Maxlinear (MXL) Risk Analysis

Our business is subject to various laws and regulations in the United States and other jurisdictions where we do business, including but not limited to laws, regulations and other legal requirements related to packaging; product content; labor and employment; import and customs; export controls; anti-corruption; personal and data privacy; cybersecurity; human rights; conflict minerals; environment, health and safety; competition and antitrust; and intellectual property ownership and infringement. These laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and with little or no notice, occasionally are conflicting or ambiguous, and have generally become more stringent over time. Complying with these laws and regulations can be costly and we may be required to incur significant costs to remedy any potential gaps or violations that are identified. In addition, because many of our products are regulated or sold into regulated industries, we must comply with additional regulations in marketing our products. Although our policies, procedures, and controls are designed to detect and prevent potential violations and maintain ongoing compliance with applicable laws, we cannot assure you that we have been or will be at all times in compliance with such laws and regulations. If we violate or fail to comply with any of them, a range of consequences could result, including fines, import/export restrictions, sales limitations, criminal and civil liabilities or other penalties or sanctions. The costs of complying with these laws (including the costs of any investigations, remediation, auditing and monitoring) could adversely affect our current or future business. As indicated elsewhere in this report, we do a substantial portion of our business in Asia, including in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, or China. Since October 2022, the United States has taken steps to restrict the export of certain advanced semiconductor products and technology to China as well as a number of specific Chinese companies, due to national security and human rights concerns. There has also been a substantial focus by regulators in the United States and Europe on the business practices of certain major Chinese technology companies. Complying with changing export control laws may require us to develop additional policies, procedures, and controls, or incur additional costs, including in connection with the development or performance of additional due diligence in order to prevent diversion of restricted products or technology to China, Russia, or other destinations. Compliance with these laws and regulations may also result in the loss of revenue. Since October 2022, we have restricted shipments and exports to certain major Chinese technology companies, including a semiconductor foundry and OSAT providers. While we intend to continue to conduct our businesses in compliance with all applicable laws, including laws relating to export controls and anti-corruption, it is possible that the nature of our business and customers could result in a review of our relationships and practices by regulatory authorities. At times, we may discover issues that we bring to the attention of the relevant government agencies, as we did on March 3, 2023, when we submitted a comprehensive voluntary self-disclosure to BIS regarding the potential EAR violation described above and other potential export control violations. Although the March 2023 voluntary self-disclosure to BIS resulted in a warning letter, we could incur increased administrative and legal costs in order to remediate any potential compliance gaps or violations, to respond to any inquiries, or in connection with the preparation and submission of any voluntary self-disclosures to the government agencies, as appropriate. Any failure to comply with applicable laws or regulatory approvals could adversely affect our business and operating results. We have implemented policies and procedures, including adoption of an anti-corruption policy and procedures with respect to applicable export control laws, but there can be no assurance that our policies and procedures will prove effective. Our products and operations are also subject to the rules of industrial standards bodies, like the International Standards Organization, as well as regulation by other agencies, such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. If we fail to adequately address any of these rules or regulations, our business could be harmed. In addition, climate change and new or revised rules and regulations related thereto, including regulations with respect to greenhouse gas emissions and regulations enacted by the SEC and recent legislation enacted in California, may impact our business in numerous ways. Climate change and its effects could lead to further increases in raw material prices or their reduced availability due to, for example, increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events and any supply chain disruptions resulting therefrom, and could cause increased incidence of disruption to the production and distribution of our products and an adverse impact on consumer demand and spending. For example, as a fabless semiconductor company, we outsource our manufacturing to countries outside of the United States, and our manufacturers' suppliers reside in areas that are more susceptible to extreme weather impacts. If our suppliers have difficulty obtaining raw materials and natural resources due to extreme weather impacts, this could increase the cost associated with extraction of raw materials or limit the supply available for our key suppliers to manufacture our products, driving the cost up for us and/or threaten our upstream supply chain. In recent months, there have been substantial legislative and regulatory developments on climate-related issues, including proposed, issued and implemented legislation and rulemakings that would require companies to assess and/or disclose climate metrics, risks, opportunities, policies and practices. For example, on March 6, 2024, the SEC adopted rules mandating climate-related disclosures that would require increased climate change-related disclosure in our periodic reports and other filings with the SEC for fiscal year 2025 and beyond, which were stayed on April 4, 2024. The potential impact to us of these legislative and regulatory developments is uncertain at this time, although we expect that the emerging legal and regulatory requirements on climate-related issues will result in additional compliance and may require us to spend or add significant resources and divert management attention. We cannot be sure that we will be able to successfully adapt our operations in response to any climate-related changes or comply with any increased reporting obligations in a cost-effective manner, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. We must also conform the manufacture and distribution of our semiconductors to various laws and adapt to regulatory requirements in all countries as these requirements change. If we fail to comply with these requirements in the manufacture or distribution of our products, we could be required to pay civil penalties, face criminal prosecution and, in some cases, be prohibited from distributing our products in commerce until the products or component substances are brought into compliance.

In addition to the legal proceedings referenced in Part II, Item 1 (Legal Proceedings) of this report, we are subject to legal proceedings, claims, and/or inquiries that arise in the ordinary course of business, including intellectual property, product liability, employment, class action, customer claims, whistleblower and other litigation claims, and governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings regarding potential violations of applicable law, and we may not be successful in resolving such proceedings or inquiries. In addition, we have implemented a reduction in force and the attendant layoffs has resulted and could result in the risk of claims being made by or on behalf of affected employees. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management's attention and resources, cause us to incur significant expenses or liability, or require us to change our business practices. In addition, the expense of litigation or responding to inquiries and the timing of such expenses from period to period are difficult to estimate, subject to change, and could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Because of the potential risks, expenses, and uncertainties of litigation or government proceedings, we may, from time to time, resolve disputes, even where we have meritorious claims or defenses, by agreeing to settlement agreements. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Excess tax benefits associated with employee stock-based compensation are included in income tax expense. However, since the amount of such excess tax benefits and deficiencies depend on the fair market value of our common stock, our income tax provision is subject to volatility in our stock price and in the future, could unfavorably affect our future effective tax rate. Our future effective tax rate could be unfavorably affected by unanticipated changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, and the ultimate use and depletion of these various tax credits and net operating loss carryforwards. Changes in our effective tax rate could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our net deferred tax assets to the amount that we believe is more likely than not to be realized. In making such determination, we consider all available positive and negative evidence quarterly, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies, and recent financial performance. To the extent we believe it is more likely than not that some portion of our deferred tax assets will not be realized, we record a valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset. Realization of our deferred tax assets is dependent primarily upon future taxable income in the applicable jurisdiction. On a periodic basis we evaluate our deferred tax assets for realizability. Based upon our review of all positive and negative evidence, as of September 30, 2024, we continue to have a valuation allowance on state deferred tax assets, certain federal deferred tax assets, and certain foreign deferred tax assets in jurisdictions where we have cumulative losses or otherwise are not expected to utilize certain tax attributes. The impact of releasing some or all of such valuation allowance in a future period could be material in the period in which such release occurs. Additionally, the amount of the deferred tax asset considered realizable, however, could be adjusted in the subsequent periods if estimates of future taxable income are reduced or if objective negative evidence in the form of cumulative losses is present. Any future changes in the deferred tax asset realizability assertion may require a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets, which would increase our tax expense in the period the allowance is recognized and affect our results of operations.

We currently sell a significant portion of our products to customers through our distributors, who maintain their own inventories of our products. Sales to distributors accounted for approximately 42%, and 47% of our net revenue in the nine months ended September 30, 2024, and 2023, respectively. Upon shipment of product to these distributors, title to the inventory transfers to the distributor and the distributor is invoiced, generally with 30 to 60 day terms. Distributor sales are also recognized upon shipment to the distributor and estimates of future pricing credits and/or stock rotation rights reduce revenue recognized to the net amount before the actual amounts are known. If our estimates of such credits and rights are materially understated it could cause subsequent adjustments that negatively impact our revenues and gross profits in a future period. If our distributors are unable to sell an adequate amount of their inventories of our products in a given quarter to manufacturers and end users or if they decide to decrease their inventories of our products for any reason, our sales through these distributors and our revenue may decline. In addition, if some distributors decide to purchase more of our products than are required to satisfy end customer demand in any particular quarter, inventories at these distributors would grow in that quarter. These distributors could then reduce future orders until inventory levels realign with end customer demand, which has in the past and could in the future adversely affect our product revenue. Our reserve estimates with respect to the products stocked by our distributors are based principally on reports provided to us by our distributors, typically on a weekly basis. To the extent that this resale and channel inventory data is inaccurate or not received in a timely manner, we may not be able to make reserve estimates accurately or at all.

Our revenue is generated on the basis of shipments of products under purchase orders with our customers rather than long-term purchase commitments. In addition, our customers can and have requested to cancel purchase orders or defer the shipments of our products under certain circumstances. Our products are manufactured using a silicon foundry according to our estimates of customer demand, which requires us to make separate demand forecast assumptions for every customer, each of which may introduce significant variability into our aggregate estimate. We have limited visibility into future customer demand and the product mix that our customers will require, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our revenue forecasts and operating margins. Also, as customer lead times continue to improve, we have seen and expect to continue to see a more normalized demand-planning horizon. Moreover, because our target markets are relatively new, many of our customers have difficulty accurately forecasting their product requirements and estimating the timing of their new product introductions, which ultimately affects their demand for our products. Historically, because of this limited visibility, actual results have been different from our forecasts of customer demand. Some of these differences have been material which has led to and could continue to lead to excess inventory or product shortages and revenue and margin forecasts above those we were actually able to achieve. These differences may occur in the future, and the adverse impact of these differences between forecasts and actual results could grow if we are not successful in expanding the customer base for our products. In addition, the rapid pace of innovation in our industry could render significant portions of our inventory obsolete. Excess or obsolete inventory levels has resulted and continue to result in unexpected expenses or increases in our reserves that could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Conversely, if we were to underestimate customer demand or if sufficient manufacturing capacity were unavailable, we could forego revenue opportunities, potentially lose market share and damage our customer relationships. In addition, any significant future cancellations or deferrals of product orders or the return of previously sold products due to manufacturing defects could materially and adversely impact our profit margins, increase our write-offs due to product obsolescence and restrict our ability to fund our operations.

Currently we do not have long-term supply contracts with most of our other third-party vendors, including but, not limited to Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, or ASE, TSMC, and United Microelectronics Corporation, or UMC. Certain products are supplied to us by Intel on a turnkey basis at agreed upon prices under terms of a supply agreement with an initial term of five years, which will expire in July 2025. Intel can also terminate its supply agreement with us under certain circumstances. If Intel does not continue to supply us with such products, we would need to seek alternative sources of supply for those products in a short timeframe, which would cause us to incur additional costs, could delay the sale of such products, and could increase our supply costs with a new vendor, which in turn, could negatively impact our revenue and our gross margins. Alternatively, if Intel does continue to supply us with such products, the costs of such products would likely increase and reduce our margins on such products, and their minimum purchase requirements may exceed our current customer demand. We make substantially all of our purchases on a purchase order basis, and our contract manufacturers are not required to supply us products for any specific period or in any specific quantity. Foundry capacity may not be available when we need it or at reasonable prices. Availability of foundry capacity has in the past been reduced from time to time due to strong demand. Foundries can allocate capacity to the production of other companies' products and reduce deliveries to us on short notice. It is possible that foundry customers that are larger and better financed than we are, or that have long-term agreements with our foundry, may induce our foundry to reallocate capacity to them. This reallocation could impair our ability to secure the supply of components that we need. We generally place orders for products with some of our suppliers approximately four to five months prior to the anticipated delivery date, with order volumes based on our forecasts of demand from our customers. Accordingly, if we inaccurately forecast demand for our products or if orders are placed with a short lead-time, we may be unable to obtain adequate and cost-effective foundry or assembly capacity from our third-party contractors to meet our customers' delivery requirements, which could harm our reputation and customer relationships, or we may accumulate excess inventories. On occasion, we have been unable to adequately respond to unexpected increases in customer purchase orders and therefore were unable to benefit from this incremental demand. None of our third-party contractors has provided any assurance to us that adequate capacity will be available to us within the time required to meet additional demand for our products.