SEC Form 10-K Filing Report

Company: WESTERN DIGITAL CORP
CIK: 106040
SIC Code: 3572
Filing Date: 2012-08-20 00:00:00
Market Capitalization: 11205913.764541626

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
General
We are an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage products that enable people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. We design and make storage devices, networking equipment and home entertainment products under the WD, HGST and G-Technology brands. We serve each of the primary markets addressing storage opportunities - enterprise and cloud data centers, client, consumer electronics, backup, the internet and other emerging markets such as automotive and home and small office networking.
We operate our global business through two independent subsidiaries due to regulatory requirements-WD and HGST, both long-time innovators in the storage industry.
Our principal products today are hard drives that use one or more rotating magnetic disks (“magnetic media”) to store and allow fast access to data. Hard drives are today’s primary storage medium for digital content. Our hard drives are used in desktop and notebook computers, corporate and multiple types of data centers, home entertainment equipment and stand-alone consumer storage devices. Our other products include solid-state drives, home entertainment and networking products and software applications for smart phones and tablets.
We have achieved 10 years of consistent profitable growth, with revenues up 19% and earnings per share up 34% on a compounded annual growth rate basis.
We have one of the industry’s largest patent portfolios with more than 6,000 active patents worldwide.
WD was founded in 1970 as a specialized semiconductor manufacturer and is headquartered in Irvine, California. Since entering the storage industry in 1988, WD has been a technology standard-setter in the industry’s highest volume markets. Its reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives are deployed in a wide range of computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics (“CE”) applications, as well as in its own storage systems as the center of the connected home and in small business markets. WD also connects people with their content through WD branded network products, media players and software solutions.
HGST, known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies before its acquisition by Western Digital in March, 2012, was founded in 2003 through the combination of the hard drive businesses of IBM, the inventor of the hard drive, and Hitachi, Ltd (“Hitachi”), and is headquartered in San Jose, California. HGST develops advanced hard drives, providing high value storage for a broad range of host systems in the enterprise, cloud, personal computing, CE markets; enterprise-class solid state drives and innovative external storage solutions used to store, preserve and manage the world’s most valued data. For a further description of our acquisition of HGST in March 2012, see “Acquisition” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The global market for digital data storage devices is growing, driven by several factors including:
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Proliferation of data. The proliferation of consumer electronics and computing devices is driving rapid growth in the creation, sharing and retention of high definition video, high resolution images, e-mail and large data files. Recognizing these trends, we believe that the annual growth of petabytes stored will be approximately 33% between calendar 2011 and calendar 2016.
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Evolution in data access and distribution. Increasing demand for data access and distribution anytime and anywhere, facilitated by rapidly improving network accessibility and higher bandwidth, is powering a dramatic increase in the need for data storage at both the local storage level and in the off-site, network-accessed or “cloud” level.
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Advancements in storage devices. Technological improvements in the capacity, size, performance, connectivity and power requirements of storage devices continue to meet the demand for higher density and higher performance storage.
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Rapid growth in consumers’ use of mobile computing and storage and use of digital content in the home.
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Adoption of tiered storage architectures. With the significant increase in data storage demand, enterprises are adopting tiered storage architectures to improve storage performance and manage the costs of this growth. Tiered storage architecture optimizes data storage to the most appropriate storage device, driving increasing demand for high capacity and high performance hard drives, as well as flash-based solid state storage.
WD and HGST have strong and collaborative relationships with the full range of customers who are addressing these opportunities. These include personal computer (“PC”) and Mac™ providers, storage subsystem suppliers, and Internet and social media infrastructure players. We sell our products to original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), distributors, resellers and consumers. WD has a strong brand and heritage with consumers with our WD Branded Products business; HGST enjoys the same with Mac™ users through our G-Technology branded products.
We believe we are at the forefront of helping our customers meet the evolving storage needs of end users. Examples of these efforts include low-profile hard drives to address the emerging thin and light UltrabookTM PC market - our Connected Home innovations and our SSD drives for the high performance enterprise market. In addition, WD and HGST are both leading providers of enterprise-class hard drives that serve the fast-growing cloud computing market for storage.
Business Strategy
Our focused business strategy is to be an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage products that enable people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. We strive to achieve our business strategy through these elements:
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provide compelling, high quality storage products with effective technology deployment, high efficiency, flexibility and speed; and
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strategically align our investments in profitable and growing markets such as mobility and cloud computing.
We believe our strategy provides these benefits:
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distinguishes us in the dynamic and competitive storage industry;
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provides value to our suppliers, employees, customers and shareholders;
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allows us to achieve consistent financial performance, including strong returns on invested capital and cash flow generation; and
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provides continued diversification of our storage product portfolio and entry into additional growing adjacent markets.
Industry
Storage continues to be critical to the large amounts of digital content being created; we believe that the volume of petabytes stored will grow approximately 33% annually from calendar 2011 to calendar 2016.
The PC market, including notebook and desktop PCs, comprises the client market, the highest volume market for our products. In calendar 2011, the PC market represented 73% of our unit shipments.
Increasingly, data storage needs are being driven by mobile and cloud-based applications such as video, photography and audio on tablets, smart phones and other handheld devices. The growth in the number of computing users in the world is unabated, creating more usage and more digital content to be stored. Cloud computing applications are especially noteworthy given that they create multiple copies of photos, videos and other content to ensure efficient distribution and security.
We believe unit volumes in the hard drive industry were down 5% in calendar year 2011 from calendar 2010 as historic flooding in Thailand shuttered approximately 45% of the industry’s assembly capacity and a majority of its supply chain between mid-October 2011 and February 2012. Each industry market was negatively affected by the flooding, with branded products suffering the greatest setbacks.
Enterprise
We believe shipments into the enterprise market of the storage industry increased 17% in calendar 2011 from calendar 2010. Enterprise storage devices consist of performance and capacity hard drives, as well as performance solid-state drives. All of these devices are used in multiple types of enterprise datacenters that provide storage for a range of cloud and corporate applications. Within datacenters, these drives are typically used in workstations, computer servers and storage systems.
Performance applications are essential to the operations of an enterprise and require the greatest capabilities and reliability in hard drives and solid-state drives. This class of drives is the most highly engineered product line in the storage industry. Cloud computing is the trend towards centralization of information storage and delivery of Internet-based services. Cloud computing delivers shared resources, software and information to users on demand on a multitude of devices, such as client PCs, tablets and smart phones. Most cloud computing models consist of services delivered through large data centers with enterprise-class servers. The infrastructure to support cloud computing storage needs is driving the demand for enterprise capacity hard drives and solid-state drives.
The enterprise market also consists of solid-state drives for use in embedded applications, such as network communications and industrial, medical, military and aerospace applications, all of which require high durability and long life cycles.
We believe that industry unit shipments of performance and capacity hard drives represented 53% and 44%, respectively, of enterprise hard drives shipped in calendar 2011. Increasingly, solid state drives are also being deployed in the performance drives of the enterprise market, representing 3% of the enterprise units shipped in calendar 2011.
Client: Desktop and Notebook PCs
Client storage devices consist of internal hard drives and solid-state drives for desktop and mobile PCs. We believe industry unit shipments of mobile hard drives into the client space declined 3% in calendar 2011 from calendar 2010, while volumes of desktop hard drives declined 13% in calendar 2011 from calendar 2010.
Desktop PCs are intended for regular use at single locations in homes and businesses, as well as in multi-user educational and government networks. Mobile PCs, primarily notebook computers, are used both in and away from homes and businesses. We believe that the demand for client computer hard drives and solid-state drives will grow primarily due to increasing demand in emerging countries, continued corporate refreshes, the proliferation of digital content and changing requirements for increasing performance, small size and low power consumption.
Mobile hard drives for notebook PCs, the industry’s highest volume market, have traditionally been in a 2.5-inch form factor with a 9.5mm height. There is a trend toward thinner, lighter devices with extended battery life and low power consumption. To support this trend, the storage industry is developing smaller form factors, such as slimmer 2.5-inch hard drives and hybrid drives. A hybrid drive is a form of a hard drive that incorporates NAND flash technology in the caching function. Hybrid drives specifically designed for mobile computing will combine the power and performance of solid state drives with the capacity, affordability and availability attributes of hard drives.
Consumer Electronics
Hard drives for CE products are primarily used in digital video recorders (“DVRs”), game consoles and security video recording systems. We believe hard drive unit shipments into the CE market decreased 5% in calendar 2011 from calendar 2010.
DVRs offer greater consumer viewing flexibility and enhanced capabilities such as pausing live television, simplifying the process of recording and cataloging recorded television programs and quickly forwarding or returning to any section of a recorded television program. Game consoles enable users to save games, movies, music, pictures and other user generated content. We believe growth in the CE market will continue to create demand for higher capacity hard drives.
Branded Products
External storage devices supplement the storage space of PC systems for home and small office networks. They are ideally suited to back up data on internal drives because of their portability and security features. We believe hard drive shipments into the branded products market increased 5% in calendar 2011 from calendar 2010.
Media players connect to a user’s television or home theater system and play digital movies, music and photos from an integrated hard drive, Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) mass storage devices or content services accessed over the Internet. There is a growing need for consumers to play and view their personal stored digital content and premium content from the Internet on their television and home theater system consistent with the growing trend to digitize rich content and data.
Home networking is an emerging market in the branded products space as consumers seek to address overload problems resulting from the proliferation of devices simultaneously using home networks.
Other Market Opportunities
We regularly review opportunities to apply our knowledge of data storage technology to markets that we do not currently serve. Based on our significant investments, we believe we have the technology building blocks to increase our overall market penetration and be a full-line data storage solutions supplier. Consistent with our measured and deliberate approach to new market entries in the recent past, our approach to additional new markets will be based on a careful assessment of the risks, rewards, requirements and profit potential of such actions.
Products
We offer a broad line of storage devices. Our hard drives currently include 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form factors, capacities ranging from 30 gigabytes (“GB”) to 4 terabytes (“TB”), nominal rotation speeds up to 15,000 revolutions per minute (“RPM”), and interfaces such as Advanced Technology Attachment (“ATA”) and Serial Attached SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) (“SAS”). In addition, we offer a family of hard drives specifically designed to consume substantially less power than standard drives, utilizing our WD GreenPower Technologytm. Our solid-state drives currently include 2.5-inch, mSATA, MO-297 and CompactFlash form factors, capacities ranging from 128 MB to 400 GB, and interfaces such as SAS, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (“SATA”) and Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (“PATA”). We also participate in the mobile computing market of smart phones and tablets with standalone Western Digital software applications such as WD Photos and WD2go for iOS, Android and Windows Phone platforms.
Enterprise Storage Products. Enterprise storage products consist of hard drives for performance enterprise and capacity enterprise, as well as solid-state drives for embedded applications. Our hard drive enterprise unit shipments were 16 million, 10 million and 9 million for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Our enterprise storage products include:
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HGST Ultrastar® capacity drives provide enterprise class reliability at the lowest cost per GB and are primarily for use in data storage systems, in tiered storage models and where data must be stored reliably for years and delivered across enterprise;
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HGST Ultrastar® performance drives are optimized for performance applications. Ultrastar® large form factor drives provide high performance, high capacity storage, primarily for data storage systems. Ultrastar® small form factor drives provide a range of capacity and performance levels primarily for use in enterprise servers, supporting high volume on-line transactions, data analysis and other enterprise applications. The Ultrastar® SSD400S is designed for the ultimate performance storage tier, with up to 400 GB of high performance, high endurance SLC NAND Flash;
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WD® RE family of hard drives is designed for capacity storage enterprise applications requiring high performance and high reliability;
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WD SiliconDrive® family of solid-state drives features fast read/write speeds in high capacities and is designed for embedded system OEM applications that require high performance and reliability with a long product life; and
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WD® XE (formerly WD S25) hard drives are designed for performance enterprise server and storage applications such as data centers and large data arrays.
Client: Desktop and Notebook PCs. Client compute products consist of hard drives and solid-state drives for desktop and mobile PCs. Our hard drive client compute unit shipments were 150 million, 151 million and 147 million for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Our client compute storage products include:
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HGST Deskstar®, WD Black™, WD Blue™ and WD Green™ hard drives are designed for use in desktop PCs requiring high performance, reliability and capacity with various attributes such as low cost per gigabytes, quiet acoustics, low power consumption and protection against shocks;
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HGST Travelstar®, WD Black™, WD Blue™ and WD Green™ hard drives are designed for use in mobile PCs requiring high performance, reliability and capacity with various ranges of performance and attributes such as low power consumption for extended battery life and cooler operation, quiet acoustics and protection against shocks;
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WD Red™ drives are an innovative line of SATA hard drives specifically designed for home and small office network attached storage (“NAS”) systems and optimized for energy efficiency and reliability; and
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WD VelociRaptor® hard drives are designed for advanced single-user computing systems such as professional workstations for video editing and CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) applications and high-end desktop PC applications including gaming, which require high performance and high reliability.
Consumer Electronics Products. Consumer electronic products are used in consumer electronics, such as DVRs, gaming consoles, set top boxes, camcorders and entertainment and navigation systems in automobiles. Our consumer electronics unit shipments were 17 million, 21 million and 17 million for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Our consumer electronics products include:
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HGST Cinemaster® drives are designed and optimized for video streaming applications, such as set-top-boxes, DVRs and surveillance. They are offered in both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors with a broad range of performance, acoustics and power consumption characteristics;
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HGST Endurastar® drives are optimized to provide reliable storage and features within the rigors of the automotive environment, including navigation, telematics, in-car entertainment and vehicle relational management;
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HGST iVDR® drives, or Versatile Device for removable usage, are large-capacity disk drive removable media, in both iVDR® (Nonsecure) and iVDRS® (Secure) formats. iVDR® drives are designed to provide a standard portable format with optional content protection for content such as movies, music and software across multiple platforms; and
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WD® AV drives deliver the characteristics CE manufacturers seek most, which are quiet operation, low operating temperature, low power consumption specifications, high reliability and optimized streaming capabilities.
Branded Products. Branded products consist of hard drives embedded into WD®-, HGST- and G-Technology-branded external storage appliances with capacities ranging from 500 GB to 12 TB and using interfaces such as USB 2.0, USB 3.0, external SATA, FireWiretm and Ethernet network connections. Certain branded products models include software that assists customers with backup, remote access and management of digital content. Branded products also include our home entertainment and networking products. Our branded products unit shipments were 18 million, 25 million and 21 million for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Our branded products include:
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G-Technology drives offer a variety of desktop and mobile models specifically designed for the creative professional with seamless integration into a MacTM environment;
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HGST X-Series™ drives provide a high quality, reliable storage for backup and capacity expansion in both mobile and desktop form factors;
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WD My Passport® and WD Elementstm Portable family of storage appliances are designed for external portability weighing less than one-half of a pound;
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HGST TouroTM family of storage appliances are designed to keep digital content secure while providing portable storage for desktops and notebooks;
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WD My Book® and WD Elementstm Desktop family of storage appliances are designed to add external capacity to desktops, notebooks and DVRs and connect to networks to simplify storage for consumers;
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WD Sentinel™ is a complete network storage solution designed to meet the needs of small-to-medium sized businesses (“SMBs”);
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WD TV® media players connect to a user’s television or home theater system and play digital movies, music and photos from an integrated hard drive, network hard drives, any of our WD®-branded external hard drives, other USB mass storage devices or content services accessed over the Internet;
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WD Livewiretm enables consumers to use their existing electrical outlets to extend secure and reliable high-speed Internet connections throughout the home; and
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WD My Net™ is a family of wireless home networking products, designed specifically to accelerate movies, video and gaming, which delivers a premium high-definition entertainment experience. The My Net™ family debuts WD’s exclusive FasTrack™ technology that instantly detects entertainment traffic on the network and prioritizes it for gaming consoles, media players, smart TVs, tablets, smart phones, computers and other Wi-Fi connected devices.
Research and Development
We devote substantial resources to the development of new products and the improvement of existing products. We focus our engineering efforts on coordinating our product design and manufacturing processes to bring our products to market in a cost-effective and timely manner. Research and development expenses totaled $1.1 billion, $703 million and $611 million in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. For a discussion of risks related to our development of new products, see

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
The 2011 severe flooding in Thailand, which inundated our Thailand manufacturing facilities and resulted in the temporary suspension of all production in those facilities, has affected, and will continue to affect, our near-term business, results of operations and financial condition.
As previously disclosed, the 2011 severe flooding in Thailand resulted in the temporary suspension of production in all of our Thailand manufacturing facilities. While production has resumed in our Thailand facilities, material risks and uncertainties as a result of flooding remain, including the following:
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Under-Absorption of Assets. Our hard disk drive production capacity has reached a point where we can adequately meet anticipated customer demand; however, industry demand has not returned to pre-flood levels. In addition, we lost market share as a result of the flooding due to the impact on our manufacturing capabilities relative to that of our competitors and due to certain of our competitors entering into long-term purchase agreements with customers. If industry demand does not return to pre-flood levels, or if we are not able to regain market share, our costs will be impacted negatively by significant under-absorption of our assets and infrastructure and our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.
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Component Costs. Due to component supply constraints as a result of the flooding, the cost of certain component materials has increased and may continue to increase. During the flooding we entered into certain volume commitment agreements with certain of our component suppliers, and since the flooding we and our suppliers have taken certain steps to diversify the geographical footprint of our supplier manufacturing base, each of which has resulted and may continue to result in the cost of certain components increasing over pre-flood levels. An increase in the cost of component materials that cannot be recovered through increased pricing could adversely affect our operating results.
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Restored Equipment. The equipment we use is highly sophisticated and complex. We have attempted to repair or refurbish certain equipment damaged in the flooding; however, the remaining useful life of, and costs associated with maintaining, such equipment is uncertain. If repaired or refurbished equipment does not last as long as planned, we may be required to increase capital expenditures to replace such equipment, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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Insurance. We maintain insurance coverage that provides property and business interruption coverage in the event of losses arising from flooding. The claim process is in its early stages and we are unable to predict how much of our losses will be covered by insurance. It is reasonably possible that the final losses that we incur in connection with the flood damage and our business interruption will exceed the limits of our insurance policies. We also cannot estimate the timing of the proceeds we will ultimately receive under our insurance policies, and there may be a substantial delay between our incurrence of losses and our recovery under our insurance policies.
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New Product Development. The flooding of our Thailand facilities and suspension of operations delayed or adversely impacted our development and introduction of new products and technologies. If our competitors are able to gain an advantage in implementing new technologies and introducing new products, it may reduce our sales and adversely affect our results of operations.
In connection with obtaining the regulatory approvals required to complete our acquisition of HGST, we agreed to divest certain assets to Toshiba, and the completion of the divestiture is subject to risks and uncertainties, and our business will be adversely affected in the event we fail to successfully execute the divestiture on a timely basis or at all.
In connection with obtaining the regulatory approvals required to complete our acquisition of HGST, we agreed, subject to review by regulatory agencies in certain jurisdictions, to divest certain assets to Toshiba that will expand Toshiba’s capacity to manufacture 3.5-inch hard drives for the desktop, consumer electronics and near-line (business critical) applications. While this divestiture transaction closed in May 2012, certain steps remain before we will have successfully completed the transfer of the divested assets to Toshiba as provided in the purchase agreement. There is no guarantee that we will complete the divestiture to Toshiba on a timely basis or at all. If we are not able to complete the divestiture on a timely basis or at all, the jurisdictions that conditioned their approval of the HGST acquisition on the divestiture could impose certain obligations on us, including a requirement that we divest the assets subject to the Toshiba divestiture (or other assets) to another purchaser, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to realize the anticipated benefits from our acquisition of HGST on a timely basis, or at all, our business and financial condition may be adversely affected.
In connection with obtaining the regulatory approvals required to complete the acquisition of HGST, we agreed to certain conditions required by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”), including adopting measures to keep HGST as an independent competitor until MOFCOM agrees otherwise (with the minimum period being two years). We are working closely with MOFCOM to finalize an operations plan that is expected to outline in more detail the conditions of the competitive requirement. Compliance with these measures limits our ability to integrate HGST’s business with our business, and we do not expect to achieve significant operating expense synergies while the conditions remain in place, cause delays or uncertainties in making decisions about the combined business, and result in significant costs (including additional capital expenditures relative to our competitors as a result of maintaining separate research and development functions) or require changes in business practices, each of which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. In the event we fail to comply with these measures, the time during which we are required to comply with the condition could be extended and we could be subject to other conditions or penalties that could adversely affect the business.
In addition to the requirement to maintain HGST as an independent competitor, we may also fail to realize the anticipated benefits from our acquisition of HGST on a timely basis, or at all, for a variety of other reasons, including the following:
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difficulties entering new markets or manufacturing in new geographies where we have no or limited direct prior experience;
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failure to identify or assess the magnitude of certain liabilities we are assuming in the acquisition, which could result in unexpected litigation or regulatory exposure, unfavorable accounting treatment, unexpected increases in taxes due, a loss of anticipated tax benefits or other adverse effects on our business, operating results or financial condition;
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failure to realize the anticipated increase in our revenues due to the acquisition if customers adjust their purchasing decisions and allocate more market share to our competitors;
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failure to successfully manage relationships with our supplier and customer base;
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difficulties, when allowed, integrating and harmonizing business systems; and
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the loss of key employees.
If we are not able to successfully manage these issues, the anticipated benefits and efficiencies of the HGST acquisition may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected, and our ability to compete, our revenue and gross margins and our results of operations may be adversely affected.
The acquisition of HGST may result in significant restructuring charges that could adversely affect the financial results of the combined company.
The financial results of the combined company may be adversely affected by cash expenses and non-cash accounting charges incurred in connection with the combination. The amount and timing of these possible charges are not yet known. The price of our common stock following the acquisition could decline to the extent the combined company’s financial results are materially affected by these charges.
The financing of the HGST acquisition may have an adverse impact on our liquidity, limit our flexibility in responding to other business opportunities and increase our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions.
Our acquisition of HGST was financed by a combination of the issuance of additional shares of our common stock, the use of a significant amount of our cash on hand and the incurrence of a significant amount of indebtedness. The use of cash on hand and indebtedness to finance the acquisition reduced our liquidity and could cause us to place more reliance on cash flow from operations to pay principal and interest on our debt, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow for operations and development activities. The credit agreement we entered into with respect to the indebtedness we incurred to finance the acquisition contains restrictive covenants, including financial covenants requiring us to maintain specified financial ratios. Our ability to meet these restrictive covenants can be affected by events beyond our control. The indebtedness and these restrictive covenants will also have the effect, among other things, of impairing our ability to obtain additional financing, if needed, limiting our flexibility in the conduct of our business and making us more vulnerable to economic downturns and adverse competitive and industry conditions. In addition, a breach of the restrictive covenants could result in an event of default under the credit agreement, which, if not cured or waived, could result in the indebtedness becoming immediately due and payable and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.
Adverse global economic conditions and credit market uncertainty could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Adverse global economic conditions and uncertain conditions in the credit market have had, and in the future could have, a significant adverse effect on our company and on the storage industry as a whole. Some of the risks and uncertainties we face as a result of these global economic and credit market conditions include the following:
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Volatile Demand. Negative or uncertain global economic conditions could cause many of our direct and indirect customers to delay or reduce their purchases of our products and systems containing our products. In addition, many of our customers rely on credit financing to purchase our products. If negative conditions in the global credit markets prevent our customers’ access to credit, product orders may decrease, which could result in lower revenue. Likewise, if our suppliers, sub-suppliers and sub-contractors (collectively referred to as “suppliers”) face challenges in obtaining credit, in selling their products or otherwise in operating their businesses, they may be unable to offer the materials we use to manufacture our products. These actions could result in reductions in our revenue and increased operating costs, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Restructuring Activities. If demand slows significantly as a result of a deterioration in economic conditions or otherwise, we may need to execute restructuring activities to realign our cost structure with softening demand. The occurrence of restructuring activities could result in impairment charges and other expenses, which could adversely impact our results of operations or financial condition.
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Credit Volatility and Loss of Receivables. We extend credit and payment terms to some of our customers. In addition to ongoing credit evaluations of our customers’ financial condition, we traditionally seek to mitigate our credit risk by purchasing credit insurance on certain of our accounts receivable balances. As a result of the continued uncertainty and volatility in global economic conditions, however, we may find it increasingly difficult to be able to insure these accounts receivable. We could suffer significant losses if a customer whose accounts receivable we have not insured, or have underinsured, fails and is unable to pay us. Additionally, negative or uncertain global economic conditions increase the risk that if a customer whose accounts receivable we have insured fails, the financial condition of the insurance carrier for such customer account may have also deteriorated such that it cannot cover our loss. A significant loss of an accounts receivable that we cannot recover through credit insurance would have a negative impact on our financial results.
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Impairment Charges. Negative or uncertain global economic conditions could result in circumstances, such as a sustained decline in our stock price and market capitalization or a decrease in our forecasted cash flows such that they are insufficient, indicating that the carrying value of our long-lived assets or goodwill may be impaired. If we are required to record a significant charge to earnings in our consolidated financial statements because an impairment of our long-lived assets or goodwill is determined, our results of operations will be adversely affected.
We participate in a highly competitive industry that is subject to the risk of declining average selling prices (“ASPs”), volatile gross margins and significant shifts in market share, all of which could adversely affect our operating results.
Demand for our hard drives depends in large part on the demand for systems manufactured by our customers and on storage upgrades to existing systems. The demand for systems has been volatile in the past and often has had an exaggerated effect on the demand for hard drives in any given period. As a result, the hard drive market has experienced periods of excess capacity, which can lead to liquidation of excess inventories and more intense price competition. If more intense price competition occurs, we may be forced to lower prices sooner and more than expected, which could adversely impact revenue and gross margins. Our ASPs and gross margins also tend to decline when there is a shift in the mix of product sales, and sales of lower priced products increase relative to those of higher priced products. In addition, rapid technological changes often reduce the volume and profitability of sales of existing products and increase the risk of inventory obsolescence. These factors, along with others, may result in significant shifts in market share among the industry’s major participants.
Our failure to accurately forecast market and customer demand for our products, or to quickly adjust to forecast changes, could adversely affect our business and financial results or operating efficiencies.
The data storage industry faces difficulties in accurately forecasting market and customer demand for its products. The variety and volume of products we manufacture is based in part on these forecasts. Accurately forecasting demand has become increasingly difficult for us, our customers and our suppliers in light of the volatility in global economic conditions, a recent shift from air to ocean freight in response to increased transportation costs, which requires additional lead times, and industry consolidation, which has resulted in less availability of historical market data for certain product segments. In addition, because hard drives are designed to be largely interchangeable with competitors’ products, our demand forecasts may be impacted significantly by the strategic actions of our competitors. As forecasting demand becomes more difficult, the risk that our forecasts are not in line with demand increases. If our forecasts exceed actual market demand, then we could experience periods of product oversupply and price decreases, which could impact our financial performance. If market demand increases significantly beyond our forecasts or beyond our ability to add manufacturing capacity, then we may not be able to satisfy customer product needs, which could result in a loss of market share if our competitors are able to meet customer demands.
We experience significant sales seasonality and cyclicality, which could cause our operating results to fluctuate.
Sales of computer systems, storage subsystems and consumer electronics tend to be seasonal and cyclical, and therefore we expect to continue to experience seasonality and cyclicality in our business as we respond to variations in our customers’ demand for hard drives. In the desktop, mobile, CE and retail markets, seasonality historically has been partially attributable to the increase in sales of PCs and CE devices during the back-to-school and winter holiday seasons. In the enterprise market our sales are typically seasonal because of the capital budgeting and purchasing cycles of our end users. However, changes in seasonal and cyclical patterns have made it, and could continue to make it, more difficult for us to forecast demand, especially as a result of the Thailand flooding and the current macroeconomic environment. Changes in the product or channel mix of our business can also impact seasonal and cyclical patterns, adding complexity in forecasting demand. Seasonality and cyclicality also may lead to higher volatility in our stock price. It is difficult for us to evaluate the degree to which seasonality and cyclicality may affect our stock price or business in future periods because of the rate and unpredictability of product transitions and new product introductions and macroeconomic conditions.
Our customers’ demand for storage may not continue to grow at current industry estimates, which may lower the prices our customers are willing to pay for our products or put us at a disadvantage to competing technologies.
Our customers’ demand for storage may not continue to grow at current industry estimates as a result of:
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Mobile Devices. There has been a recent rapid growth in CE devices that do not contain a hard drive such as tablet computers and smart phones. While tablet computers and smart phones provide many of the same capabilities as PCs, the extent to which they will displace or materially affect the demand for PCs is uncertain. If device-makers are successful in achieving customer acceptance of these devices as a replacement for traditional computing applications that contain hard drives, or if we are not successful in adapting our product offerings to include alternative storage solutions that address these devices, demand for our products may decrease.
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Cloud Computing. Consumers traditionally have stored their data on their PC, often supplemented with personal external storage devices. Most businesses also include similar local storage as a primary or secondary storage location. This storage is typically provided by hard disk drives. Recently, cloud computing has emerged whereby applications and data are hosted, accessed and processed through a third-party provider over a broadband Internet connection, potentially reducing or eliminating the need for, among other things, significant storage inside the accessing computer. This trend could cause the market for disk drives in computers to decline over time, which could harm our business to the extent this decline is not offset by the sale of our products to customers who provide cloud computing services.
Demand for our products also could be negatively impacted by developments in the regulation and enforcement of digital rights management, the emergence of processes such as data deduplication and storage virtualization, economic conditions, and the rate of increase in areal density exceeding the increase in our customers’ demand for storage. These factors could lead to our customers’ storage needs being satisfied at lower prices with lower capacity hard drives or solid-state storage products that we do not offer, thereby decreasing our revenue or putting us at a disadvantage to competing storage technologies. As a result, even with increasing aggregate demand for storage, if we fail to anticipate or timely respond to these developments in the demand for storage, our ASPs could decline, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Selling to the retail market is an important part of our business, and if we fail to maintain and grow our market share or gain market acceptance of our branded products, our operating results could suffer.
Selling branded products is an important part of our business, and as our branded products revenue increases as a portion of our overall revenue, our success in the retail market becomes increasingly important to our operating results. Our success in the retail market depends in large part on our ability to maintain our brand image and corporate reputation and to expand into and gain market acceptance of our products in multiple channels, including the e-tail channel. Adverse publicity, whether or not justified, or allegations of product or service quality issues, even if false or unfounded, could tarnish our reputation and cause our customers to choose products offered by our competitors. In addition, the proliferation of new methods of mass communication facilitated by the Internet makes it easier for false or unfounded allegations to adversely affect our brand image and reputation. If customers no longer maintain a preference for WD®- or HGST™-brand products, our operating results may be adversely affected.
Sales in the distribution channel are important to our business, and if we fail to respond to demand changes in distribution markets or if distribution markets for hard drives weaken, our operating results could suffer.
Our distribution customers typically sell to small computer manufacturers, dealers, systems integrators and other resellers. We face significant competition in this channel as a result of limited product qualification programs and a significant focus on price and availability of product. In addition, the PC market is experiencing a shift to notebook and other mobile devices and, as a result, more computing devices are being delivered to the market as complete systems, which could weaken the distribution market. If we fail to respond to changes in demand in the distribution market, our operating results could suffer. Additionally, if the distribution market weakens as a result of a slowing PC growth rate, technology transitions or a significant change in consumer buying preference, or if we experience significant price declines due to demand changes in the distribution channel, then our operating results would be adversely affected.
Loss of market share with or by a key customer, or consolidation among our customer base, could harm our operating results.
During the year ended June 29, 2012, 50% of our revenue came from sales to our top 10 customers. These customers have a variety of suppliers to choose from and therefore can make substantial demands on us, including demands on product pricing and on contractual terms, which often results in the allocation of risk to us as the supplier. Our ability to maintain strong relationships with our principal customers is essential to our future performance. If we lose a key customer, if any of our key customers reduce their orders of our products or require us to reduce our prices before we are able to reduce costs, if a customer is acquired by one of our competitors or if a key customer suffers financial hardship, our operating results would likely be harmed.
Additionally, if there is consolidation among our customer base, our customers may be able to command increased leverage in negotiating prices and other terms of sale, which could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, if, as a result of increased leverage, customer pressures require us to reduce our pricing such that our gross margins are diminished, we could decide not to sell our products to a particular customer, which could result in a decrease in our revenue. Consolidation among our customer base may also lead to reduced demand for our products, replacement of our products by the combined entity with those of our competitors and cancellations of orders, each of which could harm our operating results.
Our entry into additional markets increases the complexity of our business, and if we are unable to successfully adapt our business processes as required by these new markets, we will be at a competitive disadvantage and our ability to grow will be adversely affected.
As we expand our product line to sell into additional markets, the overall complexity of our business increases at an accelerated rate and we become subject to different market dynamics. The new markets into which we are expanding, or may expand, may have different characteristics from the markets in which we currently exist. These different characteristics may include, among other things, demand volume requirements, demand seasonality, product generation development rates, customer concentrations, warranty and product return policies and performance and compatibility requirements. Our failure to make the necessary adaptations to our business model to address these different characteristics, complexities and new market dynamics could adversely affect our operating results.
Expansion into new hard drive markets may cause our capital expenditures to increase, and if we do not successfully expand into new markets, our business may suffer.
To remain a significant supplier of hard drives, we will need to offer a broad range of hard drive products to our customers. We currently offer a variety of 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard drives for the desktop, mobile, enterprise, CE and external storage markets. However, demand for hard drives may shift to products in form factors or with interfaces that our competitors offer but which we do not. Expansion into other hard drive markets and resulting increases in manufacturing capacity requirements may require us to make substantial additional investments in part because our operations are largely vertically integrated now that we manufacture heads and magnetic media for use in many of the hard drives we manufacture. If we fail to successfully expand into new hard drive markets with products that we do not currently offer, we may lose business to our competitors who offer these products.
Our vertical integration of head and magnetic media manufacturing makes us dependent on our ability to timely and cost-effectively develop heads and magnetic media with leading technology and overall quality, and creates additional capital expenditure costs and asset utilization risks to our business.
Under our business plan, we are developing and manufacturing a substantial portion of the heads and magnetic media used in the hard drive products we manufacture. Consequently, we are more dependent upon our own development and execution efforts and less able to take advantage of head and magnetic media technologies developed by other manufacturers. Technology transition for head and magnetic media designs is critical to increasing our volume production of heads and magnetic media. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be successful in timely and cost-effectively developing and manufacturing heads or magnetic media for products using future technologies. We also may not effectively transition our head or magnetic media design and technology to achieve acceptable manufacturing yields using the technologies necessary to satisfy our customers’ product needs, or we may encounter quality problems with the heads or magnetic media we manufacture. If we are unable to timely and cost-effectively develop heads and magnetic media with leading technology and overall quality, our ability to sell our products may be significantly diminished, which could materially and adversely affect our business and financial results.
In addition, as a result of our vertical integration of head and magnetic media manufacturing, we make more capital investments and carry a higher percentage of fixed costs than we would if we were not vertically integrated. If our overall level of production decreases for any reason, and we are unable to reduce our fixed costs to match sales, our head or magnetic media manufacturing assets may face under-utilization that may impact our operating results. We are therefore subject to additional risks related to overall asset utilization, including the need to operate at high levels of utilization to drive competitive costs and the need for assured supply of components that we do not manufacture ourselves. If we do not adequately address the challenges related to our head or magnetic media manufacturing operations, our ongoing operations could be disrupted, resulting in a decrease in our revenue or profit margins and negatively impacting our operating results.
We make significant investments in research and development to improve our technology and develop new technologies, and unsuccessful investments could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Over the past several years, our business strategy has been to derive a competitive advantage by moving from being a follower of new technologies to being a leader in the innovation and development of new technologies. This strategy requires us to make significant investments in research and development and, in attempting to remain competitive, we may increase our capital expenditures and expenses above our historical run-rate model. There can be no assurance that these investments will result in viable technologies or products, or if these investments do result in viable technologies or products, that they will be profitable or accepted by the market. Significant investments in unsuccessful research and development efforts could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, increased investments in technology could cause our cost structure to fall out of alignment with demand for our products, which would have a negative impact on our financial results.
Current or future competitors may gain a technology advantage or develop an advantageous cost structure that we cannot match.
It may be possible for our current or future competitors to gain an advantage in product technology, manufacturing technology, or process technology, which may allow them to offer products or services that have a significant advantage over the products and services that we offer. Advantages could be in capacity, performance, reliability, serviceability, or other attributes. A competitive cost structure for our products, including critical components, labor and overhead, is also critical to the success of our business. We may be at a competitive disadvantage to any companies that are able to gain a technological or cost structure advantage.
Further industry consolidation could provide competitive advantages to our competitors.
The storage industry has experienced consolidation over the past several years, including the acquisition of the hard disk drive business of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. by Seagate Technology plc in December 2011. Consolidation by our competitors may enhance their capacity, abilities and resources and lower their cost structure, causing us to be at a competitive disadvantage.
Some of our competitors with diversified business units outside of hard drives may over extended periods of time sell hard drives at prices that we cannot profitably match.
Some of our competitors earn a significant portion of their revenue from business units outside of hard drives. Because they do not depend solely on sales of hard drives to achieve profitability, they may sell hard drives at lower prices and operate their hard drive business unit at a loss over an extended period of time while still remaining profitable overall. In addition, if these competitors can increase sales of non-hard drive products to the same customers, they may benefit from selling their hard drives at lower prices. Our operating results may be adversely affected if we cannot successfully compete with the pricing by these companies.
If we fail to qualify our products with our customers or if product life cycles lengthen, it may have a significant adverse impact on our sales and margins.
We regularly engage in new product qualification with our customers. Once a product is accepted for qualification testing, failures or delays in the qualification process can result in delayed or reduced product sales, reduced product margins caused by having to continue to offer a more costly current generation product, or lost sales to that customer until the next generation of products is introduced. The effect of missing a product qualification opportunity is magnified by the limited number of high volume OEMs, which continue to consolidate their share of the storage markets. Likewise, if product life cycles lengthen, we may have a significantly longer period to wait before we have an opportunity to qualify a new product with a customer, which could reduce our profits because we expect declining gross margins on our current generation products as a result of competitive pressures.
We are subject to risks related to product defects, which could result in product recalls or epidemic failures and could subject us to warranty claims in excess of our warranty provisions or which are greater than anticipated.
We warrant the majority of our products for periods of one to five years. We test our hard drives in our manufacturing facilities through a variety of means. However, there can be no assurance that our testing will reveal defects in our products, which may not become apparent until after the products have been sold into the market. Accordingly, there is a risk that product defects will occur, which could require a product recall. Product recalls can be expensive to implement and, if a product recall occurs during the product’s warranty period, we may be required to replace the defective product. Moreover, there is a risk that product defects may trigger an epidemic failure clause in a customer agreement. If an epidemic failure occurs, we may be required to replace or refund the value of the defective product and to cover certain other costs associated with the consequences of the epidemic failure. In addition, a product recall or epidemic failure may damage our reputation or customer relationships, and may cause us to lose market share with our customers, including our OEM and ODM customers.
Our standard warranties contain limits on damages and exclusions of liability for consequential damages and for misuse, improper installation, alteration, accident or mishandling while in the possession of someone other than us. We record an accrual for estimated warranty costs at the time revenue is recognized. We may incur additional operating expenses if our warranty provision does not reflect the actual cost of resolving issues related to defects in our products, whether as a result of a product recall, epidemic failure or otherwise. If these additional expenses are significant, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Dependence on a limited number of qualified suppliers of components and manufacturing equipment could lead to delays, lost revenue or increased costs.
Our future operating results may depend substantially on our suppliers’ ability to timely qualify their components in our programs, and their ability to supply us with these components in sufficient volumes to meet our production requirements. A number of the components that we use are available from only a single or limited number of qualified suppliers, and may be used across multiple product lines. As such, the success of our products depends on our ability to gain access to and integrate parts from reliable component suppliers. To do so, we must maintain effective relationships with our supply base to source our component needs, develop compatible technology, and maintain continuity of supply at reasonable costs. If we fail to maintain effective relationships with our supply base, or if we fail to integrate components from our suppliers effectively, this may adversely affect our ability to develop and deliver the best products to our customers and our profitability could suffer.
Certain equipment and consumables we use in our manufacturing or testing processes are available only from a limited number of suppliers. Some of this equipment and consumables use materials that at times could be in short supply. If these materials are not available, or are not available in the quantities we require for our manufacturing and testing processes, our ability to manufacture our products could be impacted, and we could suffer significant loss of revenue.
Each of the following could also significantly harm our operating results:
• an unwillingness of a supplier to supply such components or equipment to us;
• consolidation of key suppliers;
• failure of a key supplier’s business process;
• a key supplier’s or sub-supplier’s inability to access credit necessary to operate its business; or
• failure of a key supplier to remain in business, to remain an independent merchant supplier, or to adjust to market conditions.
Shortages of commodity materials or commodity components, price volatility, or use by other industries of materials and components used in the storage industry, may negatively impact our operating results.
Increases in the cost for certain commodity materials or commodity components may increase our costs of manufacturing and transporting hard drives and key components. Shortages of commodity components such as DRAM and NAND flash, or commodity materials such as glass substrates, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel, neodymium, ruthenium, platinum or cerium, may increase our costs and may result in lower operating margins if we are unable to find ways to mitigate these increased costs. We or our suppliers acquire certain precious metals and rare earth metals like ruthenium, platinum, neodymium and cerium, which are critical to the manufacture of components in our products from a number of countries, including the People’s Republic of China. The government of China or any other nation may impose regulations, quotas or embargoes upon these metals that would restrict the worldwide supply of such metals and/or increase their cost, both of which could negatively impact our operating results until alternative suppliers are sourced. Furthermore, if other high volume industries increase their demand for materials or components used in our products, our costs may further increase, which could have an adverse effect on our operating margins. In addition, shortages in other commodity components and materials used in our customers’ products could result in a decrease in demand for our products, which would negatively impact our operating results. The volatility in the cost of oil also affects our costs and may result in lower operating margins if we are unable to pass these increased costs on to our customers.
Contractual commitments with component suppliers may result in us paying increased charges and cash advances for such components or may cause us to have inadequate or excess component inventory.
To reduce the risk of component shortages, we attempt to provide significant lead times when buying components, which may subject us to cancellation charges if we cancel orders as a result of technology transitions or changes in our component needs. In addition, we may from time to time enter into contractual commitments with component suppliers in an effort to increase and stabilize the supply of those components and enable us to purchase such components at favorable prices. Some of these commitments may require us to buy a substantial number of components from the supplier or make significant cash advances to the supplier; however, these commitments may not result in a satisfactory increase or stabilization of the supply of such components. Furthermore, as a result of uncertain global economic conditions, our ability to forecast our requirements for these components has become increasingly difficult, therefore increasing the risk that our contractual commitments may not meet our actual supply requirements, which could cause us to have inadequate or excess component inventory and adversely affect our operating results and increase our operating costs.
Failure by certain suppliers to effectively and efficiently develop and manufacture components, technology or production equipment for our products may adversely affect our operations.
We rely on suppliers for various component parts that we integrate into our hard drives but do not manufacture ourselves, such as semiconductors, motors, flex circuits and suspensions. Likewise, we rely on suppliers for certain technology and equipment necessary for advanced development technology for future products. Some of these components, and most of this technology and production equipment, must be specifically designed to be compatible for use in our products or for developing and manufacturing our future products, and are only available from a limited number of suppliers, some of with whom we are sole sourced. We are therefore dependent on these suppliers to be able and willing to dedicate adequate engineering resources to develop components that can be successfully integrated with our products, and technology and production equipment that can be used to develop and manufacture our next-generation products efficiently. The failure of these suppliers to effectively and efficiently develop and manufacture components that can be integrated into our products or technology and production equipment that can be used to develop or manufacture next generation products may cause us to experience inability or delay in our manufacturing and shipment of hard drive products, our expansion into new technology and markets, or our ability to remain competitive with alternative storage technologies, therefore adversely affecting our business and financial results.
Changes in product life cycles could adversely affect our financial results.
If product life cycles lengthen, we may need to develop new technologies or programs to reduce our costs on any particular product to maintain competitive pricing for that product. If product life cycles shorten, it may result in an increase in our overall expenses and a decrease in our gross margins, both of which could adversely affect our operating results. In addition, shortening of product life cycles also makes it more difficult to recover the cost of product development before the product becomes obsolete. Our failure to recover the cost of product development in the future could adversely affect our operating results.
A fundamental change in recording technology could result in significant increases in our costs and could put us at a competitive disadvantage.
Historically, when the industry experiences a fundamental change in technology, any manufacturer that fails to successfully and timely adjust its designs and processes to accommodate the new technology fails to remain competitive. There are some revolutionary technologies, such as current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance, shingle magnetic recording, energy assisted magnetic recording, patterned magnetic media and advanced signal processing, that if implemented by a competitor on a commercially viable basis ahead of the industry, could put us at a competitive disadvantage. As a result of these technology shifts, we could incur substantial costs in developing new technologies, such as heads, magnetic media, and tools to remain competitive. If we fail to successfully implement these new technologies, or if we are significantly slower than our competitors at implementing new technologies, we may not be able to offer products with capacities that our customers desire.
The difficulty of introducing hard drives with higher levels of areal density and the challenges of reducing other costs may impact our ability to achieve historical levels of cost reduction.
Storage capacity of the hard drive, as manufactured by us, is determined by the number of disks and each disk’s areal density. Areal density is a measure of the amount of magnetic bits that can be stored on the recording surface of the disk. Generally, the higher the areal density, the more information can be stored on a single platter. Higher areal densities require existing head and magnetic media technology to be improved or new technologies developed to accommodate more data on a single disk. Historically, we have been able to achieve a large percentage of cost reduction through increases in areal density. Increases in areal density mean that the average drive we sell has fewer heads and disks for the same capacity and, therefore, may result in a lower component cost. However, increasing areal density has become more difficult in the storage industry. If we are not able to increase areal density at the same rate as our competitors or at a rate that is expected by our customers, we may be required to include more components in our drives to meet demand without corresponding incremental revenue, which could negatively impact our operating margins and make achieving historical levels of cost reduction difficult or unlikely. Additionally, increases in areal density may require us to make further capital expenditures on items such as new testing equipment needed as a result of an increased number of gigabytes per platter. Our inability to achieve cost reductions could adversely affect our operating results.
If we do not properly manage technology transitions and new product development, our competitiveness and operating results may be negatively affected.
The storage markets in which we offer our products continuously undergo technology transitions which we must anticipate and adapt our products to address in a timely manner. If we fail to implement these new technologies successfully, or if we are slower than our competitors at implementing new technologies, we may not be able to competitively offer products that our customers desire, which could harm our operating results.
In addition, the success of our new product introductions depends on a number of other factors, including
• difficulties faced in manufacturing ramp;
• implementing at an acceptable cost product features expected by our customers;
• market acceptance/qualification;
• effective management of inventory levels in line with anticipated product demand; and
• quality problems or other defects in the early stages of new product introduction that were not anticipated in the design of those products.
Our business may suffer if we fail to successfully anticipate and manage these issues associated with our product development.
If we fail to develop and introduce new hard drives that are competitive against alternative storage technologies, our business may suffer.
Our success depends in part on our ability to develop and introduce new products in a timely manner in order to keep pace with competing technologies. Alternative storage technologies like solid-state storage technology have successfully served digital entertainment markets for products such as digital cameras, MP3 players, USB flash drives, mobile phones and tablet devices that cannot be economically serviced using hard drive technology. Advances in semiconductor technology have resulted in solid-state storage emerging as a technology that is competitive with hard drives for high performance needs in advanced digital computing markets such as enterprise servers and storage. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in anticipating and developing new products for the desktop, mobile, enterprise, CE and external storage markets in response to solid-state storage, as well as other competing technologies. If our hard drive technology fails to offer higher capacity, performance and reliability with lower cost-per-gigabyte than solid-state storage for the desktop, mobile, enterprise, CE and external storage markets, we will be at a competitive disadvantage to companies using semiconductor technology to serve these markets and our business will suffer.
Our manufacturing operations, and those of certain of our suppliers and customers, are concentrated in large, purpose-built facilities, which subjects us to substantial risk of damage or loss if operations at any of these facilities are disrupted.
As a result of our cost structure and strategy of vertical integration, we conduct our manufacturing operations at large, high volume, purpose-built facilities in California and in Asia. The manufacturing facilities of many of our customers, our suppliers and our customers’ suppliers are also concentrated in certain geographic locations in Asia and elsewhere. A localized health risk affecting our employees at these facilities or the staff of our or our customers’ other suppliers, such as the spread of a pandemic influenza, could impair the total volume of hard drives that we are able to manufacture and/or sell, which would result in substantial harm to our operating results. Similarly, a fire, flood, earthquake, tsunami or other disaster, condition or event such as political instability, civil unrest or a power outage that adversely affects any of these facilities, including access to or from these facilities by employees or logistics operations, would significantly affect our ability to manufacture and/or sell hard drives, which would result in a substantial loss of sales and revenue and a substantial harm to our operating results. For example, prior to the 2011 flooding in Thailand, all of our internal slider capacity and 60% of our hard drive manufacturing capacity was in Thailand. As a result of the flooding in Thailand, our facilities were inundated and temporarily shut down. During that period, our ability to manufacture hard drives was significantly constrained, which adversely affected our business, financial condition and results of operations. While we have taken certain steps to diversify our manufacturing footprint, a significant event that impacts any of our manufacturing sites, or the sites of our customers or suppliers, could adversely affect our ability to manufacture hard drives, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer.
Manufacturing and marketing our products globally subjects us to numerous risks.
We are subject to risks associated with our global manufacturing operations and global marketing efforts, including:
• obtaining requisite governmental permits and approvals;
• currency exchange rate fluctuations or restrictions;
• political instability and civil unrest;
• limited transportation availability, delays, and extended time required for shipping, which risks may be compounded in periods of price declines;
• higher freight rates;
• labor challenges, including difficulties finding and retaining talent or responding to labor disputes or disruptions;
• trade restrictions or higher tariffs;
• copyright levies or similar fees or taxes imposed in European and other countries;
• exchange, currency and tax controls and reallocations;
• increasing labor and overhead costs; and
• loss or non-renewal of favorable tax treatment under agreements or treaties with foreign tax authorities.
Terrorist attacks may adversely affect our business and operating results.
The continued threat of terrorist activity and other acts of war or hostility have created uncertainty in the financial and insurance markets and have significantly increased the political, economic and social instability in some of the geographic areas in which we operate. Additionally, it is uncertain what impact the reactions to such acts by various governmental agencies and security regulators worldwide will have on shipping costs. Acts of terrorism, either domestically or abroad, could create further uncertainties and instability. To the extent this results in disruption or delays of our manufacturing capabilities or shipments of our products, our business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Sudden disruptions to the availability of freight lanes could have an impact on our operations.
We generally ship our products to our customers, and receive shipments from our suppliers, via air, ocean or land freight. The sudden unavailability or disruption of cargo operations or freight lanes, such as due to labor difficulties or disputes, severe weather patterns or other natural disasters, or political instability or civil unrest, could impact our operating results by impairing our ability to timely and efficiently deliver our products.
We are vulnerable to system failures or attacks, which could harm our business.
We are heavily dependent on our technology infrastructure, among other functions, to operate our factories, sell our products, fulfill orders, manage inventory and bill, collect and make payments. Our systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, power loss, telecommunication failures, cyber-attacks such as computer viruses, computer denial-of-service attacks and other events. Our business is also subject to break-ins, sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism by third parties as well as employees. Despite any precautions we may take, such problems could result in, among other consequences, loss or theft of our, our customers’ or our business partners’ intellectual property, proprietary business information or personally identifiable information; damage to our reputation; interruptions in our business; and remediation costs, each of which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
If we fail to identify, manage, complete and integrate acquisitions, investment opportunities or other significant transactions, it may adversely affect our future results.
As part of our growth strategy, we may pursue acquisitions of, investment opportunities in or other significant transactions with companies that are complementary to our business. In order to pursue this strategy successfully, we must identify attractive acquisition or investment opportunities, successfully complete the transaction, some of which may be large and complex, and manage post-closing issues such as integration of the acquired company or employees. We may not be able to identify or complete appealing acquisition or investment opportunities given the intense competition for these transactions. Even if we identify and complete suitable corporate transactions, we may not be able to successfully address any integration challenges in a timely manner, or at all. If we fail to successfully integrate an acquisition, we may not realize all or any of the anticipated benefits of the acquisition, and our future results of operations could be adversely affected. Please see the risk factors above for specific risks and uncertainties regarding our acquisition of HGST.
If we are unable to retain or hire key staff and skilled employees our business results may suffer.
Our success depends upon the continued contributions of our key staff and skilled employees, many of whom would be extremely difficult to replace. Global competition for skilled employees in the data storage industry is intense and, as we attempt to move to a position of technology leadership in the storage industry, our business success becomes increasingly dependent on our ability to retain our key staff and skilled employees as well as attract, integrate and retain new skilled employees. Volatility or lack of positive performance in our stock price and the overall markets may adversely affect our ability to retain key staff or skilled employees who have received equity compensation. Additionally, because a substantial portion of our key employees’ compensation is placed “at risk” and linked to the performance of our business, when our operating results are negatively impacted by global economic conditions, we are at a competitive disadvantage for retaining and hiring key staff and skilled employees versus other companies that pay a relatively higher fixed salary. If we are unable to retain our existing key staff or skilled employees, or hire and integrate new key staff or skilled employees, or if we fail to implement succession plans for our key staff, our operating results would likely be harmed.
The nature of our business and our reliance on intellectual property and other proprietary information subjects us to the risk of significant litigation.
The data storage industry has been characterized by significant litigation. This includes litigation relating to patent and other intellectual property rights, product liability claims and other types of litigation. Litigation can be expensive, lengthy and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of litigation are inherently uncertain and may result in adverse rulings or decisions. We may enter into settlements or be subject to judgments that may, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results. As disclosed in Part II, Item 8, Note 5 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, on November 18, 2011, a sole arbitrator ruled against us in an arbitration in Minnesota. The arbitration involves claims brought by Seagate Technology LLC against us and a now former employee, alleging misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets. The arbitrator issued an interim award against us in the amount of $525 million plus pre-award interest. On January 23, 2012, the arbitrator issued a final award adding pre-award interest in the amount of $105.4 million, for a total award of $630.4 million. On January 23, 2012, we filed a petition in the District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota to have the final arbitration award vacated, and a hearing on the petition was held on March 1, 2012. Interest (as simple interest, not compounding) on the final award ($630.4 million) also accrues at the Minnesota statutory rate of 10% per year while we pursue our motion to vacate the award, and if necessary, an appeal if the motion to vacate the award is unsuccessful. We intend to pursue vigorously our motion to vacate the award and, if necessary, to appeal the award if it is confirmed by the District Court of Hennepin County Minnesota. We do not believe it is probable that the arbitrator’s award will be sustained and accordingly have not recorded any liability for the arbitrator’s award in excess of the amount we have previously accrued ($25 million). We cannot make any assurances that we will be successful in our efforts to vacate the award or to overturn the award on appeal. If we are unsuccessful in these efforts, payment of the award, including interest, would adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We will also be required to record a liability for the award if we should determine it is probable we will be required to pay the award.
We evaluate notices of alleged patent infringement and notices of patents from patent holders that we receive from time to time. If claims or actions are asserted against us, we may be required to obtain a license or cross-license, modify our existing technology or design a new non-infringing technology. Such licenses or design modifications can be extremely costly. In addition, we may decide to settle a claim or action against us, which settlement could be costly. We may also be liable for any past infringement. If there is an adverse ruling against us in an infringement lawsuit, an injunction could be issued barring production or sale of any infringing product. It could also result in a damage award equal to a reasonable royalty or lost profits or, if there is a finding of willful infringement, treble damages. Any of these results would increase our costs and harm our operating results.
Our reliance on intellectual property and other proprietary information subjects us to the risk that these key ingredients of our business could be copied by competitors.
Our success depends, in significant part, on the proprietary nature of our technology, including non-patentable intellectual property such as our process technology. If a competitor is able to reproduce or otherwise capitalize on our technology despite the safeguards we have in place, it may be difficult, expensive or impossible for us to obtain necessary legal protection. Also, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property to the same extent as do U.S. laws. In addition to patent protection of intellectual property rights, we consider elements of our product designs and processes to be proprietary and confidential. We rely upon employee, consultant and vendor non-disclosure agreements and contractual provisions and a system of internal safeguards to protect our proprietary information. However, any of our registered or unregistered intellectual property rights may be challenged or exploited by others in the industry, which might harm our operating results.
The costs of compliance with state, federal and international legal and regulatory requirements, such as environmental, labor, trade and tax regulations, and customers’ standards of corporate citizenship could cause an increase in our operating costs.
We may be or become subject to various state, federal and international laws and regulations governing our environmental, labor, trade and tax practices. These laws and regulations, particularly those applicable to our international operations, are or may be complex, extensive and subject to change. We will need to ensure that we and our component suppliers timely comply with such laws and regulations, which may result in an increase in our operating costs. For example, the European Union (“EU”) has enacted the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“RoHS”) directive, which prohibits the use of certain substances in electronic equipment, and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”) directive, which obligates parties that place electrical and electronic equipment onto the market in the EU to put a clearly identifiable mark on the equipment, register with and report to EU member countries regarding distribution of the equipment, and provide a mechanism to take back and properly dispose of the equipment. Similar legislation may be enacted in other locations where we manufacture or sell our products. In addition, climate change and financial reform legislation in the United States is a significant topic of discussion and has generated and may continue to generate federal or other regulatory responses in the near future. If we or our component suppliers fail to timely comply with applicable legislation, our customers may refuse to purchase our products or we may face increased operating costs as a result of taxes, fines or penalties, which would have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
In connection with our compliance with such environmental laws and regulations, as well as our compliance with industry environmental initiatives, the standards of business conduct required by some of our customers, and our commitment to sound corporate citizenship in all aspects of our business, we could incur substantial compliance and operating costs and be subject to disruptions to our operations and logistics. In addition, if we were found to be in violation of these laws or noncompliant with these initiatives or standards of conduct, we could be subject to governmental fines, liability to our customers and damage to our reputation and corporate brand which could cause our financial condition or operating results to suffer.
Violation of applicable laws, including labor or environmental laws, and certain other practices by our suppliers could harm our business.
We expect our suppliers to operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including labor and environmental laws, and to otherwise meet our required supplier standards of conduct. While our internal operating guidelines promote ethical business practices, we do not control our suppliers or their labor or environmental practices. The violation of labor, environmental or other laws by any of our suppliers, or divergence of a supplier’s business practices from those generally accepted as ethical in the United States, could harm our business by:
• interrupting or otherwise disrupting the shipment of our product components;
• damaging our reputation;
• forcing us to find alternate component sources;
• reducing demand for our products (for example, through a consumer boycott); or
• exposing us to potential liability for our supplier’s wrongdoings.
Fluctuations in currency exchange rates as a result of our international operations may negatively affect our operating results.
Because we manufacture and sell our products abroad, our revenue, margins, operating costs and cash flows are impacted by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. If the U.S. dollar exhibits sustained weakness against most foreign currencies, the U.S. dollar equivalents of unhedged manufacturing costs could increase because a significant portion of our production costs are foreign-currency denominated. Conversely, there would not be an offsetting impact to revenues since revenues are substantially U.S. dollar denominated. Additionally, we negotiate and procure some of our component requirements in U.S. dollars from non-U.S. based vendors. If the U.S. dollar continues to weaken against other foreign currencies, some of our component suppliers may increase the price they charge for their components in order to maintain an equivalent profit margin. If this occurs, it would have a negative impact on our operating results.
Prices for our products are substantially U.S. dollar denominated, even when sold to customers that are located outside the United States. Therefore, as a substantial portion of our sales are from countries outside the United States, fluctuations in currency exchanges rates, most notably the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against other foreign currencies, contribute to variations in sales of products in impacted jurisdictions and could adversely impact demand and revenue growth. In addition, currency variations can adversely affect margins on sales of our products in countries outside the United States.
We have attempted to manage the impact of foreign currency exchange rate changes by, among other things, entering into short-term, foreign exchange contracts. However, these contracts do not cover our full exposure and can be canceled by the counterparty if currency controls are put in place.
Increases in our customers’ credit risk could result in credit losses and an increase in our operating costs.
Some of our OEM customers have adopted a subcontractor model that requires us to contract directly with companies, such as ODMs, that provide manufacturing and fulfillment services to our OEM customers. Because these subcontractors are generally not as well capitalized as our direct OEM customers, this subcontractor model exposes us to increased credit risks. Our agreements with our OEM customers may not permit us to increase our product prices to alleviate this increased credit risk. Additionally, as we attempt to expand our OEM and distribution channel sales into emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, the customers with the most success in these regions may have relatively short operating histories, making it more difficult for us to accurately assess the associated credit risks. Our acquisition of HGST has also resulted in an increase to our customer credit risk given that we service many of the same customers. Any credit losses we may suffer as a result of these increased risks, or as a result of credit losses from any significant customer, would increase our operating costs, which may negatively impact our operating results.
Our operating results fluctuate, sometimes significantly, from period to period due to many factors, which may result in a significant decline in our stock price.
Our quarterly operating results may be subject to significant fluctuations as a result of a number of other factors including:
• the timing of orders from and shipment of products to major customers;
• our product mix;
• changes in the prices of our products;
• manufacturing delays or interruptions;
• acceptance by customers of competing products in lieu of our products;
• variations in the cost of and lead times for components for our products;
• limited availability of components that we obtain from a single or a limited number of suppliers;
• seasonal and other fluctuations in demand for PCs often due to technological advances; and
• availability and rates of transportation.
We often ship a high percentage of our total quarterly sales in the third month of the quarter, which makes it difficult for us to forecast our financial results before the end of the quarter. As a result of the above or other factors, our forecast of operating results for the quarter may differ materially from our actual financial results. If our results of operations fail to meet the expectations of analysts or investors, it could cause an immediate and significant decline in our stock price.
We have made and continue to make a number of estimates and assumptions relating to our consolidated financial reporting, and actual results may differ significantly from our estimates and assumptions.
We have made and continue to make a number of estimates and assumptions relating to our consolidated financial reporting. The highly technical nature of our products and the rapidly changing market conditions with which we deal means that actual results may differ significantly from our estimates and assumptions. These changes have impacted our financial results in the past and may continue to do so in the future. Key estimates and assumptions for us include:
• price protection adjustments and other sales promotions and allowances on products sold to retailers, resellers and distributors;
• inventory adjustments for write-down of inventories to lower of cost or market value (net realizable value);
• reserves for doubtful accounts;
• accruals for product returns;
• accruals for warranty costs related to product defects;
• accruals for litigation and other contingencies;
• liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits; and
• expensing of stock-based compensation.
The market price of our common stock is volatile.
The market price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, extremely volatile. Factors that may significantly affect the market price of our common stock include the following:
• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results, including those resulting from the seasonality of our business;
• announcements of technological innovations by us or our competitors, which may decrease the volume and profitability of sales of our existing products and increase the risk of inventory obsolescence;
• new products introduced by us or our competitors;
• periods of severe pricing pressures due to oversupply or price erosion resulting from competitive pressures or industry consolidation;
• developments with respect to patents or proprietary rights;
• conditions and trends in the hard drive, computer, data and content management, storage and communication industries;
• contraction in our operating results or growth rates that are lower than our previous high growth-rate periods;
• changes in financial estimates by securities analysts relating specifically to us or the storage industry in general; and
• macroeconomic conditions that affect the market generally.
In addition, general economic conditions may cause the stock market to experience extreme price and volume fluctuations from time to time that particularly affect the stock prices of many high technology companies. These fluctuations often appear to be unrelated to the operating performance of the companies.
Securities class action lawsuits are often brought against companies after periods of volatility in the market price of their securities. A number of such suits have been filed against us in the past, and should any new lawsuits be filed, such matters could result in substantial costs and a diversion of resources and management’s attention.
Current economic conditions have caused us difficulty in adequately protecting our increased cash and cash equivalents from financial institution failures.
The uncertain global economic conditions and volatile investment markets have caused us to hold more cash and cash equivalents than we would hold under normal circumstances. Since there has been an overall increase in demand for low-risk, U.S. government-backed securities with a limited supply in the financial marketplace, we face increased difficulty in adequately protecting our increased cash and cash equivalents from possible sudden and unforeseeable failures by banks and other financial institutions. A failure of any of these financial institutions in which deposits exceed FDIC limits could have an adverse impact on our financial position.
If our internal controls are found to be ineffective, our financial results or our stock price may be adversely affected.
Our most recent evaluation resulted in our conclusion that as of June 29, 2012, in compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, our internal control over financial reporting was effective. As a result of our acquisition of HGST on March 8, 2012, our internal control over financial reporting, subsequent to the date of acquisition, includes certain existing controls adopted from HGST. If our internal control over financial reporting is found to be ineffective or if we identify a material weakness in our financial reporting in future periods, investors may lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which may adversely affect our financial results or our stock price.
From time to time we may become subject to income tax audits or similar proceedings, and as a result we may incur additional costs and expenses or owe additional taxes, interest and penalties that may negatively impact our operating results.
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions, and our determination of our tax liability is subject to review by applicable domestic and foreign tax authorities. For example, as we have previously disclosed, we are under examination by the Internal Revenue Service for certain fiscal years and in connection with that examination, we received Revenue Agent Reports seeking certain adjustments to income as disclosed in Part II, Item 8, Note 9 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Although we believe our tax positions are properly supported, the final timing and resolution of the notice of proposed adjustment and the audits are subject to significant uncertainty and could result in our having to pay amounts to the applicable tax authority in order to resolve examination of our tax positions, which could result in an increase or decrease of our current estimate of unrecognized tax benefits and may negatively impact our financial position, results of operations, net income or cash flows.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
Not applicable.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
Our principal executive offices are located in Irvine, California. As a result of our acquisition of HGST, we added facilities in San Jose, California, Rochester, Minnesota, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Our leased facilities are occupied under leases that expire at various times through 2022.
Our principal manufacturing, research and development and marketing and administrative facilities at June 29, 2012 are as follows:
We also lease office space in various other locations throughout the world primarily for research and development and sales and technical support.
We believe our present facilities are adequate for our current needs, although the process of upgrading our facilities to meet technological and market requirements is expected to continue. New manufacturing facilities, in general, can be developed and become operational within approximately nine to eighteen months should we require such additional facilities.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
For a description of our legal proceedings, see Part II, Item 8, Note 5 in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is incorporated by reference in response to this item.

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ITEM 4. RESERVED
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “WDC.” Until June 1, 2012, our common stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (“NYSE”) under the symbol “WDC.” The approximate number of holders of record of our common stock as of August 9, 2012 was 1,705.
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock and do not intend to pay any cash dividends on common stock in the foreseeable future.
The high and low sales prices of our common stock as reported by the NASDAQ and the NYSE, as applicable, for each quarter of 2012 and 2011 were as follows:
The following table provides information about repurchases by us of our common stock during the quarter ended June 29, 2012:
(1) Our Board of Directors previously authorized us to repurchase $750 million of our common stock in open market transactions under a stock repurchase program through March 31, 2013. As of June 29, 2012, the entire $750 million previously authorized for repurchase had been utilized. On May 21, 2012, the Company announced that the Board of Directors authorized an additional $1.5 billion for the repurchase of our common stock and the extension of our stock repurchase program until May 18, 2017. Repurchases under our stock repurchase program may be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions and may be made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return of our common stock with the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones US Technology Hardware & Equipment Index for the five years ended June 29, 2012. The graph assumes that $100 was invested in our common stock at the close of market on June 29, 2007, and that all dividends were reinvested. We have not declared any cash dividends on our common stock. Stockholder returns over the indicated period should not be considered indicative of future stockholder returns.
TOTAL RETURN TO STOCKHOLDERS
(Assumes $100 investment on 6/29/07)
Total Return Analysis
The stock performance graph shall not be deemed soliciting material or to be filed with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor shall it be incorporated by reference into any past or future filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent we specifically request that it be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporate it by reference into a filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
Financial Highlights
This selected consolidated financial data should be read together with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the subsequent reports filed with the SEC, as well as the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other reports entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
No cash dividends were paid for the years presented. “Number of employees” excludes temporary employees and contractors. Results for HGST, the magnetic media sputtering operations of Hoya Corporation and Hoya Magnetics Singapore Pte. Ltd., SiliconSystems Inc. and Komag, Incorporated, which were acquired on March 8, 2012, June 30, 2010, March 27, 2009 and September 5, 2007, respectively, are included in our operating results only after the dates of their acquisitions.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Forward-Looking Statements
The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. You are urged to carefully review our description and examples of forward-looking statements included earlier in this Annual Report on Form 10-K immediately prior to Part I, under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements.” Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. You are urged to carefully review the disclosures we make concerning risks and other factors that may affect our business and operating results, including those made in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any of those made in our other reports filed with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to publish revised forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Our Company
We are an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage products that enable people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. We design and make storage devices, networking equipment and home entertainment products under the WD, HGST and G-Technology brands. We serve each of the primary markets addressing storage opportunities - enterprise and cloud data centers, client, consumer electronics, backup, the internet and other emerging markets such as automotive and home and small office networking.
We operate our global business through two independent subsidiaries due to regulatory requirements-WD and HGST, both long-time innovators in the storage industry.
Our principal products today are hard drives that use one or more rotating magnetic disks (“magnetic media”) to store and allow fast access to data. Hard drives are today’s primary storage medium for digital content. Our hard drives are used in desktop and notebook computers, corporate and multiple types of data centers, home entertainment equipment and stand-alone consumer storage devices. Our other products include solid-state drives, home entertainment and networking products and software applications for smart phones and tablets.
Acquisition
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Holdings Pte. Ltd. (“HGST”) Acquisition
On March 8, 2012 (the “Closing Date”), we, through Western Digital Ireland (“WDI”), our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, completed the acquisition (the “Acquisition”) of all the issued and outstanding paid-up share capital of Viviti Technologies Ltd., until recently known as HGST, from Hitachi, pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, among us, WDI, Hitachi and HGST (the “SPA”). The Acquisition is intended over time, and subject to compliance with applicable regulatory conditions imposed on the Acquisition, to result in a more efficient and innovative customer-focused storage company, with significant operating scale, strong global talent and a broad product lineup backed by a rich technology portfolio. We do not expect to achieve significant operating expense synergies while the regulatory conditions remain in effect.
The preliminary, aggregate purchase price of the Acquisition amounted to approximately $4.7 billion, which was paid on the Closing Date and funded with existing cash, new debt, and 25 million newly issued shares of our common stock. The cash portion of the purchase price is subject to a post-closing adjustment (an increase or a decrease) that has not been determined for changes in the working capital of HGST and certain other payments and expenses.
Following the issuance of the 25 million shares of our common stock to Hitachi in accordance with the SPA, Hitachi owns approximately ten percent of our outstanding shares of common stock. The shares issued to Hitachi are subject to a restriction that limits their trade or transfer for one year from the Closing Date. Pursuant to the terms of a separate Investor Rights Agreement we entered into with Hitachi in connection with the Acquisition, Hitachi has the right to designate, and has designated, two individuals (the “Hitachi Designees”) to serve as directors on our Board of Directors. This right will terminate (i) with respect to one of the Hitachi Designees, at the end of the second full calendar year following the Closing Date, (ii) in the event Hitachi ceases to beneficially own at least 50% of the shares of our common stock it received in connection with the Acquisition, (iii) if Hitachi has sold at least 10% of the shares of our common stock it received in connection with the Acquisition, in the event that Hitachi ceases to beneficially own at least 5% of our outstanding common stock, (iv) upon Hitachi’s breach of certain standstill or transfer restriction obligations of the Investor Rights Agreement, or (v) upon Hitachi’s material breach of a separate Agreement Not to Compete that we entered into with Hitachi on the Closing Date.
On the Closing Date, Western Digital Corporation, WDI and Western Digital Technologies, Inc. (“WDT”) entered into a five-year credit agreement (the “Credit Facility”) with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, swing line lender and letter of credit issuer, and the lenders party thereto. The Credit Facility provided for $2.8 billion of unsecured loan facilities consisting of a $2.3 billion term loan facility and a $500 million revolving credit facility. The only borrower under the term loan facility is WDI and the revolving credit facility is available to both WDI and WDT. The $2.3 billion term loans and $500 million revolving loans were used, together with additional cash and the 25 million newly issued shares of our common stock, to fund the Acquisition. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources-Contractual Obligations and Commitments” for a further description of the Credit Facility.
Toshiba Transactions
In connection with the regulatory approval process of the Acquisition, we announced on May 15, 2012 that we had closed a transaction with Toshiba Corporation (“Toshiba”) to divest certain 3.5-inch hard drive assets and to purchase Toshiba Storage Device (Thailand) Company Limited (“TSDT”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toshiba that manufactured hard drives prior to the recent Thailand flooding. The net impact of these two transactions was immaterial to our consolidated financial statements.
Maintenance of Competitive Requirement
In addition, in connection with the regulatory approval process of the Acquisition, we agreed to certain conditions required by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”), including adopting measures to maintain HGST as an independent competitor until MOFCOM agrees otherwise (with the minimum period being two years). We are working closely with MOFCOM to finalize an operations plan that is expected to outline in more detail the conditions of the competitive requirement.
Thailand Flooding
We suspended production in all of our Thailand manufacturing facilities during the week of October 10, 2011 due to severe flooding in Thailand, where flood waters inundated our facilities and submerged certain equipment located there. The flooded facilities in Thailand included our magnetic head slider fabrication facilities, which supplied a substantial majority of our magnetic head requirements prior to the flooding. The flooded facilities in Thailand also included our hard drive, head gimbal assembly (“HGA”) and head stack assembly (“HSA”) facilities.
In the March quarter of 2012, we restarted hard drive production and recommenced slider production in Thailand. We also extended slider production capacity into Malaysia and began shipping hard drives with sliders produced in Malaysia in the June quarter. We believe we now have the capability to adequately meet anticipated customer demand.
In 2012, we recorded $214 million of charges related to the flooding. Total charges included $119 million of fixed asset impairments, $61 million of recovery charges, $28 million of write-downs of damaged inventory and $27 million in wage continuation during the shutdown period of our facilities, offset by $21 million of insurance recoveries and other cost reimbursements. We maintain insurance coverage that provides property and business interruption coverage in the event of losses arising from flooding. We have submitted claims to our insurers and are awaiting a determination of how much of our total losses will be covered by insurance. It is reasonably possible that the final losses that we incur in connection with the flood damage and our business interruption will exceed the limits of our insurance policies.
Results of Operations
Fiscal 2012 Overview
In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”), operating results for HGST and the magnetic media sputtering operations of Hoya Corporation and Hoya Magnetics Singapore Pte. Ltd. (together, “Hoya”), which were acquired on March 8, 2012 and June 30, 2010, respectively, are included in our operating results only after the dates of their acquisition.
In 2012, our net revenue increased by 31% to $12.5 billion on hard drive shipments of 202 million units as compared to $9.5 billion and 207 million units in 2011. Operations from HGST contributed $3.1 billion in net revenue. In 2012, 19% of our hard drive revenue was derived from non-compute and enterprise markets, which include CE products, enterprise applications, and branded products, as compared to 27% in the prior-year period. Hard drive ASP increased to $62 in 2012 from $45 in 2011. Gross margin percentage increased to 29.2% in 2012 from 18.8% in 2011. Operating income increased from $781 million in 2011 to $1.8 billion in 2012, which included a net $214 million of charges related to the flooding, $80 million of impairments and other charges and $54 million of expenses related to the acquisition of HGST. As a percentage of net revenue, operating income was 14.2% in 2012 compared to 8.2% in 2011. Net income in 2012 was $1.6 billion, or $6.58 per diluted share, compared to $726 million, or $3.09 per diluted share, in 2011.
For the September quarter, we expect overall hard drive industry shipments to remain flat with the June quarter and pricing to reflect competitive market conditions. As such, we expect our revenue in the September quarter to decrease slightly from the June quarter. For fiscal 2013, we expect overall hard drive industry shipments to increase 5% from fiscal 2012.
Summary Comparison of 2012, 2011 and 2010
The following table sets forth, for the periods presented, selected summary information from our consolidated statements of income by dollars and percentage of net revenue (in millions, except percentages):
* SG&A includes $54 million and $17 million of expenses related to the acquisition of HGST in 2012 and 2011, respectively. In addition, SG&A includes $7 million, $25 million and $27 million of litigation accruals in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
The following table sets forth, for the periods presented, summary information regarding unit shipments, ASPs and revenues by geography and channel (in millions, except percentages and ASPs):
* Based on sales of hard drive units only.
Fiscal Year 2012 Compared to Fiscal Year 2011
Net Revenue. Net revenue was $12.5 billion for 2012, an increase of 31% from 2011. Operations from HGST contributed $3.1 billion in net revenue. Total hard drive shipments in 2012 decreased to 202 million units as compared to 207 million units for the prior year. The increase in net revenue resulted primarily from a $17 increase in ASP from $45 to $62, partially offset by lower shipments. These changes were as a result of the severe supply constraints across the hard drive industry brought about by the Thailand floods.
Changes in revenue by geography and channel generally reflect normal fluctuations in market demand and competitive dynamics. However, during 2012, changes in revenue by geography and channel reflected our efforts to allocate products to our customers as a result of the flooding in Thailand by balancing their immediate needs with their prevailing inventory positions in order to maximize the availability of hard drive products to the end customer within the shortest time horizon. In addition, as a result of our acquisition of HGST, our revenue by channel mix has become more heavily weighted toward OEM.
In accordance with standard industry practice, we have sales incentive and marketing programs that provide customers with price protection and other incentives or reimbursements that are recorded as a reduction to gross revenue. For 2012, these programs represented 6% of gross revenues compared to 11% in 2011. This decrease was mainly driven by the severe supply constraints brought about by the Thailand floods. These amounts generally vary according to several factors including industry conditions, seasonal demand, competitor actions, channel mix and overall availability of product.
Gross Margin. Gross margin for 2012 was $3.6 billion, an increase of $1.8 billion, or 103%, from the prior year. Gross margin as a percentage of net revenue increased to 29.2% in 2012 from 18.8% in 2011. This percentage increase was primarily due to an increase in ASP brought about by the impact of the Thailand flooding, offset by $91 million for costs recognized upon the sale of inventory that was written-up to fair value and $48 million for amortization of intangibles related to the Acquisition.
Operating Expenses. Total research and development (“R&D”) expense and selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expense increased to 12.6% of net revenue in 2012 compared to 10.6% in 2011. R&D expense was $1.1 billion in 2012, an increase of $352 million, or 50%, over the prior year. This increase in R&D expense was primarily due to increased expense related to the business of HGST and the continued investment in product development to support new programs. As a percentage of net revenue, R&D expense increased to 8.5% in 2012 compared to 7.4% in 2011. SG&A expense was $518 million in 2012, an increase of $211 million, or 69%, as compared to 2011. This increase in SG&A expense was primarily due to increased expense related to the business of HGST, the expansion of sales and marketing to support new products and growing markets, $37 million of incremental expenses related to the acquisition of HGST and $15 million for amortization of intangibles related to the Acquisition. SG&A expense as a percentage of net revenue increased to 4.2% in 2012 compared to 3.2% in 2011.
During 2012, we recorded $214 million of net charges related to the flooding in Thailand, including $119 million of fixed asset impairments, $61 million of recovery charges, $28 million of write-downs of damaged inventory and $27 million in wage continuation during the shutdown period of our facilities, offset by $21 million of insurance recoveries and other cost reimbursements.
In addition, during the fourth quarter of 2012, we recorded $56 million of asset impairment charges, $16 million of contract termination and other exit costs and $8 million of employee termination benefits.
Other Income (Expense). Other expense, net was $14 million in 2012 compared to $1 million in 2011. Interest expense increased from $10 million in 2011 to $26 million in 2012, primarily due to interest on a higher debt balance and a $5 million increase in debt commitment fees incurred prior to the closing of the Acquisition, offset by $4 million of gains on sales of our investments. Interest income increased from $9 million in 2011 to $12 million in 2012 due to higher average daily invested cash balances.
Income Tax Provision. Income tax expense was $145 million in 2012 as compared to $54 million in 2011. Tax expense as a percentage of income before taxes was 8.3% in 2012 compared to 6.9% for 2011. The differences between the effective tax rate and the U.S. Federal statutory rate are primarily due to tax holidays in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand that expire at various dates through 2025 and the current year generation of income tax credits.
As of June 29, 2012, we had a recorded liability for unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $280 million, which includes $39 million assumed in the Acquisition. Aside from the increase in the liability for unrecognized tax benefits related to liabilities assumed in the Acquisition, we recognized a net decrease of $4 million in our liability for unrecognized tax benefits during 2012. Interest and penalties recognized on such amounts were not material.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has completed its field examination of the federal income tax returns for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 for us and calendar years 2005 and 2006 for Komag, Incorporated (“Komag”), which was acquired by us on September 5, 2007. In September 2011, we received a final Revenue Agent Report (“RAR”) and Closing Agreement with respect to the years under examination for Komag. This agreement resulted in an immaterial benefit to our income tax provision. We have also received RARs from the IRS that seek adjustments to income before income taxes of approximately $970 million in connection with unresolved issues related primarily to transfer pricing and certain other intercompany transactions. We disagree with the proposed adjustments. In May 2011, we filed a protest with the IRS Appeals Office regarding the proposed adjustments. Meetings with the Appeals Office began in February 2012. In January 2012, the IRS commenced an examination of our fiscal years 2008 and 2009 and Komag’s period ended September 5, 2007.
We believe that adequate provision has been made for any adjustments that may result from tax examinations. However, the outcome of tax audits cannot be predicted with certainty. If any issues addressed in our tax audits are resolved in a manner not consistent with management’s expectations, we could be required to adjust our provision for income taxes in the period such resolution occurs. As of June 29, 2012, it is not possible to estimate the amount of change, if any, in the unrecognized tax benefits that is reasonably possible within the next twelve months. Any significant change in the amount of our unrecognized tax benefits would most likely result from additional information or settlements relating to the examination of our tax returns.
Arbitration Award
As disclosed below in Part II, Item 8, Note 5 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, on November 18, 2011, a sole arbitrator ruled against us in an arbitration in Minnesota. The arbitration involves claims brought by Seagate Technology LLC against us and a now former employee, alleging misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets. The arbitrator issued an interim award against us in the amount of $525 million plus pre-award interest. On January 23, 2012, the arbitrator issued a final award adding pre-award interest in the amount of $105.4 million, for a total award of $630.4 million. On January 23, 2012, we filed a petition in the District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota to have the final arbitration award vacated. A hearing on the petition to vacate was held on March 1, 2012. Interest (as simple interest, not compounding) on the final award ($630.4 million) also accrues at the Minnesota statutory rate of 10% per year while we pursue our motion to vacate the award, and if necessary, an appeal if the motion to vacate the award is unsuccessful. We intend to pursue vigorously our motion to vacate the award and, if necessary, to appeal the award if it is confirmed by the District Court of Hennepin County Minnesota. We do not believe it is probable that the arbitrator’s award will be sustained and accordingly has not recorded any cost or liability for the arbitrator’s award in excess of the amount previously accrued by us ($25 million). We cannot make any assurances that we will be successful in our efforts to vacate the award or to overturn the award on appeal. If we are unsuccessful in these efforts, payment of the award, including interest, would adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We will also be required to record a liability for the award if we should determine it is probable we will be required to pay the award.
Fiscal Year 2011 Compared to Fiscal Year 2010
Net Revenue. Net revenue was $9.5 billion for 2011, a decrease of 3% from 2010. Total hard drive shipments increased to 207 million units as compared to 194 million units for the prior year. The decrease in net revenue resulted primarily from a $5 decrease in ASP from $50 to $45, partially offset by the increase in unit shipments.
Changes in revenue by geography and channel generally reflected normal fluctuations in market demand and competitive dynamics.
In accordance with standard industry practice, we have sales incentive and marketing programs that provide customers with price protection and other incentives or reimbursements that are recorded as a reduction to gross revenue. For 2011, these programs represented 11% of gross revenues compared to 8% in 2010. These amounts generally vary according to several factors including industry conditions, seasonal demand, competitor actions, channel mix and overall availability of product.
Gross Margin. Gross margin for 2011 was $1.8 billion, a decrease of $610 million, or 25% from the prior year. Gross margin as a percentage of net revenue decreased to 18.8% in 2011 from 24.4% in 2010. This decrease was primarily due to an aggressive pricing environment, resulting in a lower ASP.
Operating Expenses. Total R&D expense and SG&A expense increased to 10.6% of net revenue in 2011 compared to 8.9% in 2010. R&D expense was $703 million in 2011, an increase of $92 million, or 15% over the prior year. As a percentage of net revenue, R&D expense increased to 7.4% in 2011 compared to 6.2% in 2010. This increase in R&D expense was primarily due to the continued investment in product development to support new programs. SG&A expense was $307 million in 2011, an increase of $42 million, or 16%, as compared to 2010. SG&A expense as a percentage of net revenue increased to 3.2% in 2011 compared to 2.7% in 2010. This increase in SG&A expense was primarily due to the expansion of sales and marketing to support new products and growing markets as well as $17 million of expenses related to the acquisition of HGST.
Other Income (Expense). Other expense, net was $1 million in 2011 compared to $5 million in 2010. This decrease was primarily due to an increase in interest income of $5 million due to higher average daily invested cash balances and a $1 million decrease in our term loan interest expense due to a lower principal balance, partially offset by acquisition-related debt commitment fees of $2 million.
Income Tax Provision. Income tax expense was $54 million in 2011 as compared to $138 million in 2010. Tax expense as a percentage of income before taxes was 7% in 2011 compared to 9% for 2010. Income tax expense for 2011 reflects the extension of the R&D tax credit that was signed into law in December 2010. The differences between the effective tax rate and the U.S. Federal statutory rate are primarily due to tax holidays in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand that expire at various dates through 2023 and the current year generation of income tax credits.
We recognized a net increase of $15 million in our liability for unrecognized tax benefits during 2011. As of July 1, 2011, we had a recorded liability for unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $245 million. Interest and penalties recognized on such amounts were not material.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We ended 2012 with total cash and cash equivalents of $3.2 billion, a decrease of $282 million from July 1, 2011. The following table summarizes our statements of cash flows for the three years ended June 29, 2012 (in millions):
Our investment policy is to manage our investment portfolio to preserve principal and liquidity while maximizing return through the full investment of available funds. We believe our cash, cash equivalents and cash generated from operations will be sufficient to meet our working capital, debt and capital expenditure needs for the next twelve months. Our ability to sustain our working capital position is subject to a number of risks that we discuss in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
A total of $1.7 billion and $3.0 billion of our cash and cash equivalents was held outside of the United States at June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, respectively. Substantially all of the amounts held outside of the United States are intended to be indefinitely reinvested in foreign operations. Our current plans do not anticipate that we will need funds generated from foreign operations to fund our domestic operations. In the event funds from foreign operations are needed in the United States, any repatriation could result in the accrual and payment of additional U.S. income tax.
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities during 2012 was $3.1 billion as compared to $1.7 billion for 2011 and $1.9 billion for 2010. Cash flow from operating activities consists of net income, adjusted for non-cash charges, plus or minus working capital changes. This represents our principal source of cash. Net cash provided by working capital changes was $324 million for 2012 as compared to $238 million for 2011 and net cash used to fund working capital changes was $37 million for 2010.
Our working capital requirements primarily depend on the effective management of our cash conversion cycle, which measures how quickly we can convert our products into cash through sales. The average quarterly cash conversion cycles for the three years ended 2012 were as follows:
For 2012, our average days sales outstanding (“DSOs”) increased by 2 days, days in inventory (“DIOs”) increased by 10 days, and days payables outstanding (“DPOs”) increased by 8 days. These increases were primarily due to the impact of including HGST’s accounts receivable, inventory and accounts payable balances as of June 29, 2012, but only including HGST’s revenue and cost of sales from the date of Acquisition. Changes in average DSOs and DIOs are generally related to linearity of shipments and the timing of inventory builds, respectively. Changes in DPOs are generally related to production volume and the timing of purchases during the period. From time to time, we modify the timing of payments to our vendors. We make modifications primarily to manage our vendor relationships and to manage our cash flows, including our cash balances. Generally, we make the payment modifications through negotiations with our vendors or by granting to, or receiving from, our vendors’ payment term accommodations.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for 2012 was $4.2 billion as compared to $793 million for 2011 and $986 million for 2010. During 2012, cash used in investing activities consisted of $3.5 billion, net of cash acquired, used for the acquisitions, $76 million of proceeds related to the sale of equipment, and capital expenditures of $717 million. During 2011, cash used in investing activities consisted of capital expenditures of $778 million and $15 million for equipment related to the acquisition of a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility. During 2010, cash used in investing activities consisted primarily of $737 million for capital expenditures, $233 million used for the acquisition of the magnetic media sputtering operations of Hoya and $20 million used for the acquisition of the land and building associated with the acquisition of a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility, offset by $3 million of sales related to our auction-rate securities.
Capital expenditures in 2012 primarily consisted of flood recovery, the extension of slider production capacity into Malaysia and increased capacity for our broadening and growing product portfolio.
Our cash equivalents are invested in highly liquid money market funds that are invested in U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. Treasury bills and U.S. Government agency securities. During 2012, we settled $1 million of auction-rate securities, which are classified as available-for-sale securities, reducing the carrying value of these investments to $14 million.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for 2012 was $819 million as compared to $106 million and $16 million used in financing activities for 2011 and 2010, respectively. Net cash provided by financing activities for 2012 consisted of the $2.8 billion of proceeds borrowed under the Credit Facility in connection with the Acquisition, net of issuance costs, and a net $141 million provided by employee stock plans, offset by $604 million used to repurchase stock and $1.5 billion used to repay outstanding debt of the Company as well as debt assumed in the Acquisition. Net cash used in financing activities for 2011 consisted of $106 million used to repay long-term debt and $50 million used to repurchase shares of our common stock, offset by a net $50 million related to employee stock plans. Net cash used in financing activities for 2010 consisted of $82 million used to repay long-term debt, partially offset by a net $66 million provided by employee stock plans.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Other than facility lease commitments incurred in the normal course of business and certain indemnification provisions (see “Contractual Obligations and Commitments” below), we do not have any off-balance sheet financing arrangements or liabilities, guarantee contracts, retained or contingent interests in transferred assets, or any obligation arising out of a material variable interest in an unconsolidated entity. We do not have any majority-owned subsidiaries that are not included in the consolidated financial statements. Additionally, we do not have an interest in, or relationships with, any special-purpose entities.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following is a summary of our known contractual cash obligations and commercial commitments as of June 29, 2012 (in millions):
Long-Term Debt
On March 8, 2012, in connection with the Acquisition, WDI and WDT entered into the Credit Facility that provided for $2.8 billion of unsecured loan facilities, consisting of a $2.3 billion term loan facility and a $500 million revolving credit facility. The $2.3 billion term loan facility and $500 million available under the revolving credit facility were borrowed on the Closing Date and used to partially fund the Acquisition and repay our existing debt and debt assumed in the Acquisition. The $500 million revolving credit facility was repaid in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. As of June 29, 2012, the outstanding balance of the term loan facility was $2.2 billion. We are required to make principal payments on the term loan facility totaling $230 million a year for 2013 through 2016 and the remaining $1.3 billion balance (subject to adjustment to reflect prepayments or an increase to its term loan facility) in 2017, with the term loan facility balance due and payable in full on March 8, 2017. See Part II, Item 8, Note 3 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The Credit Facility requires us to comply with a leverage ratio and an interest coverage ratio calculated on a consolidated basis for us and our subsidiaries. In addition, the Credit Facility contains customary covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict, subject to certain exceptions, our ability to incur liens, incur indebtedness, make certain restricted payments, merge, consolidate or dispose of substantially all of our assets, enter into certain speculative hedging arrangements and make any material change in the nature of our business. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under the Credit Facility, the administrative agent at the request, or with the consent, of the Required Lenders (as defined in the Credit Facility) may cease making loans, terminate the Credit Facility and declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable, require the cash collateralization of letters of credit and/or exercise all other rights and remedies available to it, the lenders and the letter of credit issuer. The Credit Facility specifies a number of events of default (some of which are subject to applicable grace or cure periods), including, among other things, non-payment defaults, covenant defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, bankruptcy and insolvency defaults, material judgment defaults and a change of control default. As of June 29, 2012, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Credit Facility.
On March 8, 2012, the Company repaid the entire outstanding principal amount of $231 million on its previous term loan facility originally scheduled to mature on February 11, 2013, plus accrued and unpaid interest, as well as $585 million of assumed debt from the acquisition of HGST.
Purchase Orders
In the normal course of business, we enter into purchase orders with suppliers for the purchase of hard drive components used to manufacture our products. These purchase orders generally cover forecasted component supplies needed for production during the next quarter, are recorded as a liability upon receipt of the components, and generally may be changed or canceled at any time prior to shipment of the components. We also enter into purchase orders with suppliers for capital equipment that are recorded as a liability upon receipt of the equipment. Our ability to change or cancel a capital equipment purchase order without penalty depends on the nature of the equipment being ordered. In some cases, we may be obligated to pay for certain costs related to changes to, or cancellation of, a purchase order, such as costs incurred for raw materials or work in process of components or capital equipment.
We have entered into long-term purchase agreements with various component suppliers, which contain minimum quantity requirements. However, the dollar amount of the purchases may depend on the specific products ordered, achievement of pre-defined quantity or quality specifications or future price negotiations. The estimated related minimum purchase requirements are included in “Purchase obligations” in the table above. We have also entered into long-term purchase agreements with various component suppliers that carry fixed volumes and pricing which obligate us to make certain future purchases, contingent on certain conditions of performance, quality and technology of the vendor’s components. These arrangements are included under “Purchase obligations” in the table above.
We enter into, from time to time, other long-term purchase agreements for components with certain vendors. Generally, future purchases under these agreements are not fixed and determinable as they depend on our overall unit volume requirements and are contingent upon the prices, technology and quality of the supplier’s products remaining competitive. These arrangements are not included under “Purchase obligations” in the table above. Please see Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of risks related to these commitments.
As a result of the Thailand floods and the impact on our ability to manufacture sufficient recording heads, we entered into an agreement on November 15, 2011 with SAE Magnetics (H.K.) Ltd., a subsidiary of TDK (“SAE”), to supply incremental heads. The agreement commenced in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 and includes quarterly minimum volumes through fiscal 2013. We have had an ongoing supply relationship for heads with SAE over periods spanning several years prior to this agreement.
Foreign Exchange Contracts
We purchase short-term, foreign exchange contracts to hedge the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on certain underlying assets, revenue, liabilities and commitments for operating expenses and product costs denominated in foreign currencies. See Part II, Item 7A, under the heading “Disclosure About Foreign Currency Risk,” for a description of our current foreign exchange contract commitments and Part II, Item 8, Notes 1 and 11 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Indemnifications
In the ordinary course of business, we may provide indemnifications of varying scope and terms to customers, vendors, lessors, business partners and other parties with respect to certain matters, including, but not limited to, losses arising out of our breach of such agreements, products or services to be provided by us, or from intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties. In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and certain of our officers that will require us, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers. We maintain director and officer insurance, which may cover certain liabilities arising from our obligation to indemnify our directors and officers in certain circumstances.
It is not possible to determine the maximum potential amount under these indemnification agreements due to the limited history of prior indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. Such indemnification agreements may not be subject to maximum loss clauses. Historically, we have not incurred material costs as a result of obligations under these agreements.
Unrecognized Tax Benefits
As of June 29, 2012, the cash portion of our total recorded liability for unrecognized tax benefits was $245 million, which included $29 million related to the Acquisition. We estimate the timing of the future payments of these liabilities to be within the next one to five years. See Part II, Item 8, Note 9 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding our total tax liability for unrecognized tax benefits.
Stock Repurchase Program
Our Board of Directors previously authorized us to repurchase $750 million of our common stock in open market transactions under a stock repurchase program through March 31, 2013. On May 21, 2012, the Company announced that the Board of Directors authorized an additional $1.5 billion for the repurchase of our common stock and the extension of our stock repurchase program until May 18, 2017. As of June 29, 2012 the entire $750 million previously authorized for repurchase had been utilized. In addition, as of June 29, 2012 $188 million of the $1.5 billion authorized on May 21, 2012 had been utilized. Since the inception of this program in 2005, through June 29, 2012, we have repurchased 36 million shares of our common stock for a total cost of $938 million. We repurchased 16.4 million shares for a total cost of $604 million during 2012. Subsequent to June 29, 2012 through August 16, 2012, we repurchased an additional 2.1 million shares for a total cost of $91 million. We may continue to repurchase our stock as we deem appropriate and market conditions allow. Repurchases under our stock repurchase program may be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions and may be made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. We expect stock repurchases to be funded principally by operating cash flows.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We have prepared the accompanying consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of the financial statements requires the use of judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity. We have adopted accounting policies and practices that are generally accepted in the industry in which we operate. We believe the following are our most critical accounting policies that affect significant areas and involve judgment and estimates made by us. If these estimates differ significantly from actual results, the impact to the consolidated financial statements may be material.
Revenue and Accounts Receivable
In accordance with standard industry practice, we provide distributors and retailers (collectively referred to as “resellers”) with limited price protection for inventories held by resellers at the time of published list price reductions, and we provide resellers and OEMs with other sales incentive programs. At the time we recognize revenue to resellers and OEMs, we record a reduction of revenue for estimated price protection until the resellers sell such inventory to their customers and we also record a reduction of revenue for the other programs in effect. We base these adjustments on several factors including anticipated price decreases during the reseller holding period, resellers’ sell-through and inventory levels, estimated amounts to be reimbursed to qualifying customers, historical pricing information and customer claim processing. If customer demand for hard drives or market conditions differs from our expectations, our operating results could be materially affected. We also have programs under which we reimburse qualified distributors and retailers for certain marketing expenditures, which are recorded as a reduction of revenue. These amounts generally vary according to several factors including industry conditions, seasonal demand, competitor actions, channel mix and overall availability of product. Generally, total sales incentive and marketing programs range from 9% to 12% of gross revenues per quarter. However, for 2012, sales incentive and marketing programs were 6% of gross revenues due to the severe supply constraints across the hard drive industry brought about by the Thailand floods. Changes in future customer demand and market conditions may require us to adjust our incentive programs as a percentage of gross revenue from the current range. Adjustments to revenues due to changes in accruals for these programs related to revenues reported in prior periods have averaged 0.3% of quarterly gross revenue since the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Customer sales incentive and marketing programs are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
We record an allowance for doubtful accounts by analyzing specific customer accounts and assessing the risk of loss based on insolvency, disputes or other collection issues. In addition, we routinely analyze the different receivable aging categories and establish reserves based on a combination of past due receivables and expected future losses based primarily on our historical levels of bad debt losses. If the financial condition of a significant customer deteriorates resulting in its inability to pay its accounts when due, or if our overall loss history changes significantly, an adjustment in our allowance for doubtful accounts would be required, which could materially affect operating results.
We establish provisions against revenue and cost of revenue for sales returns in the same period that the related revenue is recognized. We base these provisions on existing product return notifications. If actual sales returns exceed expectations, an increase in the sales return accrual would be required, which could materially affect operating results.
Warranty
We record an accrual for estimated warranty costs when revenue is recognized. We generally warrant our products for a period of one to five years. Our warranty provision considers estimated product failure rates and trends, estimated repair or replacement costs and estimated costs for customer compensatory claims related to product quality issues, if any. We use a statistical warranty tracking model to help prepare our estimates and assist us in exercising judgment in determining the underlying estimates. Our statistical tracking model captures specific detail on hard drive reliability, such as factory test data, historical field return rates, and costs to repair by product type. Our judgment is subject to a greater degree of subjectivity with respect to newly introduced products because of limited field experience with those products upon which to base our warranty estimates. We review our warranty accrual quarterly for products shipped in prior periods and which are still under warranty. Any changes in the estimates underlying the accrual may result in adjustments that impact current period gross margin and income. Such changes are generally a result of differences between forecasted and actual return rate experience and costs to repair. If actual product return trends, costs to repair returned products or costs of customer compensatory claims differ significantly from our estimates, our future results of operations could be materially affected. For a summary of historical changes in estimates related to pre-existing warranty provisions, refer to Part II, Item 8, Note 4 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Inventories
We value inventories at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out and weighted average methods) or net realizable value. We use the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method to value the cost of the majority of our inventories, while we use the weighted-average method to value precious metal inventories. Weighted-average cost is calculated based upon the cost of precious metals at the time they are received by us. We have determined that it is not practicable to assign specific costs to individual units of precious metals and, as such, we relieve our precious metals inventory based on the weighted-average cost of the inventory at the time the inventory is used in production. The weighted average method of valuing precious metals does not materially differ from a FIFO method. We record inventory write-downs for the valuation of inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value by analyzing market conditions and estimates of future sales prices as compared to inventory costs and inventory balances.
We evaluate inventory balances for excess quantities and obsolescence on a regular basis by analyzing estimated demand, inventory on hand, sales levels and other information, and reduce inventory balances to net realizable value for excess and obsolete inventory based on this analysis. Unanticipated changes in technology or customer demand could result in a decrease in demand for one or more of our products, which may require a write down of inventory that could materially affect operating results.
Litigation and Other Contingencies
When we become aware of a claim or potential claim, we assess the likelihood of any loss or exposure. We disclose information regarding each material claim where the likelihood of a loss contingency is probable or reasonably possible. If a loss contingency is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated, we record an accrual for the loss. In such cases, there may be an exposure to potential loss in excess of the amount accrued. Where a loss is not probable but is reasonably possible, or where a loss in excess of the amount accrued is reasonably possible, we disclose an estimate of the amount of the loss or range of possible losses for the claim if a reasonable estimate can be made, unless the amount of such reasonably possible losses is not material to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The ability to predict the ultimate outcome of such matters involves judgments, estimates and inherent uncertainties. The actual outcome of such matters could differ materially from management’s estimates. Refer to Part II, Item 8, Note 5 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which provides that deferred tax assets and liabilities be recognized for temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of our assets and liabilities and expected benefits of utilizing net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. We record a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Each period, we evaluate the need for a valuation allowance for our deferred tax assets and we adjust the valuation allowance so that we record net deferred tax assets only to the extent that we conclude it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will be realized.
We recognize liabilities for uncertain tax positions based on a two-step process. To the extent a tax position does not meet a more-likely-than-not level of certainty, no benefit is recognized in the financial statements. If a position meets the more-likely-than-not level of certainty, it is recognized in the financial statements at the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits are recognized on liabilities recorded for uncertain tax positions and are recorded in our provision for income taxes. The actual liability for unrealized tax benefits in any such contingency may be materially different from our estimates, which could result in the need to record additional liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits or potentially adjust previously-recorded liabilities for unrealized tax benefits and materially affect our operating results.
Stock-based Compensation
We account for all stock-based compensation at fair value. Stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the value of the award and is recognized as expense over the vesting period. The fair values of all stock options and stock appreciation rights granted are estimated using a binomial model, and the fair values of all Employee Stock Purchase Plan purchase rights are estimated using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model. We account for SARs as liability awards based upon our intention to settle such awards in cash. The SARs liability is recognized for that portion of fair value for the service period rendered at the reporting date. The share-based liability is remeasured at each reporting date through the requisite service period. Both the binomial and the Black-Scholes-Merton models require the input of highly subjective assumptions. We are required to use judgment in estimating the amount of stock-based awards that are expected to be forfeited. If actual forfeitures differ significantly from the original estimate, stock-based compensation expense and our results of operations could be materially affected.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For a description of recently issued and adopted accounting pronouncements, including the respective dates of adoption and expected effects on our results of operations and financial condition, refer to Part II, Item 8, Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated by reference in response to this item.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Disclosure About Foreign Currency Risk
Although the majority of our transactions are in U.S. dollars, some transactions are based in various foreign currencies. We purchase short-term, foreign exchange contracts to hedge the impact of foreign currency exchange fluctuations on certain underlying assets, revenue, liabilities and commitments for operating expenses and product costs denominated in foreign currencies. The purpose of entering into these hedge transactions is to minimize the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on our results of operations. The contract maturity dates do not exceed 12 months. We do not purchase foreign exchange contracts for trading purposes. Currently, we focus on hedging our foreign currency risk related to the British Pound Sterling, Euro, Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit, Philippine Peso, Singapore Dollar and Thai Baht. Singapore Dollar and Thai Baht contracts are designated as either cash flow or fair value hedges. Malaysian Ringgit contracts are designated as cash flow hedges. British Pound Sterling, Euro, Japanese Yen and Philippine Peso contracts are designated as fair value hedges. See Part II, Item 8, Notes 1 and 11 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
As of June 29, 2012, we had outstanding the following purchased foreign exchange contracts (in millions, except weighted average contract rate):
* Expressed in units of foreign currency per U.S. dollar.
In 2012, 2011 and 2010, total net realized transaction and foreign exchange contract currency gains and losses were not material to our consolidated financial statements.
Disclosure About Other Market Risks
Variable Interest Rate Risk
Borrowings under the Credit Facility bear interest at a rate equal to, at the option of the applicable Borrower, either (a) a LIBOR rate determined by reference to the British Bankers Association LIBOR Rate for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, subject to certain exceptions (the “Eurodollar Rate”) or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the higher of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (ii) the prime rate as announced by Bank of America, N.A. and (iii) the Eurodollar Rate plus 1.00% (the “Base Rate”), in each case plus an applicable margin. The applicable margin for borrowings under the Credit Facility ranges from 1.50% to 2.50% with respect to borrowings at the Eurodollar Rate and 0.50% to 1.50% with respect to borrowings at the Base Rate. The applicable margins for borrowings under the Credit Facility are determined based upon a leverage ratio of the Company and its subsidiaries calculated on a consolidated basis. If the federal funds rate, prime rate or LIBOR rate increase, our interest payments could also increase. A one percent increase in the variable rate of interest on the term loan facility would increase interest expense by approximately $22 million annually.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Index to Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedule
Page
Consolidated Financial Statements:
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets - June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011
Consolidated Statements of Income - Three Years Ended June 29, 2012
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - Three Years Ended June 29, 2012
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity and Comprehensive Income - Three Years Ended June 29, 2012
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Financial Statement Schedule:
Schedule II - Consolidated Valuation and Qualifying Accounts - Three Years Ended June 29, 2012
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Shareholders
Western Digital Corporation:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Western Digital Corporation and subsidiaries as of June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended June 29, 2012. In connection with our audits of the consolidated financial statements, we have also audited the related financial statement schedule. These consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Western Digital Corporation and subsidiaries as of June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended June 29, 2012, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), Western Digital Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of June 29, 2012, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), and our report dated August 17, 2012, expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
/s/ KPMG LLP
August 17, 2012
Irvine, California
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Shareholders
Western Digital Corporation:
We have audited Western Digital Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of June 29, 2012, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, Western Digital Corporation maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of June 29, 2012, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Western Digital Corporation and subsidiaries as of June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended June 29, 2012, and the related financial statement schedule, and our report dated August 17, 2012, expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule.
/s/ KPMG LLP
August 17, 2012
Irvine, California
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in millions, except par value)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(in millions, except per share amounts)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in millions)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(in millions)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1. Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Western Digital Corporation (the “Company” or “Western Digital”) is an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage products that enable people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. The Company designs and makes storage devices, networking equipment and home entertainment products under the WD, HGST and G-Technology brands. The Company serves each of the primary markets addressing storage opportunities - enterprise and cloud data centers, client, consumer electronics, backup, the internet and other emerging markets such as automotive and home and small office networking.
The Company operates its global business through two independent subsidiaries due to regulatory requirements-WD and HGST, both long-time innovators in the storage industry.
The Company’s principal products today are hard drives that use one or more rotating magnetic disks (“magnetic media”) to store and allow fast access to data. Hard drives are today’s primary storage medium for digital content. The Company’s hard drives are used in desktop and notebook computers, corporate and multiple types of data centers, home entertainment equipment and stand-alone consumer storage devices. The Company’s other products include solid-state drives, home entertainment and networking products and software applications for smart phones and tablets.
The Company has prepared its consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and has adopted accounting policies and practices which are generally accepted in the industry in which it operates. The Company’s significant accounting policies are summarized below.
Fiscal Year
The Company has a 52 or 53-week fiscal year. The 2012, 2011 and 2010 fiscal years which ended on June 29, 2012, July 1, 2011 and July 2, 2010, respectively, consisted of 52 weeks each.
Basis of Presentation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The accounts for all foreign subsidiaries, except for one Japanese subsidiary in which Yen is the functional currency, have been remeasured using the U.S. dollar as the functional currency. Gains or losses resulting from remeasurement or translation of these accounts from local currencies into U.S. dollars were immaterial to the consolidated financial statements.
On March 8, 2012 (“Closing Date”), the Company completed its acquisition (“the Acquisition”) of all of the issued and paid-up share capital of Viviti Technologies Ltd., until recently known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Holdings Pte. Ltd. (“HGST”) from Hitachi, Ltd. (“Hitachi”). On June 30, 2010, the Company acquired the magnetic media sputtering operations of Hoya Corporation and Hoya Magnetics Singapore Pte. Ltd (together, “Hoya”). The acquisitions are further described in Note 14. The results of operations of HGST and Hoya since the dates of their acquisitions are included in the consolidated financial statements.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company’s cash equivalents represent highly liquid investments in money market funds, which are invested in U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. Treasury bills and U.S. Government agency securities with original maturities when purchased of three months or less.
Investments
The Company’s investments consist of auction-rate securities, which are primarily backed by insurance products with original maturities greater than three months. The Company has classified these investments as available-for-sale securities and they are carried at fair value within other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheets.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The carrying amounts of cash equivalents, accounts receivable, investments, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value for all periods presented because of the short-term maturity of these assets and liabilities or, in the case of investments, these are recorded using appropriate market information. The carrying amount of debt approximates fair value because of its variable interest rate.
Concentration of Credit Risk
The Company sells its products to computer manufacturers, resellers and retailers throughout the world. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and generally requires no collateral. The Company maintains allowances for potential credit losses, and such losses have historically been within management’s expectations. At any given point in time, the total amount outstanding from any one of a number of its customers may be individually significant to the Company’s financial results. At June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, the Company had reserves for potential credit losses of $9 million and $5 million, respectively, and net accounts receivable of $2.4 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively.
The Company also has cash equivalent and investment policies that limit the amount of credit exposure to any one financial institution or investment instrument and requires that investments be made only with financial institutions or in investment instruments evaluated as highly credit-worthy.
Inventories
The Company values inventories at the lower of cost (first-in, first out and weighted average methods) or net realizable value. The first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method is used to value the cost of the majority of the Company’s inventories, while the weighted-average method is used to value precious metal inventories. Weighted-average cost is calculated based upon the cost of precious metals at the time they are received by the Company. The Company has determined that it is not practicable to assign specific costs to individual units of precious metals and, as such, precious metals are relieved from inventory based on the weighted-average cost of the inventory at the time the inventory is used in production. The weighted average method of valuing precious metals does not materially differ from a FIFO method. As of June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, 89% and 85%, respectively, of the inventory was valued using the FIFO method with the remainder valued using the weighted average method. Inventory write-downs are recorded for the valuation of inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value by analyzing market conditions and estimates of future sales prices as compared to inventory costs and inventory balances.
The Company evaluates inventory balances for excess quantities and obsolescence on a regular basis by analyzing estimated demand, inventory on hand, sales levels and other information, and reduces inventory balances to net realizable value for excess and obsolete inventory based on this analysis. Unanticipated changes in technology or customer demand could result in a decrease in demand for one or more of the Company’s products, which may require a write down of inventory that could materially affect operating results.
Property, Plant and Equipment
The cost of property, plant and equipment is depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets. The Company’s buildings are depreciated over periods ranging from fifteen to thirty years. The majority of the Company’s equipment is depreciated over periods of three to seven years. Depreciation is computed on a straight-line basis. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the related lease terms.
Goodwill and Other Long-Lived Assets
The fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business acquisition are recognized at the acquisition date, with amounts exceeding the fair values being recognized as goodwill. Goodwill is not amortized. Instead, it is tested for impairment on an annual basis or more frequently whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill may be impaired. The Company did not record any impairment of goodwill during 2012, 2011 or 2010.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Other intangible assets consist primarily of technology acquired in business combinations. Acquired intangibles are amortized on a straight-line basis over their respective estimated useful lives. Long-lived assets are tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. The Company recorded impairments to certain long-lived assets in 2012. See Notes 15 and 16. The Company did not record any impairments to long-lived assets during 2011 or 2010.
Revenue and Accounts Receivable
Revenue is recognized when the title and risk of loss have passed to the customer, there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement, delivery has occurred, or services have been rendered, the sales price is fixed or determinable and collectability is reasonably assured. The Company establishes provisions against revenue and cost of revenue for estimated sales returns in the same period that the related revenue is recognized based on existing product return notifications. If actual sales returns exceed expectations, an increase in the sales return accrual would be required, which could materially affect operating results.
In accordance with standard industry practice, the Company provides distributors and retailers (collectively referred to as “resellers”) with limited price protection for inventories held by resellers at the time of published list price reductions, and the Company provides resellers and OEMs with other sales incentive programs. At the time the Company recognizes revenue to resellers and OEMs, a reduction of revenue is recorded for estimated price protection until the resellers sell such inventory to their customers and the Company also records a reduction of revenue for the other programs in effect. The Company bases these adjustments on several factors including anticipated price decreases during the reseller holding period, reseller’s sell-through and inventory levels, estimated amounts to be reimbursed to qualifying customers, historical pricing information and customer claim processing. If customer demand for hard drives or market conditions differ from the Company’s expectations, the Company’s operating results could be materially affected. The Company also has programs under which it reimburses qualified distributors and retailers for certain marketing expenditures, which are recorded as a reduction of revenue. Sales incentive and marketing programs are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
The Company records an allowance for doubtful accounts by analyzing specific customer accounts and assessing the risk of loss based on insolvency, disputes or other collection issues. In addition, the Company routinely analyzes the different receivable aging categories and establishes reserves based on a combination of past due receivables and expected future losses based primarily on its historical levels of bad debt losses. If the financial condition of a significant customer deteriorates resulting in its inability to pay its accounts when due, or if the Company’s overall loss history changes significantly, an adjustment in the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts would be required, which could materially affect operating results.
The Company establishes provisions against revenue and cost of revenue for sales returns in the same period that the related revenue is recognized. These provisions are based on existing product return notifications. If actual sales returns exceed expectations, an increase in the sales return accrual would be required, which could materially affect operating results.
Warranty
The Company records an accrual for estimated warranty costs when revenue is recognized. The Company generally warrants its products for a period of one to five years. The warranty provision considers estimated product failure rates and trends, estimated repair or replacement costs and estimated costs for customer compensatory claims related to product quality issues, if any. A statistical warranty tracking model is used to help prepare estimates and assist the Company in exercising judgment in determining the underlying estimates. The statistical tracking model captures specific detail on hard drive reliability, such as factory test data, historical field return rates, and costs to repair by product type. Management’s judgment is subject to a greater degree of subjectivity with respect to newly introduced products because of limited field experience with those products upon which to base warranty estimates. Management reviews the warranty accrual quarterly for products shipped in prior periods and which are still under warranty. Any changes in the estimates underlying the accrual may result in adjustments that impact current period gross margin and income. Such changes are generally a result of differences between forecasted and actual return rate experience and costs to repair. If actual product return trends, costs to repair returned products or costs of customer compensatory claims differ significantly from estimates, future results of operations could be materially affected.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Litigation and Other Contingencies
When the Company becomes aware of a claim or potential claim, the Company assesses the likelihood of any loss or exposure. The Company discloses information regarding each material claim where the likelihood of a loss contingency is probable or reasonably possible. If a loss contingency is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated, the Company records an accrual for the loss. In such cases, there may be an exposure to potential loss in excess of the amount accrued. Where a loss is not probable but is reasonably possible or where a loss in excess of the amount accrued is reasonably possible, the Company discloses an estimate of the amount of the loss or range of possible losses for the claim if a reasonable estimate can be made, unless the amount of such reasonably possible losses is not material to the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The ability to predict the ultimate outcome of such matters involves judgments, estimates and inherent uncertainties. The actual outcome of such matters could differ materially from management’s estimates. See Note 5.
Advertising Expense
Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Selling, general and administrative expenses of the Company included advertising costs of $30 million, $11 million, and $7 million in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which provides that deferred tax assets and liabilities be recognized for temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of assets and liabilities and expected benefits of utilizing net operating loss (“NOL”) and tax credit carryforwards. The Company records a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Each period, the Company evaluates the need for a valuation allowance for its deferred tax assets and adjusts the valuation allowance so that the Company records net deferred tax assets only to the extent that it has concluded it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will be realized.
The Company recognizes liabilities for uncertain tax positions based on a two-step process. To the extent a tax position does not meet a more-likely-than-not level of certainty, no benefit is recognized in the financial statements. If a position meets the more-likely-than-not level of certainty, it is recognized in the financial statements at the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits are recognized on liabilities recorded for uncertain tax positions and are recorded in the provision for income taxes. The actual liability for unrealized tax benefits may be materially different from the Company’s estimates, which could result in the need to record additional liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits or potentially adjust previously-recorded liabilities for unrealized tax benefits, and may materially affect our operating results.
Income per Common Share
The Company computes basic income per common share using net income and the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted income per common share is computed using net income and the weighted average number of common shares and potentially dilutive common shares outstanding during the period. Potentially dilutive common shares include certain dilutive outstanding employee stock options, rights to purchase shares of common stock under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) and restricted stock unit awards.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
The following table illustrates the computation of basic and diluted income per common share (in millions, except per share data):
* For purposes of computing diluted income per common share, certain potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the calculation because their effect would have been anti-dilutive.
Stock-based Compensation
The Company accounts for all stock-based compensation at fair value. Stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the value of the award and is recognized as expense over the vesting period. The fair values of all stock options and cash-settled stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) granted are estimated using a binomial model, and the fair values of all ESPP purchase rights are estimated using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model. The Company accounts for SARs as liability awards based upon management’s intention to settle such awards in cash. The SARs liability is recognized for that portion of fair value for the service period rendered at the reporting date. The share-based liability is remeasured at each reporting date through the requisite service period. Both the binomial and the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing models require the input of highly subjective assumptions. The Company is required to use judgment in estimating the amount of stock-based awards that are expected to be forfeited. If actual forfeitures differ significantly from the original estimate, stock-based compensation expense and the results of operations could be materially affected.
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Other comprehensive income (loss) refers to revenue, expenses, gains and losses that are recorded as an element of shareholders’ equity but are excluded from net income. The Company’s other comprehensive income (loss) is comprised of unrealized gains and losses on foreign exchange contracts, actuarial gains and losses related to pensions and gains and losses on foreign currency translation adjustments.
Foreign Exchange Contracts
Although the majority of the Company’s transactions are in U.S. dollars, some transactions are based in various foreign currencies. The Company purchases short-term, foreign exchange contracts to hedge the impact of foreign currency exchange fluctuations on certain underlying assets, revenue, liabilities and commitments for operating expenses and product costs denominated in foreign currencies. The purpose of entering into these hedging transactions is to minimize the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on the Company’s results of operations. These contract maturity dates do not exceed 12 months. All foreign exchange contracts are for risk management purposes only. The Company does not purchase foreign exchange contracts for trading purposes. The Company had outstanding foreign exchange contracts with commercial banks for British Pound Sterling, Euro, Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit, Philippine Peso, Singapore Dollar and Thai Baht, which were designated as either cash flow or fair value hedges and had an aggregate notional amount of $1.6 billion and $1.5 billion at June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, respectively.
If the derivative is designated as a cash flow hedge, the effective portion of the change in fair value of the derivative is initially deferred in other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax. These amounts are subsequently recognized into earnings when the underlying cash flow being hedged is recognized into earnings. Recognized gains and losses on foreign exchange contracts entered into for manufacturing-related activities are reported in cost of revenue. Hedge effectiveness is measured by comparing the hedging instrument’s cumulative change in fair value from inception to maturity to the underlying exposure’s terminal value. The Company determined the ineffectiveness associated with its cash flow hedges to be immaterial.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
A change in the fair value of fair value hedges is recognized in earnings in the period incurred. For our Japanese subsidiary in which Yen is the functional currency, a change in the fair value of fair value hedges is recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) in the period incurred. All fair value hedges were determined to be effective. The fair value and the changes in fair value on these contracts were not material to the consolidated financial statements for all years presented. See Notes 10 and 11 for additional disclosures related to foreign exchange contracts.
Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
The Company has defined benefit pension plans and other postretirement plans covering certain employees in various countries. The benefits are based on the employees’ years of service and compensation. The plans are funded in conformity with the funding requirements of applicable government authorities. The Company amortizes unrecognized actuarial gains and losses and prior service costs on a straight-line basis over the remaining estimated average service life of the participants. The measurement date for the plans is the Company’s fiscal year-end. The Company recognizes the funded status of its defined benefit pension and postretirement plans in the consolidated balance sheets, with changes in the funded status recognized through accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the year in which such changes occur. See Note 14 for additional disclosures related to the Company’s pension and other postretirement benefit plans.
Use of Estimates
Company management has made estimates and assumptions relating to the reporting of certain assets and liabilities in conformity with U.S. GAAP. These estimates and assumptions have been applied using methodologies that are consistent throughout the periods presented. However, actual results could differ materially from these estimates.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2011-05 “Presentation of Comprehensive Income” (“ASU 2011-05”). The new standard requires that all non-owner changes in shareholders’ equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but continuous statements. If presented in two separate statements, the first statement should present total net income and its components followed immediately by a second statement of total other comprehensive income, its components and the total comprehensive income. In December 2011, the FASB deferred certain changes in ASU 2011-05 that relate to the presentation of reclassification adjustments. The new standard is effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2011, which for the Company is the first quarter of fiscal 2013. The Company is currently evaluating how it will report comprehensive income, but the adoption of either method will constitute a change in the Company’s financial statement presentation.
Note 2. Supplemental Financial Statement Data
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Note 3. Debt
Long-term debt consisted of the following as of June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011 (in millions):
On the Closing Date, the Company, in its capacity as the parent entity and guarantor, Western Digital Technologies, Inc. (“WDT”) and Western Digital Ireland, Ltd. (“WDI”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a five-year credit agreement (“the Credit Facility”) with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, swing line lender and letter of credit issuer and the other lenders party thereto from time to time (collectively, the “Lenders”). The Credit Facility provided for $2.8 billion of unsecured loan facilities consisting of a $2.3 billion term loan facility and a $500 million revolving credit facility. The only borrower under the term loan facility is WDI and the revolving credit facility is available to both WDI and WDT (WDI and WDT are referred to as “the Borrowers”). The revolving credit facility includes a $50 million sublimit for letters of credit and a $20 million sublimit for swing line loans. In addition, the Borrowers may elect to expand the credit facilities by up to $500 million if existing or new lenders provide additional term or revolving commitments.
The $2.3 billion term loan and $500 million revolving loan were borrowed by WDI on the Closing Date and were used together with existing cash and 25 million newly issued shares of the Company’s common stock to fund the Acquisition, to repay the existing term loans of WDT, to repay the debt assumed with the Acquisition and to pay related fees, costs and expenses.
Borrowings under the Credit Facility bear interest at a rate equal to, at the option of the applicable Borrowers, either (a) a LIBOR rate determined by reference to the British Bankers Association LIBOR Rate for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, subject to certain exceptions (the “Eurodollar Rate”) or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the higher of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (ii) the prime rate as announced by Bank of America, N.A. and (iii) the Eurodollar Rate plus 1.00% (the “Base Rate”), in each case plus an applicable margin. The applicable margin for borrowings under the Credit Facility ranges from 1.50% to 2.50% with respect to borrowings at the Eurodollar Rate and 0.50% to 1.50% with respect to borrowings at the Base Rate. The applicable margins for borrowings under the Credit Facility are determined based upon a leverage ratio of the Company and its subsidiaries calculated on a consolidated basis. The interest rate at June 29, 2012 was 2.25%.
In addition to paying interest on outstanding principal under the Credit Facility, the applicable Borrower is required to pay a facility fee to the lenders under the revolving credit facility in respect of the aggregate, available revolving commitments thereunder. The facility fee rate ranges from 0.25% to 0.50% per annum and is determined based upon a leverage ratio of the Company and its subsidiaries calculated on a consolidated basis. The applicable Borrower is also required to pay letter of credit fees (a) to the revolving credit facility lenders, on the aggregate face amount of all outstanding letters of credit equal to an applicable margin in effect with respect to the Eurodollar Rate borrowings and (b) to the letter of credit issuer, computed at a rate equal to 0.125% per annum on the face amount of the letter of credit, plus such letter of credit issuer’s customary documentary and processing fees and charges.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
The term loans and the revolving credit loans may be prepaid in whole or in part at any time without premium or penalty, subject to certain conditions. The Company is required to make principal payments on the term loan facility totaling $230 million a year for fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2016, and the remaining $1.3 billion balance (subject to adjustment to reflect prepayments or an increase to its term loan facility) in fiscal 2017, with the term loan facility balance due and payable in full on March 8, 2017. The revolving credit facility was repaid in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2012.
The Credit Facility requires the Company to comply with a leverage ratio and an interest coverage ratio calculated on a consolidated basis for the Company and its subsidiaries. In addition, the Credit Facility contains customary covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict, subject to certain exceptions, the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ ability to incur liens, incur indebtedness, make certain restricted payments, merge, consolidate or dispose of substantially all of its assets, and enter into certain speculative hedging arrangements and make any material change in the nature of its business. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under the Credit Facility, the Administrative Agent at the request, or with the consent, of the Required Lenders (as defined in the Credit Facility) may cease making loans, terminate the Credit Facility and declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable, require the cash collateralization of letters of credit and/or exercise all other rights and remedies available to it, the Lenders and the letter of credit issuer. The Credit Facility specifies a number of events of default (some of which are subject to applicable grace or cure periods), including, among other things, non-payment defaults, covenant defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, bankruptcy and insolvency defaults, material judgment defaults and a change of control default. As of June 29, 2012, the Company was in compliance with all covenants.
The obligations of the Borrowers under the Credit Facility are guaranteed by the Company and the Company’s material domestic subsidiaries, and the obligations of WDI under the Credit Facility are also guaranteed by WDT.
The Company was required to pay a commitment fee at the rate of 0.35%, per annum of the aggregate unfunded amount committed to be borrowed under the Credit Facility from the date of commitment on March 7, 2011 through the Closing Date. From the beginning of fiscal 2012 through the Closing Date, the Company incurred debt commitment fees of $7 million, which are included within interest and other expense in the consolidated statements of income.
On the Closing Date, the Company repaid the entire outstanding principal amount of $231 million on its previously existing term loan facility originally scheduled to mature on February 11, 2013, plus accrued and unpaid interest, as well as $585 million of debt assumed in the Acquisition.
Note 4. Commitments and Contingencies
Lease Commitments
The Company leases certain facilities and equipment under long-term, non-cancelable operating leases. The Company’s operating leases consist of leased property and equipment that expire at various dates through 2022. Rental expense under these operating leases, including month-to-month rentals, was $41 million, $23 million and $22 million in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Future minimum lease payments under operating leases that have initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms in excess of one year at June 29, 2012 are as follows (in millions):
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Product Warranty Liability
Changes in the warranty accrual for 2012, 2011 and 2010 were as follows (in millions):
Accrued warranty also includes amounts classified in other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets of $89 million at June 29, 2012 and $38 million at July 1, 2011. See Note 14 for a discussion of the warranty liabilities assumed as a result of the Acquisition.
Long-term Purchase Agreements
The Company has entered into long-term purchase agreements with various component suppliers. The commitments depend on specific products ordered and may be subject to minimum quality requirements and future price negotiations. The Company expects these commitments to total $268 million for 2013, $11 million for 2014, $5 million for 2015, $3 million for 2016 and $1 million in 2017.
Note 5. Legal Proceedings
When the Company becomes aware of a claim or potential claim, the Company assesses the likelihood of any loss or exposure. The Company discloses information regarding each material claim where the likelihood of a loss contingency is probable or reasonably possible. If a loss contingency is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated, the Company records an accrual for the loss. In such cases, there may be an exposure to potential loss in excess of the amount accrued. Where a loss is not probable but is reasonably possible or where a loss in excess of the amount accrued is reasonably possible, the Company discloses an estimate of the amount of the loss or range of possible losses for the claim if a reasonable estimate can be made, unless the amount of such reasonably possible losses is not material to the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Unless otherwise stated below, for each of the matters described below, the Company has either recorded an accrual for losses that are probable and reasonably estimable or has determined that, while a loss is reasonably possible (including potential losses in excess of the amounts accrued by the Company), a reasonable estimate of the amount of loss or range of possible losses with respect to the claim or in excess of amounts already accrued by the Company cannot be made. The ability to predict the ultimate outcome of such matters involves judgments, estimates and inherent uncertainties. The actual outcome of such matters could differ materially from management’s estimates.
Solely for purposes of this footnote, “WD” refers to Western Digital Corporation or one or more of its subsidiaries prior to the acquisition of HGST, “HGST” refers to HGST or one or more of its subsidiaries as of the Closing Date, and “the Company” refers to Western Digital Corporation and all of its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis including HGST.
Intellectual Property Litigation
On June 20, 2008, plaintiff Convolve, Inc. (“Convolve”) filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Texas against WD, HGST, and one other company alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,314,473 and 4,916,635. The complaint sought unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief. On October 10, 2008, Convolve amended its complaint to allege infringement of only the ‘473 patent. The ‘473 patent allegedly relates to interface technology to select between certain modes of a disk drive’s operations relating to speed and noise. A trial in the matter began on July 18, 2011 and concluded on July 26, 2011 with a verdict against WD and HGST in an amount that is not material to the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. WD and HGST have filed post-trial motions challenging the verdict and will evaluate their options for appeal after the court rules on the post-trial motions.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
On December 8, 2008, plaintiffs MagSil Corporation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a complaint in the District of Delaware against WD, HGST and six other companies in the disk drive industry alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,629,922 and 5,835,314. The complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief. The asserted patents allegedly relate to tunneling magneto resistive technology. In January 2010, MagSil amended its complaint to allege infringement of only the ‘922 patent. As disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on August 13, 2010, MagSil and WD settled the matter for an amount that was not material to the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. With respect to the claim pending against HGST, in February 2011, HGST obtained a ruling invalidating the patent on summary judgment. MagSil appealed the decision, and in August 2012, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision granting HGST summary judgment. HGST intends to continue to defend itself vigorously in this matter.
On July 15, 2009, plaintiffs Carl B. Collins and Farzin Davanloo filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Texas against WD, HGST and nine other companies alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,411,797 and 5,478,650. Plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief and unspecified monetary damages, fees and costs. The asserted patents allegedly relate to nanophase diamond films. On October 11, 2011, plaintiffs and WD filed a joint motion to stay all deadlines applicable to claims involving WD, indicating that the parties had reached an agreement in principle that would resolve the case for an immaterial amount that was accrued by the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. The court approved the motion on October 13, 2011. Plaintiffs and WD entered into a formal written settlement agreement on November 18, 2011, and the court granted an order dismissing the case as to WD with prejudice on December 7, 2011. With respect to the claim pending against HGST, mediation in the matter was held on March 20, 2012, and the parties reached an agreement in principle to settle the case for an immaterial amount that was accrued by the Company in the third quarter of fiscal 2012. Plaintiffs and HGST entered into a formal settlement agreement on May 9, 2012, and the court granted an order dismissing the case against HGST with prejudice on May 30, 2012.
On December 7, 2009, plaintiff Nazomi Communications filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Texas against WD and seven other companies alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,080,362 and 7,225,436. Plaintiffs dismissed the Eastern District of Texas suit after filing a similar complaint in the Central District of California on February 8, 2010. The case was subsequently transferred to the Northern District of California on October 14, 2010. Plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief and unspecified monetary damages, fees and costs. The asserted patents allegedly relate to processor cores capable of Java hardware acceleration. In August 2012, the court granted WD’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement. WD intends to continue to defend itself vigorously in this matter.
On January 5, 2010, plaintiff Enova Technology Corporation filed a complaint in the District of Delaware against WD and Initio Corporation alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,136,995 and 7,386,734. Plaintiff subsequently amended its complaint to include an additional party and additionally allege infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,900,057. Plaintiff is seeking injunctive relief and unspecified monetary damages, fees and costs. The asserted patents allegedly relate to real time full disk encryption application specific integrated circuits, or ASICs. WD intends to defend itself vigorously in this matter.
On November 10, 2010, plaintiff Rembrandt Data Storage filed a complaint in the Western District of Wisconsin against WD alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,995,342 and 6,195,232. Plaintiff is seeking injunctive relief and unspecified monetary damages, fees and costs. The asserted patents allegedly relate to specific thin film heads having solenoid coils. After a favorable claim construction ruling by the court, WD secured a stipulation from plaintiff to dismiss the case. Plaintiff has indicated it will appeal the court’s claim construction ruling. WD intends to continue to defend itself vigorously in this matter.
On December 1, 2010, Rambus, Inc. filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission pursuant to 19 U.S.C. Section 1337 alleging that six “Primary Respondent” semiconductor chip companies and twenty-seven “Customer Respondents,” including HGST, infringe various U.S. patents. On December 29, 2010, the U.S. International Trade Commission initiated an investigation into Rambus’s allegations in response to the complaint. HGST is accused of infringing U.S. Patent Nos. 6,591,353; 7,287,109; 7,602,857; 7,602,858; and 7,715,494. The complaint alleges that certain of HGST’s hard drives that contain Double data rate-type memory controllers, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment interfaces, Peripheral Component Interconnect Express interfaces, DisplayPort interfaces, or Serial Attached SCSI interfaces infringe the patents. The complaint seeks to enjoin the importation into the U.S. of the allegedly infringing semiconductor chips and products. It also requests a cease-and-desist order preventing the parties from exhausting allegedly infringing inventory in the U.S. HGST intends to defend itself vigorously in this matter.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
On August 1, 2011, plaintiff Guzik Technical Enterprises filed a complaint in the Northern District of California against WD and various of its subsidiaries alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,023,145 and 6,785,085, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets. Plaintiff is seeking injunctive relief and unspecified monetary damages, fees and costs. The patents asserted by plaintiff allegedly relate to devices used to test hard disk drive heads and media. WD has filed counterclaims against plaintiff for patent infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,844,420; 5,640,089; 6,891,696; and 7,480,116. The patents asserted by WD relate to devices and methods used in the testing of hard disk drive heads and media. WD intends to defend itself vigorously in this matter.
Seagate Matter
On October 4, 2006, plaintiff Seagate Technology LLC (“Seagate”) filed an action in the District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota, naming as defendants WD and one of its now former employees previously employed by Seagate. The complaint in the action alleged claims based on supposed misappropriation of trade secrets and sought injunctive relief and unspecified monetary damages, fees and costs. On June 19, 2007, WD’s former employee filed a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association. A motion to stay the litigation as against all defendants and to compel arbitration of all Seagate’s claims was granted on September 19, 2007. On September 23, 2010, Seagate filed a motion to amend its claims and add allegations based on the supposed misappropriation of additional confidential information, and the arbitrator granted Seagate’s motion. The arbitration hearing commenced on May 23, 2011 and concluded on July 11, 2011.
On November 18, 2011, the sole arbitrator ruled in favor of WD in connection with five of the eight alleged trade secrets at issue, based on evidence that such trade secrets were known publicly at the time the former employee joined WD. Based on a determination that the employee had fabricated evidence, the arbitrator then concluded that WD had to know of the fabrications. As a sanction, the arbitrator precluded any evidence or defense by WD disputing the validity, misappropriation, or use of the three remaining alleged trade secrets by WD, and entered judgment in favor of Seagate with respect to such trade secrets. Using an unjust enrichment theory of damages, the arbitrator issued an interim award against WD in the amount of $525 million plus pre-award interest at the Minnesota statutory rate of 10% per year. In his decision with respect to these three trade secrets, the arbitrator did not question the relevance, veracity or credibility of any of WD’s ten expert and fact witnesses (other than WD’s former employee), nor the authenticity of any other evidence WD presented. A hearing to consider the amount of pre-award interest was held on January 10, 2012. On January 23, 2012, the arbitrator issued a final award adding pre-award interest in the amount of $105.4 million for a total final award of $630.4 million. On January 23, 2012, WD filed a petition in the District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota to have the final arbitration award vacated. A hearing on the petition to vacate was held on March 1, 2012, and the court has taken the matter under submission.
The Company believes the arbitrator exceeded his authority and refused to consider material evidence and that confirmation of the award would violate public policy. The Company strongly disputes the arbitrator’s conclusion that WD “had to know” of the alleged fabrication and believes that if all of its evidence had been properly considered it would have prevailed on all remaining claims. WD intends to pursue vigorously its motion to vacate the award and, if necessary, to appeal the award if it is confirmed by the District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota. The Company does not believe it is probable that the arbitrator’s award will be sustained and accordingly has not recorded any cost or liability for the arbitrator’s award in excess of the amount previously accrued by the Company ($25 million). There is no assurance that WD’s efforts to vacate the award or to overturn the award on appeal if it is confirmed by the District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota will be successful. It is reasonably possible that losses with respect to this matter could range from $0 to $605.4 million in excess of the amount previously accrued ($25 million). This estimate does not include additional interest (as simple interest, not compounding) at the Minnesota statutory rate of 10% per year, which will continue to accrue on the amount of the final award ($630.4 million) while WD pursues its motion to vacate the award, and if necessary, an appeal if the motion to vacate the award is unsuccessful.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Other Matters
In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to other legal proceedings, lawsuits and other claims. Although the ultimate aggregate amount of probable monetary liability or financial impact with respect to these other matters is subject to many uncertainties and is therefore not predictable with assurance, management believes that any monetary liability or financial impact to the Company from these other matters, individually and in the aggregate, would not be material to the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. However, there can be no assurance with respect to such result, and monetary liability or financial impact to the Company from these other matters could differ materially from those projected.
Note 6. Business Segment, Geographic Information and Major Customers
Segment Information
The Company operates in one reportable operating segment, the hard drive business.
Geographic Information
The Company’s operations outside the United States include manufacturing facilities in China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand as well as sales offices throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. The following table summarizes the Company’s operations by geographic area for the three years ended June 29, 2012 (in millions):
(1) Net revenue is attributed to geographic regions based on the ship to location of the customer.
Major Customers
For 2012, sales to Hewlett Packard Company accounted for 11% of the Company’s net revenue. For 2011 and 2010, no single customer accounted for 10%, or more, of the Company’s net revenue. For 2012, 2011 and 2010, sales to the Company’s top ten customers accounted for 50%, 49% and 53% of the Company’s net revenue, respectively.
Note 7. Western Digital Corporation 401(k) Plan
The Company has adopted the Western Digital Corporation 401(k) Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan covers substantially all domestic employees, subject to certain eligibility requirements. The Company makes a basic matching contribution on behalf of each participating eligible employee equal to fifty percent (50%) of the eligible participant’s pre-tax contributions for the contribution cycle not to exceed 5% of the eligible participant’s compensation; provided, however, that each eligible participant shall receive a minimum annual basic matching contribution equal to fifty percent (50%) of the first $4,000 of pre-tax contributions for any calendar year. Company contributions vest over a 5-year period of employment. For 2012, 2011 and 2010, the Company made Plan contributions of $12 million, $9 million, and $9 million, respectively.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Note 8. Shareholders’ Equity
Stock Incentive Plans
In connection with the Acquisition, the Company assumed all of the unvested stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), and restricted stock unit awards (“RSUs”) outstanding under HGST’s stock plans as of the Closing Date. The assumed stock options, SARs and RSUs were converted into equivalent stock options, SARs and RSUs with respect to shares of the Company’s common stock using an equity award exchange ratio pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 7, 2011 (the “SPA”). As of June 29, 2012, options to purchase 3.5 million shares of the Company’s common stock, 0.2 million RSUs, and 1.7 million SARs were outstanding under these assumed awards. No new awards may be granted under the HGST stock plans.
In addition to the awards assumed in connection with the HGST acquisition, the Company maintains four stock-based incentive plans (collectively, including the assumed HGST awards, referred to as the “Stock Plans”): the amended and restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan, the Employee Stock Option Plan, the Broad-Based Stock Incentive Plan and the Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors. No new awards may be granted under the Employee Stock Option Plan, the Broad-Based Stock Incentive Plan or the Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors (collectively referred to as the “Prior Stock Plans”). As of June 29, 2012, options to purchase 0.8 million shares of the Company’s common stock remained outstanding and exercisable under the Prior Stock Plans. Other than for such options, no restricted stock or other awards were outstanding under the Prior Stock Plans as of June 29, 2012. Options granted under the Prior Stock Plans expire either five or ten years from the date of grant.
The types of awards that may be granted under the 2004 Performance Incentive Plan include stock options, SARs, restricted stock units, stock bonuses and other forms of awards granted or denominated in the Company’s common stock or units of the Company’s common stock, as well as cash bonus awards. Persons eligible to receive awards under the 2004 Performance Incentive Plan include officers and employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, directors of the Company and certain consultants and advisors to the Company or any of its subsidiaries. The vesting of awards under the Performance Incentive Plan is determined at the date of grant. Each award expires on a date determined at the date of grant; however, the maximum term of options and stock appreciation rights under the 2004 Performance Incentive Plan is ten years after the grant date of the award. RSUs granted under the 2004 Performance Incentive Plan typically vest over periods ranging from one to five years from the date of grant.
As of June 29, 2012, the maximum number of shares of the Company’s common stock that was authorized for award grants under the 2004 Performance Incentive Plan was 37.2 million shares. Any shares subject to awards under the Prior Stock Plans that are canceled, forfeited or otherwise terminate without having vested or been exercised, as applicable, will become available for other award grants under the 2004 Performance Incentive Plan. Shares issued in respect of stock options and stock appreciation rights granted under the 2004 Performance Incentive Plan count against the plan’s share limit on a one-for-one basis, whereas shares issued in respect of any other type of award granted under the plan count against the plan’s share limit as 1.35 shares for every one share actually issued in connection with such award. The 2004 Performance Incentive Plan will terminate on September 20, 2014 unless terminated earlier by the Company’s Board of Directors.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The Company maintains an ESPP. Under the ESPP, eligible employees may authorize payroll deductions of up to 10% of their eligible compensation during prescribed offering periods to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at 95% of the fair market value of common stock on either the first day of that offering period or on the applicable exercise date, whichever is less. A participant may participate in only one offering period at a time, and a new offering period generally begins each June 1st and December 1st. Each offering period is generally 24 months and consists of four exercise dates (each, generally six months following the start of the offering period or the preceding exercise date, as the case may be). If the fair market value of the Company’s common stock is less on a given exercise date than on the date of grant, employee participation in that offering period ends and participants are automatically re-enrolled in the next new offering period.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Stock-based Compensation Expense
The Company recognized in expense $57 million, $37 million and $37 million for stock-based compensation related to the vesting of options granted or assumed by the Company under the Stock Plans and the ESPP in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. As of June 29, 2012, total compensation cost related to unvested stock options granted under the Stock Plans and ESPP rights issued to employees but not yet recognized was $143 million and will be amortized on a straight-line basis over a weighted average service period of approximately 2.3 years.
The Company recognized a benefit of $7 million related to SARs assumed under the Stock Plans. The assumed SARs will be settled in cash upon exercise. As a result, the Company had a total of $22 million related to SARs included in accrued liabilities as of June 29, 2012 in the consolidated balance sheet. As of June 29, 2012, total compensation cost related to unvested SARs issued to employees but not yet recognized was $18 million and will be recognized on a straight-line basis over a weighted average service period of approximately 1.8 years.
Approximately 0.4 million RSUs were outstanding immediately following the Closing Date as a result of the HGST RSUs assumed in connection with the Acquisition. In addition, the Company granted approximately 1.4 million RSUs during 2012, which are payable in an equal number of shares of the Company’s common stock at the time of vesting of the units. The Company also granted 0.2 million (reported at target) performance restricted stock units (“PSUs”) during 2012, which become earned and payable in shares of the Company’s common stock ranging from 0% to 200% of the target number of PSUs based on achievement of certain performance milestones over 2013 and 2014. For purposes of this footnote, references to RSUs include the PSUs (at target).The effect of the PSUs activity was immaterial to the Company’s financial statements in 2012. The aggregate market value of the shares underlying the RSUs was $71 million at the date of grant or, in the case of the RSUs assumed in the Acquisition, at the date of assumption. The compensation expense for granted and assumed RSUs is being recognized as expense over the corresponding vesting or measurement periods of the awards. For purposes of recognizing awards granted, the Company has assumed a weighted average forfeiture rate of 2.4% based on a historical analysis indicating forfeitures for these types of awards. The Company recognized in expense $35 million, $32 million and $23 million related to restricted stock and RSU awards granted under the Stock Plans that vested during 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. As of June 29, 2012, the aggregate unamortized fair value of all unvested RSUs granted under the Stock Plans was $56 million, which will be recognized on a straight-line basis over a weighted average vesting period of approximately 1.6 years.
Stock Option Activity
The following table summarizes stock option activity under the Stock Plans over the last three fiscal years (in millions, except per share amounts and remaining contractual lives):
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
If an option has an exercise price that is less than the quoted price of the Company’s common stock at the particular time, the aggregate intrinsic value of that option at that time is calculated based on the difference between the exercise price of the underlying options and the quoted price of the Company’s common stock at that time. As of June 29, 2012, the Company had options outstanding to purchase an aggregate of 15.8 million shares with an exercise price below the quoted price of the Company’s stock on that date resulting in an aggregate intrinsic value of $150 million at that date. During 2012, 2011 and 2010, the aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised under the Stock Plans was $53 million, $25 million and $72 million, respectively, determined as of the date of exercise.
The following table summarizes information about options outstanding and exercisable under the Stock Plans as of June 29, 2012 (in millions, except per share amounts):
SARs Activity
The share-based compensation liability for SARs assumed is recognized for the portion of fair value for which service has been rendered at the reporting date. The share-based liability is remeasured at each reporting date through the requisite service period. The Company uses estimated forfeiture rates on unvested awards to calculate a liability only for those SARs expected to vest. The total vested portion of the SARs represents the proportion of the fair value of the SARs vested based upon the percentage of the required service rendered at the reporting date. As of June 29, 2012, 1.7 million SARs were outstanding with a weighted average exercise price of $7.67. There were no SARs granted and all other SARs activity was immaterial to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended June 29, 2012.
Fair Value Disclosure - Binomial Model
The fair value of stock options granted is estimated using a binomial option-pricing model. The binomial model requires the input of highly subjective assumptions including the expected stock price volatility, the expected price multiple at which employees are likely to exercise stock options and the expected employee termination rate. The Company uses historical data to estimate option exercise, employee termination, and expected stock price volatility within the binomial model. The risk-free rate for periods within the contractual life of the option is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The fair value of stock options granted during the three years ended June 29, 2012 was estimated using the following weighted average assumptions:
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
The weighted average expected term of the Company’s stock options granted during 2012, 2011 and 2010 was 4.9 years, 4.7 years and 4.6 years, respectively.
Fair Value Disclosure - Black-Scholes-Merton Model
The fair value of ESPP purchase rights issued is estimated at the date of grant of the purchase rights using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options that have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable. The Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model requires the input of highly subjective assumptions such as the expected stock price volatility and the expected period until options are exercised. Purchase rights under the current ESPP provisions are granted on either June 1st or December 1st of each year.
The fair values of all ESPP purchase rights granted on or prior to June 29, 2012 have been estimated at the date of grant using a Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions:
RSU Activity
The following table summarizes RSU activity (in millions, except weighted average grant date fair value):
The fair value of each RSU is the market price of our stock on the date of grant. The aggregate value of RSUs that became fully-vested during 2012 and 2011 was $41 million and $23 million, respectively, determined as of the vest date. The grant-date fair value of the shares underlying the RSU awards at the date of grant or assumption was $71 million, $26 million and $45 million in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. These amounts are being recognized to expense over the corresponding vesting periods. For purposes of valuing these awards, the Company has assumed a forfeiture rate of 2.4%, 1.8%, and 1.6% during 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively, based on a historical analysis indicating forfeitures for these types of awards.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Stock Repurchase Program
The Company’s Board of Directors previously authorized the repurchase of $750 million of common stock in open market transactions under a stock repurchase program through March 31, 2013. On May 21, 2012, the Company announced that the Board of Directors authorized an additional $1.5 billion for the repurchase of its common stock and the extension of the Company’s stock repurchase program until May 18, 2017. As of June 29, 2012 the entire $750 million previously authorized for repurchase had been utilized. In addition, as of June 29, 2012 $188 million of the $1.5 billion authorized on May 21, 2012 had been utilized. Since the inception of this program in 2005, through June 29, 2012, the Company has repurchased 36 million shares of its common stock for a total cost of $938 million. The Company repurchased 16.4 million shares for a total cost of $604 million during 2012. The Company may continue to repurchase its stock as it deems appropriate and market conditions allow. Repurchases under the stock repurchase program may be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions and may be made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. The Company expects stock repurchases to be funded principally by operating cash flows.
Stock Reserved for Issuance
The following table summarizes all shares of common stock reserved for issuance at June 29, 2012 (in millions):
Note 9. Income Taxes
Pre-tax Income
The domestic and foreign components of income before income taxes were as follows for the three years ended June 29, 2012 (in millions):
Income Tax Provision
The components of the provision for income taxes were as follows for the three years ended June 29, 2012 (in millions):
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Remaining net undistributed earnings from foreign subsidiaries at June 29, 2012 on which no U.S. tax has been provided amounted to $6.3 billion. The net undistributed earnings are intended to finance local operating requirements and capital investments. Accordingly, an additional U.S. tax provision has not been made on these earnings. The tax liability for these earnings would be $2.1 billion if the Company repatriated the $6.3 billion in undistributed earnings from the foreign subsidiaries.
Deferred Taxes
Temporary differences and carryforwards, which give rise to a significant portion of deferred tax assets and liabilities as of June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011 were as follows (in millions):
The net deferred tax asset valuation was $40 million as of June 29, 2012. This $40 million increase in valuation allowance was recognized as part of the Acquisition. The valuation allowance is based on our assessment that it is more likely than not that certain deferred tax assets will not be realized in the foreseeable future.
In addition to the deferred tax assets presented above, the Company had additional NOL benefits related to stock-based compensation deductions of $33 million and $110 million at June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, respectively. The net decrease in NOL benefits relates to the current year and prior year stock based compensation deductions which resulted in a current benefit of $82 million. This $82 million was recorded as a credit to shareholders’ equity.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Effective Tax Rate
Reconciliation of the U.S. Federal statutory rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows for the three years ended June 29, 2012:
Tax Holidays and Carryforwards
A substantial portion of the Company’s manufacturing operations in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand operate under various tax holidays and tax incentive programs which will expire in whole or in part at various dates through 2025. Certain of the holidays may be extended if specific conditions are met. The net impact of these tax holidays and tax incentives was to increase the Company’s net earnings by $729 million ($2.98 per diluted share), $362 million ($1.54 per diluted share), and $560 million ($2.40 per diluted share) in 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.
As of June 29, 2012, the Company had federal and state NOL carryforwards of $240 million and $151 million, respectively. In addition, as of June 29, 2012, the Company had various federal and state tax credit carryforwards of $236 million combined. The NOL carryforwards available to offset future federal and state taxable income expire at various dates from 2020 to 2032 and 2016 to 2032, respectively. Approximately $108 million of the credit carryforwards available to offset future taxable income expire at various dates from 2016 to 2032. The remaining amount is available indefinitely. NOLs and credits relating to Komag, Incorporated (“Komag”), which was acquired by the Company on September 5, 2007, are subject to limitations under Section 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Company does not expect these limitations to result in a reduction in the total amount of NOLs and credits ultimately realized. NOLs and credits relating to HGST, which was acquired by the Company on March 8, 2012, are subject to limitations under Section 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Company does not expect these limitations to result in a reduction in the total amount of NOLs ultimately realized. However, the Company expects the total amount of credits ultimately realized will be reduced by $9 million.
Uncertain Tax Positions
The Company recognizes liabilities for uncertain tax positions based on a two-step process. First, the tax position is evaluated for recognition by determining if it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. If the tax position is deemed more-likely-than-not to be sustained, the tax position is then assessed to determine the amount of benefit to be recognized in the financial statements. The amount of the benefit that may be recognized is the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. With the exception of certain unrecognized tax benefits that are directly associated with the tax position taken, unrecognized tax benefits are presented gross in the Company’s balance sheet. Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits are recognized on liabilities recorded for uncertain tax positions and are recorded in the provision for income taxes. As of June 29, 2012, such interest and penalties were not material.
As of June 29, 2012, the Company had $280 million of unrecognized tax benefits.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
The following is a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits for the year ended June 29, 2012 (in millions):
The Company’s unrecognized tax benefits are primarily included within long-term liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The entire balance of unrecognized tax benefits at June 29, 2012, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate.
The Company files U.S. Federal, U.S. state, and foreign tax returns. For both federal and state tax returns, with few exceptions, the Company is subject to examination for fiscal years 2008 through 2012. In foreign jurisdictions, with few exceptions, the Company is subject to examination for all years subsequent to fiscal 2006. The Company is no longer subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for periods prior to 2006, although carry forwards generated prior to those periods may still be adjusted upon examination by the IRS or state taxing authority if they either have been or will be used in a subsequent period.
The IRS has completed its field examination of the federal income tax returns for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 for the Company and calendar years 2005 and 2006 for Komag, Incorporated (“Komag”), which was acquired by the Company on September 5, 2007. In September 2011, the Company received a final Revenue Agent Report (“RAR”) and Closing Agreement with respect to the years under examination for Komag. This agreement resulted in an immaterial benefit to the Company’s income tax provision. The Company has also received RARs from the IRS that seek adjustments to income before income taxes of approximately $970 million in connection with unresolved issues related primarily to transfer pricing and certain other intercompany transactions. The Company disagrees with the proposed adjustments. In May 2011, the Company filed a protest with the IRS Appeals Office regarding the proposed adjustments. Meetings with the Appeals Office began in February 2012. In January 2012, the IRS commenced an examination of the Company’s fiscal years 2008 and 2009 and Komag’s period ended September 5, 2007.
The Company believes that adequate provision has been made for any adjustments that may result from tax audits. However, the outcome of tax audits cannot be predicted with certainty. If any issues addressed in the Company’s tax audits are resolved in a manner not consistent with management’s expectations, the Company could be required to adjust its provision for income taxes in the period such resolution occurs. As of June 29, 2012, it is not possible to estimate the amount of change, if any, in the unrecognized tax benefits that is reasonably possible within the next twelve months. Any significant change in the amount of the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits would most likely result from additional information or settlements relating to the examination of the Company’s tax returns.
Note 10. Fair Value Measurements
Financial assets and liabilities that are remeasured and reported at fair value at each reporting period are classified and disclosed in one of the following three levels:
Level 1. Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2. Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.
Level 3. Inputs that are unobservable for the asset or liability and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
The following table presents information about the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of June 29, 2012, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques utilized to determine such value (in millions):
The following table presents information about the Company’s financial assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of July 1, 2011, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques utilized to determine such value (in millions):
Money Market Funds. The Company’s money market funds are funds that invest in U.S. Treasury securities and are recorded within cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated balance sheets. Money market funds are valued based on quoted market prices.
U.S. Treasury Securities. The Company’s U.S. Treasury securities are investments in Treasury bills with original maturities of three months or less, are held in custody by a third party and are recorded within cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated balance sheets. U.S. Treasury securities are valued using a market approach which is based on observable inputs including market interest rates from multiple pricing sources.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
U.S. Government Agency Securities. The Company’s U.S. Government agency securities are investments in fixed income securities sponsored by the U.S. Government with original maturities of three months or less, are held in custody by a third party and are recorded within cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated balance sheets. U.S. Government agency securities are valued using a market approach which is based on observable inputs including market interest rates from multiple pricing sources.
Auction-Rate Securities. The Company’s auction-rate securities have maturity dates through 2050, are primarily backed by insurance products and are accounted for as available-for-sale securities. These investments are classified as long-term investments and recorded within other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheets. Auction-rate securities are valued by a third party using trade information related to the secondary market.
Foreign Exchange Contracts. The Company’s foreign exchange contracts are short-term contracts to hedge the Company’s foreign currency risk related to the British Pound Sterling, Euro, Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit, Philippine Peso, Singapore Dollar and Thai Baht. Foreign exchange contracts are classified within other current assets and liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. Foreign exchange contracts are valued using an income approach that is based on a present value of future cash flows model. The market-based observable inputs for the model include forward rates and credit default swap rates.
For the year ended June 29, 2012, the Company had a $1 million settlement in its Level 3 financial assets measured on a recurring basis, reducing the balance from $15 million to $14 million. For the year ended July 1, 2011, there were no changes in Level 3 financial assets measured on a recurring basis.
Note 11. Foreign Exchange Contracts
As of June 29, 2012, the net amount of existing losses expected to be reclassified into earnings within the next twelve months was $16 million and the Company did not have any foreign exchange contracts with credit-risk-related contingent features. The Company opened $3.2 billion and $4.7 billion, and closed $3.2 billion and $3.2 billion, in foreign exchange contracts for the years ended June 29, 2012 and July 1, 2011, respectively. The fair value and balance sheet location of such contracts were as follows (in millions):
The impact on the consolidated financial statements was as follows (in millions):
The total net realized transaction and foreign exchange contract currency gains and losses were not material to the consolidated financial statements during 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. See Notes 1 and 10 for additional disclosures related to the Company’s foreign exchange contracts.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Note 12. Other Intangible Assets
In 2012, the Company acquired $834 million of intangibles as a result of the HGST acquisition, primarily related to existing technology, customer relationships and in-process research and development. See Note 14 below for a discussion of intangible assets acquired as a result of the Acquisition. Other intangible assets consist primarily of technology acquired in business combinations and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the respective estimated useful lives of the assets. Intangible assets as of June 29, 2012 were as follows:
Other intangible assets in the table above include a joint development agreement, trade names and a non-compete agreement.
Intangible assets as of July 1, 2011 were as follows:
Amortization expense for intangible assets was $79 million, $17 million and $12 million for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Amortization expense in 2012 related to the Acquisition was $63 million. As of June 29, 2012, estimated future amortization expense for intangible assets is $207 million for 2013, $193 million for 2014, $138 million for 2015, $59 million for 2016 and $31 million for 2017.
Note 13. Pensions and Other Post-retirement Benefit Plans
In connection with the Acquisition, the Company assumed pension and other post-retirement benefit plans in various countries, including Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. The Company’s principal plans are in Japan. All pension and other post-retirement benefit plans outside of the Company’s Japanese plans were immaterial to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Obligations and Funded Status
The changes in the benefit obligations and plan assets for the Japanese defined benefit pension plans were as follows for the period from the Closing Date through June 29, 2012 (in millions):
The following table presents the unfunded amounts as recognized on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as of June 29, 2012 (in millions):
The accumulated benefit obligation for the Japanese defined benefit pension plans was $283 million at June 29, 2012. Net losses and prior service credits for the defined benefit pension plans of $3 million and less than $1 million, respectively, are recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the consolidated balance sheet as of June 29, 2012. The amount expected to be amortized into net periodic benefit cost in fiscal 2013 is immaterial to the consolidated financial statements.
Assumptions
Weighted-Average Assumptions
The weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine benefit obligations for the Japanese defined benefit pension plans were as follows from the Closing Date through June 29, 2012:
The weighted-average actuarial assumptions used to determine benefit costs for the Japanese defined benefit pension plans were as follows from the Closing Date through June 29, 2012:
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
The Company develops a discount rate by calculating when the estimated benefit payments will be due. Management in Japan then matches the benefit payments to AA or higher bond ratings that match the timing of the expected benefit payments to determine the appropriate discount rate.
The Company develops the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets by analyzing rates of return in Japan as well as the investment portfolio applicable to the plan. Management’s estimates of future rates of return on assets is based in large part on the projected rate of return from the respective investment managers using a long-term view of historical returns, as well as actuarial recommendations using the most current generational and mortality tables and rates.
The Company develops the rate of compensation increase assumptions using local compensation practices and historical rates of increases.
Plan Assets
Investment Policies and Strategies
The investment policy in Japan is to generate a stable return on investments over a long-term horizon in order to have adequate pension funds to meet the Company’s future obligations. In order to achieve this investment goal, a diversified portfolio with target asset allocation and expected rate of return is established by considering factors such as composition of participants, level of funded status, capacity to absorb risks, and the current economic environment. The target asset allocation is 22% to 35% in equity securities, 46% to 62% in debt securities and the remaining 3% to 32% in other assets. Risk management is accomplished through diversification, periodic review of plan asset performance, and appropriate realignment of asset allocation. Assumptions regarding the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets are periodically reviewed and are based on the historical trend of returns, the risk and correlation of each asset, and the latest economic environment.
The expected long-term rate of return is estimated based on many factors, including expected forecast for inflation, risk premiums for each asset class, expected asset allocation, current and future financial market conditions, and diversification and rebalancing strategies. Historical return patterns and correlations, consensus return forecasts, and other relevant financial factors are analyzed periodically by the investment advisor so as to ensure that the expected long-term rate of return is reasonable and appropriate.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Fair Value Measurements
The following table presents the Japanese defined benefit pension plans’ major asset categories and their associated fair values as of June 29, 2012 (in millions):
(1) Includes direct investments in equity of domestic and foreign companies, including those in developing countries.
(2) Commingled funds represent pooled institutional investments.
(3) Equity mutual funds invest primarily in equity securities.
(4) Includes debt issued by national, state or local governments and related agencies.
(5) Fixed income mutual funds invest primarily in fixed income securities.
(6) Other securities include corporate bonds, insurance contracts and mortgage-backed securities
(7) Includes investments in hedge funds, venture capital funds, limited partnerships, private real estate, bank capital and collateral debt obligations such as private placement real estate funds.
Assets held in defined benefit plans in the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand were less than $1 million and are not presented in the above table. There were no significant movements of assets between any level categories from the Closing Date through June 29, 2012.
Fair Value Valuation Techniques
Equity securities are valued at the closing price reported on the stock exchange on which the individual securities are traded. Equity commingled/mutual funds are typically valued using the net asset value (“NAV”) provided by the investment manager or administrator of the fund. The NAV is based on the value of the underlying assets owned by the fund, minus liabilities and divided by the number of shares or units outstanding. These assets are classified as either Level 1 or Level 2, depending on availability of quoted market prices for identical or similar assets.
If available, fixed income securities are valued using the close price reported on the major market on which the individual securities are traded and are classified as Level 1. The fair value of other fixed income securities is typically estimated using pricing models and quoted prices of securities with similar characteristics, and is generally classified as Level 2.
Cash includes money market accounts that are valued at their cost plus interest on a daily basis, which approximates fair value. Short-term investments represent securities with original maturities of one year or less. These assets are classified as either Level 1 or Level 2.
Alternative investment valuations require significant judgment due to the absence of quoted market prices, the inherent lack of liquidity and the long-term nature of the underlying assets. These assets are valued based on individual fund manager valuation models utilizing available and relevant market data. These investments are classified as Level 3.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Cash Flows
Contributions
The Company’s expected employer contributions for 2013 are $14 million for its Japanese defined benefit pension plans.
Estimated Future Benefits Payments
Annual benefit payments from the Japanese defined benefit pension plans are estimated to range from $6 million to $9 million annually over the next five years.
Note 14. Acquisitions
HGST
On March 8, 2012, the Company, through WDI, its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, completed the Acquisition pursuant to the SPA. HGST is a developer and manufacturer of storage devices. As a result of the Acquisition, HGST became an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The preliminary, aggregate purchase price of the Acquisition was approximately $4.7 billion, which was paid on the Closing Date and funded with $3.7 billion of existing cash and cash from new debt, as well as 25 million newly issued shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair value of $877 million. The fair value of the newly issued shares of the Company’s common stock was determined based on the closing market price of the Company’s shares of common stock on the date of the Acquisition, less a 10% discount for lack of marketability as the shares issued are subject to a restriction that limits their trade or transfer for one year from the Closing Date. The Acquisition is intended over time, and subject to compliance with applicable regulatory conditions imposed on the Acquisition, to result in a more efficient and innovative customer-focused storage company with significant operating scale, strong global talent and a broad product lineup backed by a rich technology portfolio. HGST’s results of operations since the date of the Acquisition are included in the consolidated financial statements.
The total preliminary purchase price for HGST was approximately $4.7 billion and was comprised of:
The fair values of stock options and SARs assumed were estimated using a Binomial option-pricing model. See “Stock-Based Compensation” included below in this Note 14 for a further discussion concerning stock awards assumed as a result of the Acquisition.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
The purchase price consideration includes preliminary estimates of the working capital assets acquired and liabilities assumed, and therefore, may be adjusted when finalized. The Company identified and recorded the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their estimated fair values at the Closing Date, and allocated the remaining value of approximately $1.8 billion to goodwill. The values assigned to certain acquired assets and liabilities are preliminary, are based on information available as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and may be adjusted as further information becomes available during the measurement period of up to 12 months from the date of the Acquisition. The primary areas of the preliminary purchase price allocation that are not yet finalized due to information that may become available subsequently and may result in changes in the values allocated to various assets and liabilities, include the fair values of property, plant and equipment acquired, the valuation of certain intangible assets, contingencies and income taxes. Any changes in the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed during the measurement period may result in material adjustments to goodwill. The preliminary purchase price allocation was as follows (in millions):
During the three months ended June 29, 2012, the Company recorded a $124 million net increase in goodwill from the $1.7 billion recorded in the quarter ended March 30, 2012. This increase primarily relates to a net $161 million adjustment to equipment values, an increase to intangible assets of $41 million and other adjustments related to additional information obtained subsequently that existed at the Closing Date. The adjustment to depreciation and amortization as a result of these changes was not material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
From the beginning of 2012 through the Closing Date, the Company incurred $61 million of expenses related to the Acquisition, of which $54 million are included within selling, general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of income. The remaining $7 million of expenses related to debt commitment fees, which are included within interest and other expense in the consolidated statements of income.
Property, Plant and Equipment
The property, plant and equipment acquired as part of the Acquisition were valued using either the replacement cost or market value approach, as appropriate, as of the Closing Date. The following table summarizes the preliminary estimated fair value of the property, plant and equipment acquired from HGST and their estimated useful lives:
Inventories
The Company acquired $721 million of inventories as a result of the Acquisition. Finished goods were valued at estimated selling prices less costs of disposal and a reasonable profit allowance for the selling effort. Work-in-process inventory was valued at estimated selling prices less costs to complete, costs of disposal and a reasonable profit allowance for the completion and selling effort, or at estimated replacement costs for certain components. Raw materials were valued at estimated replacement cost at the Closing Date.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Warranty
The product warranty obligation assumed as a result of Acquisition was recognized at its estimated fair value of $139 million.
Stock-Based Compensation
In connection with the Acquisition, each outstanding HGST option, cash-settled SAR and RSU that was unvested as of the Closing Date was converted into equivalent options, cash-settled SARs and RSUs, with respect to shares of the Company’s common stock, using an equity award exchange ratio in accordance with the SPA. All awards will be recognized by the Company over the remaining service periods. As of June 29, 2012, the future expense for the assumed HGST unvested options, SARs and RSUs was $77.4 million, which will be recognized over a weighted average service period of approximately 1.8 years.
Identifiable Intangible Assets Acquired
The following table summarizes the preliminary fair values and estimated useful lives of the intangibles acquired from HGST:
The fair values of the identifiable intangible assets acquired from HGST were estimated using an income approach. The fair value of the intangible assets will be amortized to cost of revenue over their weighted average useful lives, with the exception of intangible assets related to customer relationships and acquired in-process research and development projects. Customer relationship intangible assets will be amortized to operating expense over their weighted average useful lives. HGST had in-process research and development projects associated with areal density improvements that had not yet reached technological feasibility as of the Closing Date. These projects are expected to incorporate significant changes in the magnetic structure of the media to achieve higher recording density for the Company. Accordingly, the Company recorded indefinite-lived intangible assets of $143 million for the fair value of these projects, which will not initially be amortized. Instead, the projects will be tested on an annual basis or more frequently whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the projects may be impaired or may have reached technological feasibility. Once a project reaches technological feasibility, the Company will begin to amortize the intangible asset over its estimated useful life.
Adverse/Favorable Leasehold Interests
The Company analyzed the contractual facility leases assumed as part of the Acquisition to determine the fair value of the leasehold interests. An adverse leasehold position exists when the present value of the contractual rental obligation is greater than the present value of the market rental obligation, and conversely for a favorable leasehold interest. The Company recorded a net favorable leasehold interest of $43 million, which is classified within intangible assets in the preliminary purchase price allocation table above in this Note 14. The $43 million will be amortized to cost of revenue over the average lease term of 28 years.
Goodwill
The $1.8 billion of goodwill recognized is primarily attributable to the benefits, subject to compliance with applicable regulatory conditions imposed on the Acquisition, the Company expects to derive from a more efficient and innovative customer-focused storage company with significant operating scale, strong global talent and a broad product lineup backed by a rich technology portfolio. None of the goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the year ended June 29, 2012 are as follows (in millions):
HGST Revenue and Net Income
The amount of revenue and earnings attributable to HGST in the Company’s consolidated statement of income during the three months ended and the year ended June 29, 2012 from the Closing Date were as follows:
Toshiba Transactions
In connection with the regulatory approval process, the Company announced on May 15, 2012 that it had completed a transaction with Toshiba to divest certain 3.5-inch hard drive assets and to purchase Toshiba Storage Device (Thailand) Company Limited (“TSDT”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toshiba which manufactured hard drives prior to the recent Thailand flooding. The net impact of these two transactions was immaterial to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Maintenance of Competitive Requirement
In connection with the regulatory approval process of the Acquisition, the Company agreed to certain conditions required by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (“MOFCOM”), including adopting measures to maintain HGST as an independent competitor until MOFCOM agrees otherwise (with the minimum period being two years). The Company is working closely with MOFCOM to finalize an operations plan that is expected to outline in more detail the conditions of the competitive requirement.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Pro Forma Financial Information
The unaudited financial information in the table below summarizes the combined results of operations of the Company, HGST and TSDT as well as the related divestiture of assets to Toshiba, on a pro forma basis, as though the combinations and divestiture had occurred as of the beginning of fiscal 2011. The pro forma financial information presented includes the effects of adjustments related to the fair value of acquired inventory and warranty obligation, acquired or divested fixed assets, amortization charges from acquired intangible assets, depreciation charges from acquired or divested fixed assets and the elimination of certain activities excluded from the transactions. The pro forma financial information as presented below is for informational purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that would have been achieved if the acquisitions, divestiture and any borrowings undertaken to finance the acquisitions had taken place at the beginning of the earliest period presented, nor does it intend to be a projection of future results.
Magnetic Media Operations
On June 30, 2010, the Company acquired the facilities, equipment, intellectual property and working capital of the magnetic media sputtering operations of Hoya. The cost of the acquisition was $233 million and was funded with available cash. The Company identified and recorded the assets, including specifically identifiable intangible assets, and liabilities assumed from Hoya at their estimated fair values as of the date of acquisition, and allocated the remaining value to goodwill. The allocation was as follows (in millions):
Intangible assets of $11 million primarily relate to a glass substrate supply agreement and existing technology. These intangibles will be amortized to cost of revenue over the weighted average useful life of 3 years.
Note 15. Thailand Flooding
In October 2011, severe flooding in Thailand inundated all of the Company’s Thailand manufacturing facilities and submerged certain equipment located there. These facilities included the Company’s magnetic head slider fabrication facilities, as well as its hard drive, head gimbal assembly and head stack assembly facilities. As a result, the Company recorded $235 million of flood-related charges in fiscal 2012, offset by $21 million of insurance recoveries and other cost reimbursements. These charges are separately stated as a line item, “Charges related to flooding, net,” within operating expenses on the consolidated statements of income.
The following table summarizes the flood-related charges for the nine months ended June 29, 2012 (in millions):
The Company maintains insurance coverage that provides property and business interruption coverage in the event of losses arising from flooding. The Company has submitted claims to its insurers and is awaiting a determination of how much of its total losses will be covered by insurance. For an additional discussion of the Thailand flooding, see Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
Note 16. Impairment and Other Charges
During the Company’s fourth fiscal quarter 2012, the Company incurred charges to realign its manufacturing capacity as a result of a softer demand environment. Total charges of $80 million are included in Impairment and other charges within operating expenses on the consolidated statements of income. The following table summarizes the Company’s impairment and other charges for the three months ended June 29, 2012 (in millions):
The asset impairment charge of $56 million primarily relates to the machinery and equipment at the facilities in Singapore, Thailand and Phoenix, Arizona. The employee termination benefits charge of $8 million relates primarily to TSDT employees. The contract and other termination costs liability is expected to be relieved by the second quarter of fiscal 2013 and is included within accrued expenses in the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 14 for an additional discussion of the purchase of TSDT.
Note 17. Quarterly Results of Operations (unaudited)
(1) The first, second and third quarters of 2012 included $14 million, $14 million and $34 million, respectively, of expenses related to the acquisition of HGST, including debt commitment fees. The first quarter of 2012 included $7 million of litigation contingencies. The second and third quarters included $199 million and $15 million of charges related to the flooding, net of recoveries, respectively. The third quarter of 2012 included $91 million for costs recognized upon the sale of inventory that was written-up to fair value. The third quarter of 2012 included $16 million of tax effects related to the aforementioned costs related to inventory. The third and fourth quarters of 2012 included $12 million and $51 million for the amortization of intangibles related to the acquisition of HGST, respectively. The fourth quarter of 2012 included $80 million of impairment and other charges.
(2) The third quarter of 2011 included $10 million of expenses related to the acquisition of HGST. The fourth quarter of 2011 included a $25 million accrual for litigation contingencies, $7 million of expenses related to the acquisition of HGST, and $2 million of debt commitment fees related to the acquisition of HGST.
SCHEDULE WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS SCHEDULE II - CONSOLIDATED VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS
Three years ended June 29, 2012
(in millions)

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As required by SEC Rule 13a-15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that the transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and our directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Our management evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting using the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control - Integrated Framework. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. KPMG LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, which audited the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, has issued an audit report on our internal control over financial reporting. See page 51 herein.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 29, 2012 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Inherent Limitations of Effectiveness of Controls
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, does not expect our internal controls over financial reporting will prevent all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in a system of internal control over financial reporting, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the control. The design of any system of controls is also based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
There is incorporated herein by reference the information required by this Item included in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended June 29, 2012, except that the information required by this Item 10 concerning executive officers is set forth in Part I of this report under “Item 1. Business - Executive Officers of the Registrant.”
In addition, our Board of Directors has adopted a Code of Business Ethics that applies to all of our directors, employees and officers, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Principal Accounting Officer. The current version of the Code of Business Ethics is available on our Web site under the Governance section at www.westerndigital.com. In accordance with rules adopted by the SEC and The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, we intend to promptly disclose future amendments to certain provisions of the Code of Business Ethics, or waivers of such provisions granted to executive officers and directors, on our Web site under the Governance section at www.westerndigital.com.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
There is incorporated herein by reference the information required by this Item included in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended June 29, 2012.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
There is incorporated herein by reference the information required by this Item included in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended June 29, 2012.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
There is incorporated herein by reference the information required by this Item included in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended June 29, 2012.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
There is incorporated herein by reference the information required by this Item included in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended June 29, 2012.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a) Documents filed as a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
(1) Financial Statements
The financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this document are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
(2) Financial Statement Schedules
The financial statement schedule included in Part II, Item 8 of this document is filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
All other schedules are omitted as the required information is inapplicable or the information is presented in the consolidated financial statements or related Notes.
Separate financial statements have been omitted as we are primarily an operating company and our subsidiaries are wholly or majority owned and do not have minority equity interests and/or indebtedness to any person other than us in amounts which together exceed 5% of the total consolidated assets as shown by the most recent year-end consolidated balance sheet.
(3) Exhibits
The following exhibits are filed herewith or are incorporated by reference, as specified below, from exhibits previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Certain agreements listed below that we have filed or incorporated by reference may contain representations and warranties by us or our subsidiaries. These representations and warranties have been made solely for the benefit of the other party or parties to such agreements and (i) may have been qualified by disclosures made to such other party or parties, (ii) were made only as of the date of such agreements or such other date(s) as may be specified in such agreements and are subject to more recent developments, which may not be fully reflected in our public disclosures, (iii) may reflect the allocation of risk among the parties to such agreements and (iv) may apply materiality standards different from what may be viewed as material to investors. Accordingly, these representations and warranties may not describe the actual state of affairs at the date hereof and should not be relied upon.
Exhibit
Number
Description
2.1
Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(19)±
2.2
First Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated May 27, 2011, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(20)
2.3
Second Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated November 23, 2011, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(22)
2.4
Third Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated January 30, 2012, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(23)
2.5
Fourth Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated February 15, 2012, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(23)
2.6
Second Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 6, 2012, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(23)
2.7
Second Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 6, 2012, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(23)
3.1
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Western Digital Corporation, as amended to date(7)
Exhibit
Number
Description
3.2
Amended and Restated Bylaws of Western Digital Corporation, as amended effective as of November 5, 2007(11)
10.1
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan, amended and restated effective as of August 12, 2009(15)*
10.1.1
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option and Option Agreement - Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(21)*
10.1.2
Form of Notice of Stock Option Grant and Stock Option Agreement , under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(8)*
10.1.3
Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement - Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(5)*
10.1.4
Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement - Non-Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(5)*
10.1.5
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Units and Stock Unit Award Agreement - Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(21)*
10.1.6
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Units and Stock Unit Award Agreement, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(13)*
10.1.7
Form of Notice of Grant of Performance Stock Units and Performance Stock Unit Award Agreement, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan*
10.1.8
Form of Notice of Grant of Long-Term Cash Award and Long-Term Cash Award Agreement - Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(21)*
10.1.9
Form of Notice of Grant of Long-Term Cash Award and Long-Term Cash Award Agreement - Employees, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(13)*
10.1.10
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan Non-Employee Director Option Grant Program, as amended September 11, 2008, and Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option and Option Agreement - Non-Employee Directors(16)*
10.1.11
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan Non-Employee Director Restricted Stock Unit Grant Program, as amended and restated effective November 6, 2008(16)*
10.2
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Employee Stock Option Plan, as amended on November 5, 1998(1)*
10.2.1
First Amendment to the Western Digital Corporation Employee Stock Option Plan, dated April 6, 2001(3)*
10.2.2
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Options and Stock Option Agreement under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Employee Stock Option Plan as amended(6)*
10.3
Western Digital Corporation Broad-Based Stock Incentive Plan(2)*
10.3.1
First Amendment to the Western Digital Corporation Broad-Based Stock Incentive Plan, dated April 6, 2001(3)*
10.3.2
Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement under the Western Digital Corporation Broad Based Stock Incentive Plan as amended(6)*
10.4
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors, effective as of May 25, 2000(3)*
10.4.1
First Amendment to the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors, dated April 6, 2001(3)*
10.5
Western Digital Corporation 2005 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended August 11, 2010(17)*
10.6
Amended and Restated Western Digital Corporation Non-Employee Directors Stock-For-Fees Plan, as amended November 6, 2008(15)*
10.7
Western Digital Corporation Summary of Compensation Arrangements for Named Executive Officers and Directors*
10.8
Amended and Restated Deferred Compensation Plan, amended and restated effective November 10, 2010(18)*
Exhibit
Number
Description
10.9
Employment Agreement, dated as of March 7, 2011, between Western Digital Corporation and John Coyne(19)*
10.9.1
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Units and Stock Unit Award Agreement between Western Digital Corporation and John Coyne(21)*
10.9.2
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option and Option Agreement between Western Digital Corporation and John Coyne(21)*
10.9.3
Form of Notice of Long-Term Cash Award and Long-Term Cash Award Agreement between Western Digital Corporation and John Coyne(21)*
10.10
Employment Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, between Western Digital Corporation and Stephen D. Milligan(23)*
10.11
Employment Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, between Western Digital Corporation and Timothy Leyden(19)*
10.12
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Change of Control Severance Plan, amended and restated as of May 17, 2011(20)*
10.13
Western Digital Corporation Executive Severance Plan, amended and restated as of February 16, 2012(23)*
10.14
Form of Indemnity Agreement for Directors of Western Digital Corporation(4)*
10.15
Form of Indemnity Agreement for Officers of Western Digital Corporation(4)*
10.16
Credit Agreement, dated as of March 8, 2012, among Western Digital Technologies, Inc. and Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., as Borrowers; Western Digital Corporation, as Holdings; Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer; lenders party thereto; Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, as Sole Lead Arranger and Sole Bookrunner; and The Bank of Nova Scotia, Union Bank, N.A., HSBC Bank USA, National Association, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Co-Syndication Agents(23)
10.17
Commitment Letter, dated March 7, 2011, among Bank of America, N.A., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Technologies, Inc., and Western Digital Ireland, Ltd.(19)
10.18
First Amendment to Commitment Letter, dated March 2, 2012, among Bank of America, N.A., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Technologies, Inc. and Western Digital Ireland, Ltd.(23)
10.19
Transition Services Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, among Hitachi, Ltd., Viviti Technologies Ltd. and Western Digital Corporation(19)
10.20
Investor Rights Agreement, dated as of March 8, 2012, between Western Digital Corporation and Hitachi, Ltd.(23)
10.21
Letter Agreement, dated November 15, 2011, between Western Digital Technologies, Inc. and SAE Magnetics (H.K.) Ltd. and its affiliates(22)≠
Subsidiaries of Western Digital Corporation
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
31.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1
Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS
XBRL Instance Document**
101.SCH
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document**
101.CAL
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document**
101.LAB
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document**
101.PRE
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document**
101.DEF
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document**
 Filed with this report.
± Certain schedules have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. The Company agrees to furnish supplementally copies of any of the omitted schedules upon request by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
≠ Certain portions of this exhibit are omitted and have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to a confidential treatment request.
* Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement required to be filed as an exhibit pursuant to applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
** Furnished herewith. In accordance with Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the information in these exhibits shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or otherwise subject to liability under that section, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
(1) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 8, 1999.
(2) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, 2000.
(3) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 27, 2001.
(4) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2002.
(5) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 23, 2004.
(6) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 14, 2005.
(7) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 8, 2006.
(8) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 16, 2006.
(9) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 2, 2006.
(10) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 28, 2007.
(11) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2007.
(12) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 12, 2008.
(13) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 31, 2008.
(14) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-155661), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 25, 2008.
(15) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 2009.
(16) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 2009.
(17) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 2010.
(18) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 28, 2011.
(19) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 2, 2011.
(20) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 12, 2011.
(21) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 28, 2011.
(22) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 27, 2012.
(23) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 9, 2012.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION
By:
/s/ WOLFGANG U. NICKL
Wolfgang U. Nickl
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Dated: August 17, 2012
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature
Title
Date
/s/ JOHN F. COYNE
John F. Coyne
Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer), Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ WOLFGANG U. NICKL
Wolfgang U. Nickl
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
August 17, 2012
/s/ THOMAS E. PARDUN
Thomas E. Pardun
Chairman of the Board
August 17, 2012
/s/ KATHLEEN A. COTE
Kathleen A. Cote
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ HENRY T. DENERO
Henry T. DeNero
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ WILLIAM L. KIMSEY
William L. Kimsey
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ MICHAEL D. LAMBERT
Michael D. Lambert
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ LEN J. LAUER
Len J. Lauer
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ MATTHEW E. MASSENGILL
Matthew E. Massengill
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ ROGER H. MOORE
Roger H. Moore
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ KENSUKE OKA
Kensuke Oka
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ ARIF SHAKEEL
Arif Shakeel
Director
August 17, 2012
/s/ MASAHIRO YAMAMURA
Masahiro Yamamura
Director
August 17, 2012
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit
Number
Description
2.1
Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(19)±
2.2
First Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated May 27, 2011, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(20)
2.3
Second Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated November 23, 2011, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(22)
2.4
Third Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated January 30, 2012, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(23)
2.5
Fourth Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated February 15, 2012, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(23)
2.6
Second Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 6, 2012, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(23)
2.7
Second Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 6, 2012, among Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Viviti Technologies Ltd.(23)
3.1
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Western Digital Corporation, as amended to date(7)
3.2
Amended and Restated Bylaws of Western Digital Corporation, as amended effective as of November 5, 2007(11)
10.1
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan, amended and restated effective as of August 12, 2009(15)*
10.1.1
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option and Option Agreement - Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(21)*
10.1.2
Form of Notice of Stock Option Grant and Stock Option Agreement , under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(8)*
10.1.3
Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement - Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(5)*
10.1.4
Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement - Non-Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(5)*
10.1.5
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Units and Stock Unit Award Agreement - Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(21)*
10.1.6
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Units and Stock Unit Award Agreement, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(13)*
10.1.7
Form of Notice of Grant of Performance Stock Units and Performance Stock Unit Award Agreement, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan*
10.1.8
Form of Notice of Grant of Long-Term Cash Award and Long-Term Cash Award Agreement - Executives, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(21)*
10.1.9
Form of Notice of Grant of Long-Term Cash Award and Long-Term Cash Award Agreement - Employees, under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan(13)*
10.1.10
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan Non-Employee Director Option Grant Program, as amended September 11, 2008, and Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option and Option Agreement - Non-Employee Directors(16)*
10.1.11
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated 2004 Performance Incentive Plan Non-Employee Director Restricted Stock Unit Grant Program, as amended and restated effective November 6, 2008(16)*
10.2
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Employee Stock Option Plan, as amended on November 5, 1998(1)*
10.2.1
First Amendment to the Western Digital Corporation Employee Stock Option Plan, dated April 6, 2001(3)*
Exhibit
Number
Description
10.2.2
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Options and Stock Option Agreement under the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Employee Stock Option Plan as amended(6)*
10.3
Western Digital Corporation Broad-Based Stock Incentive Plan(2)*
10.3.1
First Amendment to the Western Digital Corporation Broad-Based Stock Incentive Plan, dated April 6, 2001(3)*
10.3.2
Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement under the Western Digital Corporation Broad Based Stock Incentive Plan as amended(6)*
10.4
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors, effective as of May 25, 2000(3)*
10.4.1
First Amendment to the Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors, dated April 6, 2001(3)*
10.5
Western Digital Corporation 2005 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended August 11, 2010(17)*
10.6
Amended and Restated Western Digital Corporation Non-Employee Directors Stock-For-Fees Plan, as amended November 6, 2008(15)*
10.7
Western Digital Corporation Summary of Compensation Arrangements for Named Executive Officers and Directors*
10.8
Amended and Restated Deferred Compensation Plan, amended and restated effective November 10, 2010(18)*
10.9
Employment Agreement, dated as of March 7, 2011, between Western Digital Corporation and John Coyne(19)*
10.9.1
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Units and Stock Unit Award Agreement between Western Digital Corporation and John Coyne(21)*
10.9.2
Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option and Option Agreement between Western Digital Corporation and John Coyne(21)*
10.9.3
Form of Notice of Long-Term Cash Award and Long-Term Cash Award Agreement between Western Digital Corporation and John Coyne(21)*
10.10
Employment Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, between Western Digital Corporation and Stephen D. Milligan(23)*
10.11
Employment Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, between Western Digital Corporation and Timothy Leyden(19)*
10.12
Western Digital Corporation Amended and Restated Change of Control Severance Plan, amended and restated as of May 17, 2011(20)*
10.13
Western Digital Corporation Executive Severance Plan, amended and restated as of February 16, 2012(23)*
10.14
Form of Indemnity Agreement for Directors of Western Digital Corporation(4)*
10.15
Form of Indemnity Agreement for Officers of Western Digital Corporation(4)*
10.16
Credit Agreement, dated as of March 8, 2012, among Western Digital Technologies, Inc. and Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., as Borrowers; Western Digital Corporation, as Holdings; Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer; lenders party thereto; Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, as Sole Lead Arranger and Sole Bookrunner; and The Bank of Nova Scotia, Union Bank, N.A., HSBC Bank USA, National Association, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Co-Syndication Agents(23)
10.17
Commitment Letter, dated March 7, 2011, among Bank of America, N.A., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Technologies, Inc., and Western Digital Ireland, Ltd.(19)
10.18
First Amendment to Commitment Letter, dated March 2, 2012, among Bank of America, N.A., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Western Digital Corporation, Western Digital Technologies, Inc. and Western Digital Ireland, Ltd.(23)
10.19
Transition Services Agreement, dated March 7, 2011, among Hitachi, Ltd., Viviti Technologies Ltd. and Western Digital Corporation(19)
10.20
Investor Rights Agreement, dated as of March 8, 2012, between Western Digital Corporation and Hitachi, Ltd.(23)
10.21
Letter Agreement, dated November 15, 2011, between Western Digital Technologies, Inc. and SAE Magnetics (H.K.) Ltd. and its affiliates(22)≠
Exhibit
Number
Description
Subsidiaries of Western Digital Corporation
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
31.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1
Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS
XBRL Instance Document**
101.SCH
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document**
101.CAL
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document**
101.LAB
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document**
101.PRE
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document**
101.DEF
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document**
 Filed with this report.
± Certain schedules have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. The Company agrees to furnish supplementally copies of any of the omitted schedules upon request by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
≠ Certain portions of this exhibit are omitted and have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to a confidential treatment request.
* Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement required to be filed as an exhibit pursuant to applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
** Furnished herewith. In accordance with Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the information in these exhibits shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or otherwise subject to liability under that section, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
(1) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 8, 1999.
(2) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, 2000.
(3) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 27, 2001.
(4) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2002.
(5) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 23, 2004.
(6) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 14, 2005.
(7) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 8, 2006.
(8) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 16, 2006.
(9) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 2, 2006.
(10) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 28, 2007.
(11) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2007.
(12) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 12, 2008.
(13) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 31, 2008.
(14) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-155661), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 25, 2008.
(15) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 2009.
(16) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 2009.
(17) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 2010.
(18) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 28, 2011.
(19) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 2, 2011.
(20) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 12, 2011.
(21) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 28, 2011.
(22) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 27, 2012.
(23) Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-8703), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 9, 2012.

---

Stock Performance Metrics:
Return: -0.003518026554957032
1-Day Return: $1_day_return
3-Day Return: $3_day_return
5-Day Return: $5_day_return
10-Day Return: $10_day_return
20-Day Return: $20_day_return
40-Day Return: $40_day_return
60-Day Return: $60_day_return
80-Day Return: $80_day_return
100-Day Return: $100_day_return
150-Day Return: $150_day_return
252-Day Return: $252_day_return