UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 20182019

OR

For the transition period from            to            

Commission file number: 001-36146

CommScope Holding Company, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NONE

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes  ☒No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).  Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.  (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2).  Yes  ☐    No  ☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐    

The aggregate market value of the shares of Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $5,530$2,998.5 million as of June 30, 2018.2019. For purposes of this computation, shares held by affiliates and by directors and officers of the registrant have been excluded.

As of February 7, 20192020 there were 192,380,278194,642,610 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 20192020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference in Part III hereof.

CommScope Holding Company, Inc.

Form 10-K

December 31, 20182019

Table of Contents

PARTPART I

Unless the context otherwise requires, references to “CommScope Holding Company, Inc.,” “CommScope,” “the Company,” “Registrant,” “we,” “us,” or “our” are to CommScope Holding Company, Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes certain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by their use of such terms and phrases as “intend,” “goal,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “projections,” “plans,” “anticipate,” “should,” “could,” “designed to,” “foreseeable future,” “believe,” “think,” “scheduled,” “outlook,” “target,” “guidance” and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain such terms. This list of indicative terms and phrases is not intended to be all-inclusive. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statement was made.

These statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control. Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K sets forth more detailed information about the factors that may cause our actual results to differ, perhaps materially, from the views stated in such forward-looking statements. Although the information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K represents our best judgment as of the date of this report based on information currently available and reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. Given these uncertainties, we caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. We are not undertaking any duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect developments or information obtained after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, except to the extent required by law.

Company Overview

CommScope Holding Company, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on October 22, 2010. We are a global leader in providingprovider of infrastructure solutions for communicationscommunication and entertainment networks. Our portfolio includes robust and innovative wireless, fiber optic and copper solutions for today’s evolvingwired and wireless networks enable service providers including cable, telephone and digital lifestyle. Our talentedbroadcast satellite operators and experienced global team helps customers increase bandwidth; maximize existing capacity; improve network response timemedia programmers to deliver media, voice, Internet Protocol (IP) data services and performance;Wi-Fi to their subscribers and simplify technology migration.allow enterprises to experience constant wireless and wired connectivity across complex and varied networking environments. Our solutions are foundcomplemented by a broad array of services including technical support, systems design and integration. We are a leader in some of the largest venuesdigital video and outdoor spaces; inIP television distribution systems, broadband access infrastructure platforms and equipment that delivers data centers and buildings of all shapes, sizesvoice networks to homes. Our global leadership position is built upon innovative technology, broad solution offerings, high-quality and complexities; at wireless cell sites; in telecom central officescost-effective customer solutions, and cable television headends; in fiber-to-the-X (FTTX) deployments;global manufacturing and in airports, trains, and tunnels. Vital networks around the world run on CommScope solutions.distribution scale.

We have a team of over 20,000approximately 30,000 people to serve our customers in over 100150 countries through a network of more than 30 world-class manufacturing and distribution facilities strategically located around the globe. Our customers include substantially all of the leading global telecommunication operators, data center managers, leading multi-system operators (MSOs) and thousands of enterprise customers, including many Fortune 500 companies. We have long-standing, direct relationships with our customers and serve them through a direct sales force and a global network of channel partners.

On November 8, 2018,April 4, 2019, we announced an agreement to acquirecompleted the acquisition of ARRIS International plc (ARRIS) (the Acquisition) in an all cashall-cash transaction with a total purchase price of approximately $7.4$7.7 billion, or $31.75 per share. We expectincluding debt assumed. The combined company is expected to drive profitable growth in new markets, shape the transactionfuture of wired and wireless communications, and be in a position to close during the first halfbenefit from key industry trends, including network convergence, fiber and mobility everywhere, 5G, Internet of 2019. See “ARRIS Acquisition Rationale” under our “Strategy” section within this Part I, Item 1, “Business” for a discussion of strategy behind the acquisitionThings (IoT) and rapidly changing network and technology architectures. The operations of ARRIS and see “ARRISare included in our consolidated operating results for the year ended December 31, 2019 from the date of the Acquisition, Risks” in Part I, Item 1A., “Risk Factors” for a discussion of risks related to the pending acquisition of ARRIS.April 4, 2019.

For the year ended December 31, 2018,2019, our revenues were $4.57$8.35 billion and our net incomeloss was $140.2$929.5 million, which included goodwill impairment charges of $376.1 million, acquisition accounting adjustments of $264.2 million and transaction and integration costs of $195.3 million. For further discussion of our current and prior year financial results, see Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Operating Segments

Prior to the Acquisition, we operated and reported based on two operating segments: Connectivity Solutions (Connectivity) and Mobility Solutions (Mobility). Subsequent to the acquisition of ARRIS, we reported financial performance based on five operating segments: Connectivity, Mobility, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), Network & Cloud (N&C) and Ruckus Networks (Ruckus).

The distribution of net revenues between our five segments is as follows:

In the discussion below regarding our CPE, N&C and Ruckus segments, 2019 full year net sales represent net sales for the segments including the period before the Acquisition, January 1, 2019 – April 3, 2019, which is not included in our reported consolidated results.

Connectivity Solutions Segment (2019 Net Sales of $2.6 billion)

Our Connectivity segment provides innovative fiber optic and copper cable and connectivity solutions for use in data centers, business enterprises, telecommunications, cable television and residential broadband networks. Our Connectivity portfolio includes innovative solutions for both indoor and outdoor network applications.

Our indoor connectivity solutions are sold primarily under the SYSTIMAX, NETCONNECT and Uniprise brands and include optical fiber and twisted pair structured cable solutions, intelligent infrastructure management hardware and software and network rack and cabinet enclosures to create physical layer solutions that enable voice, video and data communication and building automation.

Our outdoor connectivity solutions are used in both local-area and wide area networks and “last-mile” fiber-to-the-home installations, including deployments of fiber-to-the-node, fiber-to-the-premises and fiber-to-the-distribution point to homes, businesses and cell sites. These products primarily comprise hardened connector systems, fiber distribution hubs and management systems, couplers and splitters, plug-and-play multiport service terminals, hardened optical terminating enclosures, high density cable assemblies and splice closures.

CommScope enablesMobility Solutions Segment (2019 Net Sales of $1.8 billion)

The Mobility segment provides the integral building blocks for cellular base station sites and empowers manyrelated connectivity; indoor, small cell and distributed antenna wireless systems; and wireless network backhaul planning and optimization products and services. Our macro cell site solutions can be found at wireless tower sites and on rooftops. Our metro cell solutions can be found on street poles and on other urban structures. Macro and metro cell site applications represent approximately 85% of our Mobility segment net sales. Our distributed antenna system (DAS) and small cell solutions allow wireless operators to increase spectral efficiency and enhance cellular coverage and capacity in challenging network conditions such as commercial buildings, urban areas, stadiums and transportation systems.

Our solutions, marketed primarily under the Andrew brand, enable wireless operators to meet coverage and capacity requirements for next-generation networks. We focus on physical-layer solutions for all aspects of the top-performingradio access network from the macro through the metro, to the indoor layer. We believe our macro cell site, metro cell site, DAS and small cell solutions establish us as a global leader in RF infrastructure solutions for wireless telecommunications, business enterprise,operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). We strive to provide a one-stop source for managing the technology lifecycle of a wireless network, including complete physical layer infrastructure solutions for 3G, 4G and 5G applications.

Customer Premises Equipment Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $2.5 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $3.4 billion)

The CPE segment includes subscriber-based solutions that support broadband and video applications connecting cable, television networks in existence today by providingtelecommunications and satellite service providers to a customer’s home and adds wireless connectivity or other wired connections integrating in-home devices together to enable the consumption of internet-based services and the delivery of broadcast, streamed and stored video to televisions and other connected devices. Broadband offerings include devices that provide residential connectivity to a service provider’s network, such as digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modems and telephony and data gateways which incorporate routing and Wi-Fi functionality. Video offerings include set top boxes that support cable, satellite and IPTV content delivery and include products such as digital video recorders (DVRs), high definition set top boxes and hybrid set top devices.

Network & Cloud Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $1.1 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $1.5 billion)

Our N&C segment’s product solutions for the service providerinclude cable modem termination systems, video infrastructure, distribution and enterprise (including hyperscaletransmission equipment and cloud data centers) markets.solutions that enable facility-based service providers to construct a state-of-the-art residential and metro distribution network. The table below summarizes 2018 revenue,portfolio also includes a full suite of global leadership positionservices that offer technical support, professional services and system integration to enable solutions sales of our end-to-end product portfolio.

Ruckus Networks Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $0.4 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $0.6 billion)

Our Ruckus segment provides converged wired (local area network (LAN)) and wireless (WLAN) networks for enterprises and service providers. Product offerings for our two segments:include indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi and LTE access points, access and aggregation switches; an IoT suite, on-premises and cloud-based control and management systems; and software and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications addressing security, location, reporting and analytics.

Industry Background

We participate in the large and growing global market for connectivity and essential communications infrastructure. This market is being driven by the growth in bandwidth demand associated with the continued demand of smartphones, tablets and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication as well as the proliferation of data centers, Big Data, cloud-based services, streaming media content and IoT. In addition, video distribution over the Internetbroadband IP network is transforming how content is managed and consumed. IP facilitates new forms of Things (IoT). Telecommunications operators are densifying 4G networksvideo such as Over-the-Top (OTT) and deploying 5Ginteractive television. Specifically, we serve the following markets within the connectivity and communications infrastructure industry:

Enterprise Market – We offer equipment to provide licensed and unlicensed, wired and wireless, public and private indoor networks. This equipment includes Wi-Fi, DAS, stand-alone and distributed small cells, switching, fiber optic networksand twisted pair cabling and apparatus products for enterprise owned, third-party owned and carrier owned networks.

Outdoor Wireless Market – We deliver macro-cell tower antennas, metro-cell antennas, cabling, poles, power systems and other equipment to support the dramatic growth in bandwidth demand. As users consume more data on smartphones, tablets and computers, enterprises face a growing need for higher bandwidth networks, in-buildingenable outdoor cellular coverage in rural, suburban and more robust, efficientmetro areas.

In-Home Networks Market – We sell gateways, modems, Wi-Fi access points (APs), Wi-Fi mesh extenders and intelligentset-top boxes that are deployed inside homes to connect end-users and devices to cable television, OTT content and the internet.

Broadband Access Market – We offer passive and active equipment, including cabling, connectivity, closures, cabinets, splitters and other passive equipment for television, internet and cellular backhaul networks. In cable networks we provide active equipment such as converged cable access platform (CCAP) hardware and software as well as network plant equipment which includes optical nodes and amplifiers. In fiber networks we provide the hardware and software components for gigabit-capable passive optical networks (GPON).

Data Center Market – We provide cabling, connectivity and other equipment for multi-tenant, enterprise and hyperscale data centers. Operators are investing in

Video Systems & Security Market – We sell equipment to encode, encrypt, package and distribute video content for secure delivery over the network.

Network Services Market – We provide our customers with services focused on planning, deploying and maintaining their networks to deliver a competitive triple-play of services (voice, video and high-speed data) and to maintain service quality. communications networks.

The table below outlines how our segments address the primary markets we serve.

There are several major trends that we expect to drive network deployments and investment, including:

Evolving Network Architecture and Technology

The pace of change in networking has increased as consumers and data-driven businesses utilize more bandwidth and shift toward ubiquitouscloud and mobile applications. Exponential growth in video and “universal mobility”mobile data consumption are revolutionizing how we connect to each other and changing the network architecture needed to support consumer demand. This trend requires better network coverage, greater broadband access, and increased capacity and data storage.

OperatorsOur customers are working to transition their networks to become faster, more responsive and more efficient. CommScope sees several key network trends that will continue to impact CommScope and the industry during 20192020 and beyond:

Transition to 5G

5G wireless is evolving from an industry vision toward a tangible, next generation wireless technology. Many operators have begun a transition to 5G networks and have announced trials and pre-standard deployments of 5G technology. The number of 5G-enabled devices is expected to continue to increase during 2020. The primary benefits of 5G are expected to include:

Wireless operators will need to both acquire and launch new spectrum for 5G, as well as continue their strategy of re-allocation of spectrum from one generation to another. Some of this spectrum will be at much higher frequencies and will use new technologies to deliver exceptional amounts of bandwidth to subscribers. 5G also requires significant fiber infrastructure to connect wireless access points to each other to improve the response time of the network. As wireless operators transition toward 5G, they must also manage the fundamental network deployment issues of site acquisition, power, backhaul and in-building wireless proliferation.

In addition to investment required by wireless operators, the transition to 5G could also spark an investment cycle by cable operators as they upgrade their networks to compete with fixed wireless broadband, which could become a viable alternative to traditional broadband internet access.

Fiber Deep Deployments

Residential and business bandwidth consumption continues to grow substantially. The proliferation of over-the-topOTT video, multiscreen viewing, cloud services and social media are prompting operators to accelerate fiber deployment. Operators can increase network capacity by installing fiber deeper into their networks. Although consumer devices are increasingly connected to the network via a wireless connection such as LTE or Wi-Fi, these wireless access points must have abundant backhaul capacity available to provide consumers the experience they expect. Operators around the globe are deploying fiber deep to build next generation networks. These networks use the capabilities of fiber to enable consumers access to content at higher speeds with lowerimproved network response time.

As networks improve and deliver higher speed and greater reliability, many operators are choosing to provide both residential and business services over a common physical layer infrastructure, saving them time and money. In addition, with the deployments of metro cells, outdoor small cells and fixed wireless broadband to the home, these same service providers are planning to utilize this common physical layer infrastructure to provide connectivity to these wireless access points.

ShiftOperating Segments

Prior to the Acquisition, we operated and reported based on two operating segments: Connectivity Solutions (Connectivity) and Mobility Solutions (Mobility). Subsequent to the acquisition of ARRIS, we reported financial performance based on five operating segments: Connectivity, Mobility, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), Network & Cloud (N&C) and Ruckus Networks (Ruckus).

The distribution of net revenues between our five segments is as follows:

In the discussion below regarding our CPE, N&C and Ruckus segments, 2019 full year net sales represent net sales for the segments including the period before the Acquisition, January 1, 2019 – April 3, 2019, which is not included in Enterprise Spendingour reported consolidated results.

Several trendsConnectivity Solutions Segment (2019 Net Sales of $2.6 billion)

Our Connectivity segment provides innovative fiber optic and copper cable and connectivity solutions for use in data centers, business enterprises, telecommunications, cable television and residential broadband networks. Our Connectivity portfolio includes innovative solutions for both indoor and outdoor network applications.

Our indoor connectivity solutions are sold primarily under the SYSTIMAX, NETCONNECT and Uniprise brands and include optical fiber and twisted pair structured cable solutions, intelligent infrastructure management hardware and software and network rack and cabinet enclosures to create physical layer solutions that enable voice, video and data communication and building automation.

Our outdoor connectivity solutions are used in both local-area and wide area networks and “last-mile” fiber-to-the-home installations, including deployments of fiber-to-the-node, fiber-to-the-premises and fiber-to-the-distribution point to homes, businesses and cell sites. These products primarily comprise hardened connector systems, fiber distribution hubs and management systems, couplers and splitters, plug-and-play multiport service terminals, hardened optical terminating enclosures, high density cable assemblies and splice closures.

Mobility Solutions Segment (2019 Net Sales of $1.8 billion)

The Mobility segment provides the integral building blocks for cellular base station sites and related connectivity; indoor, small cell and distributed antenna wireless systems; and wireless network backhaul planning and optimization products and services. Our macro cell site solutions can be found at wireless tower sites and on rooftops. Our metro cell solutions can be found on street poles and on other urban structures. Macro and metro cell site applications represent approximately 85% of our Mobility segment net sales. Our distributed antenna system (DAS) and small cell solutions allow wireless operators to increase spectral efficiency and enhance cellular coverage and capacity in challenging network conditions such as commercial buildings, urban areas, stadiums and transportation systems.

Our solutions, marketed primarily under the Andrew brand, enable wireless operators to meet coverage and capacity requirements for next-generation networks. We focus on physical-layer solutions for all aspects of the radio access network from the macro through the metro, to the indoor layer. We believe our macro cell site, metro cell site, DAS and small cell solutions establish us as a global leader in RF infrastructure solutions for wireless operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). We strive to provide a one-stop source for managing the technology lifecycle of a wireless network, including complete physical layer infrastructure solutions for 3G, 4G and 5G applications.

Customer Premises Equipment Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $2.5 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $3.4 billion)

The CPE segment includes subscriber-based solutions that support broadband and video applications connecting cable, telecommunications and satellite service providers to a customer’s home and adds wireless connectivity or other wired connections integrating in-home devices together to enable the consumption of internet-based services and the delivery of broadcast, streamed and stored video to televisions and other connected devices. Broadband offerings include devices that provide residential connectivity to a service provider’s network, such as digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modems and telephony and data gateways which incorporate routing and Wi-Fi functionality. Video offerings include set top boxes that support cable, satellite and IPTV content delivery and include products such as digital video recorders (DVRs), high definition set top boxes and hybrid set top devices.

Network & Cloud Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $1.1 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $1.5 billion)

Our N&C segment’s product solutions include cable modem termination systems, video infrastructure, distribution and transmission equipment and cloud solutions that enable facility-based service providers to construct a state-of-the-art residential and metro distribution network. The portfolio also includes a full suite of global services that offer technical support, professional services and system integration to enable solutions sales of our end-to-end product portfolio.

Ruckus Networks Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $0.4 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $0.6 billion)

Our Ruckus segment provides converged wired (local area network (LAN)) and wireless (WLAN) networks for enterprises and service providers. Product offerings include indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi and LTE access points, access and aggregation switches; an IoT suite, on-premises and cloud-based control and management systems; and software and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications addressing security, location, reporting and analytics.

Industry Background

We participate in the enterpriselarge and growing global market are expected to create opportunitiesfor connectivity and challenges. First,essential communications infrastructure. This market is being driven by the shift toward mobilitygrowth in business enterprises is expected to impactbandwidth demand associated with the amountcontinued demand of smartphones, tablets and typemachine-to-machine (M2M) communication as well as the proliferation of structured copper connectivity neededdata centers, Big Data, cloud-based services, streaming media content and IoT. In addition, video distribution over the longer-term. Asbroadband IP network is transforming how content is managed and consumed. IP facilitates new forms of video such as Over-the-Top (OTT) and interactive television. Specifically, we serve the bandwidth requirementsfollowing markets within the connectivity and communications infrastructure industry:

Enterprise Market – We offer equipment to provide licensed and unlicensed, wired and wireless, public and private indoor networks. This equipment includes Wi-Fi, DAS, stand-alone and distributed small cells, switching, fiber and twisted pair cabling and apparatus products for Wi-Fienterprise owned, third-party owned and indoorcarrier owned networks.

Outdoor Wireless Market – We deliver macro-cell tower antennas, metro-cell antennas, cabling, poles, power systems and other equipment to enable outdoor cellular networks increase, morecoverage in rural, suburban and metro areas.

In-Home Networks Market – We sell gateways, modems, Wi-Fi access points will be needed throughout commercial buildings. As a result, enterprises(APs), Wi-Fi mesh extenders and set-top boxes that are expecteddeployed inside homes to adjust in-buildingconnect end-users and devices to cable television, OTT content and the internet.

Broadband Access Market – We offer passive and active equipment, including cabling, designs to deliver both powerconnectivity, closures, cabinets, splitters and high-speed data to those devices. Power-over-ethernet is expected to become increasingly importantother passive equipment for television, internet and cellular backhaul networks. In cable networks we provide active equipment such as converged cable access platform (CCAP) hardware and software as well as network plant equipment which includes optical nodes and amplifiers. In fiber networks we provide the number of devices usedhardware and software components for Wi-Figigabit-capable passive optical networks (GPON).

Data Center Market – We provide cabling, connectivity and indoor cellular networks multiplies. While enterprises continue to need copper connectivity to power edge devices, enterprises are deploying fiber more extensively in data centers. Over the next several years, we expect the growing demandother equipment for fiber solutions to result in decelerating demand for copper solutions in networks. Due to huge increases in data traffic and migration of applications to the cloud, enterprises are also shifting spending toward multi-tenant, (co-located) data centers and hyperscale cloud service providers, which offer cloud data center services as a replacement to in-house corporate data centers. Multi-tenantenterprise and hyperscale data center managers arecenters.

Video Systems & Security Market – We sell equipment to encode, encrypt, package and distribute video content for secure delivery over the network.

Network Services Market – We provide our customers with services focused on ultra-low loss, high density, scalable fiber connectivity solutions.  planning, deploying and maintaining their communications networks.

An increaseThe table below outlines how our segments address the primary markets we serve.

There are several major trends that we expect to drive network deployments and investment, including:

Evolving Network Architecture and Technology

The pace of change in averagenetworking has increased as consumers and data-driven businesses utilize more bandwidth and shift toward cloud and mobile applications. Exponential growth in video and mobile data center sizeconsumption are revolutionizing how we connect to each other and changing the network architecture needed to support consumer demand. This trend requires better network coverage, greater broadband access, and increased capacity and data storage.

Our customers are working to transition their networks to become faster, more responsive and more efficient. CommScope sees several key network trends that will continue to impact CommScope and the number of assets in a data center significantly raises the total cost of ownershipindustry during 2020 and the complexity of managing data center infrastructure. Data center operators strivebeyond:

Transition to manage their resources efficiently and to reduce energy consumption by monitoring all elements within the data center. Automated infrastructure management software helps operators improve operational efficiency, maximize capability and reduce costs by providing clear insight into cooling capacity, power usage, utilization, applications and overall performance.

Momentum of 5G

5G wireless is evolving from an industry vision toward a tangible, next generation wireless technology. SomeMany operators have begun a transition to 5G wirelessnetworks and have announced trials and pre-standard deployments of 5G technology. The number of 5G-enabled devices is expected to continue to increase during 2020. The primary benefits of 5G are expected to include:

Densification, virtualization and optimization of the network are all required to support 5G. OperatorsWireless operators will need to both acquire and launch new spectrum for 5G, as well as continue their strategy of re-allocation of spectrum from one generation to another. Some of this spectrum will be at much higher frequencies and will use new technologies to deliver exceptional amounts of bandwidth to subscribers. 5G also requires significant fiber infrastructure to connect wireless access points to each other to improve the response time of the network. As wireless operators transition toward 5G, they must also manage the fundamental network deployment issues of site acquisition, power, backhaul and in-building wireless proliferation.

Metro Cell, DASIn addition to investment required by wireless operators, the transition to 5G could also spark an investment cycle by cable operators as they upgrade their networks to compete with fixed wireless broadband, which could become a viable alternative to traditional broadband internet access.

Fiber Deep Deployments

Residential and Small Cell Investmentbusiness bandwidth consumption continues to Enhancegrow substantially. The proliferation of OTT video, multiscreen viewing, cloud services and Expand Wireless Coverage and Capacity

The traditional macro cellsocial media are prompting operators to accelerate fiber deployment. Operators can increase network requires mobile userscapacity by installing fiber deeper into their networks. Although consumer devices are increasingly connected to connect directly to macro cell base stations. Macro cells are primarily designedthe network via a wireless connection such as LTE or Wi-Fi, these wireless access points must have abundant backhaul capacity available to provide coverageconsumers the experience they expect. Operators around the globe are deploying fiber deep to build next generation networks. These networks use the capabilities of fiber to enable consumers access to content at higher speeds with improved network response time.

As networks improve and deliver higher speed and greater reliability, many operators are choosing to provide both residential and business services over wide areasa common physical layer infrastructure, saving them time and typically transmit high power. Alone, they are not optimal for dense urban areas where physical structures often create coverage gaps and capacity is frequently constrained. Adding new macro cells or increasing the number of sectors on existing sites has been the traditional way to increase mobile capacity and will continue to be a foundational layer of the network. As demand growth continues to outpace macro cell capacity growth, new solutions are required for densely populated areas. Metro cells and indoor networks have emerged as important layers of the network. Metro cells are smaller outdoor cell sites, located closer to the ground, having a lower power level than a traditional macro cell site. Metro cells blend into their environment and are often found integrated with traditional street furniture, which helps alleviate zoning restrictions that have made traditional deployments difficult. Finally, there are small cell and DAS solutions that address the capacity and speed requirements from an indoor perspective. These systems provide coverage and capacity to the indoor environment and reduce the load from the macro and metro layers, which improves overall network performance. Small cell and DAS systems may range from small single operator, single-band, low-capacity systems for use in enterprise buildings to large multi-carrier, multi-technology, multi-band systems for use in high-capacity public venues.

Wireless operators view in-building coverage as a critical component of their network deployment strategies. Key challenges for wireless operators in providing in-building cellular coverage are signal loss while penetrating building structures and interference created by mobile devices while connected to macro cell sites. In-building DAS solutions bring the antenna significantly closer to the user, which results in better coverage and capacity while simultaneously reducing interference. In-building DAS provides seamless signal handover for users inside buildings and can support multi-operator, multi-frequency and multi-protocol (2G, 3G, 4G and 5G) solutions. Small cells are self-contained radio units that generally provide support for fewer bands from a single service provider to a relatively small area, similar to a Wi-Fi access point. The benefits of small cell technologies are becoming increasingly importantmoney. In addition, with the trend towards mobility in the enterprise market.

Strategy

We believe consumer demand for bandwidth, competition among operators and continuous technology advancements are driving communication network deployments and investment. We believe these trends position us for future growth and value creation because of our leading positions across diverse and growing market segments and geographies, our platform of innovative solutions, complementary market opportunities and our strong financial profile. We see growth opportunities in the markets we serve, and it is our plan to capitalize on these opportunities by providing our customers with products that can transform their networks with efficient solutions that optimize network performance and deployment speed. Our strategy and 2019 priorities are to:

Become a Preferred Partner to Our Customers

We plan to expand our industry leadership positions in fiber and wireless by developing and enhancing value-creating partner relationships with our customers, suppliers and distributors as well as our channel and technology partners. We intend to expand these relationships by innovating, collaborating and selling with our customers. We expect to meet our commitments and maintain our product quality while collaborating with our customers to provide solutions to their key network challenges.

Relentlessly Focus on Innovation to Solve Critical Problems

We plan to build on our legacy of innovation and on our worldwide portfolio of patents and patent applications by continuing to invest in research and development. We also intend to utilize our deep industry expertise to offer unique perspectives to solve customers’ challenges. We intend to focus our investment on high growth markets.

Enhance Sales Growth

We expect to capitalize on our technology leadership, operational excellence, scale, market position, broad product offerings and quality to generate growth opportunities by:

Expand Culture of Excellence

We strive to be viewed as a top employment destination where premier talent is hired, developed and retained. We also intend to make high-performance and operational excellence the standard throughout the Company while prioritizing collaboration and zero-tolerance for quality issues.

Continue to Enhance Operational Efficiency and Cash Flow Generation

We continuously pursue strategic initiatives aimed at optimizing our resources by reducing manufacturing and distribution costs and lowering our overall cost structure. We believe that we have a strong track record of improving operational efficiency and successfully executing on formalized profit improvement plans, cost-savings initiatives and working capital improvements to drive future profitability and cash flows. We intend to use the cash we generate to invest in our business to make strategic acquisitions and reduce our indebtedness.

ARRIS Acquisition Rationale

CommScope and ARRIS will each bring a unique set of complementary assets and capabilities that together can enable end-to-end wired and wireless communications infrastructure solutions that neither company could otherwise achieve on its own. The acquisition of ARRIS is expected to help us access new and growing markets, and have technology, solutions and employee talent that can provide additional value and benefit to our customers and partners.

We believe that the combined company can drive profitable growth in new markets, shape the future of wired and wireless communications, and position the new company to benefit from key industry trends,including network convergence, fiber and mobility everywhere, 5G, IoT, and rapidly changing network and technology architectures.

This transaction is a critical step in fueling growth, stockholder value and customer benefits and we believe the combined company will:

With the acquisition of the CPE, N&C and Enterprise businesses, we will have a product portfolio capable of delivering end-to-end communication solutions to our customers around the world. The ARRIS acquisition will provide us with opportunities for both new integrated product offerings as well as new use cases to address customer demands in an evolving industry landscape.

Operating Segments

We report financial performancePrior to the Acquisition, we operated and reported based on two operating segments: CommScope Connectivity Solutions (CCS)(Connectivity) and CommScope Mobility Solutions (CMS)(Mobility). Subsequent to the acquisition of ARRIS, we reported financial performance based on five operating segments: Connectivity, Mobility, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), Network & Cloud (N&C) and Ruckus Networks (Ruckus).

The distribution of net revenues between our twofive segments is as follows:

CommScope In the discussion below regarding our CPE, N&C and Ruckus segments, 2019 full year net sales represent net sales for the segments including the period before the Acquisition, January 1, 2019 – April 3, 2019, which is not included in our reported consolidated results.

Connectivity Solutions Segment (2019 Net Sales of $2.6 billion)

The CCSOur Connectivity segment provides innovative fiber optic and copper cable and connectivity solutions for use in data centers, and business enterprise,enterprises, telecommunications, cable television and residential broadband networks. Our CCSConnectivity portfolio includes innovative network solutions for both indoor and outdoor network applications. Indoor network

Our indoor connectivity solutions which account for slightly over half of CCS net sales, are found in commercial buildings and data centers. Our outdoor network solutions are found in local area and wide-area networks, central offices and headends and “last-mile” fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) installations. Fiber optic solutions account for slightly less than half of CCS net sales.

Indoor Connectivity Solutions (primarily Enterprise – including Hyperscale and Cloud Data Centers)

We have a leading global market position in enterprise connectivity for data centers and commercial buildings. Our solutions support mission-critical, high bandwidth applications. We integrate our structured cabling, connectors, in-building cellular solutions and network intelligence capabilities to create physical layer solutions that enable voice, video and data communication and building automation. We use proprietary modeling and simulation techniques to optimize networks to provide performance that exceeds established standards. In August 2017, we acquired Cable Exchange, a quick-turn supplier of fiber optic and copper assemblies for data, voice and video communication. Through our Cable Exchange acquisition, we have expanded our capabilities and presence in the hyperscale and cloud data center market. Our global network of partners offers custom, turnkey network solutions that are tailored to each customer’s unique requirements. Data centers and other fiber solutions account for nearly one-third of indoor network solutions net sales.

We believe that our strong market position results from our differentiated technology, long-standing relationships with customers and channel partners, strong brand recognition, premium product features and the performance and reliability of our solutions. These comprehensive solutions, sold primarily under the SYSTIMAX, NETCONNECT and Uniprise brands and include optical fiber and twisted pair structured cable solutions, intelligent infrastructure management hardware and software and network rack and cabinet enclosures.enclosures to create physical layer solutions that enable voice, video and data communication and building automation.

Our data center solutions include a robust portfolio of high-density fiber optic connectivity, including shelves/panels, modules, trunks, jumpers/arrays and cable. We also offer fiber management systems, patch cords and panels, pre-terminated fiber connectivity, complete cabling systems, and cable assemblies for use in offices and data centers. These connectivity solutions can deliver data speeds of more than 100 gigabits per second (Gbps).

Outdoor Connectivity Solutions (Service Provider)

We have a leading global position in providing fiber optic and coaxial cable solutions that support the multichannel video, voice and high-speed data services provided by telecommunications operators and MSOs. We provide a broad portfolio of connectivity solutions including FTTH equipment. Our fiber opticoutdoor connectivity solutions are used in both local-area and wide area networks and “last-mile” fiber-to-the-home installations, including deployments of fiber-to-the-node, fiber-to-the-premises and fiber-to-the-distribution point to homes, businesses and cell sites. These products primarily comprised ofcomprise hardened connector systems, fiber distribution hubs and management systems, couplers and splitters, plug and playplug-and-play multiport service terminals, hardened optical terminating enclosures, high density cable assemblies optical distribution frames and splice closures. These products are used in both local-area and wide-area networks, central offices and headends and “last-mile” FTTH installations, including deployments of fiber-to-the-node (FTTN), fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) and fiber-to-the-distribution point (FTTdP) to homes, businesses and cell sites. These networks use the capabilities of fiber to enable consumers access to content at higher speeds and faster response times. 

Our customers are pushing fiber deeper into their networks. They are investing in broadband to deliver higher-speed data to homes and businesses; fiber to macro cell towers, metro cells and small cells; and enabling network virtualization in wireless networks. These networks are capital intensive with a high portion of deployment costs related to labor in the field. We are focused on enabling solutions for our customers to build an effective and efficient FTTX network. With our technological capabilities and diverse fiber connectivity portfolio, we can help operators lower capital expenditures and reduce the total cost of ownership by creating solutions that shift labor from the field to the factory. While the timing of cable and connectivity deployments can be difficult to predict, we have a broad, technologically-advanced FTTX connectivity portfolio which we believe positions us to capitalize on the expected growth in fiber networks.

CommScope Mobility Solutions Segment (2019 Net Sales of $1.8 billion)

The CMSMobility segment provides the integral building blocks for cellular base station sites and related connectivity; indoor, small cell and distributed antenna wireless systems; and wireless network backhaul planning and optimization products and services. Our macro cell site solutions can be found at wireless tower sites and on rooftops. Our metro cell solutions can be found on street poles and on other urban structures. Macro and metro cell site applications represent approximately 85% of our CMSMobility segment net sales. Our DASdistributed antenna system (DAS) and small cell solutions allow wireless operators to increase spectral efficiency and enhance cellular coverage and capacity in challenging network conditions such as commercial buildings, urban areas, stadiums and transportation systems.

Our solutions, marketed primarily under the Andrew brand, enable wireless operators to meet coverage and capacity requirements for next generationnext-generation networks. We focus ouron physical-layer solutions onfor all aspects of the Radio Access Network (RAN)radio access network from the macro through the metro, to the indoor layer. OurWe believe our macro cell site, metro cell site, DAS and small cell solutions establish us as a global leader in RF infrastructure solutions for wireless operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). We strive to provide a one-stop source for managing the technology lifecycle of a wireless network, including complete physical layer infrastructure solutions for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G applications.

Customer Premises Equipment Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $2.5 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $3.4 billion)

The CPE segment includes subscriber-based solutions that support broadband and video applications connecting cable, telecommunications and satellite service providers to a customer’s home and adds wireless connectivity or other wired connections integrating in-home devices together to enable the consumption of internet-based services and the delivery of broadcast, streamed and stored video to televisions and other connected devices. Broadband offerings include devices that provide residential connectivity to a service provider’s network, such as digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modems and telephony and data gateways which incorporate routing and Wi-Fi functionality. Video offerings include set top boxes that support cable, satellite and IPTV content delivery and include products such as digital video recorders (DVRs), high definition set top boxes and hybrid set top devices.

Network & Cloud Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $1.1 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $1.5 billion)

Our N&C segment’s product solutions include cable modem termination systems, video infrastructure, distribution and transmission equipment and cloud solutions that enable facility-based service providers to construct a state-of-the-art residential and metro distribution network. The portfolio also includes a full suite of global services that offer technical support, professional services and system integration to enable solutions sales of our end-to-end product portfolio.

Ruckus Networks Segment (2019 post-Acquisition Net Sales of $0.4 billion and 2019 full year Net Sales of $0.6 billion)

Our Ruckus segment provides converged wired (local area network (LAN)) and wireless (WLAN) networks for enterprises and service providers. Product offerings include indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi and LTE access points, access and aggregation switches; an IoT suite, on-premises and cloud-based control and management systems; and software and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications addressing security, location, reporting and analytics.

Industry Background

We participate in the large and growing global market for connectivity and essential communications infrastructure. This market is being driven by the growth in bandwidth demand associated with the continued demand of smartphones, tablets and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication as well as the proliferation of data centers, Big Data, cloud-based services, streaming media content and IoT. In preparationaddition, video distribution over the broadband IP network is transforming how content is managed and consumed. IP facilitates new forms of video such as Over-the-Top (OTT) and interactive television. Specifically, we serve the following markets within the connectivity and communications infrastructure industry:

Enterprise Market – We offer equipment to provide licensed and unlicensed, wired and wireless, public and private indoor networks. This equipment includes Wi-Fi, DAS, stand-alone and distributed small cells, switching, fiber and twisted pair cabling and apparatus products for enterprise owned, third-party owned and carrier owned networks.

Outdoor Wireless Market – We deliver macro-cell tower antennas, metro-cell antennas, cabling, poles, power systems and other equipment to enable outdoor cellular coverage in rural, suburban and metro areas.

In-Home Networks Market – We sell gateways, modems, Wi-Fi access points (APs), Wi-Fi mesh extenders and set-top boxes that are deployed inside homes to connect end-users and devices to cable television, OTT content and the internet.

Broadband Access Market – We offer passive and active equipment, including cabling, connectivity, closures, cabinets, splitters and other passive equipment for television, internet and cellular backhaul networks. In cable networks we provide active equipment such as converged cable access platform (CCAP) hardware and software as well as network plant equipment which includes optical nodes and amplifiers. In fiber networks we provide the hardware and software components for gigabit-capable passive optical networks (GPON).

Data Center Market – We provide cabling, connectivity and other equipment for multi-tenant, enterprise and hyperscale data centers.

Video Systems & Security Market – We sell equipment to encode, encrypt, package and distribute video content for secure delivery over the network.

Network Services Market – We provide our customers with services focused on planning, deploying and maintaining their communications networks.

The table below outlines how our segments address the primary markets we serve.

There are several major trends that we expect to drive network deployments and investment, including:

Evolving Network Architecture and Technology

The pace of change in networking has increased as consumers and data-driven businesses utilize more bandwidth and shift toward cloud and mobile applications. Exponential growth in video and mobile data consumption are revolutionizing how we connect to each other and changing the network architecture needed to support consumer demand. This trend requires better network coverage, greater broadband access, and increased capacity and data storage.

Our customers are working to transition their networks to become faster, more responsive and more efficient. CommScope sees several key network trends that will continue to impact CommScope and the industry during 2020 and beyond:

Transition to 5G

5G wireless is evolving from an industry vision toward a tangible, next generation wireless technology. Many operators have begun a transition to 5G networks and have announced trials and pre-standard deployments of 5G technology. The number of 5G-enabled devices is expected to continue to increase during 2020. The primary benefits of 5G are expected to include:

Wireless operators will need to both acquire and launch new spectrum for 5G, as well as continue their strategy of re-allocation of spectrum from one generation to another. Some of this spectrum will be at much higher frequencies and will use new technologies to deliver exceptional amounts of bandwidth to subscribers. 5G also requires significant fiber infrastructure to connect wireless access points to each other to improve the response time of the network. As wireless operators transition toward 5G, they must also manage the fundamental network deployment issues of site acquisition, power, backhaul and in-building wireless proliferation.

In addition to investment required by wireless operators, the transition to 5G could also spark an investment cycle by cable operators as they upgrade their networks weto compete with fixed wireless broadband, which could become a viable alternative to traditional broadband internet access.

Fiber Deep Deployments

Residential and business bandwidth consumption continues to grow substantially. The proliferation of OTT video, multiscreen viewing, cloud services and social media are prompting operators to accelerate fiber deployment. Operators can increase network capacity by installing fiber deeper into their networks. Although consumer devices are increasingly connected to the network via a wireless connection such as LTE or Wi-Fi, these wireless access points must have abundant backhaul capacity available to provide consumers the experience they expect. Operators around the globe are deploying fiber deep to build next generation networks. These networks use the capabilities of fiber to enable consumers access to content at higher speeds with improved network response time.

As networks improve and deliver higher speed and greater reliability, many operators are choosing to provide both residential and business services over a common physical layer infrastructure, saving them time and money. In addition, with the deployments of metro cells, outdoor small cells and fixed wireless broadband to the home, these same service providers are planning to utilize this common physical layer infrastructure to provide connectivity to these wireless access points.

Shift in Enterprise Spending

Several trends in the enterprise market are expected to create opportunities and challenges. First, the shift toward mobility in business enterprises is expected to impact the amount and type of structured copper connectivity needed over the longer-term. As the bandwidth requirements for Wi-Fi, indoor cellular networks (private and public), and IoT devices increase, more access points will be needed throughout commercial buildings. As a result, enterprises are expected to adjust in-building cabling designs to deliver both power and high-speed data to those devices. Power-over-ethernet is expected to become increasingly important as the number of devices used for Wi-Fi and indoor cellular networks multiplies. While enterprises continue to need copper connectivity to power edge devices, enterprises are deploying fiber more extensively in data centers. Over the next several years, we expect the growing demand for fiber and Wi-Fi solutions to result in decelerating demand for copper solutions in networks.

Due to huge increases in data traffic and migration of applications to the cloud, enterprises are also shifting spending toward multi-tenant (co-located) data centers and hyperscale cloud service providers, which offer cloud data center services as a replacement for in-house corporate data centers. Multi-tenant and hyperscale data center managers are focused on ultra-low loss, high density, scalable fiber connectivity solutions.

Enterprises are also looking at using LTE and 5G for their own, private uses. It is expected that private networks will become far more important to an enterprise’s information technology plans and will provide a level of reliable connection that they have not been able to get from their Wi-Fi networks, further moving the demand of enterprise communications into the wireless domain.

Metro Cell, DAS and Small Cell Investment to Enhance and Expand Wireless Coverage and Capacity

As demand growth continues to outpace macro cell capacity growth, new solutions are required for densely populated areas. Metro cells and indoor networks have emerged as important layers of the network. Metro cells are smaller outdoor cell sites, located closer to the ground, having a lower power level than traditional macro cell sites. Metro cells blend into their environment and are often found integrated with traditional street furniture, which helps alleviate zoning restrictions that have made traditional deployments difficult.

Small cell and DAS solutions address the capacity and speed requirements from an indoor perspective. These systems provide coverage and capacity to the indoor environment and reduce the load from the macro and metro layers, which improves overall network performance. Small cell and DAS systems may range from small single operator, single-band, low-capacity systems for use in enterprise buildings to large multi-carrier, multi-technology, multi-band systems for use in high capacity public venues.

Transition to Wi-Fi 6

Wi-Fi 6 is the next generation standard in Wi-Fi technology that builds on and improves the current Wi-Fi standard. Until this point, all upgrades to Wi-Fi have been less than a gigabit, but Wi-Fi 6 breaks through this boundary and

will likely drive the upgrade of not only the access point but also the switch and cabling systems. Moreover, regulatory efforts are underway to free up the necessary spectrum in the 6GHz band which will enable many more use cases and, in combination with Wi-Fi 6, untether a whole host of equipment.

Strategy

With the global rise in demand for consumer, business and device connectivity, we expect the need and reliance on communications networks to increase dramatically over the next ten years. Our strategy and 2020 priorities are to:

Realign Our Business Structure

To support our goal of shaping the most advanced networks of the future, we announced a realignment of our operating structure that became effective in January 2020. Based on this new operating structure, our new segments are Venue and Campus Networks, Broadband Networks, Outdoor Wireless Networks and Home Networks. We will begin reporting based on these segments in the first quarter of 2020. We are positioned as a leader in each of these areas already and will endeavor to defend our leadership in the more mature parts of these markets, while also shifting resources towards our targeted growth choices within them. We believe this realignment will not only improve the execution of our strategy and help unlock the full potential of our end-to-end portfolio of networking equipment, but it will also help us take advantage of greater revenue and cost synergy potential within our current businesses to achieve the following:

In the discussion below, 2019 full year net sales represent net sales for the segments including the period before the Acquisition, January 1, 2019 – April 3, 2019, which is not included in our reported consolidated results.

Venue and Campus Networks - Targeting both public and private networks for campuses, venues, data centers, and buildings, this segment includes our Ruckus Networks, Enterprise and Distributed Coverage and Capacity Systems (DCCS) businesses. It includes Wi-Fi and switching, DAS, licensed and unlicensed small cells, and enterprise fiber and copper infrastructure. With 2019 full year net sales of approximately $2.1 billion, this segment has several product lines that are expected to grow rapidly and can provide a differentiated, integrated offering.

Broadband Networks - This segment, which combines our Network Cable and Connectivity and Network & Cloud businesses, will position CommScope as the leading North American access network equipment manufacturer with an end-to-end product portfolio serving the telco and cable provider broadband market. 2019 full year net sales for the new Broadband segment were approximately $2.8 billion.  

Outdoor Wireless Networks - This segment brings together our RF Products and Integrated Solutions businesses, which represent 2019 full year net sales of approximately $1.5 billion. The Outdoor Wireless segment will focus on the macro and metro cell businesses. It consists of base station antennas, RF filters, tower connectivity, microwave antennas, metro cell and cabinets/steel, accessories and spectrum access system (SAS). As our wireless operator customers shift a portion of their 5G capital expenditures from the macro tower to the metro cell, CommScope’s differentiated offerings and portfolio can support a smooth and cost-effective transition for customers.

Home Networks - Comprising the former Consumer Premises Equipment business, this segment, which represents 2019 full year net sales of approximately $3.4 billion, will focus on the future of the connected home and devices inside the home. Anchored by CommScope’s broadband gateways (coaxial, fiber and wireless), video set-tops and in-home devices, this business continues to provide the industry-leading technologies for providing broadband services to and inside the home.  

Over the next five years, we expect to transform our organization into one that has better operational speed and resilience and can better service our existing customers, as well as new ones. One of the ways we can do this is to embrace the digital revolution and embrace the move to cloud-based software solutions both in our products and in our operations. We believe that by combining the strengths of our various products, services and technical capabilities, we can create more valued solutions that help our customers achieve better business outcomes and lower the overall cost per bit of communications networks, while making them more symmetrical and responsive at the same time.

Focus on Innovation to Solve Critical Problems

We plan to build on our legacy of innovation and on our worldwide portfolio of patents and patent applications by continuing to invest heavily in relevant research and development support customer(R&D). We intend to drive profitable growth by enabling our service provider, enterprise, hyperscale and emerging cloud customers with the necessary broadband capacity to meet increased consumer demand. We also intend to utilize our deep industry expertise to offer unique perspectives to solve customers’ challenges. We intend to focus our investment on high-growth markets.

Enhance Sales Growth

We intend to generate growth opportunities by:

Become a Preferred Partner to our Customers

We plan to expand our industry leadership positions by developing and enhancing value-creating partner relationships with our customers, suppliers and distributors, as well as our channel and technology trialspartners. We intend to expand these relationships by innovating, collaborating and actively participate in industry forumsselling with our customers. We expect to help shape 5G standards. Our comprehensivemeet our commitments and maintain our product quality while collaborating with our customers to ensure we are providing solutions include products for every major wireless protocolto their key network challenges.

Continue to Enhance Operational Efficiency and allow wireless network operatorsCash Flow Generation

We continuously pursue strategic initiatives aimed at optimizing our utilization of resources by reducing manufacturing and distribution costs and optimizing our overall cost structure. We believe that we have a strong track record of improving operational efficiency and successfully executing on formalized annual profit improvement plans, cost-savings initiatives and working capital improvements to operate across multiple frequency bands, reduce cost, achieve faster data rates, improve network response timedrive future profitability and accelerate migrationcash flow. Related to the latestacquisition of ARRIS, we are on track to deliver at least $75 million in cost synergies in the first year post close and we expect to exceed our target annual run-rate savings of $150 million ahead of the third anniversary of the close of the ARRIS transaction. These synergies are being driven by the elimination of redundancies, including within logistics and SG&A; leveraging global shared services; consolidation of our real estate footprint; and consolidation in procurement, including supply-chain related savings associated with consolidation of spend. We believe we will be able to increase overall cash flow from operations and we intend to use cash we generate to reduce our indebtedness and eventually return to making strategic acquisitions.

Customers

Our customers include substantially all the leading global telecommunications operators, data center managers, leading cable television, telecommunication and satellite multi-channel video service providers and MSOs, thousands of enterprise customers, including many Fortune 500 companies, and end customers in hospitality, venues, education, government and smart cities, which we serve both directly and indirectly. Major customers and distributors include companies such as America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V.; Anixter International Inc. (Anixter); AT&T Inc.; Charter Communications, Inc.; Comcast Corporation (Comcast); Cox Communications, Inc.; KGP Co.; Liberty Communications; Shaw Communications, Inc.; and Verizon Communications Inc. For the year ended December 31, 2019, after giving effect to the Acquisition as if it happened on January 1, 2019, we would have derived approximately 21% of our consolidated net sales from our top two direct customers. Our largest customer would have been Comcast, accounting for 13% of our consolidated net sales, after giving effect to the Acquisition. Sales to Comcast are derived from our Connectivity, N&C and CPE segments. Net sales to Anixter accounted for 11% of our actual consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017. Net sales to Anixter primarily originate in the Connectivity segment.

Products from our Connectivity segment are primarily sold through independent distributors or system integrators for large telecommunications operators. We also sell directly to cable television system operators, broadband operators and service providers that deploy broadband networks.

Products from our Mobility segment are primarily sold directly to wireless technologies.operators, OEMs that sell equipment to wireless operators and other service providers that deploy elements of wireless networks at the direction of wireless operators. Our customer service and engineering groups maintain close working relationships with these customers due to the significant amount of customization associated with some of these products. Although we sell to most wireless operators globally, we are dependent on a small number of large operators.

Products from our CPE segment are primarily sold directly to wireline network service providers, such as telephone companies and cable television network providers, to be deployed by them into their subscribers’ homes and businesses. We sell some products to satellite video distributors who also deploy our products into their subscribers’ premises as well. In some cases, we sell through specialized resellers and distributors who primarily provide logistics support and, in certain circumstances, post-sale service and support. Our customer service and engineering groups maintain close working relationships with these customers due to the significant amount of customization associated with some of these products. We sell these products to most of the wireline and satellite operators globally. In the United States (U.S.), we also sell certain products directly to consumers over the internet and through brick and mortar retailers.

Products from our N&C segment are primarily sold directly to wireline network service providers, such as telephone companies and cable television network providers, to be deployed by them into their service delivery networks. In some cases, we sell through specialized resellers and distributors who primarily provide logistics support and in certain circumstances post-sale service and support. Our customer service and engineering groups maintain close working relationships with these customers due to the significant amount of customization associated with some of these products. We sell these products to most of the wireline and satellite operators globally.

Products from our Ruckus segment are primarily sold to customers in a broad range of enterprise vertical markets, including hospitality, education, smart cities, government, venues and service providers indirectly through a large network of value-added resellers and distributors, which we collectively refer to as channel partners. Our channel partners provide lead generation, pre-sale support, product fulfillment and, in certain circumstances, post-sale customer service and support. In some instances, service providers may also act as a channel partner for sales of our solutions to enterprises. In certain circumstances, we do sell Ruckus segment products directly to end customers, but it is a relatively small part of the overall business.

We generally have no minimum purchase commitments from any of our distributors, system integrators, value-added resellers, wireless operators or OEM customers, and our contracts with these parties generally do not prohibit them from purchasing from our competitors or offering products or services that compete with ours. Although we maintain long-term relationships with these parties and have not historically lost key customers, we have experienced significant variability in the level of purchases by our key customers. Any significant reduction in sales to these customers, including as a result of the inability or unwillingness of these customers to continue purchasing our products, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. See Part 1, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

Competition

The markets in which we participate are built usingdynamic and highly competitive, requiring companies to react quickly to capitalize on opportunity. We retain skilled and experienced personnel and deploy substantial resources to meet the changing demands of the industry and to capitalize on change. We compete with global and regional manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers, including companies that are larger than we are. The market for our products is highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change. We encounter significant domestic and international competition across all segments of our business.

Our competitors include large, diversified companies — some of whom have substantially more assets and greater financial resources than we do. We also face competition from small to medium-sized companies and less diversified companies that have concentrated efforts in one or more areas of the markets we serve. Our major competitors include Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) S.A.; America Fujikura Ltd. (AFL) (a subsidiary of Fujikura, Ltd.,); Amphenol Corporation; Arcadyan Technology Corporation; Arista Networks, Inc.; ASUSTek Computer Inc. (Asus); ATX Networks Corporation; Belden Inc.; Belkin International, Inc.; Berk-Tek (a Company of Nexans S.A.); Calix, Inc.; Casa Systems Co.; Ciena Corporation; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Comba Telecom Systems Holding Ltd.; Corning Incorporated; Electroline Equipment, Inc.; Emcore Corporation; Emerson Electric Co.; Extreme Networks, Inc.; FiberHome Networks; Finisar Corporation; Genexis B.V.; Guavus, Inc. (a Thales Company); H3C Technologies Co., Ltd.; Harmonic, Inc.; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP; Hitron Technologies Inc.; Hong Kong Skyworth Digital Holdings Co.; Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.; Huber + Suhner BKTel GmbH; Humax Co., Ltd.; Imagine Communications Corp.; Infinera Corporation; International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation; JMA Wireless B.VV; Lindsay Broadband Inc.; Netgear Inc.; Netgem; NetScout Systems, Inc.; Nokia Corporation; Ortronics, Inc. (a brand of Legrand NA, LLC); Pacific Broadband Networks; Panduit Corp.; PCT International, Inc.; Radio Frequency Systems (RFS) Holding GmbH (a subsidiary of Nokia Corp); Sagemcom Broadband SAS; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; SeaChange International, Inc.; SMC Networks, Inc.; SOLiD Gear, Inc.; Sumavision Technologies Co., Ltd.; Sumitomo Corp; Technetix; Technicolor S.A.; Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson; Teleste Corporation; TiVo Corporation; TOA Technologies (Oracle); Ubee Interactive Corporation; Ubiquiti, Inc.; Vecima Networks, Inc.; Vector Networks; Veramatrix, Inc.; Wisi Communications; and ZTE Corporation.

We compete primarily on the basis of delivering solutions, product specifications, quality, price, customer service and delivery time. We believe that we differentiate ourselves in many of our markets based on our market leadership, global sales channels, intellectual property, strong reputation with our customer base, the scope of our product offering, the quality and performance of our solutions, and our service and technical support.

Competitive Strengths

We are a modular approach, whichglobal leader in connectivity and essential infrastructure solutions for communications and entertainment networks, and we believe we hold leading market positions in our segments. Since our founding in 1976, CommScope has been a leading brand in connectivity solutions for communications networks. In the cable television and video network equipment industry, both CommScope and ARRIS are longstanding market leaders, along with other brands we own such as Ruckus, Pace, Motorola Home, ADC and many smaller brands. In the wireless industry, Andrew is one of the world’s most recognized brands and a global leader in RF solutions for wireless networks. In the enterprise market, SYSTIMAX, NETCONNECT and Uniprise are recognized as global market leaders in enterprise connectivity solutions for business enterprise and data center applications.

We believe the following competitive strengths have been instrumental to our success and position us well for future

growth and strong financial performance:

Differentiated Solutions Supported by Ongoing Innovation and Significant Proprietary Intellectual Property (IP)

Our integrated solutions for building better networks are differentiated in the marketplace and are a significant global competitive advantage. We help our customers achieve better business outcomes, and serve their customers, employees, and shareholders. We invested $578.5 million in research and development during 2019 and $725.0 million, after giving effect to the Acquisition as if it happened on January 1, 2019, to advance product innovation and drive total cost of deployment and ownership down. Our ongoing innovation, supported by proprietary intellectual property and technology know-how, has allowed us to build and sustain a competitive advantage.

Established Sales Channels and Customer Relationships

We serve customers in over 150 countries and have become a trusted advisor to many of them through our industry expertise, quality products, leading technology and long-term relationships. These factors enable us to provide mission-critical connectivity solutions that our customers need to build and maintain high-performing communication networks. Our customers include substantially all the leading global telecommunications operators, data center managers, cable television providers or MSOs and thousands of enterprise customers, including many Fortune 500 companies. We are a key supplier within the wireless infrastructure market and enjoy established sales channels across all geographies and technologies. Our long-standing relationships with telecommunication operators enable us to work closely with them in providing highly customized solutions aligned with their technology roadmaps. We have a global sales force with sales representatives based in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and other regions, and an extensive global network of channel partners, including independent distributors, system integrators and value-added resellers. Our sales force has direct relationships with our customers and end users which generates demand for our products, with a significant portion of our sales fulfilled through channel partners. Our direct sales force and channel partner relationships give us extensive reach and distribution capabilities to customers globally.

Global Scale, Manufacturing Footprint and Quality

Our global manufacturing and distribution footprint and worldwide sales force give us significant scale within our addressable markets. We believe our scale, stability and quality make us an attractive strategic partner to our large

global customers, and we have been repeatedly recognized by key customers for these attributes. In addition, our ability to leverage our core technologycompetencies across generationsour business, coupled with our successful track record of networks

operational efficiencies, has allowed us to improve our margins and mitigate technology risk. We provide a complete portfolio of RF infrastructurecash flows over time while continuing to invest

in research and development and acquisitions targeting new products and we are recognized for our leading technologies, best-in-class performance, comprehensive product portfolio and global scale.markets.

Our macro cell site solutions include base station antennas, microwave antennas, hybrid fiber-feedermanufacturing and power cables, coaxial cables, connectorsdistribution facilities are strategically located to optimize service levels and filters.product delivery

times. We also provide a comprehensive portfolio atutilize lower-cost geographies for high labor content products and largely automated plants in higher cost regions. Over half of our manufacturing employees are in lower-cost geographies such as Mexico, China, India

and the base of the tower including cabinets, platforms, fiber backhaul connectivity hubs and power solutions that allow operators to minimize capital expenditures, operating expenses and deployment time.

Our metro cell solutions include RF delivery, equipment, housing and concealment. The fully integrated outdoor systems include specialized antennas, filters/combiners, backhaul solutions, intra-system cabling and power distribution, all minimized to fit an urban environment. These solutions facilitate site acquisition and improve RF network performance in the metro area while minimizing interference with the macro layer. Furthermore, they enable faster zoning approvals and expedite construction.

Our small cell and DAS solutions are primarily comprised of distributed antenna systems and distributed cell solutions.Czech Republic. The combination of our innovative small cell offeringsdynamic manufacturing organization, our global network of third party manufacturers and our industry-leading DAS portfolio enablesdistribution organization allows us to:

Proven Management Team with Record of Operational Excellence and Successful Mergers and Acquisition Integration

We have a strong track record of organically growing market share, establishing leadership positions in new

markets, managing cash flows, delivering profitable growth across multiple economic cycles and integrating large

and small acquisitions. Our senior management team has extensive experience in connectivity solutions for the

communications infrastructure industry.

We have a history of strong operating cash flow and have generated over $1.6 billion in cumulative operating cash

flow over the last three years. Our strong cash flow profile has allowed us to provide a broader rangepay down debt, while also continuing to invest in research and development aimed at both driving profit expansion and revenue growth. We continuously pursue strategic initiatives aimed at optimizing our resources, reducing manufacturing and distribution costs and lowering our overall cost structure.

Throughout our history, we have successfully complemented our organic growth with strategic acquisitions. We are ahead of solutions, addressing single-operator, single-band, low capacity environments allplan on our commitment around the way through multi-carrier, multi-technology, multi-band, high capacity environments.  ARRIS synergy capture. We completed the Broadband Network Systems (BNS) business integration and delivered substantial synergies while also completing significant system integrations and re-organizing the business. Our management team has effectively integrated other large acquisitions, such as Andrew Corporation in 2007 and Avaya Connectivity Solutions in 2004. We have also executed tuck-in acquisitions, such as Cable Exchange, Airvana, Argus and Alifabs, to help expand our market opportunities and continue to solve our customers’ business challenges in multiple growth areas.

Manufacturing and Distribution

We maintain a balance of internal and external manufacturing providers to continue offering our customers a competitive combination of quality, cost and flexibility in meeting their needs. We develop, design, fabricate, manufacture and assemble many of our products and solutions in-house at our facilities located around the world. We have strategically located our manufacturing and distribution facilities to provide superior service levels to customers. We utilize lower-cost geographies for high labor content products while investing in largely automated plants in higher-cost regions close to customers. Most of our manufacturing employees are located in lower-cost geographies such as Mexico, China, India and the Czech Republic.

In addition, we utilize contract manufacturers located throughout the world, including in Brazil, China, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and the U.S., for many of our product groups, including our broadband and video products, certain Network and Cloud products, certain cabinets and filter products and all of our Ruckus segment products. Our global footprint allows us to hedge against macroeconomic headwinds in an everchanging environment.

We continuallycontinuously evaluate and adjust operations to improve service, lower cost and improve the return on our capital investments. In addition,investments, and we utilize contract manufacturers for many of our product groups, including certain cabinets and filter products. We expect to continue modifying our global operations to adapt to changing product demand orand business conditions.

ResearchRaw Materials and Development

Research and development is important to preserve and expand our position as a market leader and to provide the most technologically advanced solutions in the marketplace. We invested $186 million in research and development during 2018 and expect to continue with substantial investments in future years. We continue to focus our major research and development activities on high-growth opportunities such as fiber optic connectivity for FTTX and data centers, active and passive base-station antennas, and metro cell and small cell wireless solutions. We are also in the process of developing solutions that support the convergence of wireline and wireless networks in preparation for 5G. Several of our professionals are leaders and active contributors in standards-setting organizations which helps ensure that our products can be formulated to achieve broad market acceptance.

Customers

Our customers include substantially all of the leading global telecom operators, data center managers, leading cable television providers or MSOs and thousands of enterprise customers, including many Fortune 500 companies, which we serve both directly and indirectly. Major customers and distributors include companies such as Anixter International Inc.; AT&T Inc.; Charter Communications, Inc.; Comcast Corporation; Ericsson, Inc.; Graybar Electric Company, Inc.; KGP Co; Talley Inc.; T-Mobile; Verizon Communications Inc.; and Wesco International Inc. We support our global sales organization with regional service centers strategically located around the world.

Products from our CCS segment are primarily sold indirectly to the end customer through independent distributors, system integrators or value-added resellers. We also sell directly to cable television system operators, broadband operators, or service providers that deploy broadband networks. Sales to our top three CCS segment customers represented 17% and 18% of our consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Net sales to our largest customer, Anixter International Inc. and its affiliates (Anixter), accounted for 11% of our consolidated net sales for each of the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017. No other CCS segment customers accounted for 10% or more of our consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018 or 2017.

Products from our CMS segment are primarily sold to wireless operators, integrators or contractors that deploy elements of wireless networks at the direction of wireless operators or OEMs that sell equipment to wireless operators. Our customer service and engineering groups maintain close working relationships with these customers due to the significant amount of customization associated with some of these products. Direct sales to our top three CMS segment operator customers represented 11% and 13% of our consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. No CMS segment customer accounted for 10% or more of our consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017. While we sell to most wireless operators globally, our sales are concentrated within a small number of large operators.

We generally have no minimum purchase commitments with any of our distributors, system integrators, value-added resellers, wireless operators or OEM customers, and our contracts with these parties do not prohibit them from purchasing or offering products or services that compete with ours. Although we maintain long-term relationships with these parties and have not historically lost key customers, we have experienced variability in the level of purchases by our key customers. Any significant reduction in sales to these customers, including as a result of the inability or unwillingness of these customers to continue purchasing our products, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

We employ a global manufacturing and distribution strategy to control production costs and provide world-class service to customers. We support our international sales efforts with sales representatives based in Europe, Latin America, Asia and other regions throughout the world. Our net sales from international operations were $2.0 billion, $2.1 billion and $2.3 billion for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Patents and Trademarks

We pursue an active policy of seeking intellectual property protection, including patents and registered trademarks, for new products and designs. On a worldwide basis, we held approximately 9,500 patents and patent applications and approximately 2,300 registered trademarks and trademark applications as of December 31, 2018. We consider our patents and trademarks to be valuable assets, and while no single patent is material to our overall operations, we believe the CommScope, Andrew, SYSTIMAX, HELIAX and NETCONNECT trade names and related trademarks are critical assets to our business. We intend to rely on our intellectual property rights, including our proprietary knowledge, trade secrets and continuing technological innovation, to develop and maintain our competitive position. We will continue to protect our key intellectual property rights.

Backlog and Seasonality

At December 31, 2018 and 2017 we had an order backlog of $500 million and $492 million, respectively. Orders typically fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on customer demand and general business conditions. Our backlog includes only orders that are believed to be firm. Sometimes, unfilled orders may be canceled prior to shipment of goods, but cancellations historically have not been material. However, our current order backlog may not guarantee future demand.

Due to the variability of shipments under large contracts, customers’ seasonal installation considerations and variations in product mix and in profitability of individual orders, we can experience significant quarterly fluctuations in sales and operating income. Our operating performance is typically weaker during the first and fourth quarters and stronger during the second and third quarters. These variations are expected to continue in the future. It may be more meaningful to focus on annual rather than interim results.

Competition

The market for our products is highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change. We encounter significant domestic and international competition across both segments of our business. Our competitors include large, diversified companies — some of whom have substantially more assets and greater financial resources than we do. We also face competition from small to medium-sized companies and less diversified companies that have concentrated efforts in one or more areas of the markets we serve. Our competitors include AFL (a subsidiary of Fujikura, Ltd.,); Amphenol Corporation; Belden Inc.; Berk-Tek (a Company of Nexans S.A.); Comba Telecom Systems Holding Ltd.; Corning Incorporated; Emerson Electric Co.; Ericsson Inc.; Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.; JMA Wireless; KATHREIN-Werke KG; Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.; Nokia Corp; Ortronics (a brand of Legrand NA, LLC); Panduit Corp.; RFS (a subsidiary of Nokia Corp); SOLiD Technologies; Sumitomo Corp; and ZTE Corp. We compete primarily on the basis of delivering solutions, product specifications, quality, price, customer service and delivery time. We believe that we differentiate ourselves in many of our markets based on our market leadership, global sales channels, intellectual property, strong reputation with our customer base, the scope of our product offering, the quality and performance of our solutions, and our service and technical support.

Competitive Strengths

We are a global leader in connectivity and essential infrastructure solutions for communications networks, and we believe we hold leading market positions in our segments. Since our founding in 1976, CommScope has been a leading brand in connectivity solutions for communications networks. In the wireless industry, Andrew is one of the world’s most recognized brands and a global leader in RF solutions for wireless networks. In the enterprise market, SYSTIMAX, NETCONNECT and Uniprise are recognized as global market leaders in enterprise connectivity solutions for business enterprise and data center applications.

We believe the following competitive strengths have been instrumental to our success and position us well for future growth and strong financial performance:

Differentiated Solutions Supported by Ongoing Innovation and Significant Proprietary Intellectual Property (IP)

Our integrated solutions for wireless, enterprise, fiber optic and broadband networks are differentiated in the marketplace and are a significant global competitive advantage. We invested $186 million in research and development during 2018 and expect to continue with substantial investments in future years. We have also added significant IP and innovation through acquisitions, such as the acquisition of Broadband Network Solutions (BNS) from TE Connectivity, which added approximately 7,000 patents and patent applications worldwide and gave us access to leading fiber technology that will help us better address a transition to fiber deployments deeper into networks and data centers as consumers and businesses generate increasing bandwidth requirements; Airvana, which expanded our leadership and capabilities in providing indoor wireless capacity and coverage; and Argus Technologies (Argus), which enhanced our next-generation base station antenna technology. Our ongoing innovation, supported by proprietary IP and technology know-how, has allowed us to sustain this competitive advantage. With these new innovative solutions, we expect to solve more customer communications challenges, while providing greater opportunities to our business partners.

Established Sales Channels and Customer Relationships

We serve customers in over 100 countries and have become a trusted advisor to many of them through our industry expertise, quality products, leading technology and long-term relationships. These factors enable us to provide mission-critical connectivity solutions that our customers need to build high-performing communication networks.

Our customers include substantially all of the leading global telecom operators, data center managers, leading cable television providers or MSOs and thousands of enterprise customers, including many Fortune 500 companies. We are a key supplier within the wireless infrastructure market and enjoy established sales channels across all geographies and technologies. Our long-standing relationships with telecommunication operators enable us to work closely with them in providing highly customized solutions aligned with their technology roadmaps. We have a global sales force with sales representatives based in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and other regions, and an extensive global network of channel partners including independent distributors, system integrators and value-added resellers. Our sales force has direct relationships with our customers and end users which generates demand for our products, with a large portion of our sales fulfilled through channel partners. Our direct sales force and channel partner relationships give us extensive reach and distribution capabilities to customers globally.

Global Scale, Manufacturing Footprint and Quality

Our global manufacturing and distribution footprint and worldwide sales force give us significant scale within our addressable markets. We believe our scale, stability and quality make us an attractive strategic partner to our large global customers, and we have been repeatedly recognized by key customers for these attributes. In addition, our ability to leverage our core competencies across our business, coupled with our successful track record of operational efficiencies, has allowed us to improve our margins and cash flows over time while continuing to invest in research and development and acquisitions targeting new products and markets.

Our manufacturing and distribution facilities are strategically located to optimize service levels and product delivery times. We also utilize lower-cost geographies for high labor content products and largely automated plants in higher-cost regions. Over half of our manufacturing employees are in lower-cost geographies such as Mexico, China, India and the Czech Republic. Our dynamic manufacturing and distribution organization allows us to:

Proven Management Team with Record of Operational Excellence and Successful M&A Integration

We have a strong track record of organically growing market share, establishing leadership positions in new markets, managing cash flows, delivering profitable growth across multiple economic cycles and integrating large and small acquisitions. Our senior management team has extensive experience in connectivity solutions for the communications infrastructure industry.

We have a history of strong operating cash flow and have generated over $1.7 billion in cumulative operating cash flow over the last three years. Our strong cash flow profile has allowed us to continue to invest in innovative research and development, pursue strategic acquisitions, repay debt and return cash to stockholders. We continuously pursue strategic initiatives aimed at optimizing our resources, reducing manufacturing and distribution costs and lowering our overall cost structure.

Throughout our history, we have successfully complemented our organic growth with strategic acquisitions. We have completed the BNS business integration and we have delivered substantial synergies, completed significant system integrations and re-organized the business. Our management team has effectively integrated other large acquisitions, such as Andrew Corporation in 2007 and Avaya Connectivity Solutions in 2004. We have also executed tuck-in acquisitions, such as Cable Exchange, Airvana, Argus and Alifabs, to help expand our market opportunities and continue to solve our customers’ business challenges in multiple growth areas. We expect the acquisition of ARRIS to accelerate our strategy to drive profitable growth by unlocking high growth markets, increasing the product addressable market and position the combined company to capitalize on key industry trends as a leading global communication infrastructure provider.

Raw MaterialsComponents

Our products are manufactured or assembled from both standard components and parts that are unique to our specifications. Our internal manufacturing operations are largely process oriented and we use significant quantities of various raw materials, including aluminum, bimetals, brass, copper, plastics and other polymers, optical fiber and steel, among others. We use significant volumes of copper, aluminum, steel and polymers in manufacturing coaxial and twisted pair cables and antennas. Other parts are produced using processes such as stamping, machining, molding and pressing from metals or plastics. Portions of the requirements for these materials are purchased under supply arrangements where some portion of the unit pricing may be indexed to commodity market prices for these metals. We may occasionally enter forward purchase commitments or otherwise secure availability for specific commodities to mitigate our exposure to price changes for a portion of our anticipated purchases. Certain of the raw materials utilized in our products may only be available from a few suppliers, and we may enter into longer term agreements to secure access to certain key inputs. We may, therefore, encounter availability issues and/or significant price increases.

Our profitability may be materially affected by changes in the market price of our raw materials, most of which are linked to the commodity markets. Prices for aluminum, copper, plastics and certain other polymers derived from oil and natural gas have fluctuated substantially during the past several years. We have adjusted our prices for certain products and may have to adjust prices again. Delays in implementing price increases, failure to achieve market acceptance of price increases, or price reductions in response to a rapid decline in raw material costs, could have a material adverse impact on the results of our operations.

In addition, some of our products are assembled from specialized components and subassemblies manufactured by third-party suppliers. We depend upon sole suppliers for certain keyof these components, for some of our products.including memory and chip capacitors. If these sources could notcannot provide these components in sufficient quantity and quality on a timely and cost efficientcost-efficient basis, it could materially impact our results of operations until another qualified supplier is found. We believe that our supply contracts and our supplier contingency plans mitigate some of this risk.

Environment

We are subject to various federal, state, local Our supply agreements include technology licensing and foreign environmental laws and regulations governing, among other things, discharges to air and water, managementcomponent purchase contracts. Several of regulated materials, handling and disposal of solid and hazardous waste, and investigation and remediation of contaminated sites.our competitors have similar supply agreements for these components. In addition, we arelicense software for operating network and security systems or may besub-systems and a variety of routing protocols from different suppliers.

Research and Development

We operate in an industry that is subject to lawsrapid changes in technology, and regulations regardingour success is largely contingent upon anticipating and reacting to such changes. Accordingly, R&D is important to preserve and expand our position as a market leader and to provide the typesmost technologically advanced solutions in the marketplace. We invested $578.5 million in research and development during 2019 and $725.0 million, after giving effect to the Acquisition as if it happened on January 1, 2019, and we expect to continue with substantial investments in future years. We intend to focus our major R&D activities on high-growth opportunities such as fiber optic connectivity for fiber-to-the-x (FTTX) and data centers, Wi-Fi 6 and 6GHz, CCAP, DAA, Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) 4.0, gigabit passive optical network (GPON), active and passive base-station antennas and metro cell and small cell wireless solutions. We are also developing solutions that support the convergence of substances allowablewireline and wireless networks in certainpreparation for 5G. Several of our productsprofessionals are leaders and the handling ofactive contributors in standards-setting organizations, which helps ensure that our products at the end of their useful life. See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” for additional discussion of our risks relatedcan be formulated to environmental lawsachieve broad market acceptance.

Backlog and regulations.

EmployeesSeasonality

As ofAt December 31, 2019 and 2018 we had an order backlog of $1,243.2 million and $500.0 million, respectively. Orders typically fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on customer demand and general business conditions. Our backlog includes only orders that are believed to be firm. Sometimes, unfilled orders may be canceled prior to shipment of goods, but cancellations historically have not been material. However, our current order backlog may not guarantee future demand.

Due to the variability of shipments under large contracts, customers’ seasonal installation considerations and variations in product mix and in profitability of individual orders, we can experience significant quarterly fluctuations in sales and operating income. Our operating performance is typically weaker during the first and fourth quarters and stronger during the second and third quarters. These variations are expected to continue in the future. It may be more meaningful to focus on annual rather than interim results.

Patents and Trademarks

We pursue an active policy of seeking intellectual property protection, including patents and registered trademarks, for new products and designs. For technology that is not owned by us, we have a team of over 20,000 peopleprogram for obtaining appropriate licenses to serveensure that we have the necessary license coverage for our customers worldwide. The majorityproducts. In addition, we have formed strategic relationships with leading technology companies to provide us with early access to technology that we believe will help keep us at the forefront of our employeesindustry.

On a worldwide basis, we held approximately 15,000 patents and patent applications and approximately 3,000 registered trademarks and trademark applications. We consider our patents and trademarks to be valuable assets, and although no single patent is material to our overall operations, we believe the CommScope, Andrew, SYSTIMAX, HELIAX, NETCONNECT, ARRIS, SURFboard and Ruckus trade names and related trademarks are located outsidecritical assets to our business. We intend to rely on our intellectual property rights, including our proprietary knowledge, trade secrets and continuing technological innovation, to develop and maintain our competitive position. From time to time there are disputes with respect to the ownership of the United States (U.S.). As a mattertechnology used in our industry and accusations of policy, we seekpatent infringements. We will continue to maintain good relations withprotect our employees at all locations. key intellectual property rights.

Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

We are not subject to any collective bargaining agreements in the U.S. A significant portion of our international employees are members of unions or subject to workers’ councils or similar statutory arrangements. From a companywide perspective, we believe that our relations with our employeescorporate responsibility and unions or workers’ councils are satisfactory, though wesustainability means making decisions that have experienced challenges in certain countries and may encounter more such challenges. Historically, periods of labor unrest or work stoppage have not had a materialpositive impact on our operations or results.people, planet and bottom line. Our company-wide sustainability mission is to enable faster, smarter and more sustainable solutions while demonstrating the utmost respect for our human and natural resources. We are accomplishing this mission by utilizing innovative technology, intelligent engineering and energy efficient design to build more sustainable networks that make our customers more agile, while at the same time seeking to preserve the natural ecosystems from which we source our raw materials. While we may provide technological solutions, it is our people who make the real difference in our communities. Their commitment to our customers, fellow employees and the communities in which they live and work drives them to provide creative solutions, services and practices that are safe and sustainable for our environment and future generations.

Available Information

Our website (www.commscope.com) contains frequently updated information about usWe understand how important it is to consider the larger impact of our actions beyond the balance sheet. We are proud of CommScope’s significant standing in one of the world’s most vital and dynamic industries. We push ourselves and our operations. Our filings withthinking for the Securitiespurpose of creating a better and Exchange Commission (SEC)sustainable tomorrow. For the sake of our current and future generations, we will continue to grow as a sustainable, environmentally conscious business that benefits the whole planet.

In 2019, we are particularly proud that we achieved our fourth consecutive Gold Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rating from EcoVadis, a global leader in monitoring, benchmarking and enabling sustainability in global supply chains. This places CommScope in the 98th percentile of all companies assessed by EcoVadis. For additional information, see our Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability pages on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, Form 8-K and Proxy Statements and all amendments to those reports can be viewed and downloaded free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after the reports and amendments are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC by accessing www.commscope.com and clicking on Company, Investor Relations, Financial Information and then clicking on SEC FilingsCommScope website: https://www.commscope.com/About-Us/Corporate-Responsibility-and-Sustainability/. The information contained on or incorporated by reference to our website is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS

The following is a cautionary discussion of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that we believe are significant to our business. In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the following are some of the important factors that, individually or in the aggregate, we believe could make our results differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements. It is impossible to predict or identify all such factors and, as a result, you should not consider the following factors to be a complete discussion of risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to us or our business.

ARRIS Acquisition Risks

The pending acquisition of ARRIS International plc (ARRIS) (the Pending Acquisition) may not be completed on a timely basis, on anticipated terms, or at all, and there are uncertainties and risks to consummating the Pending Acquisition.

The obligation of each party to consummate the Pending Acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions set forth in the bid conduct agreement, as amended (the Bid Conduct Agreement) dated November 8, 2018, many of which are not within our control. Several conditions have been satisfied such as approval of the acquisition by the ARRIS stockholders and expiration of the Hart-Scott Rodino Act waiting period in the U.S. Other conditions that still need to be satisfied include the receipt of all remaining required consents, approvals or clearances required by certain other foreign governmental authorities under applicable antitrust laws and the absence of any legal restraint that prohibits the Pending Acquisition. Each party’s obligation to consummate the Pending Acquisition is subject to certain additional closing conditions, including the accuracy of representations and warranties and performance of each parties’ obligations required to be performed as well as others set forth in the Bid Conduct Agreement. The failure to satisfy all of the required conditions could delay the completion of the Pending Acquisition for a significant period of time or prevent it from occurring. Any delay in completing the Pending Acquisition, including as a result of any litigation related to the Pending Acquisition, could prevent us from realizing some or all of the benefits that we expect to achieve. Furthermore, subject to certain conditions, ARRIS may at any time terminate the Bid Conduct Agreement as a result of a superior proposal to purchase its business.

We face risks and uncertainties due to the announcement of the Pending Acquisition, as well as the potential failure to consummate the Pending Acquisition, including that:

The occurrence of any of these events, individually or in combination, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.Risks

The integration of CommScope and ARRIS International plc (ARRIS) will be difficult, costly and time-consuming and the anticipated benefits and cost savings may take longer to realize than expected or may not be realized at all. If we are unable to integrate ARRIS effectively, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of the Pending Acquisition.

We currently expectare on track to realize annualdeliver at least $75.0 million in cost synergies and cost savings of approximately $150.0 million to be fully achieved within three years of the closing of the Pending Acquisition, with approximately $60.0 million in the first full year. We alsoyear post close and we expect to incurexceed our target annual run-rate savings of $150.0 million ahead of the third anniversary of the close of the ARRIS transaction. We have incurred significant integration and restructuring costs of approximately $150.0 millionand expect to incur more to achieve these synergies. These synergies are expected to come from all areas of our company, including sales, marketing, general and administrative, operations and research and development.R&D. Our ability to realize the anticipated benefits is dependent, to a large extent, on our ability to complete the integration of the two businesses. The combination of two independent businesses is a complex, costly and time-consuming process and there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully integrate CommScope and ARRIS, or if such integration is successfully accomplished, that such integration will not be more costly or take longer than presently contemplated. If we cannot successfully complete the integration within a reasonable time frame, we may not be able to realize the anticipated benefits of the Pending Acquisition, which could have a material adverse effect on our share price, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Our ability to realize the expected synergies and benefits of the Pending Acquisition is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things:

As a result of the Pending Acquisition, The Carlyle Group (Carlyle) will ownowns a substantial portion of our equity and its interests may not be aligned with yours.

Funding for the Pending Acquisition will include a convertible preferred stockincluded an investment by Carlyle.Carlyle in our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. As a result, Carlyle will ownowns approximately 16% of our common stock on an as-convertedif-converted basis and we will increasehave increased the size of our board of directors to eleven, giving Carlyle the right to designate up to two directors. In addition, certain of our existing directors are senior advisors to Carlyle. Circumstances may occur in which the interests of Carlyle could conflict with the interests of our other stockholders. For example, the existence of Carlyle as a significant stockholder and Carlyle’s board appointment rights may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers, delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in management or limiting the ability of our other stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in the best interests of our company.

Competitive Risks

Our business is dependent on capital spending for data, communication and communicationentertainment networks, and reductions in such capital spending could adversely affect our business.

Our performance is dependent on capital spending for constructing, rebuilding, maintaining or upgrading data, communication and communicationentertainment networks, which can be volatile and difficult to forecast. Capital spending in the communications industry is cyclical and can be curtailed or deferred on short notice. A variety of factors affect the timing and amount of capital spending in the communications industry, including: competing technologies; general economic conditions; seasonality of outside deployments; timing and adoption of the global rollout of new technologies; customer specific financial or general market conditions; changes in customer preferences or requirements; availability and cost of capital; governmental regulation; demands for network services; competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; acceptance of new services offered by our customers; industry consolidation; and real or perceived trends or uncertainties in these factors.

As a result of these factors, we may not be able to maintain or increase our sales in the future, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

A substantial portion of our business is derived from a limited number of key customers and channel partners.

Our customer base includes direct customers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and channel partners, which include distributors, system integrators, value-added resellers and value-added resellers. Wemanufacturers’ representatives. For the year ended December 31, 2019, after giving effect to the Acquisition as if it happened on January 1, 2019, we would have derived 18%approximately 21% of our 2018 consolidated net sales from our top two direct customers. Our largest customer Anixter International Inc. (Anixter), accountedwould have been Comcast, accounting for 11%approximately 13% of our 2018 consolidated net sales. As a result ofsales, after giving effect to the Pending Acquisition our customer concentration composition will likely change and our largest customer is expected to be Comcast Corporation with 10% or more of our total net sales.  

. The concentration of our net sales amongwith these key customers subjects us to a variety of risks including:

We are also exposed to similar risks to the extent that we have significant indirect sales to one or more end-users of our products, who may also be a direct customer.

We generally have no minimum purchase commitments with any of our distributors, system integrators, value-added resellers, operators or OEMs or other customers, and our contracts with these parties generally do not prohibit them from purchasing or offering products or services that compete with ours. Although we maintain long-term relationships with these parties and have not historically lost key customers, we have experienced variability in the level of purchases by our key customers. Any significant reduction in sales to these customers, including as a result of the inability or unwillingness of these customers to continue purchasing our products, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We face competitive pressures with respect to all of our major product groups.

Competition in our industry depends on a number of factors, includingincluding: innovative product and service solution offerings,offerings; the ability to adapt to changing markets and customer preferences,preferences; product and service quality,quality; timing of the introduction of new products and services,services; speed of delivery, pricing,delivery; pricing; and customer service, andincluding the total customer experience.

In each of our major product groups, we compete with a substantial number of foreign and domestic companies, some of which have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources or lower operating costs. They may also have broader product offerings and market focus. This gives many of these enterprises a competitive advantage to withstand any significant reduction in capital spending by customers in our markets over the long term. In some instances, our customers themselves may also be our competition in other business areas. Some of our customers may develop their own software requiring support within our products and/or may design and develop products of their own that are produced to their own specifications directly by a contract manufacturer. Further, our industry continues to consolidate, and the combination of any of our competitors could further increase these advantages and result in competitors with broader market presence.

Some competitors may be able to bundle their products and services together and may be capable of delivering more complete solutions that better meet customer preferences than we are able to provide, to better meet customer preferences, which may cause us to lose sales opportunities and revenue. Competitors’ actions, such as price reductions, acceptance of higher-riskhigh-risk contractual terms or the introduction of new, innovative products and services, and the use of exclusively price drivenprice-driven auctions by customers have caused lost sales opportunities in the past and may cause us to lose sales opportunities in the future. The rapid technological changes occurring in the communications industry could also lead to the entry of new competitors against whom we may not be able to compete successfully. For example, as networks become more virtualized, the functionality of our products may beis at risk of being subsumed by competitors who provideutilize software solutions that performto provide the same functionalityfunctions as our products. In addition, ifA related trend that could affect us is the emerging interest in distributed access architectures (DAA), which disaggregates some of the functions of the converged cable access platform (CCAP) and the access and transport platforms to enable deployment of these functions in ways that could reduce traditional operator capital expenditures in hybrid fiber-coaxial. Similarly, as there is technology evolution or transformation within the industry, be it DOCSIS 4.0 or PON, there is risk that our market position would be weakened. We have developed and deployed a line of DAA products, but some operators may not be aligned on the specific implementations of DAA and we could lose market share to competitors. Service providers also have the goal of virtualizing CCAP management and control functions as they deploy DAA, and although we are developing a fully virtualized CCAP product, this could potentially enable new competitors to enter the market and reduce operator dependence on our products. If any of our competitors’ products or technologies were to become the industry standard, our business would be negatively affected.

Further, if we are unable to continue to transform our business processes to support changing customer expectations and deliver a superior total customer experience, we may lose sales opportunities in the future.

Changes in trade policies could also decrease the price competitiveness of our products and/or increase our operating costs. For a more complete discussion of our risks related to trade policies, see the risk factor “Additional tariffs or a global trade war could increase the cost of our products, which could adversely impact the competitiveness of our products” under “International Risks” in this Item 1A. Risk Factors section.

We cannot assure you that we will continue to compete successfully with our existing competitors or with new competitors. If we are unable to compete in any of our markets at the same level as we have in the past or are forced to reduce the prices of our products in order to continue to be competitive, our operatingbusiness, financial condition, results financial conditionof operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

Our ability to sell our products is highly dependent on the quality of our support and services offerings after the sale, and our failure to offer high-quality support and services after the sale would have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.

After our products are deployed, our channel partners and end customers depend on our support organization to resolve any issues relating to our products. A high level of support is important for the successful marketing and sale of our products. In many cases, our channel partners provide support directly to our end-customers. We do not have complete control over the level or quality of support provided by our channel partners. These channel partners may also provide support for other third-party products, which may potentially distract resources from support for our products. If we and our channel partners do not effectively assist our end customers in deploying our products quickly resolving post-deployment issues or provide effective ongoing support, it would adversely affect our ability to sell our products to existing end customers and could harm our reputation with potential end customers. In some cases, we guarantee a certain level of performance to our channel partners and end customers, which could prove to be resource-intensive and expensive for us to fulfill if unforeseen technical problems arise.

Many of our service provider and large enterprise end customers have more complex networks and require higher levels of support than our smaller end customers. If our support organization fails to meet the requirements of our service provider or large enterprise end customers, it may be more difficult to execute on our strategy to increase our sales to large end customers. In addition, given the extent of our international operations, our support organization faces challenges, including those associated with delivering support, training and documentation in languages other than English. As a result of these factors, our failure to maintain high-quality support and services would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Changes to the regulatory environment in which our customers operate and changes in or uncertainty about government funded programs may negatively impact our business.

The telecommunications and cable television industries are subject to significant and changing federal and state regulation, both in the U.S. and other countries. Many of our customers are subject to various rules and regulations as Internet service providers and changes to such rules and regulations could adversely impact our customers’ decisions regarding capital spending. Some of our customers include agencies of the U.S. federal government as well as educational institutions that receive funding from the U.S. federal government. We, have benefitedas well as some of our customers, also participate in and benefit from government funded programs that encourage spending on initiativesthe development of network infrastructures. Examples include FirstNet, which is an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce developing, building and operating the nationwide broadband network that utilize our products.equips first responders, and the E-rates program, which provides supplemental funding to school districts to fund upgrades to technical infrastructure, including Wi-Fi infrastructure. Changes to the way in which internet service providers are regulated, changes in government programs in our industry or uncertainty regarding future changes could adversely impact our customers’ decisions regarding capital spending, which could decrease demand for our products. Decreased demand for our products could materially and adversely affect our operatingbusiness, financial condition, results financial conditionof operations and cash flows.

Operational Risks

Our future success depends on our ability to anticipate and adapt to changes in technology and customer preferences and develop, implement and market innovative solutions.

Many of our markets are characterized by rapid advances in information processing and communications capabilities that require increased transmission speeds and density and greater bandwidth. These advances require significant investments in research and developmentR&D in order to improve the capabilities of our products and services and develop new offerings or solutions that will meet the needs and preferences of our customers. There can be no assurance that our investments in research and developmentR&D will yield marketable product or service innovations.

We may not be successful in our ongoing innovation efforts if, among other things, our products and services are not cost effective;effective, brought to market in a timely manner;manner, compliant with evolving industry standards;standards, accepted in the market;market or recognized as meeting customer requirements. We could experience a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations financial condition and cash flows if we are not successful in our ongoing innovation efforts.

As our products become more complex and customer preferences continue to change, we may encounter difficulties in meeting customer preferences, including performance, service and delivery expectations,expectations. Developing our products is expensive, complex and involves uncertainties. Each phase in the development of our products presents serious risks of failure, rework or delay, any one of which could impact the timing and cost-effective development of such product and could jeopardize end customer acceptance of the product. We have experienced in the past, and may in the future experience, design, manufacturing, marketing and other difficulties that could delay or prevent the development, introduction or marketing of new products and enhancements. Any such difficulties or delays could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

If we do not stay current with product life cycle developments, our business may suffer.

ATo compete successfully, we must continue to innovate in anticipation of both our customers’ needs and developing industry trends, which require us to quickly design, develop, manufacture and sell new or enhanced products that provide increasingly higher levels of performance and reliability. The introduction of new or enhanced products requires that we carefully manage the transition from older products to minimize disruption in customer ordering practices and ensure that new products can be timely delivered to meet our customers’ demand.

For example, a significant portion of our revenues is dependent on the commercial deployment of technologies based on 3G and 4G wireless communications equipment and products. If we are not able to support our customers in an effective and cost-efficient manner as they advance from older generation networks or as they expand the capacity of their networks, our business will suffer. If we do not have competitively priced, market-accepted products available to meet our customers’ planned roll-out of 5G wireless communications systems, we may miss a significant opportunity and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

In addition,

Furthermore, there are several major trends that we expect to continue to impact the enterprise market and product life cycles. Enterprises are shifting toward mobility indoors and adjusting in-building cabling designs to support Wi-Fi, more access points and in-building cellular applications. Due to significant increases in data traffic and migrations of applications to the cloud, enterprises are also shifting spending toward multi-tenant data centers and hyperscale cloud service providers, which offer cloud data centers services as a replacement to in-house corporate data centers. As a result, there is growing demand for fiber solutions and decelerating demand for copper solutions. If we are unable to continue to support customers in these transitions, or if sales of copper products decline faster than expected, we could experience a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In order to stay current with product life cycle developments, we have formed strategic relationships with leading technology companies to provide us with early access to technology that we believe will help keep us at the forefront of our industry. Our strategic alliances are generally based on business relationships that have not been the subject of written agreements expressly providing for the alliance to continue for a significant period of time, and the loss of any such strategic relationship could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

If our products do not effectively interoperate with cellular networks and mobile devices, future sales of our products could be negatively affected.

Many of our products are designed to interoperate with cellular networks and mobile devices using Wi-Fi technology. These networks and devices have varied and complex specifications. As a result, we must ensure that our products interoperate effectively with these existing and planned networks and devices. To meet these requirements, we must continue development and testing efforts that require significant capital and employee resources. We may not accomplish these development efforts quickly or cost-effectively, or at all. If our products do not interoperate effectively, orders for our products could be delayed or cancelled, which would harm our revenue, operating results and reputation, potentially resulting in the loss of existing and potential end customers. The failure of our products to interoperate effectively with cellular networks or mobile devices may result in significant warranty, support and repair costs, divert the attention of our engineering personnel from our product development efforts and cause significant customer relations problems. In addition, our end customers may require our products to comply with new and rapidly evolving security or other certifications and standards. If our products are late in achieving or fail to achieve compliance with these certifications and standards, or our competitors achieve compliance with these certifications and standards, such end customers may not purchase our products, which would harm our business, operating results, financial condition and cash flows.

If our service offerings or products, including material purchased from our suppliers, have quality or performance issues, our business may suffer.

Our business depends on delivering products and services of consistently high quality. Many of our solutions are highly complex, and testing procedures used by us and our customers are limited to evaluating them under likely and foreseeable failure scenarios. Many of our products include both hardware and software components. It is not unusual for software, especially in earlier versions, to contain bugs that can unexpectedly interfere with expected operations. For various reasons, once deployed, our products may fail to perform as expected. Performance issues could result from faulty design, defective raw materials or components purchased from suppliers, problems in manufacturing or installation errors. We have experienced such performance issues in the past and remain exposed to such performance issues in the future. In some cases, recall of some or all affected products, product redesigns or additional capital expenditures may be required to correct a defect.defect; and depending on the number of products affected, the cost of fixing or replacing such products could have a material impact on our operating results.

In some cases, we are dependent on a sole supplier for components used in our products. Defects in sole-sourced components subject us to additional risk of being able to quickly address any product issues or failures experienced by our customers as a result of the component defect and could delay our ability to deliver new products until the defective components are corrected or a new supplier is identified and qualified. This could increase our costs in resolving the product issue, result in decreased sales of the impacted product or damage our reputation with customers, any of which could negatively impact our operating results.

Hardware or software defects could also permit unauthorized users to gain access to our customers’ networks and/or a consumer’s home network. In addition we generallyto potentially damaging our reputation with customers, such defects may also subject us to claims for damages under agreements with our customers and fines by regulatory authorities.

We offer warranties on most products, the terms and conditions of which depend upon the product subject to the warranty. In many cases, we also indemnify our customers against damages or losses that might arise from certain claims relating to our products and services. Future claims may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Any significant or systemic product or service failure could also result in lost future sales as well asa result of reputational damage.

Although certain technical problems experienced by users may not be caused by our products, our business and reputation may be harmed if users perceive our products as the cause of a slow or unreliable network connection, or a high-profile network failure.

Our products have been deployed in many different locations and user environments and are capable of providing services and connectivity to many different types of devices operating a variety of applications. The ability of our products to operate effectively can be negatively impacted by many different elements unrelated to our products. For example, a user’s experience may suffer from an incorrect setting in a Wi-Fi device. Although certain technical problems experienced by users may not be caused by our products, users often may perceive them to be the underlying cause of poor performance of the wireless network. This perception, even if incorrect, could harm our business and reputation. Similarly, a high-profile network failure may be caused by improper operation of the network or failure of a network component that we did not supply, but service providers may perceive that our products were implicated, which, even if incorrect, could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We depend on cloud computing infrastructure operated by third-parties and any disruption in these operations could adversely affect our business.

For certain of our service offerings, in particular our Wi-Fi-related cloud services, we rely on third parties to provide cloud computing infrastructure that offers storage capabilities, data processing and other services. We currently operate our cloud-dependent services using Amazon Web Service (AWS) or Google Compute Engine (GCE). We cannot easily switch our AWS or GCE operations to another cloud provider. Any disruption of or interference with our use of these cloud services would impact our operations and our business could be adversely impacted.

Problems faced by our third-party cloud services with the telecommunications network providers with whom we or they contract or with the systems by which our telecommunications providers allocate capacity among their customers, including us, could adversely affect the experience of our end customers. If AWS and GCE are unable to keep up with our needs for capacity, this could have an adverse effect on our business. Any changes in third-party cloud services or any errors, defects, disruptions or other performance problems with our cloud-based applications, could adversely affect our reputation and may damage our end customers’ stored files or result in lengthy interruptions in our services. Interruptions in our services might adversely affect our reputation and operating results, cause us to issue refunds or service credits, subject us to potential liabilities or result in contract terminations.

Our business depends on effective management information systems.

We rely on effective management information systems for critical business operations, to support strategic business decisions and to maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace. We rely on our enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to support critical business operations such as processing sales orders and invoicing; manufacturing; shipping;invoicing, manufacturing, shipping, inventory control;control, purchasing and supply chain management;management, human resources;resources and financial reporting. We expect to begin the upgrade of our ERP software to a newer, cloud-based version in 2020. We may experience difficulties as we transition to the upgraded systems, including loss or corruption of data, delayed shipments, decreases in productivity as personnel implement and become familiar with new systems and processes, unanticipated expenses (including increased costs of implementation or costs of conducting business) and lost revenue. Difficulties in implementing the upgrade or significant system failure could disrupt our operations, divert management’s attention and have an adverse effect on our capital resources, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We also rely on management information systems to produce information for business decision-making and planning and to support e-commerce activities. Failure to maintain an adequate digital platform or to make additional investment in our digital platform to support e-commerce activities and improve our customer experience could have a material adverse impact on our business through lost sales opportunities.

If we are unable to maintain our management information systems, including our IT infrastructure, to support critical business operations, to produce information for business decision-making activities and to support our e-commerce activities, we could experience a material adverse impact on our business or an inability to timely and accurately report our financial results.

Cyber-security incidents, including data security breaches, ransomware or computer viruses, could harm our business by exposing us to various liabilities, disrupting our delivery of products and services and damaging our reputation.

We rely extensively on our management information technology systems and those of third parties to operate our business and store proprietary information about our products and intellectual property. Additionally, we and others acting on our behalf receive, process, store and transmit confidential data, including “personally identifiable information”information,” with respect to employees, vendors, customers and others. As the recent rise in cyber-securitycybersecurity incidents around the world indicates, all management information technology systems are vulnerable. Despite the security controls we have in place, our facilities, systems and procedures, and those of our third-party service providers, are at risk toof security breaches, acts of vandalism, ransomware, software viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors or other similar events. In particular, unauthorized access to our computer systems or stored data could result in the theft or improper disclosure of proprietary, confidential or sensitive information, the deletion or modification of records or interruptions in our operations. These cybersecurity risks increase when we transmit information from one location to another, including transmissions over the Internet or other electronic networks. Any future significant compromise or breach of our data security, whether external or internal, or misuse of employee, vendor, customer, or Company data, could result in significant costs, lost sales, fines, lawsuits, and damage to our reputation. We employ a variety of security breach countermeasures and security controls designed to mitigate these risks, but we cannot guarantee that all breach attempts can be successfully thwarted by these measures as the sophistication of attacks increases. As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to mitigate new and emerging threats while continuing to enhance our information security capabilities or to investigate and remediate security vulnerabilities.

In addition, defects in some of the hardware or software we develop and sell, or in their implementation by our customers, could also result in unauthorized access to our customers’ and/or consumers’ networks. Any such events could result in theft of trade secrets and intellectual property; give rise to legal proceedings; cause us to incur increased costs for insurance premiums, security, remediation and regulatory compliance; subject us to civil and criminal penalties; expose us to liabilities to our customers, employees, vendors, governmental authorities or other third parties; allow others to unfairly compete with us; disrupt our delivery of products and services; expose the confidential information of our clients and others; and have a negative impact on our reputation, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

ThereBecause of the nature of information that may pass through or be stored on our solutions or networks, we and our end customers may be subject to complex and evolving U.S. and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection and other matters.  

Globally, there has been an increase in the adoption of laws and regulations in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere imposingregulatory action relating to privacy-related matters. Some of these laws impose requirements for the handling of personal data, as well as requirements for remediation actionsincluding data of employees, consumers and financial penalties for noncompliance.business contacts. Several U.S. states have adopted legislation requiring companies to protect the security of personal information that they collect from consumers over the Internet, and more states may adopt similar legislation. For example, weCalifornia enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act on January 1, 2020, which subjects us to stricter obligations, greater fines and more private causes of action related to data security. Also, many jurisdictions have enacted or are enacting laws requiring companies to notify regulators or individuals of data security incidents involving certain types of personal data. These mandatory disclosures regarding security incidents often lead to widespread negative publicity. Any security incident, whether actual or perceived, could harm our reputation, erode customer confidence in the effectiveness of our data security measures, negatively impact our ability to attract or retain customers, or subject us to third-party lawsuits, regulatory fines or other action or liability, which could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

Foreign data protection, privacy and other laws and regulations can be more restrictive than those in the European Union’sU.S. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effectbecame effective in May 2018. We employ a variety2018, was designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy. Compliance with GDPR has required changes to products and service offerings, internal and external software systems, including our websites, and changes to many company processes and policies. Failure to comply with GDPR could cause significant penalties and loss of security breach countermeasures and security controls that we believe are compliant, but we cannot guarantee that all breach attempts can be successfully thwarted by these measures as the sophistication of attacks increases. business.

In addition, as the regulatory environment related to information security, data collectionsome countries are considering or have passed legislation requiring local storage and use,processing of data. For example, Brazil and privacy becomes increasingly rigorous, withIndia have each adopted such laws that became effective in January 2020. These new and constantly changing requirements applicable toproposed laws could increase the cost and complexity of offering our solutions or maintaining our business compliance withoperations in those requirements couldjurisdictions. The introduction of new solutions or expansion of our activities in certain jurisdictions may subject us to additional laws and regulations. Our channel partners and end customers also result in additional costs. Noncompliance withmay be subject to such laws and regulations relatedin the use of our products and services.

These U.S. federal and state and foreign laws and regulations, which often can be enforced by private parties or government entities, are constantly evolving. In addition, the application and interpretation of these laws and regulations are often uncertain, may be interpreted and applied inconsistently from jurisdiction to cyber-security breachesjurisdiction and may be contradictory with each other. For example, a government entity in one jurisdiction may demand the transfer of information forbidden from transfer by a government entity in another jurisdiction. If our actions were determined to be in violation of any of these disparate laws and regulations, in addition to the possibility of fines, we could be ordered to change our data practices, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations and financial condition. There is also a risk that we, directly or as the result of a third-party service provider we use, could be found to have failed to comply with the laws or regulations applicable in a jurisdiction regarding the collection, handling, transfer, disposal or consent to the use of personal data, which could subject us to fines or other sanctions, as well as adverse reputational impact.

Compliance with these existing and proposed laws and regulations can be costly and require significant management time and attention, and failure to comply can result in negative consequences,publicity and subject us to inquiries or investigations, claims or other remedies, including government investigations,fines or demands that we modify or cease existing business practices. Customers may demand or request additional functionality in our products or services that they believe are necessary or appropriate to comply with such laws and regulations, which can cause us to incur significant additional costs and can delay or impede the development of new solutions. In addition, there is a risk that failures in systems designed to protect private, personal or proprietary data held by us or our customers using our solutions will allow such data to be disclosed to or seen by others, resulting in application of regulatory penalties, files, civilenforcement actions, remediation obligations, private litigation by parties whose data were improperly disclosed or claims from our customers for costs or damages they incur. There can be no assurance that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from any such liabilities or damages with respect to any particular claim. Our existing general liability insurance coverage and criminal sanctionscoverage for errors and reputational harm, andomissions may not continue to be available on acceptable terms or may not be available in sufficient amounts to cover one or more large claims, or our insurers may deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could have ana material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.flow.

If our integrated global manufacturing operations suffer production or shipping delays, we may have difficulty meeting customer demands.

Disruption of our ability to produce at or distribute from our manufacturing or contract manufacturing facilities could adversely affect our ability to manufacture products at our other manufacturing or contract manufacturing facilities in a cost-effective and timely manner. In particular, some of our manufacturing and contract manufacturing facilities rely on aging production equipment and information technology infrastructure, and if we fail or our contract manufacturers fail to properly maintain or update this equipment, it could affect our ability to manufacture or ship products. Other disruptions, including those due to failure of our manufacturing infrastructure, information technology outage, labor disturbances, fire, electrical outage, natural disaster, pandemics, acts of violence or terrorism, shipping interruptions or some other catastrophic event could adversely affect our ability to manufacture products at our other manufacturing or contract manufacturer facilities in a cost-effective and timely manner, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The continued industry move to open standards may impact our future results.

Our industry has and will continue to demand products based on open standards. The move toward open standards is expected to increase the number of providers that will offer services to the market. This trend is also expected to increase the number of competitors who are able to supply products to service providers and the enterprise market. These factors may adversely impact our future revenues and margins. In addition, many of our customers participate in “technology pools” and increasingly request that we donate a portion of our source code used by customers to these pools, which may impact our ability to recapture the R&D investment made in developing such code.

We believe that we will be increasingly required to work with third-party technology providers. As a result, we expect the shift to more open standards may require us to license software and other components indirectly to third parties via various open-source or royalty-free licenses. In some circumstances, our use of such open-source technology may include technology or protocols developed by standards settings bodies, other industry forums or third-party companies. The terms of the open-source licenses granted by such parties, or the granting of royalty-free licenses, may limit our ability to commercialize products that utilize such technology, which could have a material adverse effect on our results.

Climate change may have a long-term impact on our business.

While we seek to partner with organizations that mitigate their business risks associated with climate change, we recognize that there are inherent risks wherever business is conducted. The potential physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain and would be particular to the geographic circumstances in areas in which we operate. These may include changes in rainfall and storm patterns and intensities, water shortages, changing sea levels and changing temperatures. These impacts may adversely impact the cost, production and financial performance of our operations. Climate-related events, including the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and their impact on U.S., China and other major regions’ critical infrastructure, have the potential to disrupt our business, our third-party suppliers, and/or the business of our customers and may cause us to experience higher attrition, losses and additional costs to maintain or resume operations. CommScope aligns with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard and makes use of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) platform, which is committed to aligning with the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations to accurately assess, take potential proactive action and report as appropriate. For additional information, see our Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability pages on the CommScope website: https://www.commscope.com/About-Us/Corporate-Responsibility-and-Sustainability.

Supply Chain Risks

Our dependence on commodities subjects us to cost volatility and potential availability constraints.

Our profitability may be materially affected by changes in the market price and availability of certain raw materials, most of which are linked to the commodity markets. The principal raw materials and components we purchase are made of metals such as copper, steel, aluminum or brass;brass, plastics and other polymers;polymers and optical fiber. Fabricated copper, steel and aluminum are used in the production of coaxial and twisted pair cables, and polymers are used to insulate and protect cables. Prices for copper, steel, aluminum, fluoropolymers and certain other polymers derived from oil and natural gas have experienced significant volatility as a result of changes in the levels of global demand, supply disruptions and other factors. As a result, we have adjusted our prices for certain products and may have to adjust prices again in the future. Delays in implementing price increases or a failure to achieve market acceptance of price increases has in the past, and could in the future, have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. In an environment of falling commodities prices, we may be unable to sell higher-cost inventory before implementing price decreases, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent on a limited number of key suppliers for certain raw materials and components.

We are dependent on a limited number of key suppliers for certain of our raw material and component purchases, including certain memory and chip capacitors, polymers, copper rod, copper and aluminum tapes, fine aluminum wire, steel wire, optical fiber, circuit boards and other electronic components.components, subassemblies and modules. Certain of our suppliers are sole source suppliers and a number of our agreements with suppliers are short-term in nature.

Our reliance on sole or limited suppliers, particularly foreign suppliers, and our reliance on subcontractors involves several risks, including a potential inability to obtain an adequate supply of required materials, components and other products, and reduced control over pricing, quality and timely delivery. Current limited supply of components in the memory and passives categories could impact our ability to deliver on a timely basis and increase overall product costs. Our key suppliers have experienced in the past, and could experience in the future, production, operational or financial difficulties, or there may be global shortages of certain raw materials or components we use. Our inability to find sufficient sources of supply on reasonable terms could impact our ability to manufacture products in a cost-effective manner, which could have a material adverse effect on our gross margin and results of operations. It could also affect our ability to ship products on a timely basis, which could damage relationships with current and prospective customers and potentially have a material adverse effect on our business.

We also source many of our components from international markets. Any changes in the laws and policies of the U.S. or other countries affecting trade may beis a risk to us. To the extent there are unfavorable changes imposed by the U.S. or other countries and/or retaliatory actions taken by trading partners, such as the addition of new tariffs or trade restrictions, we may experience material adverse impacts on earnings. For a more complete discussion of our risks related to tariffs and trade restrictions, see the risk factor, “Additional tariffs or a global trade war could increase the cost of our products, which could adversely impact the competitiveness of our products” under our “International Risk Factors” in this Item 1A. Risk Factors section.

Capacity constraints with respect to our internal facilities and/or existing or new contract manufacturers could have an adverse impact on our business.

We internally produce, both domestically and internationally, a portion of the components used in our finished products. We also rely on unaffiliatedthird-party contract manufacturers, both domestically and internationally, to produce certain products or key components of products. If we do not have sufficient production capacity, either through our internal facilities or independent contract manufacturers, or if we cannot ramp up capacity for complex products fast enough to meet customer demand, we may experience lost sales opportunities, lost market share and customer relations problems, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

If our contract manufacturers encounter production, quality, financial or other difficulties we may experience difficulty in meeting customer demands.

We rely on unaffiliated contract manufacturers, both domestically and internationally, to produce certain products or key components of products. IfOur reliance on these contract manufacturers encounter production,reduces our control over the manufacturing process and exposes us to risks, including reduced control over quality assurance, product costs and product supply and timing. Any manufacturing disruption by these contract manufacturers could severely impair our ability to fulfill orders. Our reliance on outsourced manufacturers also increases the potential for infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property. If we are unable to manage our relationships with our contract manufacturers effectively, or if our contract manufacturers suffer delays or disruptions for any reason, including financial or other difficulties, includinginstability, labor disturbances or geopolitical instability, experience increased manufacturing lead-times, capacity constraints or quality control problems in their manufacturing operations, or fail to meet our future requirements for timely delivery, our ability to ship products to our customers may be impaired, and ifour business and operating results could be harmed.

These manufacturers typically fulfill our supply requirements on the basis of individual orders. In most cases, we do not have long-term contracts with our contract manufacturers that guarantee capacity, the continuation of particular pricing terms or the extension of credit limits. Accordingly, our contract manufacturers are not obligated to continue to fulfill our supply requirements, which could result in supply shortages, and the prices we are charged for manufacturing services could be increased on short notice. In addition, as a result of fluctuating global financial market conditions, natural disasters or other causes, it is possible that any of our manufacturers could experience interruptions in production, cease operations or alter our current arrangements. If our manufacturers are unable or unwilling to continue manufacturing our products in required volumes, we will be required to identify one or more acceptable alternative suppliers cannotmanufacturers.

Additionally, with the current U.S. trade tariff environment, we are transitioning manufacturing for certain impacted products to non-tariff countries. It is time-consuming and costly, and changes in our contract manufacturers or manufacturing locations may cause significant interruptions in supply if the manufacturers have difficulty manufacturing products to our specifications. As a result, our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries to our customers could be identified, we may encounter difficultyadversely affected, which could cause the loss of sales to existing or potential customers, delayed revenue or an increase in meeting customer demands. Anyour costs.

Production interruptions for any reason, such as a natural disaster, epidemic, capacity shortages or quality problems, at one of our manufacturers would negatively affect sales of our products that are manufactured by that manufacturer or utilize components produced by that manufacturer. Such difficulties could have a material adverse effect onadversely affect our business, financial results,condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Strategic Risks

Our business strategy relies in part on acquisitions to create growth. We may not fully realize anticipated benefits from past or future acquisitions or investments in other companies.

WeFor a discussion of the risks associated with the recent acquisition of ARRIS, see the “ARRIS Acquisition Risks” noted above under this Item 1A. Risk Factors section.

Both CommScope and ARRIS have completed a number of significant acquisitions and invested in other companies over recent years most significantly the acquisition of the BNS business from TE Connectivity in 2015. There are significant challenges to integrating an acquired operation into our business, including, but not limited to: successfully managing the operations, manufacturing facilities and technology; integrating the sales organizations; maintaining and increasing the customer base; retaining key employees, suppliers and distributors; integrating management information systems, including enterprise resource planning systems; integrating inventory management and accounting activities; integrating research and development activities; and addressing operating losses that may exist related to individual markets, facilities or product lines. Although we expect to realize strategic, operational and financial benefits as a result of past or futuremake additional acquisitions and strategic investments we cannot predict or guarantee whetherin the future. For instance, in 2017, ARRIS acquired the Ruckus Wireless and to what extent anticipated cost savings, synergiesICX Switch business (Ruckus Networks); in 2016, ARRIS combined with Pace plc (Pace); and growth prospects will be achieved.

in 2015, CommScope acquired TE Connectivity’s BNS business. We anticipate that a portion of any future growth of our business maywill be accomplished by acquiring existing businesses, products or technologies. However, we may not be able to identify suitable acquisition opportunities or obtain anythe necessary financing on acceptable terms. We may spend time and money investigating and negotiating with potential acquisition or investment targets but not complete the transaction.

Any future acquisition could involve other risks, including the assumption of additional liabilities and expenses, issuancesissuance of debt, incurrence of transaction and integration costs, litigation and diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns, assumption of unknown contingent liabilities and unanticipated litigation costs. Furthermore, such acquisition may be dilutive to our financial results. There are also significant challenges to integrating an acquired operation into our business, including, but not limited to successfully managing the operations, manufacturing facilities and technology; integrating the sales organizations; maintaining and increasing the customer base; retaining key employees, suppliers and distributors; integrating management information systems, including ERP systems; integrating inventory management and accounting activities; integrating R&D activities; navigating markets in which we potentially have limited or no prior experience; integrating and implementing effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting; addressing operating losses that may exist related to individual markets, facilities or product lines; and the impact of goodwill or other impairment charges, amortization costs for acquired intangible assets and acquisition accounting treatment, including the loss of deferred revenue and increases in the fair values of inventory and other acquired assets, on our GAAP financial condition and results of operations.

Last NovemberAlthough we announcedexpect to realize strategic, operational and financial benefits as a result of the pendingrecent acquisition of ARRIS, as well as past and future acquisitions and investments, we cannot predict or guarantee whether and to what extent anticipated cost savings, synergies and growth prospects will be completed in the first half of 2019. For a discussion of the risks associated with the Pending Acquisition, see the “ARRIS Acquisition Risks” noted above under this Item 1A. Risk Factors section.achieved.

We may sell or discontinue one or more of our product lines as a result of our evaluation of our products and markets.

We periodically evaluate our various product lines and may consider the divestiture or discontinuance of one or more of those product lines. Any such divestiture or discontinuance could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows and financial position.

flows. Divestitures of product lines have inherent risks, including the expense of selling the product line; the possibility that any anticipated sale will not occur; possible delays in closing any sale; the risk of lower-than-expected proceeds from the sale of the divested business; unexpected costs, including those associated with the separation of the business to be sold, from our management information and other operating systems; distracting employees; potential post-closing claims for indemnification; and potential loss of customers. Expected cost savings may also be difficult to achieve or maximize due to a fixed cost structure, and we may experience varying success in the timely reduction of fixed costs or transferring of liabilities previously associated with the divested or discontinued business.

Difficulties may be encountered in the realignment of manufacturing capacity and capabilities among our global manufacturing facilities and our contract manufacturers that could adversely affect our ability to meet customer demand for our products.

We periodically realign manufacturing capacity among our global facilities and contract manufacturers in order to reduce costs by improving manufacturing efficiency and to strengthen our long-term competitive position. The implementation of these initiatives may include significant shifts of production capacity among facilities.

facilities and contract manufacturers. For example, with the current U.S. trade tariff environment, we are transitioning manufacturing for certain impacted products to non-tariff countries. It is time-consuming and costly, and changes in our contract manufacturers or manufacturing locations may cause significant interruptions in supply if the manufacturers have difficulty manufacturing products to our specifications. There are significant risks inherent in the implementation of these initiatives, including our failure to ensure the following: adequate inventory on hand or production capacity to meet customer demand while capacity is being shifted among facilities; maintenance ofmaintaining product quality as a result of shifting capacity; adequate raw material and other service providers to meet the needs at the new production locations; our ability to successfully remove, transport and re-install equipment; and the availability of adequate supervisory, production and support personnel to accommodate the shifted production.

In the event manufacturing realignment initiatives are not successfully implemented, we could experience lost future sales and increased operating costs, as well as customer relations problems, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may need to undertake additional restructuring actions in the future.

We have previously recognized restructuring charges in response to slowdowns in demand for our products and in conjunction with the implementation of initiatives to reduce costs and improve efficiency of our operations. In addition, over the past several years,Most recently, we have undertaken a number of initiatives to support the BNS integration of ARRIS, which include mostly workforce reductions, and in the past, we have undertaken initiatives to support the integration of other acquisitions, which included the closure of certain domestic and international manufacturing facilities and various other workforce reductions. As a result of the continued integration efforts related to the acquisition of ARRIS, changes in business conditions the Pending Acquisition and other developments, we may need to initiate additional restructuring actions that could result in workforce reductions and restructuring charges, which could be material.adversely and materially affect our cash flows.

Financial Risks

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, expose us to interest rate risk to the extent of our variable rate debt and prevent us from meeting our obligations with respect to our indebtedness.

As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately $4.0 billion of indebtedness on a consolidated basis. See Note 68 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details of our indebtedness. WeAs of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $10.0 billion of indebtedness. This includes indebtedness issued prior to the Acquisition and indebtedness issued in connection with the Acquisition. As of December 31, 2019, we had no outstanding loans under our new asset-based revolving credit facility and approximately $463.1$796.8 million in borrowing capacity. Our ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility depends, in part, on inventory, accounts receivable and other assets that fluctuate from time to time and may further depend on lenders’ discretionary ability to impose reserves and availability blocks.

In addition, we intend to finance the Pending Acquisition largely with the proceeds of additional indebtedness. On February 19, 2019 we issued $1.25 billion of 5.50% senior secured notes due 2024, $1.5 billion of 6.00% senior secured notes due 2026 and $1.0 billion of 8.25% senior unsecured notes due 2027 and priced the borrowing of $3.2 billion under a new senior secured term loan due 2026 with an interest rate of LIBOR plus 3.25%. The proceeds of the notes were placed into escrow and will be released upon consummation of the Pending Acquisition, and it is expected that the new senior secured term loan will be borrowed at closing of the Pending Acquisition. We expect to use a portion of the new senior secured term loan to pay off our existing senior secured term loan due December 2022. We also expect to enter into a new asset-based revolving credit facility in an amount of up to $1.0 billion, subject to borrowing base capacity. As such, as of December 31, 2018, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to the Pending Acquisition, we would have had approximately $10.5 billion of indebtedness on a consolidated basis. We expect to enterentered into certain hedging agreements to reduce our exposure to variable rate debt among other risks.debt.

Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences. For example, it could:

Our variable rate indebtedness may usecurrently uses LIBOR as a benchmark for establishing the rate. On July 27, 2017, the authority that regulates LIBOR announced that it intends to stop compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. It is unclear whether new methods of calculating LIBOR will be established such that it continues to exist after 2021. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, is considering replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with a newly created index, calculated with a broad set of short-term repurchase agreements backed by treasury securities.securities, called the Secured Overnight Financing Rate. It is not possible to predict the effect of these changes, other reforms or the establishment of alternative reference rates in the United Kingdom (U.K.), the U.S. or elsewhere. These changes could require us to renegotiate certain of our variable rate indebtedness to address changes in the benchmark rates.

In addition, the indentures and credit agreements governing our indebtedness contain affirmative and negative covenants that limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interests. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of all of our debt.

Despite current indebtedness levels and restrictive covenants, and future anticipated indebtedness and covenants as a result of the Pending Acquisition, we may still incur additional indebtedness that could further exacerbate the risks associated with our substantial financial leverage.

We may incur significant additional indebtedness in the future under the agreements governing our indebtedness. Although the indentures and the credit agreements governing our current indebtedness and our future indebtedness as a result of the Pending Acquisition contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of thresholds, qualifications and exceptions, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. Additionally, these restrictions permit us to incur obligations that, although preferential to our common stock in terms of payment, do not constitute indebtedness.

To service our indebtedness and pay dividends on our preferred stock, we will require a significant amount of cash and our ability to generate sufficient cash depends on many factors beyond our control.

Our operations are conducted through our global subsidiaries and our ability to make cash payments on our indebtedness and pay cash dividends on our preferred stock will depend on the level of earnings and the distribution ofdistributable funds from our subsidiaries. Certain of our subsidiaries may have limitations or restrictions on paying dividends and otherwise transferring funds to us. Our ability to make cash payments on and to refinance our indebtedness will depend upon our financial condition and operating performance, which are subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to financial, business, legislative, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. We might not be able to maintainachieve a level of cash flows from operating activities or transfer sufficient funds from our subsidiaries to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness.indebtedness and dividends on our preferred stock.

If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow or are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness or if we fail to comply with the various covenants in the instruments governing our indebtedness and we are unable to obtain waivers from the required lenders, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness. In the event of such default, the holders of our indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. The lenders under our revolving credit facility could elect to terminate their commitments, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets. As a result, we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

If we do not obtain the necessary stockholder approval, we may not be able to pay dividends in kind on our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.  

At the 2020 Annual Meeting, our stockholders will be asked to vote on a proposal to approve the issuance of shares of common stock to Carlyle in connection with any future conversion or redemption of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into common stock, any issuance of common stock to Carlyle as a dividend-in-kind, or pursuant to Carlyle’s participation rights, which, absent such approval, would be prohibited under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635. If this approval is not obtained, we could be unable to issue shares of common stock to Carlyle in excess of the maximum amount permitted under the listing rules of NASDAQ and, as a result, we would have to settle certain obligations to Carlyle in cash. In addition, if this approval is not obtained, we will not be able to pay dividends-in-kind on the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. To the extent that we are not able to pay dividends-in-kind, we will have to pay dividends in cash, which could have a material adverse impact on our cash flows and reduce the amount of cash available for working capital, debt reduction, capital expenditures, growth opportunities, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes.

We may need to recognize additional impairment charges related to goodwill, identified intangible assets and fixed assets.

We have substantial balances of goodwill and identified intangible assets. As of December 31, 2019, goodwill and identified intangible assets and fixedrepresented approximately 67% of our total assets. We are required to test goodwill for possible impairment on the same date each year and on an interim basis if there are indicators of a possible impairment. In connection with our annual assessment for impairment of goodwill in 2019, we recorded an impairment charge to goodwill of $376.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. If we are unable to improve our results of operations and cash flows, or other indicators of impairment exist, such as a sustained significant decline in our share price and market capitalization, we may incur another, material charge against earnings relating to our remaining goodwill.

We are also required to evaluate identified intangible assets and fixed assets for impairment if there are indicators of a possible impairment.

In the past, due to revisions in financial performance outlooks or deterioration in certain markets, we have recognized significant impairment charges on our goodwill, identified intangible assets and fixed assets. In the future, we may again determine again, that one or more of our long-lived assets is impaired and additional impairment charges may be recognized that could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

As a result of the Pending Acquisition, we expect our goodwill, identified intangible assets and fixed asset balances to increase significantly, which will compound our risk of impairments and any resulting adverse effects on our financial condition and results of operations.

We may experience significant variability in our quarterly or annual effective income tax rate.

We have a large and complex international tax profile and a significant level of foreign tax credit carryforwards in the U.S. and other carryforwards in various jurisdictions. Variability in the mix and profitability of domestic and international activities, identification and resolution of various tax uncertainties and the inability to realize foreign tax credits and other carryforwards included in deferred tax assets, among other matters, have impacted our effective income tax rate in the past and may impact our effective income tax rate in the future. Tax law changes in the U.S. and certain other countries have also impacted our effective income tax rate in the past and may impact our effective tax rate in the future. A significant increase in our quarterly or annual effective income tax rate could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.

We are commonly audited by various tax authorities, and some jurisdictions, both in the U.S. and abroad, have become more aggressive in their approach to audits and their enforcement of their applicable tax laws. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final determination of tax audits and any related litigation could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals. The results of an audit or litigation could have a material effect on our financial statements in the period or periods for which that determination is made and on our overall effective income tax rate.

The IRS may not agree ARRIS was a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Following the Pace combination, ARRIS was incorporated under the laws of England and Wales and a tax resident in the United Kingdom for U.K. tax purposes. There is a risk related to the Pending Acquisition that the Internal Revenue Service does not agree that ARRIS was a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes in pre-acquisition periods prior to the Acquisition and we could be subject to substantial additional U.S. taxes. For U.K. tax purposes, ARRIS iswas expected to be treated as a U.K. tax resident for all periods prior to the Acquisition and following the Pace combination, regardless of how they areARRIS was treated in the U.S. Therefore, if ARRIS werewas treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we could be liable for both U.S. and U.K. taxes in pre-acquisitioncertain periods prior to the Acquisition, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Labor Related Risks

We may not be able to attract and retain key employees.

Our business depends upon our continued ability to hire and retain key employees. Effective succession planning is important to our long-term success. We depend on our senior management team and other key employees for strategic success. Some of our key employees have retired, announced their decision to retire or are at or near retirement age. Failure to ensure effective transfer of knowledge and smooth transitions involving key employees could hinder our strategic planning and execution.

Key employees include individuals in our sales force, operations management, engineers and skilled production workers at our operations around the world. Competition for skilled personnel and highly qualified managers in the industries in which we operate is intense. Our growth by acquisitions creates challenges in retaining employees as well. As the corporate culture evolves to incorporate new workforces, some employees may not find the new culture appealing. In addition, the pace of integration may cause retention issues with our workforce due to integration fatigue.

AsFurthermore, as our workforce ages, and leaves the company, we are challenged to find and attract workersa younger population to replace them. As a practical matter, we will be required to draw from differentYounger generations in order to fill these positions. Workers from these different generationsare motivated by progression and opportunity, which may be motivatedlimited by factors that are different from our current workforce, andemployee population. In addition, many of our employees are highly experienced, skilled individuals who have extensive knowledge or relationships in our industry. As these employees leave CommScope, we may have difficulty meeting the expectations of these workers.not be able to easily replicate their experience, knowledge and relationships. Difficulties in obtainingattracting or retaining employees with the necessary management, technical and financial skills needed to achieve our business objectives may limit our growth potential and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Labor unrest could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Although none of our U.S. employees are represented by unions, a significant portion of our international employees are members of unions or subject to workers’works’ councils or similar statutory arrangements. We are required to consult with, and seek the consent or advice of, various employee groups or works’ councils that represent our employees for any changes to our activities or employee benefits. This requirement could have a significant impact on our flexibility in managing costs and responding to market changes. In addition, many of our direct and indirect customers and vendors have unionized workforces. Strikes, work stoppages or slowdowns experienced by us at our international locations or experienced by our customers or vendors could have a negative impact on us. Organizations responsible for manufacturing or shipping our products may also be impacted by labor disruptions. Any interruption in the delivery of our products and services could harm our reputation with our customers, reduce demand for our products, and services, increase costs and have a material adverse effect on us.

We have obligations under our defined benefit employee benefit plans and may be required to make plan contributions in excess of current estimates.

At December 31, 2018, our net liability for pension and other postretirement benefits was $11.8 million (benefit obligations of $215.2 million and plan assets of $203.4 million). See Note 10 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Significant declines in the valuation of the assets and/or increases in the liabilities related to these obligations as a result of changes in actuarial estimates, asset performance, interest rates or benefit changes, among other assumptions, could have a material adverse impact on our financial position and/or results of operations.

The amounts and timing of the contributions we expect to make to our defined benefit plans reflect a number of actuarial estimates and other assumptions. The actual amounts and timing of these contributions may differ materially from those presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. If we elect to terminate one or more of these plans and settle the obligation through the purchase of annuities or otherwise, we could incur a charge and/or be required to make additional contributions and such amounts could be material.

International Risks

Our significant international operations expose us to economic, political and other risks.

We have significant international sales, manufacturing, distribution and distributionR&D operations. Our major international manufacturing, and/or distribution and R&D facilities are located in Australia, Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Singapore, Sweden and the U.K.United Kingdom. For the yearsyear ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016,2019, international sales represented approximately 44%, 46% and 46%, respectively,41% of our consolidated net sales. In general, our international sales have lower gross margin percentages than our domestic sales. To the extent international sales representincrease as a greater percentage of our revenue,net sales, our overall gross margin percentages may decline.

Our international sales, manufacturing, distribution and distributionR&D operations are subject to the risks inherent in operating abroad, including, but not limited to, risks with respect tocoordinating communications among and managing international operations; currency exchange rate fluctuations; economic and political destabilization; restrictive actions by foreign governments; wage inflation; nationalizations; the laws and policies of the U.SU.S. and other countries affecting trade, anti-bribery, foreign investment and loans; foreign tax laws, including the ability to recover amounts paid as value-added and similar taxes; potential restrictions on the repatriation of cash; reduced protection of intellectual property; longer customer payment cycles; compliance with local laws and regulations; armed conflict;volatile geopolitical turmoil, including popular uprisings, regional violence; terrorism;conflicts, terrorism, and war; shipping interruptions; and major health concerns (such as infectious diseases). ; inflexible labor contracts or labor laws in the event of business downturns; and economic boycott for doing business in certain countries.

A significant portion of our products sold in the U.S. are manufactured outside the U.S. We utilize lower-cost geographies for high labor content products while investing in largely automated plants in higher-cost regions close to customers. Most of our manufacturing employees are located in lower-cost geographies such as Mexico, China, India and the Czech Republic. To the extent there are changes in U.S. trade policies, such as significant increases in tariffs or duties for goods brought into the U.S., our competitive position may be adversely impacted and the resulting effect on our earnings could be material. For a more complete discussion of our risks related to trade policies, see the risk factor “Additional tariffs or a global trade war could increase the cost of our products, which could adversely impact the competitiveness of our products” under “International Risks” in this Item 1A. Risk Factors section.

In June 2016, the U.K. held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the European Union (E.U.), commonly referred to as Brexit. As a result of the referendum, the British government began negotiating the terms of the U.K.’s future relationship with the E.U. in March 2017 with2017. The U.K. and E.U. entered into a deadlinewithdrawal agreement whereby the U.K. left the E.U. as of March 29, 2019January 31, 2020 but maintained access to complete the negotiations. Although itE.U. single market and to the global trade deals negotiated by the E.U. on behalf of its members and remained subject to E.U. law, for a transition period ending on December 31, 2020. The ongoing uncertainty within the U.K.’s government on the status of Brexit has negatively impacted the U.K.’s economy and will likely continue to have a negative impact until a definitive resolution is still unclear what those terms will be or evenreached on the outstanding trade and legal matters. Even if a deal will be reached,the U.K. maintains access to the E.U. single market and trade deals following the transition period, Brexit could result in further economic downturn globally. If the U.K. ultimately loses access to the E.U. single market and trade deals, it is possible that there will be greater restrictions on imports and exports between the U.K. and E.U. countries and increased regulatory complexities. These changes could cause disruptions to and create uncertainty surrounding our business and the business of existing and future customers and suppliers as well as have an impact on our employees based in Europe, which could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks related to fluctuations in foreign currency rates can impact our sales, results of operations, cash flows and financial position. Our foreign currency risk exposure is mainly concentrated in Chinese yuan, euro, Czech koruna,British pound sterling, Mexican peso, Australian dollar, Brazilian real, South African rand, Indian rupee Mexican peso and Brazilian real.Czech koruna. We manage our foreign currency rate risks through regular operating and financing activities and use derivative financial instruments such as foreign exchange forward contracts. There can be no assurance that our risk management strategies will be effective or that the counterparties to our derivative contracts will be able to perform. In addition, foreign currency rates in many of the countries in which we operate have at times been extremely volatile and unpredictable. We may choose not to hedge or determine we are unable to effectively hedge the risks associated with this volatility. In such cases, we may experience declines in sales and adverse impacts on earnings and such changes could be material.

Additional tariffs or a global trade war could increase the cost of our products, which could adversely impact the competitiveness of our products.

During 2018 and 2019, the U.S. administration announced tariffs on certain products imported into the U.S., which has resulted in reciprocal tariffs from other countries, including countries where we operate. For example, the U.S. has implemented tariffs on a variety of goods produced or manufactured in China, and China responded by imposing tariffs on various U.S. products. In January 2020, the two sides signed a preliminary deal, but many issues remain unresolved. Both sides have indicated that further revisions will be made during a second phase of negotiations, but the timing of any such negotiations and resolution remain uncertain. The U.S. has renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada. The renegotiated agreement, called the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), was recently ratified by Congress but remains subject to ratificationapproval by the U.S. CongressCanadian legislature, and by the governments of Mexico and Canada, and the prospects for and timing of approval areis uncertain. Note: to confirm status prior to filing.

These developments have created uncertainty about the future relationship between the U.S. and certain of its trading partners and may reduce global trade and trade between the U.S. and other nations, including countries in which we currently operate. Changes in policy or continued uncertainty could depress economic activity and restrict our access to suppliers or customers. We have significant international manufacturing operations, particularly in China and Mexico. The tariffs implemented on our products (or on materials, parts or components we use to manufacture our products) by the U.S. will increase the cost of our products manufactured and imported into the U.S. Tariffs and other trade restrictions announced by other countries on products manufactured in the U.S. could likewise increase the costs of those products when imported into other countries. If additional tariffs or trade restrictions are implemented on our products (or on materials, parts or components we use to manufacture our products) by the U.S. or other countries, the cost of our products manufactured in China, Mexico or other countries and imported into the U.S. or other countries could increase further. We expect to continue to pass along some of these costs to our customers, but the increased cost could adversely affect the demand for products. We are in the process of shifting the manufacturing locations for the impacted products, but this takes time and these locations may have higher manufacturing costs. These cost increases could adversely affect the demand for our products and/or reduce margins, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our earnings.

Our international operations expose us to increased challenges in complying with anti-corruption laws and regulations of the U.S. government and various other international jurisdictions.

We are required to comply with the laws and regulations of the U.S. government and various other international jurisdictions, and our failure to comply with these rules and regulations may expose us to significant liabilities. These laws and regulations may apply to companies, individual directors, officers, employees and agents, and may restrict our operations, trade practices, investment decisions and partnering activities. In particular, we are subject to U.S. and foreign anti-corruption laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the U.K. Anti-Bribery Act. Violations of these legal requirements are punishable by criminal fines and imprisonment, civil penalties, disgorgement of profits, injunctions, debarment from government contracts as well asand other remedial measures. While weWe have established policies and procedures designed to assist us and our personnel in complying with applicable U.S. and international laws and regulations,regulations. However, our employees, subcontractors or channel partners could take actions that violate these requirements. In addition, some of the international jurisdictions in which we operate have elevated levels of corruption. As a result, we are exposed to an increased risk of violating anti-corruption laws. Violation of anti-corruption laws could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and such effects could be material.

We are subject to governmental export and import controls that could subject us to liability or impair our ability to compete in international markets.

Certain of our products, including purchased components of such products, are subject to export controls and may be exported only with the required export license or through an export license exception.exemption. In addition, we are required to comply with certain U.S. and foreign import and customs rules, sanctions and embargos. If we were to fail to comply with applicable export licensing, customs regulations, economic sanctions and other laws, we could be subject to substantial civil and criminal penalties, including fines, the incarceration of responsible employees and managers and the possible loss of export or import privileges. In addition, if our distributors fail to obtain appropriate import, export or re-export licenses or permits, we may also be adversely affected through reputational harm and penalties. Obtaining the necessary export license for a particular sale may be time-consuming and may result in thea delay or loss of sales opportunities.

Furthermore, export control laws and economic sanctions prohibit the shipment of certain products to embargoed or sanctioned countries, governments and persons. While we train our employees to comply with these regulations, we cannot assure you that a violation will not occur, whether knowingly or inadvertently. Any such shipment could have negative consequences, including government investigations, penalties, fines, civil and criminal sanctions and reputational harm.

Any change in export or import regulations, economic sanctions or related legislation, shift in the enforcement or scope of existing regulations or change in the countries, governments, persons or technologies targeted by such regulations could result in our decreased ability to export, import or sell our products to existing or potential customers, particularly those with international operations. Any decreased use of our products or limitation on our ability to export, import or sell our products could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and such effects could be material.

Litigation and Regulatory Risks

We may incur costs and may not be successful in protecting our intellectual property and in defending claims that we are infringing on the intellectual property of others.others and such actions may be costly.

We may encounter difficulties and significant costs in protecting our intellectual property rights or obtaining rights to additional intellectual property to permit us to continue or expand our business. Other companies, including some of our largest competitors, hold intellectual property rights in our industry and the intellectual property rights of others could inhibit our ability to introduce new products unless we secure necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms.

In the past, we have initiated litigation in order to enforce patents issued or licensed to us or to determine the scope and/or validity of a third party’s patent or other proprietary rights, and we may initiate similar litigation in the future. We also have been and may in the future be subject to lawsuits by third parties seeking to enforce their own intellectual property rights, including against certain of the products or intellectual property that we have acquired through acquisitions. Any such litigation, regardless of outcome, could be costly and could subject us to significant liabilities or require us to cease using proprietary third party technologythird-party technology. In addition, the payment of any damages or any necessary licensing fees or indemnification costs associated with a patent infringement claim could be material and consequently, could have a material adverse effect onalso materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.operating results. Such litigation can also be a significant distraction to management.

In certain markets, we may be required to address counterfeit versions of our products. We may incur significant costs in pursuing the originators of such counterfeit products and, if we are unsuccessful in eliminating them from the market, we may experience a reduction in the value of our products and/or a reduction in our net sales.

Compliance with current and future environmental laws and potential environmental liabilities may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations governing, among other things, discharges to air and water, management of regulated materials, handling and disposal of solid and hazardous waste and investigation and remediation of contaminated sites. In addition, we are subject to laws and regulations regarding the types of substances allowable in certain of our products and the handling of our products at the end of their useful life. Because of the nature of our business, we have incurred and will continue to incur costs relating to compliance with or liability under these environmental laws and regulations and these costs could be material. In addition, new laws and regulations, new or different interpretations of existing laws and regulations, expansion of existing legal requirements related to our products, the discovery of previously unknown contamination or the imposition of new remediation or discharge requirements could require us to incur costs or become the basis for new or increased liabilities that could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Efforts to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide, are underway in the U.S. and other countries, which could increase the cost of raw materials, production processes and transportation of our products. If we are unable to comply with such regulations or sufficiently increase prices or otherwise reduce costs to offset the increased costs of compliance, GHG regulation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

Certain environmental laws impose strict and, in some circumstances, joint and several liability on current or former owners or operators of a contaminated property, as well as companies that generated, disposed of or arranged for the disposal of hazardous substances at a contaminated property, for the costs of investigation and remediation of the contaminated property. Our present and past facilities have been in operation for many years and over that time, in the course of those operations, hazardous substances and wastes have been used, generated and occasionally disposed of at such facilities, and we have disposed of waste products either directly or through third parties at numerous disposal sites. Consequently, it has been necessary to undertake investigation and remediation projects at certain sites and we have been, and may in the future be, held responsible for a portion of the investigation and clean-up costs at these sites and our share of those costs may be material.

A number of governments or governmental bodies have also introduced or are contemplating regulatory changes in response to various climate change interest groups and the potential impact of climate change. Legislation and increased regulation regarding climate change could impose significant costs on us, our venture partners, and our suppliers, including costs related to increased energy requirements, capital equipment, environmental monitoring and reporting, and other costs to comply with such regulations. Any adopted future climate change regulations could also negatively impact our ability to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such limitations. Given the political significance and uncertainty around the impact of climate change and how it should be dealt with, we cannot predict how legislation and regulation will affect our financial condition, operating performance and ability to compete. Furthermore, even without such regulation, increased awareness and any adverse publicity in the global marketplace about potential impacts on climate change by us or other companies in our industry could harm our reputation.

Common Stock Ownership Risks

We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock and, consequently, the ability of investors to achieve a return on their investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common stock.

We do not intend to declare and pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. The payment of future dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors; however, the indentures and the credit agreements governing our indebtedness place limitations on our ability to pay dividends. We currently intend to invest our future earnings, if any, to reduce our debt and fund our growth and reduce our debt and our Board of Directors may choose to provide returns to our stockholders through share repurchases. The success of an investment in our common stock will largely depend upon future appreciation in value, and there can be no guarantee that our common stock will appreciate in value.

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and, as a result, depress the trading price of our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions:

These anti-takeover defenses could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company and may prevent our stockholders from receiving the benefit from any premium to the market price of our common stock offered by a bidder in a takeover context. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock if the provisions are viewed as discouraging takeover attempts in the future. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for our stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and cause us to take corporate actions other than those our stockholders may desire.

Our business could be negatively impacted as a result of actions by activist stockholders or others.

Stockholder activism has been increasing in publicly traded companies in recent years and we are subject to the risks associated with such activism, particularly due to the recentoverall decline in our stock price.price over the last two years. Our business could be negatively affected as a result of stockholder activism, which could cause us to incur significant legal fees and other costs, hinder execution of our business strategy and impact the trading value of our securities. Additionally, stockholder activism could give rise to perceived uncertainties as to our future direction, adversely affect our relationships with key executives and business partners and make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified employees. Any of these impacts could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

None.

Our facilities are used primarily for manufacturing, distribution and administration. Facilities primarily used for manufacturing may also be used for distribution, engineering, research and development, storage, administration, sales and customer service. Facilities primarily used for administration may also be used for research and development, sales and customer service. As of December 31, 2018,2019, our principal facilities, grouped according to the facility’s primary use, were as follows:

We believe that our facilities and equipment generally are well maintained, in good condition and suitable for our purposes and adequate for our present operations. While we currently have excess manufacturing capacity in certain of our facilities, utilization is subject to change based on customer demand. We can give no assurances that we will not have excess manufacturing capacity or encounter capacity constraints over the long term.

The material set forth under “Commitments and Contingencies” in Note 1316 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated herein by reference. Management believes none of these legal matters will be material to our business or financial condition upon their final disposition.

Not applicable.

PART II

Stock Price and Dividends

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol COMM.

As of February 7, 2019,2020, all of our outstanding shares of common stock are held by one stockholder of record, Cede & Co., as nominee for the Depository Trust Company. Many brokers, banks and other institutions hold shares of common stock as nominees for beneficial owners that deposit these shares of common stock in participant accounts at the Depository Trust Company.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The authorization granted by the Company’s Board of Directors in August 2017 to repurchase up to $100.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock expired on July 31, 2018.

The following table summarizes the stock purchase activity for the three months ended December 31, 2018:2019:

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares cumulative total return on $100 invested on December 31, 20132014 in each of CommScope’s Common Stock, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index (S&P 500 Index) and the Standard & Poor’s 1500 Communications Equipment Index (S&P 1500 Communications Equipment). The return of the Standard & Poor’s indices is calculated assuming reinvestment of dividends. CommScope has not paid any dividends on its common stock over this period.

The following table presents our historical selected financial data as of the dates and for the periods indicated. The data for each of the years presented are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The information set forth below should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Annual Report.

Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data

(In thousands,millions, except per share amounts)