Gen Digital Inc. - Annual Report: 2013 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

(Mark One)

For the Fiscal Year Ended March 29, 2013

OR

For the Transition Period from              to             .

Commission File Number 000-17781

SYMANTEC CORPORATION

(Exact name of the registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(650) 527-8000

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

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

None

(Title of class)

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  þ        No  ¨

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

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

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

Aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based upon the closing sale price of Symantec common stock on September 28, 2012 as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market: $12,564,807,729.

Number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of April 26, 2013: 696,634,962

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The information called for by Part III will be included in an amendment to this Form 10-K or incorporated by reference from the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A.

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SYMANTEC CORPORATION

FORM 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended March 29, 2013

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“Symantec,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and “the Company” refer to Symantec Corporation and all of its subsidiaries. Symantec, the Symantec Logo, Norton, and VERITAS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec in the United States (“U.S.”) and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT FUTURE RESULTS

The discussion below contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to safe harbors under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements include references to our ability to utilize our deferred tax assets, as well as statements including words such as “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “projects,” and similar expressions. In addition, statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, anticipated growth and trends in our businesses and in our industries, the anticipated impacts of acquisitions, our intent to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future, the actions we intend to take as part of our new strategy, the expected impact of our new strategy and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions, based on our current expectations about future events and may not prove to be accurate. We do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events occurring or circumstances arising after the date of this report. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and our actual results, performance, or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements on the basis of several factors, including those that we discuss under Item 1A, Risk Factors. We encourage you to read that section carefully.

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PART I

Overview

Symantec is a global leader in security, backup and availability solutions. Our innovative products and services protect people and information in any digital environment – from the smallest mobile device, to the enterprise data center, to cloud-based systems. Our software and services protect against advanced threats independent of the device and environment in which information is used or stored.

Founded in 1982, Symantec has operations in more than 50 countries and our principal executive offices are located at 350 Ellis Street, Mountain View, California, 94043. Our telephone number at that location is (650) 527-8000. Our Internet home page is www.symantec.com. Other than the information expressly set forth in this annual report, the information contained or referred to on our website is not part of this annual report.

Strategy

The Company is in the midst of a transformation. New types of solutions and new market opportunities are emerging as customers look to us to innovate across a digital landscape that has expanded enormously for both consumers and businesses. As we think about our markets today, it is very clear that the industry needs a new model for protection. We are transitioning from being device-centric, which meant protecting endpoints and the data center, to having the broader focus of protecting and managing digital information. Individuals, businesses, and other organizations use new ways to access their digital information, creating new opportunities for us to develop products and services which address mobile devices, web services, web platforms, and the emerging software defined data center and network. Our strategy is to establish leadership in this evolving information-centric world by identifying and delivering security and information management solutions that solve large unmet or underserved customer needs, while building competitive advantage and creating sustainable financial performance.

To successfully implement our strategy we are focusing on three areas: developing innovative products and services, changing our Go-To-Market (“GTM”) strategy, and simplifying our organizational structure.

Developing Innovative Products and Services

With data exploding at exponential rates and the sophistication of attacks evolving rapidly, it is increasingly important to secure and manage valuable data. We see significant opportunity in security and information management, where we have market leading technologies. We are focused on providing comprehensive solutions for mobile and traditional endpoints, the cloud and increasingly virtualized datacenters. We expect to further expand our offerings by partnering with network vendors to offer solutions in the network space.

With a portfolio of leading products, we intend to focus our development efforts on making our point solutions better while developing new integrated solutions that are aimed at solving important customer problems. The three areas of focus include:

Changing Our Go-To-Market Strategy

A significant portion of our revenue from enterprise products is derived from sales to end users by our direct sales force. We believe that sales of our innovative and differentiated products are enhanced by knowledgeable

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salespeople who can convey the strong value of our technology; as such we are reorganizing our direct sales force into functional areas of security and information management. The focus of these specialized teams will be to generate new sales opportunities. We expect that by dividing our direct sales force into specialized teams we will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our sales process.

Concurrently, we are creating a dedicated renewals team that will be focused on extending the customer relationship and renewing contracts. We are also streamlining our indirect sales channels to effectively reach customers. We intend to have fewer, more focused partners. Additionally, we intend to reorient our partner programs to enhance reseller sales. We believe these changes will ensure that we provide our end customers with a high-quality sales and post-sales support experiences while expanding our business.

Simplifying the Organization

Aligning our organization by functional areas, rather than by market segments, will create an opportunity to reduce complexity, remove redundancies, increase the speed of decision making and improve accountability and execution. By the fall of 2013, we expect to reduce the number of management layers from our existing structure. We also intend to increase the average span of control for managers.

Capital Allocation Strategy

Our enhanced capital allocation strategy is expected to return over time approximately 50% of free cash flow to stockholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases, while still enabling our company to invest in its future. Our strategy will emphasize organic growth through internal innovation and will be complemented by acquisitions that fit strategically and meet specific internal profitability hurdles.

Our capital allocation program includes the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend, targeting a yield of approximately 2.5% based on our closing stock price on May 1, 2013. On May 2, 2013, our board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock, the first dividend in Symantec’s history, to be paid on June 27, 2013 to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 19, 2013. Any future dividends will be subject to the approval of our board of directors.

Our board of directors also approved a new $1.0 billion stock repurchase program. This program does not have an expiration date. Including our previously approved stock repurchase program, $1.2 billion remained authorized for future repurchases as of March 29, 2013.

The initiation of quarterly dividends coupled with the increased stock repurchase program underscores our commitment to consistently return capital to stockholders, and shows confidence in our long-term business outlook and our ability to generate a significant amount of cash on a consistent basis.

Business Developments and Highlights

During fiscal 2013, we took the following actions in support of our business strategy:

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Operating Segments and Products

Our current operating segments are strategic business units that offer different products and services, distinguished by customer needs. The five operating segments in fiscal 2013 were: Consumer, Security and Compliance, Storage and Server Management, Services, and Other. We expect to modify our segment reporting structure starting in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 to align with our three new areas of focus.

Consumer

Our consumer products help customers deal with increasingly complex threats, the proliferation of mobile devices, the need for identity protection, and the rapid increase in digital data, such as personal financial records, photos, music, and videos. For individuals and home businesses, we offer premium, full-featured security suites and personalized membership offerings for multiple platforms and devices, including PCs, Macs, Android-based and iOS devices, as well as related services such as online backup, family safety, PC tune-up and personal technical support. Our primary consumer products include: Norton 360, Norton 360 Multi-Device, Norton Internet Security, Norton AntiVirus, Norton One, Norton Online Backup, Norton Mobile Security, and Norton Live Services.

We continue to acquire customers through a diversified channel strategy. We retain and leverage our large customer base through auto-renewal subscriptions, seek to up-sell customers from point products to multi-product suites, and cross-sell additional products and services. We also provide a variety of free tools and trial products that offer consumers added value and provide up-sell opportunities.

Security and Compliance

Our Security and Compliance products help organizations protect their information and systems. Our solutions not only provide the strongest protections but also help organizations standardize, automate, and reduce the costs of day-to-day security activities. We offer security solutions that integrate multiple layers of protection and simplify management. Our primary solutions in this segment address the following areas:

Endpoint Security and Management

Our endpoint security and management offerings help customers secure their environment by addressing the changes in the threat landscape, the evolution of the endpoint to include more mobile devices, and the pressure to reduce cost and complexity.

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Our solutions encrypt and prevent sensitive information from leaving an organization. We offer two-factor authentication and cloud-based single-sign-on functionality to better protect the identities of an organization’s employees.

Symantec mobile enterprise solutions help organizations embrace the “Bring Your Own Device” trend by allowing users to select devices of their choice while securing corporate data, gaining visibility into and control of all mobile platforms, and enforcing security policies. Our market-leading security solutions allow customers to secure all their endpoints and thwart today’s sophisticated cyber-attacks. Products include: Encryption, Validation and Identity Protection, Managed Public Key Infrastructure (“PKI”), Mobile Management, App Center, Mobile Security for Android, Endpoint Protection for enterprise and small business and Protection Suites.

Symantec systems management capabilities help IT organizations provide faster and more predictable service to their businesses. Our integrated solutions enable organizations to easily support new technology changes, quickly adapt to changing processes and business needs, and provide the necessary insight to make more intelligent, data-driven decisions. Products include: Device and Application Management, and IT Management Suite.

Information Security

Our information security businesses help to keep organizations safe and compliant with industry and government regulations, regardless of the complexity of their infrastructure. Our market-leading solutions allow customers to secure their messaging and web environments, via either on-premise or hosted solutions. Symantec’s data center security products defend critical servers, either physical or virtual.

Symantec authentication services enable organizations to protect assets by ensuring the true identity of devices, systems, or applications connecting to them and using Secure Socket Layer (“SSL”) technology to encrypt data in transit. Products include: Critical System Protection, and Trust Services. Our market-leading Data Loss Prevention solution helps businesses proactively protect their information by taking a content-aware approach. This includes enabling businesses to identify the owners of specific information, locate sensitive data and identify those with access to it. Symantec threat and risk management solutions allow customers to develop and enforce IT policies, automate IT risk management processes, and demonstrate compliance with industry standards and regulations. Organizations are provided the visibility and security intelligence needed to identify when they are under attack so that they can respond rapidly. Information about the latest threat and attack trends from our Global Intelligence Network is continuously delivered to many of our solutions and provides customers with real-time information on credible threats to their critical business assets. Our Managed Security Services extend our security expertise through a combination of remote monitoring, on-call assistance, and management. Products include: Security Incident Manager (SIM), Managed Security Services, and Control Compliance Suite.

Storage and Server Management

Our storage and server management solutions enable organizations to ensure business continuity and manage the information-driven world by leveraging our backup and recovery, archiving, eDiscovery, storage management, and high availability solutions. Our offerings help organizations standardize on a single layer of infrastructure software, work on all major distributed operating systems, and support storage devices, databases, and applications in both physical and virtual environments. Our primary solutions in this segment address the following areas:

Backup & Recovery

Our Backup and Recovery business, which includes software, appliances and cloud based offerings, helps small and medium-sized businesses (“SMB”) and enterprise organizations address the rapid growth of

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information, data duplication, and virtual environments. With our solutions, customers can backup and deduplicate data closer to information sources to reduce storage consumption. Products include: NetBackup on-premise and appliance, Backup Exec, and Backup Exec.cloud.

Information Intelligence

Our archiving, eDiscovery and intelligent information governance solutions allow organizations to bridge the gap between their business, legal, and IT groups, and to reduce their risks and costs. Products include: Enterprise Vault, Enterprise Vault.cloud, and eDiscovery.

Storage Management

Our Storage Management and High Availability businesses address our customers’ need to maintain high service levels and reduce overall storage costs through improved utilization of existing systems, virtualization, and cloud infrastructure offerings. Our products help customers simplify their datacenters by standardizing storage management across their environment for more efficient and effective use of their existing storage infrastructure. With our solutions, customers can build scalable, high-performance file-based storage systems onsite, or in private or hybrid clouds, utilizing commodity hardware. They also enable enterprises to manage large storage environments and ensure the availability of critical applications across physical and virtual environments. Products include: Storage Foundation, Cluster Server, Operations Manager, ApplicationHA, Data Insight, and VirtualStore.

Services

We deliver consulting, education and dedicated support services. Symantec Services help customers address information security, availability, storage and compliance challenges at the endpoint and in complex, multi-vendor datacenter environments.

Other

Our Other segment includes sunset products and products nearing the end of their life cycle, as well as unallocated costs that are not charged to the other operating segments. This segment is not considered an active business component of the Company.

Financial Information by Segment and Geographic Region

For information regarding our revenue by segment, revenue by geographical area, and property and equipment by geographical area, see Note 10 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this annual report. For information regarding the amount and percentage of our revenue contributed by each of our segments and our financial information, including information about geographic areas in which we operate, see Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Note 10 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this annual report. For information regarding risks associated with our international operations, see Item 1A, Risk Factors.

Sales and Go-To-Market Strategy

We plan to make changes to our GTM strategy. Key changes include reorganizing our direct sales force into focus areas of security and information management. The goal of these specialized teams will be to generate new sales opportunities. We expect dividing our direct sales force into specialized teams will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our sales process. Concurrently, we are creating a dedicated renewals team that will be focused on extending customer relationships and renewing our contracts. We also plan to streamline our indirect sales partners to effectively reach customers. We intend to have fewer, more focused partners with specialized partner programs to enhance sales. We believe these changes will ensure that we provide our end customers with a high-quality sales and post-sales support experience while expanding our business.

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Our GTM network includes a direct sales force, broad eCommerce capabilities, and indirect sales resources that support our ecosystem of partners worldwide. We also maintain important relationships with a number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”), Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”), and retail and online stores by which we market and sell our products.

Consumer

We sell our consumer products and services to individuals and home businesses globally. Our products are available to customers through our eCommerce platform, distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, wireless carriers, and in retail locations worldwide. We have partnerships with OEMs globally to distribute our Internet security suites and our online backup offerings.

Small and Medium-sized Businesses

We sell and market our products and services to SMB customers through indirect sales partners around the world, who are specifically trained and certified to sell our solutions. This group includes value-added resellers, large account resellers, and managed service providers. Our products are also available on our eCommerce platform, as well as through authorized distributors and OEMs which incorporate our technologies into their products, bundle our products with their offerings, or serve as authorized resellers of our products.

Enterprise

We sell and market our products and related services to enterprise customers through our direct sales force of more than 4,700 sales employees, as of March 29, 2013, and through a variety of indirect sales channels, which include value-added resellers, managed service providers, large account resellers, and system integrators. We also sell our products to businesses around the world through authorized distributors and OEMs who incorporate our technologies into their products, bundle our products with their offerings, or serve as authorized resellers of our products. Our sales efforts are primarily targeted to senior executives and IT department personnel responsible for managing a company’s IT initiatives.

Marketing and Advertising

Our marketing expenditures relate primarily to advertising and promotion, including demand generation and product recognition. Our advertising and promotion efforts include, among other things, electronic and print advertising, trade shows, collateral production, and all forms of direct marketing. We also invest in cooperative marketing campaigns with distributors, resellers, retailers, OEMs, and industry partners.

We invest in various retention-focused marketing and customer loyalty programs to help drive renewals and encourage customer advocacy and referrals. We also provide vertical industry-focused marketing programs in targeted industries and countries.

We typically offer two types of rebate programs within most countries: volume incentive rebates to channel partners and promotional rebates to distributors and end users. Distributors and resellers earn volume incentive rebates primarily based upon the amount of product sales to end users. We also offer rebates to end users who purchase products through various resale channels. Both volume incentive rebates and end-user rebates are accrued as an offset to revenue or deferred revenue.

Research and Development

Symantec embraces a global research and development (“R&D”) strategy to drive organic innovation. Engineers and researchers throughout the Company pursue advanced projects to translate R&D into customer solutions by creating new technologies and integrating our unique set of technology assets. Symantec focuses on

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short, medium, and long-term applied research, develops new products in emerging areas, participates in government-funded research projects, drives industry standards, and partners with universities to conduct research supporting Symantec’s strategy.

Symantec’s Security Technology and Response organization is a global team of security engineers, threat analysts, and researchers that provides the underlying functionality, content, and support for many of our enterprise, SMB, and consumer security products. Our security experts monitor malicious code reports collected through the Global Intelligence Network to provide insight into emerging attacks, malicious code activity, phishing, spam, and other threats. The team uses this vast intelligence to develop new technologies and approaches, such as Symantec’s reputation-based security technology, to protect customer information.

Research and development expenses, exclusive of in-process research and development associated with acquisitions, were $1,012 million, $969 million, and $862 million in fiscal 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively, representing approximately 15% of revenue in fiscal 2013 and 14% of revenue in fiscal 2012 and 2011. We believe that technical leadership is essential to our success and we expect to continue to commit substantial resources to R&D.

Support

Symantec has support facilities throughout the world, staffed by technical product experts knowledgeable in the operating environments in which our products are deployed. Our technical support experts assist customers with issue resolution and threat detection.

We provide consumers with various levels of support offerings. Consumers that subscribe to LiveUpdate receive automatic downloads of the latest virus definitions, application bug fixes, and patches for most of our consumer products. Our standard consumer support program provides self-help online services and phone, chat, and email support to consumers worldwide. Our Norton One membership features elite-level support, which includes an under two-minute wait time for phone calls, an instant call back feature, and virus protection assurance.

We provide customers various levels of enterprise support offerings. Our enterprise security support program offers annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. Our standard technical support includes: self-service options delivered by telephone or electronically during the contracted-for hours, immediate patches for severe problems, periodic software updates, and access to our technical knowledge base and frequently asked questions.

Customers

In fiscal 2013 and 2012, there were no significant customers that accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenue. In fiscal 2011, one distributor, Ingram Micro, accounted for 10% of our total net revenue. Our distributor arrangements with Ingram Micro consisted of several non-exclusive, independently negotiated agreements with its subsidiaries, each of which cover different countries or regions. Each of these agreements was separately negotiated and was independent of any other contract (such as a master distribution agreement), and these agreements were not based on the same form of contract.

Acquisitions

Our strategy will be complemented by business combinations that fit strategically and meet specific profitability hurdles. Our acquisitions are designed to enhance the features and functionality of our existing products and extend our product leadership in core markets. We consider time-to-market, synergies with existing products, and potential market share gains when evaluating the economics of acquisitions of technologies, product lines, or companies. We may acquire or dispose of other technologies, products, and companies in the future.

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We did not make any material acquisitions during fiscal 2013. For further discussion of our acquisitions, see Note 3 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this annual report.

Competition

Our markets are consolidating, highly competitive, and subject to rapid changes in technology. The competitive landscape has changed significantly over the past few years, with new competition arising; much of the market growth has come from startups whose focus is on solving a specific customer issue or delivering a specific niche-oriented product and from larger integration providers that increasingly are looking to put various types of protection, whether it is backup, high availability or security, into their platforms. We are focused on delivering comprehensive customer solutions, integrating across our broad product portfolio and partnering with other technology providers to differentiate ourselves from the competition. We believe that the principal competitive factors necessary to be successful in our industry include product quality and effectiveness, time-to-market, price, reputation, financial stability, breadth of product offerings, customer support, brand recognition, and effective sales and marketing efforts.

In addition to the competition we face from direct competitors, we face indirect or potential competition from retailers, application providers, operating system providers, network equipment manufacturers, and other OEMs who may provide various solutions and functions in their current and future products. We also compete for access to retail distribution channels and for spending at the retail level and in corporate accounts. In addition, we compete with other software companies, operating system providers, network equipment manufacturers, and other OEMs to acquire technologies, products, or companies and to publish software developed by third parties. We also compete with other software companies in our effort to place our products on the computer equipment sold to consumers and enterprises by OEMs.

The competitive environments for each segment are described below.

Consumer

Most of the channels in which our consumer products are offered are highly competitive. Our competitors are intensely focused on customer acquisition, which has led competitors to offer their technology for free, engage in aggressive marketing, or enter into competitive partnerships. Our primary competitors in the Consumer segment are McAfee, Inc., owned by Intel Corporation (“McAfee”), and Trend Micro Inc. (“Trend Micro”). There are also several freeware providers and regional security companies that we compete against. For our consumer backup offerings, our primary competitors are Carbonite, Inc. and Mozy, Inc., owned by EMC Corporation (“EMC”).

Security and Compliance

In the security and management markets, we compete against many companies that offer competing products to our solutions. Our primary competitors in the security and management market are McAfee, Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”), and Trend Micro. There are also several smaller regional security companies with which we compete. In the authentication services market, our primary competitors are Comodo Group, Inc., RSA, the security division of EMC, Entrust, Inc., and GoDaddy.com, Inc. In the Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) security market, our primary competitors are Google Inc.’s Postini Services and Microsoft. Our primary competitors in the managed services business are SecureWorks, Inc., owned by Dell, Inc., and Verizon Communications, Inc.

Storage and Server Management

The markets for storage management, backup, archiving, and eDiscovery are intensely competitive. Our primary competitors are CommVault Systems, Inc., EMC, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM, Oracle, and Veeam Software.

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Intellectual Property

Protective Measures

We regard some of the features of our internal operations, software, and documentation as proprietary and rely on copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures, contractual arrangements, and other measures to protect our proprietary information. Our intellectual property is an important and valuable asset that enables us to gain recognition for our products, services, and technology and enhance our competitive position.

As part of our confidentiality procedures, we generally enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees, distributors, and corporate partners and we enter into license agreements with respect to our software, documentation, and other proprietary information. These license agreements are generally non-transferable and have a perpetual term. We also educate our employees on trade secret protection and employ measures to protect our facilities, equipment, and networks.

Trademarks, Patents, Copyrights, and Licenses

Symantec and the Symantec logo are trademarks or registered trademarks in the U.S. and other countries. In addition to Symantec and the Symantec logo, we have used, registered, or applied to register other specific trademarks and service marks to help distinguish our products, technologies, and services from those of our competitors in the U.S. and foreign countries and jurisdictions. We enforce our trademark, service mark, and trade name rights in the U.S. and abroad. The duration of our trademark registrations varies from country to country, and in the U.S. we generally are able to maintain our trademark rights and renew any trademark registrations for as long as the trademarks are in use.

We have more than 1,900 patents, in addition to foreign patents and pending U.S. and foreign patent applications, which relate to various aspects of our products and technology. The duration of our patents is determined by the laws of the country of issuance and for the U.S. is typically 17 years from the date of issuance of the patent or 20 years from the date of filing of the patent application resulting in the patent, which we believe is adequate relative to the expected lives of our products.

Our products are protected under U.S. and international copyright laws and laws related to the protection of intellectual property and proprietary information. We take measures to label such products with the appropriate proprietary rights notices, and we actively enforce such rights in the U.S. and abroad. However, these measures may not provide sufficient protection, and our intellectual property rights may be challenged. In addition, we license some intellectual property from third parties for use in our products, and generally must rely on the third party to protect the licensed intellectual property rights. While we believe that our ability to maintain and protect our intellectual property rights is important to our success, we also believe that our business as a whole is not materially dependent on any particular patent, trademark, license, or other intellectual property right.

Seasonality

As is typical for many large software companies, our business is seasonal. Software license and maintenance orders are generally higher in our third and fourth fiscal quarters and lower in our first and second fiscal quarters. A decline in license and maintenance orders is typical in the first quarter of our fiscal year as compared to license and maintenance orders in the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year. In addition, we generally receive a higher volume of software license and maintenance orders in the last month of a quarter, with orders concentrated in the latter part of that month. We believe that this seasonality primarily reflects customer spending patterns and budget cycles, as well as the impact of compensation incentive plans for our sales personnel. Revenue generally reflects similar seasonal patterns but to a lesser extent than orders because revenue is not recognized until an order is shipped or services are performed and other revenue recognition criteria are met, and because a significant portion of our in-period revenue comes from our deferred revenue balance.

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Employees

As of March 29, 2013, we employed more than 21,500 people worldwide, approximately 44 % of whom reside in the U.S. Approximately 7,400 employees work in sales and marketing, 7,200 in research and development, 5,400 in support and services, and 1,500 in management, manufacturing, and administration.

Available Information

Our Internet address is www.symantec.com. We make available free of charge our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on our investor relations website located at www.symantec.com/invest. The information contained, or referred to, on our website is not part of this annual report unless expressly noted. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding our filings at http://www.sec.gov.

A description of the risk factors associated with our business is set forth below. The list is not exhaustive and you should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties before investing in our common stock.

Fluctuations in demand for our products and services are driven by many factors, and a decrease in demand for our products could adversely affect our financial results.

We are subject to fluctuations in demand for our products and services due to a variety of factors, including general economic conditions, competition, product obsolescence, technological change, shifts in buying patterns, financial difficulties and budget constraints of our current and potential customers, levels of broadband usage, awareness of security threats to IT systems, and other factors. While such factors may, in some periods, increase product sales, fluctuations in demand can also negatively impact our product sales. If demand for our products and solutions declines, whether due to general economic conditions or a shift in buying patterns, our revenues and margins would likely be adversely affected.

If we are unable to develop new and enhanced products and services that achieve widespread market acceptance, or if we are unable to continually improve the performance, features, and reliability of our existing products and services or adapt our business model to keep pace with industry trends, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

Our future success depends on our ability to respond to the rapidly changing needs of our customers by developing or introducing new products, product upgrades, and services on a timely basis. We have in the past incurred, and will continue to incur, significant research and development expenses as we strive to remain competitive. New product development and introduction involves a significant commitment of time and resources and is subject to a number of risks and challenges including:

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If we are not successful in managing these risks and challenges, or if our new products, product upgrades, and services are not technologically competitive or do not achieve market acceptance, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

We operate in a highly competitive environment, and our competitors may gain market share in the markets for our products that could adversely affect our business and cause our revenues to decline.

We operate in intensely competitive markets that experience rapid technological developments, changes in industry standards, changes in customer requirements, and frequent new product introductions and improvements. If we are unable to anticipate or react to these competitive challenges or if existing or new competitors gain market share in any of our markets, our competitive position could weaken and we could experience a decline in our sales that could adversely affect our business and operating results. To compete successfully, we must maintain an innovative research and development effort to develop new products and services and enhance existing products and services, effectively adapt to changes in the technology or product rights held by our competitors, appropriately respond to competitive strategies, and effectively adapt to technological changes and changes in the ways that our information is accessed, used, and stored within our enterprise and consumer markets. If we are unsuccessful in responding to our competitors or to changing technological and customer demands, our competitive position and our financial results could be adversely affected.

Our traditional competitors include independent software vendors that offer software products that directly compete with our product offerings. We expect that competition may intensify as a result of future software industry consolidation. In addition to competing with these vendors directly for sales to end-users of our products, we compete with them for the opportunity to have our products bundled with the product offerings of our strategic partners such as computer hardware OEMs and ISPs. Our competitors could gain market share from us if any of these strategic partners replace our products with the products of our competitors or if these partners more actively promote our competitors’ products than our products. In addition, software vendors who have bundled our products with theirs may choose to bundle their software with their own or other vendors’ software or may limit our access to standard product interfaces and inhibit our ability to develop products for their platform. In the future, further product development by these vendors could cause our software applications and services to become redundant, which could significantly impact our sales and financial results.

We face growing competition from network equipment, computer hardware manufacturers, large operating system providers and other technology companies. These firms are increasingly developing and incorporating into their products data protection and storage and server management software that competes at some levels with our product offerings. Our competitive position could be adversely affected to the extent that our customers perceive the functionality incorporated into these products as replacing the need for our products.

Security protection is also offered by some of our competitors at prices lower than our prices or, in some cases is offered free of charge. Some companies offer the lower-priced or free security products within their computer hardware or software products that we believe are inferior to our products and SaaS offerings. Our competitive position could be adversely affected to the extent that our customers perceive these security products

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as replacing the need for more effective, full featured products and services such as those that we provide. The expansion of these competitive trends could have a significant negative impact on our sales and financial results by causing, among other things, price reductions of our products, reduced profitability and loss of market share.

Many of our competitors have greater financial, technical, sales, marketing, or other resources than we do and consequently may have the ability to influence customers to purchase their products instead of ours. Further consolidation within our industry or other changes in the competitive environment, such as Intel Corporation’s acquisition of McAfee, could result in larger competitors that compete with us on several levels. We also face competition from many smaller companies that specialize in particular segments of the markets in which we compete.

Our business models present execution and competitive risks.

In recent years, our SaaS offerings have become increasingly critical in our business. Our competitors are rapidly developing and deploying SaaS offerings for consumers and business customers. Pricing and delivery models are evolving. Devices and form factors influence how users access services in the cloud. We are devoting significant resources to develop and deploy our own SaaS strategies. We cannot assure you that our investments in and development of SaaS offerings will achieve the expected returns for us or that we will be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. In addition to software development costs, we are incurring costs to build and maintain infrastructure to support SaaS offerings. These costs may reduce the operating margins we have previously achieved. Whether we are successful in this business model depends on our execution in a number of areas, including:

Our increasing focus on the delivery of products in an appliance form factor creates new business and financial risks.

Since fiscal 2012, shipments of products to customers in an appliance form factor have represented an increasingly larger part of our revenues, and we expect this trend to continue. The delivery of solutions in the form of appliances creates new business and financial risks, including the following:

We cannot assure you that we will continue to have success in our appliance business.

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We have begun investing in a plan to better meet customer needs through internal innovation and driving faster organic growth, with a particular focus on key areas that combine our existing products and services into new solutions that are designed to meet multiple customer needs with integrated higher value offerings, and if the return on these investments is lower or develops more slowly than we expect, our operating results may be harmed.

Pursuant to our recently announced restructuring plan, we have been reallocating talent within our organization and are dedicating spending and resources to focus on certain key areas, such as mobile workforce productivity, Norton protection, Norton cloud, information security services, identity/content-aware security gateway, data center security, business continuity, integrated backup, cloud-based information management and object storage platform. We expect research and development expenses to increase through fiscal 2017 as we invest to drive organic innovation for our customers. While we will seek to have the right level of investment and the right level of resources focused on our biggest growth opportunities, the return on these investments may be lower, or may develop more slowly, than we expect. If we do not achieve the benefits anticipated from these investments (including if our selection of areas for investment does not play out as we expect), or if the achievement of these benefits is delayed, our operating results may be adversely affected.

Over the long term we intend to invest in engineering, sales, service, marketing and manufacturing activities, and these investments may achieve delayed, or lower than expected, benefits which could harm our operating results.

While we intend to focus on managing our costs and expenses, over the long term, we also intend to invest in research and development activities as we focus on organic growth through internal innovation. We are likely to recognize the costs associated with these investments earlier than some of the anticipated benefits, and the return on these investments may be lower, or may develop more slowly, than we expect. If we do not achieve the benefits anticipated from these investments, or if the achievement of these benefits is delayed, our operating results may be adversely affected.

Defects or disruptions in our SaaS offerings could reduce demand for our services and subject us to substantial liability.

Our SaaS offerings may contain errors or defects that users identify after they begin using them that could result in unanticipated service interruptions, which could harm our reputation and our business. Since our customers use our SaaS offerings for mission-critical protection from threats to electronic information, endpoint devices, and computer networks, any errors, defects, disruptions in service or other performance problems with our SaaS offerings could significantly harm our reputation and may damage our customers’ businesses. If that occurs, customers could elect not to renew, or delay or withhold payment to us, we could lose future sales or customers may make warranty or other claims against us, which could result in an increase in our provision for doubtful accounts, an increase in collection cycles for accounts receivable or the expense and risk of litigation.

Risks related to the provision of our SaaS offerings could impair our ability to deliver our services and could expose us to liability, damage our brand and reputation or otherwise negatively impact our business.

We currently serve our SaaS-based customers from hosting facilities located across the globe. Damage to, or failure of, any significant element of these hosting facilities could result in interruptions in our service, which could harm our customers and expose us to liability. Interruptions or failures in our service delivery could cause customers to terminate their subscriptions with us, could adversely affect our renewal rates, and could harm our ability to attract new customers. Our business would also be harmed if our customers believe that our SaaS offerings are unreliable. As we continue to offer more of our software products in a SaaS-based delivery model, all of these risks could be exacerbated.

Our SaaS offerings also involve the storage and transmission of large amounts of our customers’ proprietary information, including sensitive and personally identifiable information. Breaches of our security measures or the

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accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure or unapproved dissemination of proprietary information or sensitive or confidential data about us or our customers, including the potential loss or disclosure of such information or data as a result of fraud or other forms of deception, could expose us, our customers or the individuals affected to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, result in litigation and potential liability for us, damage our brand and reputation or otherwise negatively impact our business. Despite our precautions and significant ongoing investments to protect against such breaches, our security measures could be breached at any time and could result in unauthorized third parties obtaining access to our, or our customers’ data. Any actual or perceived security vulnerabilities in our SaaS offerings could reduce sales, and constrain consumer and business customer adoption of our SaaS offering. In addition, the cost and operational consequences of implementing further security measures could be significant.

If we fail to manage our sales and distribution channels effectively or if our partners choose not to market and sell our products to their customers, our operating results could be adversely affected.

We sell our products to customers around the world through multi-tiered sales and distribution networks. Sales through these different channels involve distinct risks, including the following:

Direct Sales.    A significant portion of our revenues from enterprise products is derived from sales by our direct sales force to end-users. Special risks associated with direct sales include:

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, we announced a plan to refocus our direct field sales representatives on generating new business, and to create, over time, a dedicated renewals team. Transitions of this kind can be disruptive to the sales organization and could exacerbate the risks noted above.

Indirect Sales Channels.    A significant portion of our revenues is derived from sales through indirect channels, including distributors that sell our products to end-users and other resellers. This channel involves a number of risks, including:

OEM Sales Channels.    A portion of our revenues is derived from sales through our OEM partners that incorporate our products into, or bundle our products with, their products. Our reliance on this sales channel involves many risks, including:

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If we fail to manage our sales and distribution channels successfully, these channels may conflict with one another or otherwise fail to perform as we anticipate, which could reduce our sales and increase our expenses as well as weaken our competitive position. Some of our distribution partners have experienced financial difficulties in the past, and if our partners suffer financial difficulties in the future because of general economic conditions or for other reasons, these partners may delay paying their obligations to us and we may have reduced sales or increased bad debt expense that could adversely affect our operating results. In addition, reliance on multiple channels subjects us to events that could cause unpredictability in demand, which could increase the risk that we may be unable to plan effectively for the future, and could result in adverse operating results in future periods.

Changes in industry structure and market conditions could lead to charges related to discontinuances of certain of our products or businesses and asset impairments.

In response to changes in industry and market conditions, we may be required to strategically reallocate our resources and consider restructuring, disposing of, or otherwise exiting businesses. Any decision to limit investment in or dispose of or otherwise exit businesses may result in the recording of special charges, such as inventory and technology-related write-offs, workforce reduction costs, charges relating to consolidation of excess facilities, or claims from third parties who were resellers or users of discontinued products. Our estimates with respect to the useful life or ultimate recoverability of our carrying basis of assets, including purchased intangible assets, could change as a result of such assessments and decisions. Although in certain instances, our supply agreements allow us the option to cancel, reschedule, and adjust our requirements based on our business needs prior to firm orders being placed, our loss contingencies may include liabilities for contracts that we cannot cancel, reschedule or adjust with contract manufacturers and suppliers. Further, our estimates relating to the liabilities for excess facilities are affected by changes in real estate market conditions. Additionally, we are required to evaluate goodwill impairment on an annual basis and between annual evaluations in certain circumstances, and future goodwill impairment evaluations may result in a charge to earnings.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 we announced a new strategy designed to drive organic growth, simplify our operating model and concentrate our focus on selected key areas. We expect this plan to involve significant transitions as we, among other things, eliminate duplicative organization and operating structures. We will incur significant restructuring charges as we implement these activities. The changes to our business model may be disruptive, and the revised model that we adopt may not be more efficient or effective than the aspects of our business model that are being revised. Our restructuring activities, including any related charges and related headcount reduction, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

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We are currently planning and designing information systems enhancements, and problems with the design or implementation of these enhancements could interfere with our business and operations.

We are currently in the process of significantly enhancing our information systems, including planning and designing a new enterprise resource planning system. The implementation of significant enhancements to information systems is frequently disruptive to the underlying business of an enterprise, which may especially be the case for us due to the size and complexity of our businesses. Any disruptions relating to our systems enhancements, particularly any disruptions impacting our operations during the design or implementation periods, could adversely affect our ability to process customer orders, ship products, provide services and support to our customers, bill and track our customers, fulfill contractual obligations, and otherwise run our business. Even if we do not encounter these adverse effects, the planning, designing and implementation may be much more costly than we anticipated. If we are unable to successfully plan, design or implement the information systems enhancements as planned, our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows could be negatively impacted.

We have grown, and may continue to grow, through acquisitions, which gives rise to risks and challenges that could adversely affect our future financial results.

We have in the past acquired, and we expect to acquire in the future, other businesses, business units, and technologies. Acquisitions can involve a number of special risks and challenges, including:

If integration of our acquired businesses is not successful, we may not realize the potential benefits of an acquisition or suffer other adverse effects. To integrate acquired businesses, we must implement our technology systems in the acquired operations and integrate and manage the personnel of the acquired operations. We also must effectively integrate the different cultures of acquired business organizations into our own in a way that aligns various interests, and may need to enter new markets in which we have no or limited experience and where competitors in such markets have stronger market positions.

Any of the foregoing, and other factors, could harm our ability to achieve anticipated levels of profitability from our acquired businesses or to realize other anticipated benefits of acquisitions.

Our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected if we do not effectively manage our liabilities.

As a result of the sale of our 1.00% convertible senior notes (“1.00% notes”) in June 2006, 2.75% senior notes (“2.75% notes due 2015”) and 4.20% senior notes (“4.20% notes”) in September 2010, and 2.75% senior notes (“2.75 notes due 2017”) and 3.95% senior notes (“3.95 notes”) in June 2012, we have notes outstanding in an aggregate principal amount of $3.1 billion that mature at specific dates in calendar years 2013, 2015, 2017,

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2020, and 2022. In addition, we have entered into a credit facility with a borrowing capacity of $1 billion. From time to time in the future, we may also incur indebtedness in addition to the amount available under our credit facility. The maintenance of our debt levels could adversely affect our flexibility to take advantage of certain corporate opportunities and could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. We may be required to use all or a substantial portion of our cash balance to repay these notes on maturity unless we can obtain new financing.

Adverse global economic events may harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Adverse macroeconomic conditions could negatively affect our business, operating results or financial condition under a number of different scenarios. During challenging economic times and periods of high unemployment, current or potential customers may delay or forgo decisions to license new products or additional instances of existing products, upgrade their existing hardware or operating environments (which upgrades are often a catalyst for new purchases of our software), or purchase services. Customers may also have difficulties in obtaining the requisite third-party financing to complete the purchase of our products and services. An adverse macroeconomic environment could also subject us to increased credit risk should customers be unable to pay us, or delay paying us, for previously purchased products and services. Accordingly, reserves for doubtful accounts and write-offs of accounts receivable may increase. In addition, weakness in the market for end users of our products could harm the cash flow of our distributors and resellers who could then delay paying their obligations to us or experience other financial difficulties. This would further increase our credit risk exposure and, potentially, cause delays in our recognition of revenue on sales to these customers.

In addition, the onset or continuation of adverse economic conditions may make it more difficult either to utilize our existing debt capacity or otherwise obtain financing for our operations, investing activities (including potential acquisitions) or financing activities. Specific economic trends, such as declines in the demand for PCs, servers, and other computing devices, or softness in corporate information technology spending, could have an even more direct, and harmful, impact on our business.

Our international operations involve risks that could increase our expenses, adversely affect our operating results, and require increased time and attention of our management.

We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from customers located outside of the U.S. and we have significant operations outside of the U.S., including engineering, sales, customer support, and production. We plan to expand our international operations, but such expansion is contingent upon our identification of growth opportunities. Our international operations are subject to risks in addition to those faced by our domestic operations, including:

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A significant portion of our transactions outside of the U.S. are denominated in foreign currencies. Accordingly, our revenues and expenses will continue to be subject to fluctuations in foreign currency rates. We expect to be affected by fluctuations in foreign currency rates in the future, especially if international sales continue to grow as a percentage of our total sales or our operations outside the United States continue to increase.

The level of corporate tax from sales to our non-U.S. customers is generally less than the level of tax from sales to our U.S. customers. This benefit is contingent upon existing tax regulations in the U.S. and in the countries in which our international operations are located. Future changes in domestic or international tax regulations could adversely affect our ability to continue to realize these tax benefits.

Our products are complex and operate in a wide variety of environments, systems, applications and configurations, which could result in errors or product failures.

Because we offer very complex products, undetected errors, failures, or bugs may occur, especially when products are first introduced or when new versions are released. Our products are often installed and used in large-scale computing environments with different operating systems, system management software, and equipment and networking configurations, which may cause errors or failures in our products or may expose undetected errors, failures, or bugs in our products. Our customers’ computing environments are often characterized by a wide variety of standard and non-standard configurations that make pre-release testing for programming or compatibility errors very difficult and time-consuming. In addition, despite testing by us and others, errors, failures, or bugs may not be found in new products or releases until after commencement of commercial shipments. In the past, we have discovered software errors, failures, and bugs in certain of our product offerings after their introduction and, in some cases, have experienced delayed or lost revenues as a result of these errors.

Errors, failures, or bugs in products released by us could result in negative publicity, damage to our brand, product returns, loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products, loss of competitive position, or claims by customers or others. Many of our end-user customers use our products in applications that are critical to their businesses and may have a greater sensitivity to defects in our products than to defects in other, less critical, software products. In addition, if an actual or perceived breach of information integrity or availability occurs in one of our end-user customer’s systems, regardless of whether the breach is attributable to our products, the market perception of the effectiveness of our products could be harmed. Alleviating any of these problems could require significant expenditures of our capital and other resources and could cause interruptions, delays, or cessation of our product licensing, which could cause us to lose existing or potential customers and could adversely affect our operating results.

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If we do not protect our proprietary information and prevent third parties from making unauthorized use of our products and technology, our financial results could be harmed.

Most of our software and underlying technology is proprietary. We seek to protect our proprietary rights through a combination of confidentiality agreements and procedures and through copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret laws. However, all of these measures afford only limited protection and may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by third parties. Third parties may copy all or portions of our products or otherwise obtain, use, distribute, and sell our proprietary information without authorization.

Third parties may also develop similar or superior technology independently by designing around our patents. Our shrink-wrap license agreements are not signed by licensees and therefore may be unenforceable under the laws of some jurisdictions. Furthermore, the laws of some foreign countries do not offer the same level of protection of our proprietary rights as the laws of the U.S., and we may be subject to unauthorized use of our products in those countries. The unauthorized copying or use of our products or proprietary information could result in reduced sales of our products. Any legal action to protect proprietary information that we may bring or be engaged in with a strategic partner or vendor could adversely affect our ability to access software, operating system, and hardware platforms of such partner or vendor, or cause such partner or vendor to choose not to offer our products to their customers. In addition, any legal action to protect proprietary information that we may bring or be engaged in, alone or through our alliances with the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”), or the Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”), could be costly, may distract management from day-to-day operations, and may lead to additional claims against us, which could adversely affect our operating results.

In January 2012, we became aware of disclosure of the source code for 2006-era versions of certain of our Norton and pcAnywhere products, which we believe was the result of a theft of source code that occurred in 2006. Any unauthorized disclosure of a significant portion of our source code could result in the loss of future trade secret protection for that source code. This could make it easier for third parties to compete with our products by copying functionality, which could adversely affect our revenue, operating margins, results of operations and cash flows, as well as our reputation. Unauthorized disclosure of our source code also could increase the security risks described under “Our software products, SaaS Offerings and website may be subject to intentional disruption that could adversely impact our reputation and future sales” below.

From time to time we are a party to class action and other lawsuits, which typically require significant management time and attention and result in significant legal expenses, and which could, if not determined favorably, negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

We have been named as a party to class action lawsuits, and we may be named in additional litigation. The expense of defending such litigation may be costly and divert management’s attention from the day-to-day operations of our business, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and cash flows. In addition, an unfavorable outcome in such litigation could result in significant monetary damages or injunctive relief that could negatively impact our ability to conduct our business, results of operations, and cash flows.

Third parties claiming that we infringe their proprietary rights could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and prevent us from selling our products.

From time to time, we receive claims that we have infringed the intellectual property rights of others, including claims regarding patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Because of constant technological change in the segments in which we compete, the extensive patent coverage of existing technologies, and the rapid rate of issuance of new patents, it is possible that the number of these claims may grow. In addition, former employers of our former, current, or future employees may assert claims that such employees have improperly disclosed to us the confidential or proprietary information of these former employers. Any such claim, with or without merit, could result in costly litigation and distract management from day-to-day operations. If we are not successful in defending such claims, we could be required to stop selling, delay shipments of, or redesign our products, pay monetary amounts as damages, enter into royalty or licensing arrangements, or satisfy indemnification

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obligations that we have with some of our customers. We cannot assure you that any royalty or licensing arrangements that we may seek in such circumstances will be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all. We have made and expect to continue making significant expenditures to investigate, defend and settle claims related to the use of technology and intellectual property rights as part of our strategy to manage this risk.

In addition, we license and use software from third parties in our business. These third party software licenses may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms or at all, and may expose us to additional liability. This liability, or our inability to use any of this third party software, could result in shipment delays or other disruptions in our business that could materially and adversely affect our operating results.

Our software products, SaaS Offerings and website may be subject to intentional disruption that could adversely impact our reputation and future sales.

Despite our precautions and significant ongoing investments to protect against security risks, data protection breaches, cyber-attacks and other intentional disruptions of our products and offerings, we expect to be an ongoing target of attacks specifically designed to impede the performance of our products and offerings and harm our reputation as a company. Similarly, experienced computer programmers may attempt to penetrate our network security or the security of our website and misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions of our services. Because the techniques used by such computer programmers to access or sabotage networks change frequently and may not be recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques. The theft or unauthorized use or publication of our trade secrets and other confidential business information as a result of such an event could adversely affect our competitive position, reputation, brand and future sales of our products, and our customers may assert claims against us related to resulting losses of confidential or proprietary information. Our business could be subject to significant disruption, and we could suffer monetary and other losses and reputational harm, in the event of such incidents and claims.

Fluctuations in our quarterly financial results have affected the price of our common stock in the past and could affect our stock price in the future.

Our quarterly financial results have fluctuated in the past and are likely to vary significantly in the future due to a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control and which could adversely affect our operations and operating results. If our quarterly financial results or our predictions of future financial results fail to meet our expectations or the expectations of securities analysts and investors, our stock price could be negatively affected. Any volatility in our quarterly financial results may make it more difficult for us to raise capital in the future or pursue acquisitions that involve issuances of our stock. Our operating results for prior periods may not be effective predictors of our future performance.

Factors associated with our industry, the operation of our business, and the markets for our products may cause our quarterly financial results to fluctuate, including:

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Any of the foregoing factors could cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.

Some of our products contain “open source” software, and any failure to comply with the terms of one or more of these open source licenses could negatively affect our business.

Certain of our products are distributed with software licensed by its authors or other third parties under so-called “open source” licenses, which may include, by way of example, the GNU General Public License (“GPL”), GNU Lesser General Public License (“LGPL”), the Mozilla Public License, the BSD License, and the Apache License. Some of these licenses contain requirements that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon the open source software, and that we license such modifications or derivative works under the terms of a particular open source license or other license granting third parties certain rights of further use. By the terms of certain open source licenses, we could be required to release the source code of our proprietary software if we combine our proprietary software with open source software in a certain manner. In addition to risks related to license requirements, usage of open source software can lead to greater risks than use of third party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on origin of the software. We have established processes to help alleviate these risks, including a review process for screening requests from our development organizations for the use of open source, but we cannot be sure that all open source is submitted for approval prior to use in our products. In addition, many of the risks associated with usage of open source cannot be eliminated, and could, if not properly addressed, negatively affect our business.

If we are unable to adequately address increased customer demands on our technical support services, our relationships with our customers and our financial results may be adversely affected.

We offer technical support services with many of our products. We may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in customer demand for support services. We also may be unable to modify the format of our support services to compete with changes in support services provided by competitors or successfully integrate support for our customers. Further customer demand for these services, without corresponding revenues, could increase costs and adversely affect our operating results.

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We have outsourced a substantial portion of our worldwide consumer support functions to third party service providers. If these companies experience financial difficulties, do not maintain sufficiently skilled workers and resources to satisfy our contracts, or otherwise fail to perform at a sufficient level under these contracts, the level of support services to our customers may be significantly disrupted, which could materially harm our relationships with these customers.

Accounting charges may cause fluctuations in our quarterly financial results.

Our financial results have been in the past, and may continue to be in the future, materially affected by non-cash and other accounting charges, including:

For example, during fiscal 2009, we recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $7.4 billion, resulting in a significant net loss for the year. Goodwill is evaluated annually for impairment in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or more frequently if events and circumstances warrant as we determined they did in the third quarter of fiscal 2009, and our evaluation depends to a large degree on estimates and assumptions made by our management. Our assessment of any impairment of goodwill is based on a comparison of the fair value of each of our reporting units to the carrying value of that reporting unit. Our determination of fair value relies on management’s assumptions of our future revenues, operating costs, and other relevant factors. If management’s estimates of future operating results change, or if there are changes to other key assumptions such as the discount rate applied to future operating results, the estimate of the fair value of our reporting units could change significantly, which could result in a goodwill impairment charge. In addition, we evaluate our other long-lived assets, including intangible assets whenever events or circumstances occur which indicate that the value of these assets might be impaired. If we determine that impairment has occurred, we could incur an impairment charge against the value of these assets.

The foregoing types of accounting charges may also be incurred in connection with or as a result of other business acquisitions. The price of our common stock could decline to the extent that our financial results are materially affected by the foregoing accounting charges.

We sell products to the U.S. government under contracts that include special compliance obligations and subject us to audits and reviews by various agencies of the U.S. government. Any failure to meet these obligations, or an adverse outcome in an audit or investigation, could result in civil damages and/or penalties being assessed against us by the government.

We have sold products through our U.S. General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule Contract No. GS-35F-0240T effective January 24, 2007 (the “GSA Schedule contract”). Our GSA Schedule contract contains provisions that require us to provide customers purchasing through that contract with negotiated favorable pricing as compared to certain non-federal customers, and requires us to monitor aspects of our commercial sales practices to ensure compliance with that pricing obligation. In the ordinary course of business, sales under our GSA Schedule contract may be subject to audit and/or investigation by the U.S. government. Noncompliance with the provisions of the contract identified as a result of such reviews (as well as noncompliance identified on our own) could subject us to damages and other penalties, which would adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

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On June 4, 2012, we were advised by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division and the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia that the government is investigating our compliance with certain provisions of our GSA Schedule contract, including provisions relating to pricing, country of origin, accessibility, and the disclosure of commercial sales practices. The Department of Justice has requested that we preserve, among other things, all records relating to GSA Schedule contracting activity. As reported on the GSA’s publicly-available database, our total sales under the GSA Schedule contract were approximately $210 million from the period beginning January 2007 and ending December 2011.

We are cooperating with the investigation and we are unable, at this time, to predict the likely outcome. It is possible that the investigation could lead to claims or findings of violations of the False Claims Act in connection with our GSA contracting activity. Violations of the False Claims Act could result in the imposition of damages, including up to treble damages, plus civil penalties in some cases. To the extent the investigation leads to any such claims or findings, the cost to resolve this matter would adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Any negative publicity related to our government customer contracts or any proceedings surrounding them, regardless of the outcome of this matter, may also damage our business by affecting our ability to compete for new contracts.

If we are unable to attract and retain qualified employees, lose key personnel, fail to integrate replacement personnel successfully, or fail to manage our employee base effectively, we may be unable to develop new and enhanced products and services, effectively manage or expand our business, or increase our revenues.

Our future success depends upon our ability to recruit and retain key management, technical, sales, marketing, finance, and other personnel. Our officers and other key personnel are employees-at-will, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain them. Competition for people with the specific skills that we require is significant. In order to attract and retain personnel in a competitive marketplace, we believe that we must provide a competitive compensation package, including cash and equity-based compensation. The volatility in our stock price may from time to time adversely affect our ability to recruit or retain employees. In addition, we may be unable to obtain required stockholder approvals of future increases in the number of shares available for issuance under our equity compensation plans, and accounting rules require us to treat the issuance of equity- based compensation as compensation expense. As a result, we may decide to issue fewer equity-based incentives and may be impaired in our efforts to attract and retain necessary personnel. If we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees, or conversely, if we fail to manage employee performance or reduce staffing levels when required by market conditions, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

From time to time, key personnel leave our company. While we strive to reduce the negative impact of such changes, the loss of any key employee could result in significant disruptions to our operations, including adversely affecting the timeliness of product releases, the successful implementation and completion of company initiatives, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting, and the results of our operations. In addition, hiring, training, and successfully integrating replacement sales and other personnel could be time consuming, may cause additional disruptions to our operations, and may be unsuccessful, which could negatively impact future revenues.

Our effective tax rate may increase, which could increase our income tax expense and reduce (increase) our net income (loss).

Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by several factors, many of which are outside of our control, including:

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The price of our common stock could decline if our financial results are materially affected by an adverse change in our effective tax rate.

We report our results of operations based on our determination of the aggregate amount of taxes owed in the tax jurisdictions in which we operate. From time to time, we receive notices that a tax authority in a particular jurisdiction has determined that we owe a greater amount of tax than we have reported to such authority. We are regularly engaged in discussions and sometimes disputes with these tax authorities. We are engaged in disputes of this nature at this time. If the ultimate determination of our taxes owed in any of these jurisdictions is for an amount in excess of the tax provision we have recorded or reserved for, our operating results, cash flows, and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Our stock price may be volatile in the future, and you could lose the value of your investment.

The market price of our common stock has experienced significant fluctuations in the past and may continue to fluctuate in the future, and as a result you could lose the value of your investment. The market price of our common stock may be affected by a number of factors, including:

The stock market in general, and the market prices of stocks of technology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price volatility that has adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, the market price of our common stock for reasons unrelated to our business or operating results.

There are currently no unresolved issues with respect to any Commission staff’s written comments that were received at least 180 days before the end of our fiscal year to which this report relates and that relate to our periodic or current reports under the Exchange Act.

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Our properties consist primarily of owned and leased office facilities for sales, research and development, administrative, customer service, and technical support personnel. Our corporate headquarters is located in Mountain View, California where we occupy facilities totaling approximately 1,009,000 square feet, of which 724,000 square feet is owned and 285,000 square feet is leased. We also lease an additional 89,000 square feet in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our leased facilities are occupied under leases that expire on various dates beyond fiscal 2018. The following table presents the approximate square footage of our facilities as of March 29, 2013:

We believe that our existing facilities are adequate for our current needs and that the productive capacity of our facilities is substantially utilized.

Information with respect to this item may be found under the heading “Commitments and Contingencies” in Note 8 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this annual report which information is incorporated into this Item 3 by reference.

Not applicable.

PART II

Price Range of Common Stock

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “SYMC.” The high and low sales prices set forth below are as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market during each quarter of the two most recent years.

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Stockholders

As of March 29, 2013, there were 2,218 stockholders of record.

Dividends

As of March 29, 2013, Symantec had never declared or paid any cash dividends on its capital stock. We intend to pay a quarterly cash dividend beginning in fiscal 2014. On May 2, 2013, our board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock to be paid on June 27, 2013 to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 19, 2013. Any future dividends will be subject to the approval of our board of directors. The dividend policy, future declarations of dividends, and payment dates will be subject to the board of directors’ continuing determination that the policy and the declaration of dividends thereunder are in the best interest of our stockholders and are in compliance with applicable law. The board of directors retains the power to modify, suspend, or cancel our dividend policy in any manner and at any time that it may deem necessary or appropriate in the future.

Repurchases of our equity securities

Stock repurchases during the three months ended March 29, 2013 were as follows:

We have had stock repurchase programs in the past and have repurchased shares on a quarterly basis since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, our board of directors authorized a new $1.0 billion stock repurchase program to commence in fiscal 2014. Including our previously approved stock repurchase program, $1.2 billion remain authorized for future repurchases as of March 29, 2013. Both programs do not have an expiration date.

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Stock performance graph

This performance graph shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Symantec under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

The graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total return on the S&P 500 Composite Index and the S&P Information Technology Index for the five years ended March 29, 2013 (assuming the investment of $100 in our common stock and in each of the other indices on the last day of trading for the fiscal 2008, and the reinvestment of all dividends, although no dividends have been declared on our common stock). The comparisons in the graph below are based on historical data and are not intended to forecast the possible future performance of our common stock.

COMPARISON OF FIVE-YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN

Among Symantec Corporation, The S&P 500 Index

And The S&P Information Technology Index

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The following selected consolidated financial data is derived from our Consolidated Financial Statements. This data should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in this annual report and with Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Historical results may not be indicative of future results.

Five-Year Summary

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OVERVIEW

Our business

Symantec is a global leader in security, backup and availability solutions. Our innovative products and services protect people and information in any digital environment – from the smallest mobile device, to the enterprise data center, to cloud-based systems. Our software and services protect against advanced threats independent of the device and environment in which information is used or stored.

Fiscal calendar

We have a 52/53-week fiscal year ending on the Friday closest to March 31. Unless otherwise stated, references to years in this report relate to fiscal year and periods ended March 29, 2013, March 30, 2012 and April 1, 2011. Fiscal 2013, 2012, and 2011 each consisted of 52 weeks. Our 2014 fiscal year will consist of 52 weeks and will end on March 28, 2014.

Strategy

We are in the midst of a transformation. New types of solutions and new market opportunities are emerging as customers look to us to innovate across a digital landscape that has expanded enormously for both consumers and businesses. As we think about our markets today, it is very clear that the industry needs a new model for protection. We are transitioning from being device-centric, which meant protecting endpoints and the data center, to having the broader focus of protecting and managing digital information. Individuals, businesses, and other organizations use new ways to access their digital information, creating new opportunities for us to develop products and services which address mobile devices, web services, web platforms, and the emerging software defined data center and network. Our strategy is to establish leadership in this evolving information-centric world by identifying and delivering solutions that solve large unmet or underserved customer needs, while building competitive advantage and creating sustainable financial performance.

To successfully implement our strategy we are focusing on three areas: developing innovative products and services, changing our Go-To-Market (“GTM”) strategy, and simplifying our organization. For information regarding risks associated with our international operations, see Item 1, Business.

Financial Implications of New Strategy

Fiscal 2014 will include significant transitions as we seek to improve our growth capabilities, develop our dedicated renewals team, refocus our direct field sales representatives on new business, eliminate duplicative organization and operating structures, and right size the company. Our income and cash flows are expected to be impacted by severance charges and capital expenditures as we invest in our people, processes, and technology to execute our organic growth strategy in the next fiscal year.

Our operating segments

Our operating segments are significant strategic business units that offer different products and services, distinguished by customer needs. Since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, we have operated in five operating segments: Consumer, Security and Compliance, Storage and Server Management, Services, and Other. As a result of the new strategy, we will analyze our operations and organization structure, and modify our segment reporting structure as necessary.

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Financial results and trends

Revenue increased by $176 million for fiscal 2013 as compared to fiscal 2012, primarily driven by growth in our Security and Compliance and Storage and Server Management segments. Our revenue grew both domestically and internationally in fiscal 2013 as compared to fiscal 2012. For fiscal 2013, we experienced the highest growth in revenue, on a percentage basis, in the Asia Pacific and Japan region followed by the Americas. The EMEA region remained flat despite macroeconomic challenges in the European economy. Fluctuations in the U.S. dollar compared to foreign currencies unfavorably impacted our international revenue by $141 million for fiscal 2013 as compared to fiscal 2012.

Cost of revenue increased by $93 million for fiscal 2013 as compared to fiscal 2012, primarily due to our initiative to improve customer support resulting in higher technical support costs, the increasing costs associated with major OEM partners as part of certain revenue-sharing arrangements, and the additional direct costs associated with our appliance business.

Operating expenses remained consistent as a percentage of revenue, while we continued to focus on investing in product development and increasing compensation costs due to headcount additions coupled with effectively managing our cost structure. We experienced favorable foreign currency effects on our operating expenses of $98 million in fiscal 2013 as compared to fiscal 2012. As we continue to reallocate talent within our organization and are dedicating spending and resources to focus on certain key areas, we expect research and development expenses to increase through fiscal 2017 as we invest to drive organic innovation for our customers. Furthermore, we will incur significant restructuring charges as we eliminate duplicative organization and operating structures. These restructuring activities are expected to be completed in fiscal 2014 and we expect to incur total severance and benefit costs between $220 million and $250 million.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

The preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in this annual report in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, requires us to make estimates, including judgments and assumptions, that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We have based our estimates on historical experience and on various assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. We evaluate our estimates on a regular basis and make changes accordingly. Historically, our critical accounting estimates have not differed materially from actual results; however, actual results may differ from these estimates under different conditions. If actual results differ from these estimates and other considerations used in estimating amounts reflected in our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report, the resulting changes could have a material adverse effect on our Consolidated Statements of Income, and in certain situations, could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.

A critical accounting estimate is based on judgments and assumptions about matters that are uncertain at the time the estimate is made. Different estimates that reasonably could have been used or changes in accounting estimates could materially impact our operating results or financial condition. We believe that the estimates described below represent our critical accounting estimates, as they have the greatest potential impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements. See also Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report.

Revenue recognition

We recognize revenue primarily pursuant to the requirements under the authoritative guidance on software revenue recognition, and any applicable amendments or modifications. Revenue recognition requirements in the software industry are very complex and require us to make many estimates.

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For software arrangements that include multiple elements, including perpetual software licenses and maintenance or services, packaged products with content updates, and subscriptions, we allocate and defer revenue for the undelivered items based on vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of the fair value of the undelivered elements, and recognize the difference between the total arrangement fee and the amount deferred for the undelivered items as revenue. VSOE of each element is based on the price for which the undelivered element is sold separately. We determine fair value of the undelivered elements based on historical evidence of our stand-alone sales of these elements to third parties or from the stated renewal rate for the undelivered elements. When VSOE does not exist for undelivered items, the entire arrangement fee is recognized ratably over the performance period. Our deferred revenue consists primarily of the unamortized balance of enterprise product maintenance, consumer product content updates, managed security services, subscriptions, and arrangements where VSOE does not exist. Deferred revenue totaled approximately $4.0 billion as of March 29, 2013, of which $521 million was classified as Long-term deferred revenue in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Changes to the elements in a software arrangement, the ability to identify VSOE for those elements, the fair value of the respective elements, and increasing flexibility in contractual arrangements could materially impact the amount recognized in the current period and deferred over time.

For arrangements that include both software and non-software elements, we allocate revenue to the software deliverables as a group and non-software deliverables based on their relative selling prices. In such circumstances, the accounting principles establish a hierarchy to determine the selling price to be used for allocating revenue to deliverables as follows: (i) VSOE, (ii) third-party evidence of selling price (“TPE”) and (iii) best estimate of the selling price (“ESP”). When we are unable to establish a selling price using VSOE or TPE, we use ESP to allocate the arrangement fees to the deliverables.

For our consumer products that include content updates, we recognize revenue and the associated cost of revenue ratably over the term of the subscription upon sell-through to end-users, as the subscription period commences on the date of sale to the end-user. We defer revenue and cost of revenue amounts for unsold product held by our distributors and resellers.

We expect our distributors and resellers to maintain adequate inventory of consumer packaged products to meet future customer demand, which is generally four or six weeks of customer demand based on recent buying trends. We ship product to our distributors and resellers at their request and based on valid purchase orders. Our distributors and resellers base the quantity of orders on their estimates to meet future customer demand, which may exceed the expected level of a four or six week supply. We offer limited rights of return if the inventory held by our distributors and resellers is below the expected level of a four or six week supply. We estimate reserves for product returns as described below. We typically offer liberal rights of return if inventory held by our distributors and resellers exceeds the expected level. Because we cannot reasonably estimate the amount of excess inventory that will be returned, we primarily offset deferred revenue against trade accounts receivable for the amount of revenue in excess of the expected inventory levels.

Arrangements for maintenance, subscriptions, managed security services and SaaS offerings are generally offered to our customers over a specified period of time, and we recognize the related revenue ratably over the maintenance, subscription, or service period.

Reserves for product returns.    We reserve for estimated product returns as an offset to revenue or deferred revenue based primarily on historical trends. We fully reserve for obsolete products in the distribution channels as an offset to deferred revenue. Actual product returns may be different than what was estimated. These factors and unanticipated changes in the economic and industry environment could make actual results differ from our return estimates.

Reserves for rebates.    We estimate and record reserves for channel and end-user rebates as an offset to revenue or deferred revenue. For consumer products that include content updates, rebates are recorded as a ratable offset to revenue or deferred revenue over the term of the subscription. Our estimated reserves for channel

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volume incentive rebates are based on distributors’ and resellers’ actual performance against the terms and conditions of volume incentive rebate programs, which are typically entered into quarterly. Our reserves for end-user rebates are estimated based on the terms and conditions of the promotional programs, actual sales during the promotion, the amount of actual redemptions received, historical redemption trends by product and by type of promotional program, and the value of the rebate. We also consider current market conditions and economic trends when estimating our reserves for rebates. If actual redemptions differ from our estimates, material differences may result in the amount and timing of our net revenues for any period presented.

Valuation of goodwill, intangible assets and long-lived assets

Business combination valuations.    When we acquire businesses, we allocate the purchase price to tangible assets and liabilities and identifiable intangible assets acquired. Any residual purchase price is recorded as goodwill. The allocation of the purchase price requires management to make significant estimates in determining the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, especially with respect to intangible assets. These estimates are based on information obtained from management of the acquired companies and historical experience. These estimates can include, but are not limited to:

These estimates are inherently uncertain and unpredictable, and if different estimates were used the purchase price for the acquisition could be allocated to the acquired assets and liabilities differently from the allocation that we have made. In addition, unanticipated events and circumstances may occur which may affect the accuracy or validity of such estimates, and if such events occur we may be required to record a charge against the value ascribed to an acquired asset or an increase in the amounts recorded for assumed liabilities.

Goodwill impairment.    We review goodwill for impairment on an annual basis on the first day of the fourth quarter of each fiscal year, and on an interim basis whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable, at the reporting unit level. Our reporting units are the same as our operating segments. A qualitative assessment is first made to determine whether it is necessary to perform quantitative testing. This initial assessment includes, among others, consideration of: (i) past, current and projected future earnings and equity; (ii) recent trends and market conditions; and (iii) valuation metrics involving similar companies that are publicly-traded and acquisitions of similar companies, if available. If this initial qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that impairment exists, a second step is taken, involving a comparison between the estimated fair values of our reporting units with their respective carrying amounts including goodwill. The methods for estimating operating unit values include asset and liability fair values and other valuation techniques, such as discounted cash flows and multiples of earnings or revenues. If the carrying value exceeds estimated fair value, there is an indication of potential impairment, and a third step is performed to measure the amount of impairment. The third step involves calculating an implied fair value of goodwill by measuring the excess of the estimated fair value of the reporting units over the aggregate estimated fair values of the individual assets less liabilities. If the carrying value of goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill, an impairment charge is recorded for the excess.

The process of estimating the fair value and carrying value of our reporting units’ equity requires significant judgment at many points during the analysis. Many assets and liabilities, such as accounts receivable and property and equipment, are not specifically allocated to an individual reporting unit, and therefore, we apply

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judgment to allocate the assets and liabilities, and this allocation affects the carrying value of the respective reporting units. Similarly, we use judgment to allocate goodwill to the reporting units based on relative fair values. The use of relative fair values has been necessary for certain reporting units due to changes in our operating structure in prior years. To determine a reporting unit’s fair value, we use the income approach under which we calculate the fair value of each reporting unit based on the estimated discounted future cash flows of that unit. We evaluate the reasonableness of this approach by comparing it with the market approach, which involves a review of the carrying value of our assets relative to our market capitalization and to the valuation of publicly traded companies operating in the same or similar lines of business.

Applying the income approach requires that we make a number of important estimates and assumptions. We estimate the future cash flows of each reporting unit based on historical and forecasted revenue and operating costs. This, in turn, involves further estimates, such as estimates of future revenue and expense growth rates. In addition, we apply a discount rate to the estimated future cash flows for the purpose of the valuation. This discount rate is based on the estimated weighted-average cost of capital for each reporting unit and may change from year to year. Changes in these key estimates and assumptions, or in other assumptions used in this process, could materially affect our impairment analysis for a given year.

As of March 29, 2013, our goodwill balance was $5.8 billion amongst our reporting units. Based on a qualitative impairment analysis performed on December 29, 2012, we determined that it was more likely than not that there was no impairment in any of our reporting units.

A number of factors, many of which we have no ability to control, could affect our financial condition, operating results and business prospects and could cause actual results to differ from the estimates and assumptions we employed. These factors include:

Intangible asset impairment.    We assess the impairment of identifiable finite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that an asset group’s carrying amount may not be recoverable. Recoverability of certain finite-lived intangible assets, particularly customer relationships and finite-lived trade names, would be measured by the comparison of the carrying amount of the asset group to which the assets are assigned to the sum of the undiscounted estimated future cash flows the asset group is expected to generate. If an asset is considered to be impaired, the amount of such impairment would be measured as the difference between the carrying amount of the asset and its fair value. Recoverability and impairment of other finite-lived intangible assets, particularly developed technology and patents, would be measured by the comparison of the carrying amount of the asset to the sum of undiscounted estimated future product revenues offset by estimated future costs to dispose of the product to which the asset relates. For indefinite-lived intangible assets, we review impairment on an annual basis consistent with the timing of the annual evaluation for goodwill. These assets generally include trade names and trademarks. Similar to goodwill impairment testing, a qualitative assessment is first made to determine whether it is necessary to perform quantitative testing. This initial

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assessment includes consideration of, among other things: (i) past, current and projected future revenues; (ii) recent trends and market conditions, including discount rates; and (iv) valuation metrics, such as royalty rates, involving similar companies that are publicly-traded, if available. If this initial qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that impairment exists, a second step is taken. This step involves a comparison between the fair values of the assets and their respective carrying amounts. Any excess of the carrying amount over the fair value would be recognized as an impairment charge. Our cash flow assumptions are based on historical and forecasted future revenue, operating costs, and other relevant factors. Assumptions and estimates about the remaining useful lives of our intangible assets are subjective and are affected by changes to our business strategies. If management’s estimates of future operating results change, or if there are changes to other assumptions, the estimate of the fair value of our identifiable intangible assets could change significantly. Such change could result in impairment charges in future periods, which could have a significant impact on our operating results and financial condition.

Long-lived assets.    We assess long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the long-lived assets may not be recoverable. Based on the existence of one or more indicators of impairment, we assess recoverability of long-lived assets based on a projected undiscounted cash flow method using assumptions determined by management to be commensurate with the risk inherent in our current business model. If an asset is not recoverable, impairment is measured as the difference between the carrying amount and its fair value. Our estimates of cash flows require significant judgment based on our historical and anticipated results and are subject to many factors which could change and cause a material impact to our operating results or financial condition. We record impairment charges on long-lived assets held for sale when we determine that the carrying value of the long-lived assets may not be recoverable. In determining fair value, we obtain and consider market value appraisal information from third parties.

Stock-based compensation

We account for stock-based compensation in accordance with the authoritative guidance on stock compensation. Under the fair value recognition provisions of this guidance, stock-based compensation is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is generally recognized as expense ratably over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective award.

Determining the fair value of stock-based awards, primarily stock options, at the grant date requires judgment. We use the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model (“BSM model”) to determine the fair value of stock options. The determination of the grant date fair value of options using an option pricing model is affected by our stock price as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables. These variables include our expected stock price volatility over the expected life of the options, actual and projected employee stock option exercise and cancellation behaviors, risk-free interest rates, and expected dividends.

We estimate the expected life of options granted based on an analysis of our historical experience of employee exercise and post-vesting termination behavior considered in relation to the contractual life of the option. Expected volatility is based on the average of historical volatility for the period commensurate with the expected life of the option and the implied volatility of traded options. The risk free interest rate is equal to the U.S. Treasury constant maturity rates for the period equal to the expected life. For all historical periods presented, we have not paid cash dividends on our common stock, and therefore our expected dividend rate was zero for all such periods presented. For information regarding a subsequent event announcing the declaration of a quarterly dividend, see Note 15 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this annual report.

We issue performance-based restricted stock units (‘‘PRUs’’) and performance-contingent stock units (“PCSUs”) representing hypothetical shares of our common stock. Each PRU and PCSU grant reflects a target number of shares that may be issued to the award recipient. The actual number of PRUs the recipient receives is determined at the end of a three-year performance period as follows: (1) our achievement of an annual target

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earnings per share for the first fiscal year of grant and (2) our two and three year cumulative relative total shareholder return ranked against that of other companies that are included in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The PCSUs vest based upon the performance of Symantec’s common stock over a three-year period, and are also subject to an underlying continued service vesting condition. We estimate the fair value of PRUs using the Monte Carlo simulation option pricing model (“Monte Carlo model”), as the total shareholder return modifier contains a market condition. We estimate the fair value and derived service period of PCSUs using the Monte Carlo model, as this statistical model can simulate a range of possible future stock prices for Symantec.

In accordance with the authoritative guidance on stock compensation, we record stock-based compensation expense for awards that are expected to vest. As a result, judgment is required in estimating the amount of stock-based awards that are expected to be forfeited. Although we estimate forfeitures based on historical experience, actual forfeitures may differ. If actual results differ significantly from these estimates, stock-based compensation expense and our results of operations could be materially impacted when we record an adjustment for the difference in the period that the awards vest or are forfeited.

Contingencies and litigation

We evaluate contingent liabilities including threatened or pending litigation in accordance with the authoritative guidance on contingencies. We assess the likelihood of any adverse judgments or outcomes from potential claims or legal proceedings, as well as potential ranges of probable losses, when the outcomes of the claims or proceedings are probable and reasonably estimable. A determination of the amount of accrued liabilities required, if any, for these contingencies is made after the analysis of each separate matter. Because of uncertainties related to these matters, we base our estimates on the information available at the time of our assessment. As additional information becomes available, we reassess the potential liability related to our pending claims and litigation and may revise our estimates. Any revisions in the estimates of potential liabilities could have a material impact on our operating results and financial position.

Income taxes

We are required to compute our income taxes in each federal, state, and international jurisdiction in which we operate. This process requires that we estimate the current tax exposure as well as assess temporary differences between the accounting and tax treatment of assets and liabilities, including items such as accruals and allowances not currently deductible for tax purposes. The income tax effects of the differences we identify are classified as current or long-term deferred tax assets and liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our judgments, assumptions, and estimates relative to the current provision for income tax take into account current tax laws, our interpretation of current tax laws, and possible outcomes of current and future audits conducted by foreign and domestic tax authorities. Changes in tax laws or our interpretation of tax laws and the resolution of current and future tax audits could significantly impact the amounts provided for income taxes in our Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Income.

Our effective tax rate includes the impact of certain undistributed foreign earnings for which no U.S. taxes have been provided because such earnings are planned to be indefinitely reinvested outside the United States. While we do not anticipate changing our intention regarding indefinitely reinvested earnings outside the United States, material changes in our estimates of such earnings or tax legislation that limits or restricts the amount of such earnings could materially impact our income tax provision and effective tax rate. If certain foreign earnings previously treated as indefinitely reinvested outside the United States are repatriated, the related U.S. tax liability may be reduced by any foreign income taxes paid on these earnings.

We account for uncertain tax positions pursuant to authoritative guidance based on a two-step approach to recognize and measure those positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes. The second step is to measure the tax

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benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. We adjust reserves for our uncertain tax positions due to changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit, the refinement of estimates, or the realization of earnings or deductions that differ from our estimates. To the extent that the final outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact our tax provision in our Consolidated Statements of Income in the period in which such determination is made.

We must also assess the likelihood that deferred tax assets will be realized from future taxable income and, based on this assessment establish a valuation allowance, if required. The determination of our valuation allowance involves assumptions, judgments and estimates, including forecasted earnings, future taxable income, and the relative proportions of revenue and income before taxes in the various domestic and international jurisdictions in which we operate. To the extent we establish a valuation allowance or change the valuation allowance in a period, we reflect the change with a corresponding increase or decrease to our tax provision in our Consolidated Statements of Income.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Total net revenue

Fiscal 2013 compared to Fiscal 2012:

Content, subscription, and maintenance revenue increased primarily due to increases from our Storage and Server Management segment of $94 million and Security and Compliance segment of $91 million. License revenue includes sales of software licenses, appliances, and certain revenue sharing arrangements. License revenue decreased primarily due to a decline from our Storage and Server Management segment of $27 million.

Fiscal 2012 compared to Fiscal 2011:

Content, subscription, and maintenance revenue increased primarily due to increases from our Security and Compliance segment of $339 million, Consumer segment of $152 million, and Storage and Server Management segment of $131 million, partially offset by a decrease in our Services segment of $41 million. License revenue decreased primarily due to declines in our Storage and Server Management segment of $29 million and Security and Compliance segment of $12 million.

Net revenue and operating income by segment

Consumer segment

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Fiscal 2013 compared to Fiscal 2012:

Consumer revenue and operating income remained consistent from period to period. Of the total Consumer revenue recognized in fiscal 2013, 88% was generated from our electronic distribution channel sales, which include our eCommerce portal, OEMs, electronic upgrades, and renewals. Consumer operating income decreased slightly due to higher salaries and wages and cost of revenue with offsetting declines of advertising promotion expense, which was primarily from lower placement fees.

Fiscal 2012 compared to Fiscal 2011:

Consumer revenue increased primarily due to increases in our premium Internet and security products of $156 million. Of the total Consumer revenue recognized in fiscal 2012, 86% was generated from our electronic distribution channel sales. Consumer operating income increased primarily due to higher revenue and lower advertising and promotion expenses of $22 million, partially offset by increased salaries and wages of $41 million and higher cost of revenue of $17 million. The increased salaries and wages expense was due to higher headcount compared to fiscal 2011. The increase in cost of revenue was primarily associated with the increased product revenue.

Security and Compliance segment

Fiscal 2013 compared to Fiscal 2012:

Security and Compliance revenue increased primarily due to the growth in our User Authentication and Trust Services offerings of $73 million, managed security services of $22 million, and Data Loss Prevention products of $14 million, partially offset by a decline in our enterprise security suite offerings of $19 million. The revenue from our user authentication and trust products and services for fiscal 2012 was lower than would have otherwise been the case due to purchase accounting fair value adjustments to deferred revenue. Security and Compliance operating income increased primarily due to the higher revenue and lower overall operating expenses of $96 million. The decreased operating expenses were mainly due to lower salaries and wages from decreased commissions and less advertising promotion expense.

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Fiscal 2012 compared to Fiscal 2011:

Security and Compliance revenue increased primarily due to the growth in our User Authentication and Trust Services offerings of $238 million, encryption solutions of $27 million, Data Loss Protection products of $18 million, and Managed Security Services of $17 million. Security and Compliance operating income increased primarily due to higher revenue, partially offset by increased salaries and wages of $71 million and higher cost of revenue of $54 million. The increased salaries and wages expense was due to higher headcount. The higher cost of revenue was associated with revenue growth.

Storage and Server Management segment

Fiscal 2013 compared to Fiscal 2012:

Storage and Server Management revenue increased primarily due to overall growth within our information management portfolio of $114 million, partially offset by a $47 million decline in our storage management portfolio. The growth was mainly from the increase in our NetBackup offering of $151 million and our Enterprise Vault products of $35 million, partially offset by declines in our Backup Exec offerings of $80 million. NetBackup is the largest enterprise product in our portfolio, and its growth has benefited from increased sales of our NetBackup appliance business. The decline in our storage management portfolio was driven by the previously disclosed headwinds we face from less use by our customers of the Solaris platform. Storage and Server Management operating income decreased primarily from higher cost of revenue of $60 million and higher salaries and wages of $23 million, partially offset by revenue growth. The increased cost of revenue was due to growth in the NetBackup appliance business resulting in higher material costs coupled with our initiative to improve customer support, which resulted in higher technical support and services costs. The increased salaries and wages expense was due to higher headcount, which was attributable to growth in the business.

Fiscal 2012 compared to Fiscal 2011:

Storage and Server Management revenue increased primarily due to overall growth within our information management portfolio of $132 million, which included $49 million from our fiscal 2012 acquisition of Clearwell Systems Inc. (“Clearwell”), partially offset by a $28 million decrease in our storage management portfolio. Storage and Server Management operating income decreased primarily due to higher salaries and wages of $139 million and higher cost of revenue of $59 million, partially offset by the increase in overall revenue. The increased salaries and wages expense was due to higher headcount attributable to our Clearwell acquisition and growth in the business.

Services segment

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Fiscal 2013 compared to Fiscal 2012:

Services revenue increased primarily due to higher sales from our Business Critical Services offering, while Services operating income remained consistent.

Fiscal 2012 compared to Fiscal 2011:

Services revenue decreased as we transitioned certain consulting services to specialized partners allowing us to focus on our core software business. Services operating income increased primarily due to lower cost of revenue and salaries and wages as we transitioned certain consulting services to our partner led consulting program.

Other segment

Our Other segment consists primarily of sunset products and products nearing the end of their life cycle. The operating loss of our Other segment includes certain general and administrative expenses, amortization of intangible and other assets, charges such as stock-based compensation, restructuring and transition expenses, and certain indirect costs that are not charged to the other operating segments.

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Net revenue by geographic region