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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis

2024-02-13 compared with 2023-02-14 · 113 added, 98 removed, 252 unchanged (46% of the section changed)

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Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Arista Networks is an industry leader in data-driven, cognitive cloud networking for next-generation data center and campus workspace environments.

At the core of Arista's platform is our EOS, combined with a set of network applications and our Ethernet switching and routing products using merchant silicon, delivering a cloud networking solution with high performance scale and availability, and enabling network automation, visibility, and security.

EOS, combined with a set of network applications and ethernet switching and routing platforms using merchant silicon, provides improved price/performance and time to market, delivering a cloud networking solution with high performance scale and availability, and enabling network automation, visibility, and security.

Arista Networks is an industry leader in data-driven, client to cloud networking for large data center, campus and routing environments.

Arista's platforms deliver availability, agility, automation, analytics and security through an advanced network operating stack.

Since Arista’s inception, our founders have reimagined cloud networks for performance, scale and programmability with a focus on differentiating in three ways:

uncompromising quality, advanced open and standards-based technology and a robust quality assurance capability built on a suite of automated diagnostics.

At the core of Arista’s platform is Arista’s EOS, a modernized publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system.

Arista EOS, combined with a set of network applications and our Ethernet switching and routing platforms using best of breed merchant silicon, provides customers with a highly competitive and diversified portfolio of products with improved price/performance and time to market.

We generate revenue primarily from sales of our switching and routing platforms, which incorporate our EOS software, and related network applications.

We also generate revenue from post-contract support ("PCS"), which end customers typically purchase in conjunction with our products, and renewals of PCS.

We also generate revenue from post-contract support ("PCS"), which customers typically purchase in conjunction with our products, and renewals of PCS.

We sell our products through both our direct sales force and our channel partners.

As of December 31, 2022, we had delivered our cloud networking solutions to over 9,000 end customers worldwide.

Our end customers span a range of industries and include large internet companies, service providers, financial services organizations, government agencies, media and entertainment companies, telecommunication service providers and other cloud service providers.

Historically, large purchases by a relatively limited number of end customers have accounted for a significant portion of our revenue.

We have experienced unpredictability in the timing of or ders from these large end customers primarily due to changes in demand patterns specific to these customers, the time it takes these end customers to evaluate, test, qualify and accept our newer products, and the overall complexity of these large orders.

For example, sales to our end customers Microsoft and Meta Platforms in fiscal 2022 represented 16% and 26% of our total revenue, respectively, whereas sales to our end customer Microsoft in fiscal 2020 and 2021 amounted to 22% and 15% of our total revenue, respectively, with our end customer Meta Platforms representing less than 10% of our total revenue in both fiscal 2020 and 2021.

Our customers span a range of industries and geographies including large cloud customers or hyperscalers, other internet providers, service providers, financial services organizations, government agencies and a cross section of enterprise customers.

Over the past five years, we have diversified the types of enterprise customers we sell to and have continued to expand our presence across a wide spectrum of industries including media and entertainment, healthcare, oil and gas, education, manufacturing, industrial, and more.

Historically, large purchases by a relatively limited number of customers have accounted for a significant portion of our revenue.

We have experienced unpredictability in the timing of orders from these large customers primarily due to the time it takes these customers to evaluate, test, qualify and accept our newer products, the overall complexity of these large orders and changes in demand patterns specific to these customers, including reductions in capital expenditures by these customers and the impact of cost reduction and other efficiency efforts by these customers.

For example, sales to our end customers Microsoft and Meta Platforms represented 18% and 21% of our total revenue, respectively, in fiscal 2023, 16% and 26% of our total revenue, respectively, in fiscal 2022 and, 15% and less than 10% of our total revenue, respectively in fiscal 2021.

This variability in customer concentration has been linked to the timing of new product deployments and spending cycles with these customers, and we expect continued variability in our customer concentration and timing of sales on a quarterly and annual basis.

Furthermore, we typically provide pricing discounts to large end customers, which may result in lower margins for the period in which such sales occur.

I n addition, an increased focus on the deployment of AI enabled solutions by these customers has accelerated the need for advanced technology offerings including some offerings from potential new market entrants.

This prioritization of AI related infrastructure investment has come in conjunction with the announcement of various cost reduction measures, including optimization and increased efficiency in non-AI related capital expenditures.

In some instances, such measures have had, and may continue to have, an impact on certain current or future projects and have reduced our visibility to customer demand, increased our risk of excess and obsolescence charges on existing products, and may result in reductions in future demand and negatively impact our revenue, financial condition, business or prospects.

Furthermore, we typically provide pricing discounts to large customers, which reduces gross margins for the period in which such sales occur.

We believe that cloud computing represents a fundamental shift from traditional legacy network architectures.

As organizations of all sizes have moved workloads to the cloud, spending on cloud and next-generation data centers has increased rapidly, while traditional legacy IT spending has grown more slowly.

As organizations of all sizes have moved workloads to the cloud, spending on cloud and next-generation data centers has increased rapidly, while traditional legacy IT spending has grown at a slower rate.

Our cloud networking platforms are well positioned to address the growing cloud networking market, and to address increasing performance requirements driven by the growing number of connected devices, as well as the need for constant connectivity and access to data and applications.

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Our future success is dependent upon our ability to continue to evolve and adapt to our rapidly changing environment.

We must also continue to develop market-leading products and features that address the needs of our existing and new customers, and increase sales in the enterprise data center switching, and campus workspace markets.

We intend to continue expanding our sales force and marketing activities in key geographies, as well as our relationships with channel, technology and system-level partners in order to reach new end customers more effectively, increase sales to existing customers, and provide services and support.

We must also continue to develop

market-leading products and features that address the needs of our existing and new customers, and increase sales in the enterprise data center switching, and campus workspace markets.

We intend to continue expanding our sales force and marketing activities in key geographies, as well as our relationships with channel, technology and system-level partners in order to reach new customers more effectively, increase sales to existing customers, and provide services and support.

In addition, we intend to continue to invest in our research and development organization to enhance the functionality of our existing cloud networking platform, introduce new products and features, and build upon our technology leadership.

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Macroeconomic Update

Global economic and business activities continue to face widespread macroeconomic uncertainties, including supply chain constraints, inflation and monetary policy shifts, recession risks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and potential disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and U.S.

Global economic and business activities continue to face widespread macroeconomic uncertainties, including inflation, monetary policy shifts, recession risks, and potential supply chain and other disruptions such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, the Houthi attacks on marine vessels in the Red Sea, and the U.S.

trade war with China.

Although we saw some improvement in our manufacturing and supply chain operations in the latter part of 2022, we continue to experience constraints, with some lingering component shortages, extended lead times, and elevated component and supply chain costs.

We continue to work closely with our contract manufacturers and supply chain partners to ramp production following a period of delayed component sourcing and workforce disruptions.

Although we have worked diligently to drive improvements in these areas, including funding additional working capital and incremental purchase commitments, these delays have negatively impacted our ability to supply products to our customers on a timely basis.

Our demand planning horizon remains extended with high levels of purchase commitments and increased investments in working capital to address delays in component sourcing and the risk of future supply chain disruptions, but we cannot be certain that such delays or disruptions will not occur, or that our extended demand planning horizon will adequately address these disruptions should they occur.

As we exit 2023, the business is emerging from a period of unprecedented global supply chain disruptions.

Throughout this period, we made significant supply chain investments, including funding additional working capital and incremental purchase commitments in response to extended visibility to deployment plans from our customers.

We have worked closely with our contract manufacturers and supply chain partners to ramp production following a period of delayed component sourcing and workforce disruptions.

This increased capacity has allowed us to ship products against previously committed demand/deployment plans and accelerate some deployments where needed, while trying to limit building customer inventory, and to some extent balancing customer lead times with those currently experienced from our key suppliers.

As a result, some shipments against these previously committed demand/deployment plans have extended into 2024.

As the global supply chain has experienced some improvements and as customer lead times have been reduced from their peak, we have seen and expect to continue to see a commensurate reduction in visibility to customer demand and a gradual return to shorter demand-planning horizons resulting in lower demand levels.

Given these shipment and order patterns, near term revenue trends may not be solely reflective of current demand levels, but as discussed above will benefit from demand/deployment plans that had been previously committed.

While inventory and working capital levels may remain elevated in the near term, we expect that purchase commitments will continue to decline as supplier lead times shorten.

The larger magnitude of these balances, combined with a reduction in customer demand-planning horizons and shifting customer product priorities, has resulted in increased risk that we may not be able to sell all of this inventory, which in turn has resulted, and may in the future result, in additional excess and obsolete inventory and supplier liability charges.

In addition, inflation pressure in our supply chain, scarcity of some materials needed to build our products and disruptions to our manufacturing process have increased our cost of revenue and have impacted, and may continue to negatively impact our gross margin.

Our operating cash-flows have also been and may continue to be negatively impacted by increased component inventories on hand or at our contract manufacturers, awaiting supply of a limited number of scarce components necessary to build and ship the completed product.

While overall demand remains stable, supply chain and manufacturing related constraints could impact our ability to fulfill this demand and as a result could negatively impact our business in future periods.

In addition, although our business has experienced limited disruption as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, continued escalation of the conflict may negatively impact the global economy and our future operating results and financial condition.

Management continues to actively monitor the impact of these macroeconomic factors on the Company's financial condition, liquidity, operations, suppliers, industry, and workforce.

The extent of the impact of these factors on our operational and financial performance, including our ability to execute our business strategies and initiatives in the expected time frame, will depend on future developments, the impact on our customers, partners, employees, contract manufacturers and supply chain, all of which continue to evolve and are unpredictable;

however, any continued or renewed disruption in manufacturing and supply resulting from these factors could negatively impact our business.

We also believe that any extended or renewed economic disruptions or deterioration in the global economy could have a negative impact on demand from our customers in future periods.

Accordingly, current results and financial condition discussed herein may not be indicative of future operating results and trends.

Our operating cash-flows have also been and may continue to be negatively impacted by significant component inventories on hand or at our contract manufacturers.

While we have seen improvements in our supply chain and manufacturing operations, any remaining or new supply chain and manufacturing related constraints could negatively impact our business in future periods.

In addition, although our business has experienced limited disruption as a result of the recent Russia-Ukraine conflict, continued escalation of this conflict as well as the Israeli-Hamas conflict and Houthi movement in the Red Sea may negatively impact the global economy and our future operating results and financial condition.

Management continues to actively monitor the impact of macroeconomic factors on the Company's financial condition, liquidity, operations, suppliers, industry, and workforce.

chain, all of which continue to evolve and are unpredictable.

In addition, any continued or renewed disruption in manufacturing and supply resulting from these factors could negatively impact our business.

We also believe that some of our customers, following a year of elevated purchases, must now consider changing technology roadmaps and priorities, including the need for the rapid deployment of AI and related technologies, resulting in some uncertainty as to future investment plans and a more constrained approach to some forecasts and orders in the near term.

In addition, any prolonged economic disruptions or further deterioration in the global economy could have a negative impact on demand from our customers in future periods, particularly in the enterprise market where we are continuing to expand our penetration.

Accordingly, current results and financial conditions discussed herein may not be indicative of future operating results and trends.

Results of Operations

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Product revenue primarily consists of sales of our switching and routing products, and related network applications.

Service revenue is primarily derived from sales of PCS contracts, which is typically purchased in conjunction with our products, and subsequent renewals of those contracts.

We expect our revenue may vary from period to period based on, among other things, the timing, size, and complexity of orders, especially with respect to our large end customers.

Product revenue increased by $1.3 billion, or 56.3%, in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 2021.

The increase reflects strong demand for our switching and routing platforms from across our customer base, including healthy contributions from our large cloud customers.

Although we saw some improvement in component supply in the latter part of fiscal 2022, supply chain and manufacturing constraints limited our revenue performance throughout the year, and while changes in product deferred revenue impacted the timing of revenue recognition on a quarterly basis, the net change in product deferred revenue for the full year was an immaterial contributor to revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022.

In addition, service revenue increased by $94.9 million, or 16.6%, in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 2021, as a result of continued growth in initial and renewal PCS contracts as our customer installed base continued to expand.

International revenu es as a percentage of our total revenues decreased fro m 26.8% in 2 021 to 21.0% in 2022, w hich was primarily driven by increased purchases from large cloud customers in our Americas region.

As a result of cost inflation in our supply chain, we implemented targeted price increases during the year, which began to benefit our revenue in late 2022.

As supply chain costs improve, w e expect to return to a more competitive pricing environment for our products and services.

Service revenue is primarily derived from sales of PCS contracts, which are typically purchased in conjunction with our products, and subsequent renewals of those contracts.

We expect our revenue may vary from period to period based on, among other things, the timing, size, and complexity of orders, especially with respect to our large customers.

Product revenue increased by $1.3 billion, or 35.3%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022.

These increases reflect increased shipments of our switching and routing products across our customer base, including improved supply availability for our enterprise customers.

In addition, service revenue increased by $165.4 million, or 24.9%, in the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022, as a result of continued growth in initial and renewal support contracts as our customer installed base has continued to expand.

International revenu es as a percentage of our total revenues decreased fro m 21.0% in 2 022 to 20.6% in 2023, which was primarily driven by changes in the geographic mix of sales to our large global customers.

Cost of Revenue and Gross Margin

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Cost of revenue increased by $524.3 million, or 30.7% for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022.

These increases were primarily driven by a corresponding increase in product and service revenues, combined with an increase

in material and logistics costs to mitigate supply chain constraints and to meet customer demand, as well as an increase in provisions for excess/obsolete finished goods and component inventory.

Gross margin, or gross profit as a percentage of revenue, has been and will continue to be affected by a variety of factors, including pricing pressure on our products and services due to competition, the mix of sales to large end customers who generally receive lower pricing, the mix of products sold, manufacturing-related costs, including costs associated with supply chain sourcing activities, merchant silicon costs, and excess/obsolete inventory charges, including charges for excess/obsolete component inventory with our contract manufacturers and suppliers.

These increases were primarily driven by a corresponding increase in product and service revenues, combined with an increase in provisions for excess/obsolete inventory and supplier liability charges.

Gross margin, or gross profit as a percentage of revenue, has been and will continue to be affected by a variety of factors, including pricing pressure on our products and services due to competition, the mix of sales to large customers who generally receive lower pricing, the mix of products sold, manufacturing-related costs, including costs associated with supply chain sourcing activities, merchant silicon costs, and excess/obsolete inventory charges, including charges for excess/obsolete component inventory held by our contract manufacturers and suppliers.

We expect our gross margin to fluctuate over time, depending on the factors described above.

Gross margin decreased from 63.8% for the year ended December 31, 2021 to 61.1% for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The decrease was primarily driven by an increased proportion of our sales to larger end customers who generally receive larger discounts, increased material and logistics costs, and increased excess/obsolete finished goods and component inventory charges, partly offset by the leverage of fixed overhead costs on a higher revenue base.

Gross margin increased from 61.1% for the year ended December 31, 2022 to 61.9% for the year ended December 31, 2023.

These changes reflect an improvement in product margins driven by a lower mix of revenue from our larger customers, partly offset by an increase in excess/obsolete inventory-related charges.

In addition, our gross margin benefited in 2023 from the leverage of relatively fixed overhead costs on a higher revenue base.

Operating Expenses (in thousands, except percentages)

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Personnel costs consist of wages, benefits, bonuses and, with respect to sales and marketing expenses, sales commissions.

Personnel costs also include stock-based compensation and travel expenses.

Personnel costs also include stock-based compensation and travel-related expenses.

Year Ended December 31,

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Research and development expenses increased by $126.5 million, or 17.4%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022.

The increase was primarily due to a $68.6 million increase in personnel costs driven by an increase in headcount, and a $57.5 million increase in new product introduction costs, including third-party engineering and other product development costs.

The increase was primarily due to a $84.1 million increase in personnel costs driven by an increase in headcount, and a $40.7 million increase in new product introduction costs, including non-recurring engineering costs and prototype expenses as we expand our product portfolio.

Sales and marketing.

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Sales and marketing expenses increased by $72.1 million, or 22.0%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022.

The increase was primarily caused by increased personnel costs driven by headcount growth.

The increase was primarily caused by increased personnel costs driven by headcount growth, in addition to increased sales and marketing events and field demonstration costs.

General and administrative.

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and professional services costs.

General and administrative personnel costs include those for our executive, finance, human resources and legal functions.

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and professional services costs for our finance, human resources, legal and certain executive functions.

Our professional services costs are primarily related to external legal, accounting, and tax services.

General and administrative expenses increased by $25.8 million, or 27.7%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022.

The increase was driven by an increase in personnel costs driven by increased headcount, and increased legal and professional fees primarily driven by acquisitions during the first half of 2022.

The increase was primarily caused by an increase in personnel costs driven by increased stock-based compensation, and increased legal and professional fees.

Other Income, Net (in thousands, except percentages)

Other income (expense), net consists primarily of interest income from our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, gains and losses on our equity investments in privately-held companies and marketable securities, and foreign currency transaction gains and losses.

Other income (expense), net consists primarily of interest income from our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, gains and losses on our marketable securities and strategic investments, and foreign currency transaction gains and losses.

We expect other income (expense), net may fluctuate in the future as a result of the re-measurement of our equity investments upon the occurrence of either observable price changes or impairments, changes in interest rates or returns on our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities, and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

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Interest income $ 152,421 2.6 % $ 27,556 0.6 % $ 124,865 453.1 %

Unrealized gain (loss) on equity investments 27,479 0.6 — — 27,479 100.0

Gain (loss) on strategic investments 18,699 0.3 27,479 0.6 (8,780) (32.0)

Other income (expense), net (6,343) (0.1) (345) — (5,998) 1,738.6

Total other income, net $ 164,777 2.8 % $ 54,690 1.2 % $ 110,087 201.3 %

The movement in other income (expense), net, during the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to 2021 was driven by an increase in interest income due to higher interest rates.

In addition, we had unrealized gains of $27.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2022 related to our equity investments.

The favorable movement in other income (expense), net, during the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 2022 was driven by an increase in interest income of $124.9 million due to an increase in our cash and investments balances and higher interest rates.

Provision for Income Taxes (in thousands, except percentages)

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Effective tax rate 13.8 % 14.5 %

Our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate increased in 2022 as compared to 2021.

The increase in our income taxes was due to an increase in pre-tax income.

The increase in our effective tax rate was largely attributable to a decrease in the proportion of tax benefits attributable to stock-based compensation versus total pre-tax income.

Our provision for income taxes increased in 2023, as compared to 2022, and our effective tax rate decreased in 2023, as compared to 2022.

The increase in our income taxes was largely due to an increase in pre-tax income, partly offset by an increase in tax benefits attributable to stock-based compensation.

The decrease in our effective tax rate was primarily due to a

reduction of unrecognized tax benefits on uncertain tax positions due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

For further information regarding income taxes and the impact on our results of operations and financial position, refer to Note 8.

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Total revenue $ 4,381,310 100.0 % $ 2,948,037 100.0 %

Product revenue increased by $546.9 million, or 29.9%, in the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to 2020, which reflected stronger demand for our products from new and existing customers, and broader market acceptance of our enterprise and campus products.

Service revenue increased by $83.6 million, or 17.2%, in the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to 2020, as a result of continued growth in initial and renewal PCS contracts as our customer installed base continued to expand.

International revenues increased from 23.5% in 2020 to 26.8% in 2021, which was mostly driven by increased shipments to our large end customers in the EMEA region.

Product revenue increased by $1.3 billion, or 56.3%, in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 2021.

The increase reflects strong demand for our switching and routing platforms from across our customer base, including healthy contributions from our large cloud customers.

As a result of cost inflation in our supply chain, we implemented targeted price increases during the year, which began to benefit our revenue in late 2022.

As supply chain costs improve, w e expected to return to a more competitive pricing environment for our products and services.

Cost of Revenue and Gross Margin

Cost of revenue increased by $638.4 million, or 59.8% for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 2021.

These increases were primarily driven by a corresponding increase in product and service revenues, coupled with an increase in supply chain costs due to increased production capacity and higher volumes.

Gross margin slightly decreased from 63.9% for the year ended December 31, 2020 to 63.8% for the year ended December 31, 2021.

The change in gross margin was unfavorably impacted by higher supply chain costs, as well as increased service costs to support our growing installed base.

These unfavorable impacts were mostly offset by improved product margins due to a reduced proportion of our sales to larger end customers who generally receive larger discounts.

These increases were primarily driven by a corresponding increase in product and service revenues, combined with an increase in material and logistics costs to mitigate supply chain constraints and to meet customer demand, as well as an increase in provisions for excess/obsolete finished goods and component inventory.

Gross margin decreased from 63.8% for the year ended December 31, 2021 to 61.1% for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The decrease was primarily driven by an increased proportion of our sales to larger customers who generally receive larger discounts, increased material and logistics costs, and increased excess/obsolete finished goods and component inventory charges, partly offset by the leverage of fixed overhead costs on a higher revenue base.

Operating Expenses (in thousands, except percentages)

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Sales and marketing expenses increased by $40.8 million, or 14.3%, for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 2021.

The increase was primarily driven by increased headcount and higher sales volume resulting in increased personnel costs.

The increase was primarily caused by increased personnel costs driven by headcount growth.

General and administrative

General and administrative expenses increased by $10.1 million, or 12.2%, for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 2021.

The increase was driven by a $17.7 million increase in personnel costs, primarily stock-based compensation, which was partially offset by a decrease in non-recurring acquisition-related expenses of $4.2 million resulting from the acquisitions of Big Switch and Awake Security in 2020.

The increase was driven by an increase in personnel costs driven by increased headcount, and increased legal and professional fees primarily driven by acquisitions during the first half of 2022.

Other Income, Net (in thousands, except percentages)

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Interest income $ 27,556 0.6 % $ 7,215 0.2 % $ 20,341 281.9 %

Gain on sale of marketable securities — — 9,432 0.4 (9,432) (100.0)

Gain on investments in privately-held companies 27,479 0.6 — — 27,479 100.0

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Total other income, net $ 54,690 1.2 % $ 6,140 0.2 % $ 48,550 790.7 %

The unfavorable change in other income, net, during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to 2020 was driven by a $19.9 million decrease in interest income, which was primarily caused by significant declines in the yields of government and corporate bonds in our investment portfolio.

In addition, we recorded a gain on sale of marketable securities and a gain on investments in privately-held companies in 2020, which did not recur in 2021.

The movement in other income (expense), net, during the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to 2021 was driven by an increase in interest income due to higher interest rates.

In addition, we had unrealized gains of $27.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2022 related to our equity investments.

Provision for Income Taxes (in thousands, except percentages)

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Effective tax rate 14.5 % 9.7 %

Despite an increase in pre-tax income in 2021 as compared to 2020, our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate decreased in 2021 as compared to 2020.

The decrease in our income taxes and effective tax rate was largely attributable to increased tax benefits from stock-based compensation, combined with a favorable change in jurisdictional mix of earnings.

These two factors are variable in nature and past results may not be indicative of future results.

Our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate increased in 2022 as compared to 2021.

The increase in our income taxes was due to an increase in pre-tax income.

The increase in our effective tax rate was largely attributable to a decrease in the proportion of tax benefits attributable to stock-based compensation versus total pre-tax income.

For further information regarding income taxes and the impact on our results of operations and financial position, refer to Note 8.

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We believe that our existing balances of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, together with cash generated from operations, will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements and our growth strategies for at least the next 12 months.

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our growth rate, the timing and extent of our spending to support research and development activities, the timing and cost of establishing additional sales and marketing capabilities, the introduction of new and enhanced product and service offerings, our costs associated with supply chain activities, including access to outsourced manufacturing, our costs related to investing in or acquiring complementary or strategic businesses and technologies, the continued market acceptance of our products, and stock repurchases.

If we require or elect to seek additional capital through debt or equity financing in the future, we may not be able to raise capital on terms acceptable to us or at all.

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Our operating activities consist of net income, adjusted for certain non-cash items, and changes in assets and liabilities.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, cash provided by operating activities was $2.0 billion, primarily from net income of $2.1 billion, offset by net non-cash adjustments to net income of $37.4 million, and a net change of $15.9 million in working capital requirements.

Net non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of an increase in deferred income taxes of $370.8 million primarily resulting from increased deferred tax assets associated with the capitalization of research and development costs under IRC Section 174, which were largely offset by $296.8 million of stock-based compensation expenses and $70.6 million of depreciation, amortization and other expenses.

The change in working capital requirements primarily

consisted of a $655.5 million increase in inventory in response to a significant increase in business volume, a $101.5 million increase in accounts receivable due to the larger business volume and timing of shipments in the fourth quarter of 2023, as well as a $66.4 million increase in other assets primarily driven by increased deferred cost of sales associated with higher product revenue deferrals.

These cash outflows were largely offset by a $465.0 million increase in deferred revenue driven by a growth in PCS contracts and increased product deferred revenue related to customer contracts with acceptance terms, a $322.3 million increase in accounts payable and other liabilities related to significant business volume, timing of payments, and increased supplier and contract manufacturer liability reserves and a $20.2 million increase in income taxes, net, due to timing of payments.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, cash provided by operating activities was $492.8 million, primarily from net income of $1.4 billion and net non-cash adjustments to net income of $53.2 million, partially offset by a net increase of $912.8 million in working capital requirements.

Net non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of $230.9 million of stock-based compensation expenses and $62.7 million of depreciation, amortization and other expenses, which were largely offset by an increase in deferred income taxes of $244.4 million primarily resulting from increased deferred tax assets associated with the

capitalization of research and development costs under IRC Section 174.

The increase in working capital requirements primarily consisted of a $638.9 million increase in inventory in response to a significant increase in business volume, increased lead times and supply chain disruptions, and a $401.5 million increase in accounts receivable due to the larger business volume and timing of shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022, as well as an $85.2 million increase in prepaid and other current assets primarily driven by increased inventory deposits to our contract manufacturers.

These cash outflows were largely offset by a $99.0 million increase in deferred revenue driven by a growth in PCS contracts, a $98.0 million increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities related to significant business volume, timing of payments, and increased supplier and contract manufacturer liability reserves and a $44 million increase in income taxes, net, due to an increase in our income tax provision and timing of payments.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, cash provided by operating activities was $1.0 billion, primarily from net income of $840.9 million and net non-cash adjustments to net income of $181.9 million, partially offset by a net increase of $6.9 million in working capital requirements.

The net non-cash adjustments primarily consist of $186.9 million of stock-based compensation expenses, $50.3 million of depreciation and amortization expenses and $26.8 million of amortization of investment premiums (discounts), all of which were offset by the deferred income tax adjustment of $99.3 million.

The increase in working capital primarily consisted of a $170.5 million increase in inventory to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 related supply chain disruptions, a $134.8 million increase in prepaid and other current assets primarily driven by an increase in deferred cost of sales associated with higher product revenue deferrals, increased inventory deposits to our contract manufacturers, and higher prepaid taxes and other assets.

In addition, we had an increase of $127.0 million in accounts receivables due to increased product and service billings.

These cash outflows were largely offset by a $278.5 million increase in deferred revenue reflecting ongoing growth in PCS contracts and increased product deferred revenue related to contracts with acceptance terms.

In addition, we had a $66.7 million increase in accounts payable related to the volume and timing of production receipts, and an $83.5 million increase in accrued expenses primarily driven by increased supply chain and development costs, as well as accrued compensation-related costs.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Our investing activities consist of our marketable securities investments, business combinations, investments in privately-held companies, and capital expenditures.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, cash used in investing activities was $687.5 million, consisting of purchases of available-for-sale securities of $2.6 billion, and purchases of property, equipment and intangible assets of $34.4 million, partially offset by proceeds of $1.9 billion from maturities of marketable securities, and proceeds from the sale of marketable securities of $67.3 million,

During the year ended December 31, 2022, cash provided by investing activities was $216.3 million, consisting of proceeds of $1.6 billion from maturities of marketable securities, proceeds from the sale of marketable securities of $193.8 million, partially offset by purchases of available-for-sale securities of $1.4 billion, $145.1 million for business acquisitions, purchases of property, equipment and intangible assets of $44.6 million, and investments and notes receivable in private companies of $12.7 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, cash used in investing activities was $925.6 million, primarily consisting of purchases of available-for-sale securities of $2.3 billion, investments and notes receivable in private companies of $19.9 million, and purchases of property, equipment and intangible assets of $64.7 million, partially offset by proceeds of $1.5 billion from maturities of marketable securities, proceeds from the sale of marketable securities of $19.6 million, and the receipt of escrow payments of $1.3 million.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

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During the year ended December 31, 2023, cash used in financing activities was $83.7 million, consisting primarily of common stock repurchases of $112.3 million and taxes paid of $33.6 million upon vesting of restricted stock units, offset partially by proceeds from the issuance of common stock under employee equity incentive plans of $62.1 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, cash used in financing activities was $360.9 million, consisting primarily of payments for repurchases of our common stock of $411.6 million and taxes paid of $16.5 million upon vesting of restricted stock units, offset partially by proceeds from the issuance of common stock under employee equity incentive plans of $67.2 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, cash used in financing activities was $654.6 million, consisting primarily of common stock repurchases of $670.3 million and taxes paid of $32.7 million upon vesting of restricted stock units, offset partially by proceeds from the issuance of common stock under employee equity incentive plans of $48.4 million.

Stock Repurchase Programs

In April 2019, our board of directors authorized a $1.0 billion stock repurchase program (the “Repurchase Program”).

This authorization allowed us to repurchase shares of our common stock over three years and we completed our repurchases under the Repurchase Program during the fourth quarter of 2021.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, our board of directors authorized an additional $1.0 billion stock repurchase program (the "New Repurchase Program").

This authorization allows us to repurchase shares of our common stock and will be funded from working capital.

The New Repurchase Program commenced in the fourth quarter of 2021, and expires on the three-year anniversary thereof.

The New Repurchase Program does not obligate us to acquire any of our common stock and may be suspended or discontinued by the company at any time without prior notice.

As of December 31, 2022, the remaining authorized amount for repurchases under the New Repurchase Program was $256.8 million.

In October 2021, our board of directors authorized a $1.0 billion stock repurchase program (the “Repurchase Program”).

This authorization allows us to repurchase shares of our common stock funded from working capital and expires in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The Repurchase Program does not obligate us to acquire any of our common stock and may be suspended or discontinued by the company at any time without prior notice.

During the three months ended December 31,

2023, we did not repurchase any shares.

As of December 31, 2023, the remaining authorized amount for repurchases under the Repurchase Program was $144.5 million.

Refer to Note 6.

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Our material cash requirements include the following contractual and other obligations:

We have operating lease arrangements for office space, data center, equipment and other corporate assets.

As of December 31, 2022, we had lease payment obligations, net of immaterial sublease income, of $71.4 million, with $22.5 million payable within 12 months.

Purchase Obligations

Purchase obligations represent an estimate of all non-cancellable open purchase orders and contractual obligations, made either directly by Arista or by our contract manufacturers on our behalf, in the ordinary course of business for which we have not received the goods or services.

As of December 31, 2022, we had $3.7 billion of such purchase obligations, of which $2.9 billion are expected to be received within 12 months, and $0.8 billion are e xpected to be received after one year.

Purchase obligations not recorded on our balance sheet represent an estimate of all non-cancellable open purchase orders and contractual obligations, made either directly by Arista or by our contract manufacturers on our behalf, in the ordinary course of business for which we have not received the goods or services.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $1,586.7 million of such purchase obligations, of which $1,547.2 million are expected to be received within 12 months, and $39.5 million are e xpected to be received after one year.

These open purchase orders are considered enforceable and legally binding, and while we may have some limited ability to reschedule and adjust our requirements based on our business needs prior to the delivery of goods or performance of services, this can only occur with the agreement of the related supplier.

We have operating lease arrangements for office space, data center, equipment and other corporate assets.

As of December 31, 2023, we had lease payment obligations, net of immaterial sublease income, of $72.0 million, with $24.0 million payable within 12 months.

Property project

During the year ended December 31, 2021, we purchased land and the improvements thereon in Santa Clara, California to construct a building for office and lab space.

The estimated capital expenditures related to this project is expected to be approximately $80.0 to $100.0 million for the year ending 2024, with construction expected to commence in the second half of 2024.

Accrued Income Taxes

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however, we are unable to make a reasonably reliable estimate of the timing of settlement, if any, of these future payments.

In connection with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("TCJA"), effective from January 1st, 2022, the TCJA eliminates the option to deduct research and development expenditures currently and requires taxpayers to capitalize and amortize them over five or fifteen years pursuant to IRC Section 174.

As of December 31, 2022, the incremental cash tax impact resulting from the new regulations was approximately $195.0 million for the year, of which substantially all of the liability for the full year has been paid.

In addition, we may incur incremental cash taxes of up to $180.0 million in fiscal 2023.

N o material change to our effective tax rate resulted from this new regulation.

In connection with the TCJA, effective from January 1st, 2022, the TCJA eliminates the option to deduct research and development expenditures currently and requires taxpayers to capitalize and amortize them over five or fifteen years pursuant to IRC Section 174.

As of December 31, 2023, the incremental cash tax impact resulting from the regulation was approximately $191.7 million for the year, of which substantially all the liability has been paid.

It is anticipated that IRC Section 174 will result in cash tax outlays exceeding our income tax expense over the next three years unless the current legislation is changed.

There is no material change to our effective tax rate as a result of this regulation.

Off-balance sheet arrangements

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GAAP") and include our accounts and the accounts of our wholly owned subsidiaries.

The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires our management to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the applicable periods.

the applicable periods.

Note 1, “Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K describes the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

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We use a range of amounts to estimate SSP for products and PCS sold together in a contract to determine whether there is a discount to be allocated based on the relative SSP of the various products and PCS.

If we do not have an observable SSP, such as when we do not sell a product or service separately, then SSP is estimated using judgment and considering all reasonably available information, such as market conditions and information about the size and/or purchase volume of the customer.

We generally use a range of amounts to estimate SSP for individual products and services based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, the sales channel (reseller, distributor or end customer), the geographies in which our products and services are sold, and the size of the end customer.

If we do not have an observable SSP, such as when we do not sell a product or service separately, then SSP is estimated using judgment and considering all reasonably available information, such as gross margin objectives, market conditions and information about the size and/or purchase volume of the customer.

We generally use a range of amounts to estimate SSP for individual products and services based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, product category, actual and expected volume, discounting policies, and end customer vertical and size.

We limit the amount of revenue recognition for contracts containing forms of variable consideration, such as future performance obligations, customer-specific returns, and acceptance or refund obligations.

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These estimates depend on our assessment of current and expected orders from our customers, product development plans and current sales levels.

In addition, industry-wide supply chain shortages have resulted in extended lead times for components and have required us to extend the time horizon of our demand forecasts.

In addition, industry-wide supply chain shortages have resulted in extended lead times for components, and we were required to extend the time horizon of our demand forecasts.

As customer lead times reduce more broadly, we have seen and expect to continue to see a commensurate reduction in visibility to customer demand and a gradual return to shorter demand-planning horizons resulting in lower demand levels.

While inventory and working capital levels may remain elevated in the near term, we expect that purchase commitments will continue to decline as supplier lead times shorten.

There is however no guarantee that all suppliers will meet their commitments in the time frame committed or that actual customer demand will directly match our demand forecasts.

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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis