Unfavorable economic and market conditions, domestically and internationally, have affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows or may contribute to uncertainty of our business.

We have significant customer sales both in the U.S. and internationally. We also rely on U.S. and international suppliers, manufacturing partners and distributors. We are therefore susceptible to adverse U.S. and international economic and market conditions. If any of our manufacturing partners, customers, distributors or suppliers experience serious financial difficulties or cease operations, our business will be adversely affected and such effects may be material. In addition, the adverse impact of an unfavorable economy on consumers, including high unemployment rates, may adversely impact consumer spending, which would adversely impact demand for many end products in which our products are embedded. Any reduction in our customers' sales of their end-products, and/or any apprehension among our distributors and customers of a possible reduction in such sales, would likely cause an indirect negative impact on our own sales. Even prior to a widespread economic downturn, the related uncertainty and the market's fear of deteriorating conditions might cause our distributors and customers to place fewer orders for our products. Moreover, commodity prices may be more volatile in times of economic turmoil. High or volatile commodity prices increase the cost of doing business and adversely affect consumers' discretionary spending. As a result of the difficulty that businesses (including our customers) may have in obtaining credit and the decreased consumer spending that occurs during a recession, global economic turmoil (or uncertainty and apprehension over the possibility of economic turmoil), are likely to have an adverse impact from time to time on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and such effects may be material.

The trading price of our common stock has been and will likely continue to be volatile due to various factors, some of which are beyond our control, and each of which could adversely affect our stockholders’ value.

The trading price of our common stock is influenced by various factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to:

As a result of these and other factors, the trading price for our common stock has been and will likely continue to be volatile.

Further, the stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. These broad market and industry factors may seriously harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

We incur indebtedness to finance our operations and we have substantial amounts of outstanding indebtedness and debt service requirements. Our credit facility contains customary affirmative, negative and financial covenants, including a maximum total leverage ratio. Our ability to meet our payment and other obligations and covenants under our indebtedness depends on our ability to generate significant cash flow. This, to some extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors as well as other factors that are beyond our control. There is no assurance that our business will generate cash flow from operations, or that future borrowings will be available to us under our existing (or any amended) credit facilities or otherwise, in an amount sufficient to enable us to meet payment obligations under any indebtedness we may incur from time to time. If we are not able to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt obligations or meet required debt covenants, we may need to refinance or restructure our debt, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, or seek to raise additional capital. There is no assurance that we will be able to implement any of these alternatives on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If we are unable to implement one or more of these alternatives, we may not be able to meet our payment obligations under any indebtedness we owe. In addition, an inability to meet our payment obligations under any indebtedness may trigger a default, and possible acceleration of payment terms, under the applicable debt financing agreements.

Furthermore, the interest rate on certain of these instruments is tied to short term interest rate benchmarks including the Prime Rate and LIBOR. Interest rates have remained at historically low levels for a prolonged period of time. If the rate of interest we pay on our borrowings increaseschanges it wouldcould increase our debt-related expenditures.expenditures or may result in losses on our interest rate swaps.  There is no assurance that our business will generate cash flow from operations, or that future borrowings will be available to us under our existing (or any amended) credit facilities or otherwise, in an amount sufficient to enable us to meet payment obligations (including any increased interest payment obligations) under any indebtedness we may incur from time to time.

The principal amount of our debt outstanding as of December 30, 201829, 2019 was $935.8$749.5 million which primarily included:

If we fail to compete successfully in our highly competitive industry and markets, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be seriously harmed.

The semiconductor industry is intensely competitive. This intense competition results in a difficult operating environment that is marked by erosion of average selling prices over the life of each product and rapid technological change resulting in limited product life cycles. In order to offset selling price decreases, we attempt to decrease the manufacturing costs of our products and to introduce new, higher priced products that incorporate differentiated and advanced features. If these efforts are not successful or do not occur in a timely manner, or if our newly introduced products do not gain market acceptance, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be seriously harmed.

Our ability to compete successfully in the rapidly evolving semiconductor industry depends on many factors, including:

Although we believe we currently compete effectively in the above areas to the extent they are within our control, given the pace of change in our industry (including recent trends toward consolidation in the industry), our current abilities are not guarantees of future success. If we are unable to compete successfully in this environment, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be seriously harmed.

We face significant volatility in supply and demand conditions for our products, and this volatility, as well as any failure by us to accurately forecast future supply and demand conditions, could materially and negatively impact our business.

The semiconductor industry has historically been characterized by wide fluctuations in the demand for, and supply of, semiconductors. Demand for our products depends in large part on the continued growth of various electronics industries that use our products, including, but not limited to:

Any downturn, shift in product launch schedule or reduction in the growth of these industries could seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, pricing in the semiconductor industry is subject to significant volatility. As an example, pricing of memory products during fiscal 2017 was significantly impacted by industry conditions. We may be unable to anticipate or manage price volatility which may adversely impact our margins, market share, financial condition and results of our operations.

We order materials and build our products based primarily on our internal forecasts, and customer and distributor forecasts and secondarily on existing orders, which may be canceled under many circumstances. Because our markets can be volatile, based on consumer demand and subject to rapid technological changes, our forecasts may be inaccurate, causing us to make too many or too few of certain products.

Our customers frequently place orders requesting product delivery almost immediately after the order is made, which makes forecasting customer demand even more difficult, particularly when supply is abundant. In addition,

Alternatively, if we should experience a sudden increase in demand, we will need to quickly ramp our inventory and/or manufacturing capacity to adequately respond to our customers. If we or our manufacturing partners are unable to ramp our inventory or manufacturing capacity in a timely manner or at all, we risk losing our customers’ business, which could have a negative impact on our financial performance and reputation.

If we fail to develop, introduce and sell new products or fail to develop and implement new technologies, our ability to compete in our end markets will suffer and our financial results could be adversely impacted.

Like many semiconductor companies, which operate in a highly competitive, quickly changing environment marked by rapid obsolescence of existing products, our future success depends on our ability to develop and introduce new products that customers choose to buy. Our new products, for example PSoC® products, our wireless connectivity products, USB-C, and Traveo™ microcontroller products, are an important strategic focus for us and therefore, they tend to consume a significant amount of our resources. The new products the market requires tend to be increasingly complex, incorporating more functions including software and security and operating at faster speeds than old products.

Increasing complexity generally requires additional features on a smaller chip. This makes manufacturing new generations of products substantially more difficult, costly and time consuming than prior generations.

Despite the significant amount of resources we commit to new products, there can be no guarantee that such products will perform as expected or at all, be introduced on time to meet customer schedules or gain market acceptance. If we fail to introduce new product designs or technologies in a timely manner, or are unable to manufacture products according to these design requirements, or if our customers do not successfully introduce new systems or products incorporating our products or if market demand for our new products does not materialize as anticipated, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially harmed.

The complex nature of our manufacturing activities, our broad product portfolio, and our increasing reliance on third-party manufacturers makes us highly susceptible to manufacturing problems and these problems can have a substantial negative impact on us if they occur.

Manufacturing semiconductors is a highly complex and precise process, requiring production in tightly controlled, clean-room environments. Even very small impurities in our manufacturing materials, defects in the masks used to print circuits on a wafer or other problems in the wafer fabrication process can cause a substantial percentage of products to be rejected and be non-functional. We and, similarly, our third-party foundry partners, may experience problems in achieving an acceptable success rate in the manufacture of wafers and the likelihood of facing such difficulties is higher due to our broad product portfolio and also in connection with the transition to new manufacturing methods. We may also experience manufacturing problems in our assembly and test operations (or the assembly and test operations of third-party partners) and in the introduction of new packaging materials. The

In general, the interruption of wafer fabrication, a reduction in available wafer supply, the failure to achieve acceptable manufacturing yields, or the inability to achieve acceptable levels of quality and security in our products as expected by our customers, including our customers in the automotive industry, at any of our facilities, or the facilities of our third-party foundry partners, would seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent on third parties to manufacture products, market products, distribute products, generate a significant portion of our product sales, fulfill our customer orders, and transport our products. Problems in the performance or availability of these companies could seriously harm our financial performance.

We rely significantly on independent contractors to manufacture our products, which includes wafer fabrication, assembly, packaging and testing.

In March 2017, we divested a wafer fabrication facility (commonly called a fab or foundry) located in Bloomington, Minnesota, which reduced our internal manufacturing capacity though we continue to outsource manufacturing services from this facility. The purchaser operates the fabrication facility as a stand-alone business that

If market demand for our products exceeds our internal manufacturing capacity and available capacity from our foundry partners, we may seek additional foundry manufacturing arrangements. A shortage in foundry manufacturing capacity, which is more likely to occur at times of increasing demand, could hinder our ability to meet demand for our products and therefore adversely affect our operating results. Suppliers may extend lead times, limit supplies or increase prices due to commodity price increases, capacity constraints or other factors, which may lead to supply interruptions which could materially harm our results of operations. In addition, greater demand for wafers produced by any such foundries without an offsetting increase in foundry capacity raises the likelihood of potential shortages and wafer price increases. Our operations would be disrupted if any of our foundry partners terminates its relationship with us, delays its shipments to us, or experiences financial difficulty and we are unable to arrange a satisfactory alternative to fulfill customer orders on a timely basis and in a cost-effective manner. There are also only a few foundry vendors that have the capabilities to manufacture our most advanced products. If we need to engage alternate sources of supply, such sources may be unavailable on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Supply chain changes in the semiconductor industry are complicated, time-consuming, and costly and may disrupt longstanding business relationships that are otherwise advantageous. Due to the difficulty of engaging alternate sources of supply, if any of our key manufacturing facility partners experiences financial difficulties, we may accelerate purchases or commit to increase our purchases in order to build up inventories as a precautionary

measure; however, this approach might increase our inventory carrying costs and expose us to inventory risks. Even if we are able to engage alternate sources of supply, we may encounter start-up difficulties or yield issues or incur additional costs. Shipments could be delayed significantly while these alternate sources are engaged and qualified for volume production.

While manysome of our products are assembled, packaged and tested at our manufacturing facilities located in the Philippines and Thailand, we rely on independent subcontractors to assemble, package and test the balance of our products. We cannot be certain that these subcontractors will continue to assemble, package and test products for us on acceptable economic and quality terms or at all and it might be difficult for us to find alternatives if they do not do so.

Our foundry partners and assembly and test subcontractors have operations in locations that may suffer the impact of certain natural disasters and political risk, which could impact their ability to provide us with our products. We monitor these events closely, but if one of our third-party manufacturing partners were to suffer significant damage to its operations as a result of a natural disaster or other catastrophic events such as a pandemic, our ability to timely meet consumer demand would suffer which would materially harm our results of operations. For example, one of our foundry partners is located in Wuhan, China, which experienced business interruptions in early 2020 due to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

We also rely on channel partners, including distributors, resellers, and third-party sales representatives. We continue to expand and change our relationships with our channel partners. Worldwide sales through our distributors accounted for approximately 72% of our revenue in fiscal year 2018.2019. We rely on many channel partners to assist us in creating customer demand, providing technical support and other value-added services to our customers, filling customer orders, and stocking our products. We face ongoing business risks due to our reliance on our channel partners to create and maintain customer relationships where we have a limited or no direct relationship. Should our relationships with our channel partners or their effectiveness decline, or as we choose to terminate some channel partner relationships from time to time, we face the risk of declining demand which could affect our revenue and results of operations. Such decline could be short-term, as we work to build in-house capacity or otherwise replace the affected channel partners, or long-term if the replacements are less efficient at accessing end customers. In addition, some of our channel partners are affiliated with companies from which we source materials or with which we have other business relationships, so any deterioration in our dealings with such a channel partner may disrupt the broader relationship. Our contracts with our distributors may be terminated by either party upon notice. The termination of a significant distributor, reseller, or sales representative could (a) impact our revenue and limit our access to certain end customers, (b) result in the return of a material amount of inventory held by a terminated distributor or reseller that we may not be able to resell or have to resell at a loss, and (c) jeopardize our ability to collect accounts receivable originating through a terminated distributor or reseller. In addition, our distributors are located all over the world and vary in size and financial strength. Any disruptions to our

We also rely on independent carriers and freight haulers to move our products between manufacturing plants and our customers’ facilities. Transport or delivery problems due to their error or because of unforeseen interruptions in their business due to factors such as strikes, political instability, terrorism, natural disasters or accidents could seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations and ultimately impact our relationship with our customers.

Finally, our customers source a variety of materials from various suppliers in addition to Cypress. The failure by third-party suppliers to meet our customers' materials requirements on a timely basis could negatively impact our customers' manufacturing schedules and reduce or delay our customers' demand for our products. For example, in 2018 a shortage of multi-layer ceramic capacitors, or MLCCs (a necessary component on many printed circuit boards), created challenges for manufacturers in multiple end markets. To the extent our customers experience

shortages of necessary materials, they may be forced to slow production of their end products, with a corresponding decline in the rate at which they purchase materials from us.

We may not be able to consume minimum commitments under our “take or pay” agreements, which may have a material adverse impact on our earnings.

We have entered into agreements with certain vendors that include "take or pay" terms. Take or pay terms obligate us to purchase a minimum required amount of services or make specified payments in lieu of such purchase. We may not be able to consume minimum commitments under these take or pay terms, requiring payments to vendors, which may have a material adverse impact on our earnings.

Failures in our products (including security vulnerabilities, defects or other errors) as well as harms caused by the devices in which our products are embedded could expose us to significant costs and damage our business.

We are subject to the risks of product defects and products liability. Our products are inherently complex and from time to time defects or errors are detected only after the products are in use. Product defects and errata (deviations from published specifications) may result from problems in our product design or our manufacturing and assembly and test processes. Components and products we purchase or license from third-party suppliers, or obtain through acquisitions, may also contain defects. The design process interface in new domains of technology and the migration to integrated circuit technologies with smaller geometric feature sizes are complex and add risk to the design and manufacturing process. The use of devices containing our products to access untrusted content can further create a risk of exposing our products to viral or malicious activities. While we continue to focus on security issues and are taking measures to safeguard our products from cybersecurity threats, (including maintaining a rapid response team to investigate and respond to reports of security vulnerabilities) device capabilities continue to evolve, enabling more data and processes and increasing the risk of security failures.

Under our sales terms, we generally warrant our products will conform to published specifications and be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year, and we limit product warranty remedies to a credit of the original purchase price, repair, or replacement. Risk of warranty claims may be greater from our strategic automotive customers, where quality standards are particularly high. Although our selling terms generally disclaim such liability, we face a risk that we might be held liable for other remedies, including consequential damages resulting from errors or defects in our products, that exceed our standard warranty remedies.

Further, the utilization of our products (and our customers' devices in which our products are embedded) by end users entails other products liability risks. We could face risks if products that we design, manufacture, or sell, or that include our technology, cause personal injury or property damage, even where the cause is unrelated to defects or errata. These risks may increase where our products are used in medical devices or other devices or systems relating to human health and safety.

Because our products and services are responsible for critical functions in our customers’ products, defects or errata or security flaws in our products or services could have an adverse impact on us, on our customers and/or on the end users of our customers’ products. Such adverse impacts could include product liability claims; product recalls; write-offs of our inventories, property, plant and equipment and/or intangible assets; costs of providing product refunds, repairs, or replacements as well as reimbursements of customer costs; unfavorable purchase commitments; a shift of business to our competitors; a decrease in demand for our products; damage to our

System security risks, data protection or privacy breaches, cyber-attacks and systems integration issues could disrupt our internal operations or the operations of our suppliers and customers and/or harm our reputation, and any such disruption or harm could cause a reduction in revenue, increase our expenses, negatively impact our results of operation or otherwise adversely affect our stock price.

Like most technology companies, we are subject to cyber-attacks from time to time. We face a risk that experienced computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate or compromise our confidential and proprietary information, potentially without being detected. Computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms, and other malicious software

programs that attack our products or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities of our products. The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate cyber or other security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be successful and could result in interruptions and delays that may impede our sales, manufacturing, distribution or other critical functions.

We manage and store various proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data relating to our business on internal networks as well as on remote internet-connected third-party servers (sometimes called the "cloud"). Breaches of our security measures or those of our cloud services providers could create system disruptions or cause shutdowns or result in the accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure or unapproved dissemination of proprietary information or sensitive or confidential data about us, including the potential loss or disclosure of such information or data as a result of fraud, trickery or other forms of deception, could expose us to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, result in litigation, fines imposed by regulatory agencies, and potential liability for us, damage our brand and reputation or otherwise harm our business. In addition, the cost and operational consequences of implementing further data protection measures could be significant.

Portions of our IT infrastructure also experience interruptions, delays or cessations of service or produce errors in connection with systems integration or migration work that takes place from time to time, which may have a material impact on our business. We may not be successful in implementing new systems and transitioning data, which could cause business disruptions and be more expensive, time consuming, disruptive and resource-intensive than originally anticipated. Such disruptions could adversely impact our ability to fulfill orders and interrupt other processes. Delayed sales, lower margins or lost customers resulting from these disruptions have adversely affected us in the past, and in the future, could adversely affect our financial results, stock price and reputation.

Changes in U.S. and international tax legislation and tax policy could materially impact our business.

A majority of our revenue is generated from customers located outside the U.S. and a substantial portion of our assets, including employees, are located outside the U.S. In the past, tax administrations globally have considered initiatives which could substantially eliminate utilization or reduce our ability to claim net operating losses and foreign tax credits, and eliminate various tax deductions. If any of these proposals are constitutedenacted into law, they could have a negative impact on our financial position and results of operations.

We are subject to income and other taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Our tax liabilities are affected by the amounts we charge in intercompany transactions for inventory, services, licenses, funding and other items. We are subject to ongoing tax audits in various jurisdictions. Tax authorities may disagree with these intercompany transactions or other matters and may assess additional taxes or adjust taxable income on our tax returns as a result. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax provision. However, there can be no assurance we will accurately predict the outcomes of these audits, and the amounts ultimately paid upon resolution of audits could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax expense and therefore could have a material impact on our tax provision, net income and cash flows. In addition, uncertainties related to the interpretation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 could materially impact our tax obligations and effective tax rate, as well as our business strategy and tax planning.

Our effective tax rate in the future could be adversely affected by changes to our operating structure, changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and

If the tax incentive or tax holiday arrangements we have negotiated in Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand change or cease to be in effect or applicable, in part or in whole, for any reason, or if our assumptions and

interpretations regarding tax laws and incentive or holiday arrangements prove to be incorrect, the amount of corporate income taxes we have to pay could significantly increase.

We have structured our operations to maximize the benefit from various tax incentives and tax holidays extended to the Company in various jurisdictions to encourage investment or employment. Each tax incentive is separate and distinct from the others, and may be granted, withheld, extended, modified, truncated, complied with or terminated independently without any effect on the other incentives. The tax incentives are presently scheduled to expire at various dates within the next five years, subject in certain cases to potential extensions, which we may or may not be able to obtain. Absent these tax incentives, the corporate income tax rate in these jurisdictions that would otherwise apply to us would be between 20% and 30%. The tax incentives that we have negotiated are also subject to our compliance with various operating and other conditions. If we cannot, or elect not to, comply with the operating conditions included in any particular tax incentive, we will lose the related tax benefits and we could be required to refund previously realized material tax benefits. Depending on the incentive at issue, we could also be required to modify our operational structure and tax strategy, which may not be as beneficial to us as the benefits provided under the present tax concession arrangements. Our interpretations and conclusions regarding the tax incentives are not binding on any taxing authority, and if our assumptions about tax and other laws are incorrect or if these tax incentives are substantially modified or rescinded we could suffer material adverse tax and other financial consequences, which could adversely affect our cash flows.

We have in the past and may in the future dispose of certain businesses, product lines or assets, which could adversely affect our results of operations and liquidity.

From time to time, we have divested certain businesses, product lines or assets, acquired or otherwise, that are no longer strategically important, and exited minority investments, and we may do so in the future, which could materially affect our cash flows and results of operations. If we decide to divest another business, product line, or assets, we may encounter difficulty in finding or completing such divestiture opportunity (or alternative exit strategy) on acceptable terms or in a timely manner. These circumstances could delay the achievement of our strategic objectives or cause us to incur additional expenses with respect to the business, product line or assets that we seek to dispose. In addition, any delay in the timing of a divestiture transaction may negatively impact our business operations or liquidity for a period of time. Alternatively, we may dispose of businesses, product lines, or assets at prices or on terms that are less favorable than we had anticipated. Even following a divestiture, we may be contractually obligated with respect to certain continuing obligations to customers, vendors, landlords, or other third parties. Accordingly, we may be dependent on the new owner (of such business, product line or manufacturing facility) to fulfill our continuing obligations to our customers. We may also have continuing obligations for pre-existing liabilities related to the divested assets or businesses. Such obligations may have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Any such dispositions could also result in disruption to other parts of our business, potential loss of employees or customers (especially if the new owner is unable or unwilling to assist us in fulfilling any continuing obligations to our customers), potential loss of revenue, negative impact on our margins, exposure to unanticipated liabilities or result in ongoing obligations and liabilities to us following any such divestiture. We may also incur significant costs associated with exit or disposal activities, related impairment charges, or both.

One type of divestiture is contribution of the applicable business, product lines, or assets to a joint venture in exchange for an interest in the venture, which exposes us to the risk that the joint venture might decline in value or not meet desired objectives. The success of joint venture investments depends on various factors over which Cypress might have limited or no control and requires ongoing and effective cooperation with strategic partners. Such risks could be exacerbated by unfavorable financial market and macroeconomic conditions and, as a result, the value of any joint venture investment could be negatively impacted and lead to impairment charges.

SkyHigh is subject to closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals, which are not assured. Although we currently expect the transaction to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, we face a risk that it might not close on a timely basis, or at all. If the joint venture fails to close, we will not realize its anticipated benefits, which might have an adverse effect on our results of operations and stock price. Further, when the transaction closes we will transition our customer orders for NAND flash memories to the joint venture. Although we expect to have influence over the joint venture's operations, it will not be under our control and we might be unaware of, or unable to correct, any operating or product issues if theythat may develop. Any failure by the joint ventureSkyHigh to satisfy customer expectations could adversely impact our own relationships with such customers and/or the reputation of our brand. Any failure by SkyHigh to meet its commitments to Cypress under our back-end manufacturing agreement could cause Cypress's assembly and testing facilities to be underutilized and could adversely affect Cypress's operating margins. In addition, we cannot assure youthere can be no assurance that the joint venture will be profitable. The joint venture's governing documents will not require it to distribute its profits (if any) regularly, or at all (apart from a commitment to distribute to us our share of profit on a specified portion of sales through January 31, 2021). We therefore face a risk that our investment might not generate meaningful cash flows to re-invest, for example, in higher-margin areas of our business. The success of this joint venture investment will depend on various other factors over which we may have limited or no control and will require ongoing and effective cooperation with SKHS, which might be difficult to maintain. Such risks could be exacerbated by unfavorable financial market and macroeconomic conditions, causing the value of this joint venture investment to decline and leading to impairment charges. Any failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the joint venture could adversely affect our stock price.

We might engage in additional restructuring initiatives might notactivities which could be successful.disruptive to our business and adversely impact our results of operations.

From time to time, we have implemented restructuring plans to reduce our operating costs and/or shift our expenditures to different areas of our business. However, if we have not sufficiently reduced operating expenses or if revenues are below our expectations, or if we otherwise decide to restructure our operations, we may be required to engage in additional restructuring activities, which could result in additional restructuring charges. These restructuring charges could harm our results of operations. Further, our restructuring plans could result in potential adverse effects on employee capabilities, on our ability to achieve design wins, and our ability to maintain and enhance our customer base. Such events could harm our efficiency and our ability to act quickly and effectively in the rapidly changing technology markets in which we sell our products. In addition, we may be unsuccessful in our efforts to realign our organizational structure and shift our investments and focus to our high-growth businesses.

   

Our financial results could be adversely impacted if privately-held companies (thatin which we have invested in) fail to develop and successfully bring to marketlaunch new and proprietary products.products or maintain key customer relationships.

We have made a financial commitment toinvested in certain investments in privately-held companies. There can be no guarantee that such businesses will perform as initially expected, or at all, launch new products and solutions as initially expected, or gain or maintain market acceptance. When the value of a privately-held investment declines, we may be required to record an impairment of the investment's carrying value on our books. For example:

If these or any of our other privately-held companiesbusinesses fail to introduce new products and solutions or successfully develop new technologies, or if their customers do not successfully introduce new systems or products incorporating the products or solutions offered by these businesses, or if market demand for the products or solutions offered by these businesses dois not materialize as anticipatedcreated or sustained, or if these or any of our other privately-held companiesbusinesses are not able to raise capital to fund their operations, then we might fail to realize any benefit from our investments in such privately-held companies and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially harmed as a result of impairment of the carrying value of such investments.

In particular, there is a substantial risk that the carrying value of our investmentsinvestment in such privately-held companies.Deca may become further impaired. Deca's current and future revenue is dependent on a small number of significant customers. On October

Acquisitions and investments could result in operating difficulties, dilution, and other harmful consequences that may adversely impact our business and results of operations.

Acquisitions have been an important element of our overall corporate strategy and use of capital. We may from time to time evaluate and enter into discussions regarding a wide array of potential strategic transactions. These transactions could be material to our financial condition and results of operations. The process of integrating an acquired company, business, or technology has created, and may continue to create, unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. The areas where we face risks include, but are not limited to:

Our failure to address these and other risks or other problems encountered in connection with our past or current acquisitions and investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions or investments, incur unanticipated liabilities, and harm our business generally. Current and future acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses, or write-offs of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition or results. As a result, the anticipated benefit of any of our acquisitions may not be realized.

In 2016, we incurred a material impairment charge with respect to our goodwill, and we may in the future incur impairments in the value of our goodwill, intangibles and property, plant and equipment.

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired in a business combination. We test goodwill for impairment annually, and more frequently when events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. In 2016, we conducted impairment testing on the goodwill in our legacy Programmable Solutions Division ("PSD") and recorded an impairment charge of $488.5 million. In addition, our other long-lived assets which include intangibles and property, plant and equipment are evaluated for impairments whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Either of these situations may occur for various reasons, including changes in actual or expected income or cash flow. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, we reorganized our reportable segments as a result of which goodwill was reallocated to new segments. We continue to evaluate current conditions to assess whether any impairment exists. Additional impairments could occur in the future if any of the following occur: deterioration in market or interest rate environments, significant adverse changes in business climate, unanticipated competition, loss of key customers, changes in technology, declines in future cash flows of our reporting units, or material changes in reporting unit carrying values compared with changes in their respective fair values.

We compete with others to attract and retain key personnel, and any loss of, or inability to attract, such personnel would harm us.

To a greater degree than most non-technology companies, we depend on the efforts and abilities of certain key members of management and technical personnel to execute on the strategic initiatives of our business. Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to retain such personnel and to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel, particularly skilled engineers. We compete for these individuals with certain of our competitors, other companies, academic institutions, government entities and other organizations. Competition for such personnel, particularly in the Silicon Valley, is intense and we may not be successful in hiring or retaining new or existing qualified personnel. Furthermore, changes in immigration and work permit laws and regulations or the administration or enforcement of such laws or regulations can also impair our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. Equity awards are critical to our ability to hire and retain such key personnel, and any reduction in the price of our common stock (and accordingly the value of such equity awards) may reduce the willingness of key personnel to remain employed by the Company. In addition, we may also need to significantly increase our cash-based compensation to retain such personnel.

Our business may also be impacted if we lose members of our senior management team. Any disruption in management continuity could impact our results of operations and stock price and may make recruiting for future management positions more difficult. In addition, changes in key management positions may temporarily affect our financial performance and results of operations as new management becomes familiar with our business. The loss of any of our key officers or other employees, or our inability to attract, integrate and retain qualified employees, could require us to dedicate significant financial and other resources to such personnel matters, disrupt our operations and seriously harm our operations and business.

If we are unable to obtain stockholder approval of additional shares for our share-based compensation award programs in the future, we could be at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace for qualified personnel.

Our compensation program, which includes cash and share-based compensation award components, has been instrumental in attracting, hiring, motivating, and retaining qualified personnel. Competition for qualified personnel in our industry is extremely intense, particularly for engineering and other technical personnel. Our success depends on our continued ability to attract, hire, motivate, and retain qualified personnel and our share-based compensation award programs provide us with a competitive compensatory tool for this purpose. The continued use of our share-based compensation program is necessary for us to compete for engineering and other technical personnel and professional talent. In the future, if we are unable to obtain stockholder approval of additional shares for our share-based compensation award programs, we could be at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace for qualified personnel.

There can be no assurance we will continue to declare dividends.

Our Board of Directors previously adopted a policy pursuant to which the Company would pay quarterly cash dividends on our common stock. The declaration and payment of any dividend or distribution is subject to the approval of our Board and our dividend may be discontinued or reduced at any time. There can be no assurance that we will declare dividends or distributions in the future in any particular amounts, or at all. Future dividends or distributions, if any, and their timing and amount, may be affected by, among other factors, management’s views on potential future capital requirements for strategic transactions, including acquisitions; earnings levels; contractual restrictions; our cash position and overall financial condition; debt related payments and commitments, including restrictive covenants which may limit our ability to pay a dividend or distribution; changes in tax or corporate laws; our ability to repatriate cash into the United States; stock repurchase programs; the need to invest in research and development or other parts of our business operations; and changes to our business model. Accordingly, our dividend or other distribution payments may change from time to time, and we cannot provide assurance that we will continue to declare dividends or other distributions in any particular amounts or at all. A reduction in our dividend payments or a change in the tax treatment of future dividends could have a negative effect on our stock price.

We may have fluctuations in the amount and frequency of our stock repurchases and there can be no assurance that we will continue to repurchase shares of our stock.

In October 2015, our Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase plan pursuant to which we are authorized to repurchase our common stock in an aggregate amount not to exceed $450 million. Although our Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program, the share repurchase program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific dollar amount or number of shares. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will continue to repurchase shares of our stock in any particular amounts, or at all. Any stock repurchases during the pendency of the Merger would require Infineon's consent. The stock repurchase plan could affect the price of our stock and increase volatility and may be suspended or terminated at any time without prior notice and in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, which may result in a decrease in the trading price of our common stock. Through the end the 2016 fiscal year, we repurchased a total of 29.5 million shares for a total cost of $239.2 million under the October 2015 stock repurchase plan. A substantial majority of these purchases were made prior to the start of our second quarter of 2016. In fiscal 2017, we did not repurchase any shares in the open market under the stock repurchase plan. In fiscal 2018, we repurchased 2.4 million shares for a total cost of $35 million including the Yield Enhancement Program ("YEP"). YEPs are short-term structured agreements, typically with maturities of 90 days or less, correlated to our stock price that can settle either in return of cash or delivery of our shares. In fiscal 2019, we did not repurchase any shares of our stock from the open market.

Any guidance that we may provide about our business or expected future results may differ significantly from actual results.

From time to time we have shared our views in press releases or SEC filings, on public conference calls and in other contexts about current business conditions and our expectations as to our future results of operations. Correctly identifying the key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, especially in uncertain economic times. Given the complexity and volatility of our business, our analysis and forecasts have in the past and will likely in the future, prove to be incorrect. We offer no assurance that such predictions or analysis will ultimately be accurate, and investors should treat any such predictions or analysis with appropriate caution. If any analysis or forecast that we make ultimately proves to be inaccurate, our stock price may be adversely affected.

Industry consolidation may lead to increased competition and may harm our operating results.

There has been a trend toward industry consolidation in our markets for several years. We expect this trend to continue as companies attempt to strengthen or hold their market positions in an evolving industry and as companies are acquired or are unable to continue operations. Industry consolidation may result in stronger companies that are better able to compete with us. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

We may be unable to adequately protect our intellectual property rights.

The protection of our intellectual property rights is essential to keeping others from copying the innovations that are critical to our existing and future products. It may be possible for an unauthorized third party to reverse-engineer or decompile our software products. The process of seeking patent protection can be long and expensive and we cannot be certain that any currently pending or future applications will actually result in issued patents, or that, even if patents are issued, they will be respected by third parties. Furthermore, our flexible manufacturing initiative requires us to enter into technology transfer agreements with external partners, providing third-party access to our intellectual property and resulting in additional risk. In some cases, these technology transfer and/or license agreements are with foreign companies and subject our intellectual property to regulation in foreign countries which may afford less protection and/or result in increased costs to enforce such agreements or intellectual property rights. We anticipate that we will continue to enter into these kinds of licensing arrangements in the future. Consequently, we have in the past become involved and we may continue to be involved in litigation, in the United States or abroad, to enforce our patents or other intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets and know-how, to determine the validity or scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against claims of invalidity. We may also from time to time continue to be involved in litigation relating to alleged infringement by us of others’ patents or other intellectual property rights. Patent litigation, if necessary or when instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources.

Moreover, a key element of our strategy is to enter new markets with our products. If we are successful in entering these new markets, we will likely be subject to additional risks of potential infringement claims against us as our technologies are deployed in new applications and face new competitors. We may be unable to detect the unauthorized use of, or take appropriate steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights, particularly in certain international markets, making misappropriation of our intellectual property more likely. In August 2016, we entered

We also rely on trade secret protection for our technology, in part through confidentiality and other written agreements with our employees, consultants and third parties. Through these and other written agreements, we attempt to control access to and distribution of our intellectual property documentation and other proprietary technology information. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, former employees, consultants or third parties may, in an unauthorized manner, attempt to use, copy or otherwise obtain and market or distribute our intellectual property rights or technology or otherwise develop a product with the same functionality as our technology. Policing unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights is difficult, and nearly impossible on a worldwide basis. Therefore, we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken or will take in the future will prevent misappropriation of our technology or intellectual property rights, particularly in foreign countries where we do business or where our technology is sold or used, where the laws may not protect proprietary rights as fully as do the laws of the United States or where the enforcement of such laws is not common or effective.

Intellectual property litigation is frequently expensive to both the winning party and the losing party and could take up significant amounts of management’s time and attention. In addition, if we lose such a lawsuit, a court could find that our intellectual property rights are invalid, enabling our competitors to use our technology, or require us to pay

substantial damages and/or royalties or prohibit us from using essential technologies. In addition, in August 2016, we entered into a series of agreements to divest a large number of older, legacy patents and we may in the future divest patents from time to time. The divestiture of patents may limit our ability to make certain legal claims, and to be successful, in future patent litigation. For these and other reasons, intellectual property litigation could seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, although in certain instances we may seek to obtain a license under a third party’s intellectual property rights in order to bring an end to certain claims or actions asserted against us, we may be unable to obtain such a license on reasonable terms or at all. Even though we may have meritorious defenses and claims and defend and pursue such claims vigorously, all litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties and may negatively impact our business.

The accumulation of changes in our shares by “5-percent stockholders” have in the past and could again trigger an ownership change for U.S. income tax purposes, in which case our ability to utilize our net operating losses would be limited and therefore impact our future tax benefits.

We are a publicly traded company and our stockholders can change on a daily basis. These changes are beyond our control. The U.S. Internal Revenue Code (Section 382) restricts a company’s ability to benefit from net operating losses or other deferred tax assets if a “Section 382 Ownership Change” occurs. An ownership change for purposes of U.S. tax law Section 382 may result from ownership changes that increase the aggregate ownership of “5-percent stockholders,” by more than 50 percentage points over a testing period, generally three years (“Section 382 Ownership Change”). We experienced a Section 382 Ownership Change upon our merger with Spansion Inc. ("Spansion") in March 2015. The resulting limitations accompanying the ownership change are reflected in our deferred tax assets with no permanent limitation in our ability to utilize our tax attributes.assets.

Our business could be negatively affected as a result of actions by activist stockholders.

Our settlement agreement with T.J. Rodgers, which resolved the 2017 proxy contest, expiresexpired on May 3, 2019, the date of our 2019 annual meeting of stockholders (or, if earlier, May 31, 2019).stockholders.

Geopolitical uncertainty, and changes to international trade agreements, tariffs, import and excise duties, taxes, or other governmental rules and regulations could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

A majority of our revenue is generated from customers located outside the U.S. and a substantial portion of our assets and employees are located outside the U.S. Risks associated with international operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and/or results of operations, include:

The U.S. federal government or other governmental bodies may propose changes to international trade agreements, tariffs, taxes and other government rules and regulations. Any changes to the international trading system, or the emergence of an international trade dispute, could significantly impact our business and have a

For example, our sales were impacted in the second quarter of 2018 when the U.S. Department of Commerce banned U.S. companies from providing exportsexporting to ZTE, a Chinese telecoms equipment manufacturer (which ban was subsequently lifted in the third quarter of 2018) inas part of an export controls case.enforcement action against ZTE. Similarly, general tradeour sales were impacted in the second quarter of 2019 when the U.S. Department of Commerce restricted sales of goods subject to U.S. jurisdiction to Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecoms equipment and consumer electronics manufacturer. We face a risk that the U.S. might apply these or similar export controls to restrict sales to other buyers or impose additional restrictions on sales of goods to Huawei, any of which could impact our sales revenues.

Trade tensions between the U.S. and China escalated in 2018 generally, and remained high in 2019, with rounds of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods taking effect in July, August, and September 2018 (some of which prompted retaliatory Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods). An additional U.S. tariff rate increase was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2019 but was delayed in December 2018 and again in FebruaryMay and September of 2019. government announced a 90 day delayFurther increases scheduled for October 2019 were tabled as the two nations attemptnegotiated an initial ("Phase One") agreement to reachresolve some of their disputed trade issues. However, the Phase One agreement signed in January 2020 left most tariffs in place to be addressed at a trade agreement.later stage. Further rounds of tariffs have also been threatened by U.S. and Chinese leaders.

The current U.S. tariffs on China-origin goods and the related geopolitical uncertainty between the U.S. and China have caused, and may continue to cause, decreased demand for our products from distributors and other customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition, and/or results of operations.

We could also be affected by nationalization of our international operations, unstable governments, unfamiliar or biased legal systems or intergovernmental disputes. Any determination that our operations or activities did not comply with applicable U.S. or foreign laws or regulations could result in the imposition of fines and penalties, interruptions of business, terminations of necessary licenses and permits, and other legal and equitable sanctions.

These international economic and political uncertainties and regulatory changes could have a material adverse effect on our, or our suppliers’ and distributors’, business, liquidity, financial condition and/or results of operations.

We face additional problems and uncertainties associated with international operations that could seriously harm us.

International revenues historically accounted for a significant portion of our total revenues. Our manufacturing, assembly, and test operations and certain finance operations located outside of the United States, as well as our international sales offices and design centers, face risks frequently associated with foreign operations including but not limited to:

To the extent any such risks materialize, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be seriously harmed.

We are subject to many different environmental, data privacy, health and safety laws, regulations and directives, and compliance with them may be costly.

We are subject to many different international, federal, state and local governmental laws and regulations related to, among other things, the storage, use, discharge and disposal of toxic, volatile or otherwise hazardous chemicals used in our manufacturing process, conflict mineral and data privacy legislation, as well as the health and safety regulations related to our employees. Compliance with these regulations can be costly. There can be no assurance that we have been, or will be at all times in complete compliance with such laws and regulations. If we violate or fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we could be fined or otherwise sanctioned by regulators. Under certain environmental laws, we could be held responsible, without regard to fault, for all of the costs relating to any contamination at our or our predecessors’ past or present facilities and at third party waste disposal sites. We could also be held liable for any and all consequences arising out of human exposure to such substances or other environmental damage.

Proposed or new legislation and regulations could also significantly affect our business. There currently are a number of proposals pending before federal, state, and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies. In addition, the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect in May 2018, and applies to many of our products and services that provide service in Europe. The GDPR includes operational requirements for companies that receive or process personal data of residents of the European Union. It requires, for example, that we implement measures to change our service or limit access to our service for minors under the age of 16 for certain

Over the last several years, there has been increased public awareness of the potentially negative environmental impact of semiconductor manufacturing operations. This attention and other factors may lead to changes in environmental regulations that could force us to purchase additional equipment or comply with other potentially costly requirements. If we fail to control the use of, or to adequately restrict the discharge of, hazardous substances under present or future regulations, we could face substantial liability or suspension of our manufacturing operations, which could seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face increasing complexity in our product design as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the material composition of our products, including the restrictions on lead and other hazardous substances that apply to specified electronic products put on the market in the European Union, China and California. Other countries, including at the federal and state levels in the United States, are also considering similar laws and regulations. Certain electronic products that we maintain in inventory may be rendered obsolete if they are not in compliance with such laws and regulations, which could negatively impact our ability to generate revenue from those products. Although we cannot predict the ultimate impact of any such new laws and regulations, they will likely result in additional costs, or in the worst case decreased revenue, and could even require that we redesign or change how we manufacture our products. Such redesigns result in additional costs and possible delayed or lost revenue.

We face risks related to "conflict minerals" reporting.

Our products contain materials that are subject to the SEC's conflict minerals reporting requirements. These requirements require companies to perform ongoing diligence, and to disclose and report whether or not such minerals in their products originate from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries. We file such reports annually with the SEC on Form SD. Our relationships with customers and suppliers may be adversely affected if we are unable to describe our products as conflict-free. Additionally, our costs may increase if one or more of our customers demand that we change the sourcing of materials we cannot identify as conflict-free.

Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.

Our worldwide operations could be adversely affected if disrupted for any reason, including natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, telecommunication or information technology system failures, regulatory or political issues, power or water shortages, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics or pandemics or other man- made disasters or catastrophic events. These risks are exacerbated by the geographic concentration of our operations and those of our suppliers. While we maintain business interruption insurance for our facilities, the level and/or extent of coverage might not be sufficient to cover potential losses. Accordingly, the occurrence of any of these business disruptions for us or our third-party manufacturers, partners or customers could result in significant losses, seriously harm our revenue and financial condition, adversely affect our competitive position, increase our costs and expenses, and require substantial expenditures and recovery time in order to fully resume operations. Our

In regard to geographic concentration, our corporate headquarters, and a portion of our research and development activities, are located in California, and other critical business operations and some of our suppliers are located in California and Asia, near major earthquake faults known for seismic activity. The manufacture of product components,manufacturing activities, the final assembly of our products, and other critical operations are concentrated in certain geographic locations, including California, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, China and India. We also relyIndia, many of which are on major logistics hubs primarilyor near the Pacific "ring of fire," which is characterized by active volcanoes, frequent earthquakes, and resulting tsunamis. In January 2020 our back-end manufacturing facility outside Manila in Asiathe Philippines was shut down for a few days due to manufactureashfall from the Taal Volcano, located approximately 18 miles from our facility, and distribute our products. this facility may continue to experience disruption if there is new volcanic activity.

The ultimate impact on us, our significant suppliers and our general infrastructure offrom pandemics, from natural disasters, and from being centralized in certain geographical areas or located near major earthquake faults and being consolidated in certain geographical areas is unknown. However, if the novel coronavirus outbreak continues or spreads, or in the event of a major earthquake or other natural disaster or catastrophic event, our revenue,ability to deliver products to customers on a timely basis may be impacted, we may see reduced demand for our products, we may incur remediation costs, and we may suffer a loss of inventory or assets, all of which may adversely impact our profitability and financial condition could suffer.condition.

Changes to Board of Directors and senior management may disrupt our operations, our strategic focus or our ability to drive stockholder value.

Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to retain key members of our senior management team and our Board of Directors (the “Board”) and to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel for our Board and senior management positions. Turnover may disrupt our operations, our strategic focus or our ability to drive stockholder value. If we fail to attract new skilled personnel for our Board and senior management positions, our business and growth prospects could be adversely impacted.

Our governing documents provide indemnities to our officers and directors for which we have purchased insurance. If material liabilities were to arise in excess of our insurance coverage, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially impacted.

Our certificate of incorporation, and by-laws require us to indemnify our officers and directors for certain liabilities that may arise in the course of their service to us.us, including their service at our request on the boards of other companies in which we invest such as Deca, SkyHigh, and Enovix. If we were required to pay a significant amount on account of these liabilities, or such liabilities were not covered by insurance coverage, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be seriously harmed.

Our R&D efforts are focused on the development and design of new semiconductor products and design methodologies, as well as the continued development of advanced software platforms. Our R&D organization works with our manufacturing facilities, suppliers and customers to improve our semiconductor designs and lower our manufacturing costs.

Our R&D groups conduct ongoing efforts to reduce design cycle time and increase first pass yield through structured re-use of intellectual property blocks from a controlled intellectual property library, development of computer-aided design tools and improved design business processes. Design and related software development work primarily occurs at design centers located in the United States, Ukraine, Ireland, Germany, Israel, India, Japan, China and China.Malaysia.