Proto Labs Inc - Quarter Report: 2019 September (Form 10-Q)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

Note 1 – Basis of Presentation

The unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements of Proto Labs, Inc. (Protolabs, the Company, we, us or our) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, the accompanying financial statements reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s statements of financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. Except as otherwise disclosed herein, these adjustments consist of normal, recurring items. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the fiscal year as a whole.

The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and the related disclosures at the date of the financial statements and during the reporting period. Actual results could materially differ from these estimates. For further information, refer to the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended  December 31, 2018 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 22, 2019.

The accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2018 was derived from the audited Consolidated Financial Statements but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP for a full set of financial statements. This Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 22, 2019 as referenced above.

Note 2 – Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

During the first quarter of 2019, the Company adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02, Leases (ASC 842), which introduces the balance sheet recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous guidance. The Company has adopted the new lease standard using the new transition option issued under the amendments in ASU 2018-11, Leases, which allowed the Company to continue to apply the legacy guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 840, Leases, in the comparative periods presented in the year of adoption. The Company elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard, which among other things, allowed the Company to carry forward the historical lease classification. The Company made an accounting policy election to keep leases with an initial term of 12 months or less off of the balance sheet. The Company will recognize those lease payments in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The impact of the adoption was an increase to the Company’s operating lease assets and liabilities on January 1, 2019 of $13.1 million.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other, which is intended to simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill. This guidance will be effective for impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the impact to be material.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, which is intended to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments held by a reporting entity at each reporting date. This guidance will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of future adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements, but does not expect the impact to be material.  

Note 3 – Net Income per Common Share

Basic net income per share is computed based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net income per share is computed based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, increased by the number of additional shares that would have been outstanding had potentially dilutive common shares been issued and reduced by the number of shares the Company could have repurchased from the proceeds from issuance of the potentially dilutive shares. Potentially dilutive shares of common stock include stock options, restricted stock units and restricted stock awards granted under stock-based compensation plans and shares committed to be purchased under the employee stock purchase plan. Performance stock units are excluded from the calculation of dilutive potential common shares until the performance conditions have been satisfied.

The table below sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net income per share:

Note 4 – Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

There were no changes in the carrying amount of Goodwill during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019.

Intangible assets other than goodwill at  September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows:

Amortization expense for intangible assets was $0.9 million and $0.8 million for the three months ended  September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $2.6 million and $2.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Estimated aggregated amortization expense based on the current carrying value of the amortizable intangible assets is as follows:

Note 5 – Fair Value Measurements

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement (ASC 820), defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. ASC 820 also establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires classification based on observable and unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. There are three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1—Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2—Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The Company’s cash consists of bank deposits. The Company’s cash equivalents measured at fair value consist of money market mutual funds. The Company determines the fair value of these investments using Level 1 inputs.

The following table summarizes financial assets as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 measured at fair value on a recurring basis: 

Note 6 – Marketable Securities

The Company invests in short-term and long-term agency, municipal, corporate and other debt securities. The securities are categorized as held-to-maturity and are recorded at amortized cost. Categorization as held-to-maturity is based on the Company’s ability and intent to hold these securities to maturity. The following table summarizes information regarding the Company’s short-term and long-term marketable securities as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

Fair values for the corporate debt securities are primarily determined based on quoted market prices (Level 1). Fair values for the U.S. municipal securities, U.S. government agency securities, certificates of deposit and U.S. treasury securities are primarily determined using dealer quotes or quoted market prices for similar securities (Level 2).

The Company tests for other-than-temporary losses on a quarterly basis and has considered the unrealized losses indicated above to be temporary in nature. In reaching this conclusion, the Company considered the credit quality of the issuers of the debt securities as well as the Company’s intent to hold the investments to maturity and recover the full principal.

Classification of marketable securities as current or non-current is based upon the security’s maturity date as of the date of these financial statements.

The September 30, 2019 balance of held-to-maturity debt securities by contractual maturity is shown in the following table at amortized cost. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because the issuers of the securities may have the right to prepay obligations without prepayment penalties.

Note 7 – Inventory

Inventory consists primarily of raw materials, which are recorded at the lower of cost or market using the average-cost method, which approximates first-in, first-out (FIFO) cost. The Company periodically reviews its inventory for slow-moving, damaged and discontinued items and provides allowances to reduce such items identified to their recoverable amounts.

The Company’s inventory consisted of the following as of the dates indicated:

Note 8 – Leases

The Company’s significant accounting policies are disclosed in Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. Significant changes to the Company’s accounting policies as a result of adopting ASC 842 are discussed below.

The Company accounts for leases in accordance with ASC 842. The Company adopted the standard as of  January 1, 2019, using the alternative transition method provided under ASC 842, which allowed the Company to initially apply the new lease standard at the adoption date (the "effective date method"). Under the effective date method, comparative periods are presented in accordance with ASC 840 and do not include any retrospective adjustments to reflect the adoption of ASC 842. The Company elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard. The Company did not elect the hindsight practical expedient. The Company recorded a net increase of $13.1 million to its operating lease assets and liabilities on January 1, 2019. The adoption did not result in a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The adoption of ASC 842 did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated statements of comprehensive income, shareholders' equity or cash flows as of the adoption date.

The Company has operating leases for office space, manufacturing facilities and certain company vehicles and equipment. The leases have remaining lease terms of one year to 10 years. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet; we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. For purposes of calculating operating lease liabilities, lease terms may be deemed to include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. As of September 30, 2019, the operating lease liability does not include any options to extend or terminate leases. The Company currently has no finance leases.

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in operating lease assets, current operating lease liabilities and long-term operating lease liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are recognized based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. The majority of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate of return, therefore, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. Lease agreements that contain non-lease components, with the exception of certain real estate leases, are accounted for as a single lease component.

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows:

Lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, with variable payments recognized in the period those payments are incurred. The components of lease expense for the periods reported were as follows:

Maturities of operating lease liabilities as of September 30, 2019 (in accordance with ASC 842) were as follows:

As of September 30, 2019, we have no operating leases that have not yet commenced.

Weighted average remaining lease term and discount rate was as follows: 

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:

Note 9 – Stock-Based Compensation

Under the Company’s 2012 Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended (the 2012 Plan), the Company has the ability to grant stock options, stock appreciation rights (SARs), restricted stock, restricted stock units, other stock-based awards and cash incentive awards. Awards under the 2012 Plan have a maximum term of ten years from the date of grant. The compensation committee may provide that the vesting or payment of any award will be subject to the attainment of specified performance measures in addition to the satisfaction of any continued service requirements and the compensation committee will determine whether such measures have been achieved. The per-share exercise price of stock options and SARs granted under the 2012 Plan generally may not be less than the fair market value of a share of our common stock on the date of the grant.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The Company’s 2012 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) allows eligible employees to purchase a variable number of shares of the Company’s common stock each offering period at a discount through payroll deductions of up to 15 percent of their eligible compensation, subject to plan limitations. The ESPP provides for six-month offering periods with a single purchase period ending May 15 and November 15, respectively. At the end of each offering period, employees are able to purchase shares at 85 percent of the lower of the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the first trading day of the offering period or on the last trading day of the offering period.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

Stock-based compensation expense was $3.2 million and $3.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $9.7 million and $8.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Stock Options

The following table summarizes stock option activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2019:

The outstanding options generally have a term of ten years. For employees, options granted become exercisable ratably over the vesting period, which is generally a period from four to five years, beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date, subject to the employee’s continuing service to the Company. For directors, options generally become exercisable in full on the first anniversary of the grant date.

The weighted-average grant date fair value of options that were granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was $47.84.

The following table provides the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes pricing model valuation of options during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018:

As of September 30, 2019, there was $4.2 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested stock options, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.8 years.

Restricted Stock

Restricted stock awards are share-settled awards and restrictions lapse ratably over the vesting period, which is generally a period from four to five years, beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date, subject to the employee's continuing service to the Company. For directors, restrictions generally lapse in full on the first anniversary of the grant date. 

The following table summarizes restricted stock activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2019:

As of September 30, 2019, there was $24.4 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.8 years. 

Performance Stock

Performance stock units (PSUs) are expressed in terms of a target number of PSUs, with anywhere between 0 percent and 150 percent of that target number capable of being earned and vesting at the end of a three-year performance period depending on the Company’s performance in the final year of the performance period and the award recipient’s continued employment.

The following table summarizes performance stock activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2019:

As of September 30, 2019, there was $2.7 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested performance stock, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.9 years. 

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The following table presents the assumptions used to estimate the fair value of the ESPP during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018: 

 Note 10 – Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

Other comprehensive income (loss) is comprised entirely of foreign currency translation adjustments. The following table presents the changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) balances during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018:

Note 11 – Income Taxes

The Company is subject to income tax in multiple jurisdictions and the use of estimates is required to determine the provision for income taxes. For the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $4.7 million and $4.5 million, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $13.4 million and $12.8 million, respectively. The income tax provision is based on the estimated annual effective tax rate for the year applied to pre-tax income. The effective income tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was 21.9 percent compared to 17.6 percent in the same period of the prior year. The effective tax rate increased by 4.3 percent for the three months ended September 30, 2019 when compared to the same period in 2018 primarily due to a decrease in tax benefits from the vesting of restricted stock and the exercise of stock options and favorable results from a decrease in the uncertain tax position reserve in 2018. The effective income tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was 21.6 percent compared to 18.3 percent in the same period of the prior year. The effective tax rate increased by 3.3 percent for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 when compared to the same period in 2018 primarily due to a decrease in tax benefits from the vesting of restricted stock and the exercise of stock options and favorable results from a decrease in the uncertain tax position reserve in 2018.

The effective income tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21.0 percent due to various factors, including operating in multiple state and foreign jurisdictions and tax credits for which the Company qualifies.

The Company had unrecognized tax benefits totaling $4.4 million and $4.1 million as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, all of which, if recognized, would affect the Company’s effective tax rate. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense, and reports the liability in current or long-term income taxes payable as appropriate.

Note 12 – Segment Reporting

The Company’s reportable segments are based on the internal reporting used by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, who is the chief operating decision maker (CODM), to assess operating performance and make decisions about the allocation of resources. The Corporate Unallocated and Japan category includes non-reportable segments, as well as research and development and general and administrative costs that the Company does not allocate directly to its operating segments.

Intercompany transactions primarily relate to intercontinental activity and have been eliminated and are excluded from the reported amounts. The difference between income from operations and pre-tax income relates to foreign currency-related gains and losses and interest income on cash balances and investments, which are not allocated to business segments. 

Beginning in 2019, the Company's CODM made a decision to view certain research and development costs by geographic region. As a result, costs previously included in the Corporate Unallocated and Japan category have been included in the respective geographic regions.  All periods presented have been restated to reflect this change.

Revenue and income from operations by reportable segment for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

Total long-lived assets at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows:

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our unaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this report regarding matters that are not historical or current facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our results to be materially different than those expressed or implied in such statements. Certain of these risk factors and others are described in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the SEC. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on our future results. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, we expressly disclaim any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Overview

We are the world’s largest and fastest digital manufacturer of custom prototypes and on-demand production parts. We manufacture prototypes and low-volume production parts for companies worldwide, who are under increasing pressure to bring their finished products to market faster than their competition. We utilize injection molding, computer numerical control (CNC) machining, 3D printing and sheet metal fabrication to manufacture custom parts for our customers. Our proprietary technology eliminates most of the time-consuming and expensive skilled labor conventionally required to quote and manufacture parts. Our customers conduct nearly all of their business with us over the Internet. We target our products to the millions of product developers and engineers who use three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) software to design products across a diverse range of end-markets.

Our primary manufacturing product lines currently include Injection Molding, CNC Machining, 3D Printing and Sheet Metal. We continually seek to expand the range of sizes and geometric complexity of the parts we can make with these processes, to extend the variety of materials we are able to support and to identify additional manufacturing processes to which we can apply our technology in order to better serve the evolving preferences and needs of product developers and engineers.

Injection Molding

Our Injection Molding product line uses our 3D CAD-to-CNC machining technology for the automated design and manufacture of molds, which are then used to produce custom plastic and liquid silicone rubber injection-molded parts and over-molded and insert-molded injection-molded parts on commercially available equipment. Our Injection Molding product line works best for on-demand production, bridge tooling, pilot runs and functional prototyping. Our affordable aluminum molds and quick turnaround times help reduce design risk and limit overall production costs for product developers and engineers. Prototype quantities typically range from 25 to 100 parts. Because we retain possession of the molds, customers who need short-run production often come back to Protolabs’ Injection Molding product line for additional quantities. They do so to support pilot production for product testing, while their tooling for high-volume production is being prepared, because they need on-demand manufacturing due to disruptions in their manufacturing process, because their product requires limited annual quantity or because they need end-of-life production support. In 2017, we launched an on-demand manufacturing injection molding product offering. This product offering utilizes our existing processes, but is designed to fulfill the needs of customers with on-going production needs, typically in annual volumes of less than 10,000 parts.

CNC Machining

Our CNC Machining product line uses commercially available CNC machines to offer milling and turning. CNC milling is a manufacturing process that cuts plastic and metal blocks into one or more custom parts based on the 3D CAD model uploaded by the product developer or engineer. CNC turning with live tooling combines both lathe and mill capabilities to machine parts with cylindrical features from metal rod stock. Our efficiencies derive from the automation of the programming of these machines and a proprietary fixturing process.

Quick-turn CNC machining works best for prototyping, form and fit testing, jigs and fixtures and functional components for end-use applications. The CNC Machining product line is well suited to produce small quantities, typically in the range of one to 1,000 parts.

3D Printing

Our 3D Printing product line includes stereolithography, selective laser sintering, direct metal laser sintering, Multi Jet Fusion and PolyJet processes, which offer customers a wide-variety of high-quality, precision rapid prototyping and low-volume production. These processes create parts with a high level of accuracy, detail, strength and durability. Industrial 3D Printing is best suited for functional prototypes, complex designs and end-use applications produced in small quantities, typically in the range of one to 50 parts.

Sheet Metal

Our Sheet Metal product line includes quick-turn and e-commerce-enabled custom sheet metal parts, which provides customers with prototype and low-volume production parts. The rapid prototype sheet metal process is most often used when form, fit and function are all a priority. Our manufacturing process uses customer 3D CAD models uploaded by the product developer or engineer to fabricate quick-turn prototype sheet metal or short-run production parts. The Sheet Metal product line is well suited to produce quantities in the range of one to 500 parts.

Key Financial Measures and Trends

Revenue

Our operations are comprised of three geographic operating segments in the United States, Europe and Japan. Revenue is derived from our Injection Molding, CNC Machining, 3D Printing and Sheet Metal product lines. Injection Molding revenue consists of sales of custom injection molds and injection-molded parts. CNC Machining revenue consists of sales of CNC-machined custom parts. 3D Printing revenue consists of sales of 3D-printed parts. Sheet Metal revenue consists of sales of fabricated sheet metal custom parts. Our historical and current efforts to increase revenue have been directed at expanding the breadth of our product offerings, gaining new customers and selling to our existing customer base by increasing marketing and selling activities, including:

During the three months ended September 30, 2019, we served 21,471 unique product developers and engineers who purchased our products through our web-based customer interface, an increase of 3.3% over the same period in 2018. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, we served 40,791 unique product developers and engineers who purchased our products through our web-based customer interface, an increase of 5.1% over the same period in 2018.

Cost of Revenue, Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Cost of revenue consists primarily of raw materials, equipment depreciation, employee compensation, benefits, stock-based compensation, facilities costs and overhead allocations associated with the manufacturing process for molds and custom parts. We expect cost of revenue to increase in absolute dollars, but remain relatively constant as a percentage of total revenue.

We define gross profit as our revenue less our cost of revenue, and we define gross margin as gross profit expressed as a percentage of revenue. Our gross profit and gross margin are affected by many factors, including our mix of revenue by product line and geography, pricing, sales volume and manufacturing costs, the costs associated with increasing production capacity, and foreign exchange rates.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses consist of marketing and sales, research and development and general and administrative expenses. Personnel-related costs are the most significant component in each of these categories.

Our recent growth in operating expenses is mainly due to higher headcounts to support our growth and expansion, and we expect that trend to continue. Our business strategy is to continue to be a leading online and technology-enabled manufacturer of quick-turn, on-demand injection-molded, CNC-machined, CNC-turned, 3D-printed and sheet metal custom parts for prototyping and low-volume production. In order to achieve our goals, we anticipate continued substantial investments in technology and personnel, resulting in increased operating expenses.

Marketing and sales. Marketing and sales expense consists primarily of employee compensation, benefits, commissions, stock-based compensation, marketing programs such as electronic, print and pay-per-click advertising, trade shows and other related overhead. We expect sales and marketing expense to increase in the future as we increase the number of marketing and sales professionals and marketing programs targeted to increase our customer base and grow revenue.

Research and development. Research and development expense consists primarily of personnel and outside service costs related to the development of new processes and product lines, enhancement of existing product lines, development of software for internal use, maintenance of internally developed software, quality assurance and testing. Costs for internal use software are evaluated by project and capitalized where appropriate under ASC 350-40, Intangibles — Goodwill and Other, Internal-Use Software. We expect research and development expense to increase in the future as we seek to enhance our e-commerce interface technology, internal software and supporting business systems.

General and administrative. General and administrative expense consists primarily of employee compensation, benefits, stock-based compensation, professional service fees related to accounting, tax and legal and other related overhead. We expect general and administrative expense to increase in the future as we continue to grow and expand as a global organization.

Other Income, net

Other income, net primarily consists of foreign currency-related gains and losses and interest income on cash balances and investments. Our foreign currency-related gains and losses will vary depending upon movements in underlying exchange rates. Our interest income will vary each reporting period depending on our average cash balances during the period, composition of our marketable security portfolio and the current level of interest rates.

Provision for Income Taxes

Provision for income taxes is comprised of federal, state, local and foreign taxes based on pre-tax income. We expect income taxes to increase as our taxable income increases.

Results of Operations

The following table summarizes our results of operations and the related changes for the periods indicated. The results below are not necessarily indicative of the results for future periods.