Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Company Overview
Advanced Energy provides highly engineered, critical, precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform, refine, and modify the raw electrical power coming from either the utility or the building facility and convert it into various types of highly controllable, usable power that is predictable, repeatable, and customizable to meet the necessary requirements for powering a wide range of complex equipment. Our products enable customers to reduce or optimize their energy consumption through increased power conversion efficiency, power density, power coupling, and process control across a wide range of applications.
We are organized on a global, functional basis and operate as a single segment of power electronics conversion products. Within this segment, our products are sold into the Semiconductor Equipment, Industrial and Medical, Data Center Computing, and Telecom and Networking markets.
We incorporated in Colorado in 1981 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1995. Our executive offices are located at 1595 Wynkoop Street, Suite 800, Denver, Colorado 80202, and our telephone number is 970-407-6555.
Recent Events
Airity Acquisition
On June 20, 2024, we acquired Airity Technologies, Inc. (“Airity”). This acquisition added high voltage power conversion technologies and products, broadening our range of targeted applications within the Semiconductor Equipment and Industrial and Medical markets. See Note 2. Acquisition in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
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2024 Restructuring Plan
In 2024, we approved further manufacturing consolidation initiatives, including the closure of our Zhongshan, China manufacturing facility (the “2024 Plan”). In connection with the 2024 Plan, we recorded a $29.6 million charge primarily associated with expected employment-related charges and facility exit costs. See Note 12. Restructuring, Asset Impairments, and Other Charges in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
Credit Agreement Amendment
On September 9, 2024, we used existing cash on hand to prepay the full $345.0 million outstanding principal balance of the senior unsecured term loan facility (the “Term Loan Facility”) under the credit agreement dated as of September 10, 2019, as amended (the “Credit Agreement”). On the same date, we entered into an additional amendment to the Credit Agreement to increase the capacity on our senior unsecured revolving facility (the “Revolving Facility”) from $200.0 million to $600.0 million. As a result, as of December 31, 2024, our only outstanding debt was the Convertible Notes due in 2028. See Note 18. Long-Term Debt in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
Products and Services
Our precision power products and solutions are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, lower the cost of ownership, and provide critical power capabilities for our customers. These products are designed to meet our customers’ demanding requirements in efficiency, flexibility, performance, and reliability. We also provide repair and maintenance services for our products.
Our plasma power products enable innovation in complex semiconductor and thin film plasma processes such as dry etch and deposition. Our broad portfolio of high and low voltage power products is used in a wide range of applications, such as semiconductor equipment, industrial production, medical and life science equipment, data center computing, networking, and telecommunications. We also supply related sensing, controls, and instrumentation products primarily for advanced measurement and calibration of power and temperature for multiple industrial markets.
Our network of global service support centers provides repair services, calibration, conversions, upgrades, refurbishments, and used equipment to companies that use our products.
End Markets
Advanced Energy generates revenue from the sale of a broad range of advanced and system power products and services to global original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) and end customers. Our customers select our products based on various performance metrics such as high power conversion efficiency, high power density, and low noise emission, as well as our ability to tailor our solutions to meet the unique requirements of their critical applications. The future growth and demand for our products is driven by a combination of factors within each of the end markets we serve, as follows:
Semiconductor Equipment Market
The Semiconductor Equipment market supports and enables the long-term growing need for more production capacity and new process technologies to meet expanding demand for semiconductor devices across many applications driven by megatrends such as artificial intelligence (“AI”), energy efficiency, automobile electrification and Internet of things (“IoT”). We believe long-term growth in the market will be driven by increased demand for wafer capacity, an increased number of etch and deposition process steps with new technology inflections, and the transition to advanced technology nodes requiring higher content of advanced power solutions per tool.
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Our portfolio of power conversion and related products includes plasma power, high-voltage power, system power, and adjacent sensing solutions. Our plasma power solutions are used to create plasma-based etch and deposition processes. Our semiconductor market products are incorporated into a wide range of applications, including dry etch and strip, deposition, ion implant, inspection and metrology, thermal, epitaxy, and back-end test and packaging.
Our strategy is to outgrow the wafer fabrication equipment (“WFE”) market by developing products for applications that are growing faster than market and through market share gains in both plasma power and adjacent semiconductor applications. We believe the plasma power market will grow faster than WFE due to increasing number of plasma etch and deposition process steps and growing demand for more complex and high power content. In addition, we are targeting to win customer adoptions of our new products to strengthen our positions in our core applications with leading market share, such as conductor etch and deposition, and to grow our market position in targeted applications with lower market share, such as dielectric etch. Finally, we are targeting to leverage our broad portfolio of system power, thermal and sensing, remote plasma source, and high voltage products to gain share in these adjacent semiconductor applications.
Industrial and Medical Market
The Industrial and Medical market is fueled by continued investment in complex manufacturing processes, increased adoption of new industrial technologies such as automation and clean energy, and increased breadth and precision requirements of medical devices and life science equipment.
We supply this market with critical, precision power conversion products that deliver precise and highly reliable, low noise and/or differentiated power. In addition, our sensing, control, and instrumentation products complement our power solutions. Our products are used in a wide variety of applications, such as advanced material fabrication, medical devices, analytical instrumentation, test and measurement equipment, robotics, industrial production, and large-scale connected light-emitting diode applications. We serve our broad customer base through both our direct sales force and indirect sales channels including independent sales representatives and distributors.
Our strategy in the market is to penetrate a broader set of applications by expanding our product offerings, leveraging common platforms, providing platform derivatives, and offering customizations. In addition, our strategy is to expand our customer reach in this large, fragmented market through a focused direct sales team on larger and strategic accounts, optimize and leverage our distribution channel, and expand visibility and access to our products through our digital footprint and website.
Data Center Computing Market
The Data Center Computing market is driven by shifts from traditional enterprise, on-premise computing to cloud computing, as well as the rapid growth of AI and related investments. The accelerated pace of higher power for next generation AI processors has increased the power requirement for AI-based servers and racks, accelerated the transition to high-power 48 volt power shelf infrastructure, and amplified the importance of high power efficiency, density, and reliability for server rack power solutions.
Advanced Energy serves as a leading provider of high-efficiency, high-density, server power conversion solutions and technologies with a proven track record of delivering production-ready products. Our products are designed into data center server and storage systems, as well as used by cloud service providers and their partners in their custom designed server racks and power shelves.
Our strategy in the market is to target high-end, high power, differentiated applications based on our competitive strengths in power density, efficiency, reliability, and speed in delivering next-generation, production-ready products.
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Telecom and Networking Market
Demand in the Telecommunication and Networking market is driven by adoption of more advanced mobile standards, such as 5G technologies, networking investments by telecommunication service providers, enterprises upgrading their communication networks, and data centers investing in their networks for increased bandwidth.
We serve this market by providing application-specific AC-DC and DC-DC power conversion products to many leading OEMs of wireless infrastructure equipment and computer networking equipment. Our solutions are often customized with unique features such as ruggedization for mobile radio in the field.
Our strategy in the market is to optimize our power conversion products to more differentiated applications and leverage investments across our power portfolio to maintain a position in the most attractive customers and applications.
For more information related to our expectations for the markets we serve, see Business Environment and Trends in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
Customers
Our products are sold worldwide to OEMs, distributors, and directly to end users.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, Applied Materials, Inc. and Lam Research Corporation accounted for 26% and 11%, respectively, of our total revenue. During the year ended December 31, 2023, Applied Materials, Inc. accounted for 22% of our total revenue. We expect that the sale of products to our largest customers will continue to account for a significant percentage of our revenue for the foreseeable future. The loss of a large customer could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations .
For more information related to our significant customers, see Note 3. Revenue in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors.”
Marketing, Sales, and Distribution
We sell our products through direct and indirect sales channels. Our primary direct sales operations are located in the United States (“U.S.”), Asia, and Europe.
In addition to a direct sales force, we have distributors that support our selling efforts. We maintain customer service offices in many of the locations listed above, as well as other sites near our customers’ locations. We believe that customer service and technical support are important competitive factors and are essential to building and maintaining close, long-term relationships with our customers.
Refer to Note 3. Revenue in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for information regarding our revenue by geographic area. See Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” for a discussion of certain risks related to our sales and marketing operations.
Manufacturing
We manufacture our products primarily in the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, and China. We also perform limited specialty manufacturing for some of our products in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Europe. In 2024, as part of our multi-year factory optimization and consolidation initiatives, we announced the closure of our Zhongshan, China manufacturing facility and several smaller manufacturing sites, expanded capacity in our Mexico factory, and progress on a new factory near Bangkok, Thailand, which we expect to be operational in 2026.
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Our manufacturing requires a wide variety of mechanical and electrical components, which are often made to our specifications. We use numerous companies, including contract manufacturers, to supply parts for the manufacture and support of our products. Although we make reasonable efforts to ensure that parts are available from multiple qualified suppliers and at the lowest possible cost, some key parts may only be obtained from a sole supplier or a limited group of suppliers. We address supply challenges and reduce the associated risks to production by endeavoring to select and qualify alternate suppliers for key parts, maintain appropriate inventories of critical components, and competitively source parts through electronic bidding tools to find the lowest possible total cost.
See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” for a discussion of certain risks related to our manufacturing operations.
Intellectual Property
Protection of our technology assets through intellectual property rights is important for our competitive position. We believe that continued research and development of technologically advanced solutions and applications is critical for us to compete effectively in the markets we serve. Accordingly, we devote significant personnel and financial resources to the development of new products and the enhancement of existing products. Our investments in research and development enable us to create intellectual property, including patents and trade secrets. We hold numerous U.S. and foreign patents and have multiple patent applications pending in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” for a discussion of certain risks related to our reliance on our intellectual property.
Competition
The markets we serve are highly competitive and characterized by rapid technological development and changing customer requirements. We face a wide variety of competitors, and no single company dominates any of our markets. Significant competitive factors in our markets include product performance, compatibility with adjacent products, price, quality, reliability, meeting customer demand, and level of customer service and support.
We encounter substantial competition from foreign and domestic companies for each of our markets. Some of our competitors have greater financial and other resources than we do. Other competitors are smaller than we are but may be well established in specific product niches. Competitors in each of our market verticals include, but are not limited to, the following:
Semiconductor Equipment
Industrial and Medical
Data Center Computing
Telecom and Networking
COMET Holding AG.
Daihen Corp.
MKS Instruments, Inc.
TRUMPF Hüttinger GmbH + Co. KG
Cosel Co., Ltd.
Delta Electronics, Inc.
MEAN WELL Enterprises
TDK-Lambda Americas Inc.
TRUMPF Hüttinger GmbH + Co. KG
XP Power Ltd.
Acbel Polytech Inc.
Delta Electronics, Inc.
Flex Ltd.
Lite-On Technology Corp.
Acbel Polytech Inc.
Delta Electronics, Inc.
Lite-On Technology Corp.
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Research and Development
We perform research and development to develop products to address new or emerging applications, make technological advances to provide higher performance, lower cost, or create other attributes that we may expect to appeal to current or potential customers. We believe that continued development of technological applications, as well as enhancements to existing products and related software to support customer requirements, are critical for us to compete in the markets we serve. Accordingly, we devote significant personnel and financial resources to developing new products and enhancing existing products, and we expect these investments to continue. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 our research and development expenses were $211.8 million, $202.4 million, and $191.0 million, respectively and have ranged from 10.4% to 14.3% of our total revenue.
Human Capital
Our people are our strength. We have a globally diverse workforce with approximately 10,000 employees as of December 31, 2024. Our employees are located across the globe in 16 countries and are comprised of approximately 56% male and 44% female employees. Our employees are not represented by unions, except for statutory organization rights applicable to our employees in China, Germany, and Mexico.
Culture
We are committed to nurturing a culture grounded in our core values: innovation, integrity, empowerment, partnership, accountability, and execution. These core values are the foundation of how we operate. We stive to provide an inclusive work environment where all of our employees feel respected, valued, and empowered. We recognize that diverse perspectives and collaboration enable us to drive innovation and future growth for our global customers and we remain committed to diversity. Through a combination of merit-based internal promotions and external hiring, we have continued to see increases in the number of diverse employees represented at the director and above level, as compared with 2023. We have a Corporate Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee which provides guidance, coordination, and support to local diversity and inclusion activities. We also have an active Women’s Leadership Forum focused on career development and internal networking.
Health and Safety
We are committed to providing a safe work environment for our employees and have a global team that is responsible for health and safety related activities including hazard and risk identification. We also strive to follow the standards of the Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct at selected manufacturing sites, which promotes labor, health, safety, environmental, and ethics best practices.
Employee Engagement
We are committed to providing a collaborative and productive work environment for our employees. We periodically conduct confidential employee surveys to solicit feedback on confidence in Company leadership, ethical conduct, work environment, career growth opportunities, and we continually evaluate suggestions on how we can make Advanced Energy a great place to work. We communicate the results of these confidential employee surveys with our employees, leaders, executive team, and Board of Directors and use the feedback to identify opportunities to drive improvements across our Company. In 2024, we launched Powering Technology Together, our employee value proposition, to highlight our commitment to providing a best-in-class employee experience for our people across the globe and to differentiate ourselves as an employer of choice. We believe our employee value proposition will help us build our employer brand and attract and retain the best talent.
Total Rewards
We provide market-competitive compensation and benefits to our employees to attract and retain a talented, highly engaged workforce. Our compensation programs are focused on equitable and fair pay practices, including market-based compensation.
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Learning and Development
We create growth and development opportunities to support our employees and offer internal and external learning and development opportunities. We also perform internal talent reviews and succession planning. We provide a 10-week leadership essential training program for our people leaders across all corporate levels. We also have internship and graduate development programs designed to develop a talent pipeline.
Community Involvement
We have an active Community Investment Steering Committee and offer employees paid time off to participate in Company organized initiatives and volunteer with non-profit organizations of their choice. Our Child of Employee Scholarship Program, available to children of Advanced Energy employees, celebrates education accomplishments and provides financial support for them to pursue their career and learning goals. We also offer an annual Advanced Energy STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Scholarship in the U.S. to support and develop emerging talent in STEM.
Environmental Matters
We are subject to federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, as well as the environmental laws and regulations of the foreign federal and local jurisdictions in which we have manufacturing and service facilities. We believe we are in material compliance with all such laws and regulations.
Available Information
Our website address is www.advancedenergy.com . We make available, free of charge on our website, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to these reports as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such reports with, or furnishing them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Such reports are also available at www.sec.gov . Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in, or otherwise part of, this annual report on Form 10-K nor any of our other filings with the SEC.
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