MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Dec 29, 2023

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 29, 2023 filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on November 13, 2023 (the “2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K”).

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

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

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Item 2, “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and other sections of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contain “forward-looking statements.” In addition, we may make other written and oral communications from time to time that contain such statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our business outlook, strategic plans and priorities, expectations, anticipated drivers of future revenue growth, our ability to develop new products, achieve market acceptance of those products and better address certain markets, expand our capabilities and extend our product offerings through the Linearizer Acquisition, the MESC Acquisition and the RF Business Acquisition, industry trends, the potential impacts of COVID-19 on our future operations and results, our estimated annual effective tax rate, our plans for use of our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, interest rate and foreign currency risks, our ability to meet working capital requirements, estimates and objectives for future operations, our future results of operations and our financial position, including liquidity, and other matters that do not relate strictly to historical facts. Forward-looking statements generally may be identified by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “continue,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “targets,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions or variations or the negatives of those terms. These statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, based on information currently available to us. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, among others, the risks described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K. We caution the reader to carefully consider such factors. Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

Overview

We design and manufacture semiconductor products for the Industrial and Defense (“I&D”), Data Center and Telecommunications (“Telecom”) industries. Headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, with operational facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia, we design, develop and manufacture differentiated semiconductor products for customers who demand high performance, quality and reliability. We have more than 70 years of application expertise, combined with expertise in analog and mixed signal circuit design, compound semiconductor fabrication (including GaAs, GaN, indium phosphide (“InP”) and specialized silicon), advanced packaging and back-end assembly and test. We offer a broad portfolio of thousands of standard and custom devices, which include integrated circuits (“IC”), multi-chip modules (“MCM”), diodes, amplifiers, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components and radio frequency (“RF”) and optical subsystems, which make up dozens of product lines that service over 6,000 end customers in our three primary markets. Our products are electronic components that our customers generally incorporate into larger electronic systems, such as wireless basestations, high-capacity optical networks, data center networks, radar, medical systems and test and measurement applications. Our primary end markets are: (1) I&D, which includes military and commercial radar, RF jammers, electronic countermeasures, communication data links, satellite communications and multi-market applications, which include industrial, medical, test and measurement and scientific applications; (2) Data Center, which includes intra-Data Center, Data Center Interconnect (“DCI”) applications, at 100G, 200G, 400G, 800G and higher speeds, enabled by our broad portfolio of analog ICs and photonic components for high speed optical module customers; and (3) Telecom, which includes carrier infrastructure such as long-haul/metro, 5G satellite communications and Fiber-to-the-X (“FTTx”)/passive optical network (“PON”), among others.

Description of Our Revenue

Revenue. Our revenue is derived from sales of high-performance RF, microwave, millimeter wave, optical and photonic semiconductor products. We design, integrate, manufacture and package differentiated, semiconductor-based products that we sell to customers through our direct sales organization, our network of independent sales representatives and our distributors.

We believe the primary drivers of our future revenue growth will include:

• continued growth in the demand for high-performance analog, digital and optical semiconductors in our three primary markets;
• introducing new products using advanced technologies, added features, higher levels of integration and improved performance;
• increasing content of our semiconductor solutions in customers’ systems through cross-selling our product lines;
• leveraging our core strength and leadership position in standard, catalog products that service all of our end applications; and
• engaging early with our lead customers to develop custom and standard products.

Our core strategy is to develop and innovate high-performance products that address our customers’ most difficult technical challenges in our primary markets: I&D, Data Center and Telecom.

We expect our revenue in the I&D market to be driven by the expanding product portfolio that we offer which services applications such as test and measurement, satellite communications, civil and military radar, industrial, automotive, scientific and medical applications, further supported by growth in applications for our multi-market catalog products.

We expect our revenue in the Data Center market to be driven by the adoption of cloud-based services and the upgrade of data center architectures to 100G, 200G, 400G and 800G interconnects, which we expect will drive adoption of higher speed optical and photonic components.

We expect our revenue in the Telecom market to be driven by 5G deployments, with continued upgrades and expansion of communications equipment, satellite communications networks and increasing adoption of our high-performance RF, millimeter wave, optical and photonic components.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our condensed consolidated financial statements. The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with GAAP, requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. By their nature, these estimates and judgments are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty and could be material if our actual or expected experience were to change unexpectedly. On an ongoing basis, we re-evaluate our estimates and judgments.

We base our estimates and judgments on our historical experience and on other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making the judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates and material effects on our operating results and financial position may result. The accounting policies which our management believes involve the most significant application of judgment or involve complex estimation, are inventories and associated reserves; revenue reserves; business combinations; goodwill and intangible asset valuation; share-based compensation valuations and income taxes.

Business combinations

We apply significant estimates and judgments in order to determine the fair value of the identified tangible and intangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed and goodwill recognized in business combinations. The value of all assets and liabilities are recognized at fair value as of the acquisition date using a market participant approach. In measuring the fair value, we utilize a number of valuation techniques. When determining the fair value of property and equipment acquired, generally we must estimate the cost to replace the asset with a new asset taking into consideration such factors as age, condition and the economic useful life of the asset. When determining the fair value of intangible assets acquired, typically determined using a discounted cash flow valuation method, we use assumptions such as the timing and amount of future cash flows, discount rates, weighted average cost of capital and estimated useful lives. These assessments can be significantly affected by our judgments.

Goodwill and intangible asset valuation

Significant management judgment is required in our valuation of goodwill and intangible assets, many of which are based on the creation of forecasts of future operating results that are used in the valuation, including (i) estimation of future cash flows, (ii) estimation of the long-term rate of growth for our business, (iii) estimation of the useful life over which cash flows will occur, (iv) terminal values, if applicable, and (v) the determination of our weighted average cost of capital, which helps determine the discount rate. It is possible that these forecasts may change, and our performance projections included in our forecasts of future results may prove to be inaccurate. The value of our goodwill and purchased intangible assets could also be impacted by future adverse changes, such as a decline in the valuation of technology company stocks, including the valuation of our common stock, or a significant slowdown in the worldwide economy or in the optical communications equipment or semiconductor industry.

For additional information related to these and other accounting policies refer to Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of the 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Results of Operations

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

(1) Includes (a) Amortization expense related to intangible assets arising from acquisitions and (b) Share-based compensation expense included in our condensed consolidated statements of operations as set forth below (in thousands):

23

(2) The three months ended December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022 include $8.4 million and $0.8 million, respectively, of acquisition-related professional fee and other expense.

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, our statements of operations data expressed as a percentage of our revenue:

Comparison of the Three Months Ended December 29, 2023 to the Three Months Ended December 30, 2022

Revenue. Our revenue decreased by $23.0 million, or 12.7%, to $157.1 million for the three months ended December 29, 2023, from $180.1 million for the three months ended December 30, 2022. The decrease in revenue in the three months ended December 29, 2023 is described by end market in the following paragraphs.

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

In the three months ended December 29, 2023, our I&D market revenue decreased by $0.2 million, or 0.2%, compared to the three months ended December 30, 2022. The decrease in the three months ended December 29, 2023 was primarily driven by lower sales of legacy products for industrial markets, partially offset by incremental revenue from recent acquisitions and an increase in defense program shipments.

In the three months ended December 29, 2023, our Data Center market revenue increased by $8.0 million, or 19.3%, compared to the three months ended December 30, 2022. The increase in the three months ended December 29, 2023 was primarily driven by an increase in sales of 400G and 800G high-performance analog Data Center products, partially offset by a decrease in sales of our legacy connectivity products.

In the three months ended December 29, 2023, our Telecom market revenue decreased by $30.8 million, or 50.1%, compared to the three months ended December 30, 2022. The decrease for the three months ended December 29, 2023 was primarily driven by a decrease in sales of carrier-based optical semiconductor products, a decrease in sales of RF and microwave products for broadband access and a decrease in sales of legacy products, partially offset by incremental revenue from recent acquisitions.

We continue to be negatively impacted by the current macroeconomic conditions, which we expect may result in weaker near-term demand for our products across all three of our primary markets.

Gross profit. Gross margin was 55.6% and 61.3% for the three months ended December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022, respectively. Gross profit was $87.3 million and $110.4 million for the three months ended December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022, respectively. Gross profit decreased for the three months ended December 29, 2023 as compared to the three months ended December 30, 2022 primarily as a result of lower sales, increases in employee headcount associated with acquisitions, higher intangible asset amortization and depreciation expense, partially offset by decreases in production supplies.

Research and development. Research and development expense increased by $0.6 million, or 1.5%, to $39.4 million, or 25.1% of our revenue, for the three months ended December 29, 2023, compared to $38.8 million, or 21.6% of our revenue, for the three months ended December 30, 2022. Research and development expense increased in the three months ended December 29, 2023 primarily as a result of increases in employee headcount due to acquisitions, design software costs and supplies expense, partially offset primarily by decreases in development foundry costs and share-based compensation expense.

Selling, general and administrative. Selling, general and administrative expense increased by $3.9 million, or 12.0%, to $36.9 million, or 23.5% of our revenue, for the three months ended December 29, 2023, compared to $32.9 million, or 18.3% of our revenue, for the three months ended December 30, 2022. Selling, general and administrative expense increased in the three months ended December 29, 2023 primarily due to an increase in acquisition-related costs and employee headcount due to acquisitions, partially offset primarily by lower intangible amortization and share-based compensation expense.

Interest income. In the three months ended December 29, 2023, interest income was $5.6 million, compared to $3.7 million for the three months ended December 30, 2022. The increase for the three months ended December 29, 2023 is primarily due to the general increase in interest rates on both our short-term investments and our money market balances.

Interest expense. In the three months ended December 29, 2023, interest expense was $1.3 million, compared to $3.1 million for the three months ended December 30, 2022. The decrease for the three months ended December 29, 2023 is primarily due to the August 2023 payment of the total outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans.

Provision for income taxes. In the three months ended December 29, 2023, income tax expense was $2.8 million, compared to $9.6 million for the three months ended December 30, 2022. In the three months ended December 29, 2023, the effective income tax rate was 18.0%, compared to 24.6% for the three months ended December 30, 2022. The difference between the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21% and our effective income tax rate for the three months ended December 29, 2023 was primarily driven by favorable stock based compensation and R&D tax credits, partially offset by foreign withholding taxes and GILTI. The difference between the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21% and our effective income tax rate for the three months ended December 30, 2022, was primarily driven by tax on GILTI and non-deductible compensation, partially offset by R&D tax credits. Our estimated annual effective tax rate for the year ending September 27, 2024 is expected to be approximately 23%, adjusted for discrete taxation matters arising during the interim periods.

For additional information refer to Note 14 - Income Taxes to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table summarizes our cash flow activities (in thousands):

Cash Flow from Operating Activities

Our cash flow from operating activities for the three months ended December 29, 2023 of $33.1 million consisted of a net income of $12.5 million plus adjustments of $21.5 million, to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities, less cash used in operating assets and liabilities of $0.9 million. Adjustments to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities primarily included depreciation and intangible amortization expense of $14.3 million and share-based compensation expense of $8.7 million. In addition, cash used in operating assets and liabilities was $0.9 million for the three months ended December 29, 2023, primarily driven by an increase in accounts receivables of $12.2 million, partially offset by an increase of $6.6 million in accrued and other liabilities, an increase of $2.1 million in accounts payable and a decrease in inventories of $1.6 million.

Our cash flow from operating activities for the three months ended December 30, 2022 of $38.3 million consisted of a net income of $29.5 million plus adjustments of $32.6 million, to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities less cash used in operating assets and liabilities of $23.8 million. Adjustments to reconcile our net income to cash provided by operating activities primarily included depreciation and intangible amortization expense of $12.9 million, share-based compensation expense of $11.0 million, and deferred income tax expense of $9.1 million. In addition, cash used in operating assets and liabilities was $23.8 million for the three months ended December 30, 2022, primarily driven by an increase in accounts receivable of $10.5 million, an increase in inventories of $6.4 million and a decrease of $10.3 million in accrued and other liabilities, partially offset by an increase in accounts payable of $3.7 million.

Cash Flow from Investing Activities

Our cash flow used in investing activities for the three months ended December 29, 2023 of $34.8 million consisted primarily of $75.0 million for acquisitions, capital expenditures of $4.7 million and purchases of $55.4 million of short-term investments, offset by proceeds of $100.3 million for the sale and maturity of short-term investments. For additional information on the cash paid for our acquisitions, see Note 3 - Acquisitions to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Our cash flow used in investing activities for the three months ended December 30, 2022 of $8.0 million consisted primarily of purchases of $145.3 million of short-term investments and capital expenditures of $9.6 million, offset by proceeds of $147.0 million for the sale and maturity of short-term investments.

Cash Flow from Financing Activities

During the three months ended December 29, 2023, our cash used in financing activities of $9.1 million was primarily related to $11.6 million of repurchases of common stock associated with employee tax withholdings on vested equity awards, partially offset by $2.8 million of proceeds from stock option exercises and employee stock purchases.

During the three months ended December 30, 2022, our cash used in financing activities of $24.3 million was primarily related to $26.4 million of repurchases of common stock associated with employee tax withholdings on vested equity awards, partially offset by $2.3 million of proceeds from employee stock purchases.

Liquidity

As of December 29, 2023, we held $163.6 million of cash and cash equivalents, primarily deposited with financial institutions, as well as $299.7 million of liquid short-term investments. The undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries are considered indefinitely reinvested for the periods presented and we do not intend to repatriate such earnings. We believe the decision to reinvest these earnings will not have a significant impact on our liquidity. As of December 29, 2023, cash held by our indefinitely reinvested foreign subsidiaries was $7.3 million, which, along with cash generated from foreign operations, is expected to be used in the support of international growth and working capital requirements as well as the repayment of certain intercompany loans.

We plan to use our remaining available cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments for general corporate purposes, including working capital, or for the acquisition of or investment in complementary technologies, design teams, products and businesses. We believe that our cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and cash generated from operations will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements for at least the next twelve months. We may need to raise additional capital from time to time through the issuance and sale of equity or debt securities, and there is no assurance that we will be able to do so on favorable terms or at all.

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

For additional information related to our Liquidity and Capital Resources, see Note 9 - Debt to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for information about recent accounting pronouncements.

We are exposed to market risk in the ordinary course of business, which consists primarily of interest rate risk associated with our cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and our variable rate debt, as well as foreign exchange rate risk.

Interest rate risk. The primary objectives of our investment activity are to preserve principal, provide liquidity and invest excess cash for an average rate of return. To minimize market risk, we maintain our portfolio in cash and diversified investments, which may consist of corporate bonds, bank deposits, money market funds, commercial paper and U.S. Treasury securities. The interest rates are variable and fluctuate with current market conditions. The risk associated with fluctuating interest rates is limited to this investment portfolio. We believe that a 10% change in interest rates would not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. We do not enter into financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

On August 2, 2023, we paid the total outstanding principal balance on our Term Loans. The interest rates on our 2026 Convertible Notes are fixed and therefore not subject to interest rate risk. For additional information regarding our Term Loans and Convertible Notes, refer to Note 9 - Debt.

Foreign currency risk. To date, our international customer agreements have been denominated primarily in U.S. dollars. Accordingly, we have limited exposure to foreign currency exchange rates. The functional currency of a majority of our foreign operations continues to be in U.S. dollars with the remaining operations being local currency. Changes in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies could make our products more expensive, which could negatively impact demand in certain regions, reduce or delay customer orders, or otherwise negatively affect how customers do business with us. The effects of exchange rate fluctuations on the net assets of the majority of our operations are accounted for as transaction gains or losses. We believe that a change of 10% in such foreign currency exchange rates would not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. In the future, we may enter into foreign currency exchange hedging contracts to reduce our exposure to changes in exchange rates.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)). Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) were effective as of December 29, 2023.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes to our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that occurred during our most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Limitations on Controls

Our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. Our management recognizes that any control system, no matter how well designed and operated, is based upon certain judgments and assumptions and cannot provide absolute assurance that its objectives will be met. Similarly, an evaluation of controls cannot provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected.

Our business involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results. As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, there have been no material changes in any of the risk factors described in our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K.