RAMBUS INC (RMBS) FY 2024 MD&A

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as described in more detail under “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value and effect. As a result of the factors described herein, and in the documents incorporated herein by reference, including, in particular, those factors described under “Risk Factors,” we undertake no obligation to publicly disclose any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring subsequent to filing this report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes that are included elsewhere in this report.

Business Overview

Rambus is a global semiconductor company dedicated to enabling the future of the data center and artificial intelligence (“AI”) by delivering innovative memory and security solutions that address the evolving needs of the technology industry.

As a pioneer with nearly 35 years of advanced semiconductor design experience, Rambus is at the forefront of enabling the next era of AI-driven computing, addressing the critical challenges of accelerating and securing data movement in the data center, edge, and client markets. We are a leader in high-performance memory subsystems, offering a balanced and diverse portfolio of products encompassing chips and silicon IP. Focusing primarily on the data center, our innovative solutions maximize performance and security in computationally intensive systems.

The explosion of data-intensive workloads, driven by the proliferation of generative AI, large language models (“LLMs”), and high-performance computing (“HPC”), is placing unprecedented demands on computing infrastructure. This surge in data processing is exacerbating the performance gap between processors and memory, creating a critical bottleneck—the “memory wall”—that limits overall system efficiency. As processors and accelerators rapidly increase in speed and core count, memory bandwidth and latency must keep pace to unlock their full potential.

Rambus is uniquely positioned to address this challenge. Our deep expertise in memory technologies and innovative architectures enables us to deliver solutions that break through the memory wall. We provide industry-leading memory interface chips that enable the highest bandwidth and capacity server memory modules, maximizing memory performance for the most demanding data-intensive workloads. These solutions are essential for supporting the training and inference of increasingly complex AI models, including those used in generative AI applications.

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Our strategic objectives include focusing our product portfolio and research around our core strength in semiconductors, optimizing operational efficiency and leveraging strong cash generation to reinvest for growth. We continue to maximize synergies across our businesses and customer base, leveraging the significant overlap in our ecosystem of customers, partners and influencers. Our product and technology roadmap, as well as our go-to-market strategy, are driven by the application-specific requirements of our focus markets.

Executive Summary

Our continued execution delivered strong results during fiscal year 2024, driven by continued demand for our memory interface chips and our Silicon IP solutions, and stability from our royalties revenue.

Highlights from our annual results for the year ended December 31, 2024 were as follows:

•Revenue of $556.6 million;

•Operating expenses of $263.5 million;

•Diluted net income per share of $1.65; and

•Net cash provided by operating activities of $230.6 million.

We generated record product revenue of $246.8 million in 2024 which increased by approximately 10% as compared to 2023. We also generated record cash provided by operating activities of $230.6 million in 2024. We continued our product portfolio expansion with the introduction of our DDR5 server PMICs, Client Clock Driver, as well as HBM4, GDDR7 and PCIe 7 IP solutions. In addition, we unveiled industry-first complete chipsets for next-generation, industry-standard DDR5 MRDIMMs and RDIMMs for the data center and AI. Furthermore, we extended our comprehensive patent license agreement with Micron by five years through 2029.

Operational Highlights

Revenue Sources

The Company’s consolidated revenue is comprised of product revenue, contract and other revenue and royalties.

Product revenue consists primarily of memory interface chips and is increasing in strategic significance. Our memory interface chips are sold to major DRAM manufacturers, Micron, Samsung and SK hynix, as well as directly to system manufacturers and cloud providers, for integration into server memory modules. Product revenue accounted for 44%, 49% and 50% of our consolidated revenue for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Royalty revenue is primarily derived from our patent licenses, through which we provide our customers certain rights to our broad worldwide portfolio of patented inventions. Our patent licenses enable our customers to use a portion of our patent portfolio in their own digital electronics products. The licenses typically range in duration up to ten years and may define the specific field of use where our customers may utilize our inventions in their products. Royalties may be structured as fixed, variable or a hybrid of fixed and variable royalty payments. Leading semiconductor and electronic system companies such as AMD, Amlogic, Broadcom, CXMT, IBM, Infineon, Kioxia, Marvell, MediaTek, Micron, Nanya, Nuvoton, NVIDIA, Phison, Qualcomm, Samsung, Silicon Motion, SK hynix, Socionext, STMicroelectronics, Toshiba, Western Digital, and Winbond have licensed our patents. The vast majority of our patents originate from our internal research and development efforts. Additionally, from time to time, we enter into agreements to sell certain patent assets under agreements which may also include subsequent profit-sharing. The sale of these patents, as well as the subsequent profit-sharing, are included as part of our royalty revenue. Revenue from royalties accounted for 41%, 32% and 31% of our consolidated revenue for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Contract and other revenue consists primarily of Silicon IP, which is comprised of our high-speed interface and security IP. Revenue sources under contract and other include our IP core licenses, software licenses and related implementation, support and maintenance fees and engineering services fees. The timing and amounts invoiced to customers can vary significantly depending on specific contract terms and can therefore have a significant impact on deferred revenue or accounts receivable in any given period. Contract and other revenue accounted for 15%, 19% and 19% of our consolidated revenue for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

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Costs and Expenses

Cost of product revenue increased approximately $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023, primarily due to higher sales volumes of our memory interface chips.

Cost of contract and other revenue decreased approximately $2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower engineering service costs associated with the contracts and the sale of our PHY IP group in the third quarter of 2023.

Total research and development expenses increased approximately $6.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023. The fluctuation was primarily driven by growth in our research and development initiatives, offset by decreases attributable to the sale of our PHY IP group in the third quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to increases in prototyping costs of $4.4 million, allocated facility expenses of $2.5 million, headcount-related expenses of $2.2 million, stock-based compensation expense of $1.5 million, as well as lower engineering costs allocated to cost of revenue of $2.4 million, offset by decreases in software EDA tool subscriptions of $4.9 million, consulting expenses of $0.7 million, retention bonus expense related to acquisitions of $0.7 million and depreciation expenses of $0.5 million.

Total sales, general and administrative costs decreased approximately $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023, primarily due to lower rent and facility expenses allocated to sales, general and administrative expense of $3.8 million, stock-based compensation expense of $1.6 million, accounting and audit fees of $1.0 million, and acquisition-related costs (including retention bonus expenses) of $0.8 million, offset by increases in consulting expense of $1.4 million, headcount-related expenses of $1.0 million, and legal expenses of $0.7 million.

Trends

There are a number of trends that may have a material impact on us in the future, including but not limited to, the evolution of memory technology, adoption of security solutions, the use and adoption of our inventions or technologies generally, industry consolidation and global economic conditions with the resulting impact on sales of consumer electronic systems.

We have a high degree of revenue concentration. Our top five customers represented 62% of our revenue for both 2024 and 2023 and 58% in 2022. The particular customers which account for revenue concentration have varied from period-to-period as a result of the addition of new contracts, expiration of existing contracts, renewals of existing contracts, industry consolidation and the volumes and prices at which the customers have recently sold to their customers. These variations are expected to continue in the foreseeable future.

Our revenue from companies headquartered outside of the United States accounted for 64% of total revenue in 2024 as compared to 62% in 2023 and 39% in 2022. We expect that revenue derived from international customers will continue to represent a significant portion of our total revenue in the future. Currently, our revenue from international customers is predominantly denominated in U.S. dollars. For additional information concerning international revenue, refer to Note 7, “Segments and Major Customers,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K.

The royalties we receive from our semiconductor customers are partly a function of the adoption of our technologies by system companies. Many system companies purchase semiconductors containing our technologies from our customers and do not have a direct contractual relationship with us. Our customers generally do not provide us with details as to the identity or volume of licensed semiconductors purchased by particular system companies. As a result, we face difficulty in analyzing the extent to which our future revenue will be dependent upon particular system companies. Several of our licensees have renewed or extended their license agreements with us during the year ended December 31, 2024, including Kioxia, Marvell, Micron and Nanya.

As a part of our overall business strategy, we evaluate businesses and technologies for potential acquisitions that are aligned with our core business and designed to supplement our growth, including the acquisition of Hardent in the second quarter of 2022. Similarly, we evaluate our current businesses and technologies that are not aligned with our core business for potential divestiture, such as the sale of our PHY IP group to Cadence in the third quarter of 2023. We expect to continue to evaluate and potentially enter into strategic acquisitions or divestitures which will impact our business and operating results.

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Results of Operations

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the percentage of total revenue represented by certain items reflected in our consolidated statements of operations:

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Product Revenue

Product revenue consists of revenue from the sale of memory and security products. Product revenue increased by approximately $22.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023, primarily due to higher sales of our memory interface chips. Product revenue declined modestly by approximately $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022 in a market that declined during the period.

Growth in our product revenue is dependent on, among other things, the industry transition to a new generation of memory, as well as our ability to continue to obtain orders from customers, meet our customers’ demands and mitigate any supply chain and economic disruption.

Royalties

Royalty revenue, which includes patent and technology license royalties, increased approximately $76.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023. Royalty revenue increased approximately $10.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022. The increases were primarily due to the timing and structure of license renewals for both periods.

We are continuously in negotiations for licenses with prospective customers. We expect royalty revenue will continue to vary from period to period based on our success in adding new customers, renewing or extending existing agreements, as well as the level of variation in our customers’ reported shipment volumes, sales price and product mix, offset in part by the proportion of customer payments that are fixed or hybrid in nature.

Contract and Other Revenue

Contract and other revenue consists of revenue from technology development projects. Contract and other revenue decreased approximately $2.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023. Contract and other revenue decreased approximately $1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022. The decreases for both periods were primarily attributed to the sale of our PHY IP group in the third quarter of 2023.

We believe that contract and other revenue will fluctuate over time based on our ongoing technology development contractual requirements, the amount of work performed, the timing of completing engineering deliverables and the changes to work required, as well as new technology development contracts booked in the future.

Cost of Product Revenue

Cost of product revenue mainly includes costs attributable to the sale of memory products. Cost of product revenue increased approximately $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023, primarily due to higher sales volumes of our memory interface chips. Cost of product revenue decreased approximately $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022, primarily due to a change in product mix and lower product revenue.

In the near term, we expect cost of product revenue to fluctuate due to changes in product mix and the timing of orders.

Cost of Contract and Other Revenue

Cost of contract and other revenue reflects the portion of the total engineering costs which are specifically devoted to individual customer development and support services. Cost of contract and other revenue decreased approximately $2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023, primarily due to lower engineering services associated with the contracts and the sale of our PHY IP group in the third quarter of 2023. Cost of contract and other revenue increased approximately $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022, primarily due to higher engineering services associated with the contracts.

In the near term, we expect cost of contract and other revenue to vary from period to period based on varying revenue recognized from contract and other revenue.

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Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses are those expenses incurred for the development of applicable technologies.

Total research and development expenses increased approximately $6.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023. The fluctuation was primarily driven by growth in our research and development initiatives, offset by decreases attributable to the sale of our PHY IP group in the third quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to increases in prototyping costs of $4.4 million, allocated facility expenses of $2.5 million, headcount-related expenses of $2.2 million, stock-based compensation expense of $1.5 million, as well as lower engineering costs allocated to cost of revenue of $2.4 million, offset by decreases in software EDA tool subscriptions of $4.9 million, consulting expenses of $0.7 million, retention bonus expense related to acquisitions of $0.7 million and depreciation expense of $0.5 million.

Total research and development expenses decreased approximately $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022, primarily due to decreases in consulting expenses of $3.4 million, retention bonus expense related to acquisitions of $1.6 million, an increase in engineering costs allocated to cost of revenue of $0.8 million, as well as decreases in prototyping costs of $0.8 million and bonus expense of $0.7 million, offset by an increase in headcount-related expenses of $1.8 million, stock-based compensation expense of $1.4 million, depreciation expense of $1.1 million and facilities costs of $0.9 million. The cumulative decrease was largely due to the sale of our PHY IP group in the third quarter of 2023, partially offset by increases in research and development for other core initiatives.

We will continue to make investments in the infrastructure and technologies required to maintain our product innovation in semiconductor, security and other technologies.

Sales, General and Administrative Expenses

Sales, general and administrative expenses include expenses and costs associated with trade shows, public relations, advertising, litigation, general legal, insurance and other sales, marketing and administrative efforts. Consistent with our business model, our licensing, sales and marketing activities aim to develop or strengthen relationships with potential new and current customers. In addition, we work with current customers through marketing, sales and technical efforts to drive adoption of their products that use our innovations and solutions, by system companies. Due to the long business development cycles we face and the semi-fixed nature of sales, general and administrative expenses in a given period, these expenses generally do not correlate to the level of revenue in that period or in comparable recent or future periods.

Total sales, general and administrative costs decreased approximately $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023, primarily due to lower rent and facility expenses allocated to sales, general and administrative expenses of $3.8 million, stock-based compensation expense of $1.6 million, accounting and audit fees of $1.0 million, and acquisition-related costs (including retention bonus expenses) of $0.8 million, offset by increases in consulting expense of $1.4 million, headcount-related expenses of $1.0 million, and legal expenses of $0.7 million.

Total sales, general and administrative costs increased approximately $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022, primarily due to increases in stock-based compensation expense of $8.0 million and accounting and audit fees of $0.6 million, offset by decreases in acquisition-related costs of $3.7 million, bonus expense related to acquisitions of $1.7 million, rent and facility expenses of $1.1 million and recruiting expense of $0.6 million.

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In the future, sales, general and administrative expenses will vary from period to period based on the trade shows, advertising, legal, acquisition and other sales, marketing and administrative activities undertaken, and the change in sales, marketing and administrative headcount in any given period. In the near term, we expect our sales, general and administrative expenses to remain relatively flat.

Amortization of Acquired Intangible Assets

Amortization expense is related to various acquired IP.

Total amortization of acquired intangible assets decreased approximately $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 2023, primarily due to certain intangible assets being fully amortized.

Total amortization of acquired intangible assets decreased approximately $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022. In the third quarter of 2023, we divested our PHY IP group and as a result, we disposed of approximately $7.4 million of net intangible assets, which reduced our amortization expense in future periods. Refer to Note 6, “Intangible Assets and Goodwill,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for additional information.

Restructuring and Other Charges

In June 2023, we initiated a restructuring program to reduce overall expenses to improve future profitability by reducing our overall spending (the “2023 Restructuring Plan”). In connection with this restructuring program, we initiated a plan resulting in a reduction of 42 employees. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded charges of approximately $9.4 million related to the reduction in workforce, as well as write-downs of obligations related to certain IP development costs and software licenses for engineering development tools. The 2023 Restructuring Plan was substantially completed in the fourth quarter of 2023. Refer to Note 17, “Restructuring and Other Charges,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for additional information.

Gain on Divestiture

In July 2023, we entered into an asset purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (the “Purchaser”), pursuant to which we agreed to sell certain assets and the Purchaser agreed to assume certain liabilities from us, in each case with respect to our PHY IP group. The decision to sell this portion of our business reflected the ongoing review of our core semiconductor business to focus on our development of digital IP and chips, including novel memory solutions for high-performance computing, to support the continued evolution of the data center and AI.

Consequently, we recognized a net gain of approximately $90.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. Refer to Note 20, “Divestiture,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for additional information.

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Impairment of Assets

During the year ended December 31, 2024, we recorded a charge of approximately $1.1 million in our Consolidated Statements of Operations of this Form 10-K, related to the write-off of certain fixed assets no longer in use and for which we determined they had no alternate economic use.

Concurrent with the sale of our PHY IP group to Cadence, we recorded a charge of approximately $10.0 million in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2023. The charge was primarily related to the accelerated amortization of software licenses that were not directly part of the PHY IP disposal group, but where acceleration was warranted due to the lower headcount and corresponding excess capacity for such licenses. Refer to Note 20, “Divestiture,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for additional information.

Change in Fair Value of Earn-Out Liability

The changes in the fair value of the earn-out liability related to the 2021 acquisition of the PLDA Group (“PLDA”), which was subject to certain revenue targets of the acquired business for a period of three years from the date of acquisition, and which was settled annually in shares of our common stock based on the fair value of that common stock fixed at the time we acquired PLDA. The fair value of the earn-out liability was remeasured each quarter, depending on the acquired business’s revenue performance relative to target over the applicable period, and adjusted to reflect changes in the per share value of our common stock.

During the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, we remeasured the fair value of the earn-out liability, which resulted in a reduction of $5.0 million and additional expenses of $9.2 million and $3.1 million, respectively, in our Consolidated Statements of Operations of this Form 10-K. The final earn-out was achieved as of September 30, 2024 and was fully paid during the fourth quarter of 2024.

Interest and Other Income (Expense), Net

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*    NM — percentage is not meaningful

Interest income and other income (expense), net, includes interest income from our investment portfolio and from the significant financing component of licensing agreements, as well as any gains or losses from the re-measurement of our monetary assets or liabilities denominated in foreign currencies. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, interest income and other income (expense), net, consisted primarily of interest income from our investment portfolio of $18.5 million, $10.6 million and $1.0 million, respectively, as well as interest income from the significant financing component of licensing agreements of $0.5 million, $2.2 million and $5.6 million, respectively.

The gain on fair value of equity security was $3.5 million in 2022 and related to the sale of an equity security with an immaterial carrying value in our Consolidated Statement of Operations of this Form 10-K.

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The $83.6 million loss on extinguishment of debt and the $10.6 million loss on fair value adjustment of derivatives, net, for the year ended December 31, 2022, related to the repurchases of $162.1 million aggregate principal amount of our 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due 2023 (the “2023 Notes”) and the settlement of the related convertible senior note hedges and warrants. The $0.2 million loss on fair value adjustment of derivatives, net, for the years ended December 31, 2023, related to the settlement of the remaining outstanding warrants in the first quarter of 2023.

We made an investment in a non-marketable equity security of a private company in 2018. We accounted for this investment under the equity method of accounting and recorded our share of the income (loss). During the fourth quarter of 2023, we sold our 25% ownership share in the equity investment for approximately $25.0 million, which was included, net of withholding taxes paid, in prepaid and other current assets in our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2023. We recognized a net gain of approximately $23.9 million related to the sale in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 after offsetting $1.1 million of transaction costs from the $25.0 million selling price. Refer to Note 9, “Fair Value of Financial Instruments,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for additional information.

Interest expense consists primarily of interest expense associated with long-term software licenses for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. Prior to the second quarter of 2023, interest expense consisted primarily of interest expense associated with long-term software licenses, the non-cash interest expense related to the amortization of the debt issuance costs on the 2023 Notes, as well as the coupon interest related to these notes. The remaining outstanding 2023 Notes were paid in full upon maturity in the first quarter of 2023.

Interest expense remained relatively flat for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.

Refer to Note 12, “Convertible Notes,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for additional information on the repurchases of the convertible notes.

Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes

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*    NM — percentage is not meaningful

Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2024 differed from the U.S. statutory rate primarily due to foreign-derived intangible income deductions and the tax effect of stock-based compensation. Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2023, differed from the U.S. statutory rate primarily due to the valuation allowance release on our U.S. deferred tax assets, as well as state income taxes and the tax effect of stock-based compensation. Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2022, differed from the U.S. statutory rate primarily due to the foreign-derived intangible income deduction, acquisition indebtedness and certain capitalized research expenditures, partially offset by the change in the valuation allowance against our U.S. deferred tax assets.

We recorded a provision for income taxes of $20.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, which was primarily driven by the statutory tax expense for domestic and foreign jurisdictions for 2024, including withholding taxes, offset by tax benefits from excess stock-based compensation deductions and foreign-derived intangible income deductions. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we paid withholding taxes of $20.6 million. We recorded a benefit from income taxes of $146.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, which was primarily driven by the $177.9 million valuation allowance release on our U.S. deferred tax assets, as well as tax benefits from excess stock-based compensation deductions. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we paid withholding taxes of $22.9 million.

We periodically evaluate the realizability of our net deferred tax assets based on all available evidence, both positive and negative. The realizability of our net deferred tax assets is dependent on our ability to generate sufficient future taxable income during periods prior to the expiration of tax attributes to fully utilize these assets. During 2023, based on all available positive and negative evidence, we determined that it was appropriate to release the valuation allowance on the majority of our U.S. federal and other state deferred tax assets. We recognized a $177.9 million tax benefit during the year ended December 31, 2023 as a result of the valuation allowance release.

Upon considering the relative impact of all evidence during 2024, both negative and positive, and the weight accorded to each, we concluded that it was more likely than not that the majority of our deferred tax assets would be realizable, with the exception of primarily our California research and development credits that have not met the “more likely than not” realization

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threshold criteria. As a result, we continue to maintain a valuation allowance on only those deferred tax assets that we do not think will be realizable.

We have U.S. federal deferred tax assets related to research and development credits, foreign tax credits and other tax attributes that can be used to offset U.S. federal taxable income in future periods. These credit carryforwards will expire if they are not used within certain time periods. It is possible that some or all of these attributes could ultimately expire unused.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity

We currently anticipate that existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances and cash flows from operations will be adequate to meet our cash needs for at least the next 12 months. Additionally, the majority of our cash and cash equivalents is in the United States. Our cash needs for the year ended December 31, 2024 were funded primarily from cash collected from our customers.

We do not anticipate any liquidity constraints as a result of either the current credit environment or investment fair value fluctuations. Additionally, we have the intent and ability to hold our debt investments that have unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive gain (loss) for a sufficient period of time to allow for recovery of the principal amounts invested. We continually monitor the credit risk in our portfolio and mitigate our credit risk exposures in accordance with our policies.

As a part of our overall business strategy, from time to time, we evaluate businesses and technologies for potential acquisitions that are aligned with our core business and designed to supplement our growth.

To provide us with more flexibility in returning capital to our stockholders, on October 29, 2020, our Board approved a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to an aggregate of 20.0 million shares (the “2020 Repurchase Program”). Share repurchases under the 2020 Repurchase Program may be made through the open market, established plans or privately negotiated transactions in accordance with all applicable securities laws, rules and regulations. There is no expiration date applicable to the 2020 Repurchase Program. The 2020 Repurchase Program replaced the previous program approved by our Board in January 2015 and canceled the remaining shares outstanding as part of the previous authorization. During the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, we repurchased shares of our common stock under the 2020 Repurchase Program as discussed in the “Share Repurchase Program” section below.

Operating Activities

Cash provided by operating activities of $230.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily attributable to the cash generated from customer licensing, product sales and engineering services fees. Changes in operating assets and liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily included decreases in unbilled receivables, prepaids and other current assets and an increase in income taxes payable, offset by increases in accounts receivable, inventories and income tax receivable.

Cash provided by operating activities of $195.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily attributable to the cash generated from customer licensing, product sales and engineering services fees. Changes in operating assets and liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily included a decrease in unbilled receivables and an increase in other current liabilities, offset by increases in income tax receivable, accounts receivable, inventories, prepaids and other assets, as well as decreases in income taxes payable, accounts payable, deferred revenue and accrued salaries and benefits.

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Cash provided by operating activities of $230.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily attributable to the cash generated from customer licensing, product sales and engineering services fees. Changes in operating assets and liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily included a decrease in unbilled receivables and increases in accounts payable and accrued salaries and benefits and other liabilities, offset by decreases in income taxes payable, operating lease liabilities and deferred revenue, as well as increases in inventories, accounts receivable and prepaids and other current assets.

Investing Activities

Cash used in investing activities of $56.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 consisted of purchases of available-for-sale marketable securities of $415.4 million and $30.7 million paid to acquire property and equipment, offset by proceeds from the maturities and sales of available-for-sale marketable securities of $280.8 million and $85.7 million, respectively, and net proceeds from the sale of a non-marketable equity security of $22.8 million.

Cash used in investing activities of $57.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 consisted of purchases of available-for-sale marketable securities of $434.2 million and $23.2 million paid to acquire property and equipment, offset by proceeds from sale and maturities of available-for-sale marketable securities of $117.8 million and $175.9 million, respectively, and the sale of our PHY IP group of $106.3 million.

Cash provided by investing activities of $152.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 consisted of proceeds from the sale and maturities of available-for-sale marketable securities of $276.7 million and $59.6 million, respectively, and proceeds from the sale of an equity security of $3.0 million, offset by purchases of available-for-sale marketable securities of $150.9 million, $17.5 million paid to acquire property and equipment, the acquisition of Hardent for $16.1 million, net of cash acquired of $0.2 million, and the acquisition of intangible assets for $3.0 million.

Financing Activities

Cash used in financing activities of $168.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily due to an aggregate payment of $113.3 million as part of our 2024 ASR program and the Buying Plan (includes $0.2 million in fees related to the ASR program), $41.3 million in payments of taxes on restricted stock units, and $16.4 million paid under installment payment arrangements to acquire fixed assets, offset by $5.5 million in proceeds from the issuance of common stock under equity incentive plans.

Cash used in financing activities of $169.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily due to an aggregate payment of $100.5 million as part of our 2020 Repurchase Program (includes $100.3 million related to the 2023 ASR program and $0.2 million related to the Buying Plan), $38.3 million in payments of taxes on restricted stock units, $16.2 million paid under installment payment arrangements to acquire fixed assets, $10.7 million paid for the retirement of the remaining outstanding warrants, $10.4 million in aggregate principal amount paid upon maturity of the remaining outstanding 2023 Notes, offset by $9.0 million in proceeds from the issuance of common stock under equity incentive plans.

Cash used in financing activities of $362.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily due to $258.1 million paid in connection with the partial repurchases of our 2023 Notes in the first and third quarters of 2022, an aggregate payment of $100.4 million as part of our 2022 ASR program (includes $0.4 million in fees related to the 2022 ASR program), $69.5 million paid in connection with the settlement of warrants associated with the partial repurchases of our 2023 Notes, $18.4 million in payments of taxes on restricted stock units and $14.4 million paid under installment payment arrangements to acquire fixed assets, offset by proceeds of $91.7 million from the settlement of senior convertible note hedges associated with the partial repurchases of our 2023 Notes and $6.1 million in proceeds from the issuance of common stock under equity incentive plans.

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Contractual Obligations

As of December 31, 2024, our material contractual obligations were as follows:

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(1)    The above table does not reflect possible payments in connection with unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $132.2 million, including $22.8 million recorded as a reduction of long-term deferred tax assets and $109.4 million in long-term income taxes payable, as of December 31, 2024. As noted in Note 18, “Income Taxes,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K, although it is possible that some of the unrecognized tax benefits could be settled within the next 12 months, we cannot reasonably estimate the timing of the outcome at this time.

(2)    For our lease commitments as of December 31, 2024, refer to Note 10, “Leases,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K.

(3)    We have commitments with various software vendors for agreements generally having terms longer than one year.

(4)    In connection with the acquisitions of Hardent in the second quarter of 2022 and PLDA in the third quarter of 2021, we are obligated to pay retention bonuses to certain employees subject to certain eligibility and acceleration provisions, including the condition of employment.

Share Repurchase Program

On October 29, 2020, our Board approved the 2020 Repurchase Program authorizing the repurchase of up to an aggregate of 20.0 million shares. Share repurchases under the 2020 Repurchase Program may be made through the open market, established plans or privately negotiated transactions in accordance with all applicable securities laws, rules and regulations. There is no expiration date applicable to the 2020 Repurchase Program. The 2020 Repurchase Program replaced the previous program approved by the Board in January 2015 and canceled the remaining shares outstanding as part of the previous authorization.

On September 9, 2022, we entered into the 2022 ASR Program with Wells Fargo. The 2022 ASR Program was part of the 2020 Repurchase Program. Under the 2022 ASR Program, we pre-paid to Wells Fargo the $100.0 million purchase price for our common stock and, in turn, we received an initial delivery of approximately 3.1 million shares of our common stock from Wells Fargo in the third quarter of 2022, which were retired and recorded as an $80.0 million reduction to stockholders’ equity. The remaining $20.0 million of the initial payment was recorded as a reduction to stockholders’ equity as an unsettled forward contract indexed to our stock. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the accelerated share repurchase program was completed and we received an additional 0.1 million shares of our common stock, which were retired, as the final settlement of the accelerated share repurchase program.

On August 10, 2023, we entered into the 2023 ASR Program with RBC. The 2023 ASR Program was part of the 2020 Repurchase Program. Under the 2023 ASR Program, we pre-paid to RBC the $100.0 million purchase price for our common stock and, in turn, we received an initial delivery of approximately 1.6 million shares of our common stock from RBC on August 11, 2023, which were retired and recorded as an $80.0 million reduction to stockholders’ equity. The remaining $20.0 million of the initial payment was recorded as a reduction to stockholders’ equity as an unsettled forward contract indexed to our stock. On September 22, 2023, the accelerated share repurchase program was completed and we received an additional 0.2 million shares of our common stock, which were retired, as the final settlement of the 2023 ASR Program.

On November 2, 2023, we entered into the Buying Plan with RBCCM. The Buying Plan was part of the 2020 Repurchase Program. Under the Buying Plan, RBCCM shall commence purchases for a 12-month period starting on November 2, 2023 and ending on November 1, 2024, unless terminated sooner pursuant to the Buying Plan (the “Repurchase Period”). During the Repurchase Period, RBCCM may purchase an aggregate amount of $50.0 million of our common stock, and its execution is dependent on our stock price reaching certain levels. Share repurchases could not exceed $25.0 million in a quarter. During the year ended December 31, 2023, an immaterial amount of shares were repurchased, retired and recorded as a reduction to stockholders’ equity. During the first quarter of 2024, the Buying Plan was amended and as a result, no purchases were made from the Buying Plan during the period from March 1, 2024 to March 28, 2024, while the 2024 ASR Program was in effect. During the third quarter of 2024, the Buying Plan was further amended to allow RBCCM to purchase an aggregate amount of $100.0 million of our common stock during the Repurchase Period, not to exceed $50.0 million in a quarter. The execution of

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share repurchases is dependent on our stock price reaching certain levels. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we repurchased approximately 1.4 million shares for approximately $63.1 million as part of the Buying Plan, which were retired and recorded as a reduction to stockholders’ equity.

On February 29, 2024, we entered into the 2024 ASR Program with RBC. The 2024 ASR Program was part of the 2020 Repurchase Program. Under the 2024 ASR Program, we pre-paid to RBC the $50.0 million purchase price for our common stock and, in turn, we received an initial delivery of approximately 0.7 million shares of our common stock from RBC on March 1, 2024, which were retired and recorded as a $40.0 million reduction to stockholders’ equity. The remaining $10.0 million of the initial payment was recorded as a reduction to stockholders’ equity as an unsettled forward contract indexed to our stock. On March 18, 2024, the accelerated share repurchase program was completed and we received an additional 0.1 million shares of our common stock, which were retired, as the final settlement of the 2024 ASR Program.

Effective January 1, 2023, our share repurchases are subject to a 1% excise tax as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. As of December 31, 2024, we recorded an immaterial excise tax liability on our Consolidated Balance Sheet of this Form 10-K.

During the year ended December 31, 2024, there were no other repurchases of our common stock under the 2020 Repurchase Program.

As of December 31, 2024, there remained an outstanding authorization to repurchase approximately 5.7 million shares of our outstanding common stock under the 2020 Repurchase Program.

We record share repurchases as a reduction to stockholders’ equity. We record a portion of the purchase price of the repurchased shares as an increase to accumulated deficit when the price of the shares repurchased exceeds the average original proceeds per share received from the issuance of common stock. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the cumulative price of $47.9 million was recorded as an increase to accumulated deficit.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The 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 accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, investments, income taxes, litigation and other contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed 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.

We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

Overview

We recognize revenue upon transfer of control of promised goods and services in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those goods and services. Goods and services that are distinct are accounted for as separate performance obligations.

Where an arrangement includes multiple performance obligations, the transaction price is allocated to these on a relative standalone selling price basis. We have established standalone selling prices for the majority of our distinct offerings - specifically, the same pricing methodology is consistently applied to all licensing arrangements; all services offerings are priced within tightly controlled bands and all contracts that include support and maintenance state a renewal rate or price that is systematically enforced. For certain contracts, we utilize the residual approach to estimate standalone selling prices primarily for service offerings sold to customers at highly variable pricing.

Our revenue consists of product, royalty and contract and other revenue. Products primarily consist of memory interface chips sold directly and indirectly to module manufacturers and OEMs worldwide through multiple channels, including our direct sales force and distributors. Royalty revenue consists of patent and technology license royalties. Contract and other revenue consists of software license fees, engineering fees associated with integration of our technology solutions into our customers’ products and support and maintenance fees.

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Product Revenue

Product revenue is recognized upon shipment of product to customers, net of accruals for estimated sales returns and allowances, and to distributors, net of accruals for price protection and rights of return on products unsold by the distributors. We transact with direct customers primarily pursuant to standard purchase orders for delivery of products and generally allow customers to cancel or change purchase orders within limited notice periods prior to the scheduled shipment date.

Royalty Revenue

Our patent and technology licensing arrangements generally range between one year and ten years in duration and generally grant the licensee the right to use applicable portions of our entire IP portfolio as it evolves over time. These arrangements do not typically grant the licensee the right to terminate for convenience and where such rights exist, termination is prospective, with no refund of fees already paid or cancellation of fees already incurred by the licensee.

Patent and technology licensing arrangements result in fixed payments received over time, with guaranteed minimum payments on occasion, variable payments calculated based on the licensee’s sale or use of the IP, or a mix of fixed and variable payments.

•For fixed-fee arrangements (including arrangements that include minimum guaranteed amounts), we recognize revenue upon control over the underlying IP use right transferring to the licensee, net of the effect of significant financing components calculated using customer-specific, risk-adjusted lending rates typically ranging between 5% and 10%, with the related interest income recognized over time on an effective rate basis. Where a licensee has the contractual right to terminate a fixed-fee arrangement for convenience without any substantive penalty payable upon such termination, we recognize revenue for the duration of the contract in which the parties have present enforceable rights and obligations.

•For variable arrangements, we recognize revenue based on an estimate of the licensee’s sale or usage of the IP during the periods the sale or usage occur, typically quarterly, with a true-up recorded, if required, when we receive the actual royalty report from the licensee.

•We recognize license renewal revenue commencing with the start of the renewal period.

Contract and Other Revenue

Contract and other revenue consists of software license fees and engineering fees associated with integration of our technology solutions into our customers’ products, and support and maintenance.

An initial software arrangement may consist of a term-based or perpetual license, significant software customization services and support and maintenance services that include post-implementation customer support and the right to unspecified software updates and enhancements on a when and if available basis. We recognize license and customization services revenue at a point in time when final delivery is made or based on an over time model, depending on the nature and amount of customization. For the over time model, we recognize revenue over time by measuring the progress toward complete satisfaction of that performance obligation.

We recognize support and maintenance revenue over the time those services are provided.

Significant Judgments

We apply significant judgment in determining the amount and timing of revenue from our contracts with customers, based on our estimate of the man-months necessary for completing development and customization services. We have adequate tools and controls in place, and substantial experience and expertise in timely and accurately tracking man-months incurred in completing customization and other professional services, and quantifying significant changes in estimates.

We recognize revenue on variable fee licensing arrangements on the basis of estimated sales and usage, which we then true up to actual results when we receive the final related reports from our customers.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired in each business combination. Goodwill is not subject to amortization, but is subject to at least an annual assessment for impairment. We perform our impairment analysis of goodwill on an annual basis during the fourth quarter of the year unless conditions arise that warrant a more frequent evaluation.

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When goodwill is assessed for impairment, we have the option to perform an assessment of qualitative factors of impairment (optional assessment) prior to necessitating a quantitative impairment test. Should the optional assessment be used for any given year, qualitative factors to consider for a reporting unit include: cost factors; financial performance; legal, regulatory, contractual, political, business, or other factors; entity specific factors; industry and market considerations; macroeconomic conditions; and other relevant events and factors affecting the reporting unit. If we determine in the qualitative assessment that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, a quantitative test is then performed. Otherwise, no further testing is required. For a reporting unit tested using a quantitative approach, we compare the fair value of the reporting unit with the carrying amount of the reporting unit, including goodwill. The fair value of the reporting unit is estimated using an income approach.

Under the income approach, we measure fair value of the reporting unit based on a projected cash flow method using a discount rate determined by our management which is commensurate with the risk inherent in its current business model. Our discounted cash flow projections are based on annual financial forecasts developed internally by us for use in managing our business. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill is not impaired and no further testing is required. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value, then the amount of goodwill impairment will be the amount by which the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill.

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets are comprised of existing technology, customer contracts and contractual relationships, and other definite-lived and indefinite-lived intangible assets. Identifiable intangible assets resulting from the acquisitions of entities accounted for using the purchase method of accounting are estimated by management based on the fair value of assets received. Identifiable definite-lived intangible assets are being amortized over the period of estimated benefit using the straight-line method and estimated useful lives ranging from six months to ten years.

Acquired indefinite-lived intangible assets related to our IPR&D are capitalized and subject to impairment testing until completion or abandonment of the projects. Upon successful completion of each project, we make a separate determination of the useful life of the acquired indefinite-lived intangible assets and the related amortization is recorded as an expense over the estimated useful life of the specific projects. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are subject to at least an annual assessment for impairment, applying a fair-value based test. We first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not (more than 50% likelihood) that the indefinite-lived intangible assets are impaired. If after assessing the totality of events and circumstances and their potential effect on significant inputs to the fair value determination, we determine that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible assets are impaired, then we perform a quantitative impairment test by comparing the fair value of the intangible assets with its carrying amount. We measure fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets under the income approach based on a projected cash flow method using a discount rate determined by our management which is commensurate with the risk inherent in our current business model. Our discounted cash flow projections are based on our annual financial forecasts developed internally by our management for use in managing our business. If the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets exceeds its carrying value, the indefinite-lived intangible assets are not impaired and no further testing is required. If the implied fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets is less than the carrying value, the difference is recorded as an impairment loss.

Income Taxes

As part of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to calculate the income tax expense (benefit) which relates to the pretax income or loss for the period. In addition, we are required to assess the realization of the deferred tax asset or liability to be included in the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of the reporting dates.

As of December 31, 2024, our Consolidated Balance Sheet included net deferred tax assets, before valuation allowance, of approximately $160.1 million, which consists of net operating loss carryovers, tax credit carryovers, capitalized research, amortization, employee stock-based compensation expenses, certain liabilities and certain assets. As of December 31, 2024, we have a valuation allowance of $26.8 million, resulting in net deferred tax assets of $133.3 million.

We periodically evaluate the realizability of our net deferred tax assets based on all available evidence, both positive and negative. The realizability of our net deferred tax assets is dependent on our ability to generate sufficient future taxable income during periods prior to the expiration of tax attributes to fully utilize these assets. During 2023, based on all available positive and negative evidence, we determined that it was appropriate to release the valuation allowance on the majority of our U.S. federal and other state deferred tax assets. Our position on the realizability of our net deferred tax assets has not changed based on our review of all available evidence for 2024.

We maintain liabilities for uncertain tax positions within our long-term income taxes payable accounts and as a reduction to existing deferred tax assets or other refundable taxes to the extent tax attributes are available to offset such liabilities. These

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liabilities involve judgment and estimation and are monitored by us based on the best information available including changes in tax regulations, the outcome of relevant court cases and other information.

The calculation of our tax liabilities involves uncertainties in the application of complex tax law and regulations in a multitude of jurisdictions. Although ASC 740, “Income Taxes,” provides further clarification on the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, significant judgment is required by us. If the ultimate resolution of tax uncertainties is different from what is currently estimated, it could materially affect income tax expense.

Business Combinations

We account for acquisitions of businesses using the purchase method of accounting, which requires us to recognize separately from goodwill the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at their acquisition date fair values.

Accounting for business combinations requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially at the acquisition date including our estimates for intangible assets, contractual obligations assumed and pre-acquisition contingencies where applicable.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Refer to Note 3, “Recent Accounting Pronouncements,” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements, including the respective expected dates of adoption.