ON, §1A diff (2018 → 2019)

Item 1A. Risk Factors Forward-Looking Statements This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking statements,” as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included or incorporated in this Form 10-K could be deemed forward-looking statements, particularly statements about our plans, strategies and prospects under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business.” Forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “may,” “will,” “intends,” “plans,” or “anticipates,” or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. All forward-looking statements in this Form 10-K are made based on our current expectations, forecasts, estimates and assumptions, and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Among these factors are our revenue and operating performance; economic conditions and markets (including current financial conditions); risk related to changes in tariffs or other government trade policies, including between the U.S. and China; risks related to our ability to meet our assumptions regarding outlook for revenue and gross margin as a percentage of revenue; effects of exchange rate fluctuations; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; changes in demand for our products; changes in inventories at our customers and distributors; risks associated with restructuring actions and workforce reductions; technological and product development risks; risks that our products may be accused of infringing the IP rights of others; enforcement and protection of our IP rights and related risks; risks related to the security of our information systems and secured network; availability of raw materials, electricity, gas, water and other supply chain uncertainties; our ability to effectively shift production to other facilities when required in order to maintain supply continuity for our customers; variable demand and the aggressive pricing environment for semiconductor products; our ability to successfully manufacture in increasing volumes on a cost-effective basis and with acceptable quality for our current products; risks associated with our acquisitions and dispositions generally, including our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions and dispositions, including our acquisition of Quantenna; risks that acquisitions or dispositions may disrupt our current plans and operations, the risk of unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from acquisitions or dispositions and difficulties arising from integrating and consolidating acquired businesses, our timely filing of financial information with the SEC for acquired businesses and our ability to accurately predict the future financial performance of acquired businesses; competitor actions, including the adverse impact of competitor product announcements; pricing and gross profit pressures; risks associated with the addition of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and its non-U.S. affiliates and subsidiaries, and other customers, to the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Bureau of Industry Security Entity List; loss of key customers; order cancellations or reduced bookings; changes in manufacturing yields; control of costs and expenses and realization of cost savings and synergies from restructurings; the costs to defend against or pursue litigation and the potential significant costs associated with adverse litigation outcomes; risks associated with decisions to expend cash reserves for various uses in accordance with our capital allocation policy such as debt prepayment, stock repurchases or acquisitions rather than to retain such cash for future needs; risks associated with our substantial leverage and restrictive covenants in our debt agreements that may be in place from time to time; risks associated with our worldwide operations, including changes in trade policies, foreign employment and labor matters associated with unions and collective bargaining arrangements, continuing political unrest in markets in which we do significant business, including Hong Kong, as well as man-made and/or natural disasters affecting our operations or financial results; the threat or occurrence of international armed conflict and terrorist activities both in the United States and internationally; risks of changes in U.S. or international tax rates or legislation; risks and costs associated with increased and new regulation of corporate governance and disclosure standards; risks related to new legal requirements; risks related to the potential impact of climate change and regulations related thereto on our operations; and risks and expenses involving environmental or other governmental regulation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update such information, except as may be required by law. You should carefully consider the trends, risks and uncertainties described below and other information in this Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC before making any investment decision with respect to our securities. If any of the following trends, risks or uncertainties actually occurs or continues, our business, financial condition or operating results could be materially adversely affected, the trading prices of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Trends, Risks and Uncertainties Related to Our Business Changes in tariffs or other government trade policies may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations, including by reducing demand for our products. The imposition of tariffs and trade restrictions as a result of international trade disputes or changes in trade policies may adversely affect our sales and profitability. For example, in 2018 and 2019, the U.S. government imposed and proposed, among other actions, new or higher tariffs on specified imported products originating from China in response to what it characterizes as unfair trade practices, and China has responded by imposing and proposing new or higher tariffs on specified products, including some semiconductors fabricated in the United States and certain transistors, diodes, ICs and other products that we import into China as part of our supply chain. Although the United States and China announced an initial “phase one” trade agreement in December 2019, the result of which may roll back or delay the imposition of additional tariffs, details have not yet been released, and there can be no assurance that a broader trade agreement will be successfully negotiated between the United States and China to reduce or eliminate these tariffs. These tariffs, and the related geopolitical uncertainty between the United States and China, may cause decreased end-market demand for our products from distributors and other customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. For example, certain of our foreign customers may respond to the imposition of tariffs or threat of tariffs on products we produce by delaying purchase orders, purchasing products from our competitors or developing their own products. Ongoing international trade disputes and changes in trade policies could also impact economic activity and lead to a general contraction of customer demand. In addition, tariffs on components that we import from China or other nations that have imposed, or may in the future impose, tariffs will adversely affect our profitability unless we are able to exclude such components from the tariffs or we raise prices for our products, which may result in our products becoming less attractive relative to products offered by our competitors. Future actions or escalations by either the United States or China that affect trade relations may also impact our business, or that of our suppliers or customers, and we cannot provide any assurances as to whether such actions will occur or the form that they may take. To the extent that our sales or profitability are negatively affected by any such tariffs or other trade actions, our business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. Changes in government trade policies could limit our ability to sell our products to certain customers, which may materially adversely affect our sales and results of operations. The U.S. Congress or U.S. regulatory authorities may take administrative, legislative or regulatory action that could materially interfere with our ability to make sales to certain of our customers, particularly in China. We could experience unanticipated restrictions on our ability to sell to certain foreign customers where sales of products and the provision of services may require export licenses or are prohibited by government action. Export restrictions may also include technical discussions with customers that can impede our ability to pursue design-wins with customers and thus may impact future sales. For example, in May 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and its non-U.S. affiliates and subsidiaries, and certain other customers, to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List, imposing significant restrictions on the export and transfer of U.S. goods and technologies to such entities, and the U.S. may ban the export of U.S. products, goods and technologies to additional foreign customers. The terms and duration of any such restrictions may not be known to us in advance and may be subject to ongoing modifications. Even to the extent such restrictions are subsequently lifted or temporarily suspended, any financial or other penalties imposed on affected foreign customers could have a negative impact on future orders. Such foreign customers may also respond to sanctions or the threat of sanctions by employing their own solutions to address the impacts of restrictions. The loss or temporary loss of customers as a result of such future regulatory limitations could materially adversely affect our sales, business and results of operations. Downturns or volatility in general economic conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In recent years, worldwide semiconductor industry sales have tracked the impact of the financial crisis, subsequent recovery and persistent economic uncertainty. We believe that the state of global economic conditions is particularly uncertain due to recent and expected shifts in political, legislative and regulatory conditions concerning, among other matters, international trade and taxation, and that an uneven recovery or a renewed global downturn may put pressure on our sales due to reductions in customer demand as well as customers deferring purchases. Volatile or uncertain economic conditions, as well as continuing political unrest in markets in which we conduct significant business, including Hong Kong, can adversely impact sales and profitability and make it difficult for us and our competitors to accurately forecast and plan our future business activities. Historically, the semiconductor industry has been highly cyclical and, as a result, subject to significant downturns and upturns in customer demand for semiconductors and related products. We believe our business today is driven more by secular growth drivers and not solely by macroeconomic and industry cyclicality, as was the case historically. As experienced in 2019, we could again experience period-to-period fluctuations in operating results due to general industry or economic conditions. We cannot accurately predict the timing of future downturns and upturns in the semiconductor industry or how severe and prolonged these conditions might be. Significant downturns often occur in connection with, or in anticipation of, maturing product cycles (for semiconductors and for the end-user products in which they are used) or declines in general economic conditions and can result in reduced product demand, production overcapacity, high inventory levels and accelerated erosion of average selling prices, any of which could materially adversely affect our operating results as a result of increased operating expenses outpacing decreased revenue, reduced margins, underutilization of our manufacturing capacity and/or asset impairment charges. On the other hand, significant upturns can cause us to be unable to satisfy demand in a timely and cost efficient manner. In the event of such an upturn, we may not be able to expand our workforce and operations in a sufficiently timely manner, procure adequate resources and raw materials, or locate suitable third-party suppliers to respond effectively to changes in demand for our existing products or to the demand for new products requested by our customers, and our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. To the extent we incorrectly plan for favorable economic conditions that do not materialize or take longer to materialize than expected, we may face oversupply of our products relative to customer demand. In the past, reduced customer spending has driven us, and may in the future drive us and our competitors, to reduce product pricing, which results in a negative effect on gross profit. Moreover, volatility in revenue as a result of unpredictable economic conditions may alter our anticipated working capital needs and interfere with our short-term and long-term strategies. To the extent that our sales, profitability and strategies are negatively affected by downturns or volatility in general economic conditions, our business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. The loss of one of our largest customers, or a significant reduction in the revenue we generate from these customers, could materially adversely affect our revenue, profitability, and results of operations. Product sales to our ten largest end-customers, which excludes distributors, have historically accounted for a significant amount of our business. For instance, for the year ended December 31, 2019, revenue from our 10 largest end-customers collectively represented approximately 27% of our total revenue. Many of our customers operate in cyclical industries, and, in the past, we have experienced significant fluctuations from period to period in the volume of our products ordered. Generally, our agreements with our customers impose no minimum or continuing obligations to purchase our products. We cannot assure you that our largest customers will not cease purchasing products from us in favor of products produced by other suppliers, significantly reduce orders or seek price reductions in the future, and any such event could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, profitability, and results of operations. Because a significant portion of our revenue is derived from customers in the automotive, industrial and communications industries, a downturn or lower sales to customers in either industry could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. A significant portion of our sales are to customers within the automotive, industrial (including medical, aerospace and defense) and communications industries (including wireless and networking). Sales into these industries represented approximately 33%, 26%, and 19% of our revenue, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2019, and those percentages will vary from quarter to quarter. Each of the automotive, industrial and communications industries is cyclical, and, as a result, our customers in these industries are sensitive to changes in general economic conditions, disruptive innovation and end-market preferences, which can adversely affect sales of our products and, correspondingly, our results of operations. Additionally, the quantity and price of our products sold to customers in these industries could decline despite continued growth in their respective end markets. Lower sales to customers in the automotive, industrial or communications industry may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Shortages or increased prices of raw materials could materially adversely affect our results of operations. Our manufacturing processes rely on many raw materials, including various chemicals and gases, polysilicon, silicon wafers, aluminum, gold, silver, copper, lead frames, mold compound and ceramic packages. Generally, our agreements with suppliers of raw materials impose no minimum or continuing supply obligations, and we obtain our raw materials and supplies from a large number of sources on a just-in-time basis. From time to time, suppliers of raw materials may extend lead times, limit supplies or increase prices due to capacity constraints or other factors beyond our control. Shortages could occur in various essential raw materials due to interruption of supply or increased demand. If we are unable to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials in a timely manner, the costs of our raw materials increases significantly, their quality deteriorates or they give rise to compatibility or performance issues in our products, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Many of our facilities and processes are interdependent and an operational disruption at any particular facility could have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce many of our products, which could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. We utilize an integrated manufacturing platform in which multiple facilities may each produce one or more components necessary for the assembly of a single product. As a result of the necessary interdependence within our network of manufacturing facilities, an operational disruption at a facility toward the front-end of our manufacturing process may have a disproportionate impact on our ability to produce many of our products. For example, our facility in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic, manufactures silicon wafers used by a number of our facilities, and ISG relies predominantly on one third-party for manufacturing at the front-end of its manufacturing process, and any operational disruption, natural or man-made disaster or other extraordinary event that impacted either of those facilities would have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce a number of our products worldwide. In the event of a disruption at any such facility, we may be unable to effectively source replacement components on acceptable terms from qualified third parties, in which case our ability to produce many of our products could be materially disrupted or delayed. Conversely, many of our facilities are single source facilities that only produce one of our end-products, and a disruption at any such facility would materially delay or cease production of the related product. In the event of any such operational disruption, we may experience difficulty in beginning production of replacement components or products at new facilities (for example, due to construction delays) or transferring production to other existing facilities (for example, due to capacity constraints or difficulty in transitioning to new manufacturing processes), any of which could result in a loss of future revenues and materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. If our technologies are subject to claims of infringement on the IP rights of others, efforts to address such claims could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We may from time to time be subject to claims that we may be infringing the IP rights of others. If necessary or desirable, we may seek licenses under such IP rights. However, we cannot assure you that we will obtain such licenses or that the terms of any offered licenses will be acceptable to us. The failure to obtain a license from a third-party for IP we use could cause us to incur substantial liabilities or to suspend the manufacture or shipment of products or our use of processes requiring such technologies. Further, we may be subject to IP litigation, which could cause us to incur significant expense, materially adversely affect sales of the challenged product or technologies and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, whether or not such litigation is resolved in our favor. In the event of an adverse outcome or pursuant to the terms of a settlement of any such litigation, we may be required to: •pay substantial damages or settlement costs; •indemnify customers or distributors; •cease the manufacture, use, sale or importation of infringing products; •expend significant resources to develop or acquire non-infringing technologies; •discontinue the use of processes; or •obtain licenses, which may not be available on reasonable terms, to the infringing technologies. Please see Note 13: ''Commitments and Contingencies'' in the notes to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K for a more detailed description of the litigation we are currently engaged in. The outcome of IP litigation is inherently uncertain and, if not resolved in our favor, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we are unable to protect the IP we use, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. The enforceability of our patents, trademarks, copyrights, software licenses and other IP is uncertain in certain circumstances. Effective IP protection may be unavailable, limited or not applied for in the U.S. and internationally. The various laws and regulations governing our registered and unregistered IP assets, patents, trade secrets, trademarks, mask works and copyrights to protect our products and technologies are subject to legislative and regulatory change and interpretation by courts. With respect to our IP generally, we cannot assure you that: •any of the substantial number of U.S. or foreign patents and pending patent applications that we employ in our business will not lapse or be invalidated, circumvented, challenged, abandoned or licensed to others; •any of our pending or future patent applications will be issued or have the coverage originally sought; •any of the trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, know-how or mask works that we employ in our business will not lapse or be invalidated, circumvented, challenged, abandoned or licensed to others; •any of our pending or future trademark, copyright, or mask work applications will be issued or have the coverage originally sought; or •that we will be able to successfully enforce our IP rights in the U.S. or foreign countries. When we seek to enforce our rights, we are often subject to claims that the IP right is invalid, is otherwise not enforceable or is licensed to the party against whom we are asserting a claim. In addition, our assertion of IP rights often results in the other party seeking to assert alleged IP rights of its own against us, which may materially adversely impact our business. An unfavorable ruling in these sorts of matters could include money damages or an injunction prohibiting us from manufacturing or selling one or more products, which could in turn negatively affect our business, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, some of our products and technologies are not covered by any patents or pending patent applications. We seek to protect our proprietary technologies, including technologies that may not be patented or patentable, in part by confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, inventors’ rights agreements with our collaborators, advisors, employees and consultants. We cannot assure you that these agreements will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach or that persons or institutions will not assert rights to IP arising out of our research. Should we be unable to protect our IP, competitors may develop products or technologies that duplicate our products or technologies, benefit financially from innovations for which we bore the costs of development and undercut the sales and marketing of our products, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If we are unable to identify and make the substantial research and development investments required to remain competitive in our business, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. The semiconductor industry requires substantial investment in research and development in order to develop and bring to market new and enhanced technologies and products. The development of new products is a complex and time-consuming process and often requires significant capital investment and lead time for development and testing. We cannot assure you that we will have sufficient resources to maintain the level of investment in research and development that is required to remain competitive. In addition, the lengthy development cycle for our products limits our ability to adapt quickly to changes affecting the product markets and requirements of our customers and end-users, and we may be unable to develop innovative responses to our customers’ and end-users’ evolving needs on the timelines they require or at all. There can be no assurance that we will win competitive bid selection processes, known as “design wins,” for new products. In addition, design wins do not guarantee that we will make customer sales or that we will generate sufficient revenue to recover design and development investments, as expenditures for technology and product development are generally made before the commercial viability for such developments can be assured. There is no assurance that we will realize a return on the capital expended to develop new products, that a significant investment in new products will be profitable or that we will have margins as high as we anticipate at the time of investment or have experienced historically. To the extent that we underinvest in our research and development efforts, fail to recognize the need for innovation with respect to our products, or that our investments and capital expenditures in research and development do not lead to sales of new products, we may be unable to bring to market technologies and products that are attractive to our customers, and as a result our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. We may be unable to successfully integrate new strategic acquisitions, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We have made, and may continue to make, strategic acquisitions and alliances that involve significant risks and uncertainties. Successful acquisitions and alliances in the semiconductor industry are difficult to accomplish because they require, among other things, efficient integration and aligning of product offerings and manufacturing operations and coordination of sales and marketing and research and development efforts, often in markets or regions in which we have less experience than others. Our decision to pursue an acquisition is based on, among other factors, our estimates of expected future earnings growth and potential cost savings. For example, we may anticipate rationalization of a combined infrastructure and savings through integration of a newly acquired business into our business, and our estimates could turn out to be incorrect. Risks related to successful integration of an acquisition include, but are not limited to: (1) the ability to integrate information technology and other systems; (2) unidentified issues not discovered in our due diligence; (3) customers responding by changing their existing business relationships with us or the acquired company; (4) diversion of management’s attention from our day to day operations; and (5) loss of key employees due to uncertainty about positions post-integration. In addition, we may incur unexpected costs, such as operating or restructuring costs (including severance payments to departing employees) or taxes resulting from the acquisition or integration of the newly acquired business. In the past, we have recorded goodwill impairment charges related to certain of our acquisitions as a result of such factors as significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results. Missteps or delays in integrating our acquisitions, which could be caused by factors outside of our control, or our failure to realize the expected benefits of the acquisitions on the timeline we anticipate or at all, could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Depending on the level of our ownership interest in and the extent to which we can exercise control over the acquired business, we may be required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and SEC rules and regulations to consolidate newly acquired businesses into our consolidated financial statements. The acquired businesses may not have independent audited financial statements, such statements may not be prepared in accordance with GAAP or the acquired businesses may have financial controls and systems that are not compatible with our financial controls and systems, any of which could materially impair our ability to properly integrate such businesses into our consolidated financial statements on a timely basis. Any revisions to, inaccuracies in or restatements of our consolidated financial statements due to accounting for our acquisitions could have a material adverse effect our financial condition and results of operations. We may be unable to maintain manufacturing efficiency, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We believe that our success materially depends on our ability to maintain or improve our current margin levels related to our manufacturing. Semiconductor manufacturing requires advanced equipment and significant capital investment, leading to high fixed costs which include depreciation expense. Manufacturing semiconductor components also involves highly complex processes that we and our competitors are continuously modifying to improve yields and product performance. In addition, impurities, waste or other difficulties in the manufacturing process can lower production yields. Our manufacturing efficiency is and will continue to be an important factor in our future profitability, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our manufacturing efficiency, increase manufacturing efficiency to the same extent as our competitors, or be successful in our manufacturing rationalization plans. If we are unable to utilize our manufacturing and testing facilities at expected levels, or if production capacity increases while revenue does not, the fixed costs and other operating expenses associated with these facilities will not be fully absorbed, resulting in higher average unit costs and lower gross profits, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. The failure to successfully implement cost reduction initiatives, including through restructuring activities, could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. From time to time, we have implemented cost reduction initiatives in response to significant downturns in our industry, including relocating manufacturing to lower cost regions, transitioning higher-cost external supply to internal manufacturing, working with our material suppliers to lower costs, implementing personnel reductions and voluntary retirement programs, reducing employee compensation, temporary shutdowns of facilities with mandatory vacation and aggressively streamlining our overhead. In addition, we continuously monitor productivity and capital expenditures at our facilities in order to make strategic determinations regarding the temporary or permanent shutdown or disposition of facilities to improve our cost structure. In the past, we have recorded net restructuring charges to cover costs associated with our cost reduction initiatives. These costs have been primarily composed of employee separation costs (including severance payments) and asset impairments. We also often undertake restructuring activities and programs to improve our cost structure in connection with our business acquisitions, which can result in significant charges, including charges for severance payments to terminated employees and asset impairment charges. We cannot assure you that our cost reduction and restructuring initiatives will be successfully or timely implemented or that they will materially and positively impact our profitability. Because our restructuring activities involve changes to many aspects of our business, including but not limited to the location of our production facilities and personnel, the associated cost reductions could materially adversely impact productivity and sales to an extent we have not anticipated. Even if we fully execute and implement these activities and they generate the anticipated cost savings, there may be other unforeseeable and unintended consequences that could materially adversely impact our profitability and business, including unintended employee attrition or harm to our competitive position. To the extent that we do not achieve the profitability enhancement or other benefits of our cost reduction and restructuring initiatives that we anticipate, our results of operations may be materially adversely effected. We may be unable to develop new products to satisfy changing customer demands or regulatory requirements, which may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. The semiconductor industry is characterized by rapidly changing technologies, evolving regulatory and industry standards and certifications, changing customer needs and frequent new product introductions. Our success is largely dependent on our ability to accurately predict, identify and adapt to changes affecting the requirements of our customers in a timely and cost-effective manner. Additionally, the emergence of new industry or regulatory standards and certification requirements may adversely affect the demand for our products. We focus our independent new product development efforts on market segments and applications that we anticipate will experience growth, but there can be no assurance that we will be successful in identifying high-growth areas or develop products that meet industry standards or certification requirements in a timely manner. A fundamental shift in technologies, the regulatory climate or consumption patterns and preferences in our existing product markets or the product markets of our customers or end-users could make our current products obsolete, prevent or delay the introduction of new products that we planned to make or render our current or new products irrelevant to our customers’ needs. If our new product development efforts fail to align with the needs of our customers, including due to circumstances outside of our control like a fundamental shift in the product markets of our customers and end users or regulatory changes, our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Uncertainties regarding the timing and amount of customer orders could lead to excess inventory and write-downs of inventory that could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Our sales are typically made pursuant to individual purchase orders or customer agreements, and we generally do not have long-term supply arrangements with our customers requiring a commitment to purchase. Our customers may cancel orders 30 days prior to shipment for standard products and, generally prior to start of production for custom products without incurring a penalty. We routinely generate inventory based on customers’ estimates of end-user demand for their products, which is difficult to predict. This difficulty may be compounded when we sell to OEMs indirectly through distributors or contract manufacturers, or both, as our forecasts for demand are then based on estimates provided by multiple parties, which may vary significantly. In times of under supply for certain products, some customers could respond by inflating their demand signals. As markets level off and supply capacity begins to match actual market demands, we could experience an increased risk of inventory write-downs, which may materially adversely affect our results of operations and our financial condition. In addition, our customers may change their inventory practices on short notice for any reason. Furthermore, short customer lead times are standard in the industry due to overcapacity. The cancellation or deferral of product orders, the return of previously sold products, or overproduction of products due to the failure of anticipated orders to materialize could result in excess obsolete inventory, which could result in write-downs of inventory or the incurrence of significant cancellation penalties under our arrangements with our raw materials and equipment suppliers. Unsold inventory, canceled orders and cancellation penalties may materially adversely affect our results of operations, and inventory write-downs, which may materially adversely affect our financial condition. If we do not have access to capital on favorable terms, on the timeline we anticipate, or at all, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. We require a substantial amount of capital to meet our operating requirements and remain competitive. We routinely incur significant costs to implement new manufacturing and information technologies, to increase our productivity and efficiency, to upgrade equipment and to expand production capacity, and there can be no assurance that we will realize a return on the capital expended. We have incurred and may continue to incur material amounts of debt to fund these requirements. Significant volatility or disruption in the global financial markets may result in us not being able to obtain additional financing on favorable terms, on the timeline we anticipate, or at all, and we may not be able to refinance, if necessary, any outstanding debt when due, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. Any inability to obtain additional funding on favorable terms, on the timeline we anticipate, or at all, may cause us to curtail our operations significantly, reduce planned capital expenditures and research and development, or obtain funds through arrangements that management does not currently anticipate, including disposing of our assets and relinquishing rights to certain technologies, the occurrence of any of which may significantly impair our ability to remain competitive. If our operating results falter, our cash flow or capital resources prove inadequate, or if interest rates increase significantly, we could face liquidity problems that could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. The semiconductor industry is highly competitive, and our inability to compete effectively could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. The semiconductor industry is highly competitive, and our ability to compete successfully depends on elements both within and outside of our control. We face significant competition within each of our product lines from major global semiconductor companies as well as smaller companies focused on specific market niches. Because our components are often building block semiconductors that, in some cases, are integrated into more complex ICs, we also face competition from manufacturers of ICs, ASICs and fully customized ICs, as well as from customers who develop their own IC products. In addition, companies not currently in direct competition with us may introduce competing products in the future. Our inability to compete effectively could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. Products or technologies developed by competitors that are larger and have more substantial research and development budgets, or that are smaller and more targeted in their development efforts, may render our products or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive. We also may be unable to market and sell our products if they are not competitive on the basis of price, quality, technical performance, features, system compatibility, customized design, innovation, availability, delivery timing and reliability. If we fail to compete effectively on developing strategic relationships with customers and customer sales and technical support, our sales and revenue may be materially adversely affected. Competitive pressures may limit our ability to raise prices, and any inability to maintain revenue or raise prices to offset increases in costs could have a significant adverse effect on our gross margin. Reduced sales and lower gross margins would materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. The semiconductor industry has experienced rapid consolidation and our inability to compete with large competitors or failure to identify attractive opportunities to consolidate may materially adversely affect our business. The semiconductor industry is characterized by the high costs associated with developing marketable products and manufacturing technologies as well as high levels of investment in production capabilities. As a result, the semiconductor industry has experienced, and may continue to experience, significant consolidation among companies and vertical integration among customers. Larger competitors resulting from consolidations may have certain advantages over us, including, but not limited to: substantially greater financial and other resources with which to withstand adverse economic or market conditions and pursue development, engineering, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of their products; longer independent operating histories; presence in key markets; patent protection; and greater name recognition. In addition, we may be at a competitive disadvantage to our peers if we fail to identify attractive opportunities to acquire companies to expand our business. Consolidation among our competitors and integration among our customers could erode our market share, negatively impact our capacity to compete and require us to restructure our operations, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business. Natural disasters, health and safety epidemics and other business disruptions could cause significant harm to our business operations and facilities and could adversely affect our supply chain and our customer base, any of which may materially adversely affect our business, results of operation, and financial condition. Our U.S. and international manufacturing facilities and distribution centers, as well as the operations of our third-party suppliers, are susceptible to losses and interruptions caused by floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, and similar natural disasters, as well as power outages, telecommunications failures, industrial accidents, health and safety epidemics and similar events. The occurrence of natural disasters in any of the regions in which we operate could severely disrupt the operations of our businesses by negatively impacting our supply chain, our ability to deliver products, and the cost of our products. For example, as a result of the outbreak of the Coronavirus in the first quarter of 2020, we and/or certain of our third party vendors may experience decreased production in our facilities in China and elsewhere, which may lead to interruptions in our supply chain, delays in delivery of or inability to deliver products on expected timeframes or at all, and/or loss of customers. Such events can negatively impact revenue and earnings and can significantly impact cash flow, both from decreased revenue and from increased costs associated with the event. In addition, these events could cause consumer confidence and spending to decrease or result in increased volatility to the U.S. and worldwide economies. Although we carry insurance to generally compensate for losses of the type noted above, such insurance may not be adequate to cover all losses that may be incurred or continue to be available in the affected area at commercially reasonable rates and terms. To the extent any losses from natural disasters or other business disruptions are not covered by insurance, any costs, write-downs, impairments and decreased revenue can materially adversely affect our business, our results of operations and our financial condition. We are dependent on the services of third-party suppliers and contract manufacturers, and any disruption in or deterioration of the quality of the services delivered by such third parties could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. We use third-party contractors for certain of our manufacturing activities, primarily wafer fabrication and the assembly and testing of final goods. Our agreements with these manufacturers typically require us to commit to purchase services based on forecasted product needs, which may be inaccurate, and, in some cases, require longer-term commitments. We are also dependent upon a limited number of highly specialized third-party suppliers for required components and materials for certain of our key technologies. Arranging for replacement manufacturers and suppliers can be time consuming and costly, and the number of qualified alternative providers can be extremely limited. Our business operations, productivity and customer relations could be materially adversely affected if these contractual relationships were disrupted or terminated, the cost of such services increased significantly, the quality of the services provided deteriorated or our forecasted needs proved to be materially incorrect. We could be subject to changes in tax rates or the adoption of new U.S. or international tax legislation or have exposure to additional tax liabilities, which could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. Changes to tax or other applicable laws or regulations in the United States and the jurisdictions in which we operate, or in the interpretation of such laws or regulations, could, under our existing tax structure, significantly increase our effective tax rate and ultimately reduce our cash flow from operating activities, result in us having to restructure and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, other factors or events, including business combinations and investment transactions, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, adjustments to income taxes upon finalization of various tax returns or as a result of deficiencies asserted by taxing authorities, increases in expenses not deductible for tax purposes, changes in available tax credits, increasing operations in high tax jurisdictions, and changes in tax rates, could also increase our future effective tax rate. Our tax filings are subject to review or audit by the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") and state, local and foreign taxing authorities. We exercise significant judgment in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and, in the ordinary course of our business, there may be transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We are also liable for potential tax liabilities of businesses we acquire. The final determination in an audit may be materially different than the treatment reflected in our historical income tax provisions and accruals. An assessment of additional taxes because of an audit could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Further changes in the tax laws of foreign jurisdictions could arise as a result of the base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) project that was undertaken by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”). The OECD, which represents a coalition of member countries, recommended changes to numerous long-standing tax principles. The changes arising from the BEPS project, if adopted by countries in which we do business, could increase tax uncertainty and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes, which could, ultimately, materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The impact of U.S. tax legislation is uncertain and could have a material adverse impact on our cash flows and results of operations. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. enacted comprehensive tax legislation, H.R.1, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). The Tax Act made broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code. Some of the changes still require additional guidance, including through the issuance of final Treasury Regulations, which could lessen or increase certain adverse impacts of the Tax Act. Our analysis and interpretation of the Tax Act and proposed Treasury Regulations are ongoing and may include judgments and interpretations that could change based on final Treasury Regulations or other guidance or due to actions that the Company may take in response to such regulatory change. As a result, the impact of the Tax Act on our results of operations and cash flows may differ from our estimates, possibly materially. The Tax Act could have a material benefit or material adverse impact and could result in volatility in our effective tax rate, tax expense and cash flow. Any benefit associated with the lower U.S. corporate tax rate could be reduced or outweighed by the cost of compliance or other adverse regulatory changes related to the Tax Act or final Treasury Regulations. We operate a global business through numerous foreign subsidiaries, and there is a risk that tax authorities will challenge our transfer pricing methodologies and/or legal entity structures, which could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. We conduct operations worldwide through our foreign subsidiaries and are, therefore, subject to complex transfer pricing regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Transfer pricing regulations generally require that, for tax purposes, transactions between related parties be priced on a basis that would be comparable to an arm’s length transaction between unrelated parties. There is uncertainty and inherent subjectivity in complying with these rules. To the extent that any foreign tax authorities disagree with our transfer pricing policies, we could become subject to significant tax liabilities and penalties. The ultimate outcome of a tax examination could differ materially from our provisions and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results or operations and cash flows. Our legal organizational structure and the domicile of our entities that own our IP could result in unanticipated unfavorable tax or other consequences which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Changes in laws, regulations, future jurisdictional profitability of us and our subsidiaries, and related regulatory interpretations in the countries in which we operate may impact the taxes we pay or tax provision we record, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, any challenges to how our entities are structured or realigned or their business purpose by taxing authorities could result in us becoming subject to significant tax liabilities and penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Currency fluctuations, changes in foreign exchange regulations and repatriation delays and costs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We have sizeable sales and operations in the Asia/Pacific region and Europe and a significant amount of this business is transacted in currency other than U.S. dollars. In addition, while a significant percentage of our cash and cash equivalents is held outside the U.S., many of our liabilities, including our outstanding indebtedness, and certain other cash payments, such as share repurchases, are payable in U.S. dollars. As a result, currency fluctuations and changes in foreign exchange regulations can have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition. In addition, repatriation of funds held outside the U.S. could have adverse tax consequences and could be subject to delay due to required local country approvals or local obligations. From time to time, we are required to make cash deposits outside of the U.S. to support bank guarantees of our obligations under certain office leases or amounts we owe to certain vendors and such cash deposits are not available for other uses as long as the related bank guarantees are outstanding. Foreign exchange regulations may also limit our ability to convert or repatriate foreign currency. As a result of having a lower amount of cash and cash equivalents in the U.S., our financial flexibility may be reduced, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to make interest and principal payments due under our various debt obligations. Restrictions on repatriation or the inability to use cash held abroad to fund our operations in the U.S. may have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition. Rapid innovation and short product life cycles in the semiconductor industry can result in price erosion of older products, which may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. The semiconductor industry is characterized by rapid innovation and short product life cycles, which often results in price erosion, especially with respect to products containing older technology. Products are frequently replaced by more technologically advanced substitutes and, as demand for older technology falls, the price at which such products can be sold drops, in some cases precipitously. In addition, our and our competitors’ excess inventory levels can accelerate general price erosion. In order to continue to profitably supply older products, we must offset lower prices by reducing production costs, typically through improvements in process technology and production efficiencies. If we cannot advance our process technologies or improve our production efficiencies to a degree sufficient to maintain required margins, we will no longer be able to make a profit from the sale of older products. Moreover, in certain limited cases, we may not be able to cease production of older products, either due to contractual obligations or for customer relationship reasons and, as a result, may be required to bear a loss on such products for a sustained period of time. If reductions in our production costs fail to keep pace with reductions in market prices for the products we sell, our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. We may be unable to attract and retain highly skilled personnel. Our success depends on our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly skilled personnel, including technical, marketing, management and staff personnel, both in the U.S. and internationally. In the semiconductor industry, the competition for qualified personnel, particularly experienced design engineers and other technical employees, is intense, particularly when the business cycle is improving. During such periods, competitors may try to recruit our most valuable technical employees. While we devote a great deal of our attention to designing competitive compensation programs aimed at attracting and retaining personnel, specific elements of our compensation programs may not be competitive with those of our competitors, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain our current personnel or recruit the key personnel we require. Loss of the services of, or failure to effectively recruit, qualified personnel, including senior managers, could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position and on our business. If we must reduce our use of equity awards to compensate our employees, our competitiveness in the employee marketplace could be adversely affected and our results of operations could vary as a result of changes in our stock-based compensation programs. We have issued in the past, and expect to continue to issue, RSUs with time-based vesting, performance-based awards and common stock options that generally have exercise prices at the market value at the time of the grant and that are subject to vesting over time as compensation tools. While this is a routine practice in many parts of the world, foreign exchange and income tax regulations in some countries make this practice more and more difficult. Such regulations tend to diminish the value of equity compensation to our employees in those countries. Our current practice is to seek stockholder approval of new, or amendments to existing, equity compensation plans. If these proposals do not receive stockholder approval, we may not be able to grant equity awards to employees at the same levels as in the past, which could materially adversely affect our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel, thereby materially adversely affecting our business. In addition, changes in forecasted stock-based compensation expense could cause our results of operations to vary by impacting our gross margin percentage, research and development expenses, marketing, general and administrative expenses and our tax rate. Disruptions caused by labor disputes or organized labor activities could materially harm our business and reputation. Labor disputes could lead to disruption from time to time in our union and non-union facilities. Disputes with the current labor union or new union organizing activities could lead to production slowdowns or stoppages and make it difficult or impossible for us to meet scheduled delivery times for product shipments to our customers, which could result in a loss of business and material damage to our reputation. In addition, union activity and compliance with international labor standards could result in higher labor costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations. Environmental and health and safety liabilities and expenditures could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Our operations are subject to various environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. For example, our manufacturing operations are subject to laws and regulations relating to the management, disposal and remediation of hazardous substances and the emission and discharge of pollutants into the air, water and ground, and we have been identified as either a primary responsible party or a potentially responsible party at sites where we or our predecessors operated or disposed of waste in the past. Our other operations are also subject to laws and regulations relating to workplace safety and worker health, which, among other requirements, regulate employee exposure to hazardous substances. We have indemnities from third parties for certain environmental and health and safety liabilities for periods prior to our operations at some of our current and past sites, and we have also purchased environmental insurance to cover certain claims related to historical contamination and future releases of hazardous substances. However, we cannot assure you that such indemnification arrangements and insurance will cover any or all of our material environmental costs. In addition, the nature of our operations exposes us to the continuing risk of environmental and health and safety liabilities including: •changes in U.S. and international environmental or health and safety laws or regulations, including, but not limited to, future laws or regulations imposed in response to climate change concerns; •the manner in which environmental or health and safety laws or regulations will be enforced, administered or interpreted; •our ability to enforce and collect under indemnity agreements and insurance policies relating to environmental liabilities; •the cost of compliance with future environmental or health and safety laws or regulations or the costs associated with any future environmental claims, including the cost of clean-up of currently unknown environmental conditions; or •the cost of fines, penalties or other legal liability, should we fail to comply with environmental or health and safety laws or regulations. To the extent that we face unforeseen environmental or health and safety compliance costs or remediation expenses or liabilities that are not covered by indemnities or insurance, we may bear the full effect of such costs, expense and liabilities, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. We are exposed to increased costs and risks associated with complying with increasing and new regulation of corporate governance and disclosure standards. Like most publicly traded companies, we incur significant cost and spend a significant amount of management time and internal resources to comply with changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, which requires management’s annual review and evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting and attestations of the effectiveness of these systems by our management and by our independent registered public accounting firm. As we continue to make strategic acquisitions, mergers and alliances, the integration of these businesses increases the complexity of our systems of controls. While we devote significant resources and time to comply with the internal control over financial reporting requirements under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”), we cannot be certain that these measures will ensure that we design, implement and maintain adequate control over our financial process and reporting in the future. There can be no assurance that we or our independent registered public accounting firm will not identify a material weakness in the combined company’s internal control over financial reporting in the future. Failure to comply with SOX, including delaying or failing to successfully integrate our acquisitions into our internal control over financial reporting or the identification and reporting of a material weakness, may cause investors to lose confidence in our consolidated financial statements or even in our ability to recognize the anticipated synergies and benefits of such transactions, and the trading price of our common stock or other securities may decline. In addition, if we fail to remedy any material weakness, our investors and others may lose confidence in our financial statements, our financial statements may be materially inaccurate, our access to capital markets may be restricted and the trading price of our common stock may decline. Warranty claims, product liability claims and product recalls could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. Manufacturing semiconductors is a highly complex and precise process, requiring production in a tightly controlled, clean environment. Minute impurities in our manufacturing materials, contaminants in the manufacturing environment, manufacturing equipment failures, and other defects can cause our products to be non-compliant with customer requirements or otherwise nonfunctional. We face an inherent business risk of exposure to warranty and product liability claims in the event that our products fail to perform as expected or such failure of our products results, or is alleged to result, in bodily injury or property damage (or both). In addition, if any of our designed products are or are alleged to be defective, we may be required to participate in their recall. As suppliers become more integrally involved in electrical design, OEMs are increasingly expecting them to warrant their products and are increasingly looking to them for contributions when faced with product liability claims or recalls. A successful warranty or product liability claim against us in excess of our available insurance coverage, if any, and established reserves, or a requirement that we participate in a product recall, could have material adverse effects on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, in the event that our products fail to perform as expected or such failure of our products results in a recall, our reputation may be damaged, which could make it more difficult for us to sell our products to existing and prospective customers and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Since a defect or failure in our product could give rise to failures in the goods that incorporate them (and claims for consequential damages against our customers from their customers), we may face claims for damages that are disproportionate to the revenue and profits we receive from the products involved. In certain instances, we attempt to limit our liability through our standard terms and conditions of sale and other customer contracts. There is no assurance that such limitations will be effective, and to the extent that we are liable for damages in excess of the revenue and profits we received from the products involved, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. We may be subject to disruptions or breaches of our secured network that could irreparably damage our reputation and our business, expose us to liability and materially adversely affect our results of operations. We routinely collect and store sensitive data, including confidential and other proprietary information about our business and our customers, suppliers and business partners. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. We may be subject to disruptions or breaches of our secured network caused by computer viruses, illegal hacking, criminal fraud or impersonation, acts of vandalism or terrorism or employee error. Our security measures and/or those of our third-party service providers and/or customers may not detect or prevent such security breaches. The costs to us to reduce the risk of or alleviate cyber security breaches and vulnerabilities could be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be successful and could result in interruptions and delays that may materially impede our sales, manufacturing, distribution or other critical functions. Any such compromise of our information security could result in the misappropriation or unauthorized publication of our confidential business or proprietary information or that of other parties with which we do business, an interruption in our operations, the unauthorized transfer of cash or other of our assets, the unauthorized release of customer or employee data or a violation of privacy or other laws. In addition, computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that attack our products, or that otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities, and any such attack, if successful, could expose us to liability to customer claims. Any of the foregoing could irreparably damage our reputation and business, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Sales through distributors and other third parties expose us to risks that, if realized, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We face risks related to our sale of a significant, and increasing, portion of our products through distributors. Distributors may sell products that compete with our products, and we may need to provide financial and other incentives to focus distributors on the sale of our products. We may rely on one or more key distributors for a product, and the loss of these distributors could reduce our revenue. Distributors may face financial difficulties, including bankruptcy, which could harm our collection of accounts receivable and financial results. Violations of the FCPA or similar laws by distributors or other third-party intermediaries could have a material impact on our business. Failure to manage risks related to our use of distributors may reduce sales, increase expenses, and weaken our competitive position, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. The failure to comply with the terms and conditions of our contracts could result in, among other things, damages, fines or other liabilities. We have a diverse customer base consisting of both private sector clients and public sector clients, including the U.S. government. Sales to our private sector clients are generally based on stated contractual terms, the terms and conditions on our website or terms contained in purchase orders on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Sales to our public sector clients are generally derived from sales to federal, state and local governmental departments and agencies through various contracts and programs which may require compliance with regulations covering many areas of our operations, including, but not limited to, accounting practices, IP rights, information handling, and security. Noncompliance with contract terms, particularly with respect to highly-regulated public sector clients, or with government procurement regulations could result in fines or penalties against us, termination of such contracts or civil, criminal and administrative liability to the Company. With respect to public sector clients, the government’s remedies may also include suspension or debarment from future government business. In addition, almost all of our contracts have default provisions, and certain of our contracts in the public sector are terminable at any time for convenience of the contracting agency. The effect of any of these possible actions or the adoption of new or modified procurement regulations or practices could materially adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations. The Company is subject to governmental laws, regulations and other legal obligations related to privacy and data protection. The legislative and regulatory framework for privacy and data protection issues worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. The Company collects personally identifiable information (“PII”) and other data as part of its business processes and activities. This data is subject to a variety of U.S. and international laws and regulations, including oversight by various regulatory or other governmental bodies. Many foreign countries and governmental bodies, including the European Union and other relevant jurisdictions where the Company conducts business, have laws and regulations concerning the collection and use of PII and other data obtained from their residents or by businesses operating within their jurisdictions that are currently more restrictive than those in the U.S. Additionally, in May 2016, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation that imposed more stringent data protection requirements and provided for greater penalties for noncompliance beginning in May 2018. In addition, among other applicable laws, California adopted significant new consumer privacy laws in June 2018 that became effective on January 1, 2020 and Thailand adopted the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 in May 2019. In addition, from time to time our global operations may require importing, exporting or transferring data across international borders in compliance with both U.S. customs and export control regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Any inability, or perceived inability, to adequately address privacy and data protection concerns, even if unfounded, or to comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, industry standards, contractual obligations or other legal obligations, could result in additional cost and liability to the Company or company officials, including substantial monetary fines, and could damage our reputation, inhibit sales and adversely affect our business. Expectations of the Company relating to environmental, social and governance factors may impose additional costs and expose us to new risks. There is an increasing focus from certain investors, employees and other stakeholders concerning corporate social responsibility ("CSR"), specifically related to environmental, social and governance factors. Some investors may use these factors to guide their investment strategies and, in some cases, may choose not to invest in us if they believe our policies relating to CSR are inadequate. Third-party providers of CSR ratings and reports on companies have increased to meet growing investor demand for measurement of CSR performance. In addition, the criteria by which companies’ CSR practices are assessed may change, which could result in greater expectations of us and cause us to undertake costly initiatives to satisfy such new criteria. Alternatively, if we elect not to or are unable to satisfy such new criteria, investors may conclude that our policies with respect to CSR are inadequate. We may face reputational damage in the event that our CSR procedures or standards do not meet the standards set by various constituencies. Furthermore, if our competitors’ CSR performance is perceived to be greater than ours, potential or current investors may elect to invest with our competitors instead. In addition, in the event that we communicate certain initiatives and goals regarding environmental, social and governance matters, we could fail, or be perceived to fail, in our achievement of such initiatives or goals, or we could be criticized for the scope of such initiatives or goals. If we fail to satisfy the expectations of investors, employees and other stakeholders or our initiatives are not executed as planned, our reputation and financial results could be materially and adversely affected. Climate change, and the regulatory and legislative developments related to climate change, may materially adversely affect our business and financial condition. The potential physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain and would be particular to the geographic circumstances in areas in which we operate. These may include changes in rainfall and storm patterns and intensities, water shortages, changing sea levels and changing temperatures. The impacts of climate change may materially and adversely impact the cost, production and financial performance of our operations. Further, any impacts to our business and financial condition as a result of climate change are likely to occur over a sustained period of time and are therefore difficult to quantify with any degree of specificity. For example, extreme weather events may result in adverse physical effects on portions of our infrastructure, which could disrupt our supply chain and ultimately our business operations. In addition, disruption of transportation and distribution systems could result in reduced operational efficiency and customer service interruption. Climate-related events have the potential to disrupt our business, including the business of our customers, and may cause us to experience higher attrition, losses and additional costs to resume operations. A number of governments or governmental bodies have introduced or are contemplating legislative and regulatory changes in response to various climate change interest groups and the potential impact of climate change. Legislation and increased regulation regarding climate change could impose significant costs on us and our suppliers, including costs related to increased energy requirements, capital equipment, environmental monitoring and reporting, and other costs to comply with such regulations. Any future climate change regulations could also negatively impact our ability to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such limitations. Given the political significance and uncertainty around the impact of climate change and how it should be addressed, we cannot predict how legislation and regulation will affect our financial condition, operating performance and ability to compete. Furthermore, even without such regulation, increased awareness and any adverse publicity in the global marketplace about potential impacts on climate change by us or other companies in our industry could harm our reputation. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. Trends, Risks and Uncertainties Relating to Our Indebtedness Our substantial debt could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. As of December 31, 2019, we had $3,749.2 million of outstanding indebtedness. We may need to incur additional indebtedness in the future to repay or refinance other outstanding debt, to make acquisitions or for other purposes, and if we incur additional debt, the related risks that we now face could intensify. The degree to which we are leveraged could have important consequences to our potential and current investors, including: •our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, general corporate purposes or other purposes may be impaired; •the timing, amount and execution of our capital allocation policy, including our 2018 Share Repurchase Program, could be affected by the degree to which we are leveraged; •a significant portion of our cash flow from operating activities must be dedicated to the payment of interest and principal on our debt, which reduces the funds available to us for our operations and may limit our ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interests; •some of our debt is and will continue to be at variable rates of interest, which may result in higher interest expense in the event of increases in market interest rates; •our debt agreements may contain, and any agreements to refinance our debt likely will contain, financial and restrictive covenants, and our failure to comply with them may result in an event of default which if not cured or waived, could have a material adverse effect on us; •our level of indebtedness will increase our vulnerability to, and reduce our flexibility to respond to, general economic downturns and adverse industry and business conditions; •as our long-term debt ages, we must repay, and may need to renegotiate, such debt or seek additional financing; •to the extent the debt we incur requires collateral to secure such indebtedness, our assets could be at risk and our flexibility related to such assets could be limited; •our debt service obligations could limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the semiconductor industry; •our substantial leverage could place us at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis our competitors who may have less leverage relative to their overall capital structures; and •our level of indebtedness may place us at a competitive disadvantage relative to less leveraged competitors. To the extent that we continue to maintain or expand our significant indebtedness, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. The inability to meet our obligations under our Amended Credit Agreement could materially and adversely affect us by, among other things, limiting our ability to conduct our operations and reducing our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions. Our Amended Credit Agreement provides for our $1.97 billion Revolving Credit Facility and our $2.4 billion Term Loan “B” Facility, the proceeds of which have been used, among other things, to fund acquisitions. The obligations under the Amended Credit Agreement are collateralized by a lien on substantially all of the personal property and material real property assets of the Company and most of the Company’s domestic subsidiaries. As a result, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations under the Amended Credit Agreement, the lenders could take possession of and foreclose on the pledged collateral securing the indebtedness, in which case we would be at risk of losing the related collateral, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. In addition, subject to customary exceptions, the Amended Credit Agreement requires mandatory prepayment under certain circumstances, which may result in prepaying outstanding amounts under the Revolving Credit Facility and the Term Loan “B” Facility rather than using funds for other business purposes. Our acquisition-related financing could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition, including, among other things, our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes and could reduce our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions. The agreements relating to our indebtedness, including the Amended Credit Agreement, may restrict our ability to operate our business, and as a result may materially adversely affect our results of operations. Our debt agreements, including the Amended Credit Agreement, contain, and any future debt agreements may include, a number of restrictive covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and our subsidiaries. Such restrictive covenants may significantly limit our ability to: •incur additional debt, including issuing guarantees; •incur liens; •make certain investments; •settle a conversion of our 1.00% and 1.625% Notes in whole or in part with cash; •sell or otherwise dispose of assets; •make some acquisitions; •engage in mergers or consolidations or certain other “change of control” transactions; •make distributions to our stockholders; •engage in restructuring activities; •engage in certain sale and leaseback transactions; and •issue or repurchase stock or other securities. Such agreements may also require us to satisfy other requirements, including maintaining certain financial ratios and condition tests. Our ability to meet these requirements can be affected by events beyond our control, and we may be unable to meet them. To the extent we fail to meet any such requirements and are in default under our debt obligations, our financial condition may be materially adversely affected. These restrictions may limit our ability to engage in activities that could otherwise benefit us. To the extent that we are unable to engage in activities that support the growth, profitability and competitiveness of our business, our results of operations may be materially adversely affected. We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow to meet our debt service obligations, and any inability to repay our debt when due would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operating activities to make scheduled payments on our debt obligations will depend on our future financial performance, which will be affected by a range of economic, competitive and business factors, many of which are outside of our control. If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operating activities and proceeds from sales of assets in the ordinary course of business to satisfy our debt obligations as they come due, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, selling additional assets, reducing or delaying capital investments or seeking to raise additional capital. We cannot assure you that any refinancing would be possible, that any assets could be sold, or, if sold, of the timing of the sales and the amount of proceeds realized from those sales, or that additional financing could be obtained on acceptable terms, if at all, or would be permitted under the terms of our various debt instruments then in effect. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that, if we were required to repurchase any of our debt securities upon a change of control or other specified event, our assets or cash flow would be sufficient to fully repay borrowings under our outstanding debt instruments or that we would be able to refinance or restructure the payments on those debt securities. If we are unable to repay, refinance or restructure our indebtedness under our collateralized debt, the holders of such debt could proceed against the collateral securing that indebtedness, which could materially negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. A default under our committed credit facilities, including our Amended Credit Agreement, could also limit our ability to make further borrowings under those facilities, which could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, to the extent we are not able to borrow or refinance debt obligations, we may have to issue additional shares of our common stock, which would have a dilutive effect to the current stockholders. An event of default under any agreement relating to our outstanding indebtedness could cross default other indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If there were an event of default under certain of our agreements relating to our outstanding indebtedness, the holders of the defaulted debt could cause all amounts outstanding with respect to that debt to be due and payable immediately, which default or acceleration of debt could cross default other indebtedness. Any such cross default would put immediate pressure on our liquidity and financial condition and would amplify the risks described above with regards to being unable to repay our indebtedness when due and payable. We cannot assure you that our assets or cash flow would be sufficient to fully repay borrowings under our outstanding debt instruments if accelerated upon an event of default, and, as described above, any inability to repay our debt when due would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If our operating subsidiaries, which may have no independent obligation to repay our debt, are not able to make cash available to us for such repayment, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. We conduct our operations through our subsidiaries. Repayment of our indebtedness is dependent on the generation of cash flow by our subsidiaries and their ability to make such cash available to us, by dividend, debt repayment or otherwise. Unless they are guarantors of our indebtedness, our subsidiaries have no obligation to pay amounts due on such indebtedness or to make funds available for that purpose. Our subsidiaries may not be able to, or may not be permitted to, make distributions to enable us to make payments in respect of our indebtedness. Each subsidiary is a distinct legal entity, and, under certain circumstances, legal and contractual restrictions may limit our ability to obtain cash from our subsidiaries. In the event that we do not receive distributions or payments from our subsidiaries, we may be unable to make required principal and interest payments on our indebtedness and, as described above, any inability to repay our debt when due would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations under our variable rate indebtedness could increase significantly, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Borrowings under certain of our facilities from time to time, including under our Amended Credit Agreement, are at variable rates of interest and as a result expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease. During the first quarters of 2017 and 2019, we entered into interest rate swaps that involved the exchange of floating for fixed rate interest payments in order to reduce interest rate volatility for a portion of our Term Loan "B" Facility through the end of 2021. However, we may not maintain interest rate swaps with respect to all of our variable rate indebtedness, and any swaps we enter into may not fully mitigate our interest rate risk. To the extent the risk materializes and is not fully mitigated, the resulting increase in interest expense could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. A number of our current debt agreements, including the Amended Credit Agreement, have an interest rate tied to LIBO Rate, which is expected to be discontinued after 2021. While some of our debt agreements provide procedures for determining an alternative base rate in the event that LIBO Rate is discontinued, not all do so. Regardless, there can be no assurances as to what alternative base rates may be and whether such base rate will be more or less favorable than LIBO Rate and any other unforeseen impacts of the potential discontinuation of LIBO Rate. The Company intends to monitor the developments with respect to the potential phasing out of LIBO Rate after 2021 and work with its lenders to ensure any transition away from LIBO Rate will have minimal impact on its financial condition, but can provide no assurances that the impact of the discontinuation of LIBO Rate would not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Servicing the 1.00% Notes and 1.625% Notes may require a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow or the ability to raise the funds necessary to satisfy our obligations under the 1.00% Notes and 1.625% Notes in a timely manner. In June 2015, we issued $690.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 1.00% Notes, and in March 2017, we issued $575.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 1.625% Notes. Holders of the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase all or a portion of their notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change (as defined under the respective indentures governing such notes) at a repurchase price equal to 100% of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the fundamental change repurchase date. In addition, upon conversion of the 1.00% Notes and/or the 1.625% Notes to be repurchased, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock to settle such conversion (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional shares), we will be required to make cash payments in respect of such 1.00% Notes and/or 1.625% Notes being converted. Moreover, we will be required to repay the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes in cash at their maturity, unless earlier converted or repurchased. Servicing the 1.00% Notes and the1.625% Notes may require a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow or the ability to raise the funds necessary to satisfy our obligations under the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes. Our ability to make cash payments in connection with conversions of the 1.00% Notes and/or the 1.625% Notes, repurchase the 1.00% Notes and/or the 1.625% Notes in the event of a fundamental change or repay such notes at maturity will depend on market conditions and our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. If we are unable to make cash payments upon conversion of the 1.00% Notes and/or the 1.625% Notes, we would be required to issue significant amounts of our common stock, which would dilute existing stockholders. In addition, if we do not have sufficient cash to repurchase the 1.00% Notes and/or the 1.625% Notes following a fundamental change, we would be in default under the terms of such notes, which could cross default other debt and materially, adversely harm our business. The terms of the Amended Credit Agreement limit the amount of future indebtedness we may incur, but the terms of the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes do not limit the amount of future indebtedness we may incur. If we incur significantly more debt, this could intensify the risks described above. Our decision to use our cash for other purposes, such as to make acquisitions or to repurchase our common stock, could also intensify these risks. The conditional conversion feature of the 1.00% Notes or the 1.625% Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and, if we elect to settle the conversion of the 1.00% Notes or the 1.625% Notes in common stock, any such settlement could materially dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders. If specified conditions are met, holders of the 1.00% Notes may convert their notes prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding September 1, 2020 and holders of the 1.625% Notes may convert their notes prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding July 15, 2023. Unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligations by delivering solely shares of our common stock (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional shares), in the event the conditional conversion feature under either the 1.00% Notes or the 1.625% Notes is triggered, holders electing to convert their notes could require us to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligations through the payment of cash, which could materially adversely affect our liquidity. Alternatively, if the conditional conversion feature under either the 1.00% Notes or the 1.625% Notes is triggered, and holders do not elect to convert their notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of such notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital. Any material decrease in our liquidity or reduction in our net working capital could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may elect to settle a conversion of the 1.00% Notes or the 1.625% Notes solely in common stock to avoid an event of default under our Amended Credit Agreement, and any such issuance of common stock could materially dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders, including stockholders who previously converted such notes to shares of our common stock. The fundamental change repurchase feature of our 1.00% Notes and 1.625% Notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial attempt to take over our Company. The terms of our 1.00% Notes and 1.625% Notes require us to repurchase such notes in the event of a fundamental change (as defined under the respective indentures governing such notes). In certain circumstances, a takeover of our Company could trigger an option of the holders of the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes to require us to repurchase such notes. This may have the effect of delaying or preventing a takeover of our Company that would otherwise be beneficial to investors in the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes and our common stock, which could materially decrease the value of such notes and of our common stock. Note hedge and warrant transactions we have entered into may materially adversely affect the value of our common stock. Concurrently with the issuance of the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes, we entered into note hedge transactions with certain financial institutions, which we refer to as the option counterparties. The convertible note hedges are expected to reduce the potential dilution upon any conversion of the respective series of notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes of such series, as the case may be. We also entered into warrant transactions with the option counterparties. However, the warrant transactions could separately have a dilutive effect on our common stock to the extent that the market price per share of our common stock exceeds $25.96, with respect to the 1.00% Notes, and $30.70, with respect to the 1.625% Notes, which would trigger the conditional conversion feature under such notes. For example, in the first quarter of 2018, the conditional conversion feature was triggered with respect to the 1.00% Notes, as a result of which holders were permitted to convert their 1.00% Notes into shares of common stock, cash or a combination thereof at our election for a three-month period. We can provide no assurance as to when or whether these conditional conversion features will be triggered again in the future. In connection with establishing their initial hedge of the convertible note hedges and warrant transactions, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates have purchased shares of our common stock and/or entered into various derivative transactions with respect to our common stock following the pricing of the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes, respectively. The option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives contracts with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the 1.00% Notes and the 1.625% Notes, respectively (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of 1.00% Notes or 1.625% Notes following any repurchase of the 1.00% Notes or 1.625% Notes by us on any fundamental change repurchase date or otherwise). The potential effect, if any, of these transactions and activities on the market price of our common stock will depend in part on market conditions and cannot be ascertained at this time. Any of these activities could materially adversely affect the value of our common stock. Counterparty risk with respect to the note hedge transactions, if realized, could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. The option counterparties are financial institutions or affiliates of financial institutions, and we are subject to the risk that these option counterparties may default under the note hedge transactions. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of any of the option counterparties. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties is not secured by any collateral. If one or more of the option counterparties to one or more of our note hedge transactions becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at the time under those transactions. To the extent the option counterparties do not honor their contractual commitments with us pursuant to the note hedge transactions, we could face a material increase in our exposure to potential dilution upon any conversion of the 1.00% Notes or the 1.625% Notes and/or cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted 1.00% Notes or 1.625% Notes, as the case may be. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, the increase in our exposure will be correlated to the increase in the market price of our common stock and in the volatility of the market price of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by one of the option counterparties, we may suffer adverse tax consequences with respect to our common stock. Any such adverse tax consequences or increased cash payments could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Trends, Risks and Uncertainties Relating to Our Common Stock Fluctuations in our quarterly operating results may cause the market price of our common stock to decline. Given the nature of the markets in which we participate, we cannot reliably predict future revenue and profitability, and unexpected changes may impact the value of our common stock. A large portion of our costs are fixed, due in part to our significant sales, research and development and manufacturing costs. Thus, small declines in revenue could negatively affect our operating results in any given quarter. In addition to the other factors described above, factors that could affect our quarterly operating results include: •the timing and size of orders from our customers, including cancellations and reschedulings; •the timing of introduction of new products; •the gain or loss of significant customers, including as a result of industry consolidation or as a result of our acquisitions; •seasonality in some of our target markets; •changes in the mix of products we sell; •changes in demand by the end-users of our customers’ products; •market acceptance of our current and future products; •variability of our customers’ product life cycles; •availability of supplies and manufacturing services; •changes in manufacturing yields or other factors affecting the cost of goods sold, such as the cost and availability of raw materials and the extent of utilization of manufacturing capacity; •changes in the prices of our products, which can be affected by the level of our customers’ and end-users’ demand, technological change, product obsolescence, competition or other factors; •cancellations, changes or delays of deliveries to us by our third-party manufacturers, including as a result of the availability of manufacturing capacity and the proposed terms of manufacturing arrangements; •our liquidity and access to capital; and •our research and development activities and the funding thereof. An adverse change or development in any of the above factors could cause the market price of common stock to materially decline. The market price of our common stock may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses for investors. The stock markets in general, and the markets for high technology stocks in particular, have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. The market price of the common stock may also fluctuate significantly in response to the following factors, among others, some of which are beyond our control: •variations in our quarterly operating results; •declines in our gross margins; •the issuance or repurchase of shares of our common stock; •changes in securities analysts’ estimates of our financial performance; •changes in market valuations of similar companies; •announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, capital commitments, new products or product enhancements; •loss of a major customer or failure to complete significant transactions; and •additions or departures of key personnel. The trading price of our common stock in the past has had significant volatility, and we cannot accurately predict every potential risk that may materially and adversely affect our stock price. Provisions in our charter documents may delay or prevent the acquisition of our Company, which could materially adversely affect the value of our common stock. Our certificate of incorporation and by-laws contain provisions that could make it harder for a third-party to acquire us without the consent of our board of directors. These provisions: •establish advance notice requirements for submitting nominations for election to the board of directors and for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at a meeting; •authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, which is preferred stock that our board of directors can create and issue without prior stockholder approval and that could be issued with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede a takeover attempt; and •require the approval by holders of at least 66 2/3% of our outstanding common stock to amend any of these provisions in our certificate of incorporation or by-laws. Although we believe these provisions make a higher third-party bid more likely by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with our board of directors, these provisions apply even if an initial offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders. Any delay or prevention of an acquisition of our Company that would have been beneficial to our stockholders could materially decrease the value of our common stock. Item 1B.