EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1039399
Filing Year: 2022
Filename: 1039399_10-K_2022_0001039399-22-000014.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1: Business
General
FormFactor, Inc., headquartered in Livermore, California, is a leading provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full semiconductor product lifecycle - from characterization, modeling, reliability, and design de-bug, to qualification and production test. We provide a broad range of high-performance probe cards, analytical probes, probe stations, metrology systems, thermal systems, and cryogenic systems to both semiconductor companies and scientific institutions. Our products provide electrical and physical information from a variety of semiconductor and electro-optical devices and integrated circuits from early research, through development, to high-volume production. Customers use our products and services to accelerate profitability by optimizing device performance and advancing yield knowledge.
FormFactor, Inc., was incorporated in 1993, and we introduced our first product in 1995. In October 2012, we acquired Astria Semiconductor Holdings, Inc., including its subsidiary Micro-Probe Incorporated (together “MicroProbe”); in June 2016, we acquired Cascade Microtech, Inc. (“Cascade Microtech” or “CMI”); in October 2019, we acquired FRT GmbH (“FRT”); in July 2020, we acquired the probe card assets of Advantest Corporation (“Baldwin Park”); and in October 2020, we acquired High Precision Devices, Inc. (“HPD”). These acquisitions have helped transform our business into a semiconductor test and measurement market leader with greater scale, diversification, breadth and market opportunities.
As of December 25, 2021, we operate in two reportable segments consisting of the Probe Cards segment and the Systems segment. Sales of our probe cards and analytical probes are included in the Probe Cards segment, while sales of our probe stations, metrology systems, thermal systems and cryogenic systems are included in the Systems segment.
Products
We design, manufacture and sell multiple product lines, including probe cards, analytical probes, probe stations, metrology systems, thermal systems, and cryogenic systems, and related services.
Probe Cards. Our probe cards utilize a variety of technologies and product architectures, including micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies. We use advanced design and automation technologies to enable rapid and cost-effective manufacturing of resilient composite contact elements with characteristic length scales of a few microns. These contact elements are designed to provide a specific range of forces on, and across, a chip’s bond pad, solder bump, micro-bump, through-silicon-via (TSV), or copper pillar, during the test process and maintain their shape and position over a range of compression levels. In addition, while maintaining these mechanical characteristics, the contact elements must achieve reliable and high-fidelity electrical contact through wafer surfaces that are generally oxidized or otherwise contaminated, and must maintain these attributes over hundreds of thousands, and even millions, of compression cycles. Our range of capabilities enable us to rapidly produce customer-design specific probe cards that deliver leading precision, quality, reliability, and electro-mechanical performance.
Our probe cards are customized for our customers’ unique wafer and chip designs by modifying and adapting our standard product architectures to meet an individual customer’s specific wafer and chip design layouts and electrical test requirements. We offer probe cards to test a variety of semiconductor device types, including systems on a chip (SoC), mobile application processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphic processors, radio frequency, analog, mixed signal, image sensors, electro-optical, DRAM memory, NAND flash memory and NOR flash memory devices.
For many advanced applications, our products must maintain tens of thousands of simultaneous high-fidelity low-impedance electrical contacts with the corresponding chip contacts on the wafer. Our present technologies enable probe cards with over 100,000 contact elements with spacings as small as 40 microns over geometries as large as an entire 300mm wafer. In addition, for high signal-fidelity devices such as wireless radio frequency transceivers and automotive radar chips, our probe card technologies are capable of testing at millimeter-wave frequencies range, currently up to 81 GHz.
We have invested, and intend to continue to invest, considerable resources in proprietary probe card design tools and processes. These tools and processes are intended to enable the rapid and accurate customization of products required to meet customer requirements, including automated routing and trace length adjustment within our probe cards, to rapidly design complex structures.
In addition, some of our customers test certain chips over a large range of operating temperatures, such as for automotive applications. We design probe cards to provide for a precise match with the thermal expansion characteristics of the wafer under test across the range of test operating temperatures. For many of our products, our customers can use the same probe card
for both low and high temperature testing. We also design probe cards for customers that require extreme positional accuracy at a specific temperature.
Through ongoing investments in both our technology and operations, we continue to innovate and improve so that our products will meet customers’ future technical roadmap performance, quality, and commercial requirements. We also focus upon leveraging these ongoing investments across all advanced probe card markets to realize synergies and economies of scale to benefit our competitiveness, time-to-market and overall profitability.
Analytical Probes. We offer over 50 different analytical probe models for engineering and production testing. Analytical probes are used for a diverse set of applications, including device characterization, electrical simulation model development, failure analysis, and prototype design debugging. Our customers for analytical probes include universities, research institutions, semiconductor integrated device manufacturers, semiconductor foundries, and fabless semiconductor companies. We continue to add new models of analytical probes that address measurements with higher complexities and at higher frequencies.
Probe Stations. Probe stations, also referred to as probe systems, are a critical tool for the development of new generations of semiconductor and electro-optical processes and designs. Probe stations are highly configurable for the required measurements, the size and type of wafer under test, the characteristics of the device design to be tested, and the temperatures at which testing is to be performed. Process development and design complexities have continually increased with each new generation of semiconductor technology to accommodate smaller design geometries, complex 3-D architectures, new materials and more layers. Probe systems are a fundamental tool for characterizing and verifying electrical performance and reliability to enable new semiconductor technologies. We design our probe systems for semiconductor design engineers to capture and analyze more accurate data in a shorter amount of time and to be able to control and manage testing at temperatures from near absolute zero to hundreds of degrees centigrade.
We build upon our probe stations to create integrated measurement systems that provide complete solutions for our customers’ complex measurement requirements. These systems include test instrumentation, probe, cabling configurations, and software to enable fast, accurate, on-wafer data collection for complex application and measurement needs. We offer pre-configured and customized measurement systems for production testing, power device characterization, vacuum probing, cryogenic probing, high-pressure probing, photonics testing, and a variety of other specific applications.
Metrology Systems. We offer surface metrology systems for various applications including the development, production and quality control of semiconductor products. With resolution down to nanometer scales, these systems measure topography, structure, step height, roughness, wear, thickness variation, film thickness and other parameters. The modular architecture of the systems allows for the sensor configuration to be customized for the application while leveraging a common platform. These systems integrate hybrid metrology capabilities and proprietary software to enable non-destructive and rapid measurement of multiple features and parameters simultaneously, which has multiple applications but is particularly useful in the growing space of advanced packaging and MEMS applications.
Thermal Subsystems. Our thermal subsystems include thermal chucks and other test systems used in probe stations and other applications where precise temperature management is required. Thermal chuck systems enable the testing of devices at precise temperatures or across a range of temperatures. These systems are both marketed externally and allow for vertical integration with our probe stations.
Cryogenic Systems. Our cryogenic systems include the manufacture of precision cryogenic instruments and semiconductor test and measurement systems. These include advanced cryogenic probe systems to test wafer or singulated die, as well as Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) cryostats used in various applications at close to absolute zero degree temperature, including quantum and superconducting computing applications, astronomy, and other situations where cryogenic temperature management is required. These systems are marketed externally and also allow for vertical integration with our existing cryogenic wafer and chip probe stations and cryogenic engineering probes.
Services and Support. In addition to routine installation services at the time of sale, we offer services to enable our customers to maintain and more effectively utilize our products and to enhance our customer relationships. In addition to traditional maintenance services, our applications engineers assist our customers in test methodologies to make advanced measurements during process and product development, and during mass production.
Customers
Our customers include companies, universities and institutions that design or make semiconductor, and semiconductor related products in the Foundry & Logic, DRAM, Flash, Display and Sensor markets. Our customers use our products to test nearly all semiconductor device types, including SoCs, mobile application processors, microprocessors, quantum processors,
microcontrollers, graphic processors, radio frequency, analog, mixed signal, image sensors, electro-optical, DRAM memory, NAND flash memory and NOR flash memory devices.
Fabless semiconductor suppliers do not manufacture their own semiconductors, but they purchase our analytical probes, probe stations, and other System products for research and development, and device characterization. They also purchase, or direct their foundries or wafer test facilities to purchase, our probe cards to test wafers manufactured for them.
We believe our customers consider timely service and support to be an important aspect of our relationship as our products are critical elements of high-volume manufacturing and design-specific product ramps. Our probe stations and metrology systems are installed at customer sites either by us, our manufacturers’ representatives or our distributors, depending on the complexity of the installation and the customer’s geographic location. We assist our customers in the selection, integration and use of our products through application engineering support. We also provide worldwide on-site probe card maintenance and service training, seminars and telephone support. In certain geographic regions, and for selected products, our manufacturers’ representatives and distributors provide additional service and support.
Information concerning revenue by geographic region and by country based upon ship-to location appears under Item 7: Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Revenues - Revenues by Geographic Region and Note 16 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Information concerning revenue concentration by customer appears under Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following customers represent 10% or more of our quarterly revenues:
Fiscal Quarters Ended
Dec. 25,
2021 Sep. 25,
2021 June 26, 2021 Mar. 27, 2021 Dec. 26,
2020 Sep. 26,
2020 June 27, 2020 Mar. 28, 2020
Intel Corporation 16.7 % 20.8 % 16.3 % 28.1 % 29.3 % 25.6 % 36.1 % 36.2 %
Samsung Electronics Co., LTD. 13.8 % 12.9 % 14.7 % * 12.5 % 10.6 % * *
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., LTD. * * 11.0 % 11.5 % * 10.6 % * *
Micron Technology, Inc. * * * * * 10.1 % * *
30.5 % 33.7 % 42.0 % 39.6 % 41.8 % 56.9 % 36.1 % 36.2 %
* Less than 10% of revenues.
Segment and Enterprise-Wide Disclosures
See Note 16 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for certain financial information related to our segments and our enterprise-wide disclosures.
Manufacturing
Our probe cards are designed for each of our customers' unique designs, by modifying and adapting our product architectures to meet an individual customer’s chip layout and test requirements. Our proprietary manufacturing processes for our probe cards include a complex interconnection system-level design process; a front-end process, which may include wire bonding, photolithography, plating and metallurgical processes, dry and electro-deposition, pick and place assembly; and a back-end process, which includes general assembly and test. Critical steps in our manufacturing process are performed in a variety of clean room environments as stringent as a Class 100, depending on the requirements of the specific manufacturing processes.
Our probe stations and metrology systems are designed to provide highly accurate electrical and optical measurements enabled by precise and reliable mechanical components and assemblies. We prototype and perform robust testing of our product designs and components to ensure high electrical signal integrity, mechanical accuracy and safety. We also monitor our product quality throughout the various stages of our manufacturing processes using a variety of process control methods and tests.
We depend on suppliers for materials and some critical components of our manufacturing processes, including ceramic and organic substrates and complex printed circuit boards. We also rely on suppliers to provide certain contact elements and interconnects that are incorporated into our products. Some of these components and materials are supplied by a single vendor, and some are subject to certain minimum order quantities. Generally, we rely on purchase orders rather than long-term contracts with our suppliers, which subjects us to risks, including price increases, manufacturing capacity constraints and component shortages. We regularly assess and evaluate alternative sources of supply for all components and materials.
Our primary manufacturing facilities are located in Livermore, San Jose, Carlsbad, and Baldwin Park, California, Beaverton, Oregon, Boulder, Colorado, United States; and in Thiendorf, Germany. We also perform manufacturing operations in our facilities in Munich and Bergisch Gladbach, Germany; Suzhou, China; and Yokohama, Japan.
We maintain repair and service capabilities in Livermore, San Jose, and Carlsbad, California and Beaverton, Oregon, United States; Thiendorf, Dresden and Munich, Germany; Bundang, South Korea; Yokohama and Hiroshima, Japan; Suzhou and Shanghai, China; Hsinchu, Taiwan; and Singapore.
Research, Development and Engineering
The semiconductor industry is subject to rapid technological change with a continuous stream of new product introductions and technology enhancements. We believe that our continued commitment to research and development and our timely introduction of new and enhanced products and technologies are integral to maintaining and enhancing our competitive position. We allocate significant resources to these efforts and prioritize those resources to prepare for our customers’ next generation electrical test and measurement challenges. We also increasingly seek to deploy our resources to solve fundamental challenges that are both common to, and provide competitive advantage across, our probe card and system product offerings and roadmaps.
Sales and Marketing
We sell our products worldwide through a global direct sales force and through a combination of manufacturers’ representatives and distributors.
Our direct sales and marketing staff is located in the United States, China, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. They work closely with customers in the effort to understand their businesses, anticipate trends and define products that will provide significant technical and economic advantages to our customers. We employ a highly skilled team of application and customer support engineers that support our customers as they integrate our products into their research, development and manufacturing processes. Through these customer relationships, we seek to develop a strong understanding of customer and product requirements to align our capabilities with our customers’ roadmaps and production ramps.
We also have a network of representatives and distributors across the globe to broaden our reach. We engage sales representatives to act as independent third parties that agree to promote our products, at our prices and on terms set by us, in return for a commission based on sales. We typically use sales representatives in areas that we believe require greater levels of customer support than we can deliver from our own sales offices and where local language capabilities can offer an advantage. Our distributors purchase our products and resell them at prices and upon terms set by the particular distributor. We typically use distributors in particular geographies due to local regulations or business customs.
Governmental Regulations
We are subject to international, federal, state and local regulations that are customary to businesses in our industry. These regulations relate to, among other things, environmental matters, anti-corruption, marketing, fraud and abuse, export control, employment, and privacy.
Environmental Matters
We are subject to U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign governmental laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the clean-up of contaminated sites and the maintenance of a safe workplace. We believe that we comply in all material respects with the environmental laws and regulations that apply to us as of December 25, 2021. We did not receive any notices of violations of environmental laws and regulations in fiscal 2021, 2020 or 2019. In the future, we may receive notices of violations of environmental regulations, or otherwise learn of such violations. Environmental contamination or violations may negatively impact our business.
Import and Export Control
We manufacture, market and sell our products both inside and outside the U.S. Certain products are subject to export control regulations. Failure to comply with these laws could result in sanctions by the U.S. or other respective governments, including substantial monetary penalties, denial of import or export or other privileges and debarment from government contracts.
Competition
The markets for our products are highly competitive and we anticipate that these markets will continually evolve and be subject to rapid technological change. Our current and potential competitors are as below:
Probe Cards. The probe card market comprises of many domestic and foreign companies, and has historically been fragmented with many local suppliers servicing individual customers in often differentiated applications. Our primary competitors are AMST Co., Ltd., Chungwa Precision Technology, Feinmetall GmbH, Japan Electronic Materials Corporation, Korea Instrument Co., Ltd., M2N Co., Ltd., Microfriend Inc., Micronics Japan Co., Ltd., MPI Corporation, Micro Square Technology Inc., NHK Spring Co., Ltd., Soulbrain Engineering, Nidec SV TCL, Synergie CAD, TechnoProbe S.p.A, TSE Co., Ltd., WinWay Technology Co., Ltd., WILL-Technology Co., Ltd., and Yokowo, among others.
Probe card vendors such as Japan Electronic Materials Corporation, Micronics Japan Co., and TechnoProbe, offer probe cards built using similar types of MEMS technology as we do. The high capital investment and other costs associated with the development of MEMS probe cards and the time and high cost of the customer evaluation process represent significant barriers to entry for this type of technology.
We believe that the primary competitive factors in the production probe card market depend upon the type of integrated circuit being tested, and include customer service, knowledge of measurement techniques, delivery time, price, probe card lifetime, chip damage prevention, probe tip touch-down accuracy, speed of the probe card, number of chips contacted in parallel, number of probe tips and their layout and pitch, signal integrity, and frequency and effectiveness of any required cleaning. As a result of our relative strengths in these areas, we believe that we compete favorably in the advanced probe card market, and in probe cards for parallel testing of chips with densely-packed bond pads, bumps or pillars, and in high signal integrity testing of wireless radio frequency devices that operate up to millimeter-wave frequencies, a capability needed for components used in 5G applications.
Analytical Probes. Our primary competitor in the analytical probe market is GGB Industries Inc. Regional competitors include Yokowo and TechnoProbe Co., Ltd., in Japan, and MPI Corporation. We believe that the primary competitive factors in this market are breadth of probe types, probe frequency and electrical signal integrity, contact integrity and the related cleaning required, knowledge of measurement techniques, calibration support, delivery time and price. We believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors.
Probe Stations. Our primary competitors in the probe station market are HiSOL, Inc., LTD/Accretech, The Micromanipulator Company Inc., MPI Corporation, Semiprobe, Signatone Corporation, Tokyo Electron (“TEL”), Tokyo Seimitsu Co., and Wentworth Laboratories Inc. We believe that the primary competitive factors in the probe station market are measurement accuracy and versatility at temperature, including cryogenic temperatures, measurement speed, automation features, knowledge of measurement techniques, completeness of the measurement solutions, delivery time and price. We believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors.
Metrology Systems. Our primary competitors in the metrology system market are Bruker Corporation, Camtek Ltd., Cohu, Inc., Filmetrics, Onto Innovation, and Unity SC. We believe that the primary competitive factors in this market are breadth of measurement types, measurement accuracy, measurement speed and throughput, ability to apply algorithms to multiple sensor inputs to indirectly measure attributes not otherwise directly observable, knowledge of measurement techniques and applications, delivery time and price. We believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors.
Thermal Subsystems. In the market for thermal subsystems, we compete principally against ERS Electronic GmbH, Espec Corp, and Temptronic Corporation. In addition, many of our probe station competitors develop and produce their own thermal subsystems for use in their products. We believe the primary competitive factors in this market are thermal performance, reliability, flexibility and completeness of product offerings. We believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors.
Cryogenic Systems. In the market for cryogenic systems, we compete principally against Bluefors Oy, Entropy, Leiden Cryogenics B.V., Montana Instruments, Nagase Techno-Engineering Co., Oxford Instruments, and STAR Cryoelectronics. We believe the primary competitive factors in this market are cryogenic performance, reliability, throughput and application expertise. We believe we compete favorably with respect to these factors.
Some of our competitors are also suppliers of other types of test and measurement equipment or other semiconductor equipment and may have greater financial and other resources than we do. Our competitors may enhance their current products and may introduce new products that will be competitive with ours. New alternatives to our products may also be introduced, by our current competitors or others, which may reduce the value of one or more of our products.
Semiconductor manufacturers may implement chip designs that include capabilities or use other methodologies that increase test throughput and reduce test content. This may reduce or eliminate some or all of our current products’ advantages. Semiconductor manufacturers may also increase their use of test strategies that include low performance semiconductor testers,
less complex probe cards, or test procedures that do not involve our products. Our ability to compete favorably may also adversely be affected by the long-standing relationships between our competitors and certain semiconductor manufacturers.
Intellectual Property
Our success depends in part upon our ability to continue to innovate and invest in research and development to meet the test and measurement requirements of our customers, to maintain and protect our proprietary technology, and to conduct our business without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets, trademarks and contractual restrictions on disclosure to protect our intellectual property rights. We have filed actions to enforce those rights against third parties in the past, and may pursue such actions in the future.
We have generated, and continue to generate and maintain, patents and other intellectual property rights covering innovations that are intended to create a competitive advantage, and to support the protection of our investments in research and development. We believe that we possess one of the most substantial patent portfolios relevant to our products.
Although we believe that our patents and other intellectual property rights have significant value for each of our segments, we do not believe that maintaining or growing our business is materially dependent on any single patent. Due to the rapid pace of innovation within the markets that we serve, it is possible that our protection through patents may be less important than factors such as our technological expertise, continuing development of new products and technologies, protection of trade secrets, market penetration, customer relationships, and our ability to provide comprehensive support and service to customers worldwide.
No assurance can be given that patents will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, or that the rights granted thereunder will provide us with a sustained competitive advantage. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to protect our technology, or that competitors will not be able to independently develop similar or functionally competitive technologies, design around our patents, or attempt to manufacture and sell infringing products in countries that do not strongly enforce intellectual property rights.
Human Capital
We believe that each employee contributes to our culture of integrity, innovation, and teamwork. We reinforce this culture through our human capital development programs that drive talent acquisition, retention and employee engagement. These programs include carefully designed compensation across all levels, a variety of training, diversity and inclusion objectives, and other initiatives.
Our compensation programs help attract and retain key talent and are designed for our employees to share in our company’s success. These programs focus on compensation that we believe is market-competitive, reflects company performance, and aligns with drivers of stockholder value with differentiation based on performance, skills, geographic location, and tenure. We use information from outside compensation and benefits consulting firms to evaluate the competitiveness of the compensation we offer to employees in specific job types, and the structure of our compensation programs, to help provide benchmarking against our peers within the industry.
We offer a variety of benefits such as health insurance, paid and unpaid leaves, retirement, life and disability/accident coverage as applicable to their geographic location. We also offer a variety of other benefits which allow employees to select the options which meet their needs such as for wellness, insurance and professional services.
Our training initiatives promote the continuous improvement of our workforce to keep pace with an ever-increasingly complex business and industry. In addition to formal training, the capabilities of our workforce are intended to grow through structured feedback, mentorship, team building, career progression, tuition assistance, and a culture of transparency. In 2020, we implemented a new training management platform designed to allow for a more organized and efficient administration of training to our employees. Our training initiatives are designed to foster skills development, compliance and our company values.
We leverage both formal and informal programs to identify, foster, and retain top talent. On an annual basis, we have conducted a talent review process with our chief executive officer, leaders of our business units and functions that is focused upon performance, potential, diversity, and succession for critical roles.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is a significant part of our human capital development programs. We believe that the recruitment, retention and promotion of a balanced workforce is an important driver of company performance. We support these values through sponsored events, networking groups, and management objectives. As an equal opportunity employer, we develop and implement an annual and targeted affirmative action plan reflecting specific metrics.
We also inspire employee engagement through our commitment to corporate social responsibility, including in defined focus areas of sustainable technology, health and safety, labor and human rights, energy and climate change, supply chain responsibility and waste and chemical management.
Our workplace health and safety programs include robust policies, procedures, training programs, and self-audits. Nearly all of our manufacturing employees are located in California, Oregon and Germany, where workplace safety and labor regulations support maintaining high standards of employee protection. We have also been demonstrating a focus on health and safety in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic world-wide, including work-from-home flexibility, requiring those who may be sick to stay home; COVID-19 safety protocols across all locations, including social distancing, personal protective equipment and cleanings; regular internal communication regarding impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and safety protocols; and temperature screening at our manufacturing facilities.
We believe that our current human capital is appropriate to serve the requirements of our business, and that our human capital development programs and other initiatives are well designed to maintain the quality of our human capital.
For our manufacturing activities, the speed at which we can recruit, train and deploy quality new and replacement personnel is an important part of our ability to ramp up and maintain our production capacity. We rely upon both employees and resources from staffing firms to meet our needs for direct labor. Speed, accuracy and agility in this process is important to our business. Similarly, it is important to our business that we are able to regularly recruit and train quality new and replacement design and engineering staff. For example, our probe card products require that we develop custom designs for our customers’ new product designs. We face strong competition from companies in a variety of technology fields to secure the engineering talent that we require. In addition, restrictions on immigration and skilled-worker visas in a variety of jurisdictions impacts the ease and flexibility with which we can develop these resources.
As of December 25, 2021, we had 2,293 regular full-time employees, including 1,396 in operations, 418 in research and development, 318 in sales and marketing and 161 in general and administrative functions. By region, 1,644 of our employees were in North America, 371 in Asia and 278 in Europe. As of December 25, 2021, our Probe Cards Segment had 1,690 regular full-time employees, our Systems Segment had 407 regular full-time employees, plus we had 196 regular full-time employees in corporate functions. None of our employees in the United States are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Certain employees at our manufacturing facility in Germany are represented by a works council. Our employees take pride in their work and we believe that our overall relations with our employees is positive.
Available Information
We maintain a website at http://www.formfactor.com. We make available free of charge on our website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the United State Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. The reference to our website does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at the site.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A: Risk Factors
In addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should carefully consider the risk factors discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in evaluating FormFactor and our business. If any of the identified risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. The risks and uncertainties described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not the only ones we face. Additional risks that we currently do not know about, or that we do not consider sufficiently important to describe here in accordance with applicable regulations, may also impair our business operations or the trading price of our common stock.
Risks Relating to our Operations and the Nature of Our Business
The markets in which we participate are competitive, and if we do not compete effectively, our operating results could be harmed.
We have experienced increased competition in the markets in which we operate, and we expect competition to intensify in the future. Increased competition has resulted in, and in the future may result in, price reductions, reduced gross margins or loss of market share.
Existing competitors might introduce new competitive products for the same markets that our products currently serve. These products may have better performance, lower prices, shorter delivery times or broader acceptance than our products.
In addition, new competitors, including test equipment manufacturers, may offer comparable or new technologies that reduce the value of our products. Also, semiconductor manufacturers may implement chip designs or methodologies that increase test throughput, reduce test content, or change their test procedures, thereby eliminating some or all of our current product advantages.
Our current or potential competitors may have larger customer bases, more established customer relationships or greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing and other resources than we do. As a result, they might be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements, devote greater resources to the development, promotion, sale and support of their products, and reduce prices to increase market share.
If we do not innovate and keep pace with technological developments in the semiconductor industry, our products might not be competitive, and our revenues and operating results could suffer.
We must continue to innovate and to invest in research and development to improve our competitive position and to meet the test and measurement requirements of our customers. Our future growth depends, in significant part, upon our ability to work effectively with and anticipate the future technical and operational needs of our customers and to develop and support new products and product enhancements to meet these needs on a timely and cost-effective basis. Our customers’ needs are becoming more challenging as the semiconductor industry continues to experience rapid technological change driven by the demand for complex circuits that are shrinking in size, are increasing in speed and functionality, and are produced on shorter cycle times and at reduced unit cost.
Successful product design, development and introduction on a timely basis require that we:
•collaborate with customers to understand their future requirements;
•design innovative and performance-enhancing product architectures, technologies and features that differentiate our products from those of our competitors;
•in some cases, engage with third parties who have particular expertise in order to complete one or more aspects of the design and manufacturing process;
•qualify with customers new products, or an existing product incorporating new technology;
•transition our products to new manufacturing technologies, as necessary;
•offer our products for sale at competitive price levels while maintaining our gross-margins within our financial model;
•identify emerging technological trends in our target markets;
•maintain effective marketing strategies;
•respond effectively to technological changes or product announcements by others; and
•adjust to changing market conditions quickly and cost-effectively.
Not only do we need the technical expertise to implement the changes necessary to keep our technologies current, but we must also rely heavily on the judgment of our management to anticipate future market trends. If we are unable to timely predict industry changes or industry trends, or if we are unable to modify our products or design, manufacture and deliver new products on a timely basis, or if a third party with which we engage does not timely deliver a component or service for one of our product modifications or new products, we might lose customers or market share. In addition, we might not be able to recover our research and development expenditures, which could harm our operating results.
We depend upon the sale of our probe card products for the substantial majority of our revenues.
We derive the majority of our revenues from the sale of our probe card products, primarily to manufacturers of microprocessor, foundry & logic and memory devices, despite progress in diversifying our product offerings. We anticipate that sales of probe cards will represent a substantial majority of our revenues for the foreseeable future. Our success depends in large part upon the continued acceptance of our products on the basis of a variety of factors including performance, quality, timely delivery and price, and depends upon our ability to continue to develop and introduce new products that meet our customers’ requirements. The degree to which we depend upon the sales of our probe card products for our revenues may increase our susceptibility to failures to satisfy the customers for such products, which may adversely affect our revenues and our ability to grow our business.
We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from a small number of customers.
A relatively small number of customers account for a significant portion of our revenues. Two customers represented a combined 31.8% of total revenues in fiscal 2021, one customer represented 31.5% of total revenues in fiscal 2020 and two customers represented a combined 36.8% of total revenues in fiscal 2019. We anticipate that sales of our products to a relatively
small number of customers will continue to account for a significant portion of our revenues and can drive material fluctuations in sales volume. Consolidation in the semiconductor industry may increase this concentration. In the future, the loss of any of these customers, or cancellation, reduction or deferral of even a small number of purchases of our products by these customers, could significantly reduce our revenues. A decline in our customers' market share and commercial success, including their ability to compete favorably within their respective end markets, could significantly impact demand for our products and reduce our revenues. Cancellations, reductions, deferrals or non-payment of invoices, could result from another downturn in the semiconductor industry, manufacturing delays, quality or reliability issues with our products, or from interruptions to our customers’ operations due to fire, natural disasters or other events, or other issues with the financial stability of our customers. Furthermore, because our probe cards are custom products designed for our customers’ unique wafer designs, any cancellations, reductions or delays can result in significant non-recoverable costs. In some situations, our customers might be able to cancel or reduce orders without a significant penalty.
If our relationships with our customers deteriorate, our product development activities could be harmed.
The success of our product development efforts depends upon our ability to anticipate market trends and to collaborate closely with our customers. Our relationships with these customers provide us with access to valuable information regarding manufacturing and process technology trends in the semiconductor industry, which enables us to better plan our product development activities. These relationships also provide us with opportunities to understand the performance and functionality requirements of our customers, which improves our ability to customize our products to fulfill their needs. Our relationships with our customers could deteriorate as a result of a variety of factors, such as if they become concerned about our ability to deliver quality products on a timely basis or to protect their intellectual property. Many of our customers are large companies that place significant orders with us, and the consequences of deterioration in our relationship with any of these companies could be significant due to the competitiveness of our industry and the significant influence that these companies exert in our market.
Consolidation in the semiconductor industry and within the semiconductor test equipment market could adversely affect the market for our products and negatively impact our ability to compete.
Consolidation in the semiconductor industry may reduce our customer base and could adversely affect the market for our products, which could cause a decline in our revenues. With consolidation, the number of actual and potential customers for our products has decreased in recent years. Consolidation may lead to relatively fewer opportunities to sell our products if we are not chosen as a supplier by any given prospective customer, and may lead to increased pricing pressures from customers that have greater volume purchasing power.
There has also been consolidation within the semiconductor test equipment market. This consolidation trend could change our interactions and relationships with complementary tester, instrument, and prober suppliers and negatively impact our revenue and operating results.
Changes in customers’ test strategies, equipment and processes could decrease customer demand for our products.
The demand for our products depends in large part upon the number of semiconductor designs, the pace of technology and architecture transitions in chip designs and overall semiconductor unit volume. The number of probe cards involved in a customer’s wafer testing can depend upon the number of devices being tested, the complexity of these devices, the test software program, the test equipment itself, and the utilization of chip designs featuring design-for-testability or self-testing capabilities. Customers may demand fewer probe cards or probing systems if they use test strategies that reduce the technical requirements on test equipment, improve available data on device performance earlier in the manufacturing process, or test devices later in the manufacturing process. Changes in the effectiveness of test technologies and test strategies used by customers may cause us to lose sales and revenues.
We may also lose sales if new semiconductor technologies or designs are implemented which cannot be efficiently tested using the products that we offer, or if semiconductor manufacturers reduce the amount or degree of testing that they perform. We may also incur significant research and development expenses in order to introduce new product architectures and platforms to serve the testing needs of new semiconductor technologies.
Cyclicality in the semiconductor industry may adversely impact our sales.
The semiconductor industry has historically been cyclical and is characterized by wide fluctuations in product supply and demand. From time to time, this industry has experienced significant downturns, often in connection with, or in anticipation of, maturing product and technology cycles, excess inventories and declines in general economic conditions. The global economic and semiconductor downturns have caused and may in the future cause our operating results to decline dramatically from one period to the next. Global economic stability can be negatively affected by a variety of factors and interrelationships, including the impacts of Brexit, epidemics and pandemics (such as the current COVID-19 pandemic), military conflicts, climate change, trade barriers and other factors acting alone or in combination. Some of these factors can also have a more direct adverse impact
upon our operations to varying degrees. Our business depends heavily upon the development and manufacture of new semiconductors, the rate at which semiconductor manufacturers make transitions to smaller nanometer technology nodes and implement tooling cycles, the volume of production by semiconductor manufacturers and the overall financial strength of our customers, which, in turn, depend upon the current and anticipated market demand for semiconductors and products, such as servers, personal computers, automobiles and cell phones, that use semiconductors. During industry downturns, semiconductor manufacturers sharply curtail their spending, including their spending on our products, which may adversely impact our revenues, gross margins and results of operations. Further, a protracted downturn could cause one or more of our customers to become insolvent, resulting in a loss of revenue and impacting our ability to collect on accounts receivable. The timing, length and severity of these cyclical downturns are difficult to predict and our business depends on our ability to plan for and react to these cyclical changes.
Because we generally do not have a sufficient backlog of unfilled orders to meet our quarterly revenue targets, revenues in any quarter are substantially dependent upon customer orders received and fulfilled in that quarter.
Our revenues are difficult to forecast because we generally do not have sufficient backlog of unfilled orders to meet our quarterly revenue targets at the beginning of a quarter. Rather, a substantial percentage of our revenues in any quarter depend upon customer orders for our products that we receive and fulfill in that quarter. Because our expense levels are based in part on our expectations as to future revenues and to a large extent are fixed in the short term, we might be unable to adjust spending in time to compensate for any unexpected shortfall in revenues. Accordingly, any significant shortfall of revenues in relation to our expectations could hurt our operating results.
If our ability to forecast demand for our products or the predictability of our manufacturing yields deteriorates, we could incur high inventory losses.
Each semiconductor chip design requires a custom probe card. Because our probe card products are design-specific, demand for these products is difficult to forecast. Due to our customers’ short delivery time requirements, we often design and procure materials and, at times, produce our products in anticipation of demand for our products rather than in response to an order. Our manufacturing yields and inventory requirements, particularly for new products or when we are operating at high output levels, have at times been unpredictable. If we do not obtain orders as we anticipate, if we suffer manufacturing errors, or if we build additional inventory to compensate for unpredictable manufacturing yields, we could have excess or obsolete inventory that we may not be able to sell, which would likely result in inventory write-offs or material charges for scrap.
If we are unable to efficiently manufacture our existing and new products, our business may be materially adversely affected.
We must continuously improve our manufacturing processes in an effort to increase yields and product performance, lower our costs and reduce the time required for us to design, manufacture and deliver our products in volume. If we cannot do these things, both our existing products and our new products may not be commercially successful, our revenues may be adversely affected, our customer relationships and our reputation may be harmed and our business may be materially adversely affected.
To improve our manufacturing processes, we have incurred, and may incur in the future, substantial costs in an effort to optimize capacity and yields, open new manufacturing facilities, implement new manufacturing technologies, methods and processes, purchase new equipment, upgrade existing equipment and train technical personnel. We have experienced, and may experience in the future, manufacturing delays and other inefficiencies in connection with implementation of these improvements and customer qualifications of new processes or products, which have caused and could cause in the future, our operating results to decline. These delays and other inefficiencies may arise from a variety of factors, including disruptions to, or the unavailability of, sufficient electrical power as a result of insufficient electrical power infrastructure in the regions where we have manufacturing facilities such as in California and China.
We have also experienced, and may experience in the future, difficulties in manufacturing our complex products in volume on time, and at acceptable yields and cost, and installation issues in the field, due to the complexity of customer requirements.
If we are unable to continue to reduce the time it takes for us to design and produce products, our growth could be impeded.
Our customers continuously seek to reduce the time it takes them to introduce new products to market. The cyclicality of the semiconductor industry, coupled with changing demands for semiconductor products, requires our customers to be flexible and highly adaptable to changes in the design, volume and mix of products they must produce. We may be unable to design, configure and produce our products within the short cycle times required to respond to such rapid changes. We have lost sales in the past where we were unable to meet a customer’s required delivery schedules. If we are unable to continue to reduce the time it takes for us to design, manufacture and ship our products in response to the needs of our customers, our competitive position could be harmed and we could lose sales.
Products that do not meet specifications or that contain defects could damage our reputation, decrease market acceptance of our technology, cause us to lose customers and revenues, and result in liability to us.
The complexity and ongoing development of our product designs and manufacturing processes could lead to design or manufacturing problems. Problems might result from a number of factors, including design defects, materials failure, failure of components manufactured by our suppliers to meet our specifications, contamination in the manufacturing environment, impurities in the materials used, and unknown sensitivities to process conditions such as temperature and humidity, and equipment failures. Any errors or defects could:
•cause lower than anticipated yields and lengthen delivery schedules;
•cause delays in product shipments;
•cause delays in new product introductions;
•cause us to incur warranty expenses;
•result in increased costs and diversion of development resources;
•cause us to incur increased charges due to unusable inventory;
•require design modifications;
•could have implications for timing of revenue recognition and associated costs; or
•decrease market acceptance or customer satisfaction with these products.
The occurrence of any one or more of these events could adversely affect our business, reputation and operating results.
As part of our sales process, we could incur substantial sales and engineering expenses that do not result in revenues.
Our customers generally expend significant efforts evaluating and qualifying our products prior to placing an order. While our customers are evaluating our products, we might incur substantial sales, marketing, and research and development expenses. For example, we typically expend significant resources educating our prospective customers regarding the uses and benefits of our products and customizing them to the potential customer’s needs, for which we might not be reimbursed. The substantial resources we commit to our sales efforts may not result in any revenues from a customer. For example, many semiconductor processes, architectures, and designs never reach production, including those for which we may have expended development effort and expense. In addition, prospective customers might decide not to use our products or use our products for a relatively small percentage of their requirements after we have expended significant effort and expense toward product design, development, and/or manufacture.
We obtain some of the components and materials we use in our products from a sole source or a limited group of suppliers, and the partial or complete loss of one of these suppliers could cause production delays.
We obtain some of the components and materials used in our products, such as printed circuit board assemblies, plating materials and ceramic substrates, from a sole source or a limited group of suppliers, and in some cases alternative sources are not currently available. Because we rely on purchase orders rather than long-term contracts with the majority of our suppliers, we cannot guarantee our ability to obtain components and materials in the long term. A sole or limited source supplier could increase prices, which could lead to a decline in our gross profit. Our dependence upon sole or limited source suppliers exposes us to several other risks, including inability to obtain an adequate supply of materials, late deliveries, poor component quality, and business disruptions while we seek to identify and qualify alternative suppliers. This could be exacerbated by certain events outside the control of either the supplier or us, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The occurrence of any of these risks could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our operations, or those of our important suppliers, business partners and customers could be adversely affected by events outside of our control such as natural disasters, pandemics and man-made disasters.
Our business is vulnerable to the direct and indirect impact of natural and man-made disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, nuclear accidents, acts of terrorism, epidemics, pandemics, military conflicts, climate change, and other factors acting alone or in combination. It is also possible that future natural and man-made disasters could negatively impact the sales of our products as a result of impacts upon our customers’ ability to make or sell their products, or impacts upon our suppliers’ ability to supply components to us on a timely basis.
For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the extent to which new pathogens are capable of disrupting business operations and economic activity locally and worldwide. Epidemics and pandemics can severely disrupt global supply chains, including for parts and materials that we use to manufacture our products, and affect economic conditions in the markets for our products. The circumstances which give rise to epidemics and pandemics from new or existing pathogens with similar impacts are expected to persist indefinitely.
Another example of events outside of our control arises from our manufacturing facilities being located in seismically active areas in California and Oregon. The manufacturing equipment and processes that we use can be severely disrupted by seismic
activity. A significant seismic event in the areas of our operations could have a materially negative impact on our operations, financial results or financial condition.
Much of the infrastructure on which we rely for our operations is outside of our control, such as for electric power. We have recently experienced disruptions to electrical power at some of our premises in California and China, especially when aging infrastructure or inadequate electric power service has been impacted by high demand, fires, and weather which may worsen over time with climate change, and other events. Our efforts to mitigate the effects on us from interruptions in the availability of electric power, or other infrastructure, may not adequately prevent materially negative impacts on our operations, and in turn our financial results.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, and is expected to continue to negatively impact, our operations, and those of our important suppliers, business partners and customers.
We are exposed to risks associated with public health crises and outbreaks of contagious diseases, such as COVID-19. To date, COVID-19 has had, and may continue to have, an adverse impact on our operations, our supply chains and our expenses, including as a result of precautionary measures that we take in response to COVID-19. A variety of health orders and regulations arising from the pandemic apply to our operations and employees in the regions where we operate which have had, and will continue to have, negative affects upon our operations and business. The extension of existing government orders and implementation of new orders or mandates, such as government vaccine and testing mandates, could impact the availability of members of our workforce or lead to the loss of key employees, further adversely impacting our business. Implementation of such mandates and requirements could also have similar consequences for our suppliers, which may impact their ability to deliver the goods and services to us. Even as the availability of vaccines has begun to relieve the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the future, there remains substantial risk that vaccination rates will remain slow, new variants of the virus may continue to impede the vaccines’ efficacy, or other factors may prolong or worsen the pandemic and its direct and indirect affects upon our business.
A significant amount of our management resources have been, and will continue to be, focused on mitigating the negative impacts of COVID-19 on our business. This has required, and will continue to require, a substantial investment of time and resources across our enterprise which may continue to negatively impact other valuable activities, such as the development of new technologies, products or capabilities. In addition, many of our employees are working remotely for an extended period, which can increase operational risk and cybersecurity risks. If we do not respond appropriately to the COVID-19 pandemic, or if employees, customers or others do not perceive our response positively, we could suffer damage to our reputation, which could also adversely affect our business.
We obtain some of the components and materials used in our products from a sole source or a limited group of suppliers, and in some cases alternative sources are not readily available. The COVID-19 pandemic may heighten the risks posed by our dependence upon sole or limited source suppliers to the extent that the pandemic could disrupt the operations of one or more of these suppliers, resulting in an inability to obtain an adequate supply of materials, late deliveries or poor component quality while we seek to identify and qualify alternative suppliers.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our operations and those of our important suppliers, business partners and customers will depend on numerous evolving factors and future developments that we are not able to predict, including but not limited to: the severity and duration of the pandemic; governmental, business and other actions including government vaccine and testing mandates (which could include further restrictions on our operations); the ongoing requirements of social distancing and health orders; the impacts on our supply chain; the impact of the pandemic on economic activity; the extent and duration of the effect on business confidence and investments by our customers; the effects of changes to our operations that may continue indefinitely; the effects on our workforce and our ability to meet our staffing needs, particularly if members of our workforce are exposed or infected; any impairments in the value of our assets; and the potential impacts upon our internal controls, including those over financial reporting, that may result from changes in working environments and other circumstances. All of these circumstances are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. In addition, the circumstances which give rise to new or existing infectious diseases becoming epidemics or pandemics with potentially similar impacts are expected to persist.
Adverse global, regional and national economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and liquidity.
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, national, regional and global economies and financial markets. Although the long-term macroeconomic effects of the pandemic cannot be predicted with certainty, the continued progression or persistence of the pandemic may result in global, regional or national economic slowdowns or other economic downturns. Such downturns could curtail or delay spending by businesses and consumers which may ultimately result in reductions in the demand for our products and greater volatility in demand and supply conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has also increased uncertainty in global credit and financial markets. The impacts of such uncertainty and disruptions
to the availability of credit or other sources of capital as the pandemic continues or worsens, could also adversely affect our ability to access capital on favorable terms to meet our objectives. Any of these factors could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
In addition, governments in several countries where we operate, including the United States, have enacted stabilization and stimulus measures in an effort to counteract some of the economic impacts of COVID-19. The demand and business environments in which we operate have benefited from some of these measures, while the long-term economic impacts of increased government borrowing to fund these measures may have future negative effects on certain economies. Any significant discontinuations, reductions, or other changes to such stabilization and stimulus programs may harm our customers’ or suppliers’ financial results and financial condition, and could also have an adverse macroeconomic impact that may lead to reductions in the demand for our products. Even if maintained or expanded, such stimulus and stabilization measures may fail over the long term to mitigate the adverse economic effects of the pandemic, and may fail to prevent or exacerbate any long-term economic downturns.
As a result of the uncertain scope and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertain timing of any national, regional or global recovery and economic normalization, we are unable to estimate the ultimate impacts on our operations and financial results.
We rely on the security and integrity of our electronic data systems, and the proper design and implementation of these systems for our business requirements, and our business can be damaged by deficiencies, disruptions, security breaches or compromises of these systems.
We rely on electronic data systems, including a variety of software and networking, computing and storage equipment and other information technologies, to operate and manage our business and to collect, process, maintain, and safeguard information, including information belonging to our customers, partners, and personnel.
Our electronic data systems may be subject to defects, failures or disruptions as a result of, among other things, natural disasters, accidents, power disruptions, telecommunications failures, deficiencies in new system designs and implementations, acts of terrorism or war, physical security breaches, computer viruses or other cyber attacks.
For example, in fiscal 2020, we discovered a data breach incident involving malware and related behaviors that resulted in unauthorized access to our information technology systems. Although we do not believe this incident had any significant impacts on our production and ordinary course operations, such incidents or other system failures or disruptions could subject us to downtime and delays, compromise or loss of sensitive or proprietary information, destruction or corruption of data, financial losses from remedial actions, breaches of obligations to third parties under privacy laws or contracts, or damage to our reputation or customer relationships. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
In addition, we are actively implementing new electronic data systems relating to parts of our business, operations and accounting. The process of implementing and commencing our reliance on these new systems involves particularly higher risks of deficiencies or disruptions than the continued use of systems which have had a longer history of use and observed performance in the Company.
Because we conduct most of our business internationally, we are subject to operational, economic, financial and political risks abroad.
Sales of our products to customers outside of the United States represent a significant part of our past and anticipated revenues. Our international sales as a percentage of our revenues were 84%, 82% and 74% for fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Certain of our non-U.S. based customers also purchase through their subsidiaries in the United States. In the future we expect international sales to continue to account for a significant percentage of our revenues. Accordingly, we will be subject to risks and challenges that we would not otherwise face if we conducted our business solely in the United States.
These risks and challenges include:
•compliance with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations;
•legal uncertainties regarding taxes, tariffs, quotas, export controls, export licenses and other trade barriers;
•political and economic instability or foreign conflicts, including trade wars, that involve or affect the countries of our customers;
•difficulties in collecting accounts receivable and longer accounts receivable payment cycles;
•difficulties in staffing and managing personnel, distributors and representatives;
•reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries;
•currency exchange rate fluctuations, which could affect the value of our assets denominated in local currency, as well as the price of our products relative to locally produced products;
•the impact of pandemics or other disruptions to trade and production;
•seasonal fluctuations in purchasing patterns in other countries; and
•fluctuations in freight rates and transportation disruptions.
Any of these factors could harm our existing international operations, impair our ability to continue expanding into international markets or materially adversely affect our operating results. Political developments in the United States and elsewhere may increase the risks and uncertainties associated with conducting international business, including the possibilities of greater tariffs and other trade barriers in the regions where we conduct business. In fiscal 2021, we observed a continuing trend of increasing risks and challenges in the conduct of our international business activities, including expanded tariffs and other trade barriers affecting the United States and China. Additionally, we are required to comply with foreign import and export requirements, customs and value added tax standards that can be unclear or complex. Our failure to meet these requirements and standards could negatively impact our business operations.
Our foreign operations expose us to additional risks relating to currency fluctuations.
Our international operations are significant to our revenues and net income, and we plan to continue to grow internationally. We have significant business operations located in Germany. While we report our financial results in U.S. dollars, we incur certain costs in other currencies, and have certain foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities. We, therefore, face exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Significant fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may adversely affect our revenues and earnings, despite our hedging of a portion of our international currency exposures. Additionally, hedging programs are inherently risky and could expose us to additional costs and risks that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Increasingly restrictive export regulations and other trade barriers may materially harm our business.
Sales of our products to customers outside of the United States represent a significant part of our past and anticipated revenues, including sales involving exports from the United States to China. There is a continuing trend of increasing trade barriers affecting exports and imports between the United States and China. For example, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), has recently amended the U.S. Export Administration Regulations to expand license requirements on exports to entities in China that may support military end uses. These rules expand export license requirements on a broader set of items from the U.S., including many of our products and for a broader set of customers in China and elsewhere. The BIS has also broadened the application of U.S. export controls to items which are the foreign direct products of the U.S. technologies which can affect a variety of customers outside of China who supply products to certain entities in China. There is no assurance that we will obtain any export licenses on a timely basis or at all. There also remains considerable uncertainty regarding the interpretation and implementation of new regulations. In addition, the reaction to these rules by governments and private businesses outside the U.S., particularly in China, may be expected to include retaliatory controls and preferences for non-U.S. or local suppliers. In China we are already observing stronger preferences for non-U.S. suppliers in general, and in favor of new and existing local suppliers in particular. These and other regulatory and policy changes, and the reactions of customers to such changes, in the U.S. and elsewhere could materially and negatively affect our future sales and operating results.
If we fail to protect our proprietary rights, our competitors might gain access to our technology, which could adversely affect our ability to compete successfully in our markets.
If we choose not to protect our proprietary rights or fail in our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, our competitors might gain access to our technology. Unauthorized parties might attempt to copy aspects of our products or to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Others might independently develop similar or competing technologies or methods or design around our patents. In addition, the laws of many foreign countries in which we or our customers do business do not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. As a result, our proprietary rights could be compromised, our competitors might offer products similar to ours and we might not be able to compete successfully. We also cannot assure that:
•our means of protecting our proprietary rights will be adequate;
•patents will be issued from our pending or future applications;
•our existing or future patents will be sufficient in scope or strength to provide any meaningful protection or commercial advantage to us;
•our patents or other intellectual property will not be invalidated, circumvented or successfully challenged in the United States or foreign countries; or
•others will not misappropriate our proprietary technologies or independently develop similar technologies, duplicate our products or design around any of our patents or other intellectual property, or attempt to manufacture and sell infringing products in countries that do not strongly enforce intellectual property rights.
We have spent, and may be required to spend in the future, significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights. Any litigation, whether or not resolved in our favor, and whether initiated by us or by a third party, could result in significant and possibly material expenses to us and divert the efforts of our management and technical personnel.
We might be subject to claims of infringement of other parties’ proprietary rights.
Our industry is characterized by uncertain and conflicting intellectual property claims. As we have in the past, we may receive claims that we are infringing intellectual property rights of others. The resolution of intellectual property claims, with or without merit, could be time consuming, result in costly litigation with highly uncertain outcomes, or impact our delivery of products. In the event of an adverse judgement or settlement, we might be required to pay substantial amounts, cease the use or sale of infringing products, spend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology, discontinue the use of certain technology or enter into license agreements. License agreements might not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. In addition, certain of our customer contracts contain provisions that require us to defend or indemnify our customers for third party intellectual property infringement claims, which could increase the costs and negative impacts of intellectual property claims.
We have recorded restructuring, inventory write-offs and asset impairment charges in the past, in fiscal 2021, and may do so again in the future, which could have a material negative impact on our business.
We recorded restructuring charges in fiscal 2021 and 2019 and will record further restructuring charges in the near future in relation to the recent restructuring announced during fiscal 2021. We may implement restructuring plans in the future, which would require us to take additional, potentially material, restructuring charges related to employee terminations, asset disposal or exit costs. We may also be required to write-off additional inventory if our product build plans or usage of inventory experience declines, and such additional write-offs could constitute material charges. In addition, significant adverse changes in market conditions could require us to take additional material impairment charges related to our long-lived assets if the changes impact the critical assumptions or estimates that we use in our assessment of the recoverability of our long-lived assets. Any such additional charges, whether related to restructuring, asset impairment or factory underutilization, may have a material negative impact on our operating results and related financial statements.
We may not be able to recruit or retain qualified personnel.
We believe our ability to manage successfully and grow our business and to develop new products depends, in large part, on our ability to recruit and retain qualified employees, particularly highly skilled technical, sales, management, and other key personnel. Competition for qualified resources is intense, and the increased availability of work-from-home arrangements accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified and expanded competition. Other companies may have greater resources available to provide substantial inducements to lure key personnel away from us or to offer more competitive compensation packages to individuals we are trying to hire.
Our failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations could subject us to significant fines and liabilities, and new laws and regulations or changes in regulatory interpretation or enforcement could make compliance more difficult and costly.
We are subject to various U.S. federal, state and local, and foreign governmental laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the cleanup of contaminated sites and the maintenance of a safe workplace. We could incur substantial costs, including cleanup costs, civil or criminal fines or sanctions and third-party claims for property damage or personal injury, as a result of violations of or liabilities under environmental laws and regulations or non-compliance with the environmental permits required at our facilities.
Environmental laws, regulations and permits could require the installation of costly pollution or waste control equipment or operational changes to limit waste or emissions or decrease the likelihood of accidental releases of hazardous substances. In addition, changing laws and regulations, new laws and regulations, stricter enforcement of existing laws and regulations, the discovery of previously unknown contamination at our or others’ sites or the imposition of new cleanup requirements could require us to curtail our operations, restrict our future expansion, subject us to liability and cause us to incur future costs that could harm our operations, thereby adversely impacting our operating results and cash flow.
We are exposed to additional risks as a result of increased attention by our stakeholders to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) matters.
Our stakeholders, including customers, investors, advisory firms, employees, and suppliers, among others, are increasing their attention to, and establishing expectations for, ESG and related matters. These expectations can extend to our corporate practices, initiatives, and disclosures, as well as stakeholder standards or preferences for investments or doing business. Third-party agencies have also established or added standards for rating companies on a range of ESG-related factors that may be inconsistent and subject to change. As a result, these expectations may impact the attractiveness of our business, the manner in which we do business, our reputation, the costs of doing business, and the willingness of these stakeholders to engage with, invest in, or retain us. We may be further impacted by the adoption and evolution of ESG-related regulation and legislation in the jurisdictions in which we do business, which could result in increased compliance, operational, and other costs.
In addition, the Company has provided voluntary disclosures on ESG matters, including regarding energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, health and safety, diversity and inclusion, and labor and human rights. Such disclosures are aspirational and based on frameworks and standards for such initiatives and progress that are still developing, assumptions that may change, and disclosure control and procedures that continue to evolve. We may fail, or be perceived to fail, in attaining or maintaining our ESG-related initiatives. The topics on which we focus may not be popular with our stakeholders. These events or perceptions may expose us to additional reputational and operational risks.
Risks Relating to Our Acquisitions
We have made acquisitions, and may make additional acquisitions or investments in the future, which could put a strain on our resources, cause ownership dilution to our stockholders or adversely affect our financial results.
Our acquisitions or investments may subject us to new or heightened risks. Integrating any newly acquired businesses, products or technologies into our company draws upon our resources in ways that can be expensive and time consuming. These activities can substantially affect our financial resources, could cause delays in product delivery and might not be successful. Acquisitions and investments can divert management’s attention and expose our business to new liabilities or risks associated with entering into new business activities. In addition, we might lose key employees while integrating new organizations. We might not be successful in integrating any acquired businesses, products or technologies, and might not achieve anticipated revenues and cost benefits. Investments that we make may not result in a return consistent with our projections upon which such investments are made, or may require additional investment that we did not originally anticipate. In addition, acquisitions can result in customer dissatisfaction, performance problems with an acquired company, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt and restrictive debt covenants, contingent liabilities, possible impairment charges related to goodwill or other intangible assets or other adverse impacts or circumstances. If any of these risks were to come about, our business, financial results and stock price could be materially and adversely affected.
If goodwill or other intangible assets that we recorded, or will record, in connection with our acquisitions become impaired, we could be required to take significant charges against earnings.
In connection with our accounting for acquired businesses, we record a significant amount of goodwill and other intangible assets. Under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, we must assess, at least annually and potentially more frequently, whether the value of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets have been impaired. Finite-lived intangible assets are assessed for impairment in the event of an impairment indicator. Any reduction or impairment of the value of goodwill or other intangible assets will result in a charge against earnings, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and stockholders’ equity in future periods.
Risks Relating to Owning Our Stock
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal and disclosure controls and procedures, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.
Effective internal and disclosure controls and procedures are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports, to prevent fraud and to operate successfully as a public company. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and reputation may be harmed. We regularly review and assess our internal controls over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures. As part of that process, we may discover material weaknesses in our internal controls.
In addition, we are actively implementing new electronic data systems relating to substantial parts of our business, operations and accounting. The process of implementing and commencing our reliance on these new systems involves particularly higher risks of deficiencies or disruptions in relation to our internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures than the continued use of systems which have had a longer history of use and observed performance in the Company.
If we fail to maintain effective controls or timely effect any necessary improvement of our internal and disclosure controls, we may not have accurate information to make management decisions, our operating results could be harmed or we may fail to meet our reporting obligations. Ineffective internal and disclosure controls could also cause stockholders to lose confidence in our reported financial information and our ability to manage our business, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our securities.
The trading price of our common stock has been and is likely to continue to be volatile, and you might not be able to sell your shares at or above the price that you paid for them.
The trading prices of the securities of technology companies have been highly volatile. During fiscal 2021, our stock price (Nasdaq Global Market close price) ranged from $33.07 per share to $51.12 per share. The trading price of our common stock is likely to continue to be subject to wide fluctuations. Factors affecting the trading price of our common stock could include:
•variations in our operating results;
•our forecasts and financial guidance for future periods;
•announcements of technological innovations, new products or product enhancements, new product adoptions at semiconductor customers or significant agreements by us or by our competitors;
•reports regarding our ability to bring new products into volume production efficiently;
•the gain or loss of significant orders or customers;
•changes in the estimates of our operating results or changes in recommendations by any securities analysts that elect to follow our common stock;
•rulings on litigation and proceedings;
•seasonality, principally due to our customers' purchasing cycles;
•market and competitive conditions in our industry, the entire semiconductor industry and the economy as a whole;
•recruitment or departure of key personnel;
•announcements of mergers and acquisition transactions and the ability to successfully integrate the business activities of the acquired/merged company; and
•political and global economic instability, including as a result of trade barriers, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics (such as the current COVID-19 pandemic), military conflicts, climate change, and other factors acting alone or in combination.
In addition, if the market for technology stocks or the stock market in general experiences loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, operating results or financial condition. The trading price of our common stock also might decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry even if these events do not directly affect us.
Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws or Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of our common stock.
Delaware corporate law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions:
•establish a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board are elected at one time (subject to shareholder approval of a declassification amendment at the 2022 annual meeting of Stockholders);
•provide that directors may only be removed “for cause” and only with the approval of 66.7% of our stockholders;
•require super-majority voting to amend some provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws;
•authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that our board could issue to increase the number of outstanding shares and to discourage a takeover attempt;
•limit the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings of stockholders;
•prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
•provide that the board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal our bylaws; and
•establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings.
In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company. Also, each of our named executive officers and certain other executives of the company have entered into change of control severance agreements, which were approved by our Compensation Committee, which could increase the costs associated with a change of control and thus, potentially deter such a transaction.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B: Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2: Properties
Our corporate headquarters, which includes sales, marketing, administration, manufacturing, engineering, and research and development facilities, is located in Livermore, California, United States. Our corporate headquarters comprises a campus of five buildings totaling approximately 259,000 square feet. We presently lease four of the buildings and own one of the buildings. In addition, we lease office, repair and service, manufacturing and/or research and development space both inside and outside of the United States. The leases expire at various times through 2028. We believe that our existing and planned facilities are suitable for our current needs.
Information concerning our properties as of December 25, 2021 is set forth below:
Location Principal Use Segment Square
Footage Ownership
Livermore, California, United States Manufacturing Probe Cards 90,508 Owned
Livermore, California, United States Corporate headquarters, sales, marketing, administration, product design, manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development Probe Cards 168,636 Leased
Beaverton, Oregon, United States Sales, marketing, administration, product design, manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development Probe Cards 98,946 Leased
Thiendorf, Germany Sales, marketing, administration, manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development Systems 54,361 Leased
Baldwin Park, California, United States Manufacturing Probe Cards 44,000 Leased
Boulder, Colorado, United States Manufacturing, distribution, research and development Systems 34,133 Leased
Carlsbad, California, United States Sales, product design, administration, manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development Probe Cards 30,876 Leased
San Jose, California, United States Administration, product design, manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development Probe Cards 24,758 Leased
Singapore Sales, administration, product design, service, and field service All 24,413 Leased
Jubei City, Hsinchu, Taiwan Sales, administration, product design, field service and repair center All 18,568 Leased
Bundang, South Korea Sales, administration, product design, field service, and repair center All 17,161 Leased
Suzhou, China Sales, marketing, administration, product design, manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development All 15,177 Leased
Yokohama City, Japan Sales, marketing, administration, product design, manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development All 13,309 Leased
Bergisch Gladbach, Germany Manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development Systems 12,235 Leased
Munich, Germany Sales, manufacturing, service and repair, distribution, research and development Systems 10,656 Leased
Montbonnot Saint Martin, France Sales and service All 4,736 Leased
Shanghai, China Sales and service All 3,348 Leased
Dresden, Germany Sales and service All 2,960 Leased
Hiroshima, Japan Repair center Probe Cards 1,007 Leased
Legnano, Italy Sales office All 215 Leased

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3: Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business. As of December 25, 2021, and as of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we were not involved in any material legal proceedings. In the future, we may become a party to additional legal proceedings that may require us to spend significant resources, including proceedings designed to protect our intellectual property rights. Litigation can be expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of legal proceedings are difficult to predict, and the costs incurred in litigation can be substantial, regardless of outcome.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
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
Market Information
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “FORM.” As of February 14, 2022, there were 123 registered holders of record of our common stock.
Dividends
No cash dividends have been declared on shares of our common stock, and the Company currently does not intend to pay dividends in the future.
Repurchase of Common Stock
In October 2020, our Board of Directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $50.0 million of outstanding common stock to offset potential dilution from issuances of our common stock under our employee stock purchase plan and equity incentive plan. Under the authorized stock repurchase program, we may repurchase shares from time to time on the open market. The pace of repurchase activity will depend on levels of cash generation, the Company's current stock price and other factors. The program may be modified or discontinued at any time. The share repurchase program will expire on October 28, 2022.
The following table provides information as of December 25, 2021 with respect to the shares of common stock repurchased during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 pursuant to the foregoing Board authorization.
Period (fiscal months) Total Number of Shares Purchased Average Price Paid per Share Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs Maximum Amount that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
September 26, 2021 - October 23, 2021 200 $ 33.00 200 $ 26,042,818
October 24, 2021 - November 20, 2021 - - - 26,042,818
November 21, 2021 - December 25, 2021 2,000 40.00 2,000 25,962,818
2,200 $ 39.36 2,200 25,962,818
Stock Price Performance Graph
The following graph shows the total stockholder return of an investment of $100 in cash on December 31, 2016 through December 25, 2021 for (1) our common stock, (2) the S&P 500 Index and (3) the RDG Semiconductor Composite Index. All values assume reinvestment of the full amount of all dividends. Stockholder returns over the indicated period are based on historical data and are not necessarily indicative of future stockholder returns.
COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
Among FormFactor, Inc., the S&P 500 Index, and the RDG Semiconductor Composite Index
*$100 invested on December 31, 2016 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.
Cumulative Total Return
December 31, 2016 December 30, 2017 December 29, 2018 December 28, 2019 December 26, 2020 December 25, 2021
FormFactor, Inc. $ 100.00 $ 139.73 $ 125.09 $ 232.50 $ 380.18 $ 397.41
S&P 500 100.00 121.83 116.49 153.17 181.35 233.41
RDG Semiconductor Composite 100.00 135.72 126.17 186.57 271.57 413.36

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6: [Reserved]

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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
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions as described under the “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” that appears earlier in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated by these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Item 1A: Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
FormFactor, Inc., headquartered in Livermore, California, is a leading provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full semiconductor product lifecycle - from characterization, modeling, reliability, and design de-bug, to qualification and production test. We provide a broad range of high-performance probe cards, analytical probes, probe stations, metrology systems, thermal systems, and cryogenic systems to both semiconductor companies and scientific institutions. Our products provide electrical and physical information from a variety of semiconductor and electro-optical devices and integrated circuits from early research, through development, to high-volume production. Customers use our products and services to accelerate profitability by optimizing device performance and advancing yield knowledge.
We operate in two reportable segments consisting of the Probe Cards segment and the Systems segment. Sales of our probe cards and analytical probes are included in the Probe Cards segment, while sales of our probe stations, metrology systems, thermal systems and cryogenic systems are included in the Systems segment.
We generated net income of $83.9 million in fiscal 2021 compared to net income of $78.5 million in fiscal 2020 and net income of $39.3 million in fiscal 2019. The increase in net income in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was primarily due to increased revenue in both of our reportable segments, partially offset by slightly lower margins driven primarily by product mix and a higher tax rate due to significant one-time tax benefits during fiscal 2020 that did not recur. The increase in net income in fiscal 2020 compared to fiscal 2019 was primarily due to increased revenue and leverage on operating expenses, which only marginally increased on significantly higher operating levels, as well as a decrease in provision for income taxes due to a lower effective tax rate in fiscal 2020.
Impact of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause serious illness and death in many of the regions that we, our customers and our suppliers operate. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant governmental actions designed to control the spread of the virus, including the imposition of safety requirements and other orders in locations where we have manufacturing and other activities.
We continue to operate our manufacturing sites at production levels greater than those prior to the pandemic, albeit subject to certain safety and related constraints. Our other operations are continuing with substantial work-from-home activities.
If the provisions of governmental health orders or other safety requirements applicable to us or our customers or suppliers become more restrictive for an extended period of time, or if we have repeated occurrences of COVID-19 in any of our facilities, we may experience disruptions or delays in manufacturing, product design, product development, customer support, manufacturing and sales, and an overall loss of productivity and efficiency.
While the disruptions in our operations, supply chain and customer demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have been somewhat limited, we continue to see impacts on elements in the supply chain and believe that the COVID-19 pandemic represents a sustained threat that may give rise to a variety of more significant adverse impacts on our business and financial results. The semiconductor industry is experiencing various supply constraints due to the pandemic. While we are working with our global supply chain partners to mitigate this risk, the duration and extent of the supply chain disruptions remain uncertain. For a further description of the uncertainties and business risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, see Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Fiscal Year
We operate on a 52/53 week fiscal year, whereby the fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of December. The fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019 each included 52 weeks.
Use of Estimates
Preparation of our financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that it believes 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. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of net revenue and expenses in the reporting period. Our accounting policies are fundamental to understanding our financial condition and results of operations reported in our financial statements and related disclosures. We have identified the following accounting policies as being critical because they require our management to make particularly difficult, subjective and/or complex judgments about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Our management has discussed the development, selection, application and disclosure of these critical accounting policies with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors.
Inventory Valuation
We state our inventories at the lower of cost (principally standard cost which approximates actual cost on a first in, first out basis) or net realizable value. We regularly assess the value of our inventory and will periodically write down its value for estimated excess inventory and product obsolescence based upon an analysis of existing inventory quantities compared to estimated future consumption. Future consumption is estimated based upon assumptions about how past consumption, recent purchases, backlog and other factors indicate future consumption. On a quarterly basis, we review existing inventory quantities in comparison to our past consumption, recent purchases, backlog and other factors to determine what inventory quantities, if any, may not be sellable. Based on this analysis, we record an adjustment to the cost basis of inventory when evidence exists that the net realizable value of inventory is lower than its cost, which occurs when we have excess and/or obsolete inventory.
At the point of loss recognition, a new, lower cost basis for that inventory is established, and subsequent changes in facts and circumstances do not result in the restoration or increase in that newly established cost basis. Market conditions are subject to change, and demand for our products can fluctuate significantly. Actual consumption of inventories could differ from forecasted demand, and this difference could have a material impact on our gross profit and inventory balances based on additional provisions for excess or obsolete inventories or a benefit from the sale of inventories previously written down.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized upon transferring control of products and services, and the amounts recognized reflect the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for these products and services. An arrangement may include some or all of the following products and services: probe cards, systems, accessories, installation services, service contracts and extended warranty contracts.
A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer. In contracts with multiple performance obligations, we identify each performance obligation and evaluate whether the performance obligation is distinct within the context of the contract at contract inception. Performance obligations that are not distinct at contract inception are combined and accounted for as one unit of account. Generally, the performance obligations in a contract are considered distinct within the context of the contract and are accounted for as separate units of account.
Our products may be customized to our customers’ specifications, however, control of our product is typically transferred to the customer at the point in time the product is either shipped or delivered, depending on the terms of the arrangement, as the criteria for over time recognition is not met. In limited circumstances, substantive acceptance by the customer exists which results in the deferral of revenue until acceptance is formally received from the customer. Judgment may be required in determining if the acceptance clause is substantive. In certain instances control of products is transferred to the customer over time based on performance and in those instances we utilize an appropriate input or output measure to determine to what extent control has transferred to the customer. Judgment may be required in determining an appropriate measure of performance.
Installation services are routinely provided to customers purchasing our systems. Installation services are a distinct performance obligation apart from the systems and recognized in the period they are performed. Service contracts, which include repair and maintenance service contracts, and extended warranty contracts are also distinct performance obligations and recognized over the contractual service period, which ranges from one to three years. For these service contracts recognized over time, we use an input measure, days elapsed, to measure progress.
A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. In determining the transaction price, we evaluate whether the price is subject to refund or
adjustment to determine the net consideration to which we expect to be entitled. We generally do not grant return privileges, except for defective products during the warranty period. Sales incentives and other programs that we may make available to our customers are considered to be a form of variable consideration, which is estimated in determining the contract’s transaction price to be allocated to the performance obligations.
For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we allocate the contract’s transaction price to each performance obligation based on its relative stand-alone selling price. The stand-alone selling prices are determined based on observable prices, which are the prices at which we separately sell these products. For items which do not have observable prices, we use our best estimate of the stand-alone selling prices.
We account for tax assessed by a governmental authority that is directly imposed on a revenue-producing transaction (i.e., sales, use, value added) on a net (excluded from revenue) basis.
Results of Operations
In this section, we discuss the results of our operations for the year ended December 25, 2021 compared to the year ended December 26, 2020. For a discussion of the year ended December 26, 2020 compared to the year ended December 28, 2019, please refer to Part II, Item 7, “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 26, 2020.
The following table sets forth our operating results as a percentage of revenues:
Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2020 Fiscal 2019
Revenues 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %
Cost of revenues 58.1 58.5 59.7
Gross profit 41.9 41.5 40.3
Operating expenses:
Research and development 13.1 12.8 13.8
Selling, general and administrative 16.1 16.6 18.0
Total operating expenses 29.2 29.4 31.8
Operating income 12.7 12.1 8.5
Interest income 0.1 0.2 0.5
Interest expense (0.1) (0.1) (0.3)
Other income, net 0.1 0.1 *
Income before income taxes 12.8 12.3 8.7
Provision for income taxes 1.9 1.0 2.0
Net income 10.9 % 11.3 % 6.7 %
* Amounts insignificant and not greater than 0.1%.
Revenues by Segment
Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2020 Fiscal 2019
(In thousands)
Probe Cards $ 633,281 $ 581,739 $ 491,363
Systems 136,393 111,877 98,101
Total $ 769,674 $ 693,616 $ 589,464
Revenues by Market
Fiscal % of Fiscal % of Change
2021 Revenues 2020 Revenues $ %
(In thousands, except percentages)
Probe Cards Markets:
Foundry & Logic $ 435,812 56.6 % $ 446,183 64.3 % $ (10,371) (2.3) %
DRAM 156,049 20.3 109,734 15.8 46,315 42.2
Flash 41,420 5.4 25,822 3.7 15,598 60.4
Systems Market:
Systems 136,393 17.7 111,877 16.2 24,516 21.9
Total revenues $ 769,674 100.0 % $ 693,616 100.0 % $ 76,058 11.0 %
Fiscal % of Fiscal % of Change
2020 Revenues 2019 Revenues $ %
(In thousands, except percentages)
Probe Cards Markets:
Foundry & Logic $ 446,183 64.3 % $ 318,552 54.0 % $ 127,631 40.1 %
DRAM 109,734 15.8 147,257 25.0 (37,523) (25.5)
Flash 25,822 3.7 25,554 4.3 268 1.0
Systems Market:
Systems 111,877 16.2 98,101 16.7 13,776 14.0
Total revenues $ 693,616 100.0 % $ 589,464 100.0 % $ 104,152 17.7 %
The decrease in Foundry & Logic product revenue in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was driven by lower demand from two major customers, partially offset by increased unit sales to other large semiconductor foundries and integrated device manufacturers. Our ability to significantly grow our overall revenue, despite these fluctuations, is the result of our long-term customer and market diversification initiatives.
The increase in DRAM product revenues in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was driven by increased sales to several customers and strong market-based demand for DRAM products through fiscal 2021. While we expect DRAM revenues to fluctuate from period to period, we believe new-design activity will continue to sustain healthy DRAM demand from each of our customers throughout fiscal 2022.
The increase in Flash product revenue in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was driven by increased sales resulting from the acquisition of the probe card assets of Advantest Corporation (“Baldwin Park”), offset by decreased sales as a result of decreased customer demand for our existing products. Our revenue in this market continues to be highly variable.
The increase in Systems product revenue in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was driven by increased sales of cryogenic systems due to the acquisition of High Precision Devices, Inc. (“HPD”) and increased sales of thermal sub-systems and metrology systems.
Revenues by Geographic Region
Fiscal 2021 % of
Revenues Fiscal 2020 % of
Revenues Fiscal 2019 % of
Revenues
(In thousands, except percentages)
Taiwan $ 185,925 24.2 % $ 150,837 21.7 % $ 86,539 14.7 %
China 163,069 21.2 174,915 25.2 106,256 18.0
South Korea 123,463 16.0 86,951 12.5 116,882 19.8
United States 122,147 15.9 127,628 18.4 155,202 26.3
Asia-Pacific (1)
88,550 11.5 32,991 4.8 21,468 3.7
Europe 43,705 5.7 65,572 9.5 41,473 7.0
Japan 36,504 4.7 43,605 6.3 52,584 8.9
Rest of World 6,311 0.8 11,117 1.6 9,060 1.6
Total Revenues $ 769,674 100.0 % $ 693,616 100.0 % $ 589,464 100.0 %
(1) Asia-Pacific includes all countries in the region except Taiwan, South Korea, China and Japan, which are disclosed separately.
Geographic revenue information is based on the location to which we ship the product. For example, if a certain South Korean customer purchases through their U.S. subsidiary and requests the products to be shipped to an address in South Korea, this sale will be reflected in the revenue for South Korea rather than U.S.
Changes in revenue by geographic region in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 were primarily attributable to changes in customer demand, shifts in customer regional manufacturing strategies, particularly with our large multinational customers, and product sales mix.
Cost of Revenues and Gross Margins
Cost of revenues consists primarily of manufacturing materials, compensation and benefits, shipping and handling costs, manufacturing-related overhead and amortization of certain intangible assets. Our manufacturing operations rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide key components and materials for our products, some of which are a sole source. We order materials and supplies based on backlog and forecasted customer orders. Tooling and setup costs related to changing manufacturing lots at our suppliers are also included in the cost of revenues. We expense all warranty costs, inventory provisions and amortization of certain intangible assets as cost of revenues.
Gross profit and gross margin by segment were as follows (dollars in thousands):
Fiscal 2021
Probe Cards Systems Corporate and Other Total
Gross profit $ 279,873 $ 65,834 $ (22,940) $ 322,767
Gross margin 44.2 % 48.3 % - % 41.9 %
Fiscal 2020
Probe Cards Systems Corporate and Other Total
Gross profit $ 263,215 $ 51,835 $ (27,130) $ 287,920
Gross margin 45.2 % 46.3 % - % 41.5 %
Fiscal 2019
Probe Cards Systems Corporate and Other Total
Gross profit $ 211,382 $ 50,927 $ (24,813) $ 237,496
Gross margin 43.0 % 51.9 % - % 40.3 %
Probe Cards
Gross profit in the Probe Cards segment increased in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020, primarily due to higher revenues. Gross margin in the Probe Cards segment decreased in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020, primarily due to product mix within and between our served markets, including the effects of increased DRAM revenues at gross margin levels lower than fiscal
2020, unfavorable manufacturing variances, higher material costs driven by fluctuations in commodity costs, and increases in wafer expense primarily due to timing of factory loading, partially offset by higher gross margin Foundry & Logic revenues.
Systems
Gross profit and gross margin in the Systems segment increased in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020, primarily as a result of higher revenues and favorable product mix, largely related to increased sales of metrology systems and thermal sub-systems.
Corporate and Other
Corporate and Other includes unallocated expenses relating to amortization of intangible assets, inventory and fixed asset fair value adjustments due to acquisitions, share-based compensation, and restructuring charges, net, which are not used in evaluating the results of, or in allocating resources to, our reportable segments. The reduction in Corporate and Other in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020, is primarily due to a reduction in the amortization of intangibles from significant intangibles becoming fully amortized, partially offset by increased stock-based compensation expense.
Overall
Gross profit and gross margin fluctuate with revenue levels, product mix, selling prices, factory loading and material costs. For fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020, gross profit has increased on greater revenue levels and gross margins increased due to the reduction in the amortization of intangibles, partially offset by lower blended gross margins due to product mix.
Stock-based compensation expense included in cost of revenues for fiscal 2021 and 2020 was $5.2 million and $4.0 million, respectively.
Research and Development
Fiscal Year Ended
December 25, 2021 December 26, 2020 $ Change % Change
(Dollars in thousands)
Research and development $ 100,937 $ 89,034 $ 11,903 13.4 %
% of revenues 13.1 % 12.8 %
Fiscal Year Ended
December 26, 2020 December 28, 2019 $ Change % Change
(Dollars in thousands)
Research and development $ 89,034 $ 81,499 $ 7,535 9.2 %
% of revenues 12.8 % 13.8 %
The increase in research and development expenses in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was primarily driven by our acquisitions of Baldwin Park and HPD during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2020, respectively, which increased headcount and general operational costs. Annual salary increases, higher stock-based compensation, and restructuring charges also contributed to the increase. The components of this increase were as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal 2021 compared to Fiscal 2020
Employee compensation costs $ 5,697
General operating expenses 3,259
Stock-based compensation 1,759
Restructure 869
Depreciation 181
Project material costs 138
$ 11,903
Stock-based compensation expense included within research and development in fiscal 2021 and 2020 was $7.6 million and $5.8 million, respectively.
Selling, General and Administrative
Fiscal Year Ended
December 25, 2021 December 26, 2020 $ Change % Change
(Dollars in thousands)
Selling, general and administrative $ 123,792 $ 115,098 $ 8,694 7.6 %
% of revenues 16.1 % 16.6 %
Fiscal Year Ended
December 26, 2020 December 28, 2019 $ Change % Change
(Dollars in thousands)
Selling, general and administrative $ 115,098 $ 106,335 $ 8,763 8.2 %
% of revenues 16.6 % 18.0 %
The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was primarily driven by our acquisitions of Baldwin Park and HPD during the third and fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, respectively, which increased headcount and general operational costs. Annual salary increases, higher stock-based compensation, and the benefit in the prior year related to adjustments to contingent consideration for the acquisition of FRT GmbH (“FRT”) that did not repeat also contributed to the increases. These increases were partially offset by decreased consulting fees for information technology security remediation costs incurred in fiscal 2020 that did not repeat in fiscal 2021.
The components of this overall increase were as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal 2021 compared to Fiscal 2020
Employee compensation $ 5,832
Gain on contingent consideration 2,784
Stock-based compensation 2,546
General operating expenses 1,537
Consulting fees (4,005)
$ 8,694
Stock-based compensation expense included within selling, general and administrative in fiscal 2021 and 2020 was $16.6 million, and $14.1 million, respectively.
Interest Income and Interest Expense
Fiscal Year Ended
December 25, 2021 December 26, 2020 December 28, 2019
(Dollars in thousands)
Interest income $ 569 $ 1,501 $ 2,714
Weighted average balance of cash and investments 265,248 230,310 179,526
Weighted average yield on cash and investments 0.29 % 0.90 % 2.05 %
Interest expense $ 602 $ 864 $ 1,915
Average debt outstanding 16,304 37,563 56,776
Weighted average interest rate on debt 1.42 % 1.94 % 4.09 %
Interest income is earned on our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities. The decrease in interest income in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was attributable to lower investment yields due to the low interest rate environment, despite higher invested balances.
Interest expense primarily includes interest on our term loans, interest rate swap derivative contracts, and term loan issuance costs amortization charges. The decrease in interest expense in fiscal 2021 compared to fiscal 2020 was primarily due to lower outstanding debt balances driven primarily by the pay-off of one of our term loans on June 30, 2020.
Other income, net
Other income, net primarily includes the effects of foreign currency impact and various other gains and losses.
Provision for income taxes
Fiscal Year Ended
December 25, 2021 December 26, 2020 December 28, 2019
(Dollars in thousands)
Provision for income taxes $ 14,576 $ 6,652 $ 11,717
Effective tax rate 14.8 % 7.8 % 22.9 %
Provision for income taxes reflects the tax provision on our operations in foreign and U.S. jurisdictions, offset by tax benefits from tax credits and the foreign-derived intangible income (“FDII”) deduction. Our effective tax rate may vary based on changes in estimated taxable income or loss by jurisdiction, changes to the valuation allowance, changes to U.S. federal, state or foreign tax laws, changes in ASC 718 stock-based compensation expense/benefit, future expansion into areas with varying country, state, and local income tax rates, and deductibility of certain costs and expenses by jurisdiction.
We have utilized our previous net operating loss carryforwards in fiscal 2021, and expect the FDII deduction and corresponding benefit to be available, resulting in a decrease from the U.S. statutory rate and included in our worldwide effective tax rate for the year ended December 25, 2021. In fiscal 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service finalized regulations T.D. 9902 with respect to the global intangible low-taxes income high-tax exemption, resulting in a decrease in our effective tax rate. This adjustment was retroactive to the fiscal years 2018 and 2019 and the cumulative impact was taken into account during fiscal 2020, which provided a significant one-time tax benefit in fiscal 2020.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Capital Resources
Our working capital increased to $375.3 million at December 25, 2021 compared to $332.5 million at December 26, 2020, primarily due to higher cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, net, from cash generated from operations, higher inventories and accounts receivable on higher operating levels, and lower accounts payable and accrued liabilities from timing of payments, partially offset by higher deferred revenue and operating lease liabilities.
Cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of deposits held at banks, money market funds, and U.S. agency securities. Marketable securities primarily consist of U.S. treasuries, corporate bonds and commercial paper. We typically invest in highly-rated securities with low probabilities of default. Our investment policy requires investments to be rated single A or better, and limits the types of acceptable investments, issuer concentration and duration of the investment.
Our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled approximately $276.1 million at December 25, 2021 compared to $255.0 million at December 26, 2020. Based on our historical results of operations, we expect that our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities on hand, and the cash we expect to generate from operations, will be sufficient to fund our short-term and long-term liquidity requirements primarily arising from: research and development, capital expenditures, working capital, outstanding commitments, and other liquidity requirements associated with existing operations. However, we cannot be certain that our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities on hand, and cash generated from operations, will be available in the future to fund all of our capital and operating requirements. In addition, any future strategic investments and significant acquisitions may require additional cash and capital resources. To the extent necessary, we may consider entering into short and long-term debt obligations, raising cash through a stock issuance, or obtaining new financing facilities, which may not be available on terms favorable to us. If we are unable to obtain sufficient cash or capital to meet our needs on a timely basis and on favorable terms, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted global supply chains and created significant volatility and disruption of financial markets. An extended period of global supply chain and economic disruption could materially affect our business, results of operations, access to sources of liquidity and financial condition.
If we are unsuccessful in maintaining or growing our revenues, maintaining or reducing our cost structure (in response to a potential reduction in demand due to an industry downturn, COVID-19, or other event), or increasing our available cash through debt or equity financings, our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities may decline.
We utilize a variety of tax planning and financing strategies in an effort to manage our worldwide cash and deploy funds to locations where they are needed. As part of these strategies, we indefinitely reinvest a portion of our foreign earnings. Should we require additional capital in the U.S., we may elect to repatriate indefinitely-reinvested foreign funds or raise capital in the United States.
Cash Flows
Fiscal Year Ended
December 25, 2021 December 26, 2020 December 28, 2019
(Dollars in thousands)
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 139,364 $ 169,256 $ 121,048
Net cash used in investing activities (124,741) (98,922) (66,352)
Net cash used in financing activities (47,199) (30,935) (6,578)
Operating Activities
Cash provided by operating activities consists of net income for the period adjusted for certain non-cash items and changes in certain operating assets and liabilities. The $29.9 million decrease in cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2021, as compared to fiscal 2020, was primarily related to increased investment in working capital to support higher operating levels.
Net cash provided by operating activities in fiscal 2021 was primarily attributable to net income of $83.9 million, which included $105.2 million of net non-cash items, offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities using $49.8 million of cash as discussed in more detail below.
Accounts receivable increased $7.9 million to $115.5 million at December 25, 2021 compared to $107.6 million at December 26, 2020, as a result of higher operating levels and timing of customer payments.
Inventories, net, increased $12.3 million to $111.5 million at December 25, 2021 compared to $99.2 million at December 26, 2020, as a result of higher operating levels.
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities decreased $8.7 million to $108.7 million at December 25, 2021 compared to $117.4 million at December 26, 2020, as a result of the timing of payments and decreases in accrued warranty, partially offset by higher operating levels and increases in accrued taxes.
Operating lease liabilities increased $4.2 million to $38.9 million at December 25, 2021, compared to $34.7 million at December 26, 2020, as a result of additional right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations of $7.2 million, offset by lease payments.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities in fiscal 2021 primarily related to $66.5 million of cash used in the acquisition of property, plant and equipment, and $58.2 million used for the purchase of marketable securities, net of maturities.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities in fiscal 2021 primarily related to $24.0 million used to purchase common stock under our stock repurchase program, $20.6 million used to pay tax withholdings for net share settlements of employee equity awards, and $9.3 million of principal payments made towards the repayment of our term loans, partially offset by $10.7 million of proceeds received from issuances of common stock under our stock incentive plans.
Debt
CMI Term Loan
On June 24, 2016, we entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with HSBC Bank USA, National Association (“HSBC”), as administrative agent, co-lead arranger, sole bookrunner and syndication agent, other lenders that may from time-to-time be a party to the Credit Agreement, and certain guarantors. Pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the lenders provided us with a senior secured term loan facility of $150 million (the “CMI Term Loan”). The proceeds of the CMI Term Loan were used to finance a portion of the purchase price paid in connection with the Cascade Microtech acquisition in fiscal 2016 and to pay related bank fees and expenses.
The CMI Term Loan bore interest at a rate equal to, at our option, (i) the applicable London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) rate plus 2.00% per annum or (ii) Base Rate (as defined in the Credit Agreement) plus 1.00% per annum. We elected to pay interest at 2.00% over the one-month LIBOR rate. Interest payments were payable in quarterly installments over a five-year period.
The principal payments on the CMI Term Loan were scheduled to be paid in equal quarterly installments that began June 30, 2016, in an annual amount equal to 5% for year one, 10% for year two, 20% for year three, 30% for year four and 35% for year five. We accelerated payments of these scheduled amounts and made the final payment on the CMI Term Loan on June 30, 2020, approximately one year before the original maturity. We are no longer subject to the terms of the Credit Agreement.
FRT Term Loan
On October 25, 2019, we entered into a euro denominated $23.4 million, three-year credit facility loan agreement (the “FRT Term Loan”) with HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG, Germany, to fund the acquisition of FRT GmbH, which we acquired on October 9, 2019.
The FRT Term Loan bears interest at a rate equal to the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (“EURIBOR”) plus 1.75 % per annum and will be repaid in quarterly installments of approximately $2.0 million plus interest. The interest rate at December 25, 2021 was 1.20%.
The obligations under the FRT Term Loan are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by FormFactor, Inc. The FRT Term Loan contains negative covenants customary for financing of this type, including covenants that place limitations on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, the creation of liens, the payment of dividends; dispositions; fundamental changes, including mergers and acquisitions; loans and investments; sale leasebacks; negative pledges; transactions with affiliates; changes in fiscal year; sanctions and anti-bribery laws and regulations, and modifications to charter documents in a manner materially adverse to the Lenders. The FRT Term Loan also contains affirmative covenants and representations and warranties customary for financing of this type. As of December 25, 2021, the balance outstanding pursuant to the FRT term loan was $7.9 million, and we were in compliance with all covenants.
Building Term Loan
On June 22, 2020, we entered into an $18.0 million 15-year credit facility loan agreement (the “Building Term Loan”) with MUFG Union Bank, National Association (“Union Bank”). The proceeds of the Building Term Loan were used to purchase a building adjacent to our leased facilities in Livermore, California.
The Building Term Loan bears interest at a rate equal to the applicable LIBOR rate plus 1.75% per annum. Interest payments are payable in monthly installments over a fifteen-year period. The interest rate at December 25, 2021 was 1.85%.
On March 17, 2020, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement with Union Bank to hedge the interest payments on the Building Term Loan for the notional amount of $18.0 million. As future levels of LIBOR over the life of the loan are uncertain, we entered into this interest-rate swap agreement to hedge the exposure in interest rate risks associated with movement in LIBOR rates. By entering into the agreement, we convert a floating rate interest at one-month LIBOR plus 1.75% into a fixed rate interest at 2.75%. The interest rate swap included a 0% floor that was effective for one year from the date of the swap. As of December 25, 2021, the notional amount of the loan that is subject to this interest rate swap is $16.5 million.
The obligations under the Building Term Loan are guaranteed by a deed of trust covering certain real property and improvements and certain personal property used in connection therewith. The deed of trust creates a first priority lien or encumbrance on the property with only such exceptions as may be approved by the Union Bank in writing.
The Credit Agreement contains covenants customary for financing of this type. As of December 25, 2021, the balance outstanding pursuant to the Building Term Loan was $16.5 million, and we were in compliance with all covenants under the Credit Agreement.
Stock Repurchase Program
In October 2020, our Board of Directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $50 million of outstanding common stock to offset potential dilution from issuances of common stock under our stock-based incentive plans. The share repurchase program will expire October 28, 2022. This repurchase program replaced the previous repurchase program that expired in February 2020 to purchase up to $25.0 million of outstanding common stock. During fiscal 2021, we repurchased 622,400 shares of common stock for $24.0 million, and, as of December 25, 2021, $26.0 million remained available for future repurchases. There was no stock repurchased in fiscal 2020 or 2019.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following table summarizes our significant contractual commitments to make future payments in cash under contractual obligations as of December 25, 2021 (in thousands):
Payments Due In Fiscal Year
2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 and thereafter Total
Operating leases $ 8,594 $ 7,232 $ 6,814 $ 6,799 $ 6,008 $ 8,970 $ 44,417
Term loans - principal payments 8,935 1,050 1,080 1,111 1,142 11,117 24,435
Term loans - interest payments(1)
361 282 263 240 220 930 2,296
Total $ 17,890 $ 8,564 $ 8,157 $ 8,150 $ 7,370 $ 21,017 $ 71,148
(1) Represents our minimum interest payment commitments at 1.20% per annum for the FRT Term Loan and 1.85% per annum for the Building Term Loan.
The table above excludes our gross liability for unrecognized tax benefits, which totaled $35.7 million as of December 25, 2021. The timing of any payments which could result from these unrecognized tax benefits will depend upon a number of factors and, accordingly, the timing of payment cannot be estimated.
Indemnification Agreements
We have entered, and may from time to time in the ordinary course of our business enter, into contractual arrangements with third parties that include indemnification obligations. Under these contractual arrangements, we have agreed to defend, indemnify and/or hold the third party harmless from and against certain liabilities. These arrangements include indemnities in favor of customers in the event that our products or services infringe a third party's intellectual property or cause property or other indemnities in favor of our lessors in connection with facility leasehold liabilities that we may cause. In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and certain of our officers, and our bylaws contain indemnification obligations in favor of our directors, officers and agents. These indemnity arrangements may limit the type of the claim, the total amount that we can be required to pay in connection with the indemnification obligation and the time within which an indemnification claim can be made. The duration of the indemnification obligation may vary, and for most arrangements, survives the agreement term and is indefinite. We believe that substantially all of our indemnity arrangements provide either for limitations on the maximum potential future payments we could be obligated to make, or for limitations on the types of claims and damages we could be obligated to indemnify, or both. However, it is not possible to determine or reasonably estimate the maximum potential amount of future payments under these indemnification obligations due to the varying terms of such obligations, a lack of history of prior indemnification claims, the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular contractual arrangement and in each potential future claim for indemnification, and the contingency of any potential liabilities upon the occurrence of events that are not reasonably determinable. We have not had any material requests for indemnification under these arrangements. We have not recorded any liabilities for these indemnification arrangements on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 25, 2021 or December 26, 2020.
New Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 17, New Accounting Pronouncements, of Notes to 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
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
We conduct certain operations in foreign currencies. We enter into currency forward exchange contracts to hedge a portion, but not all, of existing foreign currency denominated amounts. Gains and losses on these contracts are generally recognized in Other income, net in our Consolidated Statements of Income. Because the effect of movements in currency exchange rates on the currency forward exchange contracts generally offsets the related effect on the underlying items being hedged, these financial instruments are not expected to subject us to risks that would otherwise result from changes in currency exchange rates as of December 25, 2021. We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. We recognized a net gain from foreign exchange of zero and $0.5 million in fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively, and a net loss of $0.4 million in fiscal 2019.
Interest Rate Sensitivity
Our exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to our investment portfolio. We invest in a number of securities including U.S. agency discount notes, money market funds and commercial paper. We attempt to maintain the safety and preservation of our invested principal funds by limiting default risk, market risk and reinvestment risk. We mitigate default risk by investing in high grade investment securities. By policy, we limit the amount of credit exposure to an issuer, except U.S. Treasuries and U.S. agencies.
Our exposure to interest rate risk arising from our Term Loans (see Note 5, Debt, of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements) is insignificant as a result of the interest-rate swap agreement (see Note 8, Derivative Financial Instruments, of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements) that we entered into with Union Bank to hedge the interest payments on our Building Term Loan.
We use interest rate derivative instruments to manage certain interest rate exposures. We do not use derivative instruments for trading or speculative purposes. The fair market value of our fixed rate securities may be adversely impacted by increases in interest rates while income earned on floating rate securities may decline as a result of decreases in interest rates. A hypothetical 100 basis-point (one percentage point) increase or decrease in interest rates compared to rates at December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020 would have affected the fair value of our investment portfolio by $0.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Consolidated Financial Statements
The consolidated financial statements and supplementary data required by this item are included in the section entitled “Consolidated Financial Statements” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See Item 15 for a list of our consolidated financial statements.

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

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A: Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Based on our management’s evaluation (with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer), as of the end of the period covered by this report, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”)) were effective as of December 25, 2021 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, and effected by our board of directors, management and other personnel and consultants, 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, and includes those policies and procedures that:
(i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect our transactions and dispositions of assets;
(ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with the authorization of our management and directors; and
(iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
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.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, we conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 25, 2021. In making this assessment, our management used the criteria set forth in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on the results of this assessment, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 25, 2021.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 25, 2021 has been audited by KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls
Control systems, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control systems’ objectives are being met. Further, the design of any control systems must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of all controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Control systems can also be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is based, in part, on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures.
CEO and CFO Certifications
We have attached as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K the certifications of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, which are required in accordance with the Exchange Act. We recommend that this Item 9A be read in conjunction with the certifications for a more complete understanding of the subject matter presented.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B: Other Information
None.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10: Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the proxy statement for our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the captions Corporate Governance, Executive Officers, and, if applicable, Delinquent Section 16 Reports.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11: Executive Compensation
The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the proxy statement for our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the captions Executive Compensation and Related Information, Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation and Report of the Compensation Committee.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12: Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the proxy statement for our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the captions Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters, and Equity Compensation Plans.

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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 is incorporated by reference to the proxy statement for our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the captions Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Independence of Directors.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14: Principal Accountant Fees and Services
Our independent registered public accounting firm is KPMG, LLP; Portland, Oregon; Auditor Firm ID: 185.
The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the proxy statement for our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the caption Principal Auditor Fees and Services.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15: Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
Financial Statements and Schedules
The Consolidated Financial Statements, together with the report thereon of KPMG LLP, are included on the pages indicated below:
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 45
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020
Consolidated Statements of Income for the fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity for the fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the fiscal years ended December 25, 2021, December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 53
Financial statement schedules have been omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is shown in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.
Exhibits
The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.