MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings (MTSI) Risk Factors

We believe our continued ability to recruit, hire, retain and motivate highly skilled engineering, operations, sales, administrative and managerial personnel is key to our future success. Competition for these employees is intense. Our failure to retain our present employees and hire additional qualified personnel in a timely manner and on reasonable terms could harm our competitiveness and results of operations. In particular, the loss of any member of our senior management team could strengthen a competitor, weaken customer relationships or harm our ability to implement our business strategy. In addition, from time to time, we may recruit and hire employees from our competitors, customers, suppliers and distributors, which could result in liability to us and damage our business relationship with these parties.

We self-insure for employee health insurance and workers' compensation insurance coverage up to a predetermined level, beyond which we maintain stop-loss insurance from a third-party insurer. Our aggregate exposure varies from year to year based upon the number of participants in our insurance plans. We estimate our self-insurance liabilities using an analysis provided by our claims administrator and our historical claims experience. Our accruals for insurance reserves reflect these estimates and other management judgments, which are subject to a high degree of variability. If the number or severity of claims for which we self-insure increases, it could cause a material and adverse change to our reserves for self-insurance liabilities, as well as to our earnings.

From time to time, we may be a party to certain litigation matters. Any such disputes, litigations, investigations, administrative proceedings or enforcement actions may divert financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit our operations, result in negative publicity and harm our customer or supplier relationships. An adverse resolution of any such matter in the future, including the results of any amicable settlement, could subject us to material damage awards or settlement payments, loss of contractual or other rights, injunctions or other limitations on the operation of our business or other material harm to our business.

Our effective tax rate is highly dependent upon the geographic composition of our worldwide earnings and tax regulations governing each region, each of which can change from period to period. We are subject to income taxes in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions and significant judgment is required to determine our worldwide tax liabilities. Our effective tax rate as well as the actual tax ultimately payable could be adversely affected by changes in the amount of our earnings attributable to countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets, changes in tax laws (or the interpretation of those laws by regulators) or tax rates (particularly in the U.S. or Ireland), increases in non-deductible expenses, the availability of tax credits (including, but not limited to through the CHIPS Act), material audit assessments or repatriation of non-U.S. earnings, each of which could materially affect our profitability. For example, as of September 27, 2024, we had $265.1 million of gross federal net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards, which, for those generated prior to the effective date of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("Tax Act"), will expire at various dates through 2036, while those generated subsequent to the Tax Act have an indefinite carryforward with no expiration. However, our ability to use these federal NOL carryforwards and other deferred tax assets may be limited. Realization of our deferred tax assets is dependent upon us generating sufficient future taxable income. Deferred tax assets are reviewed and assessed on a periodic basis for future realizability. Future charges against our earnings could result in all or some portion of the deferred tax asset to not be realized. This could be caused by, among other things, deterioration in our operational performance, future impairment charges, adverse market conditions, geopolitical unrest, adverse changes in tax and other applicable laws or regulations and a variety of other factors. Any significant increase in our effective tax rates could materially reduce our net income in future periods and decrease the value of your investment in our common stock.

We rely on our information technology ("IT") systems and services for the effective operation of our business and for the secure maintenance and storage of confidential data relating to our business. These systems and services are both internally managed and outsourced, and, in many cases, we rely upon third party service providers. Any failure of these internal or third party systems and services to operate effectively could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and/or results of operations. Our operations are dependent upon our ability to protect our IT infrastructure against damage from business continuity events that could have a significant disruptive effect. Although our internal IT team actively takes steps to protect our information and operational systems, unauthorized persons or disloyal insiders may be able to penetrate our security controls, and develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that compromise and/or exfiltrate our confidential information or that of third parties and cause a disruption or failure of our information and/or operational technology systems. In addition, we have in the past and may in the future be subject to attacks in which third parties attempt to obtain personal information and or infiltrate our systems to obtain proprietary or confidential information, disrupt operations by deploying malicious code, viruses or malware (such as ransomware). Cyberattacks are increasing in number and sophistication, are often well-financed, in some cases supported by state actors, and are designed to not only attack, but also to evade detection. Since the techniques used by cyber attackers change frequently and are often not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. In addition to other factors, our position within the supply chain to the U.S. Government may increase our risk of being targeted by malicious actors. Similarly, attackers could implant malicious code into software that we may purchase, and this supply chain vulnerability could disrupt our operations, compromise our data or lead to other cyber harms. Recent global developments have created an environment in which malicious actors may have increased opportunity and motivation for breaching or compromising our systems. Any compromise of our information or operational technology systems could result in unauthorized publication, exfiltration or misappropriation of our confidential business or proprietary information or intellectual property; result in the unauthorized release of customer, supplier or employee data; lead to violations of privacy or other laws; extortion; allow competitors to profit from our intellectual property or trade secrets; delay or disrupt our operations; expose us to a risk of investigations and litigation; cause us to incur direct losses if attackers access our bank or investment accounts; undermine investor or market confidence, or damage our reputation. The direct and indirect cost and operational consequences of implementing data protection measures either as a response to specific breaches or as a result of evolving risks could be significant. In addition, our inability to use or access our information or operational systems at critical points in time could adversely affect the timely and efficient operation of our business. Any delayed sales, significant costs or lost customers resulting from a technology failure could adversely affect our business, operations and financial results. Third parties with which we conduct business, such as foundries, assembly and test contractors and distributors, have access to certain portions of our sensitive data (including trade secrets and other intellectual property), and certain aspects of effective cybersecurity are dependent upon our employees, contractors and other trusted partners reliably safeguarding such sensitive data. In the event that our employees or these third parties do not properly safeguard our data, security breaches could result and negatively impact our business, operations and financial results. In addition, despite our internal controls and investment in security measures, businesses we acquire may increase the scope and complexity of our IT networks, and this may increase our risk exposure to cyberattacks. U.S. and foreign regulators, as well as customers and service providers, have also increased their focus on cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks. Compliance with laws, regulations and contractual provisions concerning privacy, cybersecurity, secure technology development, data governance, data protection, confidentiality and IP could result in significant expense, and any failure to comply could result in proceedings against us by regulatory authorities or other third parties and may also increase our overall compliance burden.

We have operations in Europe and Asia, and customers around the world. As a result, we are subject to regulatory, geopolitical and other risks associated with doing business outside of the U.S., including currency controls, currency exchange rate fluctuations, new or potential international trade agreements, tariffs, required import and export licenses, and other related international trade restrictions and regulations. Further, there is a risk that language barriers, cultural differences and other factors associated with our global operations may make them more difficult to manage effectively. The legal systems in many of the regions where we conduct business or where we may potentially make future investments through expansion, which may include acquisitions, can lack transparency in certain respects relative to that of the U.S. and can accord local government authorities a higher degree of control and discretion over business than is customary in the U.S. This makes the process of obtaining necessary regulatory approvals and maintaining compliance inherently more difficult and unpredictable. In addition, the protection accorded to proprietary technology and know-how under certain legal systems may not be as strong as in the U.S., and, as a result, we may lose valuable trade secrets and competitive advantages. The cost of doing business in European jurisdictions can also be higher than in the U.S. due to exchange rates, local collective bargaining regimes and local legal requirements regarding employee benefits and employer-employee relations, in particular. We are also subject to U.S. legal requirements related to our foreign operations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Sales to customers located outside the U.S. accounted for 55.1% of our revenue for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024. Sales to customers located in China and the Asia Pacific region typically account for a large portion of our overall sales to customers located outside the U.S. For example, fiscal year 2024 sales to customers in China and the Asia Pacific region accounted for 24.4% and 12.2% of total fiscal year 2024 sales, respectively. We expect that revenue from international sales generally, and sales to China and the Asia Pacific region specifically, will continue to be a material part of our total revenue. Therefore, any financial crisis, trade war or dispute, domestic semiconductor supply chain initiatives, health crisis or other major event causing business disruption in international jurisdictions generally, and China and the Asia Pacific region in particular, could negatively affect our future revenues and results of operations. For example, in October 2022 and 2023, the BIS introduced restrictions related to semiconductor manufacturing, supercomputer and advanced computing items and end-uses, which restrict or prohibit the ability to sell, ship and support certain equipment and services to China. Such actions in the future, as well as China's continuously evolving policies, laws and regulations, including those related to antitrust, cybersecurity, data protection and data privacy, the environment, indigenous innovation (including actions in furtherance of China's stated policy of reducing its dependence on foreign semiconductor manufacturers) and intellectual property rights and enforcement and protection of those rights, could increase the cost of doing business in China, foster the emergence of additional Chinese-based competitors and/or decrease the demand for our products in China, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Additionally, other factors affecting the Chinese economy, such as government-imposed lockdowns in response to a pandemic, inflation, geopolitical conflict, or otherwise, could limit the demand in China for electronic devices containing our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Because the majority of our foreign sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, our products become less price-competitive in countries with currencies that are low or are declining in value against the U.S. dollar. Also, we cannot be sure that our international customers will continue to accept orders denominated in U.S. dollars. If they do not, our reported revenue and earnings will become more directly subject to foreign exchange fluctuations. Some of our customer purchase orders and agreements are governed by foreign laws, which may differ significantly from U.S. laws. As a result, we may be limited in our ability to enforce our rights under such agreements and to collect amounts owed to us. The majority of our contract assembly, packaging and test vendors are located in Asia. We generally do business with our foreign assemblers in U.S. dollars. Our manufacturing costs could increase in countries with currencies that are increasing in value against the U.S. dollar. Also, our international manufacturing suppliers may not continue to accept orders denominated in U.S. dollars. If they do not, our costs will become more directly subject to foreign exchange fluctuations. From time to time, we may attempt to hedge our exposure to foreign currency risk by buying currency contracts or otherwise, and any such efforts involve expense and associated risk that the currencies involved may not behave as we expect and we may lose money on such hedging strategies or not properly hedge our risk. In addition, if terrorist activity, armed conflict, civil, economic or military unrest, natural disasters, global pandemics, embargoes or other economic sanctions, enforcement actions against governments, governmental entities or private entities or political instability occurs in the U.S. or other locations, such events may disrupt our manufacturing, assembly, logistics, security and communications, labor issues and transportation and other disruptions, and could also result in reduced demand for our products. We have in the past and, may again in the future, experience difficulties relating to employees traveling in and out of countries facing civil unrest or political instability and with obtaining travel visas for our employees. There can be no assurance that we can mitigate all identified risks with reasonable effort. The occurrence of any of these events, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.