Lattice Semiconductor Corp: Form 10-Q for the period ended Sep 26, 2020

The following discussion should be read along with the unaudited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as well as the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our 2019 10-K.

Overview

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation and its subsidiaries (“Lattice,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) develop technologies that we monetize through differentiated programmable logic semiconductor products, system solutions, design services, and licenses. Lattice is the low power programmable leader. We solve customer problems across the network, from the Edge to the Cloud, in the growing communications, computing, industrial, automotive, and consumer markets. Our technology, long-standing relationships, and commitment to world-class support enable our customers to create a smart, secure, and connected world.

Lattice has focused its strategy on delivering programmable logic products and related solutions based on low power, small size, and ease of use. We also serve our customers with IP licensing and various other services. Our product development activities include new proprietary products, advanced packaging, existing product enhancements, software development tools, soft IP, and system solutions for high-growth applications such as Edge Artificial Intelligence, 5G infrastructure, platform security, and factory automation.

Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates

Critical accounting policies are those that are both most important to the portrayal of a company's financial condition and results, and that require management's most difficult, subjective, and complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Management believes that there have been no significant changes to the items that we disclosed as our critical accounting policies and estimates in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our 2019 10-K.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and judgments affecting the amounts reported in our consolidated condensed financial statements and the accompanying notes. The actual results that we experience may differ materially from our estimates. As of September 26, 2020, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our business going forward depends on numerous dynamic factors which we cannot reliably predict. As a result, some of our estimates and assumptions required increased judgment and carry a higher degree of variability and volatility. As the events continue to evolve with respect to the pandemic, our estimates may materially change in future periods.

Impact of COVID-19 on our Business

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused, and is expected to continue to cause, the global slowdown of economic activity (including the decrease in demand for goods and services), and significant volatility in and disruption to financial markets. Because the severity, magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences are uncertain, rapidly changing and difficult to predict, the pandemic’s impact on our operations and financial performance, as well as its impact on our ability to successfully execute our business strategy and initiatives, remains uncertain. We continue to take actions to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and our business. We implemented social distancing policies at our locations around the world including working from home and eliminating virtually all travel. Furthermore, we continue to manage our cash position and liquidity needs in light of the rapidly changing environment, and we have additional resources available under our Credit Agreement, if needed. As a result of the accelerated debt payments we made during the second quarter of fiscal 2020 to reduce our future interest rate expense, we do not have any required debt payments until June 30, 2021.

As COVID-19 has spread globally and been declared a pandemic, the full extent of this outbreak, the related governmental, business and travel restrictions in order to contain this virus are continuing to evolve globally. We anticipate that these actions and the global health crisis caused by COVID-19 will negatively impact business activity across the globe. We expect our demand to be impacted in Q4 and potentially beyond Q4 given the global reach and economic impact of the virus. For example, governmental actions or policies or other initiatives to contain the virus, could lead to reductions in our end customers’ demand under which we would expect to lose revenue. We have previously seen and could again see delays or disruptions in our supply chain due to governmental restrictions. If our suppliers experience similar impacts, we may have difficulty sourcing materials necessary to fulfill customer production requirements and transporting completed products to our end customers.

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We will continue to actively monitor the situation and may take further actions altering our business operations that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, partners, suppliers, and stakeholders, or as required by federal, state, or local authorities. It is not clear what the potential effects of any such alterations or modifications may have on our business, including the effects on our customers, employees, and prospects, or on our financial results for the remainder of fiscal 2020 or future periods. The full extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations and financial position is currently uncertain and will depend on many factors that are not within our control, including, but not limited to: the duration and scope of the pandemic; governmental, business and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and financial market volatility; global economic conditions and levels of economic growth; and the pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part II of this report for further information about related risks and uncertainties.

Results of Operations

Key elements of our Consolidated Statements of Operations, including as a percentage of revenue, are presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

Revenue by End Market

We sell our products globally to a broad base of customers in three primary end market groups: Communications and Computing, Industrial and Automotive, and Consumer. We also provide Intellectual Property licensing and services to these end markets.

We anticipate future revenue growth due to multiple market segment drivers, including:

• Communications and computing: 5G infrastructure deployments, cloud and enterprise servers, and client computing platforms,
• Industrial and automotive: industrial Internet of Things ("IoT"), factory automation, and automotive electronics,
• Consumer: smart home and prosumer.

We also generate revenue from the licensing of our Intellectual Property ("IP"), the collection of certain royalties, patent sales, the revenue related to our participation in consortia and standard-setting activities, and services. While these activities may be associated with multiple markets, Licensing and services revenue is reported as a separate end market as it has characteristics that differ from other categories, most notably a higher gross margin.

The end market data below is derived from data provided to us by our distributors and end customers. With a diverse base of customers who may manufacture end products spanning multiple end markets, the assignment of revenue to a specific end market requires the use of judgment. We also recognize certain revenue for which end customers and end markets are not yet known. We assign this revenue first to a specific end market using historical and anticipated usage of the specific products, if possible, and allocate the remainder to the end markets based on either historical usage for each product family or industry application data for certain product types.

The following are examples of end market applications for the periods presented:

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The composition of our revenue by end market is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

Revenue from the Communications and Computing end market increased by 6% for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and increased by 10% for the first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2019 due to the continued adoption of our products used in servers and client computing platforms, as well as ongoing 5G infrastructure deployments.

Revenue from the Industrial and Automotive end market increased by 14% for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and increased by 9% for the first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2019 due primarily to increased demand for our products used in a broad range of applications including industrial automation and safety, robotics, embedded vision, and automotive electronics.

Revenue from the Consumer end market decreased by 45% for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and decreased by 40% for the first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2019. This segment has been impacted by lower end market demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the expected shift in the mix of revenue towards our other market segments.

Revenue from the Licensing and services end market increased by 7% for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019 primarily due to increased licensing revenue, and decreased by 10% for the first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2019 primarily due to decreased HDMI revenue.

Revenue by Geography

We assign revenue to geographies based on ship-to location of the end customer, where available, and based upon the location of the distributor to which the product was shipped otherwise.

The composition of our revenue by geography is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

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Revenue from Distributors

Distributors have historically accounted for a significant portion of our total revenue. Revenue attributable to our primary distributors is presented in the following table:

Gross Margin

The composition of our Gross margin, including as a percentage of revenue, is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

Gross margin, as a percentage of revenue, increased 110 basis points in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and increased by 100 basis points for the first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2019. Improved margins were driven by benefits from pricing optimization programs, product cost reductions, and product mix.

Because of its higher margin, the licensing and services portion of our overall revenue can have a disproportionate impact on Gross margin depending on the relative mix between product revenue and licensing and services revenue.

Operating Expenses

Research and Development Expense

The composition of our Research and development expense, including as a percentage of revenue, is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

Research and development expense includes costs for compensation and benefits, stock compensation, engineering wafers, depreciation, licenses, and outside engineering services. These expenditures are for the design of new products, IP cores, processes, packaging, and software solutions. The increase in Research and development expense for the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2019 was due primarily to increased headcount to support the expansion of our programmable logic product portfolio and acceleration of our new product introduction cadence. We believe that a continued commitment to Research and development is essential to maintaining product leadership and providing innovative new product offerings and, therefore, we expect to continue to increase our investment in Research and development, particularly with expanded investment in the development of software solutions.

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Selling, General, and Administrative Expense

The composition of our Selling, general, and administrative expense, including as a percentage of revenue, is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

Selling, general, and administrative expense includes costs for compensation and benefits related to selling, general, and administrative employees, commissions, depreciation, professional and outside services, trade show, and travel expenses. The increase in Selling, general, and administrative expense for the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2019 was due primarily to increased expenses for stock compensation and salaries, partially offset by reduced commissions resulting from our restructuring under the Q2 2019 Sales Plan.

Amortization of Acquired Intangible Assets

The composition of our Amortization of acquired intangible assets, including as a percentage of revenue, is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

The decrease in Amortization of acquired intangible assets for the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2019 is due to the end of the amortization period for the majority of our acquired intangible assets during the first quarter of fiscal 2020.

Restructuring Charges

The composition of our Restructuring charges, including as a percentage of revenue, is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

Restructuring charges are comprised of expenses resulting from reductions in our worldwide workforce, consolidation of our facilities, removal of fixed assets from service, and cancellation of software contracts and engineering tools. Details of our restructuring plans and expenses incurred under them are discussed in "Note 6 - Restructuring" to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 of this report.

The increase in restructuring expense in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019 was due primarily to the incremental costs related to our partially vacated facility in San Jose, California under the June 2017 Plan and the additional headcount related costs under the Q1 2020 Plan. The decrease in restructuring expense in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2019 was driven by lower charges in the current year period for facility closures under the June 2017 Plan, and by lower charges in the current year period for severance under the Q1 2020 Plan compared to charges in the prior year period resulting from contract cancellation under the Q2 2019 Sales Plan.

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Interest Expense

The composition of our Interest expense, including as a percentage of revenue, is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

Interest expense is primarily related to our long-term debt, which is further discussed under the Credit Arrangements heading in the Liquidity and Capital Resources section, below. This interest expense is comprised of contractual interest and amortization of original issue discount and debt issuance costs based on the effective interest method.

The decrease in Interest expense for the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2019 was largely driven by the significant reduction in the effective interest rate on our long-term debt, coupled with the additional principal payments made in previous periods.

Other Expense, net

The composition of our Other expense, net, including as a percentage of revenue, is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

For the first nine months of fiscal 2020 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2019, Other expense, net changed primarily due to the non-recurrence of the $2.2 million loss on refinancing charge taken to write off the remaining unamortized balance of debt costs and original issue discount related to the long-term debt refinanced during the prior year period.

Income Taxes

The composition of our Income tax expense is presented in the following table:

(In thousands)

Our Income tax expense is composed primarily of foreign income and withholding taxes, partially offset by benefits resulting from the release of uncertain tax positions ("UTP") due to statute of limitation expirations that occurred in the respective periods. The decrease in expense in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019 is primarily due to release of uncertain tax positions due to statute of limitations expirations. The increase in expense in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 as compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2019 is primarily due to increase in foreign withholding taxes and UTP expense partially offset by release of uncertain tax positions due to statute of limitations expirations.

We are not currently paying U.S. federal income taxes and do not expect to pay such taxes until we fully utilize our tax net operating loss and credit carryforwards. We expect to pay a nominal amount of state income tax. We are paying foreign income taxes, which are primarily related to withholding taxes on income from foreign royalties, foreign sales, and the cost of operating offshore research and development, marketing, and sales subsidiaries. We updated our evaluation of the valuation allowance position in the United States through September 26, 2020 and concluded that we should continue to maintain a full valuation allowance against the net federal and state deferred tax assets. We will continue to evaluate both positive and negative evidence in future periods to determine if we will realize the deferred tax assets. We accrue interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense on our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The inherent uncertainties related to the geographical distribution and relative level of profitability among various high and low tax jurisdictions make it difficult to estimate the impact of the global tax structure on our future effective tax rate.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following sections discuss material changes in our financial condition from the end of fiscal 2019, including the effects of changes in our Consolidated Balance Sheets, and the effects of our credit arrangements and contractual obligations on our liquidity and capital resources.

We have historically financed our operating and capital resource requirements through cash flows from operations, and from the issuance of long-term debt to fund acquisitions. Cash provided by or used in operating activities will fluctuate from period to period due to fluctuations in operating results, the timing and collection of accounts receivable, and required inventory levels, among other things.

There is significant uncertainty around the extent and duration of the disruption to our business from the COVID-19 pandemic, and our liquidity and working capital needs may be impacted in the future periods.

We believe that our financial resources, including current cash and cash equivalents, cash flow from operating activities, and our credit facilities, will be sufficient to meet our liquidity and working capital needs through at least the next 12 months. As of September 26, 2020, we did not have significant long-term commitments for capital expenditures. In the future, we may continue to consider acquisition opportunities to further extend our product or technology portfolios and further expand our product offerings. In connection with funding capital expenditures, acquisitions, securing additional wafer supply, increasing our working capital, or other operations, we may seek to obtain equity or additional debt financing, or advance purchase payments or similar arrangements with wafer manufacturers. We may also seek to obtain equity or additional debt financing if we experience downturns or cyclical fluctuations in our business that are more severe or longer than we anticipated when determining our current working capital needs. On May 17, 2019, we entered into our Current Credit Agreement that is discussed under the "Credit Arrangements" heading, below.

Cash and cash equivalents

(In thousands)

As of September 26, 2020, we had Cash and cash equivalents of $182.3 million, of which approximately $103.6 million was held by our foreign subsidiaries. We manage our global cash requirements considering, among other things, (i) available funds among our subsidiaries through which we conduct business, (ii) the geographic location of our liquidity needs, and (iii) the cost to access international cash balances. The repatriation of non-US earnings may require us to withhold and pay foreign income tax on dividends. This should not result in our recording significant additional tax expense as we have accrued expense based on current withholding rates. As of September 26, 2020, we could access all cash held by our foreign subsidiaries without incurring significant additional expense.

The net increase in Cash and cash equivalents of $64.2 million between December 28, 2019 and September 26, 2020 was primarily driven by cash flows from the following activities:

Operating activities — Cash provided by operating activities results from net income adjusted for certain non-cash items and changes in assets and liabilities. Cash provided by operating activities for the first nine months of fiscal 2020 was $69.0 million compared to $84.8 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2019. This decrease of $15.8 million was driven by changes in working capital, primarily the increase in accounts receivable and inventory partially offset by the reduction in prepaid expenses and other current assets, netting to $24.8 million, which was partially offset by an increase of $9.0 million provided by improved operating performance. We are using cash provided by operating activities to invest in our operations.

Investing activities — Investing cash flows consist primarily of transactions related to capital expenditures and payments for software licenses, and, in the prior year, short-term marketable securities. Net cash used by investing activities in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 was $16.6 million compared to $7.8 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019. This $8.8 million change was primarily due to the non-recurrence of the $9.7 million provided by our liquidation of all short-term investments in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Total cash used for capital expenditures and payments for software licenses decreased $0.9 million to $16.6 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020 from $17.5 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2019 primarily due to lower expenditures for test equipment and software enhancements.

Financing activities — Financing cash flows consist primarily of activity on our long-term debt, proceeds from the exercise of options to acquire common stock, and tax payments related to the net share settlement of restricted stock units. During the first nine months of fiscal 2020, we drew $50.0 million on our revolving loan facility to further strengthen our liquidity position, and we paid quarterly installments totaling $26.3 million on our long-term debt, which fulfilled the required quarterly installments through the first quarter of fiscal 2021. During the first nine months of fiscal 2019, we made a total of $107.0 million in principal payments in addition to the cash flows related to refinancing our long-term debt. Payments for tax withholdings on vesting of RSUs partially offset by employee exercises of stock options used net cash flows of $12.8 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, which is a change of approximately $21.2 million from the $8.4 million provided in the first nine months of fiscal 2019.

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Accounts receivable, net

(In thousands)

Accounts receivable, net as of September 26, 2020 increased by approximately $8.1 million, or 12%, compared to December 28, 2019. This increase resulted primarily from the timing of shipments to certain customers in September 2020 compared to December 2019. We calculate Days sales outstanding on the basis of a 365-day year as Accounts receivable, net at the end of the quarter divided by sales during the quarter annualized and then multiplied by 365.

Inventories

(In thousands)

Inventories as of September 26, 2020 increased $4.5 million, or approximately 8%, compared to December 28, 2019 primarily to meet the increased demands of our customers.

The Days of inventory on hand ratio compares the inventory balance at the end of a quarter to the cost of sales in that quarter. We calculate Days of inventory on hand on the basis of a 365-day year as Inventories at the end of the quarter divided by Cost of sales during the quarter annualized and then multiplied by 365. Our Days of inventory on hand increased to 133 days at September 26, 2020 from 123 days at December 28, 2019. This increase resulted from inventory increases to meet the increased demands of our customers.

Credit Arrangements

On May 17, 2019, we entered into our Credit Agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as administrative agent, and other lenders. The details of this arrangement are described in "Note 6 - Long-Term Debt" in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of our 2019 10-K.

As of September 26, 2020, we had no significant long-term purchase commitments for capital expenditures or existing used or unused credit arrangements beyond the secured revolving loan facility described above.

Share Repurchase Program

On March 24, 2020, we announced that our Board of Directors had approved a stock repurchase program pursuant to which up to $40.0 million of outstanding common stock may be repurchased from time to time. The duration of the repurchase program is twelve months. No shares have been repurchased under this program during the quarter ended September 26, 2020. We expect that all future repurchases will be open market transactions funded from available working capital.

Contractual Cash Obligations

There have been no material changes to our contractual cash obligations outside of the ordinary course of business in the first nine months of fiscal 2020, as summarized in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2019.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of September 26, 2020, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements of the type described by Item 303(a)(4) of SEC Regulation S-K.

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Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. Our market risk exposure is primarily a result of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. We assess these risks on a regular basis and have established policies that are designed to protect against the adverse effects of these and other potential exposures. There have been no material changes to either the foreign currency exchange rate risk or interest rate risk previously disclosed in Part II, Item 7A, "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk," of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019.

Conclusion Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

In connection with the filing of this Form 10-Q, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the third quarter of fiscal 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. We do not believe there has been any material impact to our internal controls over financial reporting notwithstanding that most of our employees are working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to monitor and assess the COVID-19 situation on our internal controls to address any potential impact on their design and operating effectiveness.

Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls

We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

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The risks described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019 ("2019 10-K") could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and the trading price of our common stock could decline. The additional risk factors described below supplements the risk factors described in our 2019 10-K based on information currently known to us and recent developments since the filing date of that report. The matters discussed below should be read in conjunction with the risk factors set forth in the 2019 10-K.

The risks described in this report and in our 2019 10-K are not the only risks facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results, particularly in light of the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, containment measures, and the related impacts to economic and operating conditions. These factors, together with all of the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, should be carefully considered before making an investment decision relating to our common stock.

The COVID-19 pandemic could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition in a material way.

COVID-19 has spread internationally and been declared a pandemic, affecting the populations of the United States as well as many countries around the world. The outbreak has resulted in significant governmental measures being implemented to control the spread of COVID-19, including, among others, restrictions on travel, manufacturing and the movement of employees in many regions of the world, and the imposition of remote or work-from-home mandates in many of our offices, including in the United States, the Philippines and, for a time, China. The majority of our products are manufactured, assembled, and tested by third parties in Asia. In addition, we rely on third party vendors for certain logistics and shipping operations throughout the world, including in Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. We also have other operations in China, the Philippines, and the United States. If the remote or work-from-home conditions in any of our offices continue for an extended period of time, we may experience delays in product development, a decreased ability to support our customers, reduced design win activity, and overall lack of productivity.

Pandemics and epidemics such as the current COVID-19 outbreak or other widespread public health problems could negatively impact our business. If, for example, COVID-19 continues to progress in ways that significantly disrupt the manufacture, shipment, and buying patterns of our products or the products of our customers, this may materially negatively impact our operating results for the current period and subsequent periods, including revenue, gross margins, operating margins, cash flows and other operating results, and our overall business. Our customers may also experience closures of their manufacturing facilities or inability to obtain other components, either of which could negatively impact demand for our solutions. COVID-19 has negatively impacted the overall economy and, as a result of the foregoing, will likely negatively impact our operating results for the current fiscal year and may do so in a material way. In particular, COVID-19 may increase or change the severity of our other risks reported in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019, including that:

• Our subcontractor suppliers who manufacture silicon wafers, packaging and testing to deliver our semiconductor products may be unable to meet delivery expectations to meet customer demand;
• Our distributors and customers may experience adverse performance and any reduction in the use of our products by our end customers could harm our sales and significantly decrease our revenue;
• The semiconductor industry could experience a cyclical downturn, which could cause a meaningful reduction in demand for our products and adversely affect our operating results;
• Countries may adopt tariffs and trade sanctions or similar actions;
• We may be delayed in our development and introduction of new products that achieve customer and market acceptance;
• Our operations may be disrupted if employees are unavailable due to illness, risk of illness, travel restrictions, work from home requirements, or other factors that may limit our access to key personnel or critical skills, or reduce productivity;
• Shortages in or increased costs for silicon wafers, packaging materials, testing and shipping could adversely impact our gross margin and lead to reduced revenue;

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• We may experience difficulty in maintaining the uninterrupted operation of our information technology systems, or be exposed to increased risk of a cyber-security incident or fraud, due to an increased reliance on remote work;
• We may incur impairments of goodwill and otherwise as required under U.S. GAAP;
• Our outstanding indebtedness could reduce our strategic flexibility and liquidity and may have other adverse effects on our results of operations.

The impact of COVID-19 may exacerbate the risk factors listed above and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, or cause them to change in importance. Developments related to the pandemic have been rapidly changing, and additional impacts and risks may arise that we are not aware of or able to appropriately respond to currently. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and financial performance depends on many factors that are not within our control, including, but not limited, to: governmental, business, and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and financial market volatility; global economic conditions and levels of economic growth; and the pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. As of the filing of this Quarterly Report, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will affect our business is highly uncertain and dependent on future developments that are inherently unpredictable, which makes forecasting demand and providing guidance especially difficult. Accordingly, our expectations are subject to change without warning and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them.

Our business could suffer as a result of tariffs and trade sanctions or similar actions.

The imposition by the United States of tariffs, sanctions or other restrictions on goods imported from outside of the United States or countermeasures imposed in response to such government actions could adversely affect our operations or our ability to sell our products globally, which could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. The materials subject to these tariffs may impact the cost of raw materials used by our suppliers or in our customers’ products. The imposition of further tariffs by the United States on a broader range of imports, or further retaliatory trade measures taken in response to additional tariffs, could increase costs in our supply chain or reduce demand of our customers’ products, either of which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our customers or suppliers could also become subject to U.S. regulatory scrutiny or export restrictions. For example, the U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges against one of our customers in China and imposed a licensing requirement on this customer in May 2019, which has limited our ability to do business with this customer. In 2020, the U.S. imposed additional regulatory restrictions on the sale of U.S. controlled technology to customers in China, including establishing additional licensing requirements for the sale of U.S.-originated technology for certain applications or to companies that participate in the Chinese national security supply chain and limiting the fabrication of devices for certain Chinese companies where U.S. technology is involved in the fabrication process. Furthermore, in August 2020 the U.S. established additional licensing requirements for one of our China customers and its affiliates that limit any sales of products to that customer or for that customer’s products absent a license. The U.S. government may add additional Chinese companies to its restricted entity list or impose additional licensing requirements that we may be unable to meet in a timely manner or at all. Where license requirements are imposed, there can be no assurance that the U.S. government will grant licenses to permit the continuation of business with these customers. Future sanctions similar to those imposed in the past and to those recently imposed could adversely affect our ability to earn revenue from these and similar customers. In addition, the imposition of sanctions on customers in China may cause those customers to seek domestic alternatives to our products and those of other United States semiconductor companies. Further, the Chinese government has indicated its intention to develop an unreliable entity list, which may limit the ability of companies on the list to engage in business with Chinese customers. We cannot predict what impact these and future actions, sanctions or criminal charges could have on our customers or suppliers, and therefore our business. If any of our other customers or suppliers become subject to sanctions or other regulatory scrutiny, if our customers are affected by tariffs or other government trade restrictions, or if we become subject to retaliatory regulatory measures, our business and financial condition could be adversely affected.

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