LAM RESEARCH CORP - Annual Report: 2014 (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 June 29, 2014

OR

For the transition period from              to             .

Commission file number: 0-12933

LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (510) 572-0200

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  x     No  ¨

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

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  x     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 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x     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  x

The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value, held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, as of December 29, 2013, the last business day of the most recently completed second fiscal quarter with respect to the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K, was $6,184,276,734. Common Stock held by each officer and director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the outstanding Common Stock has been excluded from this computation in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination of such status for other purposes.

As of August 20, 2014, the Registrant had 162,075,237 outstanding shares of Common Stock.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Parts of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders expected to be held on or about November 6, 2014 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K. (However, the Reports of the Audit Committee and Compensation Committee are expressly not incorporated by reference herein.)

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LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION

2014 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

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PART I

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

With the exception of historical facts, the statements contained in this discussion are forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Certain, but not all, of the forward-looking statements in this report are specifically identified as forward-looking, by use of phrases and words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “could” and other future-oriented terms. The identification of certain statements as “forward-looking” is not intended to mean that other statements not specifically identified are not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to: trends and opportunities in the global economic environment and the semiconductor industry; the anticipated levels of, and rates of change in, future shipments, margins, market share, capital expenditures, international sales, revenue and operating expenses generally; management’s plans and objectives for our current and future operations and business focus; volatility in our quarterly results; customer requirements and our ability to satisfy those requirements; customer capital spending and their demand for our products, and the reliability of indicators of change in customer spending and demand; hedging transactions; our ability to defend our market share and to gain new market share; our ability to obtain and qualify alternative sources of supply; factors that affect our tax rates; anticipated growth in the industry and the total market for wafer-fabrication equipment and our growth relative to such growth; levels of research and development expenditures and joint development relationships with customers, suppliers or other industry members; outsourced activities; the role of component suppliers in our business; the resources invested to comply with all evolving standards and the impact of such efforts; the estimates we make, and the accruals we record, in order to implement our critical accounting policies (including but not limited to the adequacy of prior tax payments, future tax liabilities and the adequacy of our accruals relating to them); our access to capital markets; our intention to pay quarterly dividends and the amounts thereof, if any; our intention to repurchase our shares; our ability to manage and grow our cash position; and the sufficiency of our financial resources to support future business activities (including but not limited to operations, investments, debt service requirements and capital expenditures). Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in condition, significance, value, and effect, including without limitation those discussed below under the heading “Risk Factors” within Item 1A and elsewhere in this report and other documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), such as our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended September 29, 2013, December 29, 2013 and March 30, 2014, and our current reports on Form 8-K. Such risks, uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value, and effect could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in this report and in ways not readily foreseeable. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof and are based on information currently and reasonably known to us. We do not undertake any obligation to release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this report or to reflect the occurrence or effect of anticipated or unanticipated events.

Incorporated in 1980, Lam Research Corporation (“Lam Research,” “Lam,” “we,” or the “Company”) is a Delaware corporation, headquartered in Fremont, California. We maintain a network of facilities throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States of America in order to meet the needs of our dynamic customer base.

Additional information about Lam Research is available on our website at www.lamresearch.com.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q, Current Reports on Forms 8-K, and any amendments to those reports are available on our website as soon as reasonably practical after we file them with or furnish them to the SEC and are also available online at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

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The Lam Research logo, Lam Research, and all product and service names used in this report are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Lam Research Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective holders.

Lam Research is a global supplier of innovative wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. We design, manufacture, market, refurbish, and service semiconductor processing systems that are used in the fabrication of integrated circuits (“ICs”). Our market-leading products are designed to help our customers build smaller, faster, and more power-efficient devices that are used in a variety of electronic products, including cell phones, tablets, computers, storage devices, and networking equipment.

The Company’s customer base includes leading semiconductor memory, foundry, and integrated device manufacturers (“IDMs”) that make products such as DRAM, NAND memory, and logic devices. Semiconductor manufacturing, our customers’ business, involves the complete fabrication of multiple die, or ICs, on a wafer. This involves the repetition of a set of core processes and can require hundreds of individual steps. On a silicon wafer, a tiny, intricate pattern is precisely replicated across the wafer surface to create identical miniature devices, where features can be 1,000 times smaller than a grain of sand. Fabricating these devices requires highly sophisticated process technologies and precision control at the atomic scale. Along with meeting technical requirements, wafer processing equipment must deliver high productivity and be cost-effective.

At Lam Research, we leverage our expertise in semiconductor device processing to develop enabling technology and productivity solutions that typically benefit our customers through lower defect rates, enhanced yields, faster processing time, and/or reduced cost. We offer a broad portfolio of complementary products that are used in several areas of the semiconductor manufacturing process flow, including thin film deposition, plasma etch, and wafer cleaning. These processes, which are repeated numerous times during the wafer fabrication cycle, are utilized to manufacture every type of semiconductor device.

Our products are used primarily in front-end wafer processing, which involves the steps that create the active components of a device (transistor, capacitor) and their wiring (interconnect). Market demand for ever-smaller IC designs is driving the development of and migration to new fabrication strategies, such as three-dimensional (“3D”) architectures and multiple patterning. We also address processes for back-end wafer-level packaging (“WLP”), which is an alternative to traditional two dimensional packaging and can offer a smaller form factor, increased interconnect speed and bandwidth, and lower power consumption, among other benefits. In addition, our products are well-suited for related markets that rely on semiconductor processes and require production-proven manufacturing capability, such as micro-electromechanical systems (“MEMS”).

The Company’s high-productivity thin film deposition systems form a device’s sub-microscopic layers of conducting (metal) or insulating (dielectric) materials. Lam is the market leader in plasma etch, a highly critical process step that selectively removes materials from the wafer to create the features and patterns of a device. Our photoresist strip systems remove the photoresist mask before a wafer proceeds to the next processing step. Lam’s wet spin clean and plasma-based bevel clean products remove particles, residues and film from the wafer surface before or after adjacent processes.

Our Customer Support Business Group (“CSBG”) provides products and services to maximize installed equipment performance and operational efficiency. We offer a broad range of services to deliver value throughout the lifecycle of our equipment, including customer service, spares, upgrades, and refurbishment of our deposition, etch, photoresist strip, and clean products. Many of the technical advances that we introduce in our newest products are also available as upgrades, which provide customers with a cost-effective strategy for extending the performance and capabilities of their existing wafer fabrication lines. CSBG also offers refurbished and newly built previous-generation (legacy) equipment for those applications that do not require the most advanced wafer processing capability.

Silfex Inc. (“Silfex”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lam. Silfex is a leading provider of high-purity custom silicon components and assemblies that serve technology markets such as semiconductor equipment. Peter Wolters

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was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lam until we sold substantially all of Peter Wolters on July 2, 2014. Peter Wolters designs and manufactures high-precision grinding, lapping, polishing, and deburring systems used in the automotive, aerospace, medical, semiconductor manufacturing and other industries.

Products

Thin Film Deposition

In leading-edge semiconductor designs, metal deposition processes face significant scaling and integration challenges. For advanced copper interconnect structures, challenges for electrochemical deposition (“ECD”) include providing complete, void-free fill of high aspect ratio (“HAR”) structures with low defectivity and high productivity. Electroplating of copper and other metals is also used for through-silicon via (“TSV”) and WLP applications, such as forming conductive bumps and redistribution layers (“RDLs”). These applications require excellent within-wafer uniformity at high plating rates, minimal defects, and cost competitiveness. For tungsten chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”)/atomic layer deposition (“ALD”) processes, key requirements are minimizing contact resistance to meet lower power consumption requirements and achieving void-free fill for narrow nanoscale structures. In addition, good barrier step coverage at reduced thicknesses relative to physical vapor deposition/CVD barrier films is also needed to improve contact fill and reduce resistivity.

In dielectric deposition, high-productivity, high-quality films are needed for a number of critical process steps. For example, next-generation FinFET transistor structures and back-end-of-line (“BEOL”) self-aligned double patterning require highly conformal film deposition and atomic-scale control of film dimensions to ensure device performance. The numerous alternating film layers used in new 3D NAND designs require exceptional stress and defectivity control and ultra-smooth film deposition. Plasma-enhanced CVD (“PECVD”) is often used for these applications, as well as for advanced WLP, where depositing high-quality films without exceeding thermal budgets is essential. In addition, ALD processes are often used to deposit very thin, highly conformal films for applications such as multiple patterning. For gapfill deposition, achieving defect-free fills while maintaining high throughput is essential. Preferred approaches are to use high-density plasma CVD (“HDP-CVD”) either as a complete gapfill solution or as a cap over other gapfill technologies to enhance process control and mitigate integration risks. Lastly, innovative post-deposition film treatments such as ultraviolet thermal processing (“UVTP”) are being used to improve low-k film integrity and increase strain in nitride layers for improved device performance.

Copper Metal Films — SABRE ^® Product Family

The SABRE ECD product family is the industry’s productivity-leading platform for copper damascene manufacturing. Electrofill ^® technology provides high-throughput, void-free fill with superior defect density performance for advanced technology nodes. SABRE chemistry packages provide leading-edge fill performance for the lowest defectivity, widest process window, and highest rates of bottom-up growth to fill the most challenging HAR features. System capabilities include deposition of copper directly on various liner materials, important for next-generation metallization schemes. The number of yielding ICs per wafer has also been improved by increasing the usable die area through industry-leading process edge exclusion engineering. Applications include copper deposition for both advanced logic and memory interconnect. We also offer the SABRE 3D system to address TSV and WLP applications, such as copper pillar, RDL, underbump metallization, bumping, and microbumps used in post-TSV processing.

Tungsten Metal Films — ALTUS ^® Product Family

Lam’s market-leading ALTUS systems deposit highly conformal atomic layer films for advanced tungsten metallization applications. The patented Multi-Station Sequential Deposition (“MSSD”) architecture enables a nucleation layer to be formed using Pulsed Nucleation Layer (“PNL”) technology and bulk CVD fill to be performed in situ. PNL, Lam’s ALD technology, is used in the deposition of tungsten nitride films to achieve

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high step coverage with reduced thickness relative to conventional barrier films. PNL is also used to reduce thickness and alter CVD bulk fill grain growth, lowering the overall resistivity of thin tungsten films. The advanced ExtremeFill CVD tungsten technology provides extendibility to fill the most challenging structures at advanced technology nodes. Applications include tungsten plug and via fill, 3D NAND wordlines, low-stress composite interconnects, and tungsten nitride barrier for via and contact metallization.

PECVD Dielectric Films — VECTOR ^® Product Family

Lam’s VECTOR family of PECVD/ALD systems delivers superior thin film quality, wafer-to-wafer uniformity, productivity, and low cost of ownership. The MSSD architecture enables industry-leading performance with both sequential processing and parallel processing to provide broad process flexibility for a range of applications. VECTOR products offer specialized systems for logic and memory applications. VECTOR Express offers a small footprint with four processing stations. VECTOR Excel is a modular tool for advanced technology nodes where pre-and-post film deposition treatments are needed. VECTOR Extreme accommodates up to 12 processing stations for high-throughput memory processes. Applications include deposition of ashable hardmasks, multiple patterning films, oxides, nitrides, carbides, anti-reflective layers, multi-layer stack films, diffusion barriers, and spacer films.

Gapfill Dielectric Films — SPEED ^® Product Family

Lam’s SPEED HDP-CVD products provide void-free gapfill of high-quality dielectric films with superior throughput and reliability. The unique source design provides excellent particle performance, while the ability to customize the deposition and in situ etching profile ensures best-of-breed across-wafer thickness and gapfill uniformity. Together, the chamber and plasma source designs allow large batch sizes between cleans and faster cleans to deliver superior throughput. Broad process flexibility is available on the same platform, without requiring major hardware changes. Applications include STI, pre-metal dielectrics, inter-layer dielectrics, inter-metal dielectrics, and passivation layers.

Film Treatment — SOLA ^® Product Family

The SOLA UVTP product family is used for treatment of BEOL low-k dielectric films and front-end-of-line (“FEOL”) silicon nitride strained films. The systems incorporate a proprietary treatment process that modifies the physical characteristics of a previously deposited film through exposure to ultraviolet light, gases and vapors, and heat. The Multi-Station Sequential Processing (“MSSP”) architecture allows independent control of temperature, wavelength, and intensity at each station of the wafer path. This enables delivery of best-in-class film properties, within-wafer and wafer-to-wafer uniformity, and productivity.

Plasma Etch

As the semiconductor industry continues to improve device performance and shrink critical feature sizes, plasma etch faces multiple challenges. These include processing smaller features, new materials, new transistor structures, increasingly complex film stacks, and ever higher aspect ratio structures. For conductor etch, requirements include delivering atomic-scale control for etching FinFET/3D gate transistors, multi–film stacks for high-k/metal gate structures, and multiple patterning structures. Dielectric etch processes must be able to maintain etch profiles on increasingly HAR structures such as in 3D NAND devices, etch new multi-layer photoresist materials and amorphous carbon hardmasks, and avoid damaging fragile low-k materials. In emerging 3D integrated circuits (“3D ICs”), TSVs are now used to provide interconnect capability for die-to-die and wafer-to-wafer stacking. Critical factors for TSV are etching a variety of materials in the same chamber ( in situ ), as well as being able to use both conventional and special techniques for deep silicon etching. For all etch processes, it is important to provide excellent profile control and across-wafer uniformity while maintaining high productivity and cost efficiency.

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Conductor Etch — 2300 ^® Kiyo ^® Product Family, 2300 ^® Versys ^® Metal Product Family

The 2300 Kiyo product family delivers high-performance, high-productivity, low-risk solutions for conductor etch applications. Superior uniformity, uniformity control, and repeatability are enabled by a symmetrical chamber design, leading electrostatic chuck technology, and independent tuning features. The Kiyo products deliver high productivity with low defectivity on multi-film stacks, enabled by in situ etch capability, continuous plasma, and advanced Waferless Autoclean technology. In addition, Kiyo systems can be configured to perform atomic layer etch (“ALE”), which delivers atomic-scale variability control to enable next-generation wafer processing. Applications include FinFET and tri-gate, shallow trench isolation (“STI”), high-k/metal gate and multiple patterning. The 2300 Versys metal product family provides a flexible platform for BEOL metal etch processes. Symmetrical chamber design and independent tuning features provide critical dimension, profile uniformity, and uniformity control for metal hardmask applications. The products’ proprietary chamber cleaning technology ensures high availability, high yield, and exceptional process repeatability for aluminum etching. Applications include metal hardmask, multiple patterning, high-density aluminum line, and aluminum pad.

Dielectric Etch — 2300 ^® Flex^™ Product Family

The 2300 Flex product family offers differentiated technologies and application-focused capabilities for critical dielectric etch applications. Exceptional uniformity, repeatability, and tunability are enabled by a unique multi-frequency, small-volume, confined plasma design. The systems deliver high productivity with low defectivity, enabled by in situ multi-step etch and continuous plasma capability. Low-risk, cost-effective upgrades provide evolutionary product transitions that extend product life and maximize return on investment. Applications include low-k and ultra low-k dual damascene, self-aligned contacts, capacitor cell, mask open, 3D NAND HAR hole, trench, and contact.

TSV Etch — 2300 ^® Syndion ^® Product Family

Based on Lam’s production-proven conductor etch products, the 2300 Syndion TSV etch family provides low-risk, flexible solutions to address multiple TSV etch applications. The Syndion products provide a low cost of ownership due to high etch rates, excellent repeatability, and in situ etching of multiple materials in the TSV stack (silicon, dielectrics, conducting films). The systems support both conventional single-step etch and rapidly alternating process (“RAP”). High process flexibility, superior profile control, and excellent uniformity enable successful TSV implementation for a variety of CMOS 3D IC and image sensor applications.

Photoresist Strip

With the semiconductor industry’s migration to ultra-shallow junctions, multiple patterning, ultra low-k dielectrics, and 3D architectures, photoresist strip processes need to manage more complex device structures. At the transistor level, small changes can affect junction resistivity, junction depth, and dopant activation, thereby affecting device performance. For interconnect structures, unwanted changes in the properties of low-k dielectrics can also impact performance. These concerns are driving the development of new photoresist strip processes for advanced technology nodes. Challenges include removing residues, minimizing oxidation and silicon loss, and providing damage-free results, while at the same time delivering high throughput and low cost of ownership.

Photoresist Strip — G400 ^® ,GxT ^® ,G3D ^®

Lam’s photoresist strip systems are based on our production-proven MSSP platform. The MSSP architecture provides multiple process stations, where both temperature and chemistry may be independently controlled, allowing bulk strip, high-dose implant strip (“HDIS”), and dry clean processes to be performed all on the same platform. The high-productivity G400 is targeted for bulk strip and HDIS applications, primarily in large DRAM and NAND memory fabs. Enhanced source technology combined with faster wafer heating provides high throughput for bulk strip and implant strip applications. The GxT system is designed for critical logic device manufacturing process steps that demand low silicon loss and ultra-low defectivity.

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Single-Wafer Clean

Wafer cleaning is a critical function that must be repeated many times during the semiconductor manufacturing process, from device fabrication through packaging. As device geometries shrink and new materials are introduced, the number of cleaning steps continues to grow. Furthermore, each step has different selectivity and defectivity requirements that add to manufacturing complexity. For next-generation devices, fragile structures need to be cleaned without causing damage. In addition, cleaning steps that target the bevel region can help eliminate the potential source of yield-limiting defects at the wafer’s edge, as well as, increase the number of good die at the wafer’s edge to improve yield.

Wet Clean — DV-Prime ^® ,Da Vinci ^® ,SP Series

Lam’s single-wafer spin technology pioneered the industry transition from batch to single-wafer wet processing. These production-proven spin wet clean systems provide the productivity and flexibility needed for both high-volume manufacturing and leading-edge development across multiple technology nodes and for all device types. The products deliver excellent process uniformity across the wafer, wafer-to-wafer, and lot-to-lot. Proprietary technologies enhance damage-free particle removal and enable wafer drying without pattern collapse or watermarks. Offering the latest in dilute chemistry and solvent systems, the products meet defectivity and material integrity requirements. Applications include particle, polymer, and residue removal; photoresist removal; and wafer backside/bevel cleaning. Our wet clean systems are also used for multiple wet etch and clean applications for WLP, including silicon substrate thinning, wafer stress relief, underbump metallization etch, and photoresist removal.

Plasma Bevel Clean — 2300 ^® Coronus ^® Product Family

The 2300 Coronus plasma-based bevel clean products enhance die yield by removing particles, residues and unwanted films from the wafer’s edge that can impact the device area. The system combines the ability of plasma to selectively remove a wide variety of materials with a proprietary confinement technology that protects the die area. High system uptime and throughput, excellent process repeatability, and efficient in situ removal of multi-material film stacks and residues ensure high productivity for increased wafer output. Applications include post-etch, pre- and post-deposition, pre-lithography, and metal film removal to prevent arcing during plasma etch or deposition steps. It is also the industry’s only bevel clean product that removes amorphous-carbon films and carbon-rich residues.

Legacy Products

For applications that do not require the most advanced wafer processing capability, semiconductor manufacturers can benefit from the proven performance of previous-generation products to increase their production capacity at a reduced economic investment. Purchasing through an original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) like Lam Research minimizes the risks of unexpected costs and unpredictable time to production that are typically associated with used systems purchases. To meet semiconductor manufacturers’ needs for high-performance, maximum-predictability, and low-risk equipment, Lam provides refurbished and newly built legacy products. Our products also provide production-worthy, cost-effective solutions for the MEMS and light emitting diode (“LED”) markets.

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Products Table

Fiscal Periods Presented

All references to fiscal years apply to our fiscal years, which ended June 29, 2014, June 30, 2013, and June 24, 2012. In all sections of this document, the fiscal 2012 information presented reflects 20 days of Novellus related activity, as Novellus was purchased on June 4, 2012. There is no Novellus related activity reflected in periods prior to fiscal year 2012.

Research and Development

The market for semiconductor capital equipment is characterized by rapid technological change and product innovation. Our ability to achieve and maintain our competitive advantage depends in part on our continued and timely development of new products and enhancements to existing products. Accordingly, we devote a significant portion of our personnel and financial resources to research and development (“R&D”) programs and seek to maintain close and responsive relationships with our customers and suppliers.

Our R&D expenses during fiscal years 2014, 2013, and 2012 were $716.5 million, $683.7 million, and $444.6 million, respectively. The majority of R&D spending over the past three years has been targeted at deposition, etch, single-wafer clean, and other semiconductor manufacturing products. We believe current challenges for customers at various points in the semiconductor manufacturing process present opportunities for us.

We expect to continue to make substantial investments in R&D to meet our customers’ product needs, support our growth strategy, and enhance our competitive position.

Marketing, Sales, and Service

Our marketing, sales, and service efforts are focused on building long-term relationships with our customers and targeting product and service solutions designed to meet their needs. These efforts are supported by a team of product marketing and sales professionals as well as equipment and process engineers who work closely with

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individual customers to develop solutions for their wafer processing needs. We maintain ongoing service relationships with our customers and have an extensive network of service engineers in place throughout the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Asia Pacific. We believe that comprehensive support programs and close working relationships with customers are essential to maintaining high customer satisfaction and our competitiveness in the marketplace.

We provide standard warranties for our systems. The warranty provides that systems shall be free from defects in material and workmanship and conform to agreed-upon specifications. The warranty is limited to repair of the defect or replacement with new or like-new equivalent goods and is valid when the buyer provides prompt notification within the warranty period of the claimed defect or non-conformity and also makes the items available for inspection and repair. We also offer extended warranty packages to our customers to purchase as desired.

International Sales

A significant portion of our sales and operations occur outside the United States and, therefore, may be subject to certain risks, including but not limited to tariffs and other barriers, difficulties in staffing and managing non-U.S. operations, adverse tax consequences, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in currency controls, compliance with U.S. and international laws and regulations, including U.S. export restrictions, and economic and political conditions. Any of these factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, and results of operations and cash flows. For geographical reporting, revenue is attributed to the geographic location in which the customers’ facilities are located. Revenue by region was as follows:

Long-Lived Assets

Refer to Note 17 of our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 15 of this report, for information concerning the geographic locations of long-lived assets.

Customers

Our customers include all of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers. Customers continue to establish joint ventures, alliances and licensing arrangements which have the potential to positively or negatively impact our competitive position and market opportunities. In fiscal years 2014, 2013, and 2012, three customers, Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd., SK Hynix Inc., and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., each individually represented greater than 10% of total revenues.

A material reduction in orders from our customers could adversely affect our results of operations and projected financial condition. Our business depends upon the expenditures of semiconductor manufacturers.

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Semiconductor manufacturers’ businesses, in turn, depend on many factors, including their economic capability, the current and anticipated market demand for integrated circuits and the availability of equipment capacity to support that demand.

Backlog

In general, we schedule production of our systems based upon our customers’ delivery requirements and forecasts. In order for a system to be included in our backlog, the following conditions must be met: 1) we have received a written customer request that has been accepted, 2) we have an agreement on prices and product specifications, and 3) there is a scheduled shipment within the next 12 months. In order for spares and services to be included in our backlog, the following conditions must be met: 1) we have received a written customer request that has been accepted and (2) delivery of products or provision of services is anticipated within the next 12 months. Where specific spare parts and customer service purchase contracts do not contain discrete delivery dates, we use volume estimates at the contract price and over the contract period, not to exceed 12 months, in calculating backlog amounts. Our policy is to revise our backlog for order cancellations and to make adjustments to reflect, among other things, changes in spares volume estimates and customer delivery date changes. At June 29, 2014 and June 30, 2013, our backlog was approximately $866 million and $764 million, respectively. Generally, orders for our products and services are subject to cancellation by our customers with limited penalties. Because some orders are received and shipped in the same quarter and because customers may change delivery dates and cancel orders, our backlog at any particular date is not necessarily indicative of business volumes or actual revenue levels for succeeding periods.

Manufacturing

Our manufacturing operations consist mainly of assembling and testing components, sub-assemblies, and modules that are then integrated into finished systems prior to shipment to or at the location of our customers. Most of the assembly and testing of our products is conducted in cleanroom environments.

We have agreements with third parties to outsource certain aspects of our manufacturing, production warehousing, and logistics functions. We believe that these outsourcing contracts provide us more flexibility to scale our operations up or down in a timely and cost effective manner, enabling us to respond quickly to any changes in our business. We believe that we have selected reputable providers and have secured their performance on terms documented in written contracts. However, it is possible that one or more of these providers could fail to perform as we expect, and such failure could have an adverse impact on our business and have a negative effect on our operating results and financial condition. Overall, we believe we have effective mechanisms to manage risks associated with our outsourcing relationships. Refer to Note 14 of our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 15 of this report, for further information concerning our outsourcing commitments.

Certain components and sub-assemblies that we include in our products may only be obtained from a single supplier. We believe that, in many cases, we could obtain and qualify alternative sources to supply these products. Nevertheless, any prolonged inability to obtain these components could have an adverse effect on our operating results and could unfavorably impact our customer relationships.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to a variety of governmental regulations related to the management of hazardous materials that we use in our business operations. We are currently not aware of any pending notices of violation, fines, lawsuits, or investigations arising from environmental matters that would have a material effect on our business. We believe that we are generally in compliance with these regulations and that we have obtained (or will obtain or are otherwise addressing) all necessary environmental permits to conduct our business. Nevertheless, the failure to comply with present or future regulations could result in fines being imposed on us, require us to

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suspend production or cease operations or cause our customers to not accept our products. These regulations could require us to alter our current operations, to acquire significant additional equipment, or to incur substantial other expenses to comply with environmental regulations. Our failure to control the use, sale, transport or disposal of hazardous substances could subject us to future liabilities.

Employees

As of August 19, 2014, we had approximately 6,500 regular employees globally. Although we have employment-related agreements with a number of key employees, these agreements do not guarantee continued service. Each of our employees is required to comply with our policies relating to maintaining the confidentiality of our non-public information.

In the semiconductor and semiconductor equipment industries, competition for highly skilled employees is intense. Our future success depends, to a significant extent, upon our continued ability to attract and retain qualified employees particularly in the R&D and customer support functions.

Competition

The semiconductor capital equipment industry is characterized by rapid change and is highly competitive throughout the world. To compete effectively, we invest significant financial resources to continue to strengthen and enhance our product and services portfolio and to maintain customer service and support locations globally. Semiconductor manufacturers evaluate capital equipment suppliers in many areas, including, but not limited to, process performance, productivity, defect control, customer support, and overall cost of ownership, which can be affected by many factors such as equipment design, reliability, software advancements, and similar factors. Our ability to succeed in the marketplace depends upon our ability to maintain existing products and introduce product enhancements and new products that meet customer requirements on a timely basis. In addition, semiconductor manufacturers must make a substantial investment to qualify and integrate new capital equipment into semiconductor production lines. As a result, once a semiconductor manufacturer has selected a particular supplier’s equipment and qualified it for production, the manufacturer generally maintains that selection for that specific production application and technology node as long as the supplier’s products demonstrate performance to specification in the installed base. Accordingly, we may experience difficulty in selling to a given customer if that customer has qualified a competitor’s equipment. We must also continue to meet the expectations of our installed base of customers through the delivery of high-quality and cost-efficient spare parts in the presence of third-party spare parts provider competition.

We face significant competition with all of our products and services. Our primary competitors in the etch market are Tokyo Electron, Ltd. and Applied Materials, Inc. Our primary competitors in the single-wafer wet clean market are Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Semes, and Tokyo Electron, Ltd. In the tungsten CVD, PECVD, HDP-CVD, ECD and PVD markets, our primary competitor is Applied Materials, Inc. In the PECVD market, we also compete against ASM International and Wonik IPS.

Certain of our existing and potential competitors have substantially greater financial resources and larger engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and customer service and support organizations than we do. In addition, we face competition from a number of emerging companies in the industry. We expect our competitors to continue to improve the design and performance of their current products and processes and to introduce new products and processes with enhanced price/performance characteristics. If our competitors make acquisitions or enter into strategic relationships with leading semiconductor manufacturers, or other entities, covering products similar to those we sell, our ability to sell our products to those customers could be adversely affected. There can be no assurance that we will continue to compete successfully in the future.

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Patents and Licenses

Our policy is to seek patents on inventions relating to new or enhanced products and processes developed as part of our ongoing research, engineering, manufacturing, and support activities. We currently hold a number of United States and foreign patents covering various aspects of our products and processes. We believe that the duration of our patents generally exceeds the useful life of the technologies and processes disclosed and claimed in them. Our patents, which cover material aspects of our past and present core products, have current durations ranging from approximately one to twenty years. We believe that, although the patents we own and may obtain in the future will be of value, they alone will not determine our success. Our success depends principally upon our engineering, marketing, support, and delivery skills. However, in the absence of patent protection, we may be vulnerable to competitors who attempt to imitate our products, manufacturing techniques, and processes. In addition, other companies and inventors may receive patents that contain claims applicable or similar to our products and processes. The sale of products covered by patents of others could require licenses that may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. For further discussion of legal matters, see Item 3, “Legal Proceedings,” of this report.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY

As of August 26, 2014, the executive officers of Lam Research were as follows:

Martin B. Anstice is President and Chief Executive Officer of Lam Research. Mr. Anstice joined the Company in April 2001 as Senior Director, Operations Controller. He was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in June 2004, appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in September 2008, and promoted to President in December 2010. In January 2012, Mr. Anstice was appointed Chief Executive Officer and in February 2012, appointed to the Lam Research Corporation board of directors. He began his career at Raychem Corporation where, during his 13-year tenure, he held numerous finance roles of increasing responsibility in Europe and North America. After Tyco International, Ltd. acquired Raychem in 1999, Mr. Anstice assumed responsibility for supporting mergers and acquisitions at Tyco Electronics Corporation. Mr. Anstice is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the United Kingdom.

Timothy M. Archer joined Lam Research in June 2012 as the Company’s Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Lam Research, Mr. Archer spent 18 years at Novellus Systems in various technology development and business leadership roles, including most recently as Chief Operating Officer from January 2011 to June 2012, Executive Vice President Worldwide Sales, Marketing, and Customer Satisfaction from September 2009 to January 2011, and Executive Vice President of the PECVD and Electrofill Business Units from November 2008 to September 2009. Mr. Archer’s tenure at Novellus Systems also included assignments as Senior Director of Technology for Novellus Systems Japan from 1999 to 2001 and Senior Director of Technology for the Electrofill Business Unit from April 2001 to April 2002. Mr. Archer started his career in 1989 at Tektronix where he was responsible for process development for high-speed bipolar integrated circuits. Mr. Archer completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Graduate School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology.

Douglas R. Bettinger is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Lam Research. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Bettinger served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Avago Technologies from August 2008 to February 2013. From 2007 to 2008, he served as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller at Xilinx, Inc., and from 2004 to 2007, he was Chief Financial Officer at 24/7 Customer, a privately held company. Mr. Bettinger worked at Intel Corporation from 1993 to 2004, where he held several senior-level

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finance and manufacturing operations positions, including Corporate Planning and Reporting Controller and Malaysia Site Operations Controller. He earned a master’s degree in business administration in finance from the University of Michigan and has a bachelor of science degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Richard A. Gottscho is the Company’s Executive Vice President, Global Products Group, a position he has held since August 2010. Prior to that time, he had been Group Vice President and General Manager, Etch Businesses since March 2007. Dr. Gottscho joined the Company in January 1996 and has served at various Director and Vice President levels in support of etch products, CVD products, and corporate research. Prior to joining Lam Research, Dr. Gottscho was a member of Bell Laboratories for 15 years where he started his career working in plasma processing. During his tenure at Bell, he headed research departments in electronics materials, electronics packaging, and flat panel displays. Dr. Gottscho is the author of numerous papers, patents, and lectures in plasma processing and process control. He is a recipient of the American Vacuum Society’s Peter Mark Memorial Award and Plasma Science and Technology Division Prize, the Gaseous Electronics Conference Foundation Lecturer, the Dry Process Symposium Nishizawa Award, and the Tegal Thinker Award. He is a fellow of the American Physical and American Vacuum Societies and has served on numerous editorial boards of refereed technical publications, program committees for major conferences in plasma science and engineering, and was vice-chair of a National Research Council study on plasma science in the 1980s. Dr. Gottscho earned Ph.D. and B.S. degrees in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Pennsylvania State University, respectively.

Sarah A. O’Dowd is the Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer of the Company. Ms. O’Dowd joined Lam Research in September 2008 as Group Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, responsible for general legal matters, intellectual property and ethics & compliance. In addition to her Legal function, in April 2009 she was appointed Vice President of Human Resources and served in this dual capacity from April 2009 through May 2012. Prior to joining Lam Research, Ms. O’Dowd was Vice President and General Counsel for FibroGen, Inc. from February 2007 until September 2008. Until February 2007, Ms. O’Dowd was a shareholder in the law firm of Heller Ehrman LLP for more than twenty years, practicing in the areas of corporate securities, governance and mergers and acquisitions for a variety of clients, principally publicly traded high technology companies. She served in a variety of leadership and management roles at Heller Ehrman, including Managing Partner of the Silicon Valley and San Diego offices, member of the firm’s Policy Committee and, as head of the firm’s business practice groups, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Ms. O’Dowd earned her J.D. and M.A. in communications from Stanford Law School and Stanford University, respectively, and her bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from Immaculata College.

In addition to the other information in this 2014 Form 10-K, the following risk factors should be carefully considered in evaluating the Company and its business because such factors may significantly impact our business, operating results, and financial condition. As a result of these risk factors, as well as other risks discussed in our other SEC filings, our actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. No priority or significance is intended, nor should be attached, to the order in which the risk factors appear.

The Semiconductor Equipment Industry is Subject to Fluctuations and, as a Result, We Face Risks Related to Our Strategic Resource Allocation Decisions

The business cycle in the semiconductor equipment industry has historically been characterized by frequent periods of rapid change in demand that challenge our management to adjust spending and other resources allocated to operating activities. During periods of rapid growth or decline in demand for our products and services, we face significant challenges in maintaining adequate financial and business controls, management processes, information systems, procedures for training and managing our work force, and in appropriately sizing our supply chain infrastructure, work force, and other components of our business on a timely basis. If we do not adequately meet these challenges during periods of demand decline, our gross margins and earnings may be negatively impacted.

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We continuously reassess our strategic resource allocation choices in response to the changing business environment. If we do not adequately adapt to the changing business environment, we may lack the infrastructure and resources to scale up our business to meet customer expectations and compete successfully during a period of growth, or we may expand our capacity too rapidly and/or beyond what is appropriate for the actual demand environment.

Especially during transitional periods, resource allocation decisions can have a significant impact on our future performance, particularly if we have not accurately anticipated industry changes. Our success will depend, to a significant extent, on the ability of our executive officers and other members of our senior management to identify and respond to these challenges effectively.

Future Declines in the Semiconductor Industry, and the Overall World Economic Conditions on Which it is Significantly Dependent, Could Have a Material Adverse Impact on Our Results of Operations and Financial Condition

Our business depends on the capital equipment expenditures of semiconductor manufacturers, which in turn depend on the current and anticipated market demand for integrated circuits. The semiconductor industry is cyclical in nature and experiences periodic downturns. Global economic and business conditions, which are often unpredictable, have historically impacted customer demand for our products and normal commercial relationships with our customers, suppliers, and creditors. Additionally, in times of economic uncertainty our customers’ budgets for our products, or their ability to access credit to purchase them, could be adversely affected. This would limit their ability to purchase our products and services. As a result, economic downturns can cause material adverse changes to our results of operations and financial condition including, but not limited to:

Fluctuating levels of investment by semiconductor manufacturers may materially affect our aggregate shipments, revenues, operating results and earnings. Where appropriate, we will attempt to respond to these fluctuations with cost management programs aimed at aligning our expenditures with anticipated revenue streams, which sometimes result in restructuring charges. Even during periods of reduced revenues, we must continue to invest in R&D and maintain extensive ongoing worldwide customer service and support capabilities to remain competitive, which may temporarily harm our profitability and other financial results.

Our Quarterly Revenues and Operating Results Are Variable

Our revenues and operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter due to a number of factors, not all of which are in our control. We manage our expense levels based in part on our expectations of

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future revenues. Because our operating expenses are based in part on anticipated future revenues, and a certain amount of those expenses are relatively fixed, a change in the timing of recognition of revenue and/or the level of gross profit from a small number of transactions can unfavorably affect operating results in a particular quarter. Factors that may cause our financial results to fluctuate unpredictably include, but are not limited to:

We May Incur Impairments to Goodwill or Long-Lived Assets

We review our long-lived assets, including goodwill and other intangible assets, for impairment annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of these assets may not be recoverable. Negative industry or economic trends, including reduced market prices of our Common Stock, reduced estimates of future cash flows, disruptions to our business, slower growth rates, or lack of growth in our relevant business segments, could lead to impairment charges against our long-lived assets, including goodwill and other intangible assets. If, in any period, our stock price decreases to the point where our fair value, as determined by our market capitalization, is less than the book value of our assets, this could also indicate a potential impairment, and we may be required to record an impairment charge in that period, which could adversely affect our result of operations.

Our valuation methodology for assessing impairment requires management to make judgments and assumptions based on historical experience and to rely heavily on projections of future operating performance. We operate in a highly competitive environment and projections of future operating result and cash flows may vary significantly from actual results. Additionally, if our analysis indicates potential impairment to goodwill one or more of our business segments, we may be required to record additional charges to earnings in our financial statements, which could negatively affect our results of operations. As a result of historical performance and

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growth potential, our single-wafer clean systems reporting unit may be at greater risk for goodwill impairment than our other reporting units if our actual results for this reporting unit differ from our projections.

Our Leverage and Debt Service Obligations and Potential Note Conversion or Related Hedging Activities May Adversely Affect Our Financial Condition, Results of Operations and Earnings Per Share

As a result of the sale of our 2016 and 2018 convertible notes and the assumption of the 2041 convertible notes in connection with our acquisition of Novellus Systems, Inc. (collectively the “Notes”), we have a greater amount of debt than we have maintained in the past. Our maintenance of higher levels of indebtedness could have adverse consequences including:

Our ability to meet our expenses and debt obligations will depend on our future performance, which will be affected by financial, business, economic, regulatory and other factors. Furthermore, our operations may not generate sufficient cash flows to enable us to meet our expenses and service our debt. As a result, we may need to enter into new financing arrangements to obtain the necessary funds. If we determine it is necessary to seek additional funding for any reason, we may not be able to obtain such funding or, if funding is available, obtain it on acceptable terms. If we fail to make a payment on our debt, we could be in default on such debt, and this default could cause us to be in default on our other outstanding indebtedness.

Conversion of our Notes may cause dilution to our shareholders and to our earnings per share. Upon conversion of any Notes, we will deliver cash in the amount of the principal amount of the Notes and, with respect to any excess conversion value greater than the principal amount of the Notes, shares of our Common Stock, which would result in dilution to our shareholders. This dilution may be mitigated to some extent by the hedging transactions we entered into in connection with the sale of the 2016 and 2018 Notes or through share repurchases. Prior to the maturity of the Notes, if the price of our Common Stock exceeds the conversion price, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that we report an increase in diluted share count, which would result in lower reported earnings per share. The price of our Common Stock could also be affected by sales of our Common Stock by investors who view the Notes as a more attractive means of equity participation in our company and also by hedging activity that may develop involving our Common Stock by holders of the Notes.

Our Credit Agreements Contain Covenant Restrictions That May Limit Our Ability To Operate Our Business.

We may be unable to respond to changes in business and economic conditions, engage in transactions that might otherwise be beneficial to us, or obtain additional financing, because our debt agreements contain, and any of our other future similar agreements may contain, covenant restrictions that limit our ability to, among other things:

Our ability to comply with these covenants is dependent on our future performance, which will be subject to many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including prevailing economic conditions. In addition, our failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default under the Notes or our other debt, which could

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permit the holders to accelerate such debt. If any of our debt is accelerated, we may not have sufficient funds available to repay such debt, which could materially and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operation.

We Have a Limited Number of Key Customers

Sales to a limited number of large customers constitute a significant portion of our overall revenue, shipments, cash flows, collections and profitability. As a result, the actions of even one customer may subject us to variability in those areas that are difficult to predict. In addition, large customers may be able to negotiate requirements that result in decreased pricing; increased costs and/or lower margins for us; compliance to specific environmental, social and corporate governance standards; and limitations on our ability to share jointly developed technology with others. Similarly, significant portions of our credit risk may, at any given time, be concentrated among a limited number of customers, so that the failure of even one of these key customers to pay its obligations to us could significantly impact our financial results.

We Depend on New Products and Processes for Our Success. Consequently, We are Subject to Risks Associated with Rapid Technological Change

Rapid technological changes in semiconductor manufacturing processes subject us to increased pressure to develop technological advances that enable those processes. We believe that our future success depends in part upon our ability to develop and offer new products with improved capabilities and to continue to enhance our existing products. If new products have reliability, quality, or design problems, our performance may be impacted by reduced orders, higher manufacturing costs, delays in acceptance of and payment for new products, and additional service and warranty expenses. We may be unable to develop and manufacture new products successfully, or new products that we introduce may fail in the marketplace. The expected industry transition to a 450mm platform represents an emerging challenge for our business, and our failure to address that transition in a timely manner with productive and cost-effective products could adversely affect our business in a material way. Our failure to commercialize new products in a timely manner could result in loss of market share, unanticipated costs, and inventory obsolescence, which would adversely affect our financial results.

In order to develop new products and processes, we expect to continue to make significant investments in R&D and to pursue joint development relationships with customers, suppliers or other members of the industry. We must manage product transitions and joint development relationships successfully, as the introduction of new products could adversely affect our sales of existing products and certain jointly developed technologies may be subject to restrictions on our ability to share that technology with other customers, which could limit our market for products incorporating those technologies. Future technologies, processes or product developments may render our current product offerings obsolete, leaving us with non-competitive products, or obsolete inventory, or both. Moreover, customers may adopt new technologies or processes to address the complex challenges associated with next generation devices. This shift may result in a reduction in the size of our addressable markets or could increase the relative size of markets in which we either do not compete or have relatively low market share.

We are Subject to Risks Relating to Product Concentration and Lack of Product Revenue Diversification

We derive a substantial percentage of our revenues from a limited number of products. System sales constitute a significant portion of our total revenue. Our systems are priced up to approximately $9 million per system, and our revenues in any given quarter are dependent upon customer acceptance of a limited number of systems. As a result, the inability to recognize revenue on even a few systems can cause a significantly adverse impact on our revenues for a given quarter, and, in the longer term, the continued market acceptance of these products is critical to our future success. Our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows could therefore be adversely affected by:

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In addition, the fact that we offer limited product lines creates the risk that our customers may view us as less important to their business than our competitors that offer additional products. This may impact our ability to maintain or expand our business with certain customers. Such product concentration may also subject us to additional risks associated with technology changes. Our business is affected by our customers’ use of our products in certain steps in their wafer fabrication processes. Should technologies change so that the manufacture of semiconductors requires fewer steps using our products, this could have a larger impact on our business than it would on the business of our less concentrated competitors.

Strategic Alliances and Customer Consolidation May Have Negative Effects on Our Business

Increasingly, semiconductor manufacturing companies are entering into strategic alliances or consolidating with one another to expedite the development of processes and other manufacturing technologies and/or achieve economies of scale. The outcomes of such an alliance can be the definition of a particular tool set for a certain function and/or the standardization of a series of process steps that use a specific set of manufacturing equipment; while the outcomes of consolidation can lead to an overall reduction in the market for semiconductor manufacturing equipment as customers’ operations achieve economies of scale and/or increased purchasing power based on their higher volumes. In certain instances this could work to our disadvantage if a competitor’s tools or equipment become the standard equipment for such functions or processes. Some semiconductor manufacturing companies are also consolidating. Additional outcomes of such consolidation may include our customers: (i) re-evaluating their future supplier relationships to consider other competitors’ products and/or (ii) gaining additional influence over the pricing of products and the control of intellectual property.

Similarly, our customers may partner with, or follow the lead of, educational or research institutions that establish processes for accomplishing various tasks or manufacturing steps. If those institutions utilize a competitor’s equipment when they establish those processes, it is likely that customers will tend to use the same equipment in setting up their own manufacturing lines. Even if they select our equipment, the institutions and the customers that follow their lead could impose conditions on acceptance of that equipment, such as adherence to standards and requirements or limitations on how we license our proprietary rights that increase our costs or require us to take on greater risk. These actions could adversely impact our market share and financial results.

We Depend On a Limited Number of Key Suppliers and Outsource Providers, and We Run the Risk That They Might Not Perform as We Expect

Outsource providers and component suppliers have played and will continue to play a key role in our manufacturing operations and in many of our transactional and administrative functions, such as information technology, facilities management, and certain elements of our finance organization. These providers and suppliers might suffer financial setbacks, be acquired by third parties, become subject to exclusivity arrangements that preclude further business with us or suffer force majeure events that could interrupt or impair their continued ability to perform as we expect.

Although we attempt to select reputable providers and suppliers, and we attempt to secure their performance on terms documented in written contracts, it is possible that one or more of these providers or suppliers could fail

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to perform as we expect, and such failure could have an adverse impact on our business. In some cases, the requirements of our business mandate that we obtain certain components and sub-assemblies included in our products from a single supplier or a limited group of suppliers. Where practical, we endeavor to establish alternative sources to mitigate the risk that the failure of any single provider or supplier will adversely affect our business, but this is not feasible in all circumstances. There is therefore a risk that a prolonged inability to obtain certain components or secure key services could impair our ability to manage operations, ship products and generate revenues, which could adversely affect our operating results and damage our customer relationships.

We Face Risks Related to the Disruption of Our Primary Manufacturing Facilities

Our manufacturing facilities are concentrated in just a few locations. These locations are subject to disruption for a variety of reasons such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, disruptions of our information technology resources and utility interruptions. Such disruptions may cause delays in shipping our products which could result in the loss of business or customer trust, adversely affecting our business and operating results.

Once a Semiconductor Manufacturer Commits to Purchase a Competitor’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment, the Manufacturer Typically Continues to Purchase that Competitor’s Equipment, Making it More Difficult for Us to Sell Our Equipment to that Customer

Semiconductor manufacturers must make a substantial investment to qualify and integrate wafer processing equipment into a semiconductor production line. We believe that once a semiconductor manufacturer selects a particular supplier’s processing equipment, the manufacturer generally relies upon that equipment for that specific production line application for an extended period of time. Accordingly, we expect it to be more difficult to sell our products to a given customer if that customer initially selects a competitor’s equipment for the same product line application.

We Face a Challenging and Complex Competitive Environment

We face significant competition from multiple competitors and with the pending merger of two of our largest competitors we may face increasing competitive pressures. Other companies continue to develop systems and products that are competitive to ours and may introduce new products, which may affect our ability to sell our existing products. We face a greater risk if our competitors enter into strategic relationships with leading semiconductor manufacturers covering products similar to those we sell or may develop, as this could adversely affect our ability to sell products to those manufacturers.

We believe that to remain competitive we must devote significant financial resources to offer a broad range of products, to maintain customer service and support centers worldwide, and to invest in product and process R&D. Certain of our competitors, including those that are created and financially backed by foreign governments, have substantially greater financial resources and more extensive engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and customer service and support resources than we do and therefore have the potential to offer customers a more comprehensive array of products and to therefore increasingly dominate the semiconductor equipment industry. These competitors may deeply discount or give away products similar to those that we sell, challenging or even exceeding our ability to make similar accommodations and threatening our ability to sell those products. We also face competition from our own customers, who in some instances have established affiliated entities that manufacture equipment similar to ours. For these reasons, we may fail to continue to compete successfully worldwide.

In addition, our competitors may be able to develop products comparable or superior to those we offer or may adapt more quickly to new technologies or evolving customer requirements. In particular, while we continue to develop product enhancements that we believe will address future customer requirements, we may fail in a timely manner to complete the development or introduction of these additional product enhancements successfully, or these product enhancements may not achieve market acceptance or be competitive. Accordingly, competition may intensify, and we may be unable to continue to compete successfully in our markets, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, operating results, financial condition, and/or cash flows.

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Our Future Success Depends Heavily on International Sales and the Management of Global Operations

Non-U.S. sales accounted for approximately 86% of total revenue in fiscal 2014, 80% of total revenue in fiscal year 2013, and 83% of total revenue in fiscal year 2012. We expect that international sales will continue to account for a substantial majority of our total revenue in future years.

We are subject to various challenges related to international sales and the management of global operations including, but not limited to:

Certain international sales depend on our ability to obtain export licenses from the U.S. government. Our failure or inability to obtain such licenses would substantially limit our markets and severely restrict our revenues. Many of the challenges noted above are applicable in China, which is a fast developing market for the semiconductor equipment industry and therefore an area of potential significant growth for our business. As the business volume between China and the rest of the world grows, there is inherent risk, based on the complex relationships among China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, that political and diplomatic influences might lead to trade disruptions. This would adversely affect our business with China, Taiwan, Japan, and/or South Korea and perhaps the entire Asia Pacific region. A significant trade disruption in these areas could have a materially adverse impact on our future revenue and profits.

We are potentially exposed to adverse as well as beneficial movements in foreign currency exchange rates. The majority of our sales and expenses are denominated in U.S. dollars. However, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations primarily related to revenues denominated in Japanese yen and expenses denominated in euro. Currently, we enter into foreign currency forward contracts to minimize the short-term impact of the foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on certain foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities; primarily third party accounts receivables, accounts payables and intercompany receivables and payables. In addition, we hedge certain anticipated foreign currency cash flows, primarily anticipated revenues denominated in Japanese yen and euro-denominated expenses. We believe these are our primary exposures to currency rate fluctuation. We expect to continue to enter into hedging transactions, for the purposes outlined, for the foreseeable future. However, these hedging transactions may not achieve their desired effect because differences between the actual timing of the underlying exposures and our forecasts of those exposures may leave us either over-or under-hedged on any given transaction. Moreover, by hedging these foreign currency denominated revenues, expenses, monetary assets and liabilities with foreign currency forward contracts, we may miss favorable currency trends that would have been advantageous to us but for the hedges. Additionally, we are exposed to short-term foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on non-U.S. dollar-denominated monetary

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assets and liabilities (other than those currency exposures previously discussed) and currently we do not enter into foreign currency hedge contracts against these exposures. Therefore, we are subject to both favorable and unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations to the extent that we transact business (including intercompany transactions) for these currencies.

The magnitude of our overseas business also affects where our cash is generated. Certain uses of cash, such as share repurchases or the repayment of our convertible notes, can usually only be made with cash balances and cash generated on-shore. Since the majority of our cash is generated outside of the United States, this may limit certain business decisions and adversely affect business outcomes.

Our Ability to Attract, Retain and Motivate Key Employees Is Critical to Our Success

Our ability to compete successfully depends in large part on our ability to attract, retain and motivate key employees. This is an ongoing challenge due to intense competition for top talent, as well as fluctuations in industry economic conditions that may require cycles of hiring activity and workforce reductions. Our success in hiring depends on a variety of factors, including the attractiveness of our compensation and benefit programs and our ability to offer a challenging and rewarding work environment. We periodically evaluate our overall compensation programs and make adjustments, as appropriate, to maintain or enhance their competitiveness. If we are not able to successfully attract, retain and motivate key employees, we may be unable to capitalize on market opportunities and our operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

We Rely Upon Certain Critical Information Systems for the Operation of Our Business

We maintain and rely upon certain critical information systems for the effective operation of our business. These information systems include telecommunications, the internet, our corporate intranet, various computer hardware and software applications, network communications, and e-mail. These information systems may be owned and maintained by us, our outsourced providers or third parties such as vendors and contractors. Many of these outsourced service providers, including certain hosted software applications that we use for confidential data storage, employ “cloud computing” technology for such storage (which refers to an information technology hosting and delivery system in which data is not stored within the user’s physical infrastructure but instead are delivered to and consumed by the user as an Internet-based service). All of these information systems are subject to attacks, failures, and access denials from a number of potential sources including viruses, destructive or inadequate code, power failures, and physical damage to computers, hard drives, communication lines, and networking equipment. Confidential and/or sensitive information stored on these information systems could be intentionally or unintentionally compromised, lost and/or stolen. While we have implemented security procedures, such as virus protection software and emergency recovery processes, to mitigate the outlined risks with respect to information systems that are under our control, they cannot be guaranteed to be failsafe and our inability to use or access these information systems at critical points in time, or unauthorized releases of confidential information, could unfavorably impact the timely and efficient operation of our business.

Our Financial Results May be Adversely Impacted by Higher than Expected Tax Rates or Exposure to Additional Tax Liabilities

As a global company, our effective tax rate is highly dependent upon the geographic composition of worldwide earnings and tax regulations governing each region. We are subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions, and significant judgment is required to determine worldwide tax liabilities. Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by changes in the split of earnings between countries with differing statutory tax rates, in the valuation of deferred tax assets, in tax laws, by material audit assessments, or changes in or expirations of agreements with tax authorities. These factors could affect our profitability. In particular, the carrying value of deferred tax assets, which are predominantly in the United States, is dependent on our ability to generate future taxable income in the United States. In addition, the amount of income taxes we pay is subject to ongoing audits in various jurisdictions, and a material assessment by a governing tax authority could affect our profitability.

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A Failure to Comply with Environmental Regulations May Adversely Affect Our Operating Results

We are subject to a variety of governmental regulations related to the handling, discharge, and disposal of toxic, volatile or otherwise hazardous chemicals. We believe that we are generally in compliance with these regulations and that we have obtained (or will obtain or are otherwise addressing the need for) all environmental permits necessary to conduct our business. These permits generally relate to the handling and disposal of hazardous wastes. Nevertheless, the failure to comply with present or future regulations could result in fines being imposed on us, require us to suspend production, or cease operations or cause our customers to not accept our products. These regulations could require us to alter our current operations, to acquire significant additional equipment or to incur substantial other expenses to comply with environmental regulations. Any failure to comply with regulations governing the use, handling, sale, transport or disposal of hazardous substances could subject us to future liabilities.

If We Choose to Acquire or Dispose of Businesses, Product Lines and Technologies, We May Encounter Unforeseen Costs and Difficulties That Could Impair Our Financial Performance

An important element of our management strategy is to review acquisition prospects that would complement our existing products, augment our market coverage and distribution ability, or enhance our technological capabilities. As a result, we may make acquisitions of complementary companies, products or technologies, or we may reduce or dispose of certain product lines or technologies that no longer fit our long-term strategies. Managing an acquired business, disposing of product technologies or reducing personnel entail numerous operational and financial risks, including difficulties in assimilating acquired operations and new personnel or separating existing business or product groups, diversion of management’s attention away from other business concerns, amortization of acquired intangible assets, adverse customer reaction to our decision to cease support for a product, and potential loss of key employees or customers of acquired or disposed operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve and manage successfully any such integration of potential acquisitions, disposition of product lines or technologies, or reduction in personnel or that our management, personnel, or systems will be adequate to support continued operations. Any such inabilities or inadequacies could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows.

In addition, any acquisition could result in changes such as potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, the amortization of related intangible assets, and goodwill impairment charges, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations and/or the price of our Common Stock.

The Market for Our Common Stock is Volatile, Which May Affect Our Ability to Raise Capital, Make Acquisitions, or Subject Our Business to Additional Costs

The market price for our Common Stock is volatile and has fluctuated significantly over the past years. The trading price of our Common Stock could continue to be highly volatile and fluctuate widely in response to a variety of factors, many of which are not within our control or influence. These factors include but are not limited to the following:

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In addition, the stock market experiences significant price and volume fluctuations. Historically, we have witnessed significant volatility in the price of our Common Stock due in part to the price of and markets for semiconductors. These and other factors have and may again adversely affect the price of our Common Stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In the past, following volatile periods in the price of their stock, many companies became the object of securities class action litigation. If we are sued in a securities class action, we could incur substantial costs, and it could divert management’s attention and resources and have an unfavorable impact on our financial performance and the price for our Common Stock.

Intellectual Property, Indemnity and Other Claims Against Us Can be Costly and We Could Lose Significant Rights That are Necessary to Our Continued Business and Profitability

Third parties may assert infringement, unfair competition, product liability, breach of contract, or other claims against us. From time to time, other parties send us notices alleging that our products infringe their patent or other intellectual property rights. In addition, law enforcement authorities may seek criminal charges relating to intellectual property or other issues. We also face risks of claims arising from commercial and other relationships. In addition, our Bylaws and other indemnity obligations provide that we will indemnify officers and directors against losses that they may incur in legal proceedings resulting from their service to us. From time to time, in the normal course of business, we indemnify third parties with whom we enter into contractual relationships, including customers and suppliers, with respect to certain matters. We have agreed, under certain conditions, to hold these third parties harmless against specified losses, such as those arising from a breach of representations or covenants, other third party claims that our products when used for their intended purposes infringe the intellectual property rights of such other third parties, or other claims made against certain parties. In such cases, it is our policy either to defend the claims or to negotiate licenses or other settlements on commercially reasonable terms. However, we may be unable in the future to negotiate necessary licenses or reach agreement on other settlements on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, and any litigation resulting from these claims by other parties may materially adversely affect our business and financial results, and we may be subject to substantial damage awards and penalties. Moreover, although we have insurance to protect us from certain claims and cover certain losses to our property, such insurance may not cover us for the full amount of any losses, or at all, and may be subject to substantial exclusions and deductibles.

We May Fail to Protect Our Critical Proprietary Technology Rights, Which Could Affect Our Business

Our success depends in part on our proprietary technology and our ability to protect key components of that technology through patents, copyrights and trade secret protection. Protecting our key proprietary technology helps us to achieve our goals of developing technological expertise and new products and systems that give us a competitive advantage; increasing market penetration and growth of our installed base; and providing comprehensive support and service to our customers. As part of our strategy to protect our technology we currently hold a number of U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications, and we keep certain information, processes and techniques as trade secrets. However, other parties may challenge or attempt to invalidate or circumvent any patents the United States or foreign governments issue to us, these governments may fail to issue patents for pending applications, or we may lose trade secret protection over valuable information due to the intentional or unintentional actions or omissions of third parties, of ours or even our own employees. Additionally, intellectual property litigation can be expensive and time-consuming and even when patents are issued or trade secret processes are followed, the legal systems in certain of the countries in which we

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do business do not enforce patents and other intellectual property rights as rigorously as the United States. The rights granted or anticipated under any of our patents, pending patent applications or trade secrets may be narrower than we expect or, in fact, provide no competitive advantages. Moreover, because we determine the jurisdictions in which to file patents at the time of filing, we may not have adequate protection in the future based on such previous decisions. Any of these circumstances could have a material adverse impact on our business.

We Are Exposed to Various Risks from Our Regulatory Environment

We are subject to various risks related to (i) new, different, inconsistent or even conflicting laws, rules and regulations that may be enacted by legislative bodies and/or regulatory agencies in the countries that we operate; (ii) disagreements or disputes between national or regional regulatory agencies related to international trade; and (iii) the interpretation and application of laws, rules and regulations. As a public company with global operations, we are subject to the laws of multiple jurisdictions and the rules and regulations of various governing bodies, including those related to financial and other disclosures, corporate governance, privacy, anti-corruption, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials, and antitrust regulations, among others. One of these laws imposes new disclosure requirements regarding the use of certain minerals, which may have originated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries in our products. This new requirement could affect the pricing, sourcing and availability of minerals used in the manufacture of components we use in our products. In addition, there will be additional costs associated with complying with the disclosure requirements, such as costs related to determining the source of any of the covered minerals used in our products. Our supply chain is complex, and we may be unable to verify the origins for all metals used in our products. Financial reform legislation and the regulations enacted under such legislation have also added costs to our business by, among other things, requiring advisory votes on executive compensation and on severance packages upon a change in control.

To maintain high standards of corporate governance and public disclosure, we intend to invest all reasonably necessary resources to comply with all evolving standards. Changes in or ambiguous interpretations of laws, regulations and standards may create uncertainty regarding compliance matters. Efforts to comply with new and changing regulations have resulted in, and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue generating activities to compliance activities. If we are found by a court or regulatory agency not to be in compliance with the laws and regulations, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

There Can Be No Assurance That We Will Continue To Declare Cash Dividends Or Repurchase Our Shares At All Or In Any Particular Amounts.

Our Board of Directors announced its plans to declare a quarterly dividend on April 29, 2014, with the first dividend payment paid on July 2, 2014. In addition, on April 29, 2014, we announced that our Board of Directors has authorized the Company to repurchase up to $850 million of common stock, which includes the remaining value available under the prior authorization of $250 million. Our intent to continue to pay quarterly dividends and to repurchase our shares is subject to capital availability and, in the case of dividends, periodic determinations by our Board of Directors that cash dividends are in the best interest of our stockholders and are in compliance with all laws and agreements applicable to the declaration and payment of cash dividends by us. Future dividends and share repurchases may also be affected by, among other factors: our views on potential future capital requirements for investments in acquisitions and the funding of our research and development; legal risks; stock repurchase programs; changes in federal and state income tax laws or corporate laws; and changes to our business model. Our dividend payments and share repurchases may change from time to time, and we cannot provide assurance that we will continue to declare dividends or repurchase shares at all or in any particular amounts. A reduction or suspension in our dividend payments or share repurchase activity could have a negative effect on our stock price.

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None.

Our executive offices and principal operating and R&D facilities are located in Fremont, Livermore, and San Jose, California, Tualatin, Oregon, and Villach, Austria. The Fremont and Livermore facilities are held under operating leases expiring in 2020, the San Jose and Tualatin facilities are owned by the Company, and the Villach facilities are held under capital leases expiring in 2016. Our Fremont, Livermore, and Villach leases generally include options to renew or purchase the facilities. In addition, we lease or own properties for our service, technical support and sales personnel throughout the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Asia Pacific and lease or own manufacturing facilities located in Illinois, Ohio, Germany, and Korea. Our facilities lease obligations are subject to periodic increases. We believe that our existing facilities are well-maintained and in good operating condition.

The Company is either a defendant or plaintiff in various actions that have arisen from time to time in the normal course of business, including intellectual property claims. The Company accrues for a liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Significant judgment is required in both the determination of probability and the determination as to whether a loss is reasonably estimable. These accruals are reviewed at least quarterly and adjusted to reflect the effects of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other information and events pertaining to a particular matter. To the extent there is a reasonable possibility that the losses could exceed the amounts already accrued, the Company believes that the amount of any such additional loss would be immaterial to the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Stock Information

Our Common Stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol LRCX. As of August 20, 2014 we had 490 stockholders of record. In fiscal year 2014, we announced the initiation of a quarterly dividend and declared a dividend of $0.18 per share to our stockholders payable in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015. In fiscal year 2013 we did not declare or pay cash dividends to our stockholders. The table below sets forth the high and low prices of our Common Stock as reported by The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, for the period indicated:

Repurchase of Company Shares

On April 22, 2013, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million of Common Stock. In addition, on April 29, 2014, the Board of Directors authorized the Company to repurchase up to $850 million of common stock, which includes the remaining value available under the Company’s prior authorization of $250 million. These repurchases can be conducted on the open market or as private purchases and may include the use of derivative contracts with large financial institutions, in all cases subject to compliance with applicable law. Repurchases will be funded using the Company’s on-shore cash and on-shore cash generation. This repurchase program has no termination date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

As part of our share repurchase program, we may from time-to-time enter into structured share repurchase arrangements with financial institutions using general corporate funds. Such arrangements entered into or settled during the year ended June 29, 2014 included the following:

Collared Accelerated Share Repurchases

During the year ended June 29, 2014, the Company entered into and settled a collared accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”) transaction under a master repurchase arrangement. Under the ASR, the Company made an up-front cash payment of $75 million, in exchange for an initial delivery of 1.2 million shares of its Common Stock and a subsequent delivery of 0.3 million shares following the initial hedge period.

The number of shares to ultimately be repurchased by us is based generally on the volume-weighted average price (“VWAP”) of the Common Stock during the term of the ASR minus a pre-determined discount set at inception of the ASR, subject to collar provisions that provide a minimum and maximum number of shares that we could repurchase under the agreements. The minimum and maximum thresholds for the transaction were established based on the average of the VWAP prices for the Common Stock during an initial hedge period. At

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the conclusion of the ASR, we could have received additional shares based on the VWAP of the Common Stock during the term of the agreement minus the pre-determined fixed discount; however the total number of shares received under the ASR would not exceed the maximum of 1.7 million shares.

The counterparty designated October 28, 2013 as the termination date, at which time we settled the ASR. No additional shares were received at final settlement, which represented a weighted-average share price of approximately $50.40 for the transaction period.

The Company accounted for the ASR as two separate transactions: (a) as shares of Common Stock acquired in a treasury stock transaction recorded on the acquisition date and (b) as a forward contract indexed to its own Common Stock and classified in stockholders’ equity. As such, the Company accounted for the shares that we received under the ASR as a repurchase of our Common Stock for the purpose of calculating earnings per common share. We had determined that the forward contract indexed to the Common Stock met all of the applicable criteria for equity classification in accordance with the Derivatives and Hedging topic of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification, and, therefore, the ASR was not accounted for as a derivative instrument. As of June 29, 2014, the aggregate repurchase price of $75 million was reflected as Treasury stock, at cost, in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Share repurchases, including those under the repurchase program, were as follows:

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Cumulative 5-year Return

The graph below compares Lam Research Corporation’s cumulative 5-year total shareholder return on Common Stock with the cumulative total returns of the NASDAQ Composite index and the Research Data Group, Incorporated (“RDG”) Semiconductor Composite index. The graph tracks the performance of a $100 investment in our Common Stock and in each of the indices (with the reinvestment of all dividends) from June 30, 2009 to June 30, 2014.

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The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value and effect. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to those discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this 2014 Form 10-K and other documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in Part I of this 2014 Form 10-K).

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) provides a description of our results of operations and should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this 2014 Form 10-K. MD&A consists of the following sections:

Executive Summary provides a summary of the key highlights of our results of operations and our management’s assessment of material trends and uncertainties relevant to our business.

Results of Operations provides an analysis of operating results.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates discusses accounting policies that reflect the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

Liquidity and Capital Resources provides an analysis of cash flows, contractual obligations and financial position.

Executive Summary

Lam Research has been an innovative supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry for more than 30 years. Our customers include semiconductor manufacturers that make memory, microprocessors, and other logic integrated circuits for a wide range of electronics; including cell phones, computers, storage devices and networking equipment.

Our market-leading products are designed to help our customers build the smaller, faster and more power-efficient devices that are necessary to power the capabilities required by end users. The process of integrated circuits fabrication consists of a complex series of process and preparation steps and Lam’s product offerings in deposition, etch and clean address a number of the most critical steps in the fabrication process. We leverage our expertise in semiconductor processing to develop technology and productivity solutions that typically benefit our customers through lower defect rates, enhanced yields, faster processing time, and reduced cost as well as by facilitating their ability to meet more stringent performance and design standards.

The semiconductor capital equipment industry has been highly competitive and subject to business cycles that historically have been characterized by rapid changes in demand. More recently with consolidation in the customer base, the cyclical behavior appears to have diminished somewhat. With a reduced number of customers, variability in their business plans may lead to changes in demand for Lam’s equipment and services over certain periods. The variability in our customers’ investments during any particular period is dependent on several factors including but not limited to electronics demand, economic conditions (both general and in the semiconductor and electronics industries), industry supply and demand, prices for semiconductors, and our customers’ ability to develop and manufacture increasingly complex and costly semiconductor devices.

Demand for our products increased steadily throughout fiscal year 2014 as semiconductor device manufacturers made capacity and technology investments. Technology inflections have been in industry inflection points that include FinFET transistors, 3-D NAND and multiple patterning. These technology inflections have led to an increase in the deposition, etch and clean market size. This increase, as well as market share gains in these inflections, have contributed to the increased revenue in fiscal 2014. We believe that, over the longer term, demand for our products should increase as the proportion of customers’ capital expenditures rise in these technology inflection areas, and we continue to gain market share.

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The following summarizes certain key annual financial information for the periods indicated below:

On June 4, 2012, we completed our acquisition of Novellus Systems, Inc (“Novellus”). Results for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 include Novellus operations. Results for fiscal year 2012 include Novellus operations from the acquisition date through June 24, 2012. Lam’s primary reasons for this acquisition were to complement existing product offerings and to provide opportunities for revenue growth and cost synergies.

Fiscal year 2014 revenues increased 28% compared to fiscal year 2013, reflecting the increase in technology inflections’ spending, as well as, incremental market share gains. The increase in gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the fiscal year 2014 compared to fiscal year 2013 was due primarily to a decrease in Novellus acquisition-related inventory fair value adjustments, improved business volumes and product mix. Operating expenses in fiscal year 2014 increased as compared to fiscal year 2013 primarily related to continued investments in the next-generation research and development and customer facing activities.

Our cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, and restricted cash and investments balances totaled approximately $3.2 billion as of June 29, 2014 compared to $2.7 billion as of June 30, 2013. This increase was primarily the result of $717 million of cash flows from operating activities, offset by $245 million in share repurchases. This compares to $720 million in cash provided by operating activities during fiscal year 2013.

Results of Operations

Shipments and Backlog

Shipments for fiscal year 2014 were approximately $4.6 billion and increased by 23% compared to fiscal year 2013. Shipments for fiscal year 2013 were approximately $3.7 billion and increased by 39% compared to fiscal year 2012. The increase in shipments during fiscal year 2014 as compared to fiscal year 2013 related to continued strengthening of customer demand through fiscal year 2014. The increase in shipments during fiscal year 2013 as compared to fiscal year 2012 related to having a full year of combined operations with Novellus and the strengthening of customer demand in the second half of fiscal year 2013.

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The percentage of total semiconductor processing system shipments to each of the market segments we serve were as follows for fiscal years 2014, 2013, and 2012.

During fiscal year 2014, memory customer demand was higher due to node transitions in memory manufacturing, stable pricing for memory, and tight industry supply.

Unshipped orders in backlog as of June 29, 2014 were approximately $866 million and increased from approximately $764 million as of June 30, 2013. Our unshipped orders backlog includes orders for systems, spares, and services. Please refer to “Backlog” in Part I Item 1, “Business” of this report for a description of our policies for adding to and adjusting backlog.

Revenue

The revenue increase in fiscal year 2014 as compared to fiscal year 2013 reflected increased customer and industry demand. The revenue increase in fiscal year 2013 as compared to fiscal year 2012 reflected a full fiscal year of operations post-acquisition of Novellus. Our revenue levels are generally correlated to the amount of shipments and our installation and acceptance timelines. The overall Asia region continues to account for a majority of our revenues as a substantial amount of the worldwide capacity additions for semiconductor manufacturing continues to occur in this region. Our deferred revenue balance was $361.6 million as of June 29, 2014 compared to $389.2 million as of June 30, 2013. Our deferred revenue balance does not include shipments to Japanese customers, to whom title does not transfer until customer acceptance. Shipments to Japanese customers are classified as inventory at cost until the time of customer acceptance. The anticipated future revenue value from shipments to Japanese customers was approximately $34 million as of June 29, 2014 compared to $70 million as of June 30, 2013.

Gross Margin

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The increase in gross margin as a percentage of revenue for fiscal year 2014 compared to fiscal year 2013 was due to higher business volumes as well as a more favorable product mix. Additionally, the Novellus acquisition related inventory fair value impact and cost associated with rationalization of certain product configurations decreased by $78 million and $15 million, respectively, in fiscal year 2014 as compared to fiscal year 2013.

The decrease in gross margin as a percentage of revenue for fiscal year 2013 compared to fiscal year 2012 was due primarily to higher Novellus acquisition-related inventory fair value adjustments of approximately $77 million, amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately $78 million, and $16 million of costs associated with rationalization of certain product configurations. Offsetting these higher Novellus acquisition and product configuration-related expenses was a favorable change in gross margin as a result of increased business volume.

Research and Development

We continued to make significant R&D investments focused on leading-edge deposition, plasma etch, single-wafer clean and other semiconductor manufacturing requirements. The increase in R&D expense during fiscal year 2014 compared to fiscal year 2013 was primarily due to a $41 million increase in salaries and benefits related to higher headcount and higher incentive and equity compensation offset by a reduction of $7 million in supplies.

The increase in R&D spending during fiscal year 2013 compared to fiscal year 2012 reflects a full year of combined operations with Novellus. Increased R&D expense included $111 million in salary and benefits mainly due to higher headcount, $46 million in supplies, $26 million in depreciation and amortization due to new product development, $15 million in outside services, and an additional $12 million in rent, utilities and repairs.

Selling, General and Administrative

The increase in SG&A expense during fiscal year 2014 compared to fiscal year 2013 was due primarily to a net increase of $11 million in salaries, benefits and incentive compensation, $20 million increase in marketing expenses and outside services, $7 million in costs associated with rationalization of certain product configurations, $8 million of impairment of a long lived asset, and a $5 million cost related to the renewal of our Fremont and Livermore buildings’ operating leases. This increase was offset by a $34 million reduction in integration costs and a $10 million reduction in amortization of intangible assets related to the Novellus integration.

The increase in SG&A expense during fiscal year 2013 compared to fiscal year 2012 was due primarily to the impact of combined operations with Novellus. Increased expense includes $108 million in salary and benefits

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due to a higher headcount, $73 million of intangible asset amortization, $29 million in integration cost, and $14 million in rent/repair/utilities, all offset by a $47 million decrease in Novellus acquisition-related cost.

Gain on Sale of Real Estate

During the fiscal year 2014, we sold our interest in nonessential property in Palo Alto, California, resulting in $135 million in net proceeds and a realized gain of $83 million from the transaction.

Other Expense, Net

Other expense, net, consisted of the following: