SEC Form 10-K Filing Report

Company: XILINX INC
CIK: 743988
SIC Code: 3674
Filing Date: 2015-05-13 00:00:00
Market Capitalization: 11311988.821586609

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1.
BUSINESS
Xilinx, Inc. (Xilinx, the Company or we) designs and develops programmable devices and associated technologies, including:
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integrated circuits (ICs) in the form of programmable logic devices (PLDs), including programmable System on Chips (SoCs) and three-dimensional ICs, or 3D ICs;
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software design tools to program the PLDs;
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targeted reference designs;
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printed circuit boards; and
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intellectual property (IP), which consists of Xilinx and various third-party verification and IP cores.
In addition to its programmable platforms, Xilinx provides design services, customer training, field engineering and technical support.
Our PLDs include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs) that our customers program to perform desired logic functions, and programmable SoCs, which combine industry standard ARM® processor-based systems with programmable logic in a single device. We also design and develop 3D ICs, which consist of a combination of FPGAs, transceivers and a wide memory interface in a single package to exceed the capacity and bandwidth of monolithic devices. Our product portfolio is designed to provide high integration and quick time-to-market for electronic equipment manufacturers in end markets such as wired and wireless communications, industrial, scientific and medical, aerospace and defense, audio, video and broadcast, consumer, automotive and test and measurement.
We sell our products and services through independent domestic and foreign distributors and through direct sales to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and electronic manufacturing service providers (EMS). Sales are generated by these independent distributors, independent sales representative or our direct sales organization.
Xilinx was founded and incorporated in California in February 1984. In April 1990, the Company was reincorporated in Delaware. Our corporate facilities and executive offices are located at 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, California 95124, and our website address is www.xilinx.com.
Industry Overview
There are three principal types of ICs used in most digital electronic systems: processors, which generally are utilized for control and computing tasks; memory devices, which are used for storing program instructions and data; and logic devices, which generally are used to manage the interchange and manipulation of digital signals within a system. Xilinx designs and develops PLDs, a type of logic device. Alternatives to PLDs may include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and application specific standard products (ASSPs). PLDs, ASICs and ASSPs may be utilized in many of the same types of electronic systems. However, differences in unit pricing, development cost, product performance, reliability, power consumption, capacity, features and functionality, ease of use and time-to-market determine which devices are best-suited for specific applications.
PLDs have key competitive advantages over ASICs and ASSPs, including:
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Faster time-to-market and increased design flexibility. Both of these advantages are enabled by Xilinx desktop software which allows users to implement and revise their designs quickly. In contrast, ASICs and ASSPs require significant development time and offer limited, if any, flexibility to make design changes.
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PLDs are standard components. This means that the same device can be sold to many different users for a myriad of applications. In sharp contrast, ASICs and ASSPs are customized for an individual user or a specific application.
PLDs are generally disadvantaged in terms of relative device size when compared to chips that are designed to perform a fixed function in a single or small set of applications. ASICs and ASSPs tend to be smaller than PLDs performing the same fixed function, resulting in a lower unit cost. However, there is a high fixed cost associated with ASIC and ASSP development that is not applicable to PLD customers. This fixed cost of ASIC and ASSP development is expected to significantly increase on next generation technology nodes. From a total cost of development perspective, ASICs and ASSPs have generally been more cost effective when used in high-volume production, and PLDs have generally been more cost effective when used in low- to mid-volume production. However, we expect PLDs to be able to address higher volume applications and gain market share from ASIC and ASSP suppliers as the fixed cost of ASIC and ASSP development increases on next generation technology nodes.
An overview of typical PLD end market applications for our products is shown in the following table:
End Markets
Sub-Segments
Applications
Communications & Data Center
Wireless
• 3G/4G Base Stations
• Wireless Backhaul
Wireline
• Enterprise Routers and Switches
• Metro Optical Networks
• Data Centers
Industrial, Aerospace & Defense
Industrial, Scientific and Medical
• Factory Automation
• Medical Imaging
Test and Measurement
• Semiconductor Test and Measurement Equipment
• ASIC Emulation and Prototyping
Aerospace and Defense
• Secure Communications
• Avionics
• Electronic Warfare and Surveillance
Broadcast, Consumer &
Consumer
• Digital Televisions
Automotive
• Multifunction Printers
• Set-Top Boxes
Automotive
• Infotainment Systems
• Driver Information Systems
• Driver Assistance Systems
Audio, Video and Broadcast
• Cable Head-End Systems
• Post Production Equipment
• Broadcast Cameras
Other
Miscellaneous
• High Performance Computing
• Computer Peripherals
Strategy and Competition
Our strategy for expansion is the displacement of ASICs and ASSPs in the development of next generation electronic systems. The costs and risks associated with application-specific devices can only be justified for high-volume or highly-specialized commodity products. Programmable platforms, alternatively, are becoming critical for our customers to meet increasingly stringent product requirements - cost, power, performance and density - in a business environment characterized by increased complexity, shrinking market windows, rapidly changing market demands, capped engineering budgets, escalating ASIC and ASSP fixed engineering costs and increased economic and development risk.
With every new generation of FPGAs, our strategy is to increase the performance, density and system-level functionality and integration, while driving down cost and power consumption at each manufacturing process node. This enables us to provide simpler, smarter programmable platforms and design methodologies allowing our customers to focus on innovation and differentiation of their products.
Our PLDs compete in the logic IC industry, an industry that is intensely competitive and characterized by rapid technological change, increasing levels of integration, product obsolescence and continuous price erosion. We expect continued competition from our primary PLD competitors such as Altera Corporation (Altera), Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (Lattice) and Microsemi Corporation (Microsemi), and from ASSP vendors such as Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom), Marvell Technology Group, Ltd. (Marvell) and Texas Instruments Incorporated (Texas Instruments), as well as from new companies that may enter the traditional programmable logic market segment. In addition, we expect continued competition from the ASIC market, which has been ongoing since the inception of FPGAs. Other competitors include manufacturers of:
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high-density programmable logic products characterized by FPGA-type architectures;
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high-volume and low-cost FPGAs as programmable replacements for ASICs and ASSPs;
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ASICs and ASSPs with incremental amounts of embedded programmable logic;
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high-speed, low-density CPLDs;
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high-performance digital signal processing (DSP) devices;
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products with embedded processors;
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products with embedded multi-gigabit transceivers; and
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other new or emerging programmable logic products.
We believe that important competitive factors in the logic IC industry include:
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product pricing;
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time-to-market;
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product performance, reliability, quality, power consumption and density;
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field upgradability;
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adaptability of products to specific applications;
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ease of use and functionality of software design tools;
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availability and functionality of predefined IP;
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inventory and supply chain management;
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access to leading-edge process technology and assembly capacity;
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ability to provide timely customer service and support; and
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access to advanced packaging technology.
Silicon Product Overview
A brief overview of the silicon product offerings is listed in the table below. These products comprise the majority of our revenues. Additionally, some of our more mature product families have been excluded from the table, although they continue to generate revenues. We operate and track our results in one operating segment for financial reporting purposes.
Product Families
See information under the caption "Results of Operations - Net Revenues" in Item 7. "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" for information about our revenues from our product families. See also "Note 16. Segment Information" to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. "Financial Information and Supplementary Data" for information regarding segments.
UltraScale+ Product Families
Xilinx recently introduced the UltraScale+ portfolio, which consists of three product families, and is manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited's (TSMC) 16 nanometer (nm) FinFET+ process. The UltraScale+ portfolio includes FPGAs, 3D IC technology, and MPSoCs, combining new memory, 3D - on 3D and multiprocessing SoC technologies. With this portfolio, Xilinx addresses a broad range of next generation applications, including LTE Advanced and early 5G Wireless infrastructure, terabit wired communications, automotive, and the industrial Internet-of-things (IoT).
UltraScale Product Families
These devices deliver an ASIC-class advantage, based on the UltraScale architecture and utilizing TSMC's 20SoC gate density process. These devices deliver next generation routing, ASIC-like clocking, and enhancements to logic and fabric to eliminate interconnect bottlenecks while supporting consistent device utilization of more than 90% without performance degradation.
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Kintex UltraScale FPGAs represent the Company’s second generation mid-range FPGA family. These devices offer high price-performance at the lowest power. Kintex UltraScale devices are designed to meet the requirements for the growing number of key applications including next generation wired and wireless communications and ultra-high definition displays and equipment.
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Virtex UltraScale devices provide advanced levels of performance, system integration and bandwidth on a single chip. The largest family member delivers 4.4M logic cells, more than doubling Xilinx's industry's highest capacity device and delivering 50M equivalent ASIC gates. Virtex UltraScale devices are expected to be used in the industry’s most challenging applications including: 400G communication applications, high performance computing, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance systems and ASIC emulation and prototyping.
28nm Product Families
The 28nm product families are fabricated on a high-K metal gate, high performance and low power 28nm process technology. These product families are based on a scalable and optimized architecture, which enables design, IP portability and re-use across all families as well as provides designers the ability to achieve the appropriate combination of I/O support, performance, feature quantities, packaging and power consumption to address a wide range of applications. The 28nm product families include:
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Virtex-7 FPGAs, including 3D ICs, are optimized for applications requiring the highest capacity, performance, DSP and serial connectivity with transceivers operating up to 28G. Target applications include 400G and 100G line cards, high-performance computing and test and measurement applications.
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Kintex-7 FPGAs represent Xilinx’s first mid-range FPGA family. These devices maximize price-performance and performance per watt. Target applications include wireless LTE infrastructure, video display technology and medical imaging.
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Artix-7 FPGAs offer the lowest power and system cost at higher performance than alternative high volume FPGAs. These devices are targeted to high volume applications such as handheld portable ultrasound devices, multi-function printers and software defined radios.
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The Zynq-7000 family is the first family of Xilinx programmable SoCs. This new class of product combines an industry-standard ARM dual-core Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ processing system with Xilinx 28nm architecture. There are five devices in the Zynq-7000 SoC family that allow designers to target cost sensitive as well as high-performance applications from a single platform using industry-standard tools. These devices are designed to enable incremental market opportunities in applications such as industrial motor control, driver assistance and smart surveillance systems, and smart heterogeneous wireless networks.
40nm and 45nm Product Families
The Virtex-6 FPGA family consists of 13 devices and is the sixth generation in the Virtex series of FPGAs. Virtex-6 FPGAs are fabricated on a high-performance 40nm process technology. There are three Virtex-6 families, and each is optimized to deliver different feature mixes to address a variety of markets.
The latest generation in the Spartan FPGA series, the Spartan-6 FPGA family, is fabricated on a low-power 45nm process technology. The Spartan-6 family is the PLD industry’s only 45nm high-volume FPGA family, consisting of 11 devices in two product families.
Other Product Families
Prior generation Virtex families include Virtex-5, Virtex-4, Virtex-II Pro, Virtex-II, Virtex-E and the original Virtex family. Spartan family FPGAs include 90nm Spartan-3 FPGAs, the Spartan-3E family and the Spartan-3A family. Prior generation Spartan families include Spartan-IIE, Spartan-II, Spartan XL and the original Spartan family.
CPLDs operate on the lowest end of the programmable logic density spectrum. CPLDs are single-chip, nonvolatile solutions characterized by instant-on and universal interconnect. CPLDs combine the advantages of ultra-low power consumption with the benefits of high performance and low cost. Prior generations of CPLDs include the CoolRunnerTM and XC9500 product families.
EasyPath™ FPGAs
EasyPath FPGAs offer customers a fast, simple method of cost-reducing FPGA designs. EasyPath FPGAs use the same production masks and fabrication process as standard FPGAs and are tested to a specific customer application to improve yield and lower costs. As a result, EasyPath FPGAs provide customers with significant cost reduction when compared to the standard FPGA devices without the conversion risk, engineering effort, or the additional time required to move to an ASIC. The latest generation of EasyPath FPGAs and EasyPath-7 FPGAs provide lower total product cost of ownership for cost-reducing high performance FPGAs.
Design Platforms and Services
Programmable Platforms
We offer three types of programmable platforms that support our customers’ designs and reduce their development efforts:
The Base Platform is the delivery vehicle for all of our new silicon offerings used to develop and run customer-specific software applications and hardware designs. Released at launch, the Base Platform is comprised of: FPGA silicon; Vivado® Design Suite design environment; integration support for optional third-party synthesis, simulation, and signal integrity tools; reference designs; development boards and IP.
The Domain-Specific Platform targets one of the three primary Xilinx FPGA user profiles: the embedded processing developer; the DSP developer; or the logic/connectivity developer. It accomplishes this by augmenting the Base Platform with a targeted set of integrated technologies, including: higher-level design methodologies and tools; domain-specific IP including embedded, mixed
signal, video, DSP and connectivity; domain-specific development hardware and reference designs; and operating systems and software.
The Market-Specific Platform enables software or hardware developers to quickly build and run their specific application or solution. Built for specific markets such as automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications, audio, video and broadcast, industrial, or scientific and medical, the Market-Specific Platform integrates both the Base and Domain-Specific Platforms with higher targeted applications elements such as IP, reference designs and boards optimized for a particular market.
Design Tools
To accommodate the various design methodologies and design flows employed by the wide range of our customers’ user profiles such as system designers, algorithm designers, software coders and logic designers, we provide the appropriate design environment tailored to each user profile for design creation, design implementation and design verification. In April 2012, Xilinx introduced the next-generation Vivado Design Suite designed to improve developer productivity resulting in faster design integration and implementation. The Vivado Design Suite hallmarks include an easy-to-use IP-centric design flow and significant improvement in run times. The standards-based Vivado tools include high-level synthesis to provide a more direct flow in retargeting DSPs and general purpose processor designs into our FPGAs, IP Integrator to rapidly stitch together cores at higher levels of abstraction, and a new analytical place-and-route engine which significantly improves run times. The Vivado Design Suite supports Xilinx 7 series FPGAs and Zynq-7000, our programmable SoCs, as well as the Ultrascale-product generation.
The previous generation tool suite, the ISE® Design Suite, supports Xilinx 7 series FPGAs, programmable SoCs and all previous generation FPGAs, enabling customers to transition to the Vivado Design Suite when the timing is right for their design needs. Both the Vivado Design Suite and ISE Design Suite operate with a wide range of third-party Electronic Design Automation software point-tools offerings.
Within the past year, Xilinx also introduced the SDx development environment, which will significantly expand the Xilinx user base to include the broad community of systems and software engineers in both existing and new markets. This innovative development environment also enables end user and third party platform developers to rapidly define, integrate, and verify system level solutions and provide their end customers with a customized programming environment.
Intellectual Property
Xilinx and various third parties offer hundreds of no charge and fee-bearing IP core licenses covering Ethernet, memory controllers, Interlaken and PCIe® interfaces, as well as an abundance of domain-specific IP in the areas of embedded, DSP and connectivity, and market-specific IP cores. In addition, our products and technology leverage industry standards such as ARM AMBA® AXI-4 interconnect technology, IP-XACT and IEEE P1735 encryption to facilitate plug-and-play FPGA design and take advantage of the large ecosystem of ARM IP developers.
Development Boards, Kits and Configuration Products
In addition to the broad selection of legacy development boards presently offered, we have introduced a new unified board strategy that enables the creation of a standardized and coordinated set of base boards available both from Xilinx and our ecosystem vendors, all utilizing the industry-standard extensions that enable customization for market specific applications. Adopting this standard for all of our base boards enables the creation of a scalable and extensible delivery mechanism for all Xilinx programmable platforms.
We also offer comprehensive development kits including hardware, design tools, IP and reference designs that are designed to streamline and accelerate the development of domain-specific and market-specific applications.
Finally, Xilinx offers a range of configuration products including one-time programmable and in-system programmable storage devices to configure Xilinx FPGAs. These programmable read-only memory (PROM) products support all of our FPGA devices.
Third-Party Alliances
Xilinx and certain third parties have developed and continue to offer a robust ecosystem of IP, boards, tools, services and support through the Xilinx alliance program. Xilinx also works with these third parties to promote our programmable platforms through third-party tools, IP, software, boards and design services.
Engineering Services
Xilinx engineering services provide customers with engineering resources to augment their design teams and to provide expert design-specific advice. Xilinx tailors its engineering services to the needs of its customers, ranging from hands-on training to full design creation and implementation.
Research and Development
Our research and development (R&D) activities are primarily directed toward the design of new ICs, the development of new software design automation tools for hardware and embedded software, the design of logic IP, the adoption of advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes for ongoing cost reductions, performance and signal integrity improvements and lowering PLD power consumption. As a result of our R&D efforts, we have introduced a number of new products during the past several years including the Virtex UltraScale, Kintex UltraScale, Virtex-7, Kintex-7, Artix-7 and Zynq-7000 families. We have made enhancements to our IP core offerings and introduced Vivado tools, our next generation software design suite. Collaboration with our foundry suppliers in the development of new process technology has enabled us to be the first company in the PLD industry to ship 45nm high-volume as well as 28nm and 20nm FPGA devices. Additionally, our investment in R&D has allowed us to ship the industry’s first 28nm with embedded ARM technology as well as the industry’s first 3D IC devices.
Our R&D challenge is to continue to develop new products that create value-added solutions for customers. In fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, our R&D expenses were $525.7 million, $492.4 million and $475.5 million, respectively. We believe technical leadership and innovation are essential to our future success and are committed to maintaining a significant level of R&D investment.
Sales and Distribution
We sell our products to OEMs, EMSs and to electronic components distributors who resell these products to OEMs and EMSs.
We use a dedicated global sales and marketing organization as well as independent sales representatives to generate sales. In general, we focus our direct demand creation efforts on a limited number of key accounts. Distributors and independent sales representatives create demand within the balance of our customer base in defined territories. Distributors also provide inventory, value-added services and logistics for a wide range of our OEM customers.
Whether Xilinx, the independent sales representative, or the distributor identifies the sales opportunity, a local distributor will process and fulfill the majority of all customer orders. In such situations, distributors are the sellers of the products and as such they bear all legal and financial risks generally related to the sale of commercial goods, including such risks as credit loss, inventory shrinkage, theft and foreign currency fluctuations, but excluding indemnity and warranty liability.
In accordance with our distribution agreements and industry practice, we have granted our authorized distributors the contractual right to return certain amounts of unsold product on a periodic basis and also receive price adjustments for unsold product in the case of a change in list prices subsequent to the initial sale. Revenue recognition on shipments to distributors worldwide is deferred until the products are sold to the distributors’ end customers.
Avnet, Inc. (Avnet) distributes the substantial majority of our products worldwide. As of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, Avnet accounted for 67% and 55%, respectively, of our total net accounts receivable. Resale of product through Avnet accounted for 43%, 46% and 46% of our worldwide net revenues in fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. We also use other regional distributors throughout the world. We believe distributors provide a cost-effective means of reaching a broad range of customers while providing efficient logistics services. Since PLDs are standard products, they do not carry many of the inventory risks posed by ASICs, and they simplify the requirements for distributor technical support. From time to time, we may add or terminate distributors in specific geographies, or move customers to a direct fulfillment model as we deem appropriate given our strategies, the level of distributor business activity and distributor performance and financial condition. See "Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Concentrations of Risk" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," for information about concentrations of credit risk and "Note 16. Segment Information" for information about our revenues from external customers and domestic and international operations.
No end customer accounted for more than 10% of our net revenues in fiscal 2015, 2014 or 2013.
Backlog
As of March 28, 2015, our backlog from OEM customers and backlog from end customers reported by our distributors scheduled for delivery within the next three months was $296.0 million, compared to $322.0 million as of March 29, 2014. Orders from end customers to our distributors are subject to changes in delivery schedules or to cancellation without significant penalty. As a
result, backlog from both OEM customers and end customers reported by our distributors as of any particular period may not be a reliable indicator of revenue for any future period.
Wafer Fabrication
As a fabless semiconductor company, we do not manufacture wafers used for our IC products or PROMs. Rather, we purchase our wafers from independent foundries including United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), TSMC, and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung). Currently, UMC manufactures the majority of our wafers and TSMC manufactures the wafers for our newest products.
Precise terms with respect to the volume and timing of wafer production and the pricing of wafers produced by the semiconductor foundries are determined by periodic negotiations with each wafer foundry.
Our strategy is to focus our resources on market development and creating new ICs and software design tools rather than on wafer fabrication. We continuously evaluate opportunities to enhance foundry relationships and/or obtain additional capacity from our main suppliers as well as other suppliers of wafers manufactured with leading-edge process technologies, and we adjust loadings at particular foundries to meet our business needs.
Sort, Assembly and Test
Wafers are sorted by the foundry or independent sort subcontractors. Sorted die are assembled by subcontractors. During the assembly process, the wafers are separated into individual die, which are then assembled into various package types. Following assembly, the packaged units are generally tested by independent test subcontractors or by Xilinx personnel. We purchase most of our assembly and some of our test services from Siliconware Precision Industries Ltd. in Taiwan and Amkor Technology, Inc. in Korea and the Philippines. We purchase most of our test services from King Yuan Electronics Company in Taiwan.
Quality Certification
Xilinx has achieved and currently maintains quality management systems certification to TL9000/ISO9001 for our facilities in San Jose, California; Longmont, Colorado; Singapore and Hyderabad, India. In addition, Xilinx achieved and currently maintains ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 environmental health and safety management system certifications in the San Jose and Singapore locations.
Patents and Licenses
While our various proprietary intellectual property rights are important to our success, we believe our business as a whole is not materially dependent on any particular patent or license, or any particular group of patents or licenses. As of March 28, 2015, we held over 3,300 issued United States (U.S.) patents, which vary in duration, and over 300 pending U.S. patent applications relating to our proprietary technology. We maintain an active program of filing for additional patents in the areas of, but not limited to, circuits, software, IC architecture, IP cores, system design, testing methodologies and other technologies relating to our products and business. We have licensed some parties to certain portions of our patent portfolio and obtained licenses to certain third-party patents as well.
We have acquired various licenses from third parties to certain technologies that are implemented in IP cores or embedded in our PLDs, such as processors. Those licenses support our continuing ability to make and sell these PLDs to our customers. We also have acquired various licenses to certain third-party proprietary software, open-source software and related technologies, such as compilers, for our design tools. Continued use of such software and technology is important to the operation of the design tools upon which customers depend.
We maintain the Xilinx trade name and trademarks, including the following trademarks that are registered in the U.S. and other countries: Xilinx, the Xilinx logo, Artix, ISE, Kintex, Spartan, Virtex, Vivado and Zynq. Maintaining these trademarks, and the goodwill associated with them, is important to our business. We have also obtained the rights to use certain trademarks owned by consortiums and other trademark owners that are related to our products and business.
We intend to continue to protect our IP rights (including, for example, patents, copyrights and trademarks) vigorously. We believe that failure to enforce our intellectual property rights or failure to protect our trade secrets effectively could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We incurred, and in the future we may continue to incur, litigation expenses to defend against claims of infringement and to enforce our intellectual property rights against third parties. However, any such litigation may or may not be successful.
Corporate Responsibility
Xilinx places a high level of importance on corporate responsibility. Through senior-level sponsorship, regular environmental, health and safety assessments and company-wide performance targets, we strive to achieve a culture that emphasizes contribution to local and global communities through a number of key initiatives:
Company
We strive to meet or exceed industry and regulatory standards for ethical business practices, product responsibility, and supplier management. All of Xilinx’s directors, officers and employees are required to comply not only with the letter of the laws, rules and regulations that govern the conduct of our business, but also with the spirit of those laws.
Environment
We monitor regulatory and resource trends and are committed to setting focused targets for key resources and emissions. These targets address several parameters, including product design; chemical, energy, and water use; waste recycling; and emissions. As a company, we focus on reducing natural resource use, the solid and chemical waste of our operations and minimizing our overall environmental impact with regards to the communities around us and consistent with global climate change efforts.
Community
We are committed to growing strategic relationships with a wide range of local organizations and programs that are designed to develop and strengthen communities located around the world. Xilinx develops local community relationships at key sites through funding and involvement that encourages active participation, teamwork, and volunteerism. Xilinx supports opportunities initiated by its employees and that involve participation and empowerment of its employees. We are committed to charitable giving programs that work toward systemic change and measurable results.
Workplace
We provide a safe and healthy work environment where employee diversity is embraced and opportunities for training, growth, and advancement are strongly encouraged. The Xilinx Code of Social Responsibility outlines standards to ensure that working conditions at Xilinx are safe and that workers are treated with respect, fairness and dignity.
Employees
As of March 28, 2015, we had 3,451 employees compared to 3,500 as of the end of the prior fiscal year. None of our employees are represented by a labor union. We have not experienced any work stoppages and believe we maintain good employee relations.
Executive Officers of the Registrant
Certain information regarding the executive officers of Xilinx as of May 13, 2015 is set forth below:
There are no family relationships among the executive officers of the Company or the Board of Directors.
Moshe N. Gavrielov joined the Company in January 2008 as President and CEO and was appointed to the Board of Directors in February 2008. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Gavrielov served at Cadence Design Systems, Inc., an electronic design automation company, as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Verification Division from April 2005 through November 2007. Mr. Gavrielov served as CEO of Verisity Ltd., an electronic design automation company, from March 1998 to April 2005 before its acquisition by Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Prior to joining Verisity, Mr. Gavrielov spent nearly 10 years at LSI Corporation (formerly LSI Logic Corporation), a semiconductor manufacturer, in a variety of executive management positions, including Executive Vice President of the Products Group, Senior Vice President and General Manager of International Marketing and Sales and Senior Vice President and General Manager of LSI Logic Europe plc. Additionally, Mr. Gavrielov held various engineering and engineering management positions at Digital Equipment Corporation and National Semiconductor Corporation.
Steven L. Glaser joined the Company in January 2011 as Corporate Vice President, Strategic Planning. In April 2012, Mr. Glaser was promoted to his current position of Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Marketing. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Glaser held various senior positions in Cadence Design Systems between April 2005 and January 2011, including Corporate Vice President of Strategic Development and Corporate Vice President of Marketing for the Verification Division. From June 2003 to April 2005, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Verisity Ltd. Prior to that, Mr. Glaser held various senior business and technical positions at companies in the semiconductor and electronic design automation industries.
Scott R. Hover-Smoot joined the Company in October 2007 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, a position he has held since May 2014. From October 2007 to May 2014, Mr. Hover-Smoot served as Corporate Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. From November 2001 to October 2007, Mr. Hover-Smoot served as Regional Counsel and Director of Legal Operations with TSMC, an independent semiconductor foundry. He served as Vice President and General Counsel of California Micro Devices Corporation, a provider of application-specific protection devices and display electronics devices from June 1994 to November 2001. Prior to joining California Micro Devices Corporation, Mr. Hover-Smoot spent over 20 years working in law firms including Berliner-Cohen, Flehr, Hohbach, Test, Albritton & Herbert and Lyon & Lyon.
Jon A. Olson joined the Company in June 2005 and currently serves as Executive Vice President and CFO, a position he has held since May 2014. From August 2006 to May 2014, Mr. Olson served as Senior Vice President, Finance and CFO. From June 2005 to August 2006, he served as Vice President, Finance and CFO. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Olson spent more than 25 years at Intel Corporation, a semiconductor chip maker, serving in a variety of positions, including Vice President, Finance and Enterprise Services, and Director of Finance.
Victor Peng joined the Company in April 2008 and currently serves as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Products, a position he has held since July 2014. From May 2013 through April 2014, Mr. Peng served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Programmable Platforms Group. From May 2012 through April 2013, he served as Senior Vice President of the Programmable Platforms Group. From November 2008 through April 2012, he served as Senior Vice President of the Programmable Platforms Development Group. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Peng served as Corporate Vice President, Graphics Products Group at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a provider of processing solutions, from November 2005 to April 2008. Prior to joining AMD, Mr. Peng served in a variety of executive engineering positions at companies in the semiconductor and processor industries.
Krishna Rangasayee joined the Company in July 1999 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, and General Manager, Global Sales and Markets, a position he has held since January 2015. Prior to that, he served in a number of key roles, including as Senior Director of Vertical Markets and Partnerships from November 2005 through June 2008. He then served as the Vice President of Strategic Planning from July 2008 through September 2010 and was promoted to the rank of Corporate Vice President for the same function. Mr. Rangasayee assumed the position of Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Communications Business Unit in October 2010. Mr. Rangasayee was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, and General Manager, Communications Business Unit in April 2012. He became Senior Vice President, and General Manager, Market Segments and Communications Business Unit in October 2013. Prior to joining Xilinx, Mr. Rangasayee held various positions at Altera, a provider of programmable logic solutions, and Cypress Semiconductor, a semiconductor company.
Vincent L. Tong joined the Company in May 1990 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, Global Operations and Quality, a position he has held since January 2015, and Executive Leader, Asia Pacific since October 2011. Mr. Tong previously served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Quality and New Product Introductions from June 2008 to January 2015. He has also served as Vice President, Worldwide Quality and Reliability from August 2006 to June 2008 and prior to that as Vice President of Product Technology from May 2001 to July 2006. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Tong served in a variety of engineering and management positions at Monolithic Memories, a producer of logic devices, and AMD. He holds seven U.S. patents.
Additional Information
We make available, via a link through our investor relations website located at www.investor.xilinx.com, access to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). All such filings on our investor relations website are available free of charge. Printed copies of these documents are also available to stockholders without charge, upon written request directed to Xilinx, Inc., Attn: Investor Relations, 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, CA 95124. Further, a copy of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is located at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding our filings at http://www.sec.gov. The content on any website referred to in this filing is not incorporated by reference into this filing unless expressly noted otherwise.
Additional information required by this Item 1 is incorporated by reference to the section captioned "Net Revenues - Net Revenues by Geography" in Item 7. "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and to "Note 16. Segment Information" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
This annual report includes trademarks and service marks of Xilinx and other companies that are unregistered and registered in the U.S. and other countries.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS
The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks to the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company, or that the Company’s management currently deems immaterial, also may impair its business operations. If any of the risks described below were to occur, our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Our success depends on our ability to develop and introduce new products and failure to do so would have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our success depends in large part on our ability to develop and introduce new products that address customer requirements and compete effectively on the basis of price, density, functionality, power consumption and performance. The success of new product introductions is dependent upon several factors, including:
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timely completion of new product designs;
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ability to generate new design opportunities and design wins;
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availability of specialized field application engineering resources supporting demand creation and customer adoption of new products;
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ability to utilize advanced manufacturing process technologies on circuit geometries of 28nm and smaller;
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achieving acceptable yields;
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ability to obtain adequate production capacity from our wafer foundries and assembly and test subcontractors;
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ability to obtain advanced packaging;
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availability of supporting software design tools;
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utilization of predefined IP logic;
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customer acceptance of advanced features in our new products; and
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market acceptance of our customers’ products.
Our product development efforts may not be successful, our new products may not achieve industry acceptance and we may not achieve the necessary volume of production that would lead to further per unit cost reductions. Revenues relating to our mature products are expected to decline in the future, which is normal for our product life cycles. As a result, we may be increasingly dependent on revenues derived from design wins for our newer products as well as anticipated cost reductions in the manufacture of our current products. We rely primarily on obtaining yield improvements and corresponding cost reductions in the manufacture of existing products, and on introducing new products that incorporate advanced features and other price/performance factors that enable us to increase revenues while maintaining consistent margins. To the extent that such cost reductions and new product introductions do not occur in a timely manner, or to the extent that our products do not achieve market acceptance at prices with higher margins, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We rely on independent foundries for the manufacture of all of our products and a manufacturing problem or insufficient foundry capacity could adversely affect our operations.
Most of our wafers are manufactured in Taiwan by UMC and by TSMC for our newest products. In addition, we also have wafers manufactured in South Korea by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Terms with respect to the volume and timing of wafer production and the pricing of wafers produced by the semiconductor foundries are determined by periodic negotiations between Xilinx and these wafer foundries, which usually result in short-term agreements that do not provide for long-term supply or allocation commitments. We are dependent on these foundries to supply the substantial majority of our wafers. We rely on UMC, TSMC and our other foundries to produce wafers with competitive performance attributes. Therefore, the foundries, particularly TSMC who manufactures our newest products, must be able to transition to advanced manufacturing process technologies and increased wafer sizes, produce wafers at acceptable yields and deliver them in a timely manner. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee that the foundries that supply our wafers will offer us competitive pricing terms or other commercial terms important to our business.
We cannot guarantee that our foundries will not experience manufacturing problems, including delays in the realization of advanced manufacturing process technologies or difficulties due to limitations of new and existing process technologies. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee the foundries will be able to manufacture sufficient quantities of our products or that they will continue to manufacture a product for the full life of the product. In addition, weak economic conditions may adversely impact the financial health and viability of the foundries and result in their insolvency or their inability to meet their commitments to us. For example, we may experience supply shortages due to the difficulties foundries may encounter if they must rapidly increase their production capacities from low utilization levels to high utilization levels because of an unexpected increase in demand. We may also experience supply shortages due to very strong demand for our products and a surge in demand for semiconductors in general, which may lead to tightening of foundry capacity across the industry. The insolvency of a foundry or any significant manufacturing problem or insufficient foundry capacity would disrupt our operations and negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.
General economic conditions and any related deterioration in the global business environment could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
During the past five years, global consumer confidence eroded amidst concerns over declining asset values, inflation, volatility in energy costs, geopolitical issues, the availability and cost of credit, rising unemployment, and the stability and solvency of financial institutions, financial markets, businesses and sovereign nations, among other concerns. These concerns slowed global economic growth and resulted in recessions in numerous countries, including many of those in North America, Europe and Asia. The financial condition of certain sovereign nations, particularly in Europe, is of continuing concern as the sovereign debt crisis remains unresolved. These weak economic conditions resulted in reduced customer demand and had a negative impact on our results of operations for the second and third quarter of fiscal 2012 and the third quarter of fiscal 2013. If weak economic conditions return, there may be a number of negative effects on our business, including customers or potential customers reducing or delaying orders, the insolvency of key suppliers, potentially causing production delays, the inability of customers to obtain credit, and the insolvency of one or more customers. Any of these effects could impact our ability to effectively manage inventory levels and collect receivables and ultimately decrease our net revenues and profitability.
The semiconductor industry is characterized by cyclical market patterns and a significant industry downturn could adversely affect our operating results.
The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and our financial performance has been affected by downturns in the industry. Down cycles are generally characterized by price erosion and weaker demand for our products. Weaker demand for our products resulting from economic conditions in the end markets we serve and reduced capital spending by our customers can result, and in the past has resulted, in excess and obsolete inventories and corresponding inventory write-downs. We attempt to identify changes in market conditions as soon as possible; however, the dynamics of the market in which we operate make prediction of and timely reaction to such events difficult. Due to these and other factors, our past results are not reliable predictors of our future results.
The nature of our business makes our revenues difficult to predict which could have an adverse impact on our business.
In addition to the challenging market conditions we may face, we have limited visibility into the demand for our products, particularly new products, because demand for our products depends upon our products being designed into our end customers’ products and those products achieving market acceptance. Due to the complexity of our customers’ designs, the design to volume production process for our customers requires a substantial amount of time, frequently longer than a year. In addition to this, other factors may affect our end customers’ demand for our products, including, but not limited to, end customer program delays and the ability of end customers to secure other complimentary products. We also are dependent upon "turns," orders received and turned for shipment in the same quarter. These factors make it difficult for us to forecast future sales and project quarterly revenues. The difficulty in forecasting future sales impairs our ability to project our inventory requirements, which could result, and in the past has resulted, in inventory write-downs or failure to meet customer product demands in a timely manner. In addition, difficulty in forecasting revenues compromises our ability to provide forward-looking revenue and earnings guidance.
If we are not able to compete successfully in our industry, our financial results and future prospects will be adversely affected.
Our PLDs compete in the IC industry, an industry that is intensely competitive and characterized by rapid technological change, increasing levels of integration, product obsolescence and continuous price erosion. We expect increased competition from our primary PLD competitors, Altera, Lattice and Microsemi, and from new market entrants. In addition, competition from the ASIC market and from the ASSP market continues. We believe that important competitive factors in the logic IC industry include:
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product pricing;
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time-to-market;
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product performance, reliability, quality, power consumption and density;
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field upgradeability;
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adaptability of products to specific applications;
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ease of use and functionality of software design tools;
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availability and functionality of predefined IP logic;
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inventory and supply chain management;
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access to leading-edge process technology and assembly capacity;
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ability to provide timely customer service and support; and
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access to advanced packaging technology.
Our strategy for expansion in the logic market includes continued introduction of new product architectures that address high-volume, low-cost and low-power applications as well as high-performance, high-density applications. However, we may not be successful in executing this strategy. In addition, we anticipate continued pressure from our customers to reduce prices, which may outpace our ability to lower the cost for established products.
Other competitors include manufacturers of:
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high-density programmable logic products characterized by FPGA type architectures;
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high-volume and low-cost FPGAs as programmable replacements for ASICs and ASSPs;
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ASICs and ASSPs with incremental amounts of embedded programmable logic;
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high-speed, low-density complex programmable logic devices;
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high-performance digital signal processing devices;
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products with embedded processors;
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products with embedded multi-gigabit transceivers; and
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other new or emerging programmable logic products.
Several companies have introduced products that compete with ours or have announced their intention to sell PLD products. To the extent that our efforts to compete are not successful, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
The benefits of programmable logic have attracted a number of competitors to this segment. We recognize that different applications require different programmable technologies, and we are developing architectures, processes and products to meet these varying customer needs. Recognizing the increasing importance of standard software solutions, we have developed common software design tools that support the full range of our IC products. We believe that automation and ease of design are significant competitive factors in this segment.
We could also face competition from our licensees. In the past we have granted limited rights to other companies with respect to certain aspects of our older technology, and we may do so in the future. Granting such rights may enable these companies to manufacture and market products that may be competitive with some of our older products.
Increased costs of wafers and materials, or shortages in wafers and materials, could adversely impact our gross margins and lead to reduced revenues.
If greater demand for wafers is not offset by an increase in foundry capacity, market demand for wafers or production and assembly materials increases, or if a supplier of our wafers or other materials ceases or suspends operations, our supply of wafers and other materials could become limited. Such shortages raise the likelihood of potential wafer price increases, wafer shortages or shortages in materials at production and test facilities, resulting in potential inability to address customer product demands in a timely manner. For example, when certain suppliers were forced to temporarily halt production as the result of a natural disaster, this resulted in a tightening of supply for those materials. Such shortages of wafers and materials as well as increases in wafer or materials prices could adversely affect our gross margins and would adversely affect our ability to meet customer demands and lead to reduced revenue.
We depend on distributors, primarily Avnet, to generate a majority of our sales and complete order fulfillment.
Resale of product through Avnet accounted for 43% of our worldwide net revenues in fiscal 2015 and as of March 28, 2015, Avnet accounted for 67% of our total net accounts receivable. Any adverse change to our relationship with Avnet or our remaining distributors could have a material impact on our business. Furthermore, if a key distributor materially defaults on a contract or otherwise fails to perform, our business and financial results would suffer. In addition, we are subject to concentrations of credit risk in our trade accounts receivable, which includes accounts of our distributors. A significant reduction of effort by a distributor to sell our products or a material change in our relationship with one or more distributors may reduce our access to certain end customers and adversely affect our ability to sell our products.
In addition, the financial health of our distributors and our continuing relationships with them are important to our success. Unpredictable economic conditions may adversely impact the financial health of some of these distributors, particularly our smaller distributors. This could result in the insolvency of certain distributors, the inability of distributors to obtain credit to finance the purchase of our products, or cause distributors to delay payment of their obligations to us and increase our credit risk exposure. Our business could be harmed if the financial health of these distributors impairs their performance and we are unable to secure alternate distributors.
We are dependent on independent subcontractors for most of our assembly and test services, and unavailability or disruption of these services could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.
We are dependent on subcontractors to provide semiconductor assembly, substrate, test and shipment services. Any prolonged inability to obtain wafers with competitive performance and cost attributes, adequate yields or timely delivery, any disruption in assembly, test or shipment services, delays in stabilizing manufacturing processes and ramping up volume for new products, transitions to new service providers or any other circumstance that would require us to seek alternative sources of supply, could delay shipments and have a material adverse effect on our ability to meet customer demands. In addition, unpredictable economic conditions may adversely impact the financial health and viability of these subcontractors and result in their insolvency or their inability to meet their commitments to us. These factors would result in reduced net revenues and could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.
A number of factors, including our inventory strategy, can impact our gross margins.
A number of factors, including yield, wafer pricing, product mix, market acceptance of our new products, competitive pricing dynamics, geographic and/or market segment pricing strategies can cause our gross margins to fluctuate. In addition, forecasting our gross margins is difficult because a significant portion of our business is based on turns within the same quarter.
Our current inventory levels are higher than historical norms due to weaker than anticipated sales and a planned increase in safety stock across newer technologies in anticipation of future revenue growth. In the event demand does not materialize, we may be subject to incremental obsolescence costs. In addition, future product cost reductions could have an increased impact on our inventory valuation, which would then impact our operating results.
Reductions in the average selling prices of our products could have a negative impact on our gross margins.
The average selling prices of our products generally decline as the products mature. We seek to offset the decrease in selling prices through yield improvement, manufacturing cost reductions and increased unit sales. We also continue to develop higher value products or product features that increase, or slow the decline of, the average selling price of our products. However, there is no guarantee that our ongoing efforts will be successful or that they will keep pace with the decline in selling prices of our products, which could ultimately lead to a decline in revenues and have a negative effect on our gross margins.
Because of our international business and operations, we are vulnerable to the economic conditions of the countries in which we operate and currency fluctuations could have a material adverse effect on our business and negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.
In addition to our U.S. operations, we also have significant international operations, including foreign sales offices to support our international customers and distributors, our regional headquarters in Ireland and Singapore and an R&D site in India. Our international operations have grown because we have established certain operations and administrative functions outside the U.S. Sales and operations outside of the U.S. subject us to the risks associated with conducting business in foreign economic and regulatory environments. Our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected by unfavorable economic conditions in countries in which we do significant business or by changes in foreign currency exchange rates affecting those countries. We derive over one-half of our revenues from international sales, primarily in the Asia Pacific region, Europe and Japan. Past economic weaknesses in these markets adversely affected revenues. Sales to all direct OEMs and distributors are denominated in U.S. dollars. While the recent movements of the Euro and Yen exchange rates against the U.S. dollar had no material impact to our business, increased volatility could impact our European and Japanese customers. Currency instability and volatility and disruptions in the credit and capital markets may increase credit risks for some of our customers and may impair our customers’ ability to repay existing obligations. Increased currency volatility could also positively or negatively impact our foreign-currency-denominated costs, assets and liabilities. In addition, any devaluation of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies may increase the operating expenses of our foreign subsidiaries adversely affecting our results of operations. Furthermore, because we
are increasingly dependent on the global economy, instability in worldwide economic environments occasioned, for example, directly or indirectly by political instability, terrorist activity, U.S. or other military actions, and international sanctions or other diplomatic actions (potentially including sanctions adopted or under consideration by the U.S. or European Union with respect to Russia or Russian individuals or businesses), could adversely impact economic activity and lead to a contraction of capital spending by our customers generally or in specific regions. Any or all of these factors could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations in the future.
We are subject to the risks associated with conducting business operations outside of the U.S. which could adversely affect our business.
In addition to international sales and support operations and development activities, we purchase our wafers from foreign foundries, have our commercial products assembled, packaged and tested by subcontractors located outside the U.S. and utilize third party warehouse operators to store and manage inventory levels for certain of our products. All of these activities are subject to the uncertainties associated with international business operations, including global laws and regulations, trade barriers, economic sanctions, tax regulations, import and export regulations, duties and tariffs and other trade restrictions, changes in trade policies, anti-corruption laws, foreign governmental regulations, potential vulnerability of and reduced protection for IP, longer receivable collection periods and disruptions or delays in production or shipments, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and/or operating results. Additional factors that could adversely affect us due to our international operations include rising oil prices and increased costs of natural resources. Moreover, our financial condition and results of operations could be affected in the event of political conflicts or economic crises in countries where our main wafer providers, warehouses, end customers and contract manufacturers who provide assembly and test services worldwide, are located. Adverse change to the circumstances or conditions of our international business operations could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are exposed to fluctuations in interest rates and changes in credit rating and in the market values of our portfolio investments which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our cash, short-term and long-term investments represent significant assets that may be subject to fluctuating or even negative returns depending upon interest rate movements, changes in credit rating and financial market conditions. Global credit market disruptions and economic slowdown and uncertainty have in the past negatively impacted the values of various types of investment and non-investment grade securities. The global credit and capital markets may again experience significant volatility and disruption due to instability in the global financial system, uncertainty related to global economic conditions and concerns regarding sovereign financial stability.
Therefore, there is a risk that we may incur other-than-temporary impairment charges for certain types of investments should credit market conditions deteriorate or the underlying assets fail to perform as anticipated. Our future investment income may fall short of expectations due to changes in interest rates or if the decline in fair values of our debt securities is judged to be other than temporary. Furthermore, we may suffer losses in principal if we are forced to sell securities that have declined in market value due to changes in interest rates or financial market conditions.
Our failure to protect and defend our IP could impair our ability to compete effectively.
We rely upon patent, copyright, trade secret, mask work and trademark laws to protect our IP. We cannot provide assurance that such IP rights can be successfully asserted in the future or will not be invalidated, violated, circumvented or challenged. From time to time, third parties, including our competitors, have asserted against us patent, copyright and other IP rights to technologies that are important to us. Third parties may attempt to misappropriate our IP through electronic or other means or assert infringement claims against our indemnities or us in the future. Such assertions by third parties may result in costly litigation, indemnity claims or other legal actions, and we may not prevail in such matters or be able to license any valid and infringed patents from third parties on commercially reasonable terms. This could result in the loss of our ability to import and sell our products or require us to pay costly royalties to third parties in connection with sales of our products. Any infringement claim, indemnification claim, or impairment or loss of use of our IP could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our ability to design and introduce new products in a timely manner is dependent upon third-party IP.
In the design and development of new products and product enhancements, we rely on third-party intellectual property such as software development tools and hardware testing tools. Furthermore, certain product features may rely on intellectual property acquired from third parties. The design requirements necessary to meet future consumer demands for more features and greater functionality from semiconductor products may exceed the capabilities of the third-party intellectual property or development tools that are available to us. If the third-party intellectual property that we use becomes unavailable or fails to produce designs that meet consumer demands, our business could be adversely affected.
We rely on information technology (IT) systems, and failure of these systems to function properly or unauthorized access to our systems could result in business disruption.
We rely in part on various IT systems to manage our operations, including financial reporting, and we regularly evaluate these systems and make changes to improve them as necessary. Consequently, we periodically implement new, or upgrade or enhance existing, operational and IT systems, procedures and controls. For example, in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 we upgraded the IT systems we use to manage our operations and record and report financial information, and in the past we simplified our supply chain and were required to make certain changes to our IT systems. Any delay in the implementation of, or disruption in the transition to, new or enhanced systems, procedures or controls, could harm our ability to record and report financial and management information on a timely and accurate basis. These systems are also subject to power and telecommunication outages or other general system failures. Failure of our IT systems or difficulties in managing them could result in business disruption. We also may be subject to unauthorized access to our IT systems through a security breach or cyber attack. We experience cyber attacks of varying degrees on an ongoing basis. In the past there have been attempts by third parties to penetrate and/or infect our network and systems with malicious software, in an effort to gain access to our network and systems. Third parties may continue to attempt to fraudulently induce employees, users, or customers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our networks systems. We seek to detect and investigate any security incidents and prevent their recurrence, but in some cases, we might be unaware of an incident or its magnitude and effects. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to and sabotage our systems change frequently, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate protections. Our business could be significantly harmed and we could be subject to third party claims in the event of such a security breach.
Earthquakes and other natural disasters could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
The independent foundries, upon which we rely to manufacture our products, as well as our California and Singapore facilities, are located in regions that are subject to earthquakes and other natural disasters. UMC’s and TSMC's foundries in Taiwan and our assembly and test partners in other regions as well as many of our operations in California are centered in areas that have been seismically active in the recent past and some areas have been affected by other natural disasters such as typhoons. Any catastrophic event in these locations will disrupt our operations, including our manufacturing activities and our insurance may not cover losses resulting from such disruptions of our operations. This type of disruption could result in our inability to manufacture or ship products, thereby materially adversely affecting our financial condition and results of operations. For example, as a result of the March 2011 earthquake in Japan, production at the Seiko foundry at Sakata was halted temporarily, impacting production of some of our older devices. In addition, suppliers of wafers and substrates were forced to halt production temporarily. Disruption of operations at these foundries for any reason, including other natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, fires or floods, as well as disruptions in access to adequate supplies of electricity, natural gas or water could cause delays in shipments of our products, and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Furthermore, natural disasters can also indirectly impact us. For example, our customers’ supply of other complimentary products may be disrupted by a natural disaster and may cause them to delay orders of our products.
If we are unable to maintain effective internal controls, our stock price could be adversely affected.
We are subject to the ongoing internal control provisions of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Act). Our controls necessary for continued compliance with the Act may not operate effectively at all times and may result in a material weakness disclosure. The identification of material weaknesses in internal control, if any, could indicate a lack of proper controls to generate accurate financial statements and could cause investors to lose confidence and our stock price to drop.
We compete with others to attract and retain key personnel, and any loss of, or inability to attract, such personnel would harm us.
We depend on the efforts and abilities of certain key members of management and other technical personnel. Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to retain such personnel and attract and retain other highly qualified personnel, particularly product engineers. Competition for such personnel is intense and we may not be successful in hiring or retaining new or existing qualified personnel. From time to time we have effected restructurings which eliminate a number of positions. Even if such personnel are not directly affected by the restructuring effort, such terminations can have a negative impact on morale and our ability to attract and hire new qualified personnel in the future. If we lose existing qualified personnel or are unable to hire new qualified personnel, as needed, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be seriously harmed.
Unfavorable results of legal proceedings could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
From time to time we are subject to various legal proceedings and claims that arise out of the ordinary conduct of our business. The amount of damages alleged in certain legal claims may be significant. For example, in December 2013, we entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with PACT XPP Technologies, AG (PACT) in which the parties agreed to dismiss with prejudice all outstanding patent litigation among us, Avnet and PACT. As part of the settlement, we agreed to pay PACT a lump sum of $33.5 million. Certain other claims involving the Company are not yet resolved, including those that are discussed under Item 3. "Legal Proceedings," included in Part I of this Form 10-K, and additional claims may arise in the future. Results of legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty. Regardless of its merit, litigation may be both time-consuming and disruptive to our operations
and cause significant expense and diversion of management attention and we may enter into material settlements to avoid these risks. Should we fail to prevail in certain matters, or should several of these matters be resolved against us in the same reporting period, we may be faced with significant monetary damages or injunctive relief against us that would materially and adversely affect a portion of our business and might materially and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
Our products could have defects which could result in reduced revenues and claims against us.
We develop complex and evolving products that include both hardware and software. Despite our testing efforts and those of our subcontractors, defects may be found in existing or new products. These defects may cause us to incur significant warranty, support and repair or replacement costs, divert the attention of our engineering personnel from our product development efforts and harm our relationships with customers. Subject to certain terms and conditions, we have agreed to compensate certain customers for limited specified costs they actually incur in the event our hardware products experience epidemic failure. As a result, epidemic failure and other performance problems could result in claims against us, the delay or loss of market acceptance of our products and would likely harm our business. Our customers could also seek damages from us for their losses.
In addition, we could be subject to product liability claims. A product liability claim brought against us, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time-consuming and costly to defend. Product liability risks are particularly significant with respect to aerospace, automotive and medical applications because of the risk of serious harm to users of these products. Any product liability claim, whether or not determined in our favor, could result in significant expense, divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, and harm our business.
In preparing our financial statements, we make good faith estimates and judgments that may change or turn out to be erroneous.
In preparing our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S., we must make estimates and judgments in applying our most critical accounting policies. Those estimates and judgments have a significant impact on the results we report in our consolidated financial statements. The most difficult estimates and subjective judgments that we make concern valuation of marketable and non-marketable securities, revenue recognition, inventories, long-lived assets including acquisition-related intangibles, goodwill, taxes and stock-based compensation. We base our estimates on historical experience, input from outside experts and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. We also have other key accounting policies that are not as subjective, and therefore, their application would not require us to make estimates or judgments that are as difficult, but which nevertheless could significantly affect our financial reporting. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates. If these estimates or their related assumptions change, our operating results for the periods in which we revise our estimates or assumptions could be adversely and perhaps materially affected.
Our failure to comply with the requirements of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic and Arms Regulations (ITAR) could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Xilinx FPGAs and related technologies are subject to EAR, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce. In addition, Xilinx may, from time to time, receive technical data from third parties that is subject to the ITAR, which are administered by the U.S. Department of State. EAR and ITAR govern the export and re-export of these FPGAs, the transfer of related technologies, whether in the U.S. or abroad, and the provision of services. We are required to maintain an internal compliance program and security infrastructure to meet EAR and ITAR requirements.
An inability to obtain the required export licenses, or to predict when they will be granted, increases the difficulties of forecasting shipments. In addition, security or compliance program failures that could result in penalties or a loss of export privileges, as well as stringent licensing restrictions that may make our products less attractive to overseas customers, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and/or operating results.
Our inability to effectively control the sale of our products on the gray market could have a material adverse effect on us.
We market and sell our products directly to OEMs and through authorized third-party distributors which helps to ensure that products delivered to our customers are authentic and properly handled. From time to time, customers may purchase products bearing our name from the unauthorized "gray market." These parts may be counterfeit, salvaged or re-marked parts, or parts that have been altered, mishandled, or damaged. Gray market products result in shadow inventory that is not visible to us, thus making it difficult to forecast supply or demand. Also, when gray market products enter the market, we and our authorized distributors may compete with brokers of these discounted products, which can adversely affect demand for our products and negatively impact our margins. In addition, our reputation with customers may be negatively impacted when gray market products bearing our name fail or are found to be substandard.
The conflict minerals provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act could result in additional costs and liabilities.
In accordance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC established disclosure and reporting requirements for those companies who use "conflict" minerals mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries in their products, whether or not these products are manufactured by third parties. These requirements could affect the sourcing and availability of minerals used in the manufacture of our semiconductor products. There will also be costs associated with complying with the disclosure requirements, including for due diligence in regard to the sources of any conflict minerals used in our products, in addition to the cost of remediation and other changes to products, processes, or sources of supply as a consequence of such verification activities. We may face reputational challenges if we are unable to sufficiently verify the origins for all minerals used in our products through the due diligence process we implement. Moreover, we may encounter challenges to satisfy those customers who require that all of the components of our products are certified as conflict free.
Exposure to greater than anticipated income tax liabilities, changes in tax rules and regulations, changes in interpretation of tax rules and regulations, or unfavorable assessments from tax audits could affect our effective tax rates, financial condition and results of operations.
We are a U.S.-based multinational company subject to tax in multiple U.S. and foreign tax jurisdictions. Our income tax obligations could be affected by many factors, including but not limited to changes to our corporate operating structure, intercompany arrangements and tax planning strategies. A significant portion of our earnings are earned by our subsidiaries outside the U.S. In addition to providing for U.S. income taxes on earnings from the U.S., we provide for U.S. income taxes on the earnings of foreign subsidiaries unless the subsidiaries' earnings are considered permanently reinvested outside the U.S. While we do not anticipate changing our intention regarding permanently reinvested earnings, if certain foreign earnings previously treated as permanently reinvested are repatriated, the related U.S. tax on such repatriated earnings could negatively impact our effective tax rates, financial condition and results of operations.
Our income tax expense is computed based on tax rates at the time of the respective financial period. Our future effective tax rates, financial condition and results from operations could be unfavorably affected by changes in the tax rates in jurisdictions where our income is earned, by changes in the tax rules and regulations or the interpretation of tax rules and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we do business, by lapses of the availability (or by the reintroduction, when such credit has lapsed) of the U.S. research and development tax credit, or by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets.
In addition, we are subject to examinations of our income tax returns by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other domestic and foreign tax authorities. We regularly assess the likelihood of outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes and have reserved for potential adjustments that may result from the current examinations. There can be no assurance that the final determination of any of these examinations will not have an adverse effect on our effective tax rates, financial position and results of operations.
The conditional conversion features of our 2.625% Senior Convertible Debentures due June 15, 2017 (2017 Convertible Notes) were triggered and holders of the 2017 Convertible Notes may elect to convert such 2017 Convertible Notes which could have a material effect on our liquidity.
The 2017 Convertible Notes have conditional conversion features which were triggered in fiscal 2013. Holders of the 2017 Convertible Notes are entitled to convert the 2017 Convertible Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. As a result of this, we were required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the 2017 Convertible Notes as a current rather than long-term liability. In addition, we were required to increase the number of shares used in our net income per share calculations to reflect the potentially dilutive impact of the conversion.
If one or more holders elect to convert their 2017 Convertible Notes, we would be required to settle any converted principal through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity.
Considerable amounts of our common shares are available for issuance under our equity incentive plans and 2017 Convertible Notes, and significant issuances in the future may adversely impact the market price of our common shares.
As of March 28, 2015 we had 2.00 billion authorized common shares, of which 258.3 million shares were outstanding. In addition, 36.0 million common shares were reserved for issuance pursuant to our equity incentive plans and Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), 20.0 million common shares were reserved for issuance upon conversion or repurchase of the 2017 Convertible Notes and 20.2 million common shares were reserved for issuance upon exercise of warrants. The availability of substantial amounts of our common shares resulting from the exercise or settlement of equity awards outstanding under our equity incentive plans or the conversion or repurchase of convertible debentures using common shares, which would be dilutive to existing stockholders, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common shares and could impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities.
We have indebtedness that could adversely affect our financial condition and prevent us from fulfilling our debt obligations.
The aggregate amount of our consolidated indebtedness as of March 28, 2015 was $1.60 billion (principal amount), which consists of $500.0 million in aggregate principal amount of our 2.125% Notes due 2019 (2019 Notes), $500.0 million in aggregate principal amount of our 3.000% Notes due 2021 (2021 Notes) and $600.0 million in aggregate principal amount of our 2017 Convertible Notes. We also may incur additional indebtedness in the future. Our indebtedness may:
•
make it difficult for us to satisfy our financial obligations, including making scheduled principal and interest payments on the debentures and our other indebtedness;
•
limit our ability to borrow additional funds for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general corporate purposes;
•
limit our ability to use our cash flow or obtain additional financing for future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general business purposes;
•
require us to use a portion of our cash flow from operations to make debt service payments;
•
limit our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business and industry;
•
place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our less leveraged competitors;
•
increase our vulnerability to the impact of adverse economic and industry conditions; and
•
require us to repatriate off-shore cash to the U.S. at unfavorable tax rates.
Our ability to meet our debt service obligations will depend on our future performance, which will be subject to financial, business and other factors affecting our operations, many of which are beyond our control.
The agreements governing the 2019 Notes and 2021 Notes contain covenants that may adversely affect our ability to operate our business.
The indentures governing the 2019 Notes and 2021 Notes contain various covenants limiting our and our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things:
•
create certain liens on principal property or the capital stock of certain subsidiaries;
•
enter into certain sale and leaseback transactions with respect to principal property;
•
consolidate or merge with, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all our assets, taken as a whole, to, another person.
A failure to comply with these covenants and other provisions in these indentures could result in events of default under the indentures, which could permit acceleration of the 2019 Notes and the 2021 Notes. Any required repayment as a result of such acceleration could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
The call options and warrant transactions related to our 2017 Convertible Notes may affect the value of the debentures and our common stock.
To hedge against potential dilution upon conversion of the 2017 Convertible Notes, we purchased call options on our common stock from the hedge counterparties. We also sold warrants to the hedge counterparties, which could separately have a dilutive effect on our earnings per share to the extent that the market price per share of our common stock exceeds the applicable strike price of the warrants of $41.99 per share.
As the hedge counterparties and their respective affiliates modify hedge positions, they may enter or unwind various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchase or sell our common stock in secondary market transactions. This activity also could affect the market price of our common stock and/or debentures, which could affect the ability of the holders of the debentures to convert and the number of shares and value of the consideration that will be received by the holders of the debentures upon conversion.
Acquisitions and strategic investments present risks, and we may not realize the goals that were contemplated at the time of a transaction.
In the past, we have acquired technology companies whose products complement our products. We also have made a number of strategic investments in other technology companies. We may make similar acquisitions and strategic investments in the future. Acquisitions and strategic investments present risks, including:
•
our ongoing business may be disrupted and our management’s attention may be diverted by investment, acquisition, transition or integration activities;
•
an acquisition or strategic investment may not further our business strategy as we expected, and we may not integrate an acquired company or technology as successfully as we expected;
•
our operating results or financial condition may be adversely impacted by claims or liabilities that we assume from an acquired company or technology or that are otherwise related to an acquisition;
•
we may have difficulty incorporating acquired technologies or products with our existing product lines;
•
we may have higher than anticipated costs in continuing support and development of acquired products, and in general and administrative functions that support such products;
•
our strategic investments may not perform as expected; and
•
we may experience unexpected changes in how we are required to account for our acquisitions and strategic investments pursuant to U.S. GAAP.
The occurrence of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, particularly in the case of a larger acquisition or several concurrent acquisitions or strategic investments.

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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 corporate offices, which include the administrative, sales, customer support, marketing, R&D and manufacturing and testing groups, are located in San Jose, California. This main site consists of adjacent buildings providing 588,000 square feet of space, which we own. We also own one parcel of land totaling approximately 84 acres in South San Jose near our corporate facility. At present, we do not have any plans to develop the land.
We own a 228,000 square foot facility in the metropolitan area of Dublin, Ireland, which serves as our regional headquarters in Europe. The Irish facility is primarily used for service and support for our customers in Europe, R&D, marketing and IT support.
We own a 222,000 square foot facility in Singapore, which serves as our Asia Pacific regional headquarters. We own the building but the land is subject to a 30-year lease expiring in November 2035. The Singapore facility is primarily used for manufacturing support and testing of our products and services for our customers in Asia Pacific/Japan, coordination and management of certain third parties in our supply chain and R&D.
We own a 130,000 square foot facility in Longmont, Colorado. The Longmont facility serves as a primary location and data center for our software efforts in the areas of R&D, manufacturing and quality control. In addition, we own a 200,000 square foot facility and 40 acres of land adjacent to the Longmont facility for future expansion. The facility is partially leased to tenants under long-term lease agreements and partially used by us.
We lease office facilities for our engineering design centers in Hyderabad, India; Portland, Oregon; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Edinburgh, Scotland; Ottawa, Canada; Beijing, China; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Cork, Ireland; Hazlet, New Jersey; Gothenberg, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia and Brisbane, Australia. We also lease sales offices in various locations throughout North America, which include the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Montreal, Nashua, Phoenix, Raleigh, San Diego and Toronto as well as international sales offices located in the metropolitan areas of Bangalore, Beijing, Chengdu, Brussels, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Milan, Munich, Nanjing, Osaka, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Stockholm, Taichung, Taipei, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Xi’an.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
For information regarding our legal proceedings, see "Note 17. Litigation Settlements and Contingencies" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data", which is incorporated herein by reference.

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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 trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol XLNX. As of May 4, 2015, there were approximately 530 stockholders of record. Since many holders’ shares are listed under their brokerage firms’ names, the actual number of stockholders is estimated by us to be approximately 140,000.
The following table sets forth the high and low closing sale prices, for the periods indicated, for our common stock as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market:
Dividends Declared Per Common Share
The following table presents the quarterly dividends declared on our common stock for the periods indicated:
On March 10, 2015, our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.31 per common share for the first quarter of fiscal 2016. The dividend is payable on June 3, 2015 to stockholders of record on May 13, 2015.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
See "Equity Compensation Plan Information," included in Item 12. "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters" in Part III of this Form 10-K for information regarding our equity compensation plans.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table summarizes the Company's repurchase of its common stock during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.
(1) In August 2012, the Board of Directors (Board) authorized the repurchase of $750.0 million of the Company’s common stock and debentures (2012 Repurchase Program). In November 2014, the Board authorized the repurchase of an additional $800.0 million of the Company's common stock (2014 Repurchase Program).
The shares authorized for purchase under the 2014 Repurchase Program are in addition to the shares authorized for purchase under the 2012 Repurchase Program. The 2012 and 2014 Repurchase Programs have no stated expiration date. Through March 28, 2015, the Company had used the entire amount authorized under the 2012 Repurchase Program, and used $152.6 million of the $800.0 million authorized under the 2014 Repurchase Program leaving a balance of $647.4 million available for future repurchases. The Company’s current policy is to retire all repurchased shares, and consequently, no treasury shares were held as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014.
See "Note 14. Stockholders’ Equity" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for information regarding our stock repurchase plans.
Company Stock Price Performance
The following graph shows a comparison of cumulative total return for our common stock, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index (S&P 500 Index), and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Semiconductors Index (S&P 500 Semiconductors Index). The graph covers the period from April 1, 2010, the last trading day before our fiscal 2010, to March 28, 2015, the last trading day of our fiscal 2015. The graph and table assume that $100 was invested on April 1, 2010 in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Semiconductors Index and that all dividends were reinvested.
Note: Stock price performance and indexed returns for our common stock are historical and are not indicators of future price performance or future investment returns.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Consolidated Statement of Income Data
Five years ended March 28, 2015
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(1)
Fiscal 2015 consolidated statement of income data included restructuring charges of $24,491.
(2)
Fiscal 2014 consolidated statement of income data included litigation charges of $9,410 and loss on extinguishment of convertible debentures of $9,848.
(3)
Fiscal 2012 consolidated statement of income data included restructuring and litigation charges of $3,369 and $15,400, respectively.
(4)
Fiscal 2011 consolidated statement of income data included restructuring charges of $10,346 and impairment loss on investments of $5,904.
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
Five years ended March 28, 2015
(In thousands)

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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
This discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
Cautionary Statement
The statements in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis that are forward-looking, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, involve numerous risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations. The reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including those risks discussed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this document. Often, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words, such as "anticipates," "believes," "continue," "could," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "projects," "should," "will," "would" and other similar terminology, or the negative of such terms. We disclaim any responsibility to update or revise any forward-looking statement provided in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis for any reason.
Nature of Operations
We design, develop and market programmable devices and associated technologies, including advanced ICs in the form of PLDs, software design tools and predefined system functions delivered as IP. In addition to our programmable platforms, we provide design services, customer training, field engineering and technical support. Our PLDs include FPGAs, CPLDs and programmable SoCs. These devices are standard products that our customers program to perform desired logic functions. Our products are designed to provide high integration and quick time-to-market for electronic equipment manufacturers in end markets such as wired and wireless communications, industrial, scientific and medical, aerospace and defense, consumer and automotive, audio, video and broadcast, and data processing. We sell our products globally through independent domestic and foreign distributors and through direct sales to OEMs by a network of independent sales representative firms and by a direct sales management organization.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The methods, estimates and judgments we use in applying our most critical accounting policies have a significant impact on the results we report in our consolidated financial statements. The SEC has defined critical accounting policies as those that are most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require us to make our most difficult and subjective judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates of matters that are inherently uncertain. Based on this definition, our critical accounting policies include: valuation of marketable securities, which impacts losses on debt and equity securities when we record impairments; revenue recognition, which impacts the recording of revenues; and valuation of inventories, which impacts cost of revenues and gross margin. Our critical accounting policies also include: the assessment of impairment of long-lived assets including acquisition-related intangibles, which impacts their valuation; the assessment of the recoverability of goodwill, which impacts goodwill impairment; accounting for income taxes, which impacts the provision or benefit recognized for income taxes, as well as, the valuation of deferred tax assets recorded on our consolidated balance sheet; and valuation and recognition of stock-based compensation, which impacts gross margin, R&D expenses, and selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. Below, we discuss these policies further, as well as the estimates and judgments involved. We also have other key accounting policies that are not as subjective, and therefore, their application would not require us to make estimates or judgments that are as difficult, but which nevertheless could significantly affect our financial reporting.
Valuation of Marketable Securities
Our short-term and long-term investments include marketable debt securities. As of March 28, 2015, we had marketable debt securities with a fair value of $3.24 billion.
We determine the fair values for marketable debt securities using industry standard pricing services, data providers and other third-party sources and by internally performing valuation testing and analyses. See "Note 3. Fair Value Measurements" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," for details of the valuation methodologies. In determining if and when a decline in value below the adjusted cost of marketable debt and equity securities is other than temporary, we evaluate on an ongoing basis the market conditions, trends of earnings, financial condition, credit ratings, any underlying collateral and other key measures for our investments. We did not record any other-than-temporary impairment for marketable debt or equity securities in fiscal 2015, 2014 or 2013.
Revenue Recognition
Sales to distributors are made under agreements providing distributor price adjustments and rights of return under certain circumstances. Revenue and costs relating to distributor sales are deferred until products are sold by the distributors to the distributors’ end customers. For fiscal 2015, approximately 54% of our net revenues were from products sold to distributors for subsequent resale to OEMs or their subcontract manufacturers. Revenue recognition depends on notification from the distributor that product has been sold to the distributor’s end customer. Also reported by the distributor are product resale price, quantity and end customer shipment information, as well as inventory on hand. Reported distributor inventory on hand is reconciled to deferred revenue balances monthly. We maintain system controls to validate distributor data and to verify that the reported information is accurate. Deferred income on shipments to distributors reflects the estimated effects of distributor price adjustments and the estimated amount of gross margin expected to be realized when distributors sell through product purchased from us. Accounts receivable from distributors are recognized and inventory is relieved when title to inventories transfers, typically upon shipment from Xilinx at which point we have a legally enforceable right to collection under normal payment terms.
As of March 28, 2015, we had $87.7 million of deferred revenue and $21.6 million of deferred cost of revenues recognized as a net $66.1 million of deferred income on shipments to distributors. As of March 29, 2014, we had $75.2 million of deferred revenue and $20.1 million of deferred cost of revenues recognized as a net $55.1 million of deferred income on shipments to distributors. The deferred income on shipments to distributors that will ultimately be recognized in our consolidated statement of income will be different than the amount shown on the consolidated balance sheet due to actual price adjustments issued to the distributors when the product is sold to their end customers.
Revenue from sales to our direct customers is recognized upon shipment provided that persuasive evidence of a sales arrangement exists, the price is fixed, title has transferred, collection of resulting receivables is reasonably assured, and there are no customer acceptance requirements and no remaining significant obligations. For each of the periods presented, there were no significant formal acceptance provisions with our direct customers.
Revenue from software licenses is deferred and recognized as revenue over the term of the licenses of one year. Revenue from support services is recognized when the service is performed. Revenue from Support Products, which includes software and services sales, was less than 5% of net revenues for all of the periods presented.
Allowances for end customer sales returns are recorded based on historical experience and for known pending customer returns or allowances.
Valuation of Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of actual cost (determined using the first-in, first-out method) or market (estimated net realizable value). The valuation of inventory requires us to estimate excess or obsolete inventory as well as inventory that is not of salable quality. We review and set standard costs quarterly to approximate current actual manufacturing costs. Our manufacturing overhead standards for product costs are calculated assuming full absorption of actual spending over actual volumes. Given the cyclicality of the market, the obsolescence of technology and product lifecycles, we write down inventory based on forecasted demand and technological obsolescence. These forecasts are developed based on inputs from our customers, including bookings and extended but uncommitted demand forecasts, and internal analyses such as customer historical purchasing trends and actual and anticipated design wins, as well as market and economic conditions, technology changes, new product introductions and changes in strategic direction. These factors require estimates that may include uncertain elements. The estimates of future demand that we use in the valuation of inventory are the basis for our published revenue forecasts, which are also consistent with our short-term manufacturing plans. The differences between our demand forecast and the actual demand in the recent past have not resulted in any material write down in our inventory. If our demand forecast for specific products is greater than actual demand and we fail to reduce manufacturing output accordingly, we could be required to write down additional inventory, which would have a negative impact on our gross margin.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Including Acquisition-Related Intangibles
Long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangible assets to be held and used are reviewed for impairment if indicators of potential impairment exist. Impairment indicators are reviewed on a quarterly basis. When indicators of impairment exist and assets are held for use, we estimate future undiscounted cash flows attributable to the assets. In the event such cash flows are not expected to be sufficient to recover the recorded value of the assets, the assets are written down to their estimated fair values based on the expected discounted future cash flows attributable to the assets or based on appraisals. Factors affecting impairment of assets held for use include the ability of the specific assets to generate separately identifiable positive cash flows.
When assets are removed from operations and held for sale, we estimate impairment losses as the excess of the carrying value of the assets over their fair value. Market conditions are amongst the factors affecting impairment of assets held for sale. Changes in any of these factors could necessitate impairment recognition in future periods for assets held for use or assets held for sale.
Long-lived assets such as other intangible assets and property, plant and equipment are considered non-financial assets, and are only measured at fair value when indicators of impairment exist.
Goodwill
Goodwill is not amortized but is subject to impairment tests on an annual basis, or more frequently if indicators of potential impairment exist, and goodwill is written down when it is determined to be impaired. We perform an annual impairment review in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year and compare the fair value of the reporting unit in which the goodwill resides to its carrying value. If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, the goodwill of the reporting unit is potentially impaired. For purposes of impairment testing, Xilinx operates as a single reporting unit. We use the quoted market price method to determine the fair value of the reporting unit. Based on the impairment review performed during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, there was no impairment of goodwill in fiscal 2015. Unless there are indicators of impairment, our next impairment review for goodwill will be performed and completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. To date, no impairment indicators have been identified.
Accounting for Income Taxes
Xilinx is a multinational corporation operating in multiple tax jurisdictions. We must determine the allocation of income to each of these jurisdictions based on estimates and assumptions and apply the appropriate tax rates for these jurisdictions. We undergo routine audits by taxing authorities regarding the timing and amount of deductions and the allocation of income among various tax jurisdictions. Tax audits often require an extended period of time to resolve and may result in income tax adjustments if changes to the allocation are required between jurisdictions with different tax rates.
In determining income for financial statement purposes, we must make certain estimates and judgments. These estimates and judgments occur in the calculation of certain tax liabilities and in the determination of the recoverability of certain deferred tax assets, which arise from temporary differences between the tax and financial statement recognition of revenue and expense. Additionally, we must estimate the amount and likelihood of potential losses arising from audits or deficiency notices issued by taxing authorities. The taxing authorities’ positions and our assessment can change over time resulting in a material effect on the provision for income taxes in periods when these changes occur.
We must also assess the likelihood that we will be able to recover our deferred tax assets. If recovery is not likely, we must increase our provision for taxes by recording a reserve in the form of a valuation allowance for the deferred tax assets that we estimate will not ultimately be recoverable.
We perform a two-step approach to recognize and measure uncertain tax positions relating to accounting for income taxes. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being ultimately realized. See "Note 15. Income Taxes" to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
Stock-Based Compensation
Determining the appropriate fair-value model and calculating the fair value of stock-based awards at the date of grant requires judgment. We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of employee stock options and rights to purchase shares under our ESPP. Option pricing models, including the Black-Scholes model, also require the use of input assumptions, including expected stock price volatility, expected life, expected dividend rate, expected forfeiture rate and expected risk-free rate of return. We use implied volatility based on traded options in the open market as we believe implied volatility is more reflective of market conditions and a better indicator of expected volatility than historical volatility. We will continue to review our input assumptions and make changes as deemed appropriate depending on new information that becomes available. Higher volatility and expected lives result in a proportional increase to stock-based compensation determined at the date of grant. The expected dividend rate and expected risk-free rate of return do not have as significant an effect on the calculation of fair value.
In addition, we developed an estimate of the number of stock-based awards which will be forfeited due to employee turnover. Quarterly changes in the estimated forfeiture rate have an effect on reported stock-based compensation, as the effect of adjusting the rate for all expense amortization is recognized in the period the forfeiture estimate is changed. If the actual forfeiture rate is
higher than the estimated forfeiture rate, then an adjustment is made to increase the estimated forfeiture rate, which will result in a decrease to the expense recognized in the financial statements. If the actual forfeiture rate is lower than the estimated forfeiture rate, then an adjustment is made to decrease the estimated forfeiture rate, which will result in an increase to the expense recognized in the financial statements. The impact of forfeiture true up was not material for all periods presented. The expense we recognize in future periods could also differ significantly from the current period and/or our forecasts due to adjustments in the assumed forfeiture rates.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth statement of income data as a percentage of net revenues for the fiscal years indicated:
Net Revenues
Net revenues in fiscal 2015 were $2.38 billion, which were flat as compared to fiscal 2014. New Product revenues increased 22% in fiscal 2015 but were offset by declines from our Base, Mainstream and Support Products. The increase in New Products was due to higher sales across all end markets, primarily in Communications & Data Center and Industrial, Aerospace & Defense. Net revenues in fiscal 2014 increased 10% compared to fiscal 2013. New Product revenues increased 85% in fiscal 2014 but were offset by declines from our Mainstream, Base and Support Products. The increase in New Products was due to higher sales primarily in Industrial, Aerospace & Defense and Communications. See also "Net Revenues by Product" and "Net Revenues by End Markets" below for more information on our product and end-market categories.
No end customer accounted for more than 10% of net revenues for any of the periods presented.
Net Revenues by Product
We sell our products to global manufacturers of electronic products in end markets such as wired and wireless communications, aerospace and defense, industrial, scientific and medical and audio, video and broadcast. The vast majority of our net revenues are generated by sales of our semiconductor products, but we also generate sales from support products. We classify our product offerings into four categories: New, Mainstream, Base and Support Products. The composition of each product category is as follows:
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New Products include our most recent product offerings and include the Kintex UltraScale, Virtex UltraScale, Virtex-7, Kintex-7, Artix-7, Zynq-7000, Virtex-6 and Spartan-6 product families.
•
Mainstream Products include the Virtex-5, Spartan-3 and CoolRunner-II product families.
•
Base Products consist of our older product families including the Virtex-4, Virtex-II, Virtex-E, Virtex, Spartan-II, Spartan, CoolRunner and XC9500 products.
•
Support Products include configuration solutions, HardWire, software and support/services.
These product categories, except for Support Products, are modified on a periodic basis to better reflect the maturity of the products and advances in technology. The most recent modification was made on April 1, 2012, which was the beginning of our fiscal 2013. New Products include our most recent product offerings and are typically designed into our customers’ latest generation of electronic systems. Mainstream Products are generally several years old and designed into customer programs that are currently shipping in full production. Base Products are older than Mainstream Products with demand generated generally by the customers’ oldest systems still in production. Support Products are generally products or services sold in conjunction with our semiconductor devices to aid customers in the design process.
Net revenues by product categories for the fiscal years indicated were as follows:
Net revenues from New Products increased significantly in fiscal 2015 as a result of sales growth from our 28nm product family. Sales from our 28nm products reached $580.0 million during fiscal 2015. We expect sales of New Products to continue to grow as more customer programs enter into volume production with our 28nm products. In fiscal 2014, strong market acceptance of our 28nm and 40nm product families contributed to the majority of the revenue growth versus the comparable prior year period.
Net revenues from Mainstream Products decreased in both fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2014 from the comparable prior year periods. The decreases in both periods were largely due to the decline in sales from our Virtex-5 product family.
Net revenues from Base Products decreased in fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2014 from the comparable prior year periods. The decreases in both periods were as expected due to a decline in sales from our Virtex-4 and other older product families. Base Products are mature products and their sales are expected to decline over time.
Net revenues from Support Products decreased in fiscal 2015 and 2014 compared to the prior year periods. The decreases in both periods were due to a decline in sales from our PROM products, as well as software products for the fiscal 2015 period.
Net Revenues by End Markets
Our end market revenue data is derived from our understanding of our end customers’ primary markets. In the beginning of fiscal 2013, we modified our end market categories in two ways. First, data center customers were moved from the data processing category into the communications category. Additionally, all end market categories were renamed to better reflect actual sales composition. Net revenues by end markets were reclassified into the following four categories: Communications & Data Center; Industrial, Aerospace & Defense; Broadcast, Consumer & Automotive; and Other. The percentage change calculation in the table below represents the year-to-year dollar change in each end market.
Net revenues by end markets for fiscal years indicated were as follows:
Net revenues from Communications & Data Center decreased in fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period. The decrease in fiscal 2015 was primarily due to lower sales from wireless communications, and to a lesser extent wireline communications. Net revenues from Communications & Data Center increased in fiscal 2014 in terms of absolute dollars from the comparable prior year period due to stronger sales from both wireline and wireless communications, with wireless communications applications driving most of the growth.
Net revenues from Industrial, Aerospace & Defense increased in fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period. The increase in fiscal 2015 was driven by higher sales across all applications, with industrial, scientific, and medical applications driving most of the growth. Net revenues from Industrial, Aerospace & Defense increased in fiscal 2014 compared to the prior year period due to higher sales across all applications, with defense applications driving most of the growth.
Net revenues from Broadcast, Consumer & Automotive decreased in fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period. The decrease in fiscal 2015 was due to a decline in sales from consumer applications that was partially offset by increases in automotive as well as audio, video and broadcast applications. Net revenues from Broadcast, Consumer & Automotive increased in fiscal 2014 due to an increase in sales from consumer, audio, video and broadcast, and automotive applications.
Net revenues from Other decreased in fiscal 2015 and 2014 from the comparable prior year periods. The decreases in both periods were primarily due to weaker sales from server and storage applications for the fiscal 2014 period.
Net Revenues by Geography
Geographic revenue information reflects the geographic location of the distributors, OEMs or contract manufacturers who purchased our products. This may differ from the geographic location of the end customers. Net revenues by geography for the fiscal years indicated were as follows:
Net revenues in North America increased in fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period. The increase was primarily due to stronger sales from certain key programs within Industrial, Aerospace & Defense, which more than offset lower sales from Broadcast, Consumer & Automotive and Other. Net revenues in North America increased in fiscal 2014 from the comparable prior year period. The increase was primarily due to stronger sales from Industrial, Aerospace & Defense, which more than offset lower sales from Communications & Data Center.
Net revenues in Asia Pacific decreased in fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period. The decrease in fiscal 2015 was primarily driven by lower sales from consumer applications, partially offset by increases in sales from wireless applications and all applications within Industrial, Aerospace & Defense. Net revenues in Asia Pacific increased significantly in fiscal 2014 from the comparable prior year period. The increase was primarily due to an increase in sales across most of our end markets with particular strength from Communications & Data Center, especially wireless communications applications.
Net revenues in Europe decreased in fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period as sales decreased in all end markets with the exception of Broadcast, Consumer & Automotive; wireless and aerospace and defense applications drove much of the decline.
Net revenues in Europe decreased in fiscal 2014 from the comparable prior year period. The decrease was primarily due to weaker sales from Communications & Data Center, which was partly offset by increased sales from aerospace and defense applications.
Net revenues in Japan increased in fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period. The increase in fiscal 2015 was primarily due to increased sales in Industrial, Aerospace & Defense and Broadcast, Consumer & Automotive. The slight increase in fiscal 2014 net revenues in Japan, as compared to the prior year period, was primarily driven by increased sales in wireline communications applications, which largely offset the decrease from test and measurement applications.
Gross Margin
Gross margin was 1.4 percentage points and 2.8 percentage points higher in fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2014, respectively, from their comparable prior year period. The improvements in gross margin were driven primarily by our continued focus on margin expansion and cost reduction across our product portfolio, in particular our New Products. Additionally, for fiscal 2015, the improvements in gross margin were also driven by our product and customer mix, whereby the revenue from all applications within Industrial, Aerospace and Defense (which has higher gross margin than our average) increased as a percentage of total revenues due to the timing of key programs, while the revenue from wireless communications (which has lower gross margin than our average) decreased as a percentage of total revenues.
Gross margin may be affected in the future due to multiple factors, including but not limited to those set forth above in "Risk Factors," included in Part I of this Form 10-K, shifts in the mix of customers and products, competitive-pricing pressure, manufacturing-yield issues and wafer pricing. We expect to mitigate any adverse impacts from these factors by continuing to improve yields on our New Products, improve manufacturing efficiencies and improve average selling price management.
Sales of inventory previously written off were not material during all periods presented.
In order to compete effectively, we pass manufacturing cost reductions to our customers in the form of reduced prices to the extent that we can maintain acceptable margins. Price erosion is common in the semiconductor industry, as advances in both product architecture and manufacturing process technology permit continual reductions in unit cost. We have historically been able to offset much of this revenue decline in our mature products with increased revenues from newer products.
Research and Development
R&D spending increased $33.3 million, or 7%, during fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period. The increase was primarily attributable to higher mask and wafer expenses and employee compensation (including stock based compensation) related to our next generation product development.
R&D spending increased $16.9 million, or 4%, during fiscal 2014 from the comparable prior year period. The increase was primarily attributable to higher employee compensation related to variable elements of compensation associated with higher operating margin, and higher stock-based compensation driven by a higher stock price and higher overall headcount. These increases were partially offset by lower mask and wafer expenses.
We plan to continue to selectively invest in R&D efforts in areas such as new products and more advanced process development, IP cores and the development of new design and layout software. We may also consider acquisitions to complement our strategy for technology leadership and engineering resources in critical areas.
Selling, General and Administrative
SG&A expenses decreased $24.9 million or 7% during fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period as we incurred lower variable spending and legal expenses in fiscal 2015. SG&A expenses increased $12.9 million or 4% during fiscal 2014 from the comparable prior year period as we incurred higher employee-related expenses (including employee compensation related to variable spending associated with higher revenue and operating margin, and stock-based compensation expense). These increases were partially offset by lower legal expenses and other discretionary spending.
Amortization of Acquisition-Related Intangibles
Amortization expense for the three comparable years was relatively flat as there was no significant change in the acquisition-related intangible assets.
Restructuring Charges
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, we announced restructuring measures designed to realign resources and drive overall operating efficiencies. These measures impacted approximately 120 positions, or 3% of our global workforce, in various geographies and functions worldwide. The reorganization plan will be substantially completed by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2016.
We recorded total restructuring charges of $24.5 million in fiscal 2015, primarily related to severance pay expenses and write-offs of acquisition-related intangibles.
The following table summarizes the restructuring accrual activity for fiscal 2015:
The charges above have been shown separately as restructuring charges on the consolidated statements of income. The remaining accrual as of March 28, 2015 was primarily related to severance pay and benefits that are expected to be paid during fiscal 2016.
Litigation and Contingencies
During fiscal 2014, we entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with PACT XPP Technologies, AG (PACT). Under the settlement, the parties agreed to dismiss with prejudice all outstanding patent litigation between Xilinx, Avnet, Inc. and PACT and Xilinx agreed to pay PACT a lump sum of $33.5 million. In addition, we received license rights to all patents owned or controlled by PACT. In addition to what we previously accrued prior to the settlement, we recorded an additional $9.4 million in fiscal 2014.
Stock-Based Compensation
The $5.6 million and $16.4 million increases in stock-based compensation expense for fiscal 2015 and 2014, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods were primarily related to higher expenses associated with restricted stock units, as we granted more restricted stock units at a higher fair value in the prior years. The higher expense from restricted stock units was partially offset by lower expenses related to stock options.
Loss on Extinguishment of Convertible Debentures
On March 12, 2014, we paid $1.23 billion in cash to redeem all of the outstanding $689.6 million (principal amount) of our 3.125% Junior Convertible Debentures due March 15, 2037 (2037 Convertible Notes). In accordance with the authoritative guidance for convertible debentures issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the redemption payment was allocated between the liability ($377.6 million) and equity ($856.5 million) components of the convertible debentures, using the equivalent rate that reflected the borrowing rate for a similar non-convertible debt prior to the redemption. As a result, we recognized a $9.8 million loss on extinguishment of convertible debentures.
Interest and Other Expense, Net
Our net interest and other expense decreased by $14.6 million in fiscal 2015 from the comparable prior year period. The decrease was primarily due to a larger gain on the sale of securities in our investment portfolio and land, and to a lesser extent higher interest income from the investment portfolio. The decrease in net interest and other expense in fiscal 2014 from the prior year period was primarily due to higher interest income from the investment portfolio.
Provision for Income Taxes
The difference between the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 35% and our effective tax rate in all periods is primarily due to income earned in lower tax rate jurisdictions, for which no U.S. income tax has been provided, as we intend to permanently reinvest these earnings outside of the U.S.
The increase in effective tax rate in fiscal 2015 compared with fiscal 2014 was primarily due to a shift in geographic mix of earnings with more earnings subject to U.S. tax.
The effective tax rate remained flat for fiscal 2014 as compared with fiscal 2013, with underlying increases and decreases that offset each other. Both periods included benefits relating to lapses of statutes of limitation; however, the fiscal 2014 benefit was $5.5 million, which was less than the comparable release in fiscal 2013 of $9.0 million. The fiscal 2014 effective tax rate included a shift in the geographic mix of earnings with proportionally more earnings subject to U.S. tax. These two items, which increased
the effective tax rate, were offset by a decrease in the rate due to changes in the amount of permanently reinvested foreign earnings, for which no U.S. taxes were provided.
Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have historically used a combination of cash flows from operations and equity and debt financing to support ongoing business activities, acquire or invest in critical or complementary technologies, purchase facilities and capital equipment, repurchase our common stock and debentures under our repurchase program, pay dividends and finance working capital. Additionally, our investments in debt securities are liquid and available for future business needs.
Fiscal 2015 Compared to Fiscal 2014
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-term and Long-term Investments
The combination of cash, cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014 totaled $3.57 billion and $3.65 billion, respectively. As of March 28, 2015, we had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $3.30 billion and working capital of $2.97 billion. As of March 29, 2014, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $2.46 billion and working capital was $2.08 billion.
As of March 28, 2015, we had $1.69 billion of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments held by our non-U.S. jurisdictions. From a financial statement perspective, approximately $832.3 million of the $1.69 billion held by our non-U.S. jurisdictions was available for use in the U.S. without incurring additional U.S. income taxes in excess of the amounts already accrued in our financial statements as of March 28, 2015. The remaining amount of non-U.S. cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments was permanently reinvested and, therefore, no U.S. current or deferred taxes accrued on this amount, which is intended for investment in our operations outside the U.S. We believe our U.S. sources of cash and liquidity are sufficient to meet our business needs in the U.S. and do not expect that we will need to repatriate the funds we have designated as permanently reinvested outside the U.S. Under current tax laws, should our plans change and we were to choose to repatriate some or all of the funds we have designated as permanently reinvested outside the U.S., such amounts would be subject to U.S. income taxes and applicable non-U.S. income and withholding taxes.
During fiscal 2015, our operations generated net positive cash flow of $790.8 million, which was $14.1 million lower than the $804.9 million generated during fiscal 2014. The positive cash flow from operations generated during fiscal 2015 was primarily from net income as adjusted for non-cash related items, a decrease in accounts receivable and increases in income taxes payable and deferred income on shipments to distributors. These items were partially offset by a decrease in accounts payable as well as an increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets.
Net cash provided by investing activities was $13.0 million during fiscal 2015, as compared to $28.6 million in fiscal 2014. Net cash provided by investing activities during fiscal 2015 consisted of $29.3 million of other investing activities (including sale of land) and $13.3 million of net sales of available-for-sale securities, which was partially offset by $29.6 million for purchases of property, plant and equipment.
Net cash used in financing activities was $884.8 million in fiscal 2015, as compared to $483.4 million in fiscal 2014. Net cash used in financing activities during fiscal 2015 consisted of $651.0 million of cash payment to repurchase common stocks and $306.2 million of dividend payments to stockholders, which was partially offset by $52.7 million of net proceeds from issuance of common stock under employee stock plans and $19.7 million for excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable decreased by $21.2 million and days sales outstanding (DSO) decreased slightly to 38 days at March 28, 2015 from 41 days at March 29, 2014. The decrease was primarily due to timing of shipments and collections.
Inventories
Inventories slightly decreased to $231.3 million as of March 28, 2015 from $234.0 million as of March 29, 2014, while combined inventory days at Xilinx and distribution slightly increased to 130 days at March 28, 2015 from 125 days at March 29, 2014. Our inventory levels in the past couple of years were relatively higher than historical trends due to the build ahead of our 28nm products in anticipation of ramping sales. We expect to ship the vast majority of these parts over the next one to two years. We attempt to maintain sufficient levels of inventory in various product, package and speed configurations in order to keep lead times short and to meet forecasted customer demand as well as address potential supply constraints. Conversely, we also attempt to minimize the handling costs associated with maintaining higher inventory levels and to fully realize the opportunities for cost reductions
associated with architecture and manufacturing process advancements. We continually strive to balance these two objectives to provide excellent customer response at a competitive cost.
Property, Plant and Equipment
During fiscal 2015, we invested $29.6 million in property, plant and equipment, as compared to $44.9 million in fiscal 2014. Primary investments in fiscal 2015 were for equipment related to the support of our new products development and infrastructures.
Current Liabilities
Current liabilities decreased to $963.2 million at the end of fiscal 2015 from $989.4 million at the end of fiscal 2014. The change was primarily due to a decrease in accounts payable as a result of the timing of purchases and payments, and was partially offset by increases in other current liabilities.
Temporary and Stockholders’ Equity
Temporary and stockholders’ equity decreased $152.1 million during fiscal 2015 from $2.79 billion in fiscal 2014 to $2.64 billion in fiscal 2015. The decrease was primarily due to repurchase of common stock of approximately $650.0 million, $306.2 million of payment of dividends to stockholders and $10.6 million of other comprehensive loss. These decreases were partially offset by $648.2 million in net income for fiscal 2015, $99.9 million of stock-based compensation, $52.7 million of net issuance of common stock under employee stock plans and $13.9 million for net excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation.
Fiscal 2014 Compared to Fiscal 2013
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-term and Long-term Investments
The combination of cash, cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments as of March 29, 2014 and March 30, 2013 totaled $3.65 billion and $3.37 billion, respectively. As of March 29, 2014, we had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $2.46 billion and working capital of $2.08 billion. As of March 30, 2013, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $1.71 billion and working capital was $1.91 billion.
During fiscal 2014, our operations generated net positive cash flow of $804.9 million, which was $148.4 million higher than the $656.5 million generated during fiscal 2013. The positive cash flow from operations generated during fiscal 2014 was primarily from net income as adjusted for non-cash related items and increases in accounts payable and accrued liabilities. These items were partially offset by a decrease in income taxes payable as well as increases in accounts receivable, inventories and other assets.
Net cash provided by investing activities was $28.6 million during fiscal 2014, as compared to $511.5 million in fiscal 2013. Net cash provided by investing activities during fiscal 2014 consisted of $57.5 million of net sales of available-for-sale securities and $16.0 million of other investing activities, which was partially offset by $44.9 million for purchases of property, plant and equipment.
Net cash used in financing activities was $483.4 million in fiscal 2014, as compared to $310.3 million in fiscal 2013. Net cash used in financing activities during fiscal 2014 consisted of $1.23 billion in redemption of the 2037 Convertible Notes, $267.3 million of dividend payments to stockholders and $241.1 million of cash payment for repurchase of common stocks, which was partially offset by $990.1 million of proceeds from issuance of the 2019 and 2021 Notes, $238.2 million of proceeds from issuance of common stock under employee stock plans and $30.8 million for excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable increased by $38.7 million and DSO increased slightly to 41 days at March 29, 2014 from 38 days at March 30, 2013. The increase was primarily due to timing of shipments and collections.
Inventories
Inventories increased to $234.0 million as of March 29, 2014 from $201.3 million as of March 30, 2013, with combined inventory days at Xilinx and distribution increasing to 125 days at March 29, 2014 from 108 days at March 30, 2013. During fiscal 2014, our inventory levels were relatively higher than historical trends due to the build ahead of a number of legacy parts in response to the previously planned closure of a particular foundry process line and the build ahead of our 28nm products in anticipation of ramping sales.
Property, Plant and Equipment
During fiscal 2014, we invested $44.9 million in property, plant and equipment compared to $30.3 million in fiscal 2013. Primary investments in fiscal 2014 were for equipment and building improvements in order to support our new products development and infrastructures.
Current Liabilities
Current liabilities increased to $989.4 million at the end of fiscal 2014 from $386.8 million at the end of fiscal 2013. The change was primarily due to the reclassification of our convertible debentures as a current liability on our consolidated balance sheet.
Temporary and Stockholders’ Equity
Temporary and stockholders’ equity decreased $175.6 million during fiscal 2014 from $2.96 billion in fiscal 2013 to $2.79 billion in fiscal 2014. The decrease was primarily due to $646.7 million convertible debt extinguishment, $267.3 million of payment of dividends to stockholders, $242.1 million of repurchase of common stock and $9.2 million of other comprehensive loss. These decreases were partially offset by $630.4 million in net income for fiscal 2014, $94.3 million of stock-based compensation, $238.2 million of issuance of common stock under employee stock plans and $26.4 million for net excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cash generated from operations is used as our primary source of liquidity and capital resources. Our investment portfolio is also available for future cash requirements as is our $250.0 million revolving credit facility entered into in December 2011 (expiring in December 2016). We are not aware of any lack of access to the revolving credit facility; however, we can provide no assurance that access to the credit facility will not be impacted by adverse conditions in the financial markets. Our credit facility is not reliant upon a single bank. There have been no borrowings to date under our existing revolving credit facility.
We repurchased 15.3 million shares of our common stock for approximately $650.0 million during fiscal 2015. During fiscal 2014, we repurchased 5.2 million shares of common stock for approximately $242.1 million. During fiscal 2015, we paid $306.2 million in cash dividends to stockholders, representing $1.16 per common share. During fiscal 2014, we paid $267.3 million in cash dividends to stockholders, representing $1.00 per common share. On March 10, 2015, our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.31 per common share for the first quarter of fiscal 2016. The dividend is payable on June 3, 2015 to stockholders of record on May 13, 2015. Our common stock and debentures repurchase program and dividend policy could be impacted by, among other items, our views on potential future capital requirements relating to R&D, investments and acquisitions, legal risks, principal and interest payments on our debentures and other strategic investments.
We anticipate that existing sources of liquidity and cash flows from operations will be sufficient to satisfy our cash needs for the foreseeable future. We will continue to evaluate opportunities for investments to obtain additional wafer capacity, to procure additional capital equipment and facilities, to develop new products, and to potentially acquire technologies or businesses that could complement our business. However, the risk factors discussed in Item 1A and below could affect our cash positions adversely.
As of March 28, 2015, marketable securities measured at fair value using Level 3 inputs were comprised of $10.3 million of student loan auction rate securities. The amount of assets and liabilities measured using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) as a percentage of the total assets and liabilities measured at fair value was less than 1% as of March 28, 2015. See "Note 3. Fair Value Measurements" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," for additional information.
During fiscal 2015, we redeemed $11.0 million of student loan auction rate securities for cash at par value.
Contractual Obligations
The following table summarizes our significant contractual obligations as of March 28, 2015 and the effect such obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods. This table excludes amounts already recorded on our consolidated balance sheet as current liabilities as of March 28, 2015.
(1)
We lease some of our facilities, office buildings and land under non-cancelable operating leases that expire at various dates through November 2035. Rent expense, net of rental income, under all operating leases was approximately $3.2 million for fiscal 2015. See "Note 9. Commitments" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," for additional information about operating leases.
(2)
Due to the nature of our business, we depend entirely upon subcontractors to manufacture our silicon wafers and provide assembly and some test services. The lengthy subcontractor lead times require us to order the materials and services in advance, and we are obligated to pay for the materials and services when completed. We expect to receive and pay for these materials and services in the next three to six months, as the products meet delivery and quality specifications.
(3)
As of March 28, 2015, we had $35.6 million of non-cancelable license obligations to providers of electronic design automation software and hardware/software maintenance expiring at various dates through June 2017.
(4)
For purposes of this table we have assumed the principal of our debentures will be paid on maturity dates, which is June 15, 2017 for the 2017 Convertible Notes, March 15, 2019 for the 2019 Notes and March 15, 2021 for the 2021 Notes. See "Note 13. Debt and Credit Facility" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," for additional information about our debentures.
As of March 28, 2015, $13.2 million of liabilities for uncertain tax positions and related interest and penalties were classified as long-term income taxes payable in the consolidated balance sheet. Due to the inherent uncertainty with respect to the timing of future cash outflows associated with such liabilities, we are unable to reliably estimate the timing of cash settlement with the respective taxing authorities. Therefore, liabilities for uncertain tax positions have been excluded from the contractual obligations table above.
Off-Balance-Sheet Arrangements
As of March 28, 2015, we did not have any significant off-balance-sheet arrangements, as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of SEC Regulation S-K.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See "Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Concentrations of Risk" to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," for information about recent accounting pronouncements, including the expected dates of adoption and estimated effects, if any, on our consolidated financial statements.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Interest Rate Risk
Our exposure to interest rate risk relates primarily to our investment portfolio, which consists of fixed income securities with a fair value of approximately $3.24 billion as of March 28, 2015. Our primary aim with our investment portfolio is to invest available cash while preserving principal and meeting liquidity needs. Our investment portfolio includes municipal bonds, mortgage-backed securities, financial institution securities, non-financial institution securities, student loan auction rate securities, U.S. and foreign government and agency securities, asset-backed securities, bank loans and debt mutual funds. In accordance with our investment policy, we place investments with high credit quality issuers and limit the amount of credit exposure to any one issuer based upon the issuer’s credit rating. These securities are subject to interest rate risk and will decrease in value if market interest rates increase. A hypothetical 100 basis-point (one percentage point) increase or decrease in interest rates compared to rates at March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014 would have affected the fair value of our investment portfolio by approximately $44.0 million and $53.0 million, respectively.
Credit Market Risk
The global credit markets may experience adverse conditions that negatively impact the values of various types of investment and non-investment grade securities. The global credit and capital markets may experience significant volatility and disruption due to
instability in the global financial system, uncertainty related to global economic conditions and concerns regarding sovereign financial stability. Therefore, there is a risk that we may incur other-than-temporary impairment charges for certain types of investments should credit market conditions deteriorate. See "Note 4. Financial Instruments" to our consolidated financial statements, included in

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
XILINX, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
XILINX, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
XILINX, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
XILINX, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
XILINX, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
XILINX, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1. Nature of Operations
Xilinx, Inc. (Xilinx or the Company) designs, develops and markets programmable devices and associated technologies, including advanced ICs in the form of PLDs, software design tools and predefined system functions delivered as IP. In addition to its programmable platforms, the Company provides design services, customer training, field engineering and technical support. The wafers used to manufacture its products are obtained primarily from independent wafer manufacturers located in Taiwan and Korea. The Company is dependent on these foundries to produce and deliver silicon wafers on a timely basis. The Company is also dependent on subcontractors, primarily located in the Asia Pacific region, to provide semiconductor assembly, test and shipment services. Xilinx is a global company with sales offices throughout the world. The Company derives over one-half of its revenues from international sales, primarily in the Asia Pacific region, Europe and Japan.
Note 2.
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Concentrations of Risk
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Xilinx and its wholly-owned subsidiaries after elimination of all intercompany transactions. The Company uses a 52- to 53-week fiscal year ending on the Saturday nearest March 31. Fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 were 52-week years ended on March 28, 2015, March 29, 2014 and March 30, 2013, respectively. Fiscal 2016 will be a 53-week year ending on April 2, 2016. The third quarter of fiscal 2016 will be a 14-week quarter ending on January 2, 2016.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of net revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Such estimates relate to, among others, the useful lives of assets, assessment of recoverability of property, plant and equipment, long-lived assets including acquisition-related intangible assets and goodwill, inventory write-downs, allowances for doubtful accounts, customer returns, deferred tax assets, stock-based compensation, potential reserves relating to litigation and tax matters, valuation of certain investments and derivative financial instruments as well as other accruals or reserves. Actual results may differ from those estimates and such differences may be material to the financial statements.
Cash Equivalents and Investments
Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with original maturities from the date of purchase of three months or less. These investments consist of non-financial institution securities, U.S. and foreign government and agency securities, money market funds, and financial institution securities. Short-term investments consist of U.S. and foreign government and agency securities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, bank loans, financial institution securities, non-financial institution securities, a debt mutual fund and municipal bonds with original maturities greater than three months and remaining maturities less than one year from the balance sheet date. Long-term investments consist of mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, non-financial institution securities, a debt mutual fund, U.S. government and agency securities and municipal bonds with remaining maturities greater than one year, unless the investments are specifically identified to fund current operations, in which case they are classified as short-term investments. As of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, long-term investments also included approximately $10.3 million and $20.2 million, respectively, of auction rate securities that experienced failed auctions in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. These auction rate securities are secured primarily by pools of student loans originated under Federal Family Education Loan Program that are substantially guaranteed by the U. S. Department of Education. Equity investments are also classified as long-term investments since they are not intended to fund current operations.
The Company maintains its cash balances with various banks with high quality ratings, and with investment banking and asset management institutions. The Company manages its liquidity risk by investing in a variety of money market funds, high-grade commercial paper, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, U.S. and foreign government and agency securities, asset-backed securities and debt mutual funds. This diversification of investments is consistent with its policy to maintain liquidity and ensure the ability to collect principal. The Company maintains an offshore investment portfolio denominated in U.S. dollars. All investments are made pursuant to corporate investment policy guidelines. Investments include Euro commercial paper, Euro dollar bonds, Euro dollar floating rate notes, offshore time deposits, U.S. and foreign government and agency securities, asset-backed securities, bank loans and mortgage-backed securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises and agencies.
Management classifies investments as available-for-sale or held-to-maturity at the time of purchase and re-evaluates such designation at each balance sheet date, although classification is not generally changed. Securities are classified as held-to-maturity when the Company has the positive intent and the ability to hold the securities until maturity. Held-to-maturity securities are carried at cost adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. Such amortization, as well as any interest on the securities, is included in interest income. No investments were classified as held-to-maturity as of March 28, 2015 or March 29, 2014. Available-for-sale securities are carried at fair value with the unrealized gains or losses, net of tax, included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders’ equity. See "Note 3. Fair Value Measurements" for information relating to the determination of fair value. Realized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are included in interest and other expense, net, and declines in value judged to be other than temporary are included in impairment loss on investments. In determining if and when a decline in value below the adjusted cost of marketable debt and equity securities is other than temporary, we evaluate on an ongoing basis the market conditions, trends of earnings, financial condition, credit ratings, any underlying collateral and other key measures for our investments. The cost of securities matured or sold is based on the specific identification method.
In determining whether a decline in value of non-marketable equity investments in private companies is other than temporary, the assessment is made by considering available evidence including the general market conditions in the investee’s industry, the investee’s product development status, the investee’s ability to meet business milestones and the financial condition and near-term prospects of the individual investee, including the rate at which the investee is using its cash, the investee’s need for possible additional funding at a lower valuation and bona fide offers to purchase the investee from a prospective acquirer. When a decline in value is deemed to be other than temporary, the Company recognizes an impairment loss in the current period’s operating results to the extent of the decline.
Accounts Receivable
The allowance for doubtful accounts reflects the Company’s best estimate of probable losses inherent in the accounts receivable balance. The Company determines the allowance based on the aging of Xilinx’s accounts receivable, historical experience, known troubled accounts, management judgment and other currently available evidence. Xilinx writes off accounts receivable against the allowance when Xilinx determines a balance is uncollectible and no longer actively pursues collection of the receivable. The amounts of accounts receivable written off were insignificant for all periods presented.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of actual cost (determined using the first-in, first-out method), or market (estimated net realizable value) and are comprised of the following:
The Company reviews and sets standard costs quarterly to approximate current actual manufacturing costs. The Company’s manufacturing overhead standards for product costs are calculated assuming full absorption of actual spending over actual volumes. Given the cyclicality of the market, the obsolescence of technology and product lifecycles, the Company writes down inventory based on forecasted demand and technological obsolescence. These forecasts are developed based on inputs from the Company’s customers, including bookings and extended but uncommitted demand forecasts, and internal analyses such as customer historical purchasing trends and actual and anticipated design wins, as well as market and economic conditions, technology changes, new product introductions and changes in strategic direction. These factors require estimates that may include uncertain elements. The estimates of future demand that the Company uses in the valuation of inventory are the basis for its published revenue forecasts, which are also consistent with our short-term manufacturing plans. The differences between the Company’s demand forecast and the actual demand in the recent past have not resulted in any material write down in the Company’s inventory. If the Company’s demand forecast for specific products is greater than actual demand and the Company fails to reduce manufacturing output accordingly, the Company could be required to write down additional inventory, which would have a negative impact on the Company’s gross margin.
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation for financial reporting purposes is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets of three to five years for machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures and 15 to 30 years for buildings. Depreciation expense totaled $55.3 million, $55.5 million and $56.3 million for fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Including Acquisition-Related Intangibles
The Company evaluates the carrying value of long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangible assets to be held and used for impairment if indicators of potential impairment exist. Impairment indicators are reviewed on a quarterly basis. When indicators of impairment exist and assets are held for use, the Company estimates future undiscounted cash flows attributable to the assets. In the event such cash flows are not expected to be sufficient to recover the recorded value of the assets, the assets are written down to their estimated fair values based on the expected discounted future cash flows attributable to the assets or based on appraisals. When assets are removed from operations and held for sale, Xilinx estimates impairment losses as the excess of the carrying value of the assets over their fair value. See "Note 8. Restructuring Charges" for more information about the Company’s write-offs of acquisition-related intangibles recorded in fiscal 2015.
Goodwill
Goodwill is not amortized but is subject to impairment tests on an annual basis, or more frequently if indicators of potential impairment exist, using a fair-value-based approach. Based on the impairment review performed during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, there was no impairment of goodwill in fiscal 2015. Unless there are indicators of impairment, the Company’s next impairment review for goodwill will be performed and completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. To date, no impairment indicators have been identified.
Revenue Recognition
Sales to distributors are made under agreements providing distributor price adjustments and rights of return under certain circumstances. Revenue and costs relating to distributor sales are deferred until products are sold by the distributors to the distributors’ end customers. For fiscal 2015, approximately 54% of the Company’s net revenues were from products sold to distributors for subsequent resale to OEMs or their subcontract manufacturers. Revenue recognition depends on notification from the distributor that product has been sold to the distributor’s end customer. Also reported by the distributor are product resale price, quantity and end customer shipment information, as well as inventory on hand. Reported distributor inventory on hand is reconciled to deferred revenue balances monthly. The Company maintains system controls to validate distributor data and to verify that the reported information is accurate. Deferred income on shipments to distributors reflects the estimated effects of distributor price adjustments and the amount of gross margin expected to be realized when distributors sell through product purchased from the Company. Accounts receivable from distributors are recognized and inventory is relieved when title to inventories transfers, typically upon shipment from Xilinx at which point the Company has a legally enforceable right to collection under normal payment terms.
As of March 28, 2015, the Company had $87.7 million of deferred revenue and $21.6 million of deferred cost of revenues recognized as a net $66.1 million of deferred income on shipments to distributors. As of March 29, 2014, the Company had $75.2 million of deferred revenue and $20.1 million of deferred cost of revenues recognized as a net $55.1 million of deferred income on shipments to distributors. The deferred income on shipments to distributors that will ultimately be recognized in the Company’s consolidated statement of income will be different than the amount shown on the consolidated balance sheet due to actual price adjustments issued to the distributors when the product is sold to their end customers.
Revenue from sales to the Company’s direct customers is recognized upon shipment provided that persuasive evidence of a sales arrangement exists, the price is fixed or determinable, title has transferred, collection of resulting receivables is reasonably assured, and there are no customer acceptance requirements and no remaining significant obligations. For each of the periods presented, there were no significant acceptance provisions with the Company’s direct customers.
Revenue from software licenses is deferred and recognized as revenue over the term of the licenses of one year. Revenue from support services is recognized when the service is performed. Revenue from Support Products, which includes software and services sales, was less than 5% of net revenues for all of the periods presented.
Allowances for end customer sales returns are recorded based on historical experience and for known pending customer returns or allowances.
Foreign Currency Translation
The U.S. dollar is the functional currency for the Company’s Ireland and Singapore subsidiaries. Monetary assets and liabilities that are not denominated in the functional currency are remeasured into U.S. dollars, and the resulting gains or losses are included in the consolidated statements of income under interest and other expense, net. The remeasurement gains or losses were immaterial for all fiscal periods presented.
The local currency is the functional currency for each of the Company’s other wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries. Assets and liabilities are translated from foreign currencies into U.S. dollars at month-end exchange rates and statements of income are translated at the average monthly exchange rates. Exchange gains or losses arising from translation of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities (i.e., cumulative translation adjustment) are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders’ equity.
Derivative Financial Instruments
To reduce financial risk, the Company periodically enters into financial arrangements as part of the Company’s ongoing asset and liability management activities. Xilinx uses derivative financial instruments to hedge fair values of underlying assets and liabilities or future cash flows which are exposed to foreign currency or commodity price fluctuations. The Company does not enter into derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. See "Note 5. Derivative Financial Instruments" for detailed information about the Company’s derivative financial instruments.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development costs are current period expenses and charged to expense as incurred.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company has equity incentive plans that are more fully discussed in "Note 6. Stock-Based Compensation Plans." The authoritative guidance of accounting for share-based payment requires the Company to measure the cost of all employee equity awards that are expected to be exercised based on the grant-date fair value of those awards and to record that cost as compensation expense over the period during which the employee is required to perform service in exchange for the award (over the vesting period of the award). The authoritative guidance of accounting for share-based payment requires cash flows resulting from excess tax benefits to be classified as a part of cash flows from financing activities. Excess tax benefits are realized tax benefits from tax deductions for exercised options in excess of the deferred tax asset attributable to stock compensation costs for such options. The exercise price of employee stock options is equal to the market price of Xilinx common stock (defined as the closing trading price reported by The NASDAQ Global Select Market) on the date of grant. Additionally, Xilinx’s ESPP is deemed a compensatory plan under the authoritative guidance of accounting for share-based payments. Accordingly, the ESPP is included in the computation of stock-based compensation expense.
The Company uses the straight-line attribution method to recognize stock-based compensation costs over the requisite service period of the award. Upon exercise, cancellation or expiration of stock options, deferred tax assets for options with multiple vesting dates are eliminated for each vesting period on a first-in, first-out basis as if each award had a separate vesting period.
Income Taxes
All income tax amounts reflect the use of the liability method under the accounting for income taxes, as interpreted by FASB authoritative guidance for measuring uncertain tax positions. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial and income tax reporting purposes.
Product Warranty and Indemnification
The Company generally sells products with a limited warranty for product quality. The Company provides an accrual for known product issues if a loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated. As of the end of both fiscal 2015 and 2014, the accrual balance of the product warranty liability was immaterial.
The Company offers, subject to certain terms and conditions, to indemnify customers and distributors for costs and damages awarded against these parties in the event the Company’s hardware products are found to infringe third-party intellectual property rights, including patents, copyrights or trademarks, and to compensate certain customers for limited specified costs they actually
incur in the event our hardware products experience epidemic failure. To a lesser extent, the Company may from time-to-time offer limited indemnification with respect to its software products. The terms and conditions of these indemnity obligations are limited by contract, which obligations are typically perpetual from the effective date of the agreement. The Company has historically received only a limited number of requests for indemnification under these provisions and has not made any significant payments pursuant to these provisions. The Company cannot estimate the maximum amount of potential future payments, if any, that the Company may be required to make as a result of these obligations due to the limited history of indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances that are likely to be involved in each particular claim and indemnification provision. However, there can be no assurances that the Company will not incur any financial liabilities in the future as a result of these obligations.
Concentrations of Credit Risk
Avnet, Inc. (Avnet), one of the Company’s distributors, distributes the Company’s products worldwide. As of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, Avnet accounted for 67% and 55% of the Company’s total net accounts receivable, respectively. Resale of product through Avnet accounted for 43%, 46% and 46% of the Company’s worldwide net revenues in fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The percentage of net accounts receivable due from Avnet and the percentage of worldwide net revenues from Avnet are consistent with historical patterns.
Xilinx is subject to concentrations of credit risk primarily in its trade accounts receivable and investments in debt securities to the extent of the amounts recorded on the consolidated balance sheet. The Company attempts to mitigate the concentration of credit risk in its trade receivables through its credit evaluation process, collection terms, distributor sales to diverse end customers and through geographical dispersion of sales. Xilinx generally does not require collateral for receivables from its end customers or from distributors.
No end customer accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s worldwide net revenues for any of the periods presented.
The Company mitigates concentrations of credit risk in its investments in debt securities by currently investing more than 90% of its portfolio in AA or higher grade securities as rated by Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s Investors Service. The Company’s methods to arrive at investment decisions are not solely based on the rating agencies’ credit ratings. Xilinx also performs additional credit due diligence and conducts regular portfolio credit reviews, including a review of counterparty credit risk related to the Company’s forward currency exchange contracts. Additionally, Xilinx limits its investments in the debt securities of a single issuer based upon the issuer’s credit rating and attempts to further mitigate credit risk by diversifying risk across geographies and type of issuer.
As of March 28, 2015, approximately 31% of the portfolio consisted of mortgage-backed securities. All of the mortgage-backed securities in the investment portfolio were issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises and agencies and are rated AA+ by Standard & Poor’s and AAA by Moody’s Investors Service.
The global credit markets may experience adverse conditions that negatively impact the values of various types of investment and non-investment grade securities. The global credit and capital markets may experience significant volatility and disruption due to instability in the global financial system, uncertainty related to global economic conditions and concerns regarding sovereign financial stability. Therefore, there is a risk that we may incur other-than-temporary impairment charges for certain types of investments should credit market conditions deteriorate. See "Note 4. Financial Instruments" for a table of the Company’s available-for-sale securities.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In January 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued the authoritative guidance that permits reporting entities to make an accounting policy election to account for their investments in qualified affordable housing projects using the proportional amortization method if certain conditions are met. If the conditions are met, the guidance permits an entity to amortize the initial cost of the investment in proportion to the amount of tax credits and the other tax benefits received and recognize the net investment performance in the income statement as a component of income tax. The guidance will be effective for public companies for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning after December 15, 2014, which for Xilinx is its first quarter of fiscal 2016, and should be applied retrospectively for all periods presented. The Company does not expect this guidance to have significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In April 2014, the FASB issued the authoritative guidance that outlines a new global revenue recognition standard that replaces virtually all existing US GAAP and IFRS guidance on contracts with customers and the related other assets and deferred costs. The guidance provides a five-step process for recognizing revenue that depicts the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard also requires expanded qualitative and quantitative disclosures relating to the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. As currently issued, the standard is effective for
Xilinx beginning in fiscal 2018, with no option to early adopt under US GAAP. The new standard is required to be applied retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying it recognized at the date of initial application. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new guidance on its consolidated financial statements, including selection of the transition method.
In April 2015, the FASB issued the authoritative guidance that requires debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the debt liability rather than as an asset. The guidance will be effective for public companies for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years, which for Xilinx is its first quarter of fiscal 2017, with early adoption permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. The new standard is required to be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. An entity is also required in the year of adoption (and in interim periods within that year) to provide certain disclosures about the change in accounting principle, including the nature of and reason for the change, the transition method, a description of the prior-period information that has been retrospectively adjusted and the effect of the change on the financial statement line items (that is, debt issuance cost asset and the debt liability). The Company does not expect this guidance to have significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.
Note 3.
Fair Value Measurements
The guidance for fair value measurements established by the FASB defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities required or permitted to be recorded at fair value, the Company considers the principal or most advantageous market in which Xilinx would transact and also considers assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability, such as inherent risk, transfer restrictions and risk of nonperformance.
The Company determines the fair value for marketable debt securities using industry standard pricing services, data providers and other third-party sources and by internally performing valuation testing and analysis. The Company primarily uses a consensus price or weighted-average price for its fair value assessment. The Company determines the consensus price using market prices from a variety of industry standard pricing services, data providers, security master files from large financial institutions and other third party sources and uses those multiple prices as inputs into a distribution-curve-based algorithm to determine the daily market value. The pricing services use multiple inputs to determine market prices, including reportable trades, benchmark yield curves, credit spreads and broker/dealer quotes as well as other industry and economic events. For certain securities with short maturities, such as discount commercial paper and certificates of deposit, the security is accreted from purchase price to face value at maturity. If a subsequent transaction on the same security is observed in the marketplace, the price on the subsequent transaction is used as the current daily market price and the security will be accreted to face value based on the revised price. For certain other securities, such as student loan auction rate securities, the Company performs its own valuation analysis using a discounted cash flow pricing model.
The Company validates the consensus prices by taking random samples from each asset type and corroborating those prices using reported trade activity, benchmark yield curves, binding broker/dealer quotes or other relevant price information. There have not been any changes to the Company’s fair value methodology during fiscal 2015 and the Company did not adjust or override any fair value measurements as of March 28, 2015.
Fair Value Hierarchy
The fair value framework requires the categorization of assets and liabilities into three levels based upon the assumptions (inputs) used to price the assets or liabilities. The guidance for fair value measurements requires that assets and liabilities carried at fair value be classified and disclosed in one of the following categories:
Level 1 - Quoted (unadjusted) prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
The Company’s Level 1 assets consist of U.S. government and agency securities and money market funds.
Level 2 - Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities 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 asset or liability.
The Company’s Level 2 assets consist of financial institution securities, non-financial institution securities, municipal bonds, U.S. agency securities, foreign government and agency securities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, bank loans and
debt mutual funds. The Company’s Level 2 assets and liabilities also include foreign currency forward contracts and commodity swap contracts.
Level 3 - Unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities. Level 3 assets and liabilities include those whose fair value measurements are determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies or similar valuation techniques, as well as significant management judgment or estimation.
The Company’s Level 3 assets and liabilities include student loan auction rate securities.
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
In instances where the inputs used to measure fair value fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the fair value measurement has been determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular item to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, including the consideration of inputs specific to the asset or liability. The following tables present information about the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014:
Changes in Level 3 Instruments Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
The following table is a reconciliation of all assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3):
(1)
During fiscal 2015 and 2014, the Company redeemed $11.0 million and $10.3 million of student loan auction rate securities, respectively, for cash at par value.
The amount of total gains or (losses) included in net income attributable to the change in unrealized gains or (losses) relating to assets and liabilities still held as of the end of the period are summarized as follows:
As of March 28, 2015, marketable securities measured at fair value using Level 3 inputs were comprised of $10.3 million of student loan auction rate securities.
Financial Instruments Not Recorded at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
The Company’s 2017 Convertible Notes, 2019 Notes and 2021 Notes are measured at fair value on a quarterly basis for disclosure purposes. The fair values of the 2017 Convertible Notes, 2019 Notes and 2021 Notes as of March 28, 2015 were approximately $843.5 million, $501.4 million and $512.0 million, respectively, based on the last trading price of the respective debentures for the period (classified as Level 2 in fair value hierarchy due to relatively low trading volume).
Note 4.
Financial Instruments
The following is a summary of cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities as of the end of the periods presented:
The following tables show the fair values and gross unrealized losses of the Company’s investments, aggregated by investment category, for individual securities that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for the length of time specified, as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014:
As of March 28, 2015, the gross unrealized losses that had been outstanding for less than twelve months were primarily related to mortgage-backed securities and debt mutual funds due to the general rising of the interest-rate environment and foreign currency movement, although the percentage of such losses to the total estimated fair value of the mortgage-backed securities and the debt mutual funds was relatively insignificant. The gross unrealized losses that had been outstanding for more than twelve months were primarily related to debt mutual funds and mortgage-backed securities, which were primarily due to the general rising of the interest-rate environment and foreign currency movement.
The Company reviewed the investment portfolio and determined that the gross unrealized losses on these investments as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014 were temporary in nature as evidenced by the fluctuations in the gross unrealized losses within the investment categories. These investments are highly rated by the credit rating agencies and there have been no defaults on any of these securities, and we have received interest payments as they become due. Additionally, in the past several years a portion of the Company's investment in the auction rate securities and the mortgage-backed securities were redeemed or prepaid by the debtors at par. Furthermore, the aggregate of individual unrealized losses that had been outstanding for twelve months or more was not significant as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014. The Company neither intends to sell these investments nor concludes that it is more-likely-than-not that it will have to sell them until recovery of their carrying values. The Company also believes that it will be able to collect both principal and interest amounts due to the Company at maturity, given the high credit quality of these investments and any related underlying collateral.
The amortized cost and estimated fair value of marketable debt securities (financial institution securities, non-financial institution securities, auction rate securities, municipal bonds, U.S. and foreign government and agency securities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and bank loans), by contractual maturity, are shown below. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because issuers may have the right to call or prepay obligations without call or prepayment penalties.
As of March 28, 2015, $1.39 billion of marketable debt securities with contractual maturities of greater than one year were classified as short-term investments. Additionally, the above table did not include investments in money market and mutual funds because these funds do not have specific contractual maturities.
Certain information related to available-for-sale securities is as follows:
The cost of securities matured or sold is based on the specific identification method.
Note 5.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company’s primary objective for holding derivative financial instruments is to manage foreign currency exchange rate risk and interest rate risk. As a result of the use of derivative financial instruments, the Company is exposed to the risk that counterparties to derivative contracts may fail to meet their contractual obligations. The Company manages counterparty credit risk in derivative contracts by reviewing counterparty creditworthiness on a regular basis, establishing collateral requirement and limiting exposure to any single counterparty. The right of set-off that exists with certain transactions enables the Company to net amounts due to and from the counterparty, reducing the maximum loss from credit risk in the event of counterparty default.
As of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, the Company had the following outstanding forward currency exchange contracts (in notional amount), which were derivative financial instruments:
As part of the Company’s strategy to reduce volatility of operating expenses due to foreign exchange rate fluctuations, the Company employs a hedging program with a forward outlook of up to two years for major foreign-currency-denominated operating expenses. The outstanding forward currency exchange contracts expire at various dates through November 2016. The net unrealized losses, which approximate the fair market value of the outstanding forward currency exchange contracts, are expected to be realized into net income within the next two years.
As of March 28, 2015, all of the forward foreign currency exchange contracts were designated and qualified as cash flow hedges and the effective portion of the gain or loss on the forward contracts was reported as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into net income in the same period during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. The estimated amount of such gains or losses as of March 28, 2015 that is expected to be reclassified into earnings was not material. The ineffective portion of the gains or losses on the forward contracts was included in the net income for all periods presented.
The Company may enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts to hedge firm commitments such as acquisitions and capital expenditures. Gains and losses on foreign currency forward contracts that are designated as hedges of anticipated transactions, for which a firm commitment has been attained and the hedged relationship has been effective, are deferred and included in income or expenses in the same period that the underlying transaction is settled. Gains and losses on any instruments not meeting the above criteria are recognized in income or expenses in the consolidated statements of income as they are incurred.
The Company had the following derivative instruments as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, located on the consolidated balance sheet, utilized for risk management purposes detailed above:
The Company does not offset or net the fair value amounts of derivative financial instruments in its consolidated balance sheets. The potential effect of rights of set-off associated with the derivative financial instruments was not material to the Company's consolidated balance sheet for all periods presented.
The following table summarizes the effect of derivative instruments on the consolidated statements of income for fiscal 2015 and 2014:
*
Recorded in Interest and Other Expense location within the consolidated statements of income.
Note 6.
Stock-Based Compensation Plans
The Company’s equity incentive plans are broad-based, long-term retention programs that cover employees, consultants and non-employee directors of the Company. These plans are intended to attract and retain talented employees, consultants and non-employee directors and to provide such persons with a proprietary interest in the Company.
Stock-Based Compensation
The following table summarizes stock-based compensation expense related to stock awards granted under the Company’s equity incentive plans and rights to acquire stock granted under the Company’s ESPP:
In accordance with the authoritative guidance on accounting for share-based payments, the Company adjusts stock-based compensation on a quarterly basis for changes to the estimate of expected equity award forfeitures based on actual forfeiture experience. The effect of adjusting the forfeiture rate for all expense amortization was recognized in the period the forfeiture estimate was changed, and was not material for all periods presented.
As of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, the ending inventory balances included $2.4 million of capitalized stock-based compensation. During fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, the tax benefit realized for the tax deduction from option exercises and other awards, including amounts credited to additional paid-in capital, totaled $55.0 million, $67.0 million and $32.6 million, respectively.
The fair values of stock options and stock purchase plan rights under the Company’s equity incentive plans and ESPP were estimated as of the grant date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Company’s expected stock price volatility assumption for stock options is estimated using implied volatility of the Company’s traded options. The expected life of options granted is based on the historical exercise activity as well as the expected disposition of all options outstanding. The expected life of options granted also considers the actual contractual term.
The Company's stock-based compensation expense relating to options granted during fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 were not material.
The weighted-average fair value per share of stock purchase rights granted under the ESPP during fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $9.17, $11.11 and $8.61, respectively. These fair values per share were estimated at the date of grant using the following weighted-average assumptions:
The estimated fair values of restricted stock unit (RSU) awards were calculated based on the market price of Xilinx common stock on the date of grant, reduced by the present value of dividends expected to be paid on Xilinx common stock prior to vesting. The per share weighted-average fair value of RSUs granted during fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $43.11, $38.90 and $31.58, respectively. The weighted average fair value of RSUs granted in fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 were calculated based on estimates at the date of grant using the following weighted-average assumptions:
Options outstanding that have vested and are expected to vest in future periods as of March 28, 2015 are as follows:
(1)
These amounts represent the difference between the exercise price and $42.32, the closing price per share of Xilinx’s stock on March 28, 2015, for all in-the-money options outstanding.
Options outstanding that are expected to vest are net of estimated future option forfeitures in accordance with the authoritative guidance of accounting for share-based payment, which are estimated when compensation costs are recognized. Options with a fair value of $1.8 million completed vesting during fiscal 2015. As of March 28, 2015, total unrecognized stock-based compensation costs related to stock options and ESPP were $467 thousand and $24.7 million, respectively. The total unrecognized stock-based compensation cost for stock options and ESPP is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.5 years and 1.3 years, respectively.
Employee Stock Option Plans
Under the Company’s stock option plans (Option Plans), options reserved for future issuance of common shares to employees and directors of the Company total 18.6 million shares as of March 28, 2015, including 15.4 million shares available for future grants under the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (2007 Equity Plan). Options to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock under the Option Plans are granted at 100% of the fair market value of the stock on the date of grant. The contractual term for stock awards granted under the 2007 Equity Plan is seven years from the grant date. Prior to April 1, 2007, stock options granted by the Company generally expire ten years from the grant date. Stock awards granted to existing and newly hired employees generally vest over a four-year period from the date of grant.
A summary of shares available for grant under the 2007 Equity Plan is as follows:
The types of awards allowed under the 2007 Equity Plan include incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, RSUs, restricted stock and stock appreciation rights. To date, the Company has issued a mix of non-qualified stock options and RSUs under the 2007 Equity Plan.
A summary of the Company’s Option Plans activity and related information is as follows:
The total pre-tax intrinsic value of options exercised during fiscal 2015 and 2014 was $37.3 million and $119.6 million, respectively. This intrinsic value represents the difference between the exercise price and the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of exercise.
Since the Company adopted the policy of retiring all repurchased shares of its common stock, new shares are issued upon employees’ exercise of their stock options.
The following information relates to options outstanding and exercisable under the Option Plans as of March 28, 2015:
RSU Awards
A summary of the Company’s RSU activity and related information is as follows:
(1)
Aggregate intrinsic value for RSUs represents the closing price per share of Xilinx’s stock on March 28, 2015 of $42.32, multiplied by the number of RSUs outstanding or expected to vest as of March 28, 2015.
(2)
The number of RSUs vested includes shares that the Company withheld on behalf of employees to satisfy the statutory tax withholding requirements.
RSUs with a fair value of $91.2 million were vested during fiscal 2015. As of March 28, 2015, total unrecognized stock-based compensation costs related to non-vested RSUs was $180.6 million. The total unrecognized stock-based compensation cost for RSUs is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.6 years.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Under the Company’s ESPP, qualified employees can obtain a 24-month purchase right to purchase the Company’s common stock at the end of each six-month exercise period. Participation is limited to 15% of the employee’s annual earnings up to a maximum of $21 thousand in a calendar year. Approximately 84% of all eligible employees participate in the ESPP. The purchase price of the stock is 85% of the lower of the fair market value at the beginning of the 24-month offering period or at the end of each six-month exercise period. Employees purchased 1.2 million shares for $39.0 million in fiscal 2015, 1.2 million shares for $37.9 million in fiscal 2014, and 1.3 million shares for $34.5 million in fiscal 2013. The next scheduled purchase under the ESPP is in the second quarter of fiscal 2016. As of March 28, 2015, 10.5 million shares were available for future issuance.
Note 7. Balance Sheet Information
The following tables disclose the current liabilities that individually exceed 5% of the respective consolidated balance sheet amounts in each fiscal year. Individual balances that are less than 5% of the respective consolidated balance sheet amounts are aggregated and disclosed as "other."
Note 8.
Restructuring Charges
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company announced restructuring measures designed to realign resources and drive overall operating efficiencies. These measures impacted approximately 120 positions, or 3% of the Company's global workforce, in various geographies and functions worldwide. The reorganization plan will be substantially completed by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2016.
The Company recorded total restructuring charges of $24.5 million in fiscal 2015, primarily related to severance pay expenses and write-offs of acquisition-related intangibles.
The following table summarizes the restructuring accrual activity for fiscal 2015:
The charges above have been shown separately as restructuring charges on the consolidated statements of income. The remaining accrual as of March 28, 2015 was primarily related to severance pay and benefits that are expected to be paid during fiscal 2016.
Note 9.
Commitments
Xilinx leases some of its facilities and office buildings under non-cancelable operating leases that expire at various dates through October 2021. Additionally, Xilinx entered into a land lease in conjunction with the Company’s building in Singapore, which will expire in November 2035 and the lease cost was settled in an up-front payment in June 2006. Some of the operating leases for facilities and office buildings require payment of operating costs, including property taxes, repairs, maintenance and insurance. Most of the Company’s leases contain renewal options for varying terms. Approximate future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating leases are as follows:
Aggregate future rental income to be received, which includes rents from both owned and leased property, totaled $3.8 million as of March 28, 2015. Rent expense, net of rental income, under all operating leases was $3.2 million for fiscal 2015, $3.1 million for fiscal 2014, and $3.9 million for fiscal 2013. Rental income was not material for fiscal 2015, 2014 or 2013.
Other commitments as of March 28, 2015 totaled $106.3 million and consisted of purchases of inventory and other non-cancelable purchase obligations related to subcontractors that manufacture silicon wafers and provide assembly and some test services. The Company expects to receive and pay for these materials and services in the next three to six months, as the products meet delivery and quality specifications. As of March 28, 2015, the Company also had $35.6 million of non-cancelable license obligations to providers of electronic design automation software and hardware/software maintenance expiring at various dates through June 2017.
Note 10.
Net Income Per Common Share
The computation of basic net income per common share for all periods presented is derived from the information on the consolidated statements of income, and there are no reconciling items in the numerator used to compute diluted net income per common share. The following table summarizes the computation of basic and diluted net income per common share:
The total shares used in the denominator of the diluted net income per common share calculation includes potentially dilutive common equivalent shares outstanding that are not included in basic net income per common share by applying the treasury stock method to the impact of the equity incentive plans and to the incremental shares issuable assuming conversion of the Company's convertible debt and warrants (see "Note 13. Debt and Credit Facility" for more discussion of our debt and warrants).
Outstanding stock options and RSUs under the Company's stock award plans and warrants to purchase approximately 24.3 million, 5.1 million and 27.9 million shares, for fiscal 2015, 2014 or 2013 respectively, were excluded from diluted net income per common share by applying the treasury stock method, as their inclusion would have been antidilutive. These options, RSUs and warrants could be dilutive in the future if the Company’s average share price increases and is greater than the combined exercise prices and the unamortized fair values of these options, RSUs and warrants.
To hedge against potential dilution upon conversion of the 2017 Convertible Notes, the Company also purchased call options on its common stock from the hedge counterparties. The call options give the Company the right to purchase up to 20.2 million shares of its common stock at $29.64 per share. These call options are not considered for purposes of calculating the total shares outstanding under the basic and diluted net income per share, as their effect would be anti-dilutive. Upon exercise, the call options would serve to neutralize the dilutive effect of the 2017 Convertible Notes and potentially reduce the weighted number of diluted shares used in per share calculations.
Note 11.
Interest and Other Expense, Net
The components of interest and other expense, net are as follows:
Note 12.
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Comprehensive loss is defined as the change in equity of a company during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources. The components of accumulated other comprehensive loss are as follows:
The related tax effects of other comprehensive loss were not material for all periods presented.
Note 13.
Debt and Credit Facility
2017 Convertible Notes
As of March 28, 2015, the Company had $600.0 million principal amount of 2017 Convertible Notes outstanding. The 2017 Convertible Notes are senior in right of payment to the Company’s existing and future unsecured indebtedness that is expressly subordinated in right of payment to the 2017 Convertible Notes, and are ranked equally with all of our other existing and future unsecured senior indebtedness, including the 2019 and 2021 Notes discussed below. The Company may not redeem the 2017 Convertible Notes prior to maturity.
The 2017 Convertible Notes are convertible, subject to certain conditions, into shares of Xilinx common stock at a conversion rate of 33.7391 shares of common stock per $1 thousand principal amount of the 2017 Convertible Notes, representing an effective conversion price of approximately $29.64 per share of common stock. The conversion rate is subject to adjustment for certain events as outlined in the indenture governing the 2017 Convertible Notes but will not be adjusted for accrued interest. One of the conditions allowing holders of the 2017 Convertible Notes to convert during any fiscal quarter is if the last reported sale price of the Company's common stock for at least 20 trading days during a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the preceding fiscal quarter is greater than or equal to 130% of the conversion price on each applicable trading day. This condition was met as of March 28, 2015 and as a result, the 2017 Convertible Notes were convertible at the option of the holders. As of March 28, 2015, the 2017 Convertible Notes were classified as a current liability on the Company's consolidated balance sheet. Additionally, a portion of the equity component attributable to the conversion feature of the 2017 Convertible Notes was classified in temporary stockholders' equity. The amount classified as temporary equity was equal to the difference between the principal amount and carrying value of the 2017 Convertible Notes.
Upon conversion, the Company would pay the holders of the 2017 Convertible Notes cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the 2017 Convertible Notes. If the conversion value exceeds the principal amount, the Company would deliver shares of its common stock with respect to the remainder of its conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount (conversion spread). Accordingly, there would be no adjustment to the numerator in the net income per common share computation for the cash settled portion of the 2017 Convertible Notes, as that portion of the debt liability will always be settled in cash. The conversion spread will be included in the denominator for the computation of diluted net income per common share, using the treasury stock method.
The carrying values of the liability and equity components of the 2017 Convertible Notes are reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as follows:
The remaining unamortized debt discount, net of the hedge accounting adjustment from the sale of the interest rate swap, is being amortized as additional non-cash interest expense over the expected remaining term of the 2017 Convertible Notes. As of March 28, 2015, the remaining term of the 2017 Convertible Notes is 2.2 years. As of March 28, 2015, the if-converted value of the 2017 Convertible Notes was $831.6 million.
Interest expense related to the 2017 Convertible Notes was included in interest and other expense, net on the consolidated statements of income as follows:
To hedge against potential dilution upon conversion of the 2017 Convertible Notes, the Company also purchased call options on its common stock from the hedge counterparties. The call options give the Company the right to purchase up to 20.2 million shares of its common stock at $29.64 per share. The call options will terminate upon the earlier of the maturity of the 2017 Convertible Notes or the last day any of the 2017 Convertible Notes remain outstanding. To reduce the hedging cost, under separate transactions the Company sold warrants to the hedge counterparties, which give the hedge counterparties the right to purchase up to 20.2 million shares of the Company’s common stock at $41.99 per share. These warrants expire on a gradual basis over a specified period starting on September 13, 2017.
2019 and 2021 Notes
On March 12, 2014, the Company issued $500.0 million principal amount of 2019 Notes and $500.0 million principal amount of 2021 Notes with maturity dates of March 15, 2019 and March 15, 2021 respectively. The 2019 and 2021 Notes were offered to the public at a discounted price of 99.477% and 99.281% of par, respectively. Interest on the 2019 and 2021 Notes is payable semiannually on March 15 and September 15.
The Company received net proceeds of $990.1 million from issuance of the 2019 and 2021 Notes, after the debt discounts and deduction of debt issuance costs. The debt discounts and issuance costs are amortized to interest expense over the lives of the 2019 and 2021 Notes.
The following table summarizes the carrying value of the 2019 and 2021 Notes in the Company's consolidated balance sheets:
Interest expense related to the 2019 and 2021 Notes was included in interest and other expense, net on the consolidated statements of income as follows:
2037 Convertible Notes
On March 12, 2014, the Company paid $1.23 billion in cash to redeem all of the outstanding $689.6 million (principal amount) of its 2037 Convertible Notes. In accordance with the authoritative guidance for convertible debentures issued by the FASB, the redemption payment was allocated between the liability ($377.6 million) and equity ($856.5 million) components of the convertible debentures, using the equivalent rate that reflected the borrowing rate for a similar non-convertible debt prior to the redemption. As a result, the Company recognized a loss on extinguishment of convertible debentures of $9.8 million, net of the unamortized debt discount ($315.4 million), the write-off of the unamortized debt issuance costs ($5.1 million) and unamortized embedded derivative valuation ($1.3 million).
Prior to the redemption, interest expense related to the 2037 Convertible Notes was included in interest and other expense, net on the consolidated statements of income, and was recognized as follows:
Revolving Credit Facility
On December 7, 2011, the Company entered into a $250.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility with a syndicate of banks (expiring in December 2016). Borrowings under the credit facility will bear interest at a benchmark rate plus an applicable margin based upon the Company’s credit rating. In connection with the credit facility, the Company is required to maintain certain financial and non-financial covenants. As of March 28, 2015, the Company had made no borrowings under this credit facility and was not in violation of any of the covenants.
Note 14. Stockholders’ Equity
Preferred Stock
The Company’s Certificate of Incorporation authorized 2.0 million shares of undesignated preferred stock. The preferred stock may be issued in one or more series. The Board of Directors is authorized to determine or alter the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions granted to, or imposed upon, any wholly unissued series of preferred stock. As of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, no preferred shares were issued or outstanding.
Common Stock and Debentures Repurchase Programs
The Board of Directors has approved stock repurchase programs enabling the Company to repurchase its common stock in the open market or through negotiated transactions with independent financial institutions. In August 2012, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to $750.0 million of the Company’s common stock and debentures (2012 Repurchase Program). In November 2014, the Board authorized the repurchase of an additional $800.0 million of the Company's common stock (2014 Repurchase Program). The shares authorized for repurchase under the 2014 Repurchase Program are in addition to the shares authorized for purchase under the 2012 Repurchase Program. The 2012 and 2014 Repurchase Programs have no stated expiration date.
Through March 28, 2015, the Company has used up the $750.0 million authorized under the 2012 Repurchase Program, and $152.6 million of the $800.0 million authorized under the 2014 Repurchase Program, leaving $647.4 million available for future
repurchases under the 2014 Repurchase Program. The Company’s current policy is to retire all repurchased shares, and consequently, no treasury shares were held as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014.
During fiscal 2015, the Company repurchased 15.3 million shares of common stock in the open market for a total of approximately $650.0 million under the 2012 and 2014 Repurchase Programs. During fiscal 2014, the Company repurchased 5.2 million shares of common stock in the open market for a total of $242.1 million.
Note 15.
Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes consists of the following:
The domestic and foreign components of income before income taxes were as follows:
The tax benefits associated with stock-based compensation recorded in additional paid-in capital were $13.9 million, $26.4 million and $9.0 million, for fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
As of March 28, 2015, the Company had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $16.5 million. If unused, these carryforwards will expire at various dates through 2030. All of the federal and state net operating loss carryforwards are subject to change of ownership limitations provided by the Internal Revenue Code and similar state provisions. The Company had state research tax credit carryforwards of approximately $152.4 million. The credits have no expiration date. Some of the state credit carryforwards are subject to change of ownership limitations provided by state provisions similar to that of the Internal Revenue Code. The state credit carryforwards include $80.8 million that is not likely to be recovered and has been reduced by a valuation allowance.
Unremitted foreign earnings that are considered to be permanently invested outside the U.S., and on which no U.S. taxes have been provided, are approximately $2.80 billion as of March 28, 2015. The residual U.S. tax liability, if such amounts were remitted, would be approximately $938.7 million.
The provision for income taxes reconciles to the amount derived by applying the Federal statutory income tax rate to income before provision for taxes as follows:
The Company has manufacturing operations in Singapore where the Company has been granted "Pioneer Status" that is effective through fiscal 2021. The Pioneer Status reduces the Company’s tax on the majority of Singapore income from 17% to zero. The benefits of Pioneer Status in Singapore for fiscal 2015, fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2013 were approximately $66.0 million ($0.24 per diluted share), $60.3 million ($0.21 per diluted share), and $41.0 million ($0.15 per diluted share), respectively, on income considered permanently reinvested outside the U.S. The tax effect of operations in low tax jurisdictions on the Company’s overall tax rate is reflected in the table above.
The major components of deferred tax assets and liabilities consisted of the following as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014:
Long-term deferred tax assets of $59.7 million and $61.9 million as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, respectively, were included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.
As of March 28, 2015, gross deferred tax assets were offset by valuation allowances of $52.6 million, which were associated with state tax credit carryforwards. As of March 29, 2014, gross deferred tax assets were offset by valuation allowances of $43.0 million, which were associated with state tax credit carryforwards and foreign net operating loss carryforwards.
The aggregate changes in the balance of gross unrecognized tax benefits for fiscal 2015 and 2014 were as follows:
If the remaining balance of $30.1 million and $26.4 million of unrecognized tax benefits as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, respectively, were realized in a future period, it would result in a tax benefit of $12.5 million and $11.0 million, respectively, thereby reducing the effective tax rate.
The Company’s policy is to include interest and penalties related to income tax liabilities within the provision for income taxes on the consolidated statements of income. The balances of accrued interest and penalties recorded in the consolidated balance sheets and the amounts of interest and penalties included in the Company’s provisions for income taxes were not material for any period presented.
The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal audits by taxing authorities for years through fiscal 2011. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. state audits for years through fiscal 2009. The Company is no longer subject to tax audits in Ireland for years through fiscal 2010.
The Company is currently under examination by the IRS for fiscal years 2012 through 2014. The Company believes the allowance for income tax contingencies is adequate and do not anticipate a significant change in the allowance for income tax contingencies as a result of the IRS audit.
It is reasonably possible that changes to our unrecognized tax benefits could be significant in the next twelve months due to tax audit settlements and lapses of statutes of limitation. As a result of uncertainties regarding tax audit settlements and their possible outcomes, an estimate of the range of increase or decrease that could occur in the next twelve months cannot be made.
Note 16. Segment Information
Xilinx designs, develops and markets programmable logic semiconductor devices and the related software design tools. The Company operates and tracks its results in one operating segment. Xilinx sells its products to OEMs and to electronic components distributors who resell these products to OEMs or subcontract manufacturers.
Geographic revenue information for fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 reflects the geographic location of the distributors or OEMs who purchased the Company’s products. This may differ from the geographic location of the end customers. Long-lived assets include property, plant and equipment, which were based on the physical location of the asset as of the end of each fiscal year.
Net revenues by geographic region were as follows:
Net long-lived assets by country at fiscal year-ends were as follows:
Note 17.
Litigation Settlements and Contingencies
Patent Litigation
On November 7, 2014, the Company filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against Papst Licensing GmbH & Co., KG (Papst)in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Xilinx, Inc. v. Papst Licensing GmbH & Co., KG, Case No. 3:14-CV-04963) (the California Action). On the same date, a patent infringement lawsuit was filed by Papst against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (Papst Licensing GmbH & Co., KG v. Xilinx, Inc., Case No. 1:14-CV-01376) (the Delaware Action). Both the California Action and the Delaware Action pertain to the same two patents. In the California Action, the Company seeks judgments of non-infringement of the patents by the Company and judgments that the patents are invalid and unenforceable, as well as costs. In the Delaware Action, Papst seeks unspecified damages, interest and costs. The Company is unable to estimate its range of possible loss, if any, in this matter at this time.
On July 17, 2014, a patent infringement lawsuit was filed by PLL Technologies, Inc. (PTI) against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (PLL Technologies, Inc. v. Xilinx, Inc., Case No. 1:14-CV-00945). The lawsuit pertains to one patent and PTI seeks unspecified damages, interest and costs. The Company is unable to estimate its range of possible loss, if any, in this matter at this time.
The Company intends to continue to protect and defend our IP vigorously.
Other Matters
On January 31, 2014, Evan Levine and Keith McClellan filed an action on behalf of the United States in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (United States of America, ex. rel. Evan Levine and Keith McClellan v. Avnet Inc., et. al., Case No. 14-cv-00017). The matter alleges violations of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. Section 3729 et seq. and was filed under seal pursuant to 31 U.S.C. Section 3730(b)(2). The lawsuit seeks to recover, on behalf of the United States, $11 thousand for each unspecified, allegedly false and fraudulent claim, plus treble damages. The government investigated the allegations in the complaint and on September 12, 2014, filed a Notice of Election to Decline Intervention. On September 22, 2014, the District Court unsealed the complaint and ordered it to be served on the defendants. On November 21, 2014, the government moved to dismiss the complaint with prejudice. That same day, Mr. McClellan filed a notice of dismissal, leaving Mr. Levine as the only remaining relator. The Company was served with the complaint on December 11, 2014. On April 1, 2015, the District Court granted the government’s motion, dismissing the matter with prejudice. The District Court also entered judgment in favor of the defendants including the Company. On April 27, 2015, Mr. Levine, proceeding without counsel, filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from the District Court's order and judgment.
From time to time, the Company is involved in various disputes and litigation matters that arise in the ordinary course of its business. These include disputes and lawsuits related to intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, contract law, tax, regulatory, distribution arrangements, employee relations and other matters. Periodically, the Company reviews the status of each matter and assesses its potential financial exposure. If the potential loss from any claim or legal proceeding is considered probable and a range of possible losses can be estimated, the Company accrues a liability for the estimated loss. Legal proceedings are subject to uncertainties, and the outcomes are difficult to predict. Because of such uncertainties, accruals are based only on the best information available at the time. As additional information becomes available, the Company continues to reassess the potential liability related to pending claims and litigation and may revise estimates.
Note 18.
Goodwill and Acquisition-Related Intangibles
As of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, the gross and net amounts of goodwill and of acquisition-related intangibles for all acquisitions were as follows:
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company wrote off certain acquisition-related intangibles with a net book value of $6.6 million and recorded it as part of the restructuring charges (see also "Note 8. Restructuring Charges"). The write-off was primarily related to certain core technology that the Company no longer plans to utilize in the future.
Amortization expense for acquisition-related intangibles for fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $9.5 million, $9.9 million and $9.5 million, respectively. Based on the carrying value of acquisition-related intangibles recorded as of March 28, 2015, and assuming no subsequent impairment of the underlying assets, the annual amortization expense for acquisition-related intangibles is expected to be as follows:
Note 19. Employee Benefit Plans
Xilinx offers various retirement benefit plans for U.S. and non-U.S. employees. Total contributions to these plans were $13.0 million, $13.2 million and $12.2 million in fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. For employees in the U.S., Xilinx instituted a Company matching program pursuant to which the Company will match contributions to Xilinx’s 401(k) Plan (the 401(k) Plan) based on the amount of salary deferral contributions the participant makes to the 401(k) Plan. Xilinx will match up to 50% of the first 8% of an employee’s compensation that the employee contributed to their 401(k) account. The maximum Company contribution per year is $4,500 per employee. As permitted under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, the 401(k) Plan allows tax deferred salary deductions for eligible employees. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors administers the 401(k) Plan. Participants in the 401(k) Plan may make salary deferrals of up to 25% of the eligible annual salary, limited by the maximum dollar amount allowed by the Internal Revenue Code. Participants who have reached the age of 50 before the close of the plan year may be eligible to make catch-up salary deferral contributions, up to 25% of eligible annual salary, limited by the maximum dollar amount allowed by the Internal Revenue Code.
The Company allows its U.S.-based officers, director-level employees and its board members to defer a portion of their compensation under the Deferred Compensation Plan (the Plan). The Compensation Committee administers the Plan. As of March 28, 2015, there were more than 155 participants in the Plan who self-direct their contributions into investment options offered by the Plan. The Plan does not allow Plan participants to invest directly in Xilinx’s stock. In the event Xilinx becomes insolvent, Plan assets are subject to the claims of the Company’s general creditors. There are no Plan provisions that provide for any guarantees or minimum return on investments. As of March 28, 2015, Plan assets were $59.2 million and obligations were $70.2 million. As of March 29, 2014, Plan assets were $50.6 million and obligations were $59.6 million.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
Xilinx, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Xilinx, Inc. as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 28, 2015. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Part IV, Item 15(a)(2). These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and 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 financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Xilinx, Inc. at March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 28, 2015, 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 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), Xilinx, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of March 28, 2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 Framework) and our report dated May 13, 2015 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ ERNST & YOUNG LLP
San Jose, California
May 13, 2015
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
Xilinx, Inc.
We have audited Xilinx, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of March 28, 2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 Framework) (the COSO criteria). Xilinx, Inc.’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. 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, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and 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 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, Xilinx, Inc. maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of March 28, 2015, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Xilinx, Inc. as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 28, 2015 of Xilinx, Inc. and our report dated May 13, 2015 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ ERNST & YOUNG LLP
San Jose, California
May 13, 2015
XILINX, INC.
SCHEDULE II
VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS
Supplementary Financial Data
Quarterly Data (Unaudited)
(1)
Xilinx uses a 52- to 53-week fiscal year ending on the Saturday nearest March 31. Fiscal 2015 was a 52-week year and each quarter was a 13-week quarter.
(2)
Income before income taxes for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 included restructuring charges of $24,491.
(3)
Net income per common share is computed independently for each of the quarters presented. Therefore, the sum of the quarterly per common share information may not equal the annual net income per common share.
(1)
Xilinx uses a 52- to 53-week fiscal year ending on the Saturday nearest March 31. Fiscal 2014 was a 52-week year and each quarter was a 13-week quarter.
(2)
Income before income taxes for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 included litigation and contingencies charge of $28,600, for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 included reversal of litigation and contingencies charge of $19,190 and for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 included loss on extinguishment of convertible debentures of $9,848.
(3)
Net income per common share is computed independently for each of the quarters presented. Therefore, the sum of the quarterly per common share information may not equal the annual net income per common share.

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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
Not applicable.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A.
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
An evaluation was carried out, under the supervision of and with the participation of the Company’s management, including our CEO and CFO, of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon this evaluation, our CEO and CFO have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the fiscal quarter ended March 28, 2015 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. This system of internal control is designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded and transactions are properly recorded and executed in accordance with management’s authorization. The design, monitoring and revision of the system of internal control over financial reporting involve, among other things, management’s judgments with respect to the relative cost and expected benefits of specific control measures. The effectiveness of the system of internal control over financial reporting is supported by the selection, retention and training of qualified personnel and an organizational structure that provides an appropriate division of responsibility and formalized procedures. The system of internal control is periodically reviewed and modified in response to changing conditions.
Because of its inherent limitations, no matter how well designed, a system of internal control over financial reporting can provide only reasonable assurance and may not prevent or detect all misstatements or all fraud. Further, because of changes in conditions, the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting may vary over time. Our system contains self-monitoring mechanisms, and actions are taken to correct deficiencies as they are identified.
Management has used the criteria established in the Report "Internal Control - Integrated Framework" issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) (2013 Framework) to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Based on this evaluation, management has concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of March 28, 2015.
The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of March 28, 2015 has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B.
OTHER INFORMATION
None.
PART III
Certain information required by Part III is omitted from this Report in that the Registrant will file a definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act (the Proxy Statement) not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Report, and certain information included therein is incorporated herein by reference. Only those sections of the Proxy Statement that specifically address the items set forth herein are incorporated by reference.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
ITEM 10.
DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The information required by this item pursuant to Item 401(b), (d), (e) and (f) of Regulation S-K concerning the Company’s executive officers is incorporated herein by reference to Item 1. "Business - Executive Officers of the Registrant" within this Form 10-K.
The information required by this item pursuant to Item 401(a), (d), (e), and (f) and Items 406 and 407 of Regulation S-K concerning the Company’s directors, the code of ethics and corporate governance matters is incorporated herein by reference to the sections entitled "Proposal One-Election of Directors" "Board Independence" and "Corporate Governance Principles" in our Proxy Statement.
The information required by this item regarding delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the section entitled "Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance" in our Proxy Statement.
Our codes of conduct and ethics and significant corporate governance principles are available on the investor relations page of our website at www.investor.xilinx.com. Our code of conduct applies to our directors and employees, including our CEO, CFO and principal accounting personnel. In addition, our Board of Directors has adopted a code of ethics that pertains specifically to the Board of Directors. Printed copies of these documents are also available to stockholders without charge upon written request directed to Corporate Secretary, Xilinx, Inc., 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose CA 95124.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11.
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The information required by this item pursuant to Item 402 of Regulation S-K concerning executive compensation is incorporated herein by reference to the sections entitled "Compensation of Directors" and "Executive Compensation" in our Proxy Statement.
The information required by this item pursuant to Item 407(e)(4) of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the section entitled "Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation" in our Proxy Statement.
The information required by this item pursuant to Item 407(e)(5) of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the section entitled "Compensation Committee Report" in our Proxy Statement.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP
ITEM 12.
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The information required by this item pursuant to Item 403 of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the section entitled "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management" in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K is set forth below.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The table below sets forth certain information as of fiscal year ended March 28, 2015 about the Company’s common stock that may be issued upon the exercise of options, RSUs, warrants and rights under all of our existing equity compensation plans including the ESPP:
(1)
The Company ceased issuing options under the 1997 Stock Plan as of April 1, 2007. The 1997 Stock Plan expired on May 8, 2007 and all available but unissued shares under this plan were cancelled.
(2)
Includes approximately 6.9 million shares issuable upon vesting of RSUs that the Company granted under the 2007 Equity Plan.
(3)
The weighted-average exercise price does not take into account shares issuable upon vesting of outstanding RSUs, which have no exercise price.
(4)
On July 26, 2006, the stockholders approved the adoption of the 2007 Equity Plan and authorized 10.0 million shares to be reserved for issuance thereunder. The 2007 Equity Plan, which became effective on January 1, 2007, replaced both the Company’s 1997 Stock Plan (which expired on May 8, 2007) and the Supplemental Stock Option Plan. On August 9, 2007, August 14, 2008, August 12, 2009, August 11, 2010, August 10, 2011, August 8, 2012, August 14, 2013 and August 13, 2014 our stockholders authorized the reserve of an additional 5.0 million shares, 4.0 million shares, 5.0 million shares, 4.5 million shares, 4.5 million shares, 3.5 million shares, 2.0 million shares and 3.0 million shares respectively. All of the shares reserved for issuance under the 2007 Equity Plan may be granted as stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock or RSUs.
(5)
Under the Supplemental Stock Option Plan, options were granted to employees and consultants of the Company, however neither officers nor members of our Board were eligible for grants under the Supplemental Stock Option Plan. Only non-qualified stock options were granted under the Supplemental Stock Option Plan (that is, options that do not entitle the optionee to special U.S. income tax treatment) and such options generally expire not later than 12 months after the optionee ceases to be an employee or consultant. Upon a merger of the Company with or into another company, or the sale of substantially all of the Company’s assets, each option granted under the Supplemental Stock Option Plan may be assumed or substituted with a similar option by the acquiring company, or the outstanding options will become exercisable in connection with the merger or sale.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13.
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
The information required by this item concerning related party transactions pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the section entitled "Related Transactions" in our Proxy Statement.
The information required by this item concerning director independence pursuant to Item 407(a) of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the section entitled "Board Independence" in our Proxy Statement.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
The information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference to the sections entitled "Proposal Three - Ratification of Appointment of External Auditors" and "Fees Paid to Ernst & Young LLP" in our Proxy Statement.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15.
EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)
(1)
The financial statements required by Item 15(a) are included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
(2)
The financial statement schedule required by Item 15(a) (Schedule II, Valuation and Qualifying Accounts) is included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Schedules not filed have been omitted because they are not applicable, are not required or the information required to be set forth therein is included in the financial statements or notes thereto.
(3)
The exhibits listed below in (b) are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual report on Form 10-K.
(b)
Exhibits
EXHIBIT LIST
Incorporated by Reference
Exhibit
No
Exhibit Title
Form
File No.
Exhibit
Filing
Date
Filed
Herewith
3.1
Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended to date
10-K
000-18548
3.1
5/30/2007
3.2
Bylaws of the Company, as amended and restated as of May 9, 2012
8-K
000-18548
3.2
5/15/2012
4.1
Indenture dated March 5, 2007 between the Company as Issuer and the Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. as Trustee
10-K
000-18548
4.1
5/30/2007
4.2
Indenture dated June 9, 2010 between the Company as Issuer and the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. as Trustee
10-Q
000-18548
4.2
8/9/2010
4.3
Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 12, 2014, between the Company as Issuer and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee
8-K
000-18548
4.01
3/13/2014
10.1
*
Amended and Restated 1990 Employee Qualified Stock Purchase Plan
DEF 14A
000-18548
Appendix A
5/29/2012
10.2
*
1997 Stock Plan and Form of Stock Option Agreement
S-8
333-127318
4.2
8/9/2005
10.3
*
Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Company and its officers and directors
S-1
333-34568
10.17
4/27/1990
10.4
*
Supplemental Stock Option Plan
10-K
000-18548
10.16
6/17/2002
10.5
*
Letter Agreement dated June 2, 2005 between the Company and Jon A. Olson
10-Q/A
000-18548
10.1
8/12/2005
10.6
*
2007 Equity Incentive Plan
DEF 14A
000-18548
Appendix B
5/29/2012
10.7
*
Form of Stock Option Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan
10-K
000-18548
10.24
5/30/2007
10.8
*
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan
10-K
000-18548
10.25
5/30/2007
10.9
*
Form of Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan
8-K
000-18548
99.1
7/5/2007
Incorporated by Reference
Exhibit
No
Exhibit Title
Form
File No.
Exhibit
Filing
Date
Filed
Herewith
10.10
*
Letter Agreement dated January 4, 2008 between the Company and Moshe N. Gavrielov
8-K
000-18548
99.2
1/7/2008
10.11
*
Amendment of Employment Agreement dated February 14, 2008 between the Company and Jon A. Olson
8-K
000-18548
99.1
2/20/2008
10.12
*
Summary of Fiscal 2014 Executive Incentive Plan
8-K
000-18548
N/A
5/21/2013
10.13
*
Restricted Stock Issuance Agreement
10-Q
000-18548
10.15
8/9/2011
10.14
*
Performance Based Restricted Stock Issuance Agreement
10-Q
000-18548
10.16
8/9/2011
10.15
*
Amendment of Employment Agreement between the Company and Moshe N. Gavrielov
8-K
000-18548
10.17
6/19/2012
10.16
*
Amendment of Employment Agreement between the Company and Jon A. Olson
8-K
000-18548
10.18
6/19/2012
10.17
*
Retirement Agreement between the Company and Vincent Ratford
10-Q
000-18548
10.19
11/2/2012
10.18
+
Xilinx, Inc. Master Distributor Agreement with Avnet, Inc.
10-K
000-18548
10.18
5/16/2014
10.19
*
Summary of Fiscal Year 2015 Executive Incentive Plan
8-K
000-18548
N/A
5/16/2014
10.20
*
Retirement Agreement between the Company and Frank Tornaghi
8-K
000-18548
10.1
3/17/2015
21.1
Subsidiaries of the Company
X
23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
X
24.1
Power of Attorney (included in the signature page)
X
31.1
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
X
31.2
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
X
32.1
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
X
32.2
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
X
101.INS
**
XBRL Instance Document
X
101.SCH
**
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
X
101.CAL
**
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
X
101.LAB
**
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
X
101.PRE
**
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
X
+
Confidential treatment has been granted with respect to certain portions of this exhibit. Omitted portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
*
Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement required to be filed as an exhibit to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K pursuant to Item 15(b) herein.
**
Pursuant to applicable securities laws and regulations, we are deemed to have complied with the reporting obligation relating to the submission of interactive data files in such exhibits and are not subject to liability under any anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws as long as we have made a good faith attempt to comply with the submission requirements and promptly amend the interactive data files after becoming aware that the interactive data files fail to comply with the submission requirements. Users of this data are advised that pursuant to Rule 406T, these interactive data files are deemed not filed and otherwise are not subject to liability.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: May 13, 2015
XILINX, INC.
By:
/s/ Moshe N. Gavrielov
Moshe N. Gavrielov,
President and Chief Executive Officer
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Moshe N. Gavrielov and Jon A. Olson, jointly and severally, his/her attorneys-in-fact, each with the power of substitution, for him/her in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact, or his/her substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
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 in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature
Title
Date
/s/ Moshe N. Gavrielov
President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer) and Director
May 13, 2015
(Moshe N. Gavrielov)
/s/ Jon A. Olson
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Accounting and Financial Officer)
May 13, 2015
(Jon A. Olson)
/s/ Philip T. Gianos
Chairman of the Board of Directors
May 13, 2015
(Philip T. Gianos)
/s/ John L. Doyle
Director
May 13, 2015
(John L. Doyle)
/s/ William G. Howard, Jr.
Director
May 13, 2015
(William G. Howard, Jr.)
/s/ J. Michael Patterson
Director
May 13, 2015
(J. Michael Patterson)
/s/ Albert A. Pimentel
Director
May 13, 2015
(Albert A. Pimentel)
/s/ Marshall C. Turner
Director
May 13, 2015
(Marshall C. Turner)
/s/ Elizabeth W. Vanderslice
Director
May 13, 2015
(Elizabeth W. Vanderslice)

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Stock Performance Metrics:
Return: 0.002636658493429422
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