Micron Technology (MU) 10-K2022 FY Annual report

All period references are to our fiscal periods unless otherwise indicated. Our fiscal year is the 52 or 53-week period ending on the Thursday closest to August 31. Fiscal 2022 and 2021 contained 52 weeks and fiscal 2020 contained 53 weeks. Our fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 contained 14 weeks and all other fiscal quarters in the years presented contained 13 weeks.

This Form 10-K contains trend information and other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "pledge," "committed," "plan," "opportunities," "future," "believe," "target," "on track," "estimate," "continue," "likely," "may," "will," "would," "should," "could," and variations of such words and similar expressions. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Specific forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements such as those made regarding plans to start ramping our 1ß DRAM in manufacturing; plans to implement EUV lithography; the impact of COVID-19 to our business; the expected decline in bit shipments and pricing for both DRAM and NAND in the first quarter of 2023; the expected decrease in our gross margin percentage in the first quarter of 2023; reductions in utilization of our manufacturing facilities; the impact of inflationary pressures on costs in the first quarter of 2023; potential increases in our effective tax rate; estimates of tax expense for 2023; the timing for construction and ramping of production for new memory manufacturing fabs in the United States; the receipt of government grants and investment tax credits, the sufficiency of our cash and investments; the payment of future cash dividends; capital spending in 2023; funding of sustainability-focused projects; and results of tax return examinations. Our actual results could differ materially from our historical results and those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, those identified in “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

We manufacture our products at wholly-owned facilities and also utilize subcontractors for certain manufacturing processes. Our global network of manufacturing centers of excellence not only allows us to benefit from scale while streamlining processes and operations, but it also brings together some of the world’s brightest talent to work on the most advanced memory technology. Centers of excellence bring expertise together in one location, providing an efficient support structure for end-to-end manufacturing, with quicker cycle times, in partnership with teams such as research and development (“R&D”), product engineering, human resources, procurement and supply chain. For our locations in Singapore and Taiwan, this is also a combination of bringing fabrication and back-end manufacturing together. We make significant investments to develop proprietary product and process technology, which generally increases bit density per wafer and reduces per-bit manufacturing costs of each generation of product. We continue to introduce new generations of products that offer improved performance characteristics, including higher data transfer rates, advanced packaging solutions, lower power consumption, improved read/write reliability, and increased memory density.

We face intense competition in the semiconductor memory and storage markets and to remain competitive we must continuously develop and implement new products and technologies and decrease manufacturing costs in spite of ongoing inflationary cost pressures. Our success is largely dependent on obtaining returns on our R&D investments, efficient utilization of our manufacturing infrastructure, development and integration of advanced product and process technologies, market acceptance of our diversified portfolio of semiconductor-based memory and storage solutions, and efficient capital spending.

In the second quarter of 2021, we updated our portfolio strategy to further strengthen our focus on memory and storage innovations for the data center market. In connection therewith, we determined that there was insufficient market validation to justify the ongoing investments required to commercialize 3D XPoint at scale. Accordingly, we ceased development of 3D XPoint technology and engaged in discussions with potential buyers for the sale of our facility located in Lehi, Utah that was dedicated to 3D XPoint production. As a result, we classified the property, plant, and equipment as held for sale as of the second quarter of 2021 and ceased depreciating the assets. On June 30, 2021, we announced a definitive agreement to sell our Lehi facility to TI and closed the sale on October 22, 2021.

In the first quarter of 2022, we received $893 million from TI for the sale of the Lehi facility and disposed of $918 million of net assets, consisting primarily of property, plant, and equipment of $921 million; $55 million of other assets, consisting primarily of a receivable for reimbursement of property taxes, equipment spare parts, and raw materials; and $58 million of liabilities, consisting primarily of a finance lease obligation. As a result of the disposition of the Lehi facility and other related adjustments, we recognized a loss of $23 million included in restructure and asset impairments in the first quarter of 2022.

In 2021, we recognized a charge of $435 million included in restructure and asset impairments in connection with the definitive agreement with TI (and a tax benefit of $104 million included in income tax (provision) benefit) to write down the assets held for sale to the expected consideration, net of estimated selling costs. We also recognized a charge of $49 million to cost of goods sold in 2021 to write down 3D XPoint inventory due to our decision to cease further development of this technology.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and continues to have, a significant impact around the world, prompting governments and businesses to take measures such as restrictions on travel and business operations, temporary closures of businesses, and quarantine and shelter-in-place orders. The pandemic and efforts to address it have at times significantly curtailed global economic activity and caused volatility and disruption in global financial markets and may do so in the future. In addition, our workforce and operations, the operations of our customers, and those of our vendors and suppliers around the world have been impacted at times and may in the future be impacted by the pandemic and related measures to address it.

Throughout the pandemic, we have implemented and updated our protocols and procedures in an effort to maintain a healthy and safe environment. We remain committed to the health and safety of our team members, contractors, suppliers, customers, distributors, and communities. We cannot predict how the pandemic or the steps we, our team members, government entities, suppliers, or customers take in response will ultimately impact our business, outlook, or results of operations.

Our product portfolio of memory and storage solutions, advanced solutions, and storage platforms is based on our high-performance semiconductor memory and storage technologies, including DRAM, NAND, and NOR. We sell our products into various markets through our business units in numerous forms, including components, modules, SSDs, managed NAND, MCPs, and wafers. Our system-level solutions, including SSDs and managed NAND, combine NAND, a controller, firmware, and in some cases DRAM.

CNBU includes memory products and solutions sold into client, cloud server, enterprise, graphics, and networking markets. CNBU reported revenue of $13.69 billion in 2022, $12.28 billion in 2021, and $9.18 billion in 2020. CNBU sales in 2022 consisted primarily of DRAM products produced on 1x, 1y, 1z, and 1α (1-alpha) technology nodes. In 2022, we ramped our industry-leading 1α DRAM node. Our newest node, 1ß (1-beta), is on track to ramp manufacturing of CNBU products in 2023.

MBU includes memory products sold into smartphone and other mobile-device markets including discrete NAND, DRAM, and managed NAND products. MBU managed NAND includes embedded multi-media controller (“e.MMC”) and universal flash storage (“UFS”) solutions, each of which combine high-capacity NAND with a high-speed controller and firmware, and eMCP/uMCP products, which combine an e.MMC/UFS solution with LPDRAM. MBU reported revenue of $7.26 billion in 2022, $7.20 billion in 2021, and $5.70 billion in 2020. In 2022, we continued to deliver key mobile customer qualifications and strong mobile product ramps on our leading nodes. We expanded our 1α LPDRAM leadership with our 1α LPDDR5. For the fourth quarter of 2022, 176-layer NAND comprised approximately 95% of our mobile NAND bit shipments and we began volume production of the world’s first 232-layer NAND.

EBU includes memory and storage products sold into industrial, automotive, and consumer markets and includes discrete and module DRAM, discrete NAND, managed NAND, SSDs, and NOR. EBU reported revenue of $5.24 billion in 2022, $4.21 billion in 2021, and $2.76 billion in 2020. The embedded market has traditionally been characterized by long life-cycle DRAM and non-volatile products manufactured on mature process technologies. Strong trends of digitization, connectivity, and intelligence in every device, are driving increasing demand in embedded markets for memory and storage products that incorporate leading process technologies. Our embedded products enable edge devices to store, connect, and transform information in the internet of things (“IoT”) market and are utilized in a diverse set of applications in the automotive, industrial, and consumer markets.

SBU includes SSDs and component-level solutions sold into enterprise and cloud, client, and consumer storage markets and discrete NAND sold in component and wafer forms for usage in various markets. SBU reported revenue of $4.55 billion in 2022, $3.97 billion in 2021, and $3.77 billion in 2020. In 2022, 176-layer NAND comprised the the largest portion of SBU’s NAND bit shipments. In 2022, we also began volume production of the world’s first 232-layer NAND. It features higher areal density and delivers higher capacity and improved energy efficiency over previous generations of our NAND, to enable best-in-class support of the most data-intensive use cases from client to cloud.

We seek to build collaborative relationships with our customers to understand their unique opportunities and challenges. By engaging with our customers early in the product life-cycle to identify and design features and performance characteristics into our products, we are able to manufacture products that anticipate and address our customers’ changing needs. Collaborating with our customers on their design needs in changing end markets and meeting their timelines for qualifying new products, allows us to differentiate our memory and storage solutions, which provides greater value to our customers.

Our semiconductor memory and storage products are offered under our Micron and Crucial brand names and through private labels. We market our semiconductor memory and storage products primarily through our own direct sales force and maintain sales or representative offices to support our worldwide customer base. Our products are also offered through independent sales representatives, distributors, and retailers. Our independent sales representatives obtain orders, subject to final acceptance by us, and we then make shipments against these orders directly to customers or through our distributors. Our distributors carry our products in inventory and typically sell a variety of other semiconductor products, including our competitors’ products. We sell our Crucial-branded products through a web-based customer direct sales channel as well as through channel and distribution partners. We maintain inventory at locations in close proximity to certain key customers to facilitate rapid delivery of products.

Due to volatile industry conditions, our customers are generally reluctant to enter into long-term, fixed-price purchase contracts. We typically accept orders with acknowledgment that pricing, quantity, and other terms may be adjusted to reflect market conditions at the time of shipment.

In each of the last three years, approximately one-half of our total revenue was from our top ten customers. For other information regarding our concentrations and customers, see “Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Certain Concentrations.”

We face intense competition in the semiconductor memory and storage markets from a number of companies, including Intel; Kioxia Holdings Corporation; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; SK hynix Inc.; and Western Digital Corporation. Our competitors may use aggressive pricing to obtain market share. Some of our competitors are large corporations or conglomerates that may have greater resources to invest in technology, capitalize on growth opportunities, and withstand downturns in the semiconductor markets in which we compete. Consolidation of industry competitors could put us at a competitive disadvantage as our competitors may benefit from increased manufacturing scale and a stronger product portfolio.

In addition, some governments may provide, or have provided and may continue to provide, significant assistance, financial or otherwise, to some of our competitors or to new entrants and may intervene in support of national industries and/or competitors. In particular, we face the threat of increasing competition as a result of significant investment in the semiconductor industry by the Chinese government and various state-owned or affiliated entities, such as Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (“YMTC”) and ChangXin Memory Technologies, Inc. (“CXMT”), that is intended to advance China’s stated national policy objectives. In addition, the Chinese government may restrict us from participating in the China market or may prevent us from competing effectively with Chinese companies.

We and our competitors generally seek to increase wafer output, improve yields, and reduce die size, which could result in significant increases in worldwide supply and downward pressure on prices. Increases in worldwide supply of semiconductor memory and storage also result from fabrication capacity expansions, either by way of new facilities, increased capacity utilization, or reallocation of other semiconductor production to semiconductor memory and storage production. Our competitors may increase capital expenditures resulting in future increases in worldwide supply. We, and some of our competitors, have plans to ramp, or are constructing or ramping, production at new fabrication facilities. Increases in worldwide supply of semiconductor memory and storage, if not accompanied by commensurate increases in demand, could lead to declines in average selling prices for our products and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition. If competitors are more successful at developing or implementing new product or process technology, their products could have cost or performance advantages.

We manufacture our products within our own facilities located in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, the United States, Malaysia, and China, and also utilize subcontractors to perform certain manufacturing processes. Our products are manufactured on 300mm wafers in facilities that generally operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Semiconductor manufacturing is capital intensive, requiring large investments in sophisticated facilities and equipment. Our DRAM, NAND, and NOR products share a number of common manufacturing processes, enabling us to leverage our product and process technology and certain resources and manufacturing infrastructure across these product lines.

Our process for manufacturing semiconductor products is complex and involves numerous precise steps, including wafer fabrication, assembly, and test. Efficient production of semiconductor products requires utilization of advanced semiconductor manufacturing techniques and effectively deploying those techniques across multiple facilities. The primary determinants of manufacturing cost are process line-width, 3D non-volatile layers, NAND cell levels, process complexity (including the number of mask layers and fabrication steps), and manufacturing yield. Other factors include the cost and sophistication of manufacturing equipment, equipment utilization, cost of raw materials, labor productivity, package type, cleanliness of our manufacturing environment, and utilization of subcontractors to perform certain manufacturing processes. As we continue to increase our production of high value products and solutions, manufacturing costs are increasingly affected by the costs of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) controllers and other semiconductors, advanced and complex packaging configurations, and testing at progressively higher performance speeds and quality levels. We continuously enhance our production processes, increase bits per wafer, transition to higher density products, and utilize advanced testing and assembly processes.

Wafer fabrication occurs in a highly-controlled clean environment to minimize yield loss from contaminants. Despite stringent manufacturing controls, individual circuits may be nonfunctional or wafers may be scrapped due to equipment errors, minute impurities in materials, defects in photomasks, circuit design marginalities or defects, or contamination from airborne particles, among other factors. Success of our manufacturing operations depends largely on minimizing defects and improving process margin to maximize yield of high-quality circuits. In this regard, we employ rigorous quality controls throughout the manufacturing, screening, and testing processes. We continue to heighten quality control as our product offerings expand into higher-end segments that require increasing performance targets.

Our products are manufactured and sold in both packaged form and as unpackaged bare die. Our packaged products include packaged die, memory modules, and system-level solutions, such as SSDs, managed NAND, and MCPs. We assemble many products in-house and, in some cases, outsource assembly services for certain packaged die, memory modules, SSDs, and MCPs. We test our products at various stages in the manufacturing process, conduct numerous quality control inspections throughout the entire production flow, and perform high temperature burn-in on finished products. In addition, we use our proprietary AMBYX™ line of intelligent test and burn-in systems to perform simultaneous circuit tests of semiconductor die, capturing quality and reliability data and reducing testing time and cost.

In recent years, we have produced an increasingly broad portfolio of products and system solutions, which enhances our ability to allocate resources to our most profitable products but also increases the complexity of our manufacturing and supply chain operations. Although our product lines generally use similar manufacturing processes, our costs can be affected by frequent conversions to new products; the allocation of manufacturing capacity to more complex, smaller-volume products; and the reallocation of manufacturing capacity across various product lines.

Our supply chain and operations are dependent on the availability of materials that meet exacting standards and the use of third parties to provide us with components and services. We generally have multiple sources of supply for our materials and services. However, only a limited number of suppliers are capable of delivering certain materials, components, and services that meet our standards and, in some cases, materials, components, or services are provided by a single or sole source, and we may be unable to qualify new suppliers on a timely basis. The availability of materials or components such as chemicals, silicon wafers, gases, photoresist, controllers, substrates, lead frames, printed circuit boards, targets, and reticle glass blanks is impacted by various factors. These factors could include a shortage of raw materials or a disruption in the processing or purification of those raw materials into finished goods. Shortages or increases in lead times have occurred in the past, are currently occurring with respect to some materials and components, and may occur from time to time in the future. Constraints within our supply chain for certain materials and integrated circuit components could limit our bit shipments, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our manufacturing processes are also dependent on our relationships with third-party manufacturers of controllers, analog integrated circuits, and other components used in some of our products and with outsourced semiconductor foundries, assembly and test providers, contract manufacturers, logistics carriers, and other service providers, including providers of electricity and other utilities. Although we have certain long-term contracts with some of our suppliers, many of these contracts do not provide for long-term capacity or pricing commitments. To the extent we do not have firm commitments from our third-party suppliers over a specific time period or for any specific capacity, quantity, and/or pricing, our suppliers may allocate capacity to their other customers and capacity and/or materials may not be available when needed or at reasonable prices. Inflationary pressures and shortages have increased, and may continue to increase costs for materials, supplies, and services. Regardless of contract structure, large swings in demand may exceed our contracted supply and/or our suppliers’ capacity to meet those demand changes resulting in a shortage of parts, materials, or capacity needed to manufacture our products. In addition, if any of our suppliers was to cease operations or become insolvent, this could impact their ability to provide us with necessary supplies, and we may not be able to obtain the needed supply in a timely way or at all from other providers.

Certain materials are primarily available in a limited number of countries, including rare earth elements, minerals, and metals. Trade disputes, geopolitical tensions, economic circumstances, political conditions, or public health issues, such as COVID-19, may limit our ability to obtain such materials. Although these rare earth and other materials are generally available from multiple suppliers, China is the predominant producer of certain of these materials. If China were to restrict or stop exporting these materials, our suppliers’ ability to obtain such supply may be constrained and we may be unable to obtain sufficient quantities, or obtain supply in a timely manner, or at a commercially reasonable cost. Constrained supply of rare earth elements, minerals, and metals may restrict our ability to manufacture certain of our products and make it difficult or impossible to compete with other semiconductor memory manufacturers who are able to obtain sufficient quantities of these materials from China.

We and/or our suppliers and service providers could be affected by regional conflicts, sanctions, tariffs, embargoes, or other trade restrictions, as well as laws and regulations enacted in response to concerns regarding climate change, conflict minerals, responsible sourcing practices, public health crises, contagious disease outbreaks, or other matters, which could limit the supply of our materials and/or increase the cost. Environmental regulations could limit our ability to procure or use certain chemicals or materials in our operations or products. In addition, disruptions in transportation lines could delay our receipt of materials. Our ability to procure components to repair equipment essential for our manufacturing processes could also be negatively impacted by various restrictions or disruptions in supply chains, among other items. The disruption of our supply of materials, components, or services, or the extension of our lead times could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our inability to source materials, supplies, or third-party services could affect our overall production output and our ability to fulfill customer demand. Significant or prolonged shortages of our products could halt customer manufacturing and damage our relationships with these customers. Any damage to our customer relationships as a result of a shortage of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition. Similarly, if our customers experience disruptions to their supplies, materials, components, or services, or the extension of their lead times, they may reduce, cancel, or alter the timing of their purchases with us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

As of September 1, 2022, we owned approximately 16,500 active U.S. patents and 8,100 active foreign patents. In addition, we have thousands of U.S. and foreign patent applications pending. Our patents have various terms expiring through 2042.

From time to time, we sell and/or license our technology to other parties and continue to pursue opportunities to monetize our investments in our intellectual property through partnering and other arrangements. We have also jointly developed memory and storage product and process technology with third parties on a limited basis.

We have a number of patent and intellectual property license agreements and have, from time to time, licensed or sold our intellectual property to third parties. Some of these license agreements require us to make one-time or periodic payments while others have resulted in us receiving payments. We may need to obtain additional licenses or renew existing license agreements in the future, and we may enter into additional sales or licenses of intellectual property and partnering arrangements. We are unable to predict whether these license agreements can be obtained or renewed on terms acceptable to us.

Our R&D efforts are focused primarily on development of memory and storage solutions, including our industry leading DRAM and NAND technology, that enable continuous improvement in performance and cost structure for our products. In DRAM, our 1α node was introduced several quarters ahead of the industry, and our newest node, 1ß, is on track to start ramping in manufacturing by the end of calendar 2022. We plan to implement EUV lithography on the DRAM node after 1ß. In NAND, the introduction of our 176-layer node was also ahead of the industry and we recently announced volume production of the world’s first 232-layer NAND. We are also focused on developing new fundamentally different memory structures, materials, and packages designed to facilitate our transition to next generation products. Additional R&D efforts are concentrated on the enablement of advanced computing, storage, and mobile memory architectures and the investigation of new opportunities that leverage our core semiconductor expertise. Product design and development efforts include high-density DDR5, LPDDR5, HBM, Compute Express Link (“CXL”) based products, and advanced graphics DRAM; 3D NAND (including TLC and QLC technologies); mobile and storage solutions (including firmware and controllers); managed NAND; SSDs; and other memory technologies and systems.

To compete in the semiconductor memory and storage markets, we must continue to develop technologically advanced products and processes. The continued evolution of our semiconductor product offerings is necessary to meet expected customer requirements for memory and storage products and solutions. Our process, design, firmware, controller, package, and system development efforts occur at multiple locations across the world. Our primary R&D centers are located in Boise, Idaho; India; Japan; China; Taiwan; Italy; Singapore; Germany; and other sites in the United States.

R&D expenses vary primarily with the number of development and pre-qualification wafers processed and end-product solutions developed, personnel costs, and the cost of advanced equipment dedicated to new product and process development, such as investments in EUV lithography equipment. Because of the lead times necessary to manufacture our products, we typically begin to process wafers before completion of performance and reliability testing. Development of a product is deemed complete when it is qualified through internal reviews and tests for performance, functionality, and reliability. R&D expenses can vary significantly depending on the timing of product qualification.

We depend on a highly educated and experienced workforce to design, develop, and manufacture high-quality, cutting-edge memory and storage solutions. As of September 1, 2022, we had approximately 48,000 employees located in the following regions:

As of September 1, 2022, 31% of our global workforce were women, compared to 30% as of September 2, 2021 and 24% of our technical or engineering roles were held by women, as compared to 23% as of September 2, 2021. Women comprised 17% of our senior leaders as of September 1, 2022, as compared to 15% as of September 2, 2021.

Our Board of Directors was comprised of four men and four women as of September 1, 2022. In addition, as of September 1, 2022, based on self-identification, one member of our Board of Directors is Asian, one member is African-American, and six members are White. One member of our Board of Directors is a veteran of the U.S. military.

Finding and retaining the best and brightest people in an extremely competitive industry environment is a strategic imperative for our business. We have partnerships with colleges and universities worldwide and through this collaboration, we offer curricula and mentorship programs that reinforce awareness of and engagement with Micron among students and graduates. In addition, we use AI to reduce or eliminate the potential for bias from resumes, allowing us to focus on individual merit over personal characteristics.

Periodically, we invite all team members to participate in our internal engagement survey, which covers questions that measure and provide insight into meaningfulness, availability, psychological safety, leadership, and inclusive behaviors. In March 2022, 89% of our team members participated in the survey. Management uses feedback from the survey to identify and implement continuous improvements to our culture and workplace practices.

Our compensation programs are designed to support our team members’ financial and personal well-being by providing a valuable return for their contributions to the company. Our total compensation strategy includes base salary, annual bonuses, equity awards, a discounted stock purchase plan, and a comprehensive benefits package.

In 2021, we set six commitments, each with an executive sponsor, to advance diversity, equality, and inclusion (“DEI”) globally and at all levels of the company. By the end of 2021, we had met or exceeded our goals for the first four commitments below and we are on our way to achieving all six:

We have a regular review of pay globally, including base pay and stock awards, to drive compensation equitably. We achieved comprehensive global pay equity for all underrepresented employees in total compensation across base pay, bonuses, and stock rewards in 2022 and 2021. We also continually assess our global leave, medical, and financial benefits to ensure inclusiveness. A pay equity analysis will continue to be conducted annually with our base pay merit review. In addition, a portion of our company-wide annual bonus program is based on the achievement of DEI-related goals.

Proactive efforts to prevent occupational illnesses and injuries allow us to maintain a safe, healthy, and secure workplace. Each of our sites have health and safety committees, which are designed to promote overall operations and communications regarding safety and to help lead and implement secure and compliant work areas. Our safety program creates a unified corporate safety culture by establishing a formal training structure and common safety practices across our global facilities. See “Item 1. Business – Overview – Impact of COVID-19 on Our Business.”

In addition to our proactive efforts on safety, we have increased our focus on providing enhanced services to our team members including free mental health and counseling support, providing critical-incident stress management services and emotional support sessions, offering a work-from-home toolkit, and encouraging team members to earn incentives by participating in wellbeing challenges and measuring their personal progress.

We are a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (“RBA”), a group of leading companies focused on promoting responsible working conditions, ethical business practices, and environmental stewardship throughout our global supply chain. We strive to adhere to both our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (available on our website, www.micron.com) and the RBA code of conduct, which is a demonstration of our commitment to integrity and responsible practices.

Additional information about our human capital, including people development, wellbeing and benefits, DEI, and safety is included in our 2022 Sustainability Report and our 2021 DEI Annual Report, each available on our website. Information contained or referenced on our website is not incorporated by reference and does not form a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our worldwide business activities are subject to various federal, state, local, and foreign laws and our products are governed by a number of rules and regulations. The efforts and expenditures needed to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations do not presently have a material impact on our results of operations, capital expenditures, or competitive position. Nevertheless, compliance with existing or future government laws, including, but not limited to, our operations, products, global trade, business acquisitions, employee health and safety, and taxes could have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations, capital expenditures, or competitive position. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for a discussion of these potential impacts.

Manufacturing of our products is subject to extensive and evolving federal, state, local, and foreign environmental laws and regulations. We approach environmental compliance and sustainability proactively to ensure we meet applicable government regulations regarding use of raw materials, discharges, emissions, climate change and energy use, and waste disposal from our manufacturing processes and address the expectations of our investors, customers, team members, and other stakeholders. Compliance with the law and other obligations is a minimum environmental expectation at Micron. Our wafer fabrication facilities continued to conform to the requirements of the ISO 14001:2015 environmental management systems standard to ensure we are continuously improving our performance. As part of the ISO 14001 framework, we have established a global environmental policy and meet requirements, such as environmental aspects evaluation and control, compliance obligations, commitment, training, communication, document control, operational control, emergency preparedness and response, and management review. While we have not experienced any material adverse effects to our operations from environmental regulations, changes in regulations could necessitate additional capital expenditures, modification of our operations or chemical usage, or other compliance actions.

Sales of our memory and storage products, and the transfer of related technical information and know-how, including support, are subject to laws and regulations governing international trade, including, but not limited to, export control, customs, and sanctions regulations administered by U.S. government agencies such as the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of Foreign Asset Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Other jurisdictions, such as the European Union or China, also maintain, or may implement, similar laws and regulations with which we must comply. Any such laws or regulations may require that we either obtain licenses or other authorizations to export certain of our products or sell them to certain countries, companies, or individuals, or, in the absence of such licenses or authorizations, not export or sell the applicable products or transfer the related technical information and know-how to the affected countries, companies, or individuals. In addition, increased tariffs imposed by the countries in which our products are sold can increase the cost of our product to our customers. The laws and regulations that govern international trade change frequently, sometimes without advance notice. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Risks Related to Laws and Regulations – Government actions and regulations, such as export restrictions, tariffs and trade protection measures, may limit our ability to sell our products to certain customers or markets, or could otherwise restrict our ability to conduct operations” and “ – Risks Related to Our Business, Operations, and Industry – We face geopolitical and other risks associated with our international operations that could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition.”

We and/or our suppliers and service providers could be affected by tariffs, embargoes, or other trade restrictions, as well as laws and regulations enacted in response to concerns regarding climate change, conflict minerals, responsible sourcing practices, public health crises, contagious disease outbreaks, or other matters, which could limit the supply of our materials and/or increase the cost. Environmental regulations could limit our ability to procure or use certain chemicals or materials in our operations or products. In addition, disruptions in transportation lines could delay our receipt of materials. Lead times for the supply of materials have been extended in the past. Our ability to procure components to repair equipment essential for our manufacturing processes could also be negatively impacted by various restrictions or disruptions in supply chains, among other items. The disruption of our supply of materials, components, or services, or the extension of our lead times could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition. Similarly, if our customers experience disruptions to their supplies, materials, components, or services, or the extension of their lead times, they may reduce, cancel, or alter the timing of their purchases with us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our executive officers are appointed annually by our Board of Directors and our directors are elected annually by our shareholders. All officers serve until their successors are duly chosen or elected and qualified, except in the case of earlier death, resignation, or removal.

Our executive offices are located at 8000 South Federal Way, Boise, Idaho 83716-9632 and our telephone number is (208) 368-4000. Information about us is available on our website, www.micron.com. Also available on our website are our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Governance and Sustainability Committee Charter, Compensation Committee Charter, Audit Committee Charter, Finance Committee Charter, Security Committee Charter, and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Any amendments or waivers of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics will also be posted on our website within four business days of the amendment or waiver. Copies of these documents are available to shareholders upon request. Information contained or referenced on our website is not incorporated by reference and does not form a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Investors and others should note that we announce material financial information about our business and products through a variety of means, including our investor relations website (investors.micron.com), filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), press releases, public conference calls, blog posts (micron.com/about/blog), and webcasts. We use these channels to achieve broad, non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media, and others interested in our company to review the information we post on such channels.

Our filings are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC, including our annual and quarterly reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, our proxy statements, and any amendments to those reports or statements. The SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The content on any website referred to in this Form 10-K is not incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K unless expressly noted.

In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere in this Form 10-K, this section discusses important factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements made by us. The order of presentation is not necessarily indicative of the level of risk that each factor poses to us. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, or stock price. Our operations could also be affected by other factors that are presently unknown to us or not considered significant.

We have experienced significant volatility in our average selling prices and may continue to experience such volatility in the future. For DRAM, annual percentage changes in average selling prices have ranged from plus or minus approximately 35% since 2017. For NAND, average selling prices have generally declined since 2017, with annual price declines ranging from approximately 10% to nearly 50%. In some prior periods, average selling prices for our products have been below our manufacturing costs and we may experience such circumstances in the future. Average selling prices for our products that decline faster than our costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our gross margins are dependent, in part, upon continuing decreases in per gigabit manufacturing costs achieved through improvements in our manufacturing processes and product designs. Factors that may limit our ability to reduce our per gigabit manufacturing costs at sufficient levels to maintain or improve gross margins include, but are not limited to:

Many factors may result in a reduction of our output or a delay in ramping production, which could lead to underutilization of our production assets. These factors may include, among others, a weak demand environment, industry oversupply, inventory surpluses, difficulties in ramping emerging technologies, supply chain disruptions, and delays from equipment suppliers. A significant portion of our manufacturing costs are fixed and do not vary proportionally with changes in production output. As a result, lower utilization and corresponding increases in our per gigabit manufacturing costs may adversely affect our gross margins, business, results of operations, or financial condition.

We have a broad portfolio of products to address our customers’ needs, which span multiple market segments and are subject to rapid technological changes. Our manufacturing costs on a per gigabit basis vary across our portfolio as they are largely influenced by the technology node in which the solution was developed. We strive to balance our demand and supply for each technology node, but the dynamics of our markets and our customers can create periods of imbalance, which can lead us to carry elevated inventory levels. Consequently, we may incur charges in connection with obsolete or excess inventories or we may not fully recover our costs, which would reduce our gross margins. In addition, due to the customized nature of certain of the products we manufacture, we may be unable to sell certain finished goods inventories to alternative customers or manufacture in-process inventory to different specifications, which may result in excess and obsolescence charges in future periods.

In addition, if we are unable to supply products that meet customer design and performance specifications, we may be required to sell such products at lower average selling prices, which may reduce our gross margins. Our gross margins may also be impacted by shifts in product mix, driven by our strategy to optimize our portfolio to best respond to changing market dynamics.

Our inability to maintain or improve gross margins could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

We face intense competition in the semiconductor memory and storage markets from a number of companies, including Intel; Kioxia Holdings Corporation; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; SK hynix Inc.; and Western Digital Corporation. Our competitors may use aggressive pricing to obtain market share. Some of our competitors are large corporations or conglomerates that may have greater resources to invest in technology, capitalize on growth opportunities, and withstand downturns in the semiconductor markets in which we compete. Consolidation of industry competitors could put us at a competitive disadvantage as our competitors may benefit from increased manufacturing scale and a stronger product portfolio.

In addition, some governments may provide, or have provided and may continue to provide, significant assistance, financial or otherwise, to some of our competitors or to new entrants and may intervene in support of national industries and/or competitors. In particular, we face the threat of increasing competition as a result of significant investment in the semiconductor industry by the Chinese government and various state-owned or affiliated entities, such as YMTC and CXMT, that is intended to advance China’s stated national policy objectives. In addition, the Chinese government may restrict us from participating in the China market or may prevent us from competing effectively with Chinese companies.

We and our competitors generally seek to increase wafer output, improve yields, and reduce die size, which could result in significant increases in worldwide supply and downward pressure on prices. Increases in worldwide supply of semiconductor memory and storage also result from fabrication capacity expansions, either by way of new facilities, increased capacity utilization, or reallocation of other semiconductor production to semiconductor memory and storage production. Our competitors may increase capital expenditures resulting in future increases in worldwide supply. We, and some of our competitors, have plans to ramp, or are constructing or ramping, production at new fabrication facilities. Increases in worldwide supply of semiconductor memory and storage, if not accompanied by commensurate increases in demand, could lead to declines in average selling prices for our products and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition. If competitors are more successful at developing or implementing new product or process technology, their products could have cost or performance advantages.

The competitive nature of our industry could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Downturns in the worldwide economy, due to inflation, geopolitics, major central bank policy actions including interest rate increases, public health crises, or other factors, have harmed our business in the past and future downturns could also adversely affect our business. Adverse economic conditions affect demand for devices that incorporate our products, such as personal computers, smartphones, automobiles, and servers. Reduced demand for these or other products could result in significant decreases in our average selling prices and product sales. In addition, to the extent our customers or distributors have elevated inventory levels, we may experience a decrease in short-term and/or long-term demand resulting in industry oversupply and declines in pricing for our products.

A deterioration of conditions in worldwide credit markets could limit our ability to obtain external financing to fund our operations and capital expenditures. In addition, we may experience losses on our holdings of cash and investments due to failures of financial institutions and other parties. Difficult economic conditions may also result in a higher rate of losses on our accounts receivable due to credit defaults. As a result, downturns in the worldwide economy could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our key semiconductor memory and storage technologies face technological barriers to continue to meet long-term customer needs. These barriers include potential limitations on stacking additional 3D memory layers, increasing bits per cell (i.e., cell levels), meeting higher density requirements, improving power consumption and reliability, and delivering advanced features and higher performance. We may face technological barriers to continue to shrink our products at our current or historical rate, which has generally reduced per gigabit cost. We have invested and expect to continue to invest in R&D for new and existing products and process technologies, such as EUV lithography, to continue to deliver advanced product requirements. Such new technologies can add complexity and risk to our schedule and may affect our costs and production output. We may be unable to recover our investment in R&D or otherwise realize the economic benefits of reducing die size or increasing memory and storage densities. Our competitors are working to develop new memory and storage technologies that may offer performance and/or cost advantages to existing technologies and render existing technologies obsolete. Accordingly, our future success may depend on our ability to develop and produce viable and competitive new memory and storage technologies.

We are developing new products, including system-level memory and storage products and solutions, which complement our traditional products or leverage their underlying design or process technology. We have invested and expect to continue to invest in new semiconductor product and system-level solution development. We are increasingly differentiating our products and solutions to meet the specific demands of our customers, which increases our reliance on our customers’ ability to accurately forecast the needs and preferences of their customers. As a result, our product demand forecasts may be impacted significantly by the strategic actions of our customers. In addition, our ability to successfully introduce new products often requires us to make product specification decisions multiple years in advance of when new products enter the market.

It is important that we deliver products in a timely manner with increasingly advanced performance characteristics at the time our customers are designing and evaluating samples for their products. If we do not meet their product design schedules, our customers may exclude us from further consideration as a supplier for those products. The process to develop new products requires us to demonstrate advanced functionality, performance, and reliability, often well in advance of a planned ramp of production, in order to secure design wins with our customers. Many factors may negatively impact our ability to meet anticipated timelines and/or expected or required quality standards with respect to the development of certain of our products. In addition, some of our components have long lead-times, requiring us to place orders up to a year in advance of anticipated demand. Such long lead-times increase the risk of excess inventory or loss of sales in the event our forecasts vary substantially from actual demand.

There can be no assurance of the following:

Unsuccessful efforts to develop new memory and storage technologies and products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

In each of the last three years, approximately one-half of our total revenue was from our top ten customers. A disruption in our relationship with any of these customers could adversely affect our business. We could experience fluctuations in our customer base or the mix of revenue by customer as markets and strategies evolve. Our customers’ demand for our products may fluctuate due to factors beyond our control. In addition, any consolidation of our customers could reduce the number of customers to whom our products may be sold. Our inability to meet our customers’ requirements or to qualify our products with them could adversely impact our revenue. A meaningful change in the inventory strategy of our customers could impact our industry bit demand growth outlook. The loss of, or restrictions on our ability to sell to, one or more of our major customers, or any significant reduction in orders from, or a shift in product mix by, customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

In addition to our U.S. operations, a substantial portion of our operations are conducted in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, China, and India, and many of our customers, suppliers, and vendors also operate internationally. In 2022, nearly half of our revenue was from sales to customers who have headquarters located outside the United States, while over 80% of our revenue in 2022 was from products shipped to customer locations outside the United States.

Our international operations are subject to a number of risks, including:

If we or our customers, suppliers, or vendors are impacted by any of these risks, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition. For example, political, economic, or other actions may adversely affect our operations in Taiwan. A majority of our DRAM production output in 2022 was from our fabrication facilities in Taiwan and any loss of output could have a material adverse effect on us. Any political, economic, or other actions may also adversely affect our customers and the technology industry supply chain, for which Taiwan is a central hub, and as a result, could have a material adverse impact on us.

In addition, the U.S. government has in the past restricted American firms from selling products and software to certain of our customers and may in the future impose similar restrictions on one or more of our significant customers. These restrictions may not prohibit our competitors from selling similar products to our customers, which may result in our loss of sales and market share. Even when such restrictions are lifted, financial or other penalties or continuing export restrictions imposed with respect to our customers could have a continuing negative impact on our future revenue and results of operations, and we may not be able to recover any customers or market share we lose, or make such recoveries at acceptable average selling prices, while complying with such restrictions.

Our manufacturing processes are also dependent on our relationships with third-party manufacturers of controllers, analog integrated circuits, and other components used in some of our products and with outsourced semiconductor foundries, assembly and test providers, contract manufacturers, logistics carriers, and other service providers, including providers of electricity and other utilities. Although we have certain long-term contracts with some of our suppliers, many of these contracts do not provide for long-term capacity or pricing commitments. To the extent we do not have firm commitments from our third-party suppliers over a specific time period or for any specific capacity, quantity, and/or pricing, our suppliers may allocate capacity to their other customers and capacity and/or materials may not be available when needed or at reasonable prices. Inflationary pressures and shortages have increased, and may continue to increase, costs for materials, supplies, and services. Regardless of contract structure, large swings in demand may exceed our contracted supply and/or our suppliers’ capacity to meet those demand changes resulting in a shortage of parts, materials, or capacity needed to manufacture our products. In addition, if any of our suppliers was to cease operations or become insolvent, this could impact their ability to provide us with necessary supplies, and we may not be able to obtain the needed supply in a timely way or at all from other providers.

Certain materials are primarily available in a limited number of countries, including rare earth elements, minerals, and metals. Trade disputes, geopolitical tensions, economic circumstances, political conditions, or public health issues, such as COVID-19, may limit our ability to obtain such materials. Although these rare earth and other materials are generally available from multiple suppliers, China is the predominant producer of certain of these materials. If China were to restrict or stop exporting these materials, our suppliers’ ability to obtain such supply may be constrained and we may be unable to obtain sufficient quantities, or obtain supply in a timely manner, or at a commercially reasonable cost. Constrained supply of rare earth elements, minerals, and metals may restrict our ability to manufacture certain of our products and make it difficult or impossible to compete with other semiconductor memory manufacturers who are able to obtain sufficient quantities of these materials from China.

We and/or our suppliers and service providers could be affected by regional conflicts, sanctions, tariffs, embargoes, or other trade restrictions, as well as laws and regulations enacted in response to concerns regarding climate change, conflict minerals, responsible sourcing practices, public health crises, contagious disease outbreaks, or other matters, which could limit the supply of our materials and/or increase the cost. Environmental regulations could limit our ability to procure or use certain chemicals or materials in our operations or products. In addition, disruptions in transportation lines could delay our receipt of materials. Our ability to procure components to repair equipment essential for our manufacturing processes could also be negatively impacted by various restrictions or disruptions in supply chains, among other items. The disruption of our supply of materials, components, or services, or the extension of our lead times could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our operations are dependent on our ability to procure advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment that enables the transition to lower cost manufacturing processes. For certain key types of equipment, including photolithography tools, we are sometimes dependent on a single supplier. From time to time, we have experienced difficulties in obtaining some equipment on a timely basis due to suppliers’ limited capacity. Our inability to obtain equipment on a timely basis could adversely affect our ability to transition to next generation manufacturing processes and reduce our costs. Delays in obtaining equipment could also impede our ability to ramp production and could increase our overall costs of a ramp. Our inability to obtain advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment in a timely manner could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our construction projects to expand production and R&D capacity are highly dependent on available sources of labor, materials, equipment, and services. Increasing demand, supply constraints, inflation, and other market conditions could result in increasing shortages and higher costs for these items. Difficulties in obtaining these resources could result in significant delays in completion of our construction projects and cost increases, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our inability to source materials, supplies, capital equipment, or third-party services could affect our overall production output and our ability to fulfill customer demand. Significant or prolonged shortages of our products could halt customer manufacturing and damage our relationships with these customers. Any damage to our customer relationships as a result of a shortage of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

The ongoing effects of the public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures being taken to limit COVID-19’s impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition are uncertain and difficult to predict, but may include, and in some cases, have included and may continue to include:

These effects and other impacts of the pandemic, alone or taken together, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our development of system-level memory and storage products is dependent, in part, upon successfully identifying and meeting our customers’ specifications for those products. Developing and manufacturing system-level products with specifications unique to a customer increases our reliance upon that customer for purchasing our products at sufficient volumes and prices in a timely manner. Even if our products meet customer specifications, our sales of system-level solutions are dependent upon our customers choosing our products over those of our competitors and purchasing our products at sufficient volumes and prices. Our competitors’ products may be less costly, provide better performance, or include additional features when compared to our products. Our long-term ability to sell system-level memory and storage products is reliant upon our customers’ ability to create, market, and sell their products containing our system-level solutions at sufficient volumes and prices in a timely manner. If we fail to successfully develop and market system-level products, our business, results of operations, or financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

Manufacturing system-level solutions, such as SSDs and managed NAND, typically results in higher per-unit manufacturing costs as compared to other products. Even if we are successful in selling system-level solutions to our customers in sufficient volume, we may be unable to generate sufficient profit if our per-unit manufacturing costs are not offset by higher per-unit selling prices. Manufacturing system-level solutions to customer specifications requires a longer development cycle, as compared to discrete products, to design, test, and qualify, which may increase our costs. Some of our system solutions are increasingly dependent on sophisticated firmware that may require significant customization to meet customer specifications, which increases our costs and time to market. Additionally, we may need to update our controller and hardware design as well as our firmware or develop new firmware as a result of new product introductions or changes in customer specifications and/or industry standards, which increases our costs. System complexities and extended warranties for system-level products could also increase our warranty costs. Our failure to cost-effectively manufacture system-level solutions and/or controller, hardware design, and firmware in a timely manner may result in reduced demand for our system-level products and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Products that do not meet specifications or that contain, or are perceived by our customers to contain, defects or that are otherwise incompatible with end uses could impose significant costs on us or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition. From time to time, we experience problems with nonconforming, defective, or incompatible products after we have shipped such products. In recent periods, we have further diversified and expanded our product offerings, which could potentially increase the chance that one or more of our products could fail to meet specifications in a particular application. Our products and solutions may be deemed fully or partially responsible for functionality in our customers’ products and may result in sharing or shifting of product or financial liability from our customers to us for costs incurred by the end user as a result of our customers’ products failing to perform as specified. In addition, if our products and solutions perform critical functions in our customers’ products or are used in high-risk consumer end products, such as autonomous driver assistance programs, home and enterprise security, smoke and noxious gas detectors, medical monitoring equipment, or wearables for child and elderly safety, our potential liability may increase. We could be adversely affected in several ways, including the following:

Any of the foregoing items could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

We and our subcontractors manufacture products using highly complex processes that require technologically advanced equipment and continuous modification to improve yields and performance. Difficulties in the manufacturing process or the effects from a shift in product mix can reduce yields or disrupt production and may increase our per gigabit manufacturing costs. We and our subcontractors maintain operations and continuously implement new product and process technology at manufacturing facilities, which are widely dispersed in multiple locations in several countries including the United States, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and China. As a result of the necessary interdependence within our network of manufacturing facilities, an operational disruption at one of our or a subcontractor’s facilities may have a disproportionate impact on our ability to produce many of our products.

From time to time, there have been disruptions in our manufacturing operations as a result of power outages, improperly functioning equipment, disruptions in supply of raw materials or components, or equipment failures. We have manufacturing and other operations in locations subject to natural occurrences and possible climate changes, such as severe and variable weather and geological events resulting in increased costs, or disruptions to our manufacturing operations or those of our suppliers or customers. In addition, climate change may pose physical risks to our manufacturing facilities or our suppliers’ facilities, including increased extreme weather events that could result in supply delays or disruptions. Other events, including political or public health crises, such as an outbreak of contagious diseases like COVID-19 may also affect our production capabilities or that of our suppliers, including as a result of quarantines, closures of production facilities, lack of supplies, or delays caused by restrictions on travel or shipping. Events of the types noted above have occurred from time to time and may occur in the future. As a result, in addition to disruptions to operations, our insurance premiums may increase or we may not be able to fully recover any sustained losses through insurance.

If production is disrupted for any reason, manufacturing yields may be adversely affected, or we may be unable to meet our customers’ requirements and they may purchase products from other suppliers. This could result in a significant increase in manufacturing costs, loss of revenue, or damage to customer relationships, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

We maintain a system of controls over the physical security of our facilities. We also manage and store various proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data relating to our operations. In addition, we process, store, and transmit large amounts of data relating to our customers and employees, including sensitive personal information. Unauthorized persons, employees, former employees, or other third parties may gain access to our facilities or technology infrastructure and systems to steal trade secrets or other proprietary information, compromise confidential information, create system disruptions, or cause shutdowns. This risk is exacerbated as competitors for talent, particularly engineering talent, increasingly attempt to hire our employees. Through cyberattacks on technology infrastructure and systems, unauthorized parties may obtain access to computer systems, networks, and data, including cloud-based platforms. The technology infrastructure and systems of our suppliers, vendors, service providers, cloud solution providers, and partners have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, such attacks, which could impact our operations. Cyberattacks can include ransomware, computer denial-of-service attacks, worms, supply chain attacks, social engineering, and other malicious software programs or other attacks, including those using techniques that change frequently or may be disguised or difficult to detect, or designed to remain dormant until a triggering event, impersonation of authorized users, and efforts to discover and exploit any design flaws, “bugs,” security vulnerabilities, as well as intentional or unintentional acts by employees or other insiders with access privileges. Globally, cyberattacks are increasing in number and the attackers are increasingly organized and well-financed, or supported by state actors, and are developing increasingly sophisticated systems to not only attack, but also to evade detection. In addition, geopolitical tensions or conflicts may create a heightened risk of cyberattacks. Breaches of our physical security, attacks on our technology infrastructure and systems, or breaches or attacks on our customers, suppliers, or business partners who have confidential or sensitive information regarding us and our customers and suppliers, could result in significant losses and damage our reputation with customers and suppliers and may expose us to litigation if the confidential information of our customers, suppliers, or employees is compromised.

Our products are also targets for cyberattacks, including those products utilized in cloud-based environments. While some of our products contain encryption or security algorithms to protect third-party content or user-generated data stored on our products, these products could still be hacked or the encryption schemes could be compromised, breached, or circumvented by motivated and sophisticated attackers. Further, our products contain sophisticated hardware and firmware and applications that may contain security vulnerabilities or defects in design or manufacture, including “bugs” and other problems that could interfere with the intended operation of our products. To the extent our products are hacked, or the encryption schemes are compromised or breached, this could harm our business by requiring us to employ additional resources to fix the errors or defects, exposing us to litigation, claims, and harm to our reputation.

Any of the foregoing security risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

To remain competitive, we must attract, retain, and motivate executives and other highly skilled, diverse employees, as well as effectively manage succession for key employees. Competition for experienced employees in our industry is intense. Hiring and retaining qualified executives and other employees is critical to our business. If our total compensation programs, employment benefits, and workplace culture are not viewed as competitive and inclusive, our ability to attract, retain, and motivate employees could be compromised.

At times, we experience higher levels of attrition, increasing compensation costs, and more intense competition for talent across our industry. To the extent we experience significant attrition and are unable to timely replace employees, we could experience a loss of critical skills and reduced employee morale, potentially resulting in business disruptions or increased expenses to address any disruptions. Additionally, changes to immigration policies in the countries in which we operate, as well as restrictions on travel due to public health crises or other causes, may limit our ability to hire and/or retain talent in, or transfer talent to, specific locations.

Our inability to attract, retain, and motivate executives and other employees or effectively manage succession of key roles may inhibit our ability to maintain or expand our business operations.

We have announced our intent to expand our DRAM production capacity in the United States and we also make capital investments in projects outside the United States.

These expansions involve several risks including the following:

We invest our capital in areas that we believe best align with our business strategy and optimize future returns. Investments in capital expenditures may not generate expected returns or cash flows. Significant judgment is required to determine which capital investments will result in optimal returns, and we could invest in projects that are ultimately less profitable than those projects we do not select. Delays in completion and ramping of new production facilities, or failure to optimize our investment choices, could significantly impact our ability to realize expected returns on our capital expenditures.

Any of the above factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

We have received, and may in the future continue to receive, benefits and incentives from national, state, and local governments in various regions of the world designed to encourage us to establish, maintain, or increase investment, workforce, or production in those regions. These incentives may take various forms, including grants, loan subsidies, and tax arrangements, and typically require us to achieve or maintain certain levels of investment, capital spending, employment, technology deployment, or research and development activities to qualify for such incentives or could restrict us from undertaking certain activities. We may be unable to obtain significant future incentives to continue to fund a portion of our capital expenditures and operating costs, without which our cost structure would be adversely impacted. We also cannot guarantee that we will successfully achieve performance obligations required to qualify for these incentives or that the granting agencies will provide such funding. These incentive arrangements typically provide the granting agencies with rights to audit our compliance with their terms and obligations. Such audits could result in modifications to, or termination of, the applicable incentive program. The incentives we receive could be subject to reduction, termination, or clawback, and any decrease or clawback of government incentives could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Acquisitions and the formation or operation of alliances, such as joint ventures and other partnering arrangements, involve numerous risks, including the following:

The global memory and storage industry has experienced consolidation and may continue to consolidate. We engage, from time to time, in discussions regarding potential acquisitions and similar opportunities. To the extent we are successful in completing any such transactions, we could be subject to some or all of the risks described above, including the risks pertaining to funding, assumption of liabilities, integration challenges, and increases in debt that may accompany such transactions. Acquisitions of, or alliances with, technology companies are inherently risky and may not be successful and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

From time to time, we have, and may in the future, enter into restructure initiatives in order to, among other items, streamline our operations, respond to changes in business conditions, our markets, or product offerings, or to centralize certain key functions. We may not realize expected savings or other benefits from our restructure activities and may incur additional restructure charges or other losses in future periods associated with other initiatives. In connection with any restructure initiatives, we could incur restructure charges, loss of production output, loss of key personnel, disruptions in our operations, and difficulties in the timely delivery of products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

We and many of our customers have adopted responsible sourcing programs that require us to meet certain ESG criteria, and to periodically report on our performance against these requirements, including that we source the materials, supplies, and services we use and incorporate into the products we sell as prescribed by these programs. Many customer programs require us to remove a supplier within a prescribed period if such supplier ceases to comply with prescribed criteria, and our supply chain may at any time contain suppliers at risk of being removed due to non-compliance with responsible sourcing requirements. Some of our customers may elect to disqualify us as a supplier (resulting in a permanent or temporary loss of sales to such customer) or reduce purchases from us if we are unable to verify that our performance or products (including the underlying supply chain) meet the specifications of our customers’ responsible sourcing programs on a continuous basis. Meeting responsible sourcing requirements may increase operating requirements and costs or limit the sourcing and availability of some of the materials, supplies, and services we use, particularly when the availability of such materials, supplies, and services is concentrated to a limited number of suppliers. From time to time, we remove suppliers or require our suppliers to remove suppliers from their supply chains based on our responsible sourcing requirements or customer requirements, and we or our suppliers may be unable to replace such removed suppliers in a timely or cost-effective manner. Any inability to replace removed suppliers in a timely or cost effective manner may affect our ability and/or the cost to obtain sufficient quantities of materials, supplies, and services necessary for the manufacture of our products. Our inability to replace suppliers we have removed in a timely or cost-effective manner or comply with customers’ responsible sourcing requirements or with any related regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

In recent years, there has been an increased focus from stakeholders on ESG matters, including greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risks, renewable energy, water stewardship, waste management, diversity, equality and inclusion, responsible sourcing and supply chain, human rights, and social responsibility. Given our commitment to ESG, we actively manage these issues and have established and publicly announced certain goals, commitments, and targets which we may refine or even expand further in the future. These goals, commitments, and targets reflect our current plans and aspirations and are not guarantees that we will be able to achieve them. Evolving stakeholder expectations and our efforts to manage these issues, report on them, and accomplish our goals present numerous operational, regulatory, reputational, financial, legal, and other risks, any of which could have a material adverse impact, including on our reputation and stock price.

Such risks and uncertainties include:

Any failure, or perceived failure, to meet evolving stakeholder expectations and industry standards or achieve our ESG goals, commitments, and targets could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, or stock price.

We maintain a system of controls over our intellectual property, including U.S. and foreign patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing arrangements, confidentiality procedures, non-disclosure agreements with employees, consultants, and vendors, and a general system of internal controls. Despite our system of controls over our intellectual property, it may be possible for our current or future competitors to obtain, copy, use, or disclose, illegally or otherwise, our product and process technology or other proprietary information. The laws of some foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property to the same degree as do U.S. laws, and our confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements may be unenforceable or difficult and costly to enforce.

Additionally, our ability to maintain and develop intellectual property is dependent upon our ability to attract, develop, and retain highly skilled employees. If our competitors or future entrants into our industry are successful in hiring our employees, they may directly benefit from the knowledge these employees gained while they were under our employment, and this may also negatively impact our ability to maintain and develop intellectual property.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property or retain key employees who are knowledgeable of and develop our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

From time to time, we are subject to various legal proceedings and claims that arise out of the ordinary conduct of our business or otherwise, both domestically and internationally. Such claims include, but are not limited to, allegations of anticompetitive conduct and infringement of intellectual property. See “Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Contingencies.”

Any claim, with or without merit, could result in significant legal fees that could negatively impact our financial results, disrupt our operations, and require significant attention from our management. We may be associated with and subject to litigation, claims, or arbitration disputes arising from, or as a result of:

As we continue to focus on developing system solutions with manufacturers of consumer products, including autonomous driving, augmented reality, and others, we may be exposed to greater potential for personal liability claims against us as a result of consumers’ use of those products. We, our officers, or our directors could also be subject to claims of alleged violations of securities laws. There can be no assurance that we are adequately insured to protect against all claims and potential liabilities, and we may elect to self-insure with respect to certain matters. Exposures to various legal proceedings and claims could lead to significant costs and expenses as we defend claims, are required to pay damage awards, or enter into settlement agreements, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

As is typical in the semiconductor and other high technology industries, from time to time others have asserted, and may in the future assert, that our products or manufacturing processes infringe upon, misappropriate, misuse, or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights. We are unable to predict the outcome of these assertions made against us. Any of these types of claims, regardless of the merits, could subject us to significant costs to defend or resolve such claims and may consume a substantial portion of management’s time and attention. As a result of these claims, we may be required to:

We may not be able to take any of the actions described above on commercially reasonable terms and any of the foregoing results could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition. See “Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Contingencies.”

We have a number of intellectual property license agreements. Some of these license agreements require us to make one-time or periodic payments. We may need to obtain additional licenses or renew existing license agreements in the future. We are unable to predict whether these license agreements can be obtained or renewed on terms acceptable to us. The failure to obtain or renew licenses as necessary could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

International trade disputes, geopolitical tensions, and military conflicts have led, and continue to lead, to new and increasing export restrictions, trade barriers, tariffs, and other trade measures that can increase our manufacturing costs, make our products less competitive, reduce demand for our products, limit our ability to sell to certain customers or markets, limit our ability to procure, or increase our costs for, components or raw materials, impede or slow the movement of our goods across borders, impede our ability to perform R&D activities, or otherwise restrict our ability to conduct operations. Increasing protectionism, economic nationalism, and national security concerns may lead to further changes in trade policy, domestic sourcing initiatives, or other formal and informal measures that could make it more difficult to sell our products in, or restrict our access to, some markets and/or customers.

We cannot predict what further actions may ultimately be taken with respect to export regulations, tariffs or other trade regulations between the United States and other countries, what products or companies may be subject to such actions, or what actions may be taken by other countries in retaliation. Further changes in trade policy, tariffs, restrictions on exports or other trade barriers, or restrictions on supplies, equipment, and raw materials including rare earth minerals, may limit our ability to produce products, increase our selling and/or manufacturing costs, decrease margins, reduce the competitiveness of our products, or inhibit our ability to sell products or purchase necessary equipment and supplies. Such changes may also result in reputational harm to us, the development or adoption of technologies that compete with our products, long-term changes in global trade and technology supply chains, or negative impacts on our customers’ products which incorporate our solutions. Any of the effects described in this risk factor could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

The technology industry is subject to intense media, political, and regulatory scrutiny, which can increase our exposure to government investigations, legal actions, and penalties. Although we have policies, controls, and procedures designed to help ensure compliance with applicable laws, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, suppliers, or agents will not violate such laws or our policies. Violations of trade laws, restrictions, or regulations can result in fines; criminal sanctions against us or our officers, directors, or employees; prohibitions on the conduct of our business; and damage to our reputation.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions. Our provision for income taxes and cash tax liabilities in the future could be adversely affected by numerous factors, including changes in the geographic mix of our earnings among jurisdictions, mandatory capitalization of R&D expenses beginning in 2023, challenges by tax authorities to our tax positions and intercompany transfer pricing arrangements, failure to meet performance obligations with respect to tax incentive agreements, expanding our operations in various countries, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, adverse resolution of audits and examinations of previously filed tax returns, and changes in tax laws and regulations.

Changes to income tax laws and regulations, or the interpretation of such laws, in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate could significantly increase our effective tax rate and ultimately reduce our cash flows from operating activities and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. Beginning in 2024, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 imposes a 15% book minimum tax on corporations with three-year average annual adjusted financial statement income exceeding $1 billion. We are in the process of assessing whether the book minimum tax would impact our effective tax rate. Further changes in the tax laws of foreign jurisdictions could arise as a result of the base erosion and profit shifting project undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. If implemented by taxing authorities in countries where we do business, such changes, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

The manufacture of our products requires the use of facilities, equipment, and materials that are subject to a broad array of laws and regulations in numerous jurisdictions in which we operate. Additionally, we are subject to a variety of other laws and regulations relative to the construction, maintenance, and operations of our facilities. Any changes in laws, regulations, or industry standards could cause us to incur additional direct costs, as well as increased indirect costs related to our relationships with our customers and suppliers, and otherwise harm our operations and financial condition. Any failure to comply with laws, regulations, or industry standards could adversely impact our reputation and our financial results. Additionally, we engage various third parties as sales channel partners or to represent us or otherwise act on our behalf who are also subject to a broad array of laws, regulations, and industry standards. Our engagement with these third parties may also expose us to risks associated with their respective compliance with laws and regulations.

New ESG considerations, including those related to climate change and the potential resulting environmental impact, may result in new laws, regulations, or industry standards that may affect us, our suppliers, and our customers. Such laws, regulations, or industry standards could cause us to incur additional direct costs for compliance, as well as increased indirect costs resulting from our customers, suppliers, or both incurring additional compliance costs that are passed on to us. These costs may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

As a result of the items detailed in this risk factor, we could experience the following:

Compliance with, or our failure, or the failure of our third-party sales channel partners or agents, to comply with, laws, regulations, or industry standards could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our cash flows from operations depend primarily on the volume of semiconductor memory and storage products sold, average selling prices, and manufacturing costs. To develop new product and process technology, support future growth, achieve operating efficiencies, and maintain product quality, we must make significant capital investments in manufacturing technology, capital equipment, facilities, R&D, and product and process technology. We estimate capital expenditures in 2023 for property, plant, and equipment, net of partner contributions, will be around $8 billion.

In the past we have utilized external sources of financing when needed. As a result of our debt levels, expected debt amortization, and general capital market and other economic conditions, it may be difficult for us to obtain financing on terms acceptable to us or at all. We have experienced volatility in our cash flows and operating results and may continue to experience such volatility in the future, which may negatively affect our credit rating. Our credit rating may also be affected by our liquidity, financial results, economic risk, or other factors, which may increase the cost of future borrowings and make it difficult for us to obtain financing on terms acceptable to us or at all. There can be no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flows, access capital or credit markets, or find other sources of financing to fund our operations, make debt payments, pay our quarterly dividend, and make adequate capital investments to remain competitive in terms of technology development and cost efficiency. Our inability to do any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

We have incurred in the past, and expect to incur in the future, debt to finance our capital investments, business acquisitions, and to realign our capital structure. As of September 1, 2022, we had debt with a carrying value of $6.91 billion and may incur additional debt, including under our $2.50 billion Revolving Credit Facility. Our debt obligations could adversely impact us as follows:

Our ability to meet our payment obligations under our debt instruments depends on our ability to generate significant cash flows or obtain external financing in the future. This, to some extent, is subject to market, economic, financial, competitive, legislative, and regulatory factors as well as other factors that are beyond our control. There can be no assurance that our business will generate cash flow from operations, or that additional capital will be available to us, in amounts sufficient to enable us to meet our debt payment obligations and to fund other liquidity needs. Additionally, events and circumstances may occur which would cause us to not be able to satisfy applicable draw-down conditions and utilize our Revolving Credit Facility. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows to service our debt payment obligations, we may need to refinance or restructure our debt, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, or seek to raise additional capital. If we are unable to implement one or more of these alternatives, we may be unable to meet our debt payment obligations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Across our global operations, significant transactions and balances are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar (our reporting currency), primarily the euro, Malaysian ringgit, Singapore dollar, New Taiwan dollar, and yen. In addition, a significant portion of our manufacturing costs are denominated in foreign currencies. Exchange rates for some of these currencies against the U.S. dollar have been volatile and may be volatile in future periods. If these currencies strengthen against the U.S. dollar, our manufacturing costs could significantly increase. Exchange rates for the U.S. dollar that adversely change against our foreign currency exposures could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

We have numerous arrangements with financial institutions that subject us to counterparty default risks, including cash deposits, investments, and derivative instruments. Additionally, we are subject to counterparty default risk from our customers for amounts receivable from them. As a result, we are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default on its performance obligations. A counterparty may not comply with its contractual commitments which could then lead to its defaulting on its obligations with little or no notice to us, which could limit our ability to mitigate our exposure. Additionally, our ability to mitigate our exposures may be constrained by the terms of our contractual arrangements or because market conditions prevent us from taking effective action. If one of our counterparties becomes insolvent or files for bankruptcy, our ability to recover any losses suffered as a result of that counterparty’s default may be limited by the liquidity of the counterparty or the applicable laws governing the bankruptcy proceedings. In the event of such default, we could incur significant losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Our common stock has experienced substantial price volatility in the past and may continue to do so in the future. Additionally, we, the technology industry, and the stock market as a whole have on occasion experienced extreme stock price and volume fluctuations that have affected stock prices in ways that may have been unrelated to the specific operating performance of individual companies. The trading price of our common stock may fluctuate widely due to various factors, including, but not limited to, actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial condition and operating results, changes in financial forecasts or estimates by us or financial or other market estimates and ratings by securities and other analysts, changes in our capital structure, including issuance of additional debt or equity to the public, interest rate changes, regulatory changes, news regarding our products or products of our competitors, and broad market and industry fluctuations.

For these reasons, investors should not rely on recent or historical trends to predict future trading prices of our common stock, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. Investors in our common stock may not realize any return on their investment in us and may lose some or all of their investment. Volatility in the trading price of our common stock could also result in the filing of securities class action litigation matters, which could result in substantial costs and the diversion of management time and resources.

The amount, timing, and execution of our share repurchases pursuant to our share repurchase authorization may fluctuate based on our operating results, cash flows, and priorities for the use of cash for other purposes. Our expenditures for share repurchases were $2.43 billion in 2022, $1.20 billion in 2021, $176 million in 2020, and $2.66 billion in 2019. These other purposes include, but are not limited to, operational spending, capital spending, acquisitions, and repayment of debt. Other factors, including changes in tax laws, could also impact our share repurchases. Although our Board of Directors has authorized share repurchases of up to $10 billion of our outstanding common stock, the authorization does not obligate us to repurchase any common stock.

We cannot guarantee that our share repurchase authorization will be fully consummated or that it will enhance long-term shareholder value. The repurchase authorization could affect the trading price of our stock and increase volatility, and any announcement of a pause in, or termination of, this program may result in a decrease in the trading price of our stock. In addition, this program will diminish our cash reserves.

Our Board of Directors has adopted a dividend policy pursuant to which we currently pay a cash dividend on our common shares on a quarterly basis. The declaration and payment of any dividend is subject to the approval of our Board of Directors and our dividend may be discontinued or reduced at any time. There can be no assurance that we will declare cash dividends in the future in any particular amounts, or at all.

Future dividends, if any, and their timing and amount, may be affected by, among other factors: our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions, debt service obligations, contractual restrictions, industry practice, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. A reduction in or elimination of our dividend payments could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.

None.

Our corporate headquarters are located in Boise, Idaho. In addition to our principal facilities described below, we own or lease numerous other facilities in locations throughout the world used for design, R&D, and sales and marketing activities. The following is a summary of our principal facilities as of September 1, 2022:

We generally utilize all of our manufacturing capacity; however, a portion of our MTU facility was underutilized for 2022, 2021, and 2020. Our MTU facility was sold in the first quarter of 2022.

To support expected memory demand in the second half of the decade, we will need to add new DRAM wafer capacity. Following the enactment of the CHIPS Act in 2022, we announced plans to invest in two leading-edge memory manufacturing fabs in the United States, contingent on CHIPS Act support through grants and investment tax credits. As part of this plan, in September 2022, we broke ground on a leading-edge memory manufacturing fab in Boise, Idaho. Construction of the fab is expected to begin in calendar 2023 with DRAM production targeted to start in calendar 2025. In addition, in October 2022, we announced plans to build a second leading-edge DRAM manufacturing fab in Clay, New York. We plan to start site preparation work in calendar 2023 and expect construction to begin in calendar 2024, with production anticipated to ramp in the latter half of the decade. We expect these new fabs to fulfill our requirements for additional wafer capacity starting in the second half of the decade and beyond, in line with industry demand trends.

We believe that our existing facilities are suitable and adequate for our present purposes. We do not identify or allocate assets by operating segment, other than goodwill. See “Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Lehi, Utah Fab and 3D XPoint” and “ – Geographic Information.”

For a discussion of legal proceedings, see “Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Contingencies” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SEC regulations require disclosure of certain proceedings related to environmental matters unless we reasonably believe that the related monetary sanctions, if any, will be less than a specified threshold. We use a threshold of $1 million for this purpose.

Not applicable.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “MU.”

As of September 30, 2022, there were approximately 1,768 shareholders of record of our common stock. A substantially greater number of holders of our common stock are "street name" or beneficial holders, whose shares are held of record by banks, brokers, and other financial institutions.

On September 29, 2022, we announced that our Board of Directors had declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, payable in cash on October 26, 2022, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on October 11, 2022.

We currently expect quarterly dividends to continue in future periods and aim to grow our dividend payments over time. However, the declaration and payment of any future cash dividends are at the discretion and subject to the approval of our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors' decisions regarding the amount and payment of dividends will depend on many factors, such as our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions, debt service obligations, contractual restrictions, industry practice, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. We cannot guarantee that we will continue to pay a dividend in any future period.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference from the information to be included in our 2022 Proxy Statement under the section entitled “Equity Compensation Plan Information,” which will be filed with the SEC within 120 days after September 1, 2022.

In May 2018, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized the discretionary repurchase of up to $10 billion of our outstanding common stock through open-market purchases, block trades, privately-negotiated transactions, derivative transactions, and/or pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. The repurchase authorization has no expiration date, does not obligate us to acquire any common stock, and is subject to market conditions and our ongoing determination of the best use of available cash.

Shares of common stock withheld as payment of withholding taxes and exercise prices in connection with the vesting or exercise of equity awards are also treated as common stock repurchases. Those withheld shares of common stock are not required to be disclosed under Item 703 of Regulation S-K and accordingly are excluded from the amounts in the table above.

The following graph illustrates a five-year comparison of cumulative total returns for our common stock, the S&P 500 Composite Index, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) from August 31, 2017, through August 31, 2022. We operate on a 52 or 53-week fiscal year which ends on the Thursday closest to August 31. Accordingly, the last day of our fiscal year varies. For consistent presentation and comparison to the industry indices shown herein, we have calculated our stock performance graph assuming an August 31 year end.

For an overview of our business and certain related trends, see “Part I – Item 1. Business – Overview.”

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the memory and storage industry environment deteriorated sharply due to global and macroeconomic challenges combined with downward inventory adjustments by customers, leading to significant reductions in bit shipments and average selling prices for both DRAM and NAND resulting in a 23% decline in revenue as compared to the third quarter of 2022. For the first quarter of 2023, continuation of these challenging conditions and inventory adjustments by customers have resulted in further reductions in near-term demand for both DRAM and NAND and we expect bit shipments and pricing to decline as compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

Total revenue for 2021 increased 29% as compared to 2020 primarily due to increases in sales of both DRAM and NAND products.

Our consolidated gross margin percentage increased to 38% for 2021 from 31% for 2020, primarily due to the increases in DRAM average selling prices and cost reductions resulting from strong execution in delivering products featuring advanced technologies, partially offset by declines in NAND average selling prices. Our gross margins included the impact of underutilization costs at MTU of $335 million for 2021 and $557 million for 2020. Underutilization costs at MTU declined in 2021 primarily due to the plan to sell MTU’s Lehi facility and classification of assets as held for sale at the end of the second quarter of 2021, which resulted in the cessation of depreciation on those assets. See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Lehi, Utah Fab and 3D XPoint.”

Effective as of the beginning of the second quarter of 2021, we changed our method of inventory costing from average cost to first-in, first-out (“FIFO”). Concurrently, as of the beginning of the second quarter of 2021, we modified our inventory cost absorption processes used to estimate inventory values, which affects the timing of when costs are recognized. These changes resulted in a one-time increase to cost of goods sold of approximately $293 million in 2021.

Changes in revenue for each business unit for 2022 as compared to 2021 were as follows:

Changes in revenue for each business unit for 2021 as compared to 2020 were as follows:

Changes in operating income or loss for each business unit for 2022 as compared to 2021 were as follows:

Changes in operating income or loss for each business unit for 2021 as compared to 2020 were as follows:

R&D expenses for 2022 increased 17% as compared to 2021 primarily due to higher employee compensation from increases in headcount, higher volumes of development and prequalification wafers, and higher depreciation expense. R&D expenses for 2021 increased 2% as compared to 2020 primarily due to increases in employee compensation and depreciation expense resulting from higher capital spending, partially offset by lower volumes of development and prequalification wafers.

Our effective tax rate increased in 2022 as compared to 2021 primarily due to the geographic mix of our earnings and a valuation allowance recorded against our Idaho deferred tax assets of $189 million, partially offset by tax impacts of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Our effective tax rate decreased in 2021 as compared to 2020 primarily as a result of a $104 million tax benefit recorded for the discrete $435 million charge to write down the Lehi assets held for sale.

We operate in a number of jurisdictions outside the United States, including Singapore, where we have tax incentive arrangements. These incentives expire, in whole or in part, at various dates through 2034 and are conditional, in part, upon meeting certain business operations and employment thresholds. The effect of tax incentive arrangements reduced our tax provision by $1.12 billion (benefiting our diluted earnings per share by $1.00) for 2022, by $758 million ($0.66 per diluted share) for 2021, and by $215 million ($0.19 per diluted share) for 2020.

Beginning in 2023, provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will require us to capitalize and amortize R&D expenditures rather than deducting the costs as incurred. Unless the effective date is deferred or the law is repealed, we expect an increase to our effective tax rate for several years. In addition, the mix of our income, together with U.S. and foreign tax rules, results in taxes becoming more fixed at lower profitability levels. As a result of these factors, we estimate tax expense of at least $300 million for 2023. Beyond this level, our actual tax expense will depend on the level of operating income through the year.

Beginning in 2024, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 imposes a 15% book minimum tax on corporations with three-year average annual adjusted financial statement income exceeding $1 billion. We are in the process of assessing whether the book minimum tax would impact our effective tax rate.

Various tax reforms are being considered in multiple jurisdictions that, if enacted, contain provisions that could increase our tax expense. We continue to monitor the potential impact of these various tax reform proposals to our overall global effective tax rate and financial statements.

See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Income Taxes.”

Our primary sources of liquidity are cash generated from operations and financing obtained from capital markets and financial institutions. Cash generated from operations is highly dependent on selling prices for our products, which can vary significantly from period to period. Cash and marketable investments totaled $10.98 billion as of September 1, 2022, and $10.40 billion as of September 2, 2021. Our cash and investments consist primarily of bank deposits, money market funds, and liquid investment-grade, fixed-income securities, which are diversified among industries and individual issuers. To mitigate credit risk, we invest through high-credit-quality financial institutions and by policy generally limit the concentration of credit exposure by restricting the amount of investments with any single obligor. As of September 1, 2022, $3.79 billion of our cash and marketable investments was held by our foreign subsidiaries.

We are continuously evaluating alternatives for efficiently funding our capital expenditures and ongoing operations. We expect, from time to time, to engage in a variety of financing transactions for such purposes, including the issuance of securities. As of September 1, 2022, $2.50 billion was available to draw under our Revolving Credit Facility. Funding of certain significant capital projects is also dependent on the receipt of government incentives, which are subject to conditions and may not be obtained.

To develop new product and process technology, support future growth, achieve operating efficiencies, and maintain product quality, we must continue to invest in manufacturing technologies, facilities and equipment, and R&D. We estimate capital expenditures in 2023 for property, plant, and equipment, net of partner contributions, to be around $8 billion. Actual amounts for 2023 will vary depending on market conditions. As of September 1, 2022, we had purchase obligations of approximately $4.04 billion for the acquisition of property, plant, and equipment, of which approximately $2.97 billion is expected to be paid within one year. For a description of other contractual obligations, such as debt, leases, and purchase obligations, see “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Debt,” “ – Leases,” and “ – Commitments.”

To support expected memory demand in the second half of the decade, we will need to add new DRAM wafer capacity. Following the enactment of the CHIPS Act in 2022, we announced plans to invest in two leading-edge memory manufacturing fabs in the United States, contingent on CHIPS Act support through grants and investment tax credits. As part of this plan, in September 2022, we broke ground on a leading-edge memory manufacturing fab in Boise, Idaho. Construction of the fab is expected to begin in calendar 2023 with DRAM production targeted to start in calendar 2025. In addition, in October 2022, we announced plans to build a second leading-edge DRAM manufacturing fab in Clay, New York. We plan to start site preparation work in calendar 2023 and expect construction to begin in calendar 2024, with production anticipated to ramp in the latter half of the decade. We expect these new fabs to fulfill our requirements for additional wafer capacity starting in the second half of the decade and beyond, in line with industry demand trends.

On November 1, 2021, we issued $1 billion in aggregate principal amount of unsecured 2032 Green Bonds. Over time, we plan to allocate an amount equal to the net proceeds to fund eligible sustainability-focused projects involving renewable energy, green buildings, energy efficiency, water management, waste abatement, and a circular economy.

Our Board of Directors has authorized the discretionary repurchase of up to $10 billion of our outstanding common stock through open-market purchases, block trades, privately-negotiated transactions, derivative transactions, and/or pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. The repurchase authorization has no expiration date, does not obligate us to acquire any common stock, and is subject to market conditions and our ongoing determination of the best use of available cash. Through September 1, 2022, we have repurchased an aggregate of $6.47 billion of the authorized amount. See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Equity.”

On September 29, 2022, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, payable in cash on October 26, 2022, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on October 11, 2022. The declaration and payment of any future cash dividends are at the discretion and subject to the approval of our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors' decisions regarding the amount and payment of dividends will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business conditions, debt service obligations, contractual restrictions, industry practice, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant.

We expect that our cash and investments, cash flows from operations, and available financing will be sufficient to meet our requirements at least through the next 12 months and thereafter for the foreseeable future.

The increase in cash provided by operating activities for 2021 as compared to 2020 was primarily due to higher net income adjusted for non-cash items and the effect of lower inventories, partially offset by an increase in receivables due to a higher level of sales.

For 2021, net cash used for investing activities consisted primarily of $10.03 billion of expenditures for property, plant, and equipment, partially offset by inflows of $502 million of partner contributions for capital expenditures, and $1.06 billion of net outflows from purchases, sales, and maturities of available-for-sale securities.

For 2020, net cash used for investing activities consisted primarily of $8.22 billion of expenditures for property, plant, and equipment, partially offset by inflows of $272 million of partner contributions for capital expenditures, and $415 million of net inflows from purchases, sales, and maturities of available-for-sale securities.

For 2021, net cash used for financing activities consisted primarily of $1.20 billion for the acquisition of 15.6 million shares of our common stock under our share repurchase authorization, $295 million of payments on equipment purchase contracts, $185 million of cash payments to settle conversions of our 2032D Notes, and $147 million of repayments of finance leases and other debt. In addition, we received proceeds of $1.19 billion under an unsecured 2024 Term Loan A and used the proceeds to repay the $1.19 billion Extinguished 2024 Term Loan A.

For 2020, net cash used for financing activities consisted primarily of $4.37 billion of cash payments to reduce our debt, including $2.50 billion to pay down borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility, $621 million for repayments of IMFT’s debt obligations to Intel, $534 million to prepay our 2025 Notes, $266 million to settle conversions of notes, and $248 million for scheduled repayment of finance leases; $744 million for the acquisition of Intel’s noncontrolling interest in IMFT; and $176 million for the acquisition of 3.6 million shares of our common stock under our share repurchase authorization. Cash used for financing activities was partially offset by proceeds of $2.50 billion from our Revolving Credit Facility, $1.25 billion from the 2023 Notes, and $1.25 billion from the Extinguished 2024 Term Loan A.

See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Debt.”

The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and related disclosures. Estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, forecasted events, and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates and judgments may vary under different assumptions or conditions and involve a significant level of uncertainty. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. Our management believes the accounting policies below are critical in the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require management’s most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments.

Determining when to test for impairment, the reporting units, the assets and liabilities of the reporting unit, and the fair value of the reporting unit requires significant judgment and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions include revenue growth rates, forecasted manufacturing costs, and other expenses and are developed as part of our long-range planning process. The same estimates are used in business planning, forecasting, and capital budgeting as part of our long-term manufacturing capacity analysis. We test the reasonableness of the output of our long-range planning process by calculating an implied value per share and comparing that to current stock prices, analysts’ consensus pricing, and management’s expectations. These estimates and assumptions are used to calculate projected future cash flows for the reporting unit, which are discounted using a risk-adjusted rate to estimate a fair value. The discount rate requires determination of appropriate market comparables. We base fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable but that are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. Actual future results may differ from those estimates.

U.S. GAAP provides for products to be grouped into categories in order to compare costs to net realizable values. The amount of any inventory write-down can vary significantly depending on the determination of inventory categories. We review the major characteristics of product type and markets in determining the unit of account for which we perform the lower of average cost or net realizable value analysis and categorize all inventories (including DRAM, NAND, and other memory) as a single group.

No material items.

No material items.

We are exposed to interest rate risk related to our indebtedness and our investment portfolio. As of September 1, 2022 and September 2, 2021, we had fixed-rate debt with an aggregate carrying value of $4.03 billion and $3.89 billion, respectively, and as a result, the fair value of our debt fluctuates with changes in market interest rates. In 2022, we issued new debt and repaid other debt, which significantly increased the average remaining maturity of our fixed-rate debt resulting in increased variability of its fair value from interest rate changes. We estimate that, as of September 1, 2022 and September 2, 2021, a hypothetical 1% decrease in market interest rates would increase the fair value of our fixed-rate debt by approximately $275 million and $200 million, respectively.

Interest rate risk related to our investment portfolio is managed by primarily investing in shorter term securities. As of September 1, 2022, a hypothetical 1% increase in interest rates would decrease the fair value of our portfolio by approximately $30 million. Such impact would only be realized if investments were sold prior to maturity.

As of September 1, 2022 and September 2, 2021, we had floating-rate debt and fixed-rate debt that is swapped to floating-rate debt with an aggregate principal amount of $2.09 billion. A hypothetical 1% increase in the interest rates of this floating-rate debt would result in an increase in annual interest expense of approximately $21 million as of September 1, 2022 and September 2, 2021.

The information in this section should be read in conjunction with the information related to changes in the currency exchange rates in “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Changes in currency exchange rates could materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.

The functional currency for all of our operations is the U.S. dollar. The substantial majority of our sales are transacted in the U.S. dollar; however, significant amounts of our operating expenditures and capital purchases, and certain assets and liabilities, are incurred in or exposed to other currencies, primarily the euro, Malaysian ringgit, New Taiwan dollar, Singapore dollar, and yen. We have established currency risk management programs for our monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies to hedge against fluctuations in the fair value and volatility of future cash flows caused by changes in currency exchange rates. We generally utilize currency forward contracts in these hedging programs, which reduce, but do not always entirely eliminate, the impact of currency exchange rate movements. We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

Based on monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies, we estimate that a hypothetical 10% adverse change in exchange rates versus the U.S. dollar would result in losses of approximately $186 million as of September 1, 2022 and $122 million as of September 2, 2021. We hedge our exposure to changes in currency exchange rates by utilizing a rolling hedge strategy for our primary currency exposures with currency forward contracts that generally mature within three months. The effectiveness of our hedges is dependent, among other factors, upon our ability to accurately measure exposures on a timely basis. To hedge the exposure of changes in cash flows from changes in currency exchange rates for certain capital expenditures and manufacturing costs, we may utilize currency forward contracts that generally mature within two years. See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Derivative Instruments.”

(In millions, except per share amounts)

(In millions)

(In millions, except per share amounts)