Marked against last year's 10-K:
cut words struck through, new words highlighted and underlined.
Risk Factors 274 words changed in this paragraph; it is 39% similar to last year's version.
The threat of terrorism targeted at, or acts of war in, the regions of the world in which we do business increases the uncertainty in our markets. Any act of terrorism or war that affects the economy or the industries we serve could adversely affect our business. Increased international political instability or geopolitical tensions in various parts of the world, disruption in air transportation and further enhanced security measures as a result of terrorist attacks may hinder our ability to do business and may increase our costs of operations. We maintain significant operations in Israel. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have taken place between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and a state of hostility varying in degree and intensity has led to security and economic challenges for Israel. Persistent hostilities involving Iran and Iran-backed groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, have involved missile strikes against civilian targets in various parts of Israel and attacks on marine vessels traversing the Red Sea. Disruptions in shipping routes in the Red Sea could result in delays in shipping our products to customers, which could delay the timing of revenue recognition. In addition, some of our employees in Israel are obligated to perform annual reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces, and may be called to active military duty in emergency circumstances. We cannot assess the impact that emergency conditions in Israel may have on our business, operations, financial condition or results of operations, but it could be material. Instability in any region could directly impact our ability to operate our business (or our customers’ ability to operate their businesses), cause us to incur increased costs in transportation, make such transportation unreliable, increase our insurance costs, and cause international currency markets to fluctuate. Instability in any region could also have the same effects on our suppliers and their ability to timely deliver their products. Our insurance does not cover losses we suffer attributable to war. If international political instability and geopolitical tensions continue or increase in any region in which we do business, our business and results of operations could be harmed.
Source: Item 1A, 10-K 0000319201-26-000027 vs Item 1A, 10-K 0000319201-25-000024
MD&A 257 words changed in this paragraph; it is 38% similar to last year's version.
The semiconductor industry continues to experience market expansion and diversification. HPC and data centers, supported by increasing adoption of AI, are contributing to industry growth and these trends are expected to continue to influence industry investment into fiscal year 2027. AI represents a key technology inflection point driving innovation and demand at the leading edge, and our portfolio of products is well positioned to support leading-edge demand and the ongoing AI infrastructure buildout. Our semiconductor customers generally operate in one or both of the major semiconductor device manufacturing markets: memory and foundry/logic. End-market Long-term demand drivers that are expected to continue to benefit KLA in the long term include continued adoption of EUV in HVM for Logic logic and DRAM memory, (including high-bandwidth memory), which drives new are increasing process control requirements and growth in key markets for KLA. expanding our served market. Demand for advanced semiconductor technologies, particularly evident in the 2-nanometer node, which at leading-edge nodes such as 2-nanometer, is seeing higher levels of investment increasing process complexity and process control intensity, continues to drive investments which in AI. turn is driving incremental demand for our solutions. Increasing complexity and value of semiconductor packages, particularly for AI and HPC applications, is also driving significant growth in our advanced packaging business. The digitization of all industries, Broader industry trends, including 5G markets, advances in digitization, communication improvements, healthcare and innovation, industrial applications, together with the and increasing adoption of electric vehicles semiconductor content in automobiles and intelligence intelligent systems, are supporting continued investment in automobiles, are powering leading-edge design node technology investments legacy and capacity expansions. While we continue to invest in technological innovation, factors such as delays from customers in adopting new chips mature-node capacity, where long product lifecycles and technology methods could impact process control capital intensity. Push out or cancellation of deliveries to our customers could still cause earnings volatility, due to the timing of revenue recognition as well as increased risk of inventory-related charges. expanding end-market demand require ongoing manufacturing investments.
Source: Item 7, 10-K 0000319201-26-000027 vs Item 7, 10-K 0000319201-25-000024
Accounting Policies 195 words changed in this paragraph; it is 60% similar to last year's version.
For derivative instruments designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges of forecasted foreign currency denominated transactions or debt financing, the effective portion of the gains or losses is reported in AOCI and reclassified into earnings in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. We elected to include time value for the assessment of effectiveness on all forward transactions designated as cash flow hedges. The change in fair value of the derivative is recorded in AOCI until the hedged transaction is recognized in earnings. Cash flow hedges are evaluated for effectiveness monthly, based on changes in total fair value of the derivatives. The assessment of effectiveness of options contracts designated as cash flow hedges excludes time value. The initial value of the component excluded from the assessment of effectiveness is recognized in earnings over the life of the derivative contract. Any differences between change in the fair value of the excluded components and the amounts recognized in earnings are recorded in AOCI. For foreign exchange contracts that are designated and qualify as a net investment hedge in a foreign operation and that meet the effectiveness requirements, the net gains or losses attributable to changes in spot exchange rates are recorded in cumulative translation within AOCI. The remainder of the change in value of such instruments is recorded in earnings using the mark-to-market approach. Recognition in earnings of amounts previously recorded in cumulative translation is limited to circumstances such as complete or substantially complete liquidation of the net investment in the hedged foreign operations. For foreign exchange contracts that are not designated as hedges, gains and losses are recognized in Other expense (income), net. We use foreign exchange contracts to hedge certain foreign currency denominated assets or liabilities. The gains and losses on these derivative instruments are largely offset by the changes in the fair value of the assets or liabilities being hedged. Cash flows associated with these derivatives are classified as cash flows from operating activities in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows to align with the underlying items.
Source: Item 8, Note 1 – DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES, 10-K 0000319201-26-000027 vs Item 8, Note 1 – DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES, 10-K 0000319201-25-000024
Legal Proceedings 138 words changed in this paragraph; it is 52% similar to last year's version.
We are named, from time to time, as a party to lawsuits and other types of legal proceedings and claims in the normal course of our business. Actions filed against us include commercial, intellectual property (“IP”), customer, and labor and employment related claims, including complaints of alleged wrongful termination and potential class action lawsuits regarding alleged violations of federal and state wage and hour and other laws. In general, legal proceedings and claims, regardless of their merit, and associated internal investigations (especially those relating to IP or confidential information disputes) are often expensive to prosecute, defend or conduct and may divert management’s attention and other Company resources. Moreover, the results of legal proceedings are difficult to predict, and the costs incurred in litigation can be substantial, regardless of outcome. We believe the amounts provided in our Consolidated Financial Statements are adequate in light of the probable and estimated liabilities. However, because such matters are subject to many uncertainties and the ultimate outcomes are not predictable, there can be no assurances that the actual amounts required to satisfy alleged liabilities from the matters described above will not exceed the amounts reflected in our Consolidated Financial Statements or will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
Source: Item 3, via Note 14 – LITIGATION AND OTHER LEGAL MATTERS, 10-K 0000319201-26-000027 vs Item 3, via Note 15 – LITIGATION AND OTHER LEGAL MATTERS, 10-K 0000319201-25-000024