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8-K - 8-K - F5 NETWORKS, INC.ffiv-20201026.htm
Q4 FY20 Earnings Release
Page 1 of 4
For more information contact:
Investor Relations
Suzanne DuLong
(206) 272-7049
s.dulong@f5.com
Public Relations
Nathan Misner
(206) 272-7494
n.misner@f5.com

F5 Delivers 5% Revenue Growth in Fiscal Year 2020 on Building Software Momentum

SEATTLE, WA - October 26, 2020 - F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and year ended September 30, 2020.
“F5 is well on its way to becoming a software-led business, with customer demand for our multi-cloud application security and delivery services driving 5% GAAP and non-GAAP annual revenue growth in fiscal year 2020,” said François Locoh-Donou, president and CEO of F5. “Going forward, we expect continued robust software growth from a more diversified base of subscription and SaaS revenue, a software subscription renewals flywheel that is starting to turn with momentum, and true-forward revenue opportunities on a significant percentage of our long-term software subscription contracts.”
“We have prioritized our innovation and investment to focus on solving our customers’ most pressing application challenges,” continued Locoh-Donou. “New ways of working and higher consumer expectations for application performance along with exploding application growth have created new challenges for customers that F5 is uniquely positioned to address.”
Fiscal Year 2020 Performance Summary
Following its acquisition of Shape Security, to provide transparency to what F5 management believes reflects its ongoing business results, during fiscal year 2020, F5 is reporting both GAAP and non-GAAP revenue. Non-GAAP revenue excludes the impact of the purchase accounting write-down on Shape’s assumed deferred revenue.
GAAP revenue of $2.35 billion for fiscal year 2020 reflects 5% growth from $2.24 billion in fiscal year 2019.
Non-GAAP revenue for fiscal year 2020 was $2.36 billion, reflecting 5% growth in total revenue and 52% growth in software revenue from the year ago period.
GAAP net income for fiscal year 2020 was $307 million, or $5.01 per diluted share compared to fiscal year 2019 GAAP net income of $428 million, or $7.08 per diluted share.
Non-GAAP net income for fiscal year 2020 was $575 million, or $9.37 per diluted share, compared to $626 million, or $10.36 per diluted share, in fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP net income for fiscal year 2020 excludes $202 million in stock-based compensation, $56 million in acquisition-related charges, $35 million in amortization of purchased intangible assets, and $17 million in facility-exit costs.
Fourth Quarter Performance Summary
GAAP revenue of $615 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 reflects 4% growth from $590 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019.
Non-GAAP revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 was $617 million, reflecting 4% growth in total revenue and 36% growth in software revenue from the year ago period.


Q4 FY20 Earnings Release
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GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 was $78 million, or $1.26 per diluted share compared to fourth quarter fiscal year 2019 GAAP net income of $95 million, or $1.57 per diluted share.
Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 was $150 million, or $2.43 per diluted share, compared to $157 million, or $2.59 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019. Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 excludes $52 million in stock-based compensation, $11 million in acquisition-related charges, $11 million in amortization of purchased intangible assets, and $11 million in facility-exit costs.
A reconciliation of revenue, net income, earnings per share, and other measures on a GAAP to non-GAAP basis is included in the attached Consolidated Income Statements. Additional information about non-GAAP financial information is included in this release.
Business Outlook
For the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 ending December 31, 2020, F5 expects to deliver revenue in the range of $595 million to $615 million with non-GAAP earnings in the range of $2.26 to $2.38 per diluted share.
All forward-looking non-GAAP measures included in the outlook exclude estimates for amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation expenses, significant effects of tax legislation and judicial or administrative interpretation of tax regulations (including the impact of income tax reform), non-recurring income tax adjustments, valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, and the income tax effect of non-GAAP exclusions, and do not include the impact of any future acquisitions or divestitures, acquisition-related charges and write-downs, restructuring charges, facility exit costs, or other non-recurring charges that may occur in the period. F5 is unable to provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP earnings guidance measures to corresponding U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the overall high variability and low visibility of most of the foregoing items that have been excluded. Material changes to any one of these items could have a significant effect on our guidance and future GAAP results. Certain exclusions, such as amortization of intangible assets and share-based compensation expenses, are generally incurred each quarter, but the amounts have historically varied and may continue to vary significantly from quarter to quarter.
Live Webcast and Conference Call
F5 will host a live webcast and conference call to review its financial results and outlook today, October 26, 2020, at 4:30 pm ET. The live webcast can be accessed from the investor relations portion of F5.com. To participate in the live call via telephone in the U.S. and Canada, dial (833) 714-0927. Outside the U.S. and Canada, dial +1 (778) 560-2886. Reference Meeting ID 6055259. Please call at least 5 minutes prior to the call start time. The webcast replay will be archived on the investor relations portion of F5’s website.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding the continuing strength and momentum of F5's business, future financial performance, projected and target revenue and earnings ranges, income, earnings per share, share amounts and share price assumptions, share repurchases, demand for application delivery networking, application delivery services, security, and software products, expectations regarding future services and products, expectations regarding future customers, markets and the benefits of products, and other statements that are not historical facts and which are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions and other factors that, if they do not fully materialize or prove correct, could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic including but not limited to the advantages of incumbency in an uncertain environment, caution in spending patterns in the most severely impacted verticals, delays in orders in some impacted regions due to COVID-19 impacts; prolonged face-to-face sales engagement delaying some new strategic projects; customer acceptance of our new security, application delivery, optimization, and software and SaaS offerings; the timely development, introduction and acceptance of additional new products and features by F5 or its


Q4 FY20 Earnings Release
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competitors; F5 may not realize the financial and strategic goals that are contemplated through its acquisitions, including Shape and NGINX, and F5 may not successfully operate and integrate newly-acquired businesses appropriately or as expected; competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures, industry consolidation, entry of new competitors into F5’s markets, and new product and marketing initiatives by our competitors; increased sales discounts; uncertain global economic conditions, including those related to COVID-19, which may result in reduced customer demand for our products and services and changes in customer payment patterns; global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment; overall information technology spending; litigation involving patents, intellectual property, shareholder and other matters, and governmental investigations; natural catastrophic events; F5's ability to sustain, develop and effectively utilize distribution relationships; F5's ability to attract, train and retain qualified product development, marketing, sales, professional services and customer support personnel; F5's ability to expand in international markets; the unpredictability of F5's sales cycle; F5’s share repurchase program; future prices of F5's common stock; and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in our documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and other documents that we may file or furnish from time to time, which could cause actual results, performance or achievements to vary from expectations. The financial information contained in this presentation should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in F5’s most recent reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K as each may be amended from time to time. All forward-looking statements in this presentation are based on information available as of the date hereof and qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. F5 assumes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements.
GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliation
F5’s management evaluates and makes operating decisions using various operating measures. These measures are generally based on the revenues of its products, services operations, and certain costs of those operations, such as cost of revenues, research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses. One such measure is GAAP net income excluding, as applicable, stock-based compensation, amortization of purchased intangible assets, acquisition-related charges, net of taxes, restructuring charges, facility-exit costs, significant litigation and other contingencies and certain non-recurring tax expenses and benefits, which is a non-GAAP financial measure under Section 101 of Regulation G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This measure of non-GAAP net income is adjusted by the amount of additional taxes or tax benefit that the company would accrue if it used non-GAAP results instead of GAAP results to calculate the company’s tax liability.
The non-GAAP adjustments, and F5's basis for excluding them from non-GAAP financial measures, are outlined below:
Acquisition-related write-downs of assumed deferred revenue. Included in its GAAP financial statements, F5 records acquisition-related write-downs of assumed deferred revenue to fair value, which results in lower recognized revenue over the term of the contract. F5 includes revenue associated with acquisition-related write-downs of assumed deferred revenue in its non-GAAP financial measures as management believes it provides a more accurate depiction of revenue arising from our strategic acquisitions.
Stock-based compensation. Stock-based compensation consists of expense for stock options, restricted stock, and employee stock purchases through the company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Although stock-based compensation is an important aspect of the compensation of F5’s employees and executives, management believes it is useful to exclude stock-based compensation expenses to better understand the long-term performance of the company’s core business and to facilitate comparison of the company’s results to those of peer companies.
Amortization of purchased intangible assets. Purchased intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives and generally cannot be changed or influenced by management after the acquisition. Management does not believe these charges accurately reflect the performance of the company’s ongoing operations, therefore, they are not considered by management in making operating decisions. However, investors should note that the use of intangible assets contributed to F5’s revenues earned during the periods presented and will contribute to F5’s future period revenues as well.
Facility-exit costs. In fiscal year 2019, F5 relocated its headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and recorded charges in connection with this facility exit as well as other non-recurring lease activity. These charges are not representative of


Q4 FY20 Earnings Release
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ongoing costs to the business and are not expected to recur. As a result, these charges are being excluded to provide investors with a more comparable measure of costs associated with ongoing operations.
Acquisition-related charges, net. F5 does not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle and the terms and scope of each transaction can vary significantly and are unique to each transaction. F5 excludes acquisition-related charges from its non-GAAP financial measures to provide a useful comparison of the company’s operating results to prior periods and to its peer companies. Acquisition-related charges consist of planning, execution and integration costs incurred directly as a result of an acquisition.
Impairment charges. In fiscal year 2019, F5 recorded impairment of capitalized software development costs reflecting strategy changes in certain product development initiatives. These charges are not representative of ongoing costs to the business and are not expected to recur. As a result, these charges are being excluded to provide investors with a more comparable measure of costs associated with ongoing operations.
Restructuring charges. F5 has incurred restructuring charges that are included in its GAAP financial statements, primarily related to workforce reductions and costs associated with exiting facility lease commitments. F5 excludes these items from its non-GAAP financial measures when evaluating its continuing business performance as such items vary significantly based on the magnitude of the restructuring action and do not reflect expected future operating expenses. In addition, these charges do not necessarily provide meaningful insight into the fundamentals of current or past operations of its business.
Management believes that non-GAAP net income per share provides useful supplemental information to management and investors regarding the performance of the company’s core business operations and facilitates comparisons to the company’s historical operating results. Although F5’s management finds this non-GAAP measure to be useful in evaluating the performance of the core business, management’s reliance on this measure is limited because items excluded from such measures could have a material effect on F5’s earnings and earnings per share calculated in accordance with GAAP. Therefore, F5’s management will use its non-GAAP earnings and earnings per share measures, in conjunction with GAAP earnings and earnings per share measures, to address these limitations when evaluating the performance of the company’s core business. Investors should consider these non-GAAP measures in addition to, and not as a substitute for, financial performance measures in accordance with GAAP.
F5 believes that presenting its non-GAAP measures of earnings and earnings per share provides investors with an additional tool for evaluating the performance of the company’s core business and is used by management in its own evaluation of the company’s performance. Investors are encouraged to look at GAAP results as the best measure of financial performance. However, while the GAAP results are more complete, the company provides investors these supplemental measures since, with reconciliation to GAAP, it may provide additional insight into the company’s operational performance and financial results.
For reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, please see the section in our attached Condensed Consolidated Income Statements entitled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
About F5
F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) is a multi-cloud application security and delivery company that enables our customers—which include the world’s largest enterprises, financial institutions, service providers, and governments—to bring extraordinary digital experiences to life. For more information, go to f5.com. You can also follow @F5 on Twitter or visit us on LinkedIn and Facebook for more information about F5, its partners, and technologies.
F5 is a trademark or service mark of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Source: F5 Networks



F5 Networks, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(unaudited, in thousands)
 September 30,September 30,
 20202019
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents$849,556 $599,219 
Short-term investments360,333 373,063 
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $3,105 and $3,259296,183 322,029 
Inventories27,898 34,401 
Other current assets259,506 182,874 
Total current assets1,793,476 1,511,586 
Property and equipment, net229,239 223,426 
Operating lease right-of-use assets300,680 — 
Long-term investments102,939 358,402 
Deferred tax assets45,173 27,701 
Goodwill1,858,966 1,065,379 
Other assets, net347,447 203,781 
Total assets$4,677,920 $3,390,275 
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities
Accounts payable$64,472 $62,627 
Accrued liabilities321,398 235,869 
Deferred revenue883,134 807,030 
Current portion of long-term debt19,275 — 
Total current liabilities1,288,279 1,105,526 
Deferred tax liabilities602 313 
Deferred revenue, long-term389,498 391,086 
Operating lease liabilities, long-term338,715 — 
Long-term debt369,047 — 
Other long-term liabilities59,511 131,853 
Total long-term liabilities1,157,373 523,252 
Commitments and contingencies
Shareholders’ equity
Preferred stock, no par value; 10,000 shares authorized, no shares outstanding— — 
Common stock, no par value; 200,000 shares authorized, 61,099 and 60,367 shares issued and outstanding305,453 142,597 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(18,716)(19,190)
Retained earnings1,945,531 1,638,090 
Total shareholders’ equity2,232,268 1,761,497 
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity$4,677,920 $3,390,275 



F5 Networks, Inc.
Consolidated Income Statements
(unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts)
 Three Months EndedYears Ended
September 30,September 30,
 2020201920202019
Net revenues
Products (1)$278,451 $264,926 $1,025,856 $985,591 
Services336,365 325,462 1,324,966 1,256,856 
Total614,816 590,388 2,350,822 2,242,447 
Cost of net revenues (2)(3)(4)(5)
Products62,634 44,693 215,275 174,986 
Services49,333 46,225 192,612 181,591 
Total111,967 90,918 407,887 356,577 
Gross profit502,849 499,470 1,942,935 1,885,870 
Operating expenses (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)
Sales and marketing220,379 217,554 843,178 748,619 
Research and development120,300 102,812 441,324 408,058 
General and administrative63,557 64,390 258,366 210,730 
Restructuring charges— — 7,800 — 
Total404,236 384,756 1,550,668 1,367,407 
Income from operations98,613 114,714 392,267 518,463 
Other income, net(1,090)3,397 4,130 22,648 
Income before income taxes97,523 118,111 396,397 541,111 
Provision for income taxes19,860 23,274 88,956 113,377 
Net income$77,663 $94,837 $307,441 $427,734 
Net income per share — basic$1.27 $1.57 $5.05 $7.12 
Weighted average shares — basic61,149 60,283 60,911 60,044 
Net income per share — diluted$1.26 $1.57 $5.01 $7.08 
Weighted average shares — diluted61,636 60,448 61,378 60,456 
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Net income as reported$77,663 $94,837 $307,441 $427,734 
Acquisition-related write-downs of assumed deferred revenue1,963 — 6,824 — 
Stock-based compensation expense52,198 43,732 201,949 162,914 
Amortization of purchased intangible assets10,720 4,586 34,604 11,846 
Facility-exit costs11,045 15,048 16,601 28,800 
Acquisition-related charges11,321 8,079 56,483 41,742 
Impairment charges— 6,273 — 6,273 
Restructuring charges— — 7,800 — 
Tax effects related to above items(15,276)(15,807)(56,726)(53,048)
Net income excluding acquisition-related write-downs of assumed deferred revenue, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of purchased intangible assets, facility-exit costs, acquisition-related charges, impairment charges, restructuring charges and non-recurring tax expenses and benefits (non-GAAP) - diluted$149,634 $156,748 $574,976 $626,261 
Net income per share excluding acquisition-related write-downs of assumed deferred revenue, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of purchased intangible assets, facility-exit costs, acquisition-related charges, impairment charges, restructuring charges and non-recurring tax expenses and benefits (non-GAAP) - diluted$2.43 $2.59 $9.37 $10.36 
Weighted average shares - diluted61,636 60,448 61,378 60,456 
(1) GAAP net product revenues$278,451 $264,926 $1,025,856 $985,591 
Acquisition-related write-downs of assumed deferred revenue1,963 — 6,824 — 
Non-GAAP net product revenues280,414 264,926 1,032,680 985,591 
GAAP net service revenues336,365 325,462 1,324,966 1,256,856 
Acquisition-related write-downs of assumed deferred revenue— — — — 
Non-GAAP net service revenues336,365 325,462 1,324,966 1,256,856 
Total non-GAAP net revenues$616,779 $590,388 $2,357,646 $2,242,447 
(2) Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows:
Cost of net revenues$6,776 $5,233 $25,470 $20,385 
Sales and marketing22,258 19,832 88,446 69,477 
Research and development13,367 10,288 50,271 40,886 
General and administrative9,797 8,379 37,762 32,166 
$52,198 $43,732 $201,949 $162,914 
(3) Includes amortization of purchased intangible assets as follows:
Cost of net revenues$7,382 $3,096 $23,814 $7,653 
Sales and marketing2,749 961 8,612 2,083 
General and administrative589 529 2,178 2,110 
$10,720 $4,586 $34,604 $11,846 
(4) Includes facility-exit costs as follows:
Cost of net revenues$1,457 $1,806 $2,300 $3,520 
Sales and marketing3,272 3,838 5,100 7,470 
Research and development3,328 4,403 5,257 9,994 
General and administrative2,988 5,001 3,944 7,816 
$11,045 $15,048 $16,601 $28,800 
(5) Includes acquisition-related charges as follows:
Cost of net revenues$114 $— $127 $— 
Sales and marketing4,255 445 13,703 6,551 
Research and development1,511 205 2,838 16,321 
General and administrative5,441 7,429 39,815 18,870 
$11,321 $8,079 $56,483 $41,742 
(6) Includes impairment charges as follows:
General and administrative$— $6,273 $— $6,273 
$— $6,273 $— $6,273 



F5 Networks, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(unaudited, in thousands)
 Years Ended
September 30,
 20202019
Operating activities
Net income$307,441 $427,734 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Stock-based compensation201,948 162,914 
Depreciation and amortization95,857 68,507 
Non-cash operating lease costs39,139 — 
Other2,122 1,662 
Deferred income taxes7,293 7,440 
Impairment of assets9,673 6,273 
Non-cash provisions for exit costs— 8,211 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities (excluding effects of the acquisition of businesses):
Accounts receivable46,502 (18,305)
Inventories6,503 (3,832)
Other current assets(49,895)(75,449)
Other assets(25,690)(22,742)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities34,742 74,710 
Deferred revenue35,514 110,718 
Lease liabilities(50,251)— 
Net cash provided by operating activities660,898 747,841 
Investing activities
Purchases of investments(584,240)(602,987)
Maturities of investments543,065 625,201 
Sales of investments309,687 278,244 
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired(955,574)(611,550)
Purchases of property and equipment(59,940)(103,542)
Net cash used in investing activities(747,002)(414,634)
Financing activities
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options and purchases of stock under employee stock purchase plan
52,835 45,598 
Repurchase of common stock(100,016)(201,045)
Proceeds from term debt agreement400,000 — 
Payments on term debt agreement(10,000)— 
Payments for debt issuance costs(3,040)— 
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards
(2,536)— 
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities337,243 (155,447)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash251,139 177,760 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash(567)(1,400)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period602,254 425,894 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period$852,826 $602,254 
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information
Cash paid for taxes, net of refunds$80,236 $100,569 
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities60,564 — 
Cash paid for interest on long-term debt6,568 — 
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash activities
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations$402,007 $— 
Capitalized leasehold improvements paid directly by landlord— 34,948