ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making a decision to invest in our common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could also be harmed by risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe are material. If any of the risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Risk Factor Summary
Our business operations are subject to numerous risks, factors and uncertainties, including those outside of our control, which could cause our actual results to be harmed, including risks regarding the following:
Risks Related to our Business
• unfavorable economic and market conditions, including the impact of trade restrictions or regulations, including tariffs, duties and export controls;
• our reliance on a limited number of suppliers and customers;
• order cancellations, reductions or delays in delivery schedules by our customers or distributors;
• failure of banking institutions and liquidity concerns at other financial institutions;
• our backlog may not be an accurate indicator of our level and timing of future revenue;
• our gross margins and operating margins may vary overtime;
• challenges relating to supply chain constraints;
• changes in technology and intense competition;
• our ability to sell to a significant customer, as well as higher tariffs and other trade restrictions between the U.S. and other countries, including China and Thailand;
• headwinds caused by heightened, scheduled, or threatened tariffs imposed by the U.S. or other countries;
• the impact of a widespread health crisis;
• our international operations structure;
• volatility and maintenance of our real property portfolio;
• our ability to timely procure components needed to manufacture our products;
• our ability to manufacture our products;
• our leverage in negotiations with large customers;
• design and manufacturing defects or quality issues in our products;
• changes in laws and the adoption and interpretation of administrative rules and regulations, including U.S. and international customs and export regulations;
• our strategic transactions and implementation strategy for our acquisitions, including the Cloud Light acquisition;
• restructuring and related charges;
• changes in spending levels, demand and customer requirements for our products;
• changes in tax laws;
• fluctuations in foreign currency;
• our future capital requirements;
• actual or perceived security or privacy breaches or incidents, as well as defects, errors or vulnerabilities in our technology and that of third-party providers;
• the failure or absence of business continuity plans with respect to our global facilities and operations;
• the unpredictability of our results of operations;
• our ability to protect our product and proprietary rights;
• factors relating to our intellectual property rights as well as the intellectual property rights of others;
• actions taken by authorized or unauthorized resellers or distributors that adversely affect our reputation or violate import or export regulations;
• litigation risks, including intellectual property litigation;
• our reliance on licensed third-party technology; and
• our ability to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting
Risks Related to Human Capital
• our ability to hire and retain key personnel
• the effects of immigration policy on our ability to hire and retain employees; and
• employment related disputes and claims
Risks Related to Legal, Regulatory and Compliance
• our ability to obtain government authorization to export our products; and
• changes in social and environmental responsibility regulations, policies and provisions, as well as government, customer, business partner, investor or other stakeholder demands
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
• the volatility of the trading price of our common stock;
• our ability to service our current and future debt;
• dilution related to our convertible notes;
• our intention not to pay dividends for the foreseeable future;
• provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws that may make a merger, tender offer or proxy contest difficult; and
• exclusive forum provisions in our bylaws
Risks Related to Our Business
Our operating results may be adversely affected by unfavorable changes in macroeconomics and market conditions and the uncertain geopolitical environment.
Our business and operating results depend significantly on general market and economic conditions. The current global macroeconomic environment is volatile and continues to be significantly and adversely impacted by inflation and a dynamic demand environment. Additionally, instability in the global credit markets, the impact of uncertainty regarding inflation, trade wars, and the effects of heightened, scheduled, or proposed tariffs, banking instability, capital expenditure reductions, unemployment, stock market volatility, the instability in the geopolitical environment in many parts of the world (including as a result of the on-going Russia-Ukraine war, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, and China-Taiwan relations), the current economic challenges in China, including global economic ramifications of Chinese economic difficulties, and other disruptions may continue to put pressure on global economic conditions. Further, conditions in the global economy have an inherent degree of uncertainty. As a result, it is difficult to estimate the level of growth or contraction of the global economy as a whole. It is even more difficult to estimate growth or contraction in various parts, sectors, and regions of the economy, including the markets in which we participate. All aspects of our forecasts depend on estimates of growth or contraction in the markets we serve.
Adverse changes to and uncertainty in the global economy have affected industries in which our customers operate and have resulted in decreases in the rate of demand, consumption or use of certain of our customers’ products which, in turn, have resulted in, and may in the future result in, decreased demand for our products, revenue fluctuations, increased price competition for our products, and increased the risk of excess and obsolete inventories as well as higher overhead costs as a percentage of revenue. For example, customers who had built up large inventories when supply chains were tight related to the COVID-19 pandemic brought down inventories as supply constraints eased and in some cases these customers delayed projected shipments, which harmed our revenue and profitability. While conditions have continued to stabilize, in some respects, these conditions may recur in the future, and similar losses or delays may harm our results of operations. The impact of economic challenges on the global financial markets could negatively impact our operations by affecting the solvency of our customers, the solvency of our key suppliers or the ability of our customers to obtain credit to finance purchases of our products. Further, supply chain disruptions have led and may continue to lead to increased costs and have harmed and may continue to harm our ability to meet customer demand, adversely affecting our revenue and profitability. If global economic and market conditions, or economic conditions in key markets, remain uncertain or deteriorate, our prospects for growth may be negatively impacted, and we may experience adverse impacts on our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Adverse changes in political, regulatory and economic policies, including the threats of increasing worldwide tariffs for goods imported into the United States and of escalating retaliatory measures, could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
U.S. regulatory activity, such as tariffs, export controls, and economic sanctions laws have in the past, and may in the future, materially limit our ability to make sales to customers in certain regions of the world, including China, and which have in the past, and may in the future, increase our costs and harm our results of operations and financial condition. Throughout 2025, the U.S. imposed a series of tariffs on imported goods. While these tariffs are positioned to have the most significant impacts on goods originating from China, nearly all countries worldwide are impacted at levels ranging from 15% to stacked tariffs in excess of 100% in some cases. The tariff landscape continues to evolve daily and, as a result, the full impact of these tariff measures on our business is uncertain. In addition to the geographic tariffs, U.S. government investigations are currently underway that may result in new tariffs on certain products, including semiconductors, computers, and other products derivative of critical minerals.
Outside of the U.S., retaliatory measures from various countries also have in the past, and may in the future, adversely impact business operations. Such measures include tariffs on imports from the U.S. into countries such as China, as well as export control measures. For example, China imposed new export control measures affecting exports of rare earth metals and other critical minerals, limiting our ability to access these materials. Additional changes to the trade policies of the U.S. and China are impossible to predict, and further changes or escalations in the trade policies of one or both countries may continue to affect our business.
Adverse regulatory activity, such as export controls, economic sanctions and the imposition of heightened trade tariffs both globally and between the United States and China specifically carries the risk of negatively impacting overall economic conditions, which could have negative repercussions on our industry and our business. Moreover, to the extent the governments of China, the United States or other countries seek to promote use of domestically produced products or to reduce the dependence on or use of products from each other (sometimes referred to as “decoupling”), they may adopt or apply regulations or policies that have the effect of reducing business opportunities for us. Such actions may take the form of specific restrictions on particular customers, products, technology areas, or business combinations. For example, in the area of investments and mergers and acquisitions, the United States has recently announced new requirements for approval by the United States government of outbound investments; and the approval by China regulatory authorities is required for business combinations of companies that conduct business in China over specific thresholds, regardless of where those businesses are based. Restrictions may also be imposed based on whether the supplier is considered unreliable or a security risk. For example, the Chinese government adopted a law that would restrict purchases from suppliers deemed to be “unreliable suppliers.” In May 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China banned the sale of products from Micron Technology to certain entities in China and stated that such products pose significant security risks to China's critical information infrastructure supply chain and national security. Furthermore, imposition of new or additional tariffs or new or revised export, import or doing-business regulations, including trade sanctions, could cause a decrease in the demand for, or sales of our products to customers located in China or other customers selling to Chinese end users or increase the cost for our products, which would directly impact our business and results of operations.
We depend on a limited number of suppliers for raw materials, packages and components, and any failure or delay by these suppliers in meeting our requirements could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We purchase raw materials, packages and components from a limited number of suppliers, who are often small and specialized. Additionally, some of our suppliers are our sole sources for certain materials, equipment and components. We depend on the timely and continued supply and quality of the materials, packages and components that our suppliers supply to us. We have not entered into long-term agreements with many of these suppliers. We do not have a guarantee of supply from these suppliers and, as a result, there is no assurance that we would be able to secure the equipment or components that we require, in sufficient quantity, quality and on reasonable terms. Our business and results of operations have been, and could continue to be, adversely affected by this dependency. Alternative sources to mitigate the risk that the failure of any sole supplier will adversely affect our business are not feasible in all circumstances. If we were to lose any one of these or other critical sources, or if there is as an industry-wide increase in demand for, or the discontinuation of, raw materials used in our products, it could be difficult for us, or we may be unable, to find an alternative supplier or raw material, in which case our operations could be adversely affected. We are also subject to risk from increasing or fluctuating market prices of certain raw materials, which are incorporated into our end products or used by our suppliers to manufacture our end products. Supplies for such raw materials have from time to time become restricted, or general market factors and conditions have in the past affected and may in the future affect pricing of such commodities (including, in particular, due to changes in applicable tariffs, inflation, trade restrictions, or other supply chain constraints). For example, China’s recent export controls affected the availability and price of rare earth metals and other critical minerals for us as well as our supply chain and customers, adversely affecting our operations, margins and sales.
Specific concerns we periodically encounter with our sole suppliers or limited number of suppliers include receipt of defective parts or contaminated materials, stoppages or delays of supply, insufficient resources to supply our requirements, substitution of more expensive or less reliable materials, increases in the price of supplies, and an inability to obtain reduced pricing from our suppliers in response to competitive pressures. Furthermore, supply chain disruptions and labor market constraints have created heightened risk that sole suppliers or limited number of suppliers may be unable to meet their obligations to us. Difficulties in obtaining the materials, or services used in the conduct of our business or additional fees or higher prices to do so, have adversely affected our revenue and results of operations, and further challenges or decisions to seek alternate suppliers to secure supply in order to meet demand would increase our costs and reduce our profitability.
Our financial results may be adversely affected due to changes in product demand impacted by recessions, increases in interest rates, stagflation and other economic conditions.
Customer demand for our products may be impacted by weak economic conditions, inflation, stagflation, trade wars, adverse changes in tariffs and trade policies, recessionary or lower-growth environments, high interest rates, tightening credit markets, equity market volatility or other negative economic factors in the U.S. or other countries. For example, under these conditions or expectation of such conditions, our customers in the past have canceled orders, delayed purchasing decisions or reduced their use of our services. In addition, adverse economic conditions have in the past, and could in the future, result in higher inventory levels and the possibility of resulting excess capacity charges from our contract manufacturers if we need to slow production to reduce inventory levels. Further, in the event of a recession or threat of a recession our contract manufacturers, suppliers and other third-party partners may suffer their own financial and economic challenges and as a result they may demand pricing accommodations, delay payment, or become insolvent, which could harm our ability to meet our customer demands or collect revenue or otherwise could harm our business. Similarly, disruptions in financial and/or credit markets may impact our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with our contract manufacturers, customers, suppliers and creditors and could cause us to not be able to continue to access preferred sources of liquidity when we would like, and our borrowing costs could increase. Thus, if economic conditions deteriorate or experience a sustained period of weakness or slower growth, our business and financial results could be adversely affected.
Our ability to sell our products to a significant customer has been restricted.
In August 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce (“BIS”) issued final rules that further restricted access by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and certain of its affiliates (collectively, “Huawei”) to U.S. technology, software and equipment produced domestically and abroad. The final rules prevent us from selling certain products subject to the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to identified Huawei entities without a license issued by BIS. Further, even if we are able to obtain an export authorization to sell certain products to Huawei in the future, Huawei may not be able to source products from other suppliers due to the applicable export restrictions, which could then adversely impact Huawei’s demand for our products. All U.S. companies are dependent on the ability to obtain export authorizations to sell to Huawei. Until such export authorizations are available or the export restrictions are lifted, we are limited in our ability to sell our products, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and operating results.
Based on internal review conducted in 2023, we determined that our products may be “subject to the EAR” and consequently restricted for export, reexport, and transfer to Huawei. As a result, we stopped all of our product shipments to Huawei, historically our largest networking customer in China, in the beginning of calendar year 2024.
We submitted voluntary self-disclosures to BIS regarding certain product shipments we made to Huawei following the adoption of the final rules. In August 2024, we received an administrative subpoena from BIS requesting the production of records in connection with our business with Huawei. We also received a related subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) that also requested information regarding our business with Huawei. We have been and will continue to cooperate with BIS and DOJ in responding to the subpoenas and their ongoing reviews. Any failure or alleged failure to comply with export controls laws and policies could have negative consequences, including significant legal costs, penalties, denial of export privileges and debarment from participation in U.S. government contracts, any of which could have an adverse effect on our operations, reputation and financial condition.
Under the current regulatory policy and rules, our business with Huawei is now completely restricted. In addition to being unable to supply any products to Huawei, we are also currently unable to work with Huawei on future product developments, or confer any benefit to Huawei, and expect this to continue while Huawei remains subject to the export control restrictions. This cessation of all business activities with Huawei has negatively impacted our revenue from Huawei and has negatively impacted our financial condition and results of operations. Huawei may seek to obtain similar or substitute products from our competitors that are not subject to these restrictions, or to develop similar or substitute products themselves.
We cannot be certain what additional actions the U.S. government may take with respect to Huawei or other entities in China or other countries. We are unable to predict the duration and scope of the restrictions enacted in May 2019 and thereafter. Other customers, such as FiberHome Technologies Group, are also subject to export control restriction since May 2020, and BIS may continue to expand restrictions to other cutomers or otherwise restrict our ability to ship products. Any further export or trade restrictions that impede our ability to export or sell our products and services could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Inflation and increased borrowing costs could impact our cash flows and profitability.
Prolonged periods of inflation may continue to adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity by increasing our overall cost structure, particularly if we are unable to achieve commensurate increases in the prices we charge our customers. Inflation has resulted in and may continue to result in higher interest rates and capital costs, supply shortages, increased costs of labor and other similar effects. As a result of inflation, we are subject to risk from increasing market prices of certain components, supplies, and raw materials, which are incorporated into our products or used by our manufacturing partners or suppliers to manufacture our products. These components, supplies and commodities have from time-to-time become restricted, or general market factors and conditions have affected pricing of such components, supplies and raw materials (such as inflation or supply chain constraints), and future restrictions or market conditions impacting pricing may adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, higher interest rates and tightening credit markets may impact our customers and partners and their ability to purchase products or pay in a timely manner may be adversely impacted.
Unstable market and economic conditions and adverse developments with respect to financial institutions and associated liquidity risk may have serious adverse consequences on our business and financial condition.
Disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures could adversely affect our liquidity, our business and financial condition. The failure of any bank or financial institution in which we deposit our funds or assets could reduce the amount of cash we have available for our operations or delay our ability to access such funds. Any such failure may increase the possibility of a sustained deterioration of financial market liquidity. The value of our investment portfolio could also be impacted if we hold debt instruments which were issued by any institutions that fail or become illiquid. Our ability to obtain raw materials for our supply chain and collections of cash from sales may be unduly impacted if any of our vendors or customers are affected by illiquidity events.
Our backlog may not be an accurate indicator of our level and timing of future revenues.
Our backlog may not be a reliable indicator of future operating results. Further, customer behaviors have been changing as a result of worldwide macroeconomic factors, including as a result of changes in the trade policies of the U.S. and its trading partners, such as the effects of heightened, scheduled or threatened tariffs, and which has reduced demand and may continue to reduce demand for certain of our products and services. If we are not able to respond to and manage the impact of these supply challenges and behavioral changes effectively, or if general macroeconomic conditions or conditions in the industries in which we operate deteriorate, our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows could be adversely affected.
We expect our gross margins and operating margins to vary over time.
Our gross margins, operating margins and segment profit are expected to vary, and may be adversely affected in the future by numerous factors, including, but not limited to:
• an increase or decrease in demand of our products;
• changes in product mix;
• increased price competition in one or more of the markets in which we compete;
• modifications to our pricing strategy to gain or retain footprint in markets or with customers;
• currency fluctuations that impact our costs or the cost of our products to our customers;
• the impact of inflation on costs and on demand for our products;
• increases in material, labor, manufacturing, logistics, warranty costs, or inventory carrying costs;
• issues with manufacturing or component availability;
• issues relating to the distribution of our products, quality or efficiencies;
• increased costs due to changes in component pricing or charges incurred due to the inaccurately forecasting product demand or underutilization of manufacturing capacity;
• warranty related issues;
• factors beyond our control such as natural disasters, climate change, acts of war or terrorism, and public health emergencies;
• changing market, economic, and political conditions, including the impact of changes in the trade policies of the U.S. or its trading partners, heightened, scheduled or threatened tariffs, changes in the applicable trade restrictions, including for certain rare earth minerals, any retaliatory actions in response thereto, and other trade restrictions, regulatory restrictions on imports or exports to withdraw from or materially modify international trade agreements, or
• our introduction of new products and enhancements, or entry into new markets with different pricing and cost structures.
We have also seen, and may continue to see, our gross margins negatively impacted by increases in component costs, logistics costs, elevated inventory balances, and pricing pressure. Failure to sustain or improve our gross margins reduces our profitability and may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Challenges relating to supply chain constraints, including semiconductor components, could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Due to increased demand across a range of industries, our business and customers’ businesses have experienced and could, in the future, experience supply constraints due to both constrained manufacturing capacity, as well as component parts shortages. These supply constraints have adversely affected and could further affect availability, lead-times and cost of components, and could increase the likelihood of unexpected cancellations or delays of previously committed supply of key components. These challenges have resulted in extended lead-times to our customers or accelerated ordering for certain of our products that resulted in inventory backlog that was subsequently managed down, resulting in reduced ordering. Ordering patterns may be difficult to predict and we have experienced and may, in the future, experience negative impacts to our revenue and profitability as well as our ability to achieve our forecasts.
Any disruption or delay in the production, delivery or supply of the raw materials, packaging or components used in the manufacture and delivery of our products, including delays and limits associated with heightened, scheduled or threatened tariffs affecting our components or raw materials, or limits on manufacturing availability or capacity, could delay or inhibit our ability to produce finished goods inventory. These supply chain constraints and their related challenges could result in shortages, increased material costs or use of cash, engineering design changes, and delays in new product introductions, each of which could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we do not anticipate technological shifts, market needs and opportunities, we may not be able to compete effectively and our ability to generate revenues will suffer.
If we are unable to anticipate future technological shifts, market needs, requirements or opportunities, or fail to develop and introduce new products, product enhancements, or business strategies to meet those requirements or opportunities in a timely manner or at all, it could cause us to lose customers, substantially decrease or delay market acceptance and sales of our products and services, and significantly harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, if we invest in developing products for a market that does not develop, it could significantly harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Even if we are able to anticipate, develop, and commercially introduce new products, enhancements or business strategies, any such products, enhancements or business strategies may not achieve market acceptance.
Changing technology and intense competition require us to continuously innovate while controlling product costs, and our failure to do so may result in decreased revenues and profitability.
The markets in which we operate are dynamic and complex, and our success depends on our ability to deliver both our current product offerings and new products and technologies on time and at acceptable prices to our customers. The markets for our products are characterized by rapid technological change, frequent new product introductions and enhancements, substantial capital investment, changes in customer requirements, continued price pressures and a constantly evolving industry. Historically, these pricing pressures have led to a continued decline of average selling prices across our business and we expect that these historical trends will continue. The development of new, technologically advanced products is a complex and uncertain process requiring high levels of innovation and the accurate prediction of technology and market trends. The introduction of new products also often requires significant investment to ramp up production capacity, the benefit of which may not be realized if we are not successful in the production of such products or if customer demand does not develop as expected. Ramping of production capacity also entails risks of delays which can limit our ability to realize the full benefit of new product introductions. We cannot assure you that we will be able to identify, develop, manufacture, market or support new or enhanced products successfully, if at all, or on a timely basis. We also cannot assure you that potential markets for our new products will materialize on the timelines we anticipate, or at all, or that our technology will meet our customers’ specifications. In addition, the markets in which our customers compete experience rapid changes in technology, customer requirements, competitive products, and industry standards, which may impact the demand for our products or products that we are developing. For example, markets driven by AI/ML technology are changing rapidly and therefore, the demand for our products
that address these markets may change and is difficult to predict. Our future performance will depend on the successful development, introduction, deployment and market acceptance of new and enhanced features and products that meet our customers’ current and future needs. Future demand for our products is uncertain and will primarily depend on continued technological development and the introduction of new or enhanced products. If this does not continue, sales of our products may decline which could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The market for optical communications products in particular has matured over time and these products have increasingly become subject to commoditization. Both legacy competitors as well as new entrants, predominantly Asia-based competitors, have intensified market competition in recent years leading to pricing pressure. To preserve our revenues and product margin structures, we remain reliant on an integrated customer and market approach that anticipates end customer needs as requirements evolve. We also must continue to develop more advanced, differentiated products that command a premium with customers, while conversely continuing to focus on streamlining product costs for established legacy products. If we fail to continue to develop enhanced or new products that enable us to increase revenues while maintaining consistent margins, or over time are unable to adjust our cost structure to continue to competitively price more mature products, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We rely on a limited number of customers for a significant portion of our sales; and the majority of our customers do not have contractual purchase commitments.
We have consistently relied on a small number of customers for a significant portion of our sales. We expect that this customer concentration will continue in the future, and we expect that our financial performance in certain business lines and growth prospects will continue to depend in part on a small number of customers. Many of our customers purchase products under purchase orders or under contracts that do not contain volume or long-term purchase commitments. Therefore, these customers may alter their purchasing behavior with little or no notice to us for various reasons, including developing, or, in the case of our distributors, their customers developing, their own product solutions; choosing to purchase or distribute product from our competitors; incorrectly forecasting end market demand for their products; or experiencing a reduction in their market share in the markets for which they purchase our products. As a result, it is difficult to forecast our revenues and to determine the appropriate levels of inventory required to meet future demand. For example, we have from time-to-time experienced excess and obsolete charges due to customer transitions to the next generation of products. We may also experience increased inventory levels and increased carrying costs and risk of excess or obsolete inventory due to unanticipated reductions in purchases by our customers. In addition, customers provide us with their expected forecasts for our products several months in advance, but these customers may decrease, cancel or delay purchase orders already in place, including on short notice, or may experience financial difficulty which affects their ability to pay for products, particularly in light of the global macroeconomic uncertainty, and have done so from time-to-time, and the impact of any such actions may be intensified given our dependence on a limited number of large customers. We cannot accurately predict what or how many products our customers will need in the future. Anticipating demand is difficult because our customers face unpredictable demand for their own products and in recent periods have become increasingly focused on cash preservation and tighter inventory management.
In addition, changes in the business requirements, vendor selection, project prioritization, financial prospects, capital resources, and expenditures, or purchasing behavior (including product mix purchased or timing of purchases) of our key customers, or any real or perceived quality issues related to the products that we sell to such customers, have led to decreased sales to such customers or delays or cancellations of planned purchases of our products or services, which has unfavorably impacted our revenues and operating results, and may continue to impact our business and results of operations. We may also experience pricing pressure with certain of our customers that may adversely affect our revenue and margins, or, if the ongoing relationship no longer benefits us, we may decide to suspend or terminate our relationship with such customers. There are also continuing trade tensions, including an uncertain regulatory environment, in the U.S. and countries in Asia, and in particular, China, which have impacted and could continue to materially impact our sales to key customers in these regions. Further, we may be required to purchase raw materials, increase production capacity or make other changes to our business to accommodate certain large customers. If forecasted orders do not materialize, we may need to reduce investment in R&D activities, we may fail to optimize our manufacturing capacity and incur charges for such underutilization, we may incur liabilities with our suppliers for reimbursement of capital expenditures, or we may have excess inventory. In addition, if we incur expenses in response to forecasted demand and do not have a corresponding increase in revenue, our profitability may suffer. Any of these factors could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Intense competition in our markets may lead to an accelerated reduction in our prices, revenues, margins and market share.
The end markets for optical products have experienced significant industry consolidation during the past few years. We expect this trend to continue as companies attempt to strengthen or hold their market positions in an evolving industry and as companies are acquired or are unable to continue operations. As a result, the markets for optical subsystems, components and laser diodes are highly competitive and the intensity of such competition is increasing. Our current competitors include a number of domestic and international public and private companies, many of which may have substantially greater financial, technical, marketing and distribution resources and brand name recognition than we have. As we expand into new markets, we face competition not only from our existing competitors, but also from new competitors, including existing companies with strong technological and sales positions in those markets. We may not be able to compete successfully against either current or future competitors, particularly, in light of increasing consolidation. Our competitors may continue to enter markets or gain or retain market share through introduction of new or improved products or with aggressive low pricing strategies that may impact the efficacy of our approach. These competitors may be able to devote greater resources than we can to the development, promotion, sale and support of their products. Additionally, the merger or consolidation of significant competitors have resulted in, and will likely result in, competitors with greater resources, which may enable them to offer a different market approach, or a lower cost structure through economies of scale or other efficiencies that we may be unable to match and which may intensify competition in the various markets. Further, our competitors may seek to vertically integrate by buying suppliers that also supply products or components to us, which could enable them to further reduce prices, or could increase our costs. Our current or potential customers may also determine to develop and produce products for their own use which may be competitive to our products. Such vertical integration could reduce the market opportunity for our products. Increased competition could result in significant price erosion, reduced revenue, lower margins or loss of market share, any of which would significantly harm our business.
We are subject to risks arising from our international operations, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We derive a majority of our revenue from our international operations, and we plan to continue expanding our business in international markets in the future. In addition, we have extensive international manufacturing capabilities through third-party contract manufacturers, as well as through our own international facilities, with employees engaged in R&D, administration, manufacturing, support and sales and marketing activities.
As a result of our international operations, in addition to similar risks we face in our U.S. operations, we are affected by economic, business, regulatory, social, and political conditions in foreign countries, including the following:
• adverse social, political and economic conditions, such as inflation, high interest rates and risk of global or regional recession;
• effects of adverse changes in currency rates;
• impacts related to business disruptions and restrictions related to pandemics and endemics, including supply chain disruptions and labor shortages and differential impacts in different regions and geographies;
• changes in general IT spending;
• less effective protection of intellectual property;
• the imposition of government controls, inclusive of critical infrastructure protection;
• changes in or limitations imposed by trade protection laws or other regulatory orders or requirements in the United States or in other countries, including changes in the trade policies of the U.S. and its trading partners, heightened, scheduled, or threatened tariffs, sanctions, or other costs or requirements which may affect our ability to import or export our products from various countries or increase the cost to do so, including government action to restrict our ability to sell to foreign customers where sales of products may require export licenses (See Risk Factor entitled “Our ability to sell our products to a significant customer has been restricted”); the restrictions in China on the export of gallium and germanium and other rare earth metals and critical minerals; and other retaliatory responses in the trade policies of the U.S. or foreign governments;
• the imposition of sanctions on customers in China may cause those customers to seek domestic alternatives to our products, including developing alternatives internally, and our customers demand for our products could be impacted by their inability to obtain other materials subject to sanctions. For example, sanctions on sales to certain parties of U.S. semiconductors and semiconductor equipment has caused a delay in 5G deployment in China while the affected
companies seek alternative solutions, which has reduced the demand for our products from some of our Chinese customers;
• varying and potentially conflicting laws and regulations;
• overlapping, differing or more burdensome tax structure and laws;
• markets for 5G infrastructure not developing in the manner or in the time periods we anticipate, including as a result of unfavorable developments with evolving laws and regulations worldwide;
• wage inflation or a tightening of the labor market;
• the impact of recessions and other economic conditions in economies outside the United States, including, for example, dips in the manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index as well as the Institute for Supply Management data in the Eurozone;
• tax and customs changes that adversely impact our global sourcing strategy, manufacturing practices, transfer-pricing, or competitiveness of our products for global sales;
• volatility in oil prices and increased costs, or limited supply of other natural resources;
• political developments, geopolitical unrest or other conflicts in foreign nations, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, and political developments in Hong Kong and Taiwan and the potential impact such developments or further actions could have on our customers in the markets in which we operate; and
• the impact of the following on service provider and government spending patterns as well as our contract and internal manufacturing: political considerations, changes in or delays in government budgeting processes, unfavorable changes in tax treaties or laws, unfavorable events that affect foreign currencies on an absolute or relative basis, natural disasters, epidemic disease, labor unrest, earnings expatriation restrictions, misappropriation of intellectual property, military actions, acts of terrorism, political and social unrest and difficulties in staffing and managing international operations.
Additionally, our business is impacted by fluctuations in local economies and currencies. Global economic volatility has significantly impacted the foreign exchange markets, and the currencies of various countries in which we operate and have significant volume of local-currency denominated expenses have seen significant volatility. We expect such volatility to continue, which could negatively impact our results by making our non-U.S. operations more expensive when reported in U.S. dollars, primarily due to the costs of payroll.
Moreover, local laws and customs in many countries differ significantly from or conflict with those in the United States or other countries in which we operate. In many foreign countries, particularly in those with developing economies, it is common for others to engage in business practices that are prohibited by our internal policies and procedures or U.S. regulations applicable to us. There can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, channel partners and agents will not take actions in violation of our policies and procedures, which are designed to ensure compliance with applicable U.S. and foreign laws and policies. Violations of laws or key control policies by our employees, contractors, channel partners, or agents could result in termination of our relationships with customers and suppliers, financial reporting problems, fines and/or penalties for us, or prohibition on the importation or exportation of our products, and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are also highly dependent on the ability to ship products to customers and to receive shipments from our suppliers. In the event of a disruption in the worldwide or regional shipping infrastructure, our access to supplies and our ability to deliver products to customers would correspondingly be negatively impacted. As a result of shipping disruptions, we have experienced among other things, increased costs to ship products and delays in receiving components and any disruption in the future would likely adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
In addition to the above risks related to our international operations, we also face risks related to pandemics and epidemics. An outbreak of a contagious disease, and other adverse public health developments, particularly in Asia, could have an adverse effect on our business operations. The effects could include restrictions on our ability to travel to support our sites in Asia or our customers located there, disruptions in our ability to distribute products, and/or temporary closures of our facilities in Asia or the facilities of our suppliers or customers and their contract manufacturers.
In the past, these and similar risks have disrupted our operations and the operations of our suppliers, customers and contract manufacturers and increased our costs, and we expect that they may do so in the future. Any or all of these factors could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are subject to the risks of owning real property.
Our buildings subject us to the risks of owning real property, which include, but are not limited to:
• adverse changes in the value of these properties due to economic conditions, the movement by many companies to a hybrid work environment, interest rate changes, changes in the neighborhood in which the property is located, or other factors;
• the possible need for structural improvements in order to comply with zoning, seismic and other legal or regulatory requirements;
• the potential disruption of our business and operations arising from or connected with a relocation due to moving or to renovating the facility;
• increased cash commitments for improvements to the buildings or the property, or both;
• increased operating expenses for the buildings or the property, or both; and
• the risk of financial loss in excess of amounts covered by insurance, or uninsured risks, such as the loss caused by damage to the buildings as a result of earthquakes, floods, typhoons, tsunamis, fire, and/or other natural disasters.
The manufacturing of our products may be adversely affected if we are unable to manufacture certain products in our manufacturing facilities or if our contract manufacturers and suppliers fail to meet our production requirements.
We manufacture some of our finished good products as well as some of the components that we provide to our contract manufacturers in our China, Japan, Thailand, United Kingdom, and San Jose, California manufacturing facilities. For some of the components and finished good products, we are the sole manufacturer. Our manufacturing processes are highly complex, and issues are often difficult to detect and correct. From time-to-time, we have experienced problems achieving acceptable yields in our manufacturing facilities, resulting in delays in the availability of our products and inability to meet customer demand. In addition, if we experience problems with our manufacturing facilities or are unable to continue operations at any of these sites, including as a result of social, geopolitical, environmental or health factors, damage caused by natural disasters, or other problems or events beyond our control, including pandemics or widespread health epidemics, it would be costly and require a long period of time to move the manufacture of these components and finished good products to a different facility or contract manufacturer which could then result in interruptions in supply, and would likely materially impact our financial condition and results of operations. Our business and operations would be severely impacted if there were any future widespread health crisis or related restrictions imposed by governments or private industry in regions we operate.
We also rely on several independent contract manufacturers to supply us with certain products. For many products, a particular contract manufacturer may be the sole source of the finished good products. We depend on these manufacturers to meet our production and capacity requirements and to provide quality products to our customers. There are a number of risks associated with our reliance on contract manufacturers including:
• reduced control over delivery schedules and planning;
• availability of manufacturing capability and capacity, particularly during periods of high demand;
• reliance on the quality assurance procedures of third parties;
• risks associated with data security breaches or cyber-attacks targeting our contract manufacturers, including manufacturing disruptions or unauthorized access to information; and
• potential misappropriation of our intellectual property.
Additionally, if operations at these contract manufacturers are adversely impacted, such as by natural disasters, or restrictions due to the impact of a widespread health crisis disruptions or any resulting economic impact to their business, this would likely materially impact our financial condition and results of operations. Our ability to control the quality of products produced by contract manufacturers has and may in the future be impaired by pandemics or widespread health epidemics disruptions, and quality issues might not be resolved in a timely manner. Additionally, if our contract manufacturers continue experiencing disruptions or discontinue operations, we may be required to identify and qualify alternative manufacturers, which is expensive and time consuming. If we are required to change or qualify a new contract manufacturer, this would likely cause business disruptions and adversely affect our results of operations and could harm our existing customer relationships.
Despite rigorous testing for quality, both by us and the contract manufacturers to whom we sell products, we may receive and ship defective products. We may incur significant costs to correct defective products which could result in the loss of future sales and revenue, indemnification costs or costs to replace or repair the defective products, litigation and damage to our reputation and customer relations. Defective products may also cause diversion of management attention from our business and product development efforts.
Our manufacturing operations and those of our contract manufacturers may be affected by natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, typhoons, tsunamis, fires and widespread health crises, changes in legal requirements, labor competition, shortages and turnover, labor strikes and other labor unrest, wars or other conflicts, and economic, political or other forces that are beyond our control. For example, in the past one of our former contract manufacturers experienced a labor strike which threatened the contract manufacturer’s ability to fulfill its product commitments to us and, in turn, our ability to fulfill our obligations to our customers. We are heavily dependent on a small number of manufacturing sites. Our business and operations would be severely impacted by any significant business disruptions for which we may not receive, and regardless of whether we receive, adequate recovery from insurance. There has been an increased focus on corporate social and environmental responsibility in our industry. As a result, a number of our customers may adopt policies that include social and environmental responsibility provisions that their suppliers should comply with. These provisions may be difficult and expensive to comply with, given the complexity of our supply chain. We may be unable to cause our suppliers or contract manufacturers to comply with these provisions which may adversely affect our relationships with customers.
In addition, for a variety of reasons, including changes in circumstances at our contract manufacturers, restrictions or inability to operate, or regarding our own business strategies, we may choose or be required to transfer the manufacturing of certain products to other manufacturing sites, including to our own manufacturing facilities. As a result of such transfers, our contract manufacturers may prioritize other customers or otherwise be unable or unwilling to meet our demand. There also may be delays with the transfer of manufacturing equipment and successfully setting up that equipment at the transfer sites and training new operators. If such transfers are unsuccessful or take a longer period of time than expected, it could result in interruptions in supply and supply chain and would likely impact our financial condition and results of operations.
Some of our purchase commitments with contract manufacturers are not cancellable which may impact our results of operations if customer forecasts driving these purchase commitments do not materialize and we are unable to sell the products to other customers. We may also incur charges if we do not utilize our allocated manufacturing capacity which would increase our costs and decrease our margins. Alternatively, our contract manufacturers may not be able to meet our demand which would inhibit our ability to meet our customers’ demands and maintain or grow our revenues. Furthermore, it could be costly and require a long period of time to move products from one contract manufacturer to another which could result in interruptions in supply and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.
Further, certain of our suppliers are located in China, which exposes us to risks associated with Chinese laws and regulations and U.S. laws, regulations and policies with respect to China, such as those related to import and export policies, the recent imposition of higher U.S. tariffs on many products from China, retaliatory actions taken by the U.S. and China in response to actions taken by the other, and risks related to taxation and the treatment of intellectual property. Chinese and U.S. laws and regulations are subject to frequent change, and if our suppliers are unable to obtain or retain the requisite legal permits or otherwise to comply with Chinese and U.S. legal requirements, we may be forced to obtain products from other manufacturers or to make other operational changes, including transferring our manufacturing to another manufacturer or to our own manufacturing facilities. In addition, many of our products are sourced from suppliers based outside of the United States, primarily in Asia. We may continue to face uncertainty with respect to our suppliers’ abilities to supply products due to supply chain and inventory impacts, tax and trade policies, the effects of trade wars, including heightened, scheduled, and threatened tariffs and trade restrictions, and government regulations affecting trade between the United States and other countries. Major developments in tax policy or trade relations, such as the imposition of tariffs on imported products, for example, higher U.S. tariffs on the import of certain products manufactured in Thailand or China (and vice-versa), could increase our product and product-related costs or require us to seek alternative suppliers, either of which could result in decreased sales or increased product and product-related costs. Any such developments could have a material impact on our ability to meet our customers’ expectations and may materially impact our operating results and financial condition.
If our customers do not qualify our manufacturing lines or the manufacturing lines of our subcontractors for volume shipments, our operating results could suffer.
Certain of our customers do not purchase products, other than limited numbers of evaluation units, prior to qualification of the manufacturing line for volume production. Our existing manufacturing lines, as well as each new manufacturing line, must pass through varying levels of qualification with certain of our customers. Some of our customers require that our manufacturing lines pass their specific qualification standards and that we, and any subcontractors that we may use, be registered under international quality standards. We may encounter quality control issues as a result of setting up new manufacturing lines in our facilities, relocating our manufacturing lines or introducing new products to fill production. We may be unable to obtain, or we may experience delays in obtaining, customer qualification of our manufacturing lines. If we introduce new contract manufacturing partners and move any production lines from existing internal or external facilities, the new production lines will likely need to be re-qualified with our customers. Any delays or failure to obtain qualifications would harm our reputation, operating results, and customer relationships.
We contract with a number of large OEM and end-user service providers and product companies that have considerable bargaining power, which may require us to agree to terms and conditions that could have an adverse effect on our business or ability to recognize revenues.
Large OEM and end-user service providers and product companies comprise a significant portion of our customer base. These customers generally have greater purchasing power than smaller entities and, accordingly, often request and receive more favorable terms from suppliers, including us. As we seek to expand our sales to existing customers and acquire new customers, we may be required to agree to terms and conditions that are favorable to our customers and that may affect the timing of our ability to recognize revenue, increase our costs and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Furthermore, large customers have increased buying power and ability to require onerous terms in our contracts with them, including pricing, warranties, and indemnification terms. If we are unable to satisfy the terms of these contracts, it could result in liabilities of a material nature, including litigation, damages, additional costs, loss of market share and loss of reputation. Additionally, the terms these large customers require, such as most-favored nation or exclusivity provisions, may impact our ability to do business with other customers and generate revenues from such customers.
Our products may contain defects that could cause us to incur significant costs, divert our attention from product development efforts and result in loss of customers.
Our products are complex, and defects and quality issues are found from time-to-time. Networking products in particular frequently contain undetected software or hardware defects when first introduced or as new versions are released. In addition, our products are often embedded in or deployed in conjunction with our customers’ products which incorporate a variety of components produced by third parties, which may contain defects. As a result, when problems occur, it may be difficult to identify the source of the problem. These problems may cause us to incur significant damages or warranty and repair costs, divert the attention of our engineering personnel from our product development efforts and manufacturing resources, and cause significant customer relation problems or loss of customers, or risk exposure to product liability suits, all of which would harm our business. Additionally, changes in our or our suppliers' manufacturing processes or the inadvertent use of defective materials by us or our suppliers could result in an adverse effect on our ability to achieve acceptable manufacturing yields and product reliability. To the extent that we do not achieve and maintain our projected yields or product reliability, our business, operating results, financial condition and customer relationships would be adversely affected.
We face a number of risks related to pursuing strategic transactions.
We have in the past and expect to continue to seek to expand and diversify our operations with additional acquisitions and strategic transactions as well as acquisitions of complementary technologies, products, assets and businesses. We may be unable to identify or complete prospective acquisitions for many reasons, including competition from other potential acquirers, the effects of consolidation in our industries and potentially high valuations of acquisition candidates. Even if we do identify acquisitions or enter into agreements with respect to such acquisitions, we may not be able to complete the acquisition due to regulatory requirements or restrictions, competition, or other reasons. In addition, applicable antitrust laws and other regulations may limit our ability to acquire targets or force us to divest all or a portion of our business or an acquired business. If we are unable to identify suitable targets or complete acquisitions, our growth prospects may suffer, and we may not be able to realize sufficient scale and technological advantages to compete effectively in all markets.
In connection with acquisitions, risks to us and our business include:
• diversion of management’s attention from normal daily operations of the business;
• unforeseen expenses, delays or conditions imposed on the acquisition or transaction, including due to required regulatory approvals or consents, or fees that may be triggered upon a failure to consummate an acquisition or transaction for certain reasons;
• the inability to retain and obtain required regulatory approvals, licenses and permits;
• loss of employees, customers, suppliers or partners due to uncertainty of a transaction; and
• failure to consummate an acquisition resulting in negative publicity and/or negative impression of us in the investment community that could impact on our stock price
We have also faced litigation in connection with acquisitions, some of which continues following the consummation of the acquisition. Such litigation may be costly and diverts management time and attention.
We have in the past, and may in the future, divest or reduce our investment in certain businesses or product lines from time-to-time. Such divestitures involve risks, such as difficulty separating portions from our other businesses, distracting employees, incurring potential loss of revenue, negatively impacting margins, and potentially disrupting customer relationships. We may also incur significant costs associated with exit or disposal activities, related impairment charges, or both.
If we are unable to successfully manage any of these risks in relation to any future acquisitions or divestitures, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted.
We may be unable to successfully implement our acquisitions strategy or integrate acquired companies and personnel with existing operations.
To the extent we are successful in making acquisitions, such as our acquisitions of Cloud Light, NeoPhotonics and the IPG telecom transmission product lines, we may be unsuccessful in implementing our acquisitions strategy, or integrating acquired companies, businesses or product lines and personnel with existing operations, the integration may be more difficult or more costly than anticipated, or the transaction may not further our business strategy as we expected or we may overpay for, or otherwise not realize the expected return on, our investment. Some of the challenges involved integrating businesses and acquisitions include:
• difficulty preserving relationships with customers, suppliers or partners;
• potential difficulties in completing projects associated with in-process R&D;
• unanticipated liabilities or our exposure for known contingencies and liabilities may exceed our estimates;
• insufficient net revenue or unexpected expenses that negatively impact our margins and profitability;
• unexpected losses of key employees of the acquired company, inability to attract, recruit, retain, and motivate current and prospective employees or inability to maintain our company culture;
• unexpected expenses for cost of litigation or other legal proceedings related to the acquisition or the acquired company;
• conforming the acquired company’s standards, processes, procedures and controls with our operations, including integrating Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) systems and other key business applications;
• coordinating new product and process development;
• increasing complexity from combining operations, including administrative functions, finance and human resources;
• increasing the scope, geographic diversity and complexity of our operations;
• difficulties in integrating operations across different cultures and languages and to address the particular economic, currency, political, and regulatory risks associated with specific countries;
• difficulties in integrating acquired technology;
• difficulties in coordinating and integrating geographically separated personnel, organizations, systems and facilities;
• difficulty managing customer transitions or entering into new markets;
• difficulties in consolidating facilities and transferring processes and know-how;
• diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns;
• temporary loss of productivity or operational efficiency;
• dilution of our current stockholders as a result of any issuance of equity securities as acquisition consideration;
• adverse tax or accounting impact;
• expenditure of cash that would otherwise be available to operate our business; and
• indebtedness on terms that are unfavorable to us, limit our operational flexibility or that we are unable to repay.
In addition, following an acquisition, we may have difficulty forecasting the financial results of the combined company and the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected if the effect of any acquisitions on our consolidated financial results is dilutive or is below the market's or financial analysts' expectations, or if there are unanticipated changes in the business or financial performance of the target company or the combined company. Any failure to successfully integrate acquired businesses may disrupt our business and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Changes in demand and customer requirements for our products may reduce manufacturing yields, which could negatively impact our profitability.
Manufacturing yields depend on a number of factors, including the volume of production due to customer demand and the nature and extent of changes in specifications required by customers for which we perform design-in work. Changes in manufacturing processes required as a result of changes in product specifications, changing customer needs, introduction of new product lines and changes in contract manufacturers may reduce manufacturing yields, resulting in low or negative margins on those products. Moreover, an increase in the rejection rate of products during the quality control process, before, during or after manufacturing, results in lower gross margins from lower yields and additional rework costs. Any reduction in our manufacturing yields will adversely affect our gross margins and could have a material impact on our operating results.
Restructuring activities could disrupt our business and affect our results of operations.
We have taken steps, including implementing reductions in force and internal reorganizations, to reduce the cost of our operations, improve efficiencies, or realign our organization and staffing to better match our market opportunities and our technology development initiatives. We may take similar steps in the future as we seek to realize operating synergies, to achieve our target operating model and profitability objectives, or to reflect more closely changes in the strategic direction of our business or the evolution of our site strategy and workplace. These changes could be disruptive to our business, including our research and development efforts, and may result in the recording of special charges, including workforce reduction or restructuring costs. Substantial expense or charges resulting from restructuring activities could adversely affect our results of operations and use of cash in those periods in which we undertake such actions .
We may not be able to realize tax savings from our international structure, which could adversely affect our operating results.
During fiscal years 2023 and 2025, the Company completed international restructurings that included the intra-entity transfer of certain intellectual property and other assets used in the business among various subsidiaries. The structures implemented may be challenged by tax authorities, and if such challenges are successful, the tax consequence we expect to realize could be adversely impacted. If substantial modifications to our international structure or the way we operate our business are made, such as if future acquisitions or divestitures occur, if we or our customers or suppliers change our logistics, if changes in domestic and international tax laws negatively impact the structure, if we do not operate our business consistent with the structure and applicable tax provisions, if we fail to achieve our revenue and profit goals, or if the international structure or our application of arm’s-length principles to intercompany arrangements is successfully challenged by the U.S. or foreign tax authorities, our effective tax rate may increase, which could have an adverse effect on our operating and financial results.
Changes in tax laws could have an adverse effect on our business, cash flow, results of operations or financial conditions.
As a multinational corporation, we are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. Significant uncertainties exist with respect to the amount of our tax liabilities, including those arising from potential changes in laws in the countries in which we do business and the possibility of adverse determinations with respect to the application of existing laws. Many judgments are required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities, and we are under audit by various tax authorities, which often do not agree with positions taken by us on our tax returns. Any unfavorable resolution of these uncertainties may have a significant adverse impact on our tax rate.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the “OECD”) has proposed changes to existing tax laws, including a proposed global minimum tax of 15%, also known as Pillar Two. Many countries, including European Union member states have adopted or are considering adopting legislation to enact these proposals. In addition, the U.S. has withdrawn support for Pillar Two and proposed a side-by-side solution under which U.S.-parented groups, such as ours, would be exempt from certain provisions of Pillar Two, which has been principally agreed to by The Group of Seven (“G7”) countries. Any of these developments or changes in federal, state, or international tax laws or tax rulings could adversely affect our effective tax rate and our operating results. There can be no assurance that our effective tax rates, tax payments, or incentives will not be adversely affected by these or other developments or changes in law.
On July 4, 2025, H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”), was signed into law which contains a broad range of provisions affecting businesses including permanent extension of certain expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, modifications to the international tax framework and the restoration of favorable tax treatment for certain business provisions. Many of the provisions are generally not applicable to us until fiscal year 2026. We are currently evaluating the future impact of the new legislation on our financial statements.
Other countries also continue to enact and consider enacting new laws, which could increase our tax obligations, cause us to change the way we do business or our operations or otherwise adversely affect us. The foregoing items could increase our future tax expense, could change our future intentions regarding reinvestment of foreign earnings, and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are also subject to the continuous examination of our income tax and other returns by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities globally, and we have a number of such reviews underway at any time. It is possible that tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken, and an adverse outcome of such a review or audit could have a negative effect on our financial position and operating results. There can be no assurance that the outcomes from such examinations, or changes in tax law or regulation impacting our effective tax rates, will not have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our operating results may be subject to volatility due to fluctuations in foreign currency.
We are exposed to foreign exchange risks with regard to our international operations which may affect our operating results. Since we conduct business in currencies other than U.S. dollars but report our financial results in U.S. dollars, we face exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Due to these fluctuations, operating results may differ materially from expectations, and we may record significant gains or losses on the remeasurement of intercompany balances. Although we price our products primarily in U.S. dollars, a portion of our operating expenses are incurred in foreign currencies. For example, a portion of our expenses are denominated in the U.K. pound sterling, Chinese yuan and Thai baht. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between these currencies and other currencies in which we collect revenues and/or pay expenses could have a material effect on our future operating results. Recently, our exposure to foreign currencies has increased as our non-U.S. manufacturing footprint has expanded. We continue to look for opportunities to leverage the lower cost of non-U.S. manufacturing, including the United Kingdom, China, Thailand, and Japan. While these geographies are lower cost than the U.S. and such concentration will in general lower our total cost to manufacture, this increase in concentration in non-U.S. manufacturing will also increase the volatility of our results. If the value of the U.S. dollar depreciates relative to certain other foreign currencies, it would increase our costs including the cost of local operating expenses and procurement of materials or services that we purchase in foreign currencies, as expressed in U.S. dollars. Conversely, if the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to other currencies, such strengthening could raise the relative cost of our products to non-U.S. customers, especially as compared to foreign competitors, and could reduce demand. Global economic volatility has had a significant impact on the exchange markets, which heightened this risk, and we expect the higher level of volatility in foreign exchange markets will likely continue.
We may require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.
We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including supporting the development and introduction of new products, addressing new markets, engaging in strategic transactions and partnerships, improving or expanding our operating infrastructure or acquiring complementary businesses and technologies. Investments, partnerships and acquisitions involve risks and uncertainties which could adversely affect our operating and financial results. In December 2019, we issued and sold a total of $1,050 million in aggregate principal amount of our 0.50% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (the “2026 Notes”). In March 2022, we issued and sold a total of $861 million aggregate principal amount of our 0.50% Convertible Senior Notes due 2028 (the “2028 Notes”). In June 2023, we issued and sold a total of $603.7 million aggregate principal amount of our 1.50% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029 (“2029 Notes”). We may in the future engage in additional equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through future issuances of equity, equity-linked or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing we may secure in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, increasing interest rates and other factors have resulted in volatility in the capital markets and less favorable financing terms. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly impaired, and our business may be harmed.
If we fail to effectively manage our growth or, alternatively, our spending during downturns, our business could be disrupted, which could harm our operating results.
We expect to appropriately scale our business, internal systems and organization, and to continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures. Growth in sales, combined with the challenges of managing geographically dispersed operations, can place a significant strain on our management systems and resources, and our anticipated growth in future operations could continue to place such a strain. The failure to effectively manage our growth could disrupt our business and harm our operating results, and even if we are able to upgrade our systems and expand our staff, any such expansion will likely be expensive and complex. Our ability to successfully offer our products and implement our business plan in evolving markets requires an effective planning and management process. In economic downturns, we must effectively manage our spending and operations to ensure our competitive position during the downturn, as well as our future opportunities when the economy improves, remains intact. The failure to effectively manage our spending and operations could disrupt our business and harm our operating results.
A widespread health crisis could adversely affect our business operations, financial performance, results of operations, financial position and the achievement of our strategic objectives.
The outbreak of a widespread health crisis, whether global in scope or localized in an area in which we, our customers or our suppliers do business, could have an adverse effect on our operations and the operations of our suppliers and customers. Potential impacts on our operations and financial performance include:
• significant reductions in demand for one or more of our products or a curtailment to one or more of our product lines caused by, among other things, any temporary inability of our customers to purchase and utilize our products due to shutdown orders or financial hardship;
• workforce constraints triggered by any applicable shutdown orders or stay-at-home policies;
• disruptions to our third-party contract manufacturing and raw materials supply arrangements caused by constraints over our suppliers’ workforce capacity, financial, or operational difficulties;
• disruption in our own ability to produce and ship products;
• heightened risk and uncertainty regarding the loss or disruption of essential third-party service providers, including transportation services, contract manufacturing, marketing, and distribution services;
• requirements to comply with governmental and regulatory responses such as quarantines, import/export restrictions, price controls, or other governmental or regulatory actions, including closures or other restrictions that limit or close our operating and manufacturing facilities, restrict our workforce’s ability to travel or perform necessary business functions, or otherwise impact our suppliers or customers, which could adversely impact our operating results;
• general economic uncertainty in key global markets and financial market volatility; and
• increased operating expenses and potentially reduced efficiency of operations.
The ultimate impact of any future widespread health crisis 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 may be taken in response to the crisis; the impact of the crisis and actions taken in response on global and regional economies, travel, and economic activity; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and financial market volatility, including increasing levels of inflation in the United States; and global economic conditions and levels of economic growth. In addition, the global economic volatility related to any health crisis may significantly impact the foreign exchange markets, and the currencies of various countries in which we operate and in which we have significant volume of local-currency denominated expenses creating significant volatility.
Any failure, disruption or security breach or incident of or impacting our information technology infrastructure or information management systems could have an adverse impact on our business and operations.
Our business depends significantly on effective and efficient information management systems, and the reliability and security of our information technology infrastructure are essential to the operation, health and expansion of our business. For example, the information gathered and processed by our information management systems assists us in managing our supply chain, financial reporting, monitoring customer accounts, and protecting our proprietary and confidential business information, plans, trade secrets, and intellectual property, among other things. In addition, these systems may contain personal data or other confidential or otherwise protected information about our employees, our customers’ employees, or other business partners. We must continue to expand and update this infrastructure in response to our changing requirements as well as evolving security standards and risks.
In some cases, we may rely on third-party providers of hosting, support and other services to meet our information technology requirements. Any failure to manage, expand and update our information technology infrastructure, including our ERP system and other applications, any failure in the extension implementation or operation of this infrastructure, or any failure by our hosting and support partners or other third-party service providers in the performance of their services could harm our business. In addition, we have partnered with third parties to support our information technology systems and to help design, build, test, implement and maintain our information management systems. Our merger, acquisition and divestiture activity may also require transitions to or from, and the integration of, various information management systems within our overall enterprise architecture, including our ERP system and other applications. Those systems that we acquire or that are used by acquired entities or businesses may also pose security risks of which we are unaware or unable to mitigate, particularly during the transition of these systems.
Like other companies, we are subject to ongoing attempts by malicious actors, including through hacking, malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering, exploitation of internet-connected devices, and other attacks, to obtain unauthorized access to, or acquisition or other processing of confidential or other information or otherwise affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems and information stored or otherwise processed on our systems. Cyber threats have increased in recent years, in part due to increased remote work and frequent attacks, including in the form of phishing emails, malware attachments and malicious websites. Additionally, geopolitical tensions and conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, may increase our risks of cyber-attacks. Further, as AI capabilities improve and become increasingly commonplace, we may see cyber-attacks leveraging AI technology. These attacks could be crafted with an AI tool to directly attack information systems with increased speed and/or efficiency compared to a human threat actor or create more effective phishing emails. In addition, a vulnerability could be introduced from the result of us and our third-party service providers incorporating output of an AI tool, such as AI generated source code, that includes a threat. While we work to safeguard our internal network systems and validate the security of our third-party service providers to mitigate these potential risks, including through information security policies and employee awareness and training, there is no assurance that such actions have been or will be sufficient to prevent cyber-attacks or security breaches or incidents. We have been in the past, and may be in the future, subject to social engineering attacks and other cyber-attacks, and these attacks may become more prevalent with substantial portion of our workforce being distributed geographically, particularly given the increased remote access to our networks and systems as a result. Further, our third-party service providers may have been and may be in the future subject to such attacks or otherwise may suffer security breaches or incidents. In addition, actions by our employees, service providers, partners, contractors, or others, whether malicious or in error, could affect the security of our systems and information. Further, a breach or compromise of our information technology infrastructure or that of our third-party service providers could result in the misappropriation of intellectual property, business plans, trade secrets or other information. Additionally, while our security systems are designed to maintain the physical security of our facilities and information systems, accidental or willful security breaches or incidents or other unauthorized access by third parties to our facilities or our information systems could lead to unauthorized access to, or misappropriation, disclosure, or
other processing of proprietary, confidential and other information. Moreover, new laws and regulations, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), and China’s Personal Information Protection Law, add to the complexity of our compliance obligations and increases our compliance costs. Although we have established internal controls and procedures intended to comply with such laws and regulations, any actual or alleged failure to fully comply could result in significant penalties and other liabilities, harm to our reputation and market position, business and financial condition.
Despite our implementation of security measures, our systems and those of our third-party service providers are vulnerable to damage from these or other types of attacks, errors, acts or omissions. In addition, our systems may be impacted by natural disasters, terrorism or other similar disruptions. Any system failure, disruption, accident or security breach or incident affecting us or our third-party service providers could result in disruptions to our operations and loss or unavailability of, or unauthorized access or damage to, inappropriate access to, or use, disclosure or other processing of confidential information and other information maintained or otherwise processed by us on our behalf. Any actual or alleged disruption to, or security breach or incident affecting, our systems or those of our third-party partners could cause significant damage to our reputation, lead to theft or misappropriation of our intellectual property and trade secrets, result in claims, investigations, and other proceedings by or before regulators, and claims, demands and litigation, legal obligations or liability, affect our relationships with our customers, require us to bear significant remediation and other costs and ultimately harm our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, we may be required to incur significant costs to protect against or mitigate damage caused by disruptions or security breaches or incidents. Our costs incurred in efforts to prevent, detect, alleviate or otherwise address cybersecurity or other security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant and such efforts may not be successful. All of these costs, expenses, liability and other matters may not be covered adequately by insurance and may result in an increase in our costs for insurance or insurance not being available to us on economically feasible terms, or at all. Insurers may also deny us coverage as to any future claim. Any of these results could harm our financial condition, business and reputation.
Our revenues, operating results, and cash flows may fluctuate from period to period due to a number of factors, which makes predicting financial results difficult.
Spending on optical communication and laser products is subject to cyclical and uneven fluctuations, which could cause our financial results to fluctuate unpredictably. It can be difficult to predict the degree to which end-customer demand and the seasonality and uneven sales patterns of our OEM partners or other customers will affect our business in the future, particularly as we or they release new or enhanced products. We are also subject to changes in buying patterns among our OEM partners and other customers, including unpredictable changes in their desired inventory levels. Further, if our revenue mix changes, it may also cause results to differ from historical seasonality. Accordingly, our quarterly and annual revenues, operating results, cash flows, and other financial and operating metrics have and may in the future vary significantly in the future. We attempt to identify changes in market conditions as soon as possible; however, the dynamics of the market in which we operate make prediction of and timely reaction to such events difficult. Due to these and other factors, the results of any prior periods should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. Quarterly fluctuations from the above factors may cause our revenue, operating results, and cash flows to underperform in relation to our guidance, long-term financial targets or the expectations of financial analysts or investors, which may cause volatility or decreases in our stock price.
If we have insufficient proprietary rights or if we fail to protect our rights, our business would be harmed.
We seek to protect our products and product roadmaps in part by developing and/or securing proprietary rights relating to those products, including patents, trade secrets, know-how and continuing technological innovation. Protecting against the unauthorized use of our products, technology and other proprietary rights is difficult, time-consuming and expensive; therefore, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may not adequately prevent misappropriation or ensure that others will not develop competitive technologies or products. Other companies may be investigating or developing technologies that are similar to our own. Additionally, there may be existing patents that we are unaware of, which could be pertinent to our business. It is not possible for us to know whether there are patent applications pending that our products might infringe on since these applications are often not made publicly available until a patent is issued or published. It is possible that patents may not be issued from any of our pending applications or those we may file in the future and, if patents are issued, the claims allowed may not be sufficiently broad to deter or prohibit others from making, using or selling products that are similar to ours, or such patents could be invalidated or ruled unenforceable. We do not own patents in every country in which we sell or distribute our products, and thus others may be able to offer identical products in countries where we do not have intellectual property protections. In addition, the laws of some territories in which our products are or may be developed, manufactured or sold, including Europe, Asia-Pacific or Latin America, may not protect our products and intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Any patents issued to us may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. Additionally, we are currently a licensee for a number of third-party technologies including software and intellectual property rights from academic institutions, our competitors and others, and we are required to pay royalties to these licensors for the use thereof. In the future, if such licenses are unavailable or if we are unable to obtain such licenses on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to rely on such third-party technologies which could inhibit our development of new products, impede the sale of some of our current products, substantially increase the cost to provide these products to our customers, and could have a significant adverse impact on our operating results.
We also seek to protect our important trademarks by endeavoring to register them in certain countries. We have not registered our trademarks in every country in which we sell or distribute our products, and thus others may be able to use the same or confusingly similar marks in countries where we do not have trademark registrations. Trademarks associated with the Lumentum brand have been registered in the United States or other jurisdictions, however, the efforts we take to maintain registration and protect trademarks, including the Lumentum brand, may not be sufficient or effective. Although we have registered marks associated with the Lumentum brand, third parties may seek to oppose or otherwise challenge these registrations. There is the possibility that, despite efforts, the scope of the protection obtained for our trademarks, including the Lumentum brand, will be insufficient or that a registration may be deemed invalid or unenforceable in one or more jurisdictions throughout the world.
Further, a breach of our information technology infrastructure could result in the misappropriation of intellectual property, business plans or trade secrets. Any failure of our systems or those of our third-party service providers could result in unauthorized access or acquisition of such proprietary information, and any actual or perceived security breach could cause significant damage to our reputation and adversely impact our relationships with our customers.
Further, governments and courts are considering new issues in intellectual property law with respect to work created by artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology, which could result in different intellectual property rights in development processes, procedures and technologies we create with AI technology, which could have an adverse effect on our business.
Our products may be subject to claims that they infringe the intellectual property rights of others, the resolution of which may be time-consuming and expensive, as well as require a significant amount of resources to prosecute, defend, or make our products non-infringing.
Lawsuits and allegations of patent infringement and violation of other intellectual property rights occur regularly in our industry. We have in the past received, and anticipate that we will receive in the future, notices from third parties claiming that our products infringe on their proprietary rights, with two distinct sources of such claims becoming increasingly prevalent. First, large technology companies, including some of our customers and competitors, are seeking to monetize their patent portfolios and have developed large internal organizations that may approach us with demands to enter into license agreements. Second, patent-holding companies that do not make or sell products (often referred to as “patent trolls”) may claim that our products infringe on their proprietary rights. We respond to these claims in the course of our business operations. The litigation or settlement of these matters, regardless of the merit of the claims, could result in significant expense and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, regardless of whether or not we are successful. If we are unsuccessful, we could be required to expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology or to obtain licenses to the technology that is the subject of the litigation. We may not be successful in such development, or such licenses may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Without such a license, or if we are the subject of an exclusionary order, our ability to make our products could be limited and we could be enjoined from future sales of the infringing product or products, which could adversely affect our revenues and operating results. Additionally, we often indemnify our customers against claims of infringement related to our products and may incur significant expenses to defend against such claims. If we are unsuccessful defending against such claims, we may be required to indemnify our customers against any damages awarded.
We also face risks that third parties may assert trademark infringement claims against us in one or more jurisdictions throughout the world related to our brands and/or other trademarks and our exposure to these risks may increase as a result of acquisitions. The litigation or settlement of these matters, regardless of the merit of the claims, could result in significant expense and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, regardless of whether or not we are successful. If we are unsuccessful, trademark infringement claims against us could result in significant monetary liability or prevent us from selling some or all of our products or services under the challenged trademark. In addition, resolution of claims may require us to alter our products, labels or packaging, license rights from third parties, or cease using the challenged trademark altogether, which could adversely affect our revenues and operating results.
We face certain litigation risks that could harm our business.
We are now, and in the future, may become subject to various legal proceedings and claims that arise in or outside the ordinary course of business. The results of legal proceedings are difficult to predict. Moreover, many of the complaints filed against us may not specify the amount of damages that plaintiffs seek, and we therefore may be unable to estimate the possible range of damages that might be incurred should these lawsuits be resolved against us. While we may be unable to estimate the potential damages arising from such lawsuits, certain of them assert types of claims that, if resolved against us, could give rise to substantial damages or restrictions on or changes to our business. Thus, an unfavorable outcome or settlement of one or more of these lawsuits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Even if these lawsuits are not resolved against us, the uncertainty and expense associated with unresolved lawsuits could seriously harm our business, financial condition and reputation. Litigation is generally costly, time-consuming and disruptive to normal business operations. The costs of defending these lawsuits have been significant in the past, will continue to be costly and may not be covered by our insurance policies. The defense of these lawsuits could also result in continued diversion of our management’s time and attention away from business operations, which could harm our business. For additional discussion regarding litigation, refer to “Part I, Item 3. Legal Proceedings,” and “Note 16. Commitments and Contingencies” to the consolidated financial statements.
Our products incorporate and rely on licensed third-party technology, and if licenses of third-party technology do not continue to be available to us or are not available on terms acceptable to us, our revenues and ability to develop and introduce new products could be adversely affected.
We integrate licensed third-party technology into certain of our products. From time-to-time, we may be required to license additional technology from third parties to develop new products or product enhancements. Third-party licenses may not be available or continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms. The failure to comply with the terms of any license, including free open-source software, may result in our inability to continue to use such license. Our inability to maintain or re-license any third-party licenses required in our products or our inability to obtain third-party licenses necessary to develop new products and product enhancements, could potentially require us to develop substitute technology or obtain substitute technology of lower quality or performance standards or at a greater cost, any of which could delay or prevent product shipment and harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) listing requirements. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, and to integrate our acquisitions into our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant time and operational resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight.
Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement, could cause us to delay reporting of our financial results, be subject to one or more investigations or enforcement actions by state or federal regulatory agencies, stockholder lawsuits or other adverse actions requiring us to incur defense costs, pay fines, settlements or judgments. Any such failures could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock and customer perception of our business may suffer. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on Nasdaq.
Risks Related to Human Capital
Our ability to develop, market and sell products could be harmed if we are unable to retain or hire key personnel.
Our future success depends on our ability to recruit and retain the services of executive, engineering, manufacturing, sales and marketing, and support personnel. The supply of highly qualified individuals, in particular engineers in very specialized technical areas, or salespeople specializing in the service provider, enterprise and commercial laser markets, is limited and competition for such individuals is intense. Competition is particularly intense in certain jurisdictions where we have research and development centers, including Silicon Valley, and for engineering talent generally. Competition is also intense and turnover is high in certain jurisdictions where we or our suppliers have manufacturing facilities. Also, the increase of remote work among employees in our industries has increased employee mobility and turnover, making it difficult for us to retain or hire employees. Further, to attract and retain top talent, we have offered, and we believe we will need to continue to offer, competitive compensation and benefits packages. Job candidates and existing employees often consider the value of the equity awards they receive in connection with their employment. If the perceived value of our equity awards declines, it may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees. There can be no assurance that the programs, initiatives, rewards and recognition that are part of our people strategy will be successful in attracting and retaining the talent necessary to execute on our business plans. In addition, as a result of our past and any future acquisitions and related integration activities, our current and prospective employees may experience uncertainty about their futures that may impair our ability to retain, recruit, or motivate key management, engineering, technical and other personnel. None of our officers or key employees is bound by an employment agreement for any specific term. The loss of the services of any of our key employees, the inability to attract or retain personnel in the future, particularly during the integration of acquisitions, or delays in hiring required personnel and the complexity and time involved in replacing or training new employees, could delay the development and introduction of new products, and negatively impact our ability to market, sell, or support our products. Similarly, the failure to properly manage the necessary knowledge transfer required for employee transitions could impact our ability to meet customers’ needs, to work effectively with customers, suppliers or other third parties, or to maintain industry and innovation leadership. The loss of members of our management team or other key personnel could be disruptive to our business and, were it necessary, it could be difficult to replace such individuals. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel, we may be unable to manage our business effectively, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed.
Our ability to hire and retain employees may be negatively impacted by changes in immigration laws, regulations and procedures.
Foreign nationals who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents constitute an important part of our U.S. workforce, particularly in the areas of engineering and product development. Our ability to hire and retain these workers and their ability to remain and work in the United States are impacted by laws and regulations, as well as by procedures and enforcement practices of various government agencies and global events that may interfere with our ability to hire or retain workers who require visas or entry permits. For example, if the U.S. implements travel restrictions or changes visa requirements, our ability to hire and retain employees could be impacted. Additional changes in immigration laws, regulations or procedures in jurisdictions in which we hire workers may adversely affect our ability to hire or retain such workers, increase our operating expenses and negatively impact our ability to deliver our products and services.
Risks Related to Legal, Regulatory and Compliance
Our sales may decline if we are unable to obtain government authorization to export certain of our products, and we may be subject to legal and regulatory consequences if we do not comply with applicable export control laws and regulations.
Exports of certain of our products are subject to export controls imposed by the U.S. government and administered by the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce. In certain instances, these regulations may require pre-shipment authorization from the administering department. For products subject to the EAR administered by the BIS, the requirement for a license is dependent on the type and end use of the product, the final destination, the identity of the end user and whether a license exception might apply. Virtually all exports of products subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) administered by the Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, require a license. Certain of our fiber optics products are subject to EAR and ITAR. Products and the associated technical data developed and manufactured in our foreign locations are subject to export controls of the applicable foreign nation. There is no assurance that we will be issued these licenses or be granted exceptions, and failure to obtain such licenses or exceptions could limit our ability to sell our products into certain countries and negatively impact our business, financial condition and/or operating results.
The requirement to obtain a license could put us at a competitive disadvantage by restricting our ability to sell products to customers in certain countries or by giving rise to delays or expenses related to obtaining a license. Given the current global political climate, obtaining export licenses can be difficult and time-consuming. Failure to obtain export licenses for these shipments could significantly reduce our revenue and adversely affect our business, financial condition, relationships with our customers and results of operations. Compliance with U.S. government regulations also subjects us to additional fees and costs. The absence of comparable restrictions on competitors in other countries may adversely affect our competitive position.
Further, there is increased attention from the government and the media regarding potential threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy relating to certain foreign entities, particularly Chinese entities, and the imposition of enhanced restrictions or sanctions regarding the export of our products or on specific foreign entities that would restrict their ability to do business with U.S. companies may adversely affect our business. For example, on May 16, 2019, Huawei was added to the Entity List, additional regulatory restrictions were imposed in May and August 2020 and in October 2022 to the Foreign-Produced Direct Product Rule, which impose limitations on the supply of certain U.S. items and product support to Huawei, and FiberHome Technologies was added to the Entity List on May 22, 2020. These actions have resulted in escalating tensions between the U.S. and China and create the possibility that the Chinese government may take additional steps to retaliate against U.S. companies or industries. We currently do not supply any products to Huawei, and we cannot predict whether we will again be able to sell to Huawei. Further, we cannot predict what additional actions the U.S. government may take with respect to Huawei beyond what is described above or to other of our customers, including modifications to or interpretations of Entity List restrictions, export restrictions, tariffs, or other trade limitations or barriers.
Our association with customers that are or become subject to U.S. regulatory scrutiny or export restrictions could negatively impact our business. Governmental actions such as these could subject us to actual or perceived reputational harm among current or prospective investors, suppliers or customers, customers of our customers, other parties doing business with us, or the general public. Any such reputational harm could result in the loss of investors, suppliers or customers, which could harm our business, financial condition, operating results or prospects. Our failure or perceived failure to comply with any of the foregoing legal and regulatory requirements, or other actual or asserted obligations relating to export controls has in the past and could in the future result in increased costs for our products, damage to our reputation, government inquiries, subpoenas, investigations. If we fail to comply with any of these export regulations, we could be subject to civil, criminal, monetary and non-monetary penalties and costly consent decrees, which would lead to disruptions to our business, restrictions on our ability to export products and technology, and adversely affect our business and results of operation.
In addition, certain of our significant customers and suppliers have products that are subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore these customers and suppliers may also be subject to legal and regulatory consequences if they do not comply with applicable export control laws and regulations. Such regulatory consequences could disrupt our ability to obtain components from our suppliers, or to sell our products to major customers, which could significantly increase our costs, reduce our revenue and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Social and environmental responsibility regulations, policies and provisions, as well as customer and investor demands, may make our supply chain more complex and may adversely affect our relationships with customers and investors.
There is an increasing focus on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) matters both in the United States and globally. A number of our customers have adopted, or may adopt, procurement policies that include social and environmental responsibility provisions or requirements that their suppliers should comply with, or they may seek to include such provisions or requirements in their procurement terms and conditions. These legal and regulatory requirements, as well as investor expectations, on corporate environmental and social responsibility practices and disclosure, are subject to change, can be unpredictable, and may be difficult and expensive for us to comply with, given the complexity of our supply chain. If we are unable to comply with, or are unable to cause our suppliers or contract manufacturers to comply with such policies or provisions, or if we are unable to meet the requirements of our customers and investors, a customer may stop purchasing products from us or an investor may sell their shares, and may take legal action against us, which could harm our reputation, revenue and results of operations. We expect to face increasing worldwide regulatory activity relating to climate change in the future. Future compliance with these laws and regulations, as well as meeting related customer and investor expectations, may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our reputation and/or business could be negatively impacted by ESG matters and/or our reporting of such matters.
We have in the past and may in the future communicate certain ESG-related initiatives regarding sustainability matters, fair labor practices, responsible sourcing, and other matters in a Corporate Social Responsibility Report, on our website, in certain filings with the SEC, and elsewhere. These initiatives could be difficult to achieve and costly to implement. In addition, we could be criticized for the timing, scope or nature of these initiatives, or for our disclosures related to such matters, or for our policies and practices related to these matters. Opinions, perspectives, and expectations on sustainability and governance matters may differ amongst our stakeholders and may evolve over time. We have been and may continue to be subject to conflicting expectations and views on various matters, and legal requirements and interpretations may change. Our actual or perceived failure to meet evolving stakeholder expectations, or achieve any required ESG-related initiatives, could negatively impact our reputation or otherwise harm our business.
We may be adversely affected by climate change regulations.
In many of the jurisdictions in which we operate, government bodies are increasingly enacting legislation and regulations in response to potential impacts of climate change. These laws and regulations are mandatory in some cases, and have the potential to impact our operations directly or indirectly as a result of required compliance by our customers or supply chain. Inconsistency of regulations may also affect the costs of compliance with such laws and regulations. Assessments of the potential impact of future climate change legislation, regulation, and international treaties and accords are uncertain, given the wide scope of potential regulatory change in countries in which we operate.
We may incur increased capital expenditures resulting from required compliance with revised or new legislation or regulations, added costs to purchase raw materials, lower profits from sales of our products, increased insurance premiums and deductibles, changes in competitive position relative to industry peers, changes to profit or loss arising from increased or decreased demand for goods produced by us, or changes in costs of goods sold, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide including with respect to environmental matters, securities laws, privacy and data protection, compliance with which could increase our expenses and harm our operating results.
Our operations and our products are subject to various federal, state and foreign laws and regulations, including those governing pollution and protection of human health and the environment in the jurisdictions in which we operate or sell our products. These laws and regulations govern, among other things, wastewater discharges and the handling and disposal of hazardous materials in our products. Our failure to comply with current and future environmental or health or safety requirements could cause us to incur substantial costs, including significant capital expenditures, to comply with such environmental laws and regulations and to clean up contaminated properties that we own or operate. Such clean-up or compliance obligations could result in disruptions to our operations. Additionally, if we are found to be in violation of these laws, we could be subject to governmental fines or civil liability for damages resulting from such violations. These costs could have an adverse impact on our financial condition or operating results.
From time-to-time new regulations are enacted, and it is difficult to anticipate how such regulations will be implemented and enforced. We continue to evaluate the necessary steps for compliance with regulations as they are enacted. These regulations include, for example, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (“REACH”), the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (“RoHS”) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (“WEEE”) enacted in the European Union which regulate the use of certain hazardous substances in, and require the collection, reuse and recycling of waste from, certain products we manufacture. These regulations and similar legislation may require us to re-design our products to ensure compliance with the applicable standards, for example by requiring the use of different types of materials, which could have an adverse impact on the performance of our products, add greater testing lead-times for product introductions or other similar effects. We believe we comply with all such legislation where our products are sold, and we continuously monitor these laws and the regulations being adopted under them to determine our responsibilities.
In addition, pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC has promulgated rules requiring disclosure regarding the use of certain “conflict minerals” that are mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries and procedures regarding a manufacturer’s efforts to prevent the sourcing of such minerals. We may face challenges with government regulators and our customers and suppliers if we are unable to sufficiently make any required determination that the metals used in our products are conflict free. Complying with these disclosure requirements involves substantial diligence efforts to determine the source of any conflict minerals used in our products and may require third-party auditing of our diligence process. These efforts may demand internal resources that would otherwise be directed towards operations activities.
Since our supply chain is complex, we may face reputational challenges if we are unable to sufficiently verify the origins of all minerals used in our products. Additionally, if we are unable to satisfy those customers who require that all of the components of our products are determined to be conflict free, they may choose a competitor’s products which could materially impact our financial condition and operating results.
We are also subject to laws and regulations relating to our collection, use, protection and other processing of personal data of our employees, customers and others. These laws and regulations are subject to frequent modifications and updates and require ongoing supervision. For example, the European Union adopted the GDPR, which became effective in May 2018, establishing stringent requirements for data protection in Europe and providing for substantial penalties for noncompliance. Brazil passed the General Data Protection Law, which became effective in August 2020, to regulate processing of personal data of individuals. It also provides for substantial penalties for noncompliance. Additionally, California has the CCPA, which went into effect on January 1, 2020, and which was amended and supplemented by California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), which went into effect on January 1, 2023. Other legislation relating to privacy, data protection and cybersecurity has been proposed or adopted in several other states, including the enactment of legislation similar to the CCPA and CPRA enacted in numerous states. Aspects of the CCPA, CPRA and these other laws and regulations, as well as their enforcement, remain unclear. The U.S. federal government also is contemplating federal privacy legislation. The effects and impact of these or other laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and cybersecurity are potentially significant and may require us to modify practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in efforts to comply. Laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and cybersecurity continue to evolve in various jurisdictions, with existing laws and regulations subject to new and differing interpretations and new laws and regulations being proposed and adopted. It is possible that our practices may be deemed not to comply with those legal requirements relating to privacy, data protection and cybersecurity that apply to us now or in the future.
Further, the United Kingdom has implemented legislation similar to the GDPR, including the UK Data Protection Act and legislation referred to as the UK GDPR, which provides for substantial penalties, similar to the GDPR. Aspects of United Kingdom data protection law remains unclear following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, including with respect to data transfers between the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions. The United Kingdom government has adopted legislation providing for targeted amendments to United Kingdom data protection law that has caused United Kingdom data protection laws and regulations to deviate from the GDPR in certain respects and that may impact the European Commission’s adequacy determination regarding the United Kingdom data protection regime that generally has permitted personal data to be transferred between the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and the United Kingdom. We cannot fully predict how the Data Protection Act, the UK GDPR, and other United Kingdom data protection laws or regulations may develop in the medium to longer term nor the effects of divergent laws and guidance regarding data transfers. We may find it necessary to make further changes to our handling of personal data of residents of the EEA, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, each of which may require us to incur significant costs and expenses.
New technology trends, such as AI, require us to keep pace with evolving regulations and industry standards. In the United States, the European Union, and China there are various current and proposed regulatory frameworks relating to the development and use of AI in products and services. We expect that the legal and regulatory environment relating to emerging technologies such as AI will continue to develop and could increase the cost of doing business, and create compliance risks and potential liability, all which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our failure or perceived failure to comply with any of the foregoing legal and regulatory requirements, or other actual or asserted obligations relating to privacy, data protection or cybersecurity could result in increased costs for our products, monetary penalties, damage to our reputation, government inquiries, subpoenas, investigations and other legal proceedings, legal claims, demands and litigation and other obligations and liabilities. Furthermore, the legal and regulatory requirements that are applicable to our business are subject to change from time-to-time, which increases our monitoring and compliance costs and the risk that we may fall out of compliance or for this to be alleged to have occurred. Additionally, we may be required to ensure that our suppliers comply with applicable laws and regulations. If we or our suppliers fail or are perceived to fail to comply with such laws or regulations, we could face sanctions for such noncompliance, and our customers may refuse to purchase our products, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Our stock price may be volatile and may decline regardless of our operating performance.
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “LITE.” The market price of our common stock has fluctuated in the past and may fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors, some of which may be beyond our control and may often be unrelated or disproportionate to our operating performance. These include:
• general economic and market conditions and other external factors;
• changes in global economic conditions, including those resulting from trade tensions, rising inflation, and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange and interest rates;
• speculation in the press or investment community about our strategic position;
• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;
• changes in earnings estimates by securities analysts or our ability to meet those estimates;
• the operating and stock price performance of other comparable companies;
• a shift in our investor base;
• the financial performance of other companies in our industry, and of our customers;
• general market, economic and political conditions, including market conditions in the semiconductor industry;
• pandemics and similar major health concerns;
• success or failure of our business strategy;
• credit market fluctuations which could negatively impact our ability to obtain financing as needed;
• changes in governmental regulation including taxation and tariff policies;
• changes in global political tensions that may affect business with our customers, such as trade wars caused by or resulting in the imposition of heightened or scheduled proposed tariffs or the possibility of future tariffs;
• announcements by us, competitors, customers, or our contract manufacturers of significant acquisitions or dispositions, strategic alliances or overall movement toward industry consolidations among our customers and competitors;
• investor perception of us and our industry;
• changes in recommendations by securities analysts;
• changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
• differences, whether actual or perceived, between our corporate social responsibility and ESG practices and disclosure and government or customer, business partner, investor or other stakeholder expectations;
• litigation or disputes in which we may become involved;
• overall market fluctuations;
• issuances of our shares upon conversion of some or all of the convertible notes; and
• sales of our shares by our officers, directors, or significant stockholders.
In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many technology companies. Stock prices of many technology companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In the past, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Servicing our existing and future indebtedness, including the 2026 Notes, 2028 Notes and 2029 Notes (collectively referred to as the “convertible notes”) may require a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow or the ability to raise the funds necessary to satisfy our obligations under the convertible notes and our current and future indebtedness may limit our operating flexibility or otherwise affect our business.
Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on or to refinance our indebtedness under the convertible notes , or to make cash payments in connection with any conversion of the convertible notes or upon any fundamental change if holders of the applicable series of the convertible notes require us to repurchase their convertible notes for cash, depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service our indebtedness and make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring indebtedness or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations. In addition, our existing and future indebtedness could have important consequences to our stockholders and significant effects on our business. For example, it could:
• make it more difficult for us to satisfy our debt obligations under the convertible notes ;
• increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
• require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes;
• limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate;
• restrict us from exploiting business opportunities;
• place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less indebtedness; and
• limit our availability to borrow additional funds for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our business strategy or other general purposes.
Transactions relating to our convertible notes may dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders, or may otherwise depress the price of our common stock.
Following our entry into the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of September 25, 2024, to the 2026 Indenture and our irrevocable settlement method elections made on September 25, 2024 with respect to the 2028 Notes and 2029 Notes, if the convertible notes are converted by holders, we are required to satisfy our conversion obligation with respect to the convertible notes by delivering cash equal to the principal amount of such converted convertible notes and cash, shares of common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of common stock, at our election, with respect to any conversion value in excess thereof. If we elect to deliver common stock upon conversion of the convertible notes, it would dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders. Any sales in the public market of the common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, certain holders of the convertible notes may engage in short selling to hedge their position in the convertible notes. Anticipated future conversions of the convertible notes into shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.
We do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock.
We do not currently expect to pay dividends on our common stock. The payment of any dividends to our stockholders in the future, and the timing and amount thereof, if any, is within the discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors’ decisions regarding the payment of dividends will depend on many factors, such as our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements, potential debt service obligations or restrictive covenants, industry practice, legal requirements, regulatory constraints and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant. As a result, the success of an investment in our common stock will depend on future appreciation in its value. There is no guarantee that our common stock will maintain its value or appreciate in value.
In addition, because we are a holding company with no material direct operations, we are dependent on loans, dividends and other payments from our operating subsidiaries to generate the funds necessary to pay dividends on our common stock. However, our operating subsidiaries’ ability to make such distributions will be subject to their operating results, cash requirements and financial condition and the applicable provisions of Delaware law that may limit the amount of funds available for distribution. Our ability to pay cash dividends may also be subject to covenants and financial ratios related to existing or future indebtedness, and other agreements with third parties.
Certain provisions in our charter and Delaware corporate law could hinder a takeover attempt.
We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law which prohibits us, under some circumstances, from engaging in business combinations with some stockholders for a specified period of time without the approval of the holders of substantially all of our outstanding voting stock. Such provisions could delay or impede the removal of incumbent directors and could make more difficult a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving us, even if such events could be beneficial, in the short-term, to the interests of our stockholders. In addition, such provisions could limit the price that some investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions providing for the limitations of liability and indemnification of our directors and officers, allowing vacancies on our board of directors to be filled by the vote of a majority of the remaining directors, granting our board of directors the authority to establish additional series of preferred stock and to designate the rights, preferences and privileges of such shares (commonly known as “blank check preferred”) and providing that our stockholders can take action only at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders, which may only be called by the chairman of the board of directors, the chief executive officer or the board of directors. These provisions may also have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or changes in our management.
Our bylaws designate Delaware courts as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could discourage lawsuits against us or our directors and officers.
Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the state or federal courts of Delaware are the sole and exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting breach of fiduciary duty, or other wrongdoing, by our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders; any action asserting a claim against Lumentum pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws; any action asserting a claim against Lumentum governed by the internal affairs doctrine; or any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws. This exclusive forum provision may limit the ability of our stockholders to bring a claim in a different judicial forum that such stockholders find favorable for disputes with us or our directors or officers, which may discourage such lawsuits against us or our directors and officers.
Alternatively, if a court outside of Delaware were to find this exclusive forum provision inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings described above, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
