for new product introductions, which adversely impacted our profitability.

Gross profit attributable to services revenues increased by $2.6 million, or 5.1%, to $53.5 million in 2021 as compared to $50.8 million in 2020. Gross profit from services as a percentage of services revenues in 2021 increased to 28.2% as compared to 28.1% in 2020, constituting an insignificant change.

Operating Expenses

The amount of each type of operating expense for the last two years, as well as the percentage change between such annual periods, and total operating expenses as a percentage of our total revenues in each such year, were as follows:

Research and development expenses, net, increased by $4.3 million, or 5.1%, in 2021 compared to 2020. Research and development expenses, net, as a percentage of revenues decreased to 14.5% in 2021 compared to 16.1% in 2020, which was primarily attributable to the growth in revenues in 2021.

Our research and development expenses were impacted by the timing of project spending and product launches based on our portfolio management. We continue to invest in strategic long-term initiatives that include advancements in our core FDM and Polyjet Technologies and in our new powder-based and photopolymer-based, SAF and P³ technologies, advanced composite materials, software and development of new applications that will enhance our current solutions offerings.

Operating Loss

Operating loss and operating loss as a percentage of our total revenues for the last two years, as well as the percentage change in operating loss between those years, were as follows:

Operating loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $79.2 million as compared to an operating loss of $456.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in operating loss was primarily attributable to the increase in our gross profit and the absence in 2021 of the large goodwill impairment that we recorded in 2020, offset, in part, by higher operating expenses in 2021, as discussed above.

Gain from Step Acquisition

On November 1, 2021 we acquired the remaining 55% share of XAAR, for an aggregate consideration of $29.3 million (we previously owned a 45% share in Xaar). The transaction was accounted for as step acquisition and accordingly, we increased the value of our previously held equity investment to its fair value of $23.8 million, which resulted in a total purchase price of $53.1 million and a gain of approximately $14.4 million.

Financial Income (Expenses), net

Financial expenses, net, which were primarily comprised of foreign currencies effects, interest income and interest expense, amounted to $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to financial expenses, net, of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense and income tax expense as a percentage of net loss before income taxes for the last two years, as well as the percentage change in income taxes between those years, were as follows:

We had an effective tax rate of 5.8% for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to an effective tax rate of 3.6% for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our effective tax rate in 2021 was primarily impacted by: (i) changes in the geographic mix of foreign taxable income and loss; (ii) a significant movement in valuation allowance; and  (iii) release of uncertain tax position due to settlement of tax audits.  Our effective tax rate in 2020 was primarily impacted by: (i) the goodwill impairment charge, which is not deductible for tax purpose; (ii) a partial release of valuation allowance on our U.S tax losses; and (iii) changes in the geographic mix of foreign taxable income and loss.

Our effective tax rate is based on recurring factors, including the geographic mix of foreign taxable income and loss, as well as nonrecurring items that may not be predictable.

For a full reconciliation of our effective tax rate to the Israeli statutory rate of 23% and for further explanation of our provision for income taxes, refer to Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 18 of this annual report.

Share in Profit (Losses) of Associated Companies

Net Loss and Net Loss Per Share Attributable to Stratasys Ltd.

Net loss, net loss as a percentage of our total revenues, and diluted net loss per share, for the last two years, as well as the percentage change in net loss between those years, were as follows:

Net loss attributable to Stratasys Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $62 million, as compared to $443.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in net loss attributable to Stratasys Ltd. was primarily attributable to the absence in 2021 of the large goodwill impairment that we recorded in 2020, and increased gross profit in 2021, mainly due to the improved conditions surrounding COVID-19 in 2021 relative to 2020, as described above.

Diluted net loss per share for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $0.98 and $8.08, respectively. The weighted average, basic and diluted number of shares outstanding for the year ended December 31, 2021 was 63.5 million, compared to 54.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, which increase reflected the issuance of shares in our follow-on offering that was consummated in March 2021.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The following non-GAAP data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, which excludes certain items as described below, are non-GAAP financial measures. Our management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful information for investors and shareholders of our company in gauging our results of operations (i) on an ongoing basis after excluding mergers, acquisitions and divestments related expense or gains and restructuring-related charges or gains, legal provisions and (ii) excluding non-cash items such as stock-based compensation expenses, acquired intangible assets amortization, including intangible assets amortization related to equity method investments, impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill, revaluation of investments and the corresponding tax effect of those items. The items eliminated in our non-GAAP adjustments either do not reflect actual cash outlays that impact our liquidity and our financial condition or have a non-recurring impact on the statement of operations, as assessed by management. These non-GAAP financial measures are presented to permit investors to more fully understand how management assesses our performance for internal planning and forecasting purposes. The limitations of using these non-GAAP financial measures as performance measures are that they provide a view of our results of operations without including all items indicated above during a period, which may not provide a comparable view of our performance to other companies in our industry. Investors and other readers should consider non-GAAP measures only as supplements to, not as substitutes for or as superior measures to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliation between results on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis is provided in the table below.

Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results of Operations

Forward-looking Statements and Factors That May Affect Future Results of Operations

See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” at the beginning of this annual report (following the table of contents).

Variability of Operating Results

Our revenues and profitability may vary in any given year, and from quarter to quarter, depending on the timing, number and mix of products sold and the average selling price of the products, and are also affected by the seasonality of our business. In addition, due to competition, uncertain market acceptance and other factors, we may be required to reduce prices for our products in the future. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also useful to gauge the variability of our operating results on a linear basis, for each quarter compared to the previous one, in addition to on a year-over-year basis, compared to the corresponding period of the prior year.  In 2021, the second, third and fourth quarters reflected similar levels of increase in demand for our products relative to the previous quarter. This basis for quarterly comparisons, in the wake of COVID-19, thereby supplements our traditional expectations for our results based on specific quarters and seasons within each calendar year.   

Effective Corporate Tax Rate

See “Israeli Tax Considerations and Government Programs — General Corporate Tax Structure in Israel” in Item 4.B above for a discussion of the general tax structure in Israel and applicable corporate tax rates.

Effects of Government Regulations and Location on our Business

For a discussion of the effects of Israeli governmental regulation and our location in Israel on our business, see “Israeli Tax Considerations and Government Programs” in Item 4.B above and the “Risks related to operations in Israel” in Item 3.D above.

Inflation

We believe that inflation has not had a material effect on our operations or on our financial condition during the three most recent fiscal years.

Foreign Currency Transactions

See “Foreign Currency Exchange Risk” in Item 11 below for a discussion of foreign currency transactions.

B. Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances decreased to $243.3 million as of December 31, 2021 as compared to $272.2 million as of December 31, 2020. The decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in 2021 was mainly due to cash flows used in investing activities, mainly for recent acquisitions and long term investments.

Cash flows from operating activities

Year ended December 31, 2021

We generated $35.8 of cash from our operating activities during 2021. Cash generated in operations derived from our net loss of $62 million, as adjusted primarily due to non-cash items including depreciation, amortization and impairment charges of long-lived assets in an aggregate amount of $57.5 million, stock-based compensation of $31 million and foreign currency transactions gains of $3.4 million, which were partially offset by $13.7 million movement in other non-cash items, net. Favorable changes in our working capital balances were mainly driven by an increase in our accounts payable balance.

Year ended December 31, 2020

We generated $27.8 million of cash from our operating activities during 2020. Cash generated in operations derived from our net loss of $444.1 million, as adjusted primarily due to non-cash items including depreciation, amortization and impairment charges of goodwill and long-lived assets in an aggregate amount of $442.7 million, and stock-based compensation of $20.2 million, which were partially offset by foreign currency transactions gains and a movement in deferred income taxes. Changes in working capital and related items reduced our cash flow from operating activities by $31.8 million; primarily due to proactive steps that we took to increase inventory levels and accounts receivable.   

Cash flows from investing activities

Year ended December 31, 2021

We used $291.2 million of cash for our investing activities during 2021. We used $32.3 million of cash for recent acquisitions and investment in unconsolidated entities. An additional $25 million of cash was used to purchase property, equipment and intangibles and $232 million net was invested in short-term bank deposits. Our principal property and equipment purchases were for our new buildings complex under construction in Rehovot, Israel. The new facility in Rehovot, Israel, contains two buildings, housing our Israeli headquarters, research and development facilities and certain marketing activities.

Year ended December 31, 2020

Cash flows from financing activities

Year ended December 31, 2021

We generated $227.3 million of cash from financing activities during 2021. The increase from financing activities was primarily due to the follow-on public offering of shares in a net amount of $218.9 million that we completed in March 2021.

Year ended December 31, 2020

Capital resources and capital expenditures

Our total current assets amounted to $800.7 million as of December 31, 2021, of which $502.3 million consisted of cash, cash equivalents, short-term deposits and restricted cash. Total current liabilities amounted to $210.5 million as of December 31, 2021.

Most of our cash and cash equivalents are held in banks in Israel and the U.S.

The credit risk related to our accounts receivable is limited due to the relatively large number of customers and their wide geographic distribution. In addition, we seek to reduce the credit exposures of our accounts receivable by imposing credit limits, conducting ongoing credit evaluation, and by implementing account monitoring procedures, as well as by carrying credit insurance for many of our customers.

We believe that we will have adequate cash and cash equivalents to fund our ongoing operations and that these sources of liquidity will be sufficient to satisfy our working capital and capital expenditures needs, as well as our debt requirements, for the next twelve months.

 Additional factors potentially impacting capital resources

We have also committed to make potential future payments to third parties as part of our acquisitions of Origin, RPS and XAAR. These payments are contingent upon the occurrence of certain future events and, given the nature of these events, it is unclear when, if ever, we may be required to pay such amounts. The total contingent payments could reach an aggregate amount of up to $63.7 million. 

E. Critical Accounting Estimates

We have prepared our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. This has required us to make estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affected the amounts we reported. Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 18 of this annual report contains the significant accounting policies that we used to prepare our consolidated financial statements.

The accounting policies that reflect our more significant estimates, judgments and assumptions and which we believe are the most critical towards fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results include:

• Revenue Recognition

• Income taxes

• Inventories

• Intangibles

• Goodwill

• Business combination

We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions which we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Because of the uncertainty inherent in these matters, actual results could differ materially from the estimates we use in applying these policies.

Revenue Recognition

Our contracts with our customers for products sales (AM systems and consumables) are under standard contracts and ship and bill arrangements. The transaction price is agreed upon in the contract and is primarily fixed in nature with insignificant amounts recognized for rebates programs. We estimate for rebates based on each specific program and our historical experience and reduce revenue when the sales occur. Revenue from products is recognized upon satisfaction of the performance obligation which is typically at a point in time when control is transferred to the customer. Usually, control is transferred upon shipment or once delivery and risk of loss has transferred to the customer depending on the contract terms. generates revenue from various services provided to customers, mainly from service type warranty, time and material services and direct manufacturing of parts. The transaction price is agreed upon in the contract and can be based on a fixed amount or on a time and material arrangement. Revenue from service is recognized ratably on a straight-line basis over the time of the service, as control is transferred over time or as services are performed if not under contract.

We generates revenue from various services provided to customers, mainly from service type warranty, time and material services and direct manufacturing of parts. The transaction price is agreed upon in the contract and can be based on a fixed amount or on a time and material arrangement. Revenue from service is recognized ratably on a straight-line basis over the time of the service, as control is transferred over time or as services are performed if not under contract.

We enter into contracts with customers that may include multiple performance obligations with various combinations of products and services which are distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. The transaction price is allocated to each performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price ( "SSP" ) basis. In most cases, we are able to establish SSP based on the observable prices of services sold separately in comparable circumstances to similar customers and for products based on our best estimates of the price at which we would have sold the product regularly on a stand-alone basis.

We assess collectability as part of the revenue recognition process. This assessment includes a number of factors such as an evaluation of the creditworthiness of the customer, past due amounts, past payment history, and current economic conditions. If it is determined that collectability cannot be reasonably assured, we will defer recognition of revenue until collectability is assured.

Refer to Note 3 - Revenues, as well as Note 1 - Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Revenue Recognition in our consolidated financial statements included in Item 18 of this annual report - for additional information regarding our revenue recognition policies.

Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate is primarily impacted by the geographical mix of taxable income and loss. We record a tax provision for the anticipated tax consequences of our reported operating results. The provision for income tax is calculated based on our assumptions as to our entitlement to various benefits under the applicable tax laws and tax rates in the jurisdictions in which we operate. We are subject to income taxes in Israel, the U.S. and other foreign jurisdictions. A significant portion of our income is taxed in Israel. We have realized significant tax savings based on the determination that some of our industrial projects have been granted “Approved Enterprise” and “Beneficiary Enterprise” status, which provides certain benefits, including tax exemptions for undistributed income and reduced tax rates. Income not eligible for Approved Enterprise and Beneficiary Enterprise benefits is taxed at the regular corporate rates, which were 23% in 2018 and thereafter. We are also a Foreign Investors Company, or FIC, as defined by the Investment Law. FICs are entitled to further reductions in the tax rate normally applicable to Approved Enterprises and Beneficiary Enterprises, depending on the level of foreign ownership. In addition, we are an “Industrial Company” as defined by the Israeli Law for the Encouragement of Industry (Taxation), 1969, and, as such, are entitled to certain tax benefits.

Our entitlement to the above benefits is subject to our fulfilling the conditions stipulated by the Investment Law and regulations. Should we fail to meet such requirements in the future, income attributable to our Approved Enterprise and Beneficiary Enterprise programs could be subject to the statutory Israeli corporate tax rate and we could be required to refund a portion of the tax benefits already received with respect to such programs, as adjusted by the Israeli consumer price index and interest, or other monetary penalty.

Significant judgment is required in evaluating our uncertain tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. In evaluating the exposure associated with our various tax filing positions, we record reserves for uncertain tax positions in accordance with US GAAP, based on the technical support for the positions and our past audit experience with similar situations. Although we believe our tax positions comply with applicable tax laws and we intend to defend our positions, no assurance can be given that the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different from that which is reflected in our historical income tax reserves and accruals. We adjust these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit or the refinement of an estimate. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made. The provision for income taxes includes the impact of reserve provisions and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate, as well as the related estimated interest and penalties.

Deferred taxes are determined utilizing the “asset and liability” method based on the estimated future tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amount and tax bases of assets and liabilities under the applicable tax laws, and on effective tax rates in effect when the deferred taxes are expected to be settled or realized. Deferred taxes for each jurisdiction are presented as a net asset or liability, net of any valuation allowances. Significant judgment required in determining any valuation allowance recorded against deferred tax assets. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we considered all available evidence, including past operating results, the most recent projections for taxable income, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. We reassess our valuation allowance periodically and if future evidence allows for a partial or full release of the valuation allowance, a tax benefit will be recorded accordingly.

Inventories

Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined mainly using standard cost, which approximates actual cost, on a first-in, first-out basis. Inventory costs consist of materials, direct labor and overhead. Net realizable value is determined based on estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. We assess periodically our inventories for obsolescence and excess balances, or when certain events or changes in circumstances occur that trigger such assessment. The net realizable value of our inventory is based on certain factors including, but not limited to: forecasted selling prices and future demand for our products and services, historical sales patterns, technological changes, estimated service period, product end-of-life dates, alternative uses for the inventory, new products launches and other market conditions as applicable. If required, we reduce the carrying value of our inventories by an amount equal to the difference between its cost and the net realizable value. Once such inventory is written down, a new lower cost basis for that inventory is established. Our provisions for inventory write-downs for obsolescence and excess balances requires us to utilize significant judgment. Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the net realizable value of our inventories, any significant unanticipated deteriorating factor could have a material impact on the carrying value of our inventories and reported operating results.

Intangibles

Most of our identifiable intangible assets were recognized as part business combinations we have executed in the current and prior periods. Our identifiable intangible assets are primarily comprised of developed technology, trademarks and trade names, customer relationships and patents.

We review the carrying amounts of our long-lived assets for potential impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Impairment indicators may include any significant changes in the manner of our use of the assets or the strategy of our overall business, certain reorganization initiatives, significant negative industry or economic trends and significant decline in our share price for a sustained period. In evaluating recoverability we compare the carrying amounts of the asset or assets groups with their respective estimated undiscounted future cash flows. If the asset or assets group are determined to be impaired, an impairment charge is recorded as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset or assets group exceed their fair value.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, we did not record any impairment charges related to our definite life intangible assets, compared to $5.3 million recorded during the year ended December 31, 2020.

In 2021, additional intangible assets of $52.4 million were recognized by us as part of our acquisitions of  XAAR and RPS.

Goodwill

Goodwill reflects the excess of the consideration transferred plus the fair value of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree at the acquisition date over the fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized but rather is tested for impairment annually at the reporting unit level, or whenever events or circumstances present an indication of impairment. In the third quarter of 2020, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $386.2 million. No goodwill impairment was recorded during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2019.

Determining the fair value of our reporting units requires significant judgment, including judgments about the appropriate terminal growth rates, weighted average costs of capital and the amounts and timing of projected future cash flows. Projected future cash flows are based on our most recent budget, forecasts and strategic plans as well as certain growth rate assumptions. Potential changes in our costs and operating structure, the expected timing of utilization of synergies strategic opportunities, negative effect of exchange rate differences and overall weakness in the 3D printing marketplace, could negatively impact our near-term cash-flow projections and could trigger a potential impairment of our goodwill. In addition, failure to execute our strategic plans for our Stratasys-Objet reporting unit could negatively impact the fair value of our Stratasys-Objet reporting unit, and increase the risk of an additional goodwill impairment in the future. We will continue to monitor the fair value our Stratasys-Objet reporting unit to determine whether events and changes in circumstances such as further deterioration in the business climate or operating results, further significant decline in our share price, changes in management’s business strategy or downward changes of our cash flows projections, warrant further interim impairment testing.

In 2021, additional goodwill of $27.1 million was recognized as part of the XAAR and RPS acquisitions. Refer to Note 7 to our audited financial statements included in Item 18 of this annual report for further information.

Business combination 

In accordance with ASC Topic 805, “Business Combination", we allocate the fair value of purchase consideration to the tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Assessing fair values of intangible assets acquired involves significant judgment about future events and uncertainties and is deeply reliant on estimates and assumptions. Significant estimates in valuing intangible assets include, but are not limited to, future expected cash flows and discount rate. Contingent consideration incurred in a business combination is included as part of the consideration transferred and recorded at a probability weighted assessment of their fair value as of the acquisition date. The fair value of the contingent consideration is re-measured at each reporting period, with any adjustments in fair value recognized in the statement of operations. The allocation of the consideration transferred in certain cases may be subject to revision based on the final determination of fair values during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date. The cumulative impact of revisions during the measurement period is recognized in the reporting period in which the revisions are identified. We include the results of operations of the businesses that it has acquired in our consolidated results prospectively from the respective dates of acquisition.

. 

ITEM 6. DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES.

A. Directors and Senior Management.

The following table lists the names and ages of our current directors, as well as the names, ages and positions of the current members of our senior management, as of the filing date of this annual report:

Yoav Zeif has served as our chief executive officer since February 18, 2020. Prior to joining our company, from 2018 until February 2020, Mr. Zeif was a partner in the New York office of McKinsey & Company, a global strategic advisory firm that is based in New York. Before serving in that role, Mr. Zeif served as President of the Americas Division, Head of Product Offering and Chief Commercial Officer at Netafim, the world’s largest micro-irrigation company, from 2013 to 2018. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President of Products and Marketing at Makhteshim (now Adama Ltd.), a global crop-protection company, where he managed the entire portfolio of products and all global commercial relationships. Yoav obtained an Executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in International Economics from Bar-Ilan University.

Lilach Payorski has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 1, 2017. She joined Stratasys Ltd. in January 2013 and thereafter served as our Vice President, Corporate Finance, until August 2015, and as our Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance, from August 2015 through December 31, 2016. Prior to joining our company, from December 2009 to December 2012, Ms. Payorski served as Head of Finance at PMC-Sierra, a company operating in the Semiconductors industry, which was subsequently acquired by Microsemi Corporation. Prior to that time, she served as Compliance Controller at Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), an IT security company, from 2005 to 2009, and in a finance leadership role at Wind River Systems (Nasdaq: WIND), a software company, which was subsequently acquired by Intel Corporation, from 2003 to 2005. Earlier in her career, she served as a CPA with Ernst & Young LLP both in Israel and later in Palo Alto, CA. Ms. Payorski earned a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Economics from the Tel Aviv University.

Arrangements for Election of Directors and Members of Management; Family Relationships

There are no arrangements or understandings pursuant to which any of our directors or members of senior management were selected for their roles. There are also no family relationships among any directors or members of our senior management.

B. Compensation.

The following table presents all compensation that we paid, or accrued, during the year ended December 31, 2021 to all persons who served as a director or as a member of senior management of our company at any time during the year. The table includes amounts that we paid to reimburse any of these persons for costs incurred in providing us with services during that period.

Pursuant to the Companies Law, the fees payable to our directors and our chief executive officer require approval by (i) the compensation committee of our board, (ii) the board of directors and (iii) our shareholders (in that order). Please see “Compensation Policy and Committee” in Item 6.C (“Board Practices”) below for further information regarding the requirements under the Companies Law in connection with the compensation of directors.

Director Compensation

Director/Officer Equity Compensation

Grants to independent/non-employee directors

Exercise Price (for options): Equal to the fair market value of our ordinary shares, determined based on the average of the closing prices of an ordinary share on the trading days during the 30-day period following the election or re-election of the director by our shareholders.

Office Holder Compensation

The table below outlines the compensation granted to our five most highly compensated senior office holders during or with respect to the year ended December 31, 2021, in the disclosure format of Regulation 21 of the Israeli Securities Regulations (Periodic and Immediate Reports), 1970. We refer to the five individuals for whom disclosure is provided herein as our “Covered Executives.”

For purposes of the table and the summary below, and in accordance with the above-mentioned securities regulations, “compensation” includes base salary, bonuses, equity-based compensation, retirement or termination payments, benefits and perquisites such as car, phone and social benefits and any undertaking to provide such compensation.

Summary Compensation Table

Information Regarding the Covered Executive⁽¹⁾

Members of our senior management are eligible for bonuses each year. The bonuses are payable upon meeting objectives and targets that are set annually by our Chief Executive Officer and approved by our compensation committee and our board of directors, in that order. These same corporate bodies also set the bonus targets for our Chief Executive Officer. In accordance with a December 2012 amendment to the Companies Law, we have adopted a compensation policy that governs the compensation of our directors and senior management and which has been approved (both initially, and then in updated form) by (i) the compensation committee of our board, (ii) the board of directors and (iii) our shareholders (most recently, at our September 2018 annual general meeting of shareholders) (in that order). Please see “Compensation Policy and Committee” in Item 6.C (“Board Practices”) below for further information.

C. Board Practices.

Board of Directors

Under the Companies Law, the management of our business is vested in our board of directors. Our board of directors may exercise all powers and may take all actions that are not specifically granted to our shareholders or to management. Our board of directors serves as the primary corporate body responsible for risk management for our company, including cybersecurity risks, and periodically consults with the management of our company to obtain updates concerning, and internally discusses, the most material risks currently facing our company, and how those risks are being mitigated. Our executive officers are responsible for our day-to-day management and have individual responsibilities established by our board of directors. Our Chief Executive Officer is appointed by, and serves at the discretion of, our board of directors, subject to the employment agreement that we have entered into with him. All other executive officers are also appointed by our board of directors, subject to the terms of any applicable employment agreements that we may enter into with them.

Under our amended articles, our board of directors must consist of at least seven and not more than 11 directors, including, to the extent applicable, at least two external directors required to be elected under the Companies Law.

In May 2016, we elected to be governed by a then-newly-adopted exemption under the Companies Law regulations that exempts us from appointing external directors and from complying with the Companies Law requirements related to the composition of the audit committee and compensation committee of our board of directors. Our eligibility for that exemption is conditioned upon: (i) the continued listing of our ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market (or one of a few select other non-Israeli stock exchanges); (ii) there not being a controlling shareholder (generally understood to be a 25% or greater shareholder) of our company under the Companies Law; and (iii) our compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rules requirements as to the composition of (a) our board of directors—which requires that we maintain a majority of independent directors (as defined under the Nasdaq Listing Rules) on our board of directors and (b) the audit and compensation committees of our board of directors (which require that such committees consist solely of independent directors (at least three and two members, respectively), as described under the Nasdaq Listing Rules). At the time that it determined to exempt our company from the external director requirement, our board affirmatively determined that we meet the conditions for exemption from the external director requirement, including that a majority of the members of our board, along with each of the members of the audit and compensation committees of the board, are independent under the Nasdaq Listing Rules.

Our board of directors may appoint directors to fill vacancies on the board, for a term of office equal to the remaining period of the term of office of the director(s) whose office(s) have been vacated.

In accordance with the exemption available to foreign private issuers under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, we do not follow the requirements of the Nasdaq rules with regard to the process of nominating directors. Instead, we follow Israeli law and practice, in accordance with which our board of directors (based on the recommendation of the executive committee thereof) is authorized to recommend to our shareholders director nominees for election. Under the Companies Law and our amended articles, nominations for directors may also be made by any shareholder holding at least one percent (1%) of our outstanding voting power. However, any such shareholder may make such a nomination only if a written notice of such shareholder’s intent to make such nomination (together with certain documentation required under the Companies Law) has been delivered to our registered Israeli office within seven days after we publish notice of our upcoming annual general meeting (or within 14 days after we publish a preliminary notification of an upcoming annual general meeting).

In addition to its role in making director nominations, under the Companies Law, our board of directors must determine the minimum number of directors who are required to have accounting and financial expertise. Under applicable regulations, a director with accounting and financial expertise is a director who, by reason of his or her education, professional experience and skill, has a high level of proficiency in and understanding of business accounting matters and financial statements. See “—External Directors” in this Item 6.C below. He or she must be able to thoroughly comprehend the financial statements of the company and initiate debate regarding the manner in which financial information is presented. In determining the number of directors required to have such expertise, our board of directors must consider, among other things, the type and size of our company and the scope and complexity of its operations. Our board of directors has determined that our company requires one director with such expertise.

External Directors

Under the Companies Law, the boards of directors of companies whose shares are publicly traded, including companies with shares traded in the United States, are generally required to include at least two members who qualify as external directors.

Our election to exempt our company from compliance with the external director requirement can be reversed at any time by our board of directors, in which case we would need to hold a shareholder meeting to once again appoint external directors, whose election would be for a three-year term. The election of each external director would require a majority vote of the shares present and voting at a shareholders meeting, provided that either:

•

the majority voted in favor of election includes a majority of the shares held by non-controlling shareholders who do not have a personal interest in the election of the external director (other than a personal interest not deriving from a relationship with a controlling shareholder) that are voted at the meeting, excluding abstentions, which we refer to as a disinterested majority; or

•

the total number of shares held by non-controlling, disinterested shareholders (as described in the previous bullet-point) voted against the election of the director does not exceed two percent (2%) of the aggregate voting rights in the company.

The term “controlling shareholder” is defined in the Companies Law as a shareholder with the ability to direct the activities of the company, other than by virtue of being an office holder. A shareholder is presumed to be a controlling shareholder if the shareholder holds 50% or more of the voting rights in a company or has the right to appoint the majority of the directors of the company or its general manager (i.e., its CEO).

For further information concerning the Companies Law provisions related to external directors, please see “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—C. Board Practices—Board of Directors—External Directors” in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015, which we filed with the SEC on March 21, 2016.

Board Committees

Audit Committee

Under the Companies Law, the board of directors of a public company must appoint an audit committee. The audit committee must consist of at least three directors. To the extent a company is required to appoint external directors, this committee must include all of the external directors, one of whom must serve as chairman of the committee. There are additional requirements as to the composition of the audit committee under the Companies Law. However, when we elected to exempt our company from the external director requirement, we concurrently elected to exempt our company from all of such requirements (which exemption is conditioned on our fulfillment of all Nasdaq listing requirements related to the composition of the audit committee).    

The members of our audit committee consist of John McEleney, Yair Seroussi and Adina Shorr. Mr. Seroussi serves as chairman of the committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Messrs. McEleney and Seroussi, and Ms. Shorr, meets the independence requirements set forth in the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market and in Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act.

Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Seroussi qualifies as an audit committee financial expert, as defined under Item 16A of the SEC’s Form 20-F, and has the requisite financial sophistication set forth in the Nasdaq rules and regulations.

Our board of directors has adopted an audit committee charter that sets forth the responsibilities of the audit committee consistent with the rules of the SEC and the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, as well as the requirements for such committee under the Companies Law, including the following:

•

oversight of our independent registered public accounting firm and recommending the engagement, compensation or termination of engagement of our independent registered public accounting firm to the board of directors in accordance with Israeli law;

•

recommending the engagement or termination of the person filling the office of our internal auditor; and

•

recommending the terms of audit and non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm for pre-approval by our board of directors.

Our audit committee provides assistance to our board of directors in fulfilling its legal and fiduciary obligations in matters involving our accounting, auditing, financial reporting, internal control and legal compliance functions by pre-approving the services performed by our independent accountants and reviewing their reports regarding our accounting practices and systems of internal control over financial reporting. Our audit committee also oversees the audit efforts of our independent accountants and takes those actions that it deems necessary to satisfy itself that the accountants are independent of management.

Under the Companies Law, our audit committee is responsible for (i) determining whether there are deficiencies in the business management practices of our company, including in consultation with our internal auditor or the independent auditor, and making recommendations to the board of directors to improve such practices, (ii) determining whether to approve certain related party transactions (including transactions in which an office holder has a personal interest and whether such transaction is extraordinary) (see “—Approval of related party transactions under Israeli Law” below in this Item 6.C), (iii) determining standards and policies for determining whether a transaction with a controlling shareholder or a transaction in which a controlling shareholder has a personal interest is deemed insignificant or not and the approval requirements (including, potentially, the approval of the audit committee) for transactions that are not insignificant including the types of transactions that are not insignificant, (iv) where the board of directors approves the working plan of the internal auditor, to examine such working plan before its submission to the board and propose amendments thereto, (v) examining our internal controls and internal auditor’s performance, including whether the internal auditor has sufficient resources and tools to dispose of its responsibilities, (vi) examining the scope of our auditor’s work and compensation and submitting a recommendation with respect thereto to our board of directors or shareholders, depending on which of them is considering the appointment of our auditor and (vii) establishing procedures for the handling of employees’ complaints as to the management of our business and the protection to be provided to such employees. Our audit committee may not approve an action or a related party transaction, or take any other action required under the Companies Law, unless at the time of approval a majority of the committee’s members are present, which majority consists of unaffiliated directors including at least one external director.

Compensation Committee and Compensation Policy

The compensation policy serves as the basis for decisions concerning the financial terms of employment or engagement of our office holders, including exculpation, insurance, indemnification or any monetary payment or obligation of payment in respect of employment or engagement. The compensation policy also relates to certain factors, including advancement of our objectives, our business and our long-term strategy, and creation of appropriate incentives for executives. It also considers, among other things, our risk management, size and the nature of our operations. The compensation policy furthermore considers the following additional factors:

•

the knowledge, skills, expertise and accomplishments of the relevant director or executive;

•

the director’s or executive’s roles and responsibilities and prior compensation agreements with him or her;

•

the relationship between the terms offered and the average compensation of the other employees of our company, including those (if any) employed through manpower companies;

•

the impact of disparities in salary upon work relationships in our company;

•

the possibility of reducing variable compensation at the discretion of the board of directors; and the possibility of setting a limit on the exercise value of non-cash variable compensation; and

•

as to severance compensation, the period of service of the director or executive, the terms of his or her compensation during such service period, our company’s performance during that period of service, the person’s contribution towards our company’s achievement of its goals and the maximization of its profits, and the circumstances under which the person is leaving our company.

The compensation policy also includes the following principles:

•

the link between variable compensation and long-term performance and measurable criteria;

•

the relationship between variable and fixed compensation, and the ceiling for the value of variable compensation;

•

the conditions under which a director or executive would be required to repay compensation paid to him or her if it was later shown that the data upon which such compensation was based was inaccurate and was required to be restated in our financial statements; and

•

the minimum holding or vesting period for variable, equity-based compensation.

The compensation policy must also consider appropriate incentives from a long-term perspective and maximum limits for severance compensation.

Under the December 2012 amendment to the Companies Law, our compensation committee is responsible for recommending the compensation policy to our board of directors for its approval (and subsequent approval by our shareholders) and is charged with duties related to the compensation policy and to the compensation of our office holders as well as functions related to approval of the terms of engagement of office holders, including:

•

recommending whether our compensation policy should continue in effect, if the then-current policy has a term of greater than three (3) years (approval of the continuation of an existing compensation policy for a company such as ours must in any case occur every three years);

•

recommending to our board periodic updates to the compensation policy;

•

assessing implementation of the compensation policy; and

•

determining whether the compensation terms of the chief executive officer of our company need not be brought to approval of the shareholders (under special circumstances).

As to the composition of the compensation committee, under the Companies Law, if a company is required to appoint external directors, the committee must consist of at least three (3) members, including all of the external directors, one of whom must serve as chairman of the committee. There are additional requirements as to the composition of the audit committee under the Companies Law. However, when we elected to exempt our company from the external director requirement, we concurrently elected to exempt our company from all of such requirements (including the three-member minimum). Our exemption under the Companies Law is conditioned on our fulfillment of all Nasdaq listing requirements related to the composition of the compensation committee.

The compensation committee is subject to the same Companies Law restrictions as the audit committee as to who may not be present during committee deliberations (as described under “—Approval of Related Party Transactions Under Israeli Law—Fiduciary Duties of Directors and Executive Officers—Disclosure of Personal Interests of an Office Holder” below).

The Nasdaq Listing Rules also require that the compensation of the chief executive officer and all other executive officers of our company be determined, or be recommended to the board for determination, by a compensation committee consisting solely of independent directors (subject to a minimum of two committee members).    

Nominating Committee

Our board of directors does not currently have a nominating committee, as director nominations are made in accordance with the terms of our articles, as described in “—Board of Directors” above. We rely upon the exemption available to foreign private issuers under the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market from the Nasdaq listing requirements related to independent director oversight of nominations to our board of directors and the adoption of a formal written charter or board resolution addressing the nominations process. Also see Item 16.G “Corporate Governance” below.

Internal Auditor

Under the Companies Law, the board of directors of an Israeli public company must appoint an internal auditor recommended by the audit committee and nominated by the board of directors. An internal auditor may not be:

•

a person (or a relative of a person) who holds more than 5% of the company’s outstanding shares or voting rights;

•

a person (or a relative of a person) who has the power to appoint a director or the general manager of the company;

•

an office holder (including a director) of the company (or a relative thereof); or

•

a member of the company’s independent accounting firm, or anyone on his or her behalf.

Approval of Related Party Transactions Under Israeli Law

Fiduciary Duties of Directors and Executive Officers

The Companies Law codifies the fiduciary duties that office holders owe to a company. Each person listed in the table under Item 6.A “Directors and Senior Management” is an office holder under the Companies Law.

An office holder’s fiduciary duties consist of a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires an office holder to act with the level of care with which a reasonable office holder in the same position would have acted under the same circumstances. The duty of loyalty requires that an office holder act in good faith and in the best interests of the company. The duty of care includes a duty to use reasonable means to obtain:

•

information on the advisability of a given action brought for his or her approval or performed by virtue of his or her position; and

•

all other important information pertaining to these actions.

The duty of loyalty requires an office holder to act in good faith and for the benefit of the company, and includes a duty to:

•

refrain from any conflict of interest between the performance of his or her duties to the company and his or her other duties or personal affairs;

•

refrain from any activity that is competitive with the company;    

•

refrain from exploiting any business opportunity of the company to receive a personal gain for himself or herself or others; and

•

disclose to the company any information or documents relating to the company’s affairs which the office holder received as a result of his or her position as an office holder.

Disclosure of Personal Interests of an Office Holder

The Companies Law requires that an office holder promptly disclose to the board of directors any personal interest that he or she may have and all related material information known to him or her and any documents concerning any existing or proposed transaction with the company. An interested office holder’s disclosure must be made promptly and in any event no later than the first meeting of the board of directors at which the transaction is considered. A “personal interest” includes an interest of any person in an act or transaction of a company, including a personal interest of one’s relative or of a corporate body in which such person or a relative of such person is a 5% or greater shareholder, director or general manager or in which he or she has the right to appoint at least one director or the general manager, but excluding a personal interest stemming from one’s ownership of shares in the company. A personal interest furthermore includes the personal interest of a person for whom the office holder holds a voting proxy or the interest of the office holder with respect to his or her vote on behalf of the shareholder for whom he or she holds a proxy even if such shareholder itself has no personal interest in the approval of the matter. An office holder is not, however, obliged to disclose a personal interest if it derives solely from the personal interest of his or her relative in a transaction that is not considered an extraordinary transaction. Under the Companies Law, an “extraordinary transaction” is defined as any of the following:

•

a transaction other than in the ordinary course of business;

•

a transaction that is not on market terms; or

•

a transaction that may have a material impact on a company’s profitability, assets or liabilities.

If it is determined that an office holder has a personal interest in a transaction, approval by the board of directors is required for the transaction, unless the company’s articles of association provide for a different method of approval. Further, so long as an office holder has disclosed his or her personal interest in a transaction, the board of directors may approve an action by the office holder that would otherwise be deemed a breach of duty of loyalty. However, a company may not approve a transaction or action that is adverse to the company’s interest or that is not performed by the office holder in good faith. Approval first by the company’s audit committee and subsequently by the board of directors is required for an extraordinary transaction with an office holder. Compensation of, or an undertaking to indemnify or insure, an office holder, requires approval by the compensation committee, the board of directors and, in certain cases (for directors, the chief executive officer, and any executive officer whose compensation terms do not conform to the then-existing compensation policy) the shareholders, in that order. Compensation of an individual office holder, including the chief executive officer (but excluding a director), that does not conform to the company’s compensation policy may be adopted under special circumstances despite failure to obtain shareholder approval if, following the relevant shareholder vote, the compensation committee followed by the board once again approves the compensation, based on renewed and specific analysis of relevant factors.

Generally, a person who has a personal interest in a matter which is considered at a meeting of the board of directors, the audit committee or compensation committee may not be present at such a meeting or vote on that matter unless a majority of the board, audit committee or compensation committee (as appropriate) has a personal interest in the matter, or unless the chairman of the board, audit committee or compensation committee (as appropriate) determines that he or she should be present in order to present the transaction that is subject to approval. If a majority of the members of the board, audit committee or compensation committee has a personal interest in the approval of a transaction, then all directors may participate in discussions of the board of directors, audit committee or compensation committee on such transaction and the voting on approval thereof, but shareholder approval is also required for such transaction.

Disclosure of Personal Interests of Controlling Shareholders

Pursuant to Israeli law, the disclosure requirements regarding personal interests that apply to directors and executive officers also apply to a controlling shareholder of a public company. In the context of a transaction involving a shareholder of the company, a controlling shareholder also includes any shareholder who holds 25% or more of the voting rights if no other shareholder holds more than 50% of the voting rights. Two or more shareholders with a personal interest in the approval of the same transaction are deemed to be a single shareholder and may be deemed a controlling shareholder for the purpose of approving such transaction. Extraordinary transactions with a controlling shareholder or in which a controlling shareholder has a personal interest, or a transaction with a controlling shareholder or his or her relative, directly or indirectly, require the approval of the audit committee, the board of directors and the shareholders of the company, in that order. In addition, the shareholder approval must fulfill one of the following requirements:

•

a disinterested majority; or

•

the votes of shareholders who have no personal interest in the transaction and who are present and voting, in person, by proxy or by voting deed at the meeting, and who vote against the transaction may not represent more than two percent (2%) of the voting rights of the company.

To the extent that any such transaction with a controlling shareholder is for a period extending beyond three years, approval is required once every three years, unless the audit committee determines that the duration of the transaction is reasonable given the circumstances related thereto.

The engagement of a controlling shareholder as an office holder or employee requires the same approvals as are described immediately above, except that the approval of the compensation committee, rather than the audit committee, is required.

Shareholder Duties

Pursuant to the Companies Law, a shareholder has a duty to act in good faith and in a customary manner toward the company and other shareholders and to refrain from abusing his or her power in the company, including, among other things, in voting at the general meeting of shareholders and at class shareholder meetings with respect to the following matters:

•

an amendment to the company’s articles of association;

•

an increase of the company’s authorized share capital;

•

a merger; or

•

In addition, a shareholder also has a general duty to refrain from discriminating against other shareholders.

In addition, certain shareholders have a duty of fairness toward the company. These shareholders include any controlling shareholder, any shareholder who knows that it has the power to determine the outcome of a shareholder vote or a shareholder class vote and any shareholder who has the power to appoint or to prevent the appointment of an office holder of the company or other power towards the company. The Companies Law does not define the substance of this duty of fairness, except to state that the remedies generally available upon a breach of contract will also apply in the event of a breach of the duty to act with fairness.

Exculpation, Insurance and Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Under the Companies Law, a company may not exculpate an office holder from liability for a breach of the duty of loyalty. An Israeli company may exculpate an office holder in advance from liability to the company, in whole or in part, for damages caused to the company as a result of a breach of duty of care but only if a provision authorizing such exculpation is inserted in its articles of association. Our amended articles include such a provision. The company may not exculpate in advance a director from liability arising out of a prohibited dividend or distribution to shareholders.

Under the Companies Law, a company may indemnify an office holder in respect of the following liabilities and expenses incurred for acts performed by him or her as an office holder, either in advance of an event or following an event, provided its articles of association include a provision authorizing such indemnification:

•

financial liability incurred by or imposed on him or her in favor of another person pursuant to a judgment, including a settlement or arbitrator’s award approved by a court. However, if an undertaking to indemnify an office holder with respect to such liability is provided in advance, then such an undertaking must be limited to events which, in the opinion of the board of directors, can be foreseen based on the company’s activities when the undertaking to indemnify is given, and to an amount or according to criteria determined by the board of directors as reasonable under the circumstances, and such undertaking shall detail the above mentioned foreseen events and amount or criteria;

•

reasonable litigation expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by the office holder as a result of an investigation or proceeding instituted against him or her by an authority authorized to conduct such investigation or proceeding, provided that (i) no indictment was filed against such office holder as a result of such investigation or proceeding; and (ii) no financial liability was imposed upon him or her as a substitute for the criminal proceeding as a result of such investigation or proceeding or, if such financial liability was imposed, it was imposed with respect to an offense that does not require proof of criminal intent; and

•

reasonable litigation expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by the office holder or imposed by a court in proceedings instituted against him or her by the company, on its behalf, or by a third party, or in connection with criminal proceedings in which the office holder was acquitted, or as a result of a conviction for an offense that does not require proof of criminal intent.   

Under the Companies Law, a company may insure an office holder against the following liabilities incurred for acts performed by him or her as an office holder if and to the extent provided in the company’s articles of association:

•

a breach of the duty of loyalty to the company, provided that the office holder acted in good faith and had a reasonable basis to believe that the act would not harm the company;

•

a breach of duty of care to the company or to a third party, to the extent such a breach arises out of the negligent conduct of the office holder; and

•

a financial liability imposed on the office holder in favor of a third party.

Under the Companies Law, a company may not indemnify, exculpate or insure an office holder against any of the following:

•

a breach of fiduciary duty, except for indemnification and insurance for a breach of the duty of loyalty to the company to the extent that the office holder acted in good faith and had a reasonable basis to believe that the act would not prejudice the company;

•

a breach of duty of care committed intentionally or recklessly, excluding a breach arising out of the negligent conduct of the office holder;

•

an act or omission committed with intent to derive illegal personal benefit; or

•

a fine or forfeit levied against the office holder.

Under the Companies Law, exculpation, indemnification and insurance of office holders must be approved by our compensation committee and our board of directors and, with respect to directors or controlling shareholders, their relatives and third parties in which such controlling shareholders have a personal interest, also by the shareholders. See “—Approval of Related Party Transactions Under Israeli Law—Fiduciary Duties of Directors and Executive Officers” above in this Item 6.C.

Our amended articles permit us to exculpate, indemnify and insure our office holders to the fullest extent permitted or to be permitted by the Companies Law.

We have obtained directors and officers liability, or D&O, insurance for the benefit of our office holders and intend to continue to maintain such coverage and pay all premiums thereunder to the fullest extent permitted by the Companies Law. Under our amended compensation policy (as approved by our shareholders at our 2020 annual general meeting), our D&O insurance is governed by the following guidelines:

. In addition, we have entered into agreements with each of our office holders undertaking to indemnify them to the fullest extent permitted by Israeli law.

Directors’ Service Contracts

We are not presently party to any service contracts with any of our directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment or other service.

D. Employees

The number of our full-time equivalent employees, and the distribution of employees (i) geographically and (ii) within the divisions of our company, in each case as of December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 are set forth in the two tables below.

During the years covered by the above tables, we did not employ a significant number of temporary employees.

While our Israeli employees, and the vast majority of all of our employees globally are not, party to a collective bargaining agreement, certain provisions of the collective bargaining agreements between the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) and the Coordination Bureau of Economic Organizations (including the Industrialists’ Associations) are applicable to our employees in Israel by order of the Israel Ministry of Labor. These provisions primarily concern the length of the workday, minimum daily wages for professional workers, pension fund benefits for all employees, insurance for work-related accidents, procedures for dismissing employees, determination of severance pay and other conditions of employment. We generally provide our employees with benefits and working conditions beyond the required minimums.

We have never experienced any employment-related work stoppages. We believe that our relationship with our employees is good.

The employees of our subsidiaries are subject to local labor laws and regulations that vary from country to country.

E. Share Ownership.

The following table lists, as of February 14, 2022, the number of our ordinary shares owned, and stock options held, by each of the directors and members of our senior management who served as such during the year (including for part of the year) ended December 31, 2021: