TD SYNNEX CORP - Annual Report: 2019 (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 November 30, 2019

OR

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission File Number: 001-31892

SYNNEX CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(510) 656-3333

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒   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  ☒

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  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

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

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.    ☐

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

The aggregate market value of Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant (based upon the closing sale price on the New York Stock Exchange as of May 31, 2019, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $3,552,385,311. Shares held by each executive officer, director and by each person who owns 10% or more of the outstanding Common Stock have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

As of January 24, 2020, there were 51,441,428 shares of Common Stock, $0.001 per share par value, outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 Items 10 (as to directors and Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports (if any)), 11, 12 (as to Beneficial Ownership), 13 and 14 of Part III incorporate by reference information from the registrant’s proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the registrant’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on March 17, 2020.

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SYNNEX CORPORATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2019 FORM 10-K

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PART I

When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”), the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “allows,” “can,” “may,” “could,’’ “designed,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These are statements that relate to future periods and include statements about market trends, our business model and our services, our business and market strategy, our proposed separation of SYNNEX and Concentrix, including the timing and impact thereof, future growth, including expansion of our product and service lines, our infrastructure, our investment in our information technology, or IT, systems, our employee hiring and retention, the ownership interest of MiTAC Holdings Corporation, or MiTAC Holdings, in us and its impact, our revenue, sources of revenue, our gross margins, our operating costs and results, timing of payment, the value of our inventory, our competition, including with Synnex Technology International Corp., our future needs for additional financing, the likely sources for such funding and the impact of such funding, concentration of customers and suppliers, customer and supplier contract terms, customer forecasts and its impact on us, relationships with our suppliers, adequacy of our facilities, ability to obtain comparable leases, our data center and contact center operations, use of technology at contact centers, ability to manage and communicate with international resources, scalability of customer management solutions, ability to meet demand, managing inventory and our shipping costs, our legal proceedings, our operations and trends related thereto, our international operations, foreign currency exchange rates and hedging activities, expansion of our operations and related effects, including our Concentrix business, our strategic acquisitions and divestitures of businesses and assets, including our acquisition of Convergys, revenue, cost of revenue and gross margin, our goodwill, seasonality of sales, changes in share price, adequacy of our cash resources to meet our capital needs, our debt and financing arrangements, cash held by our foreign subsidiaries and repatriation, changes in fair value of derivative instruments, our tax liabilities, adequacy of our disclosure controls and procedures, dependency on personnel, pricing pressures, cybersecurity and compliance with related rules and regulations, impact of rules and regulations affecting public companies, impact of our pricing policies, impact of economic and industry trends, changes to the markets in which we compete, impact of our accounting policies and recently issued accounting pronouncements, impact of inventory repurchase obligations and commitments and contingencies, our effective tax rates, impact of any impairment of our goodwill and intangible assets, our share repurchase and dividend program, our securitization programs, term loans and revolving credit lines, our investments in working capital, and personnel and our succession planning. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risks discussed herein and risks related to the proposed separation, as well as the seasonality of the buying patterns of our customers, concentration of sales to large customers, dependence upon and trends in capital spending budgets in the IT, and consumer electronics, or CE, industries, fluctuations in general economic conditions, change in market for our customers' products, employee turnover, changes in value of foreign currencies and interest rates and other risk factors contained below under Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.” These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

In the sections of this Report entitled “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” all references to “SYNNEX,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” mean SYNNEX Corporation and its subsidiaries, except where it is made clear that the term means only the parent company or one of its segments.

SYNNEX, the SYNNEX Logo, CONCENTRIX, and all other SYNNEX company, product and services names and slogans are trademarks or registered trademarks of SYNNEX Corporation. SYNNEX, the SYNNEX Logo, and CONCENTRIX Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Other names and marks are the property of their respective owners.

Item 1.Business

We are a Fortune 200 corporation and a leading business process services company, providing a comprehensive range of distribution, logistics and integration services for the technology industry and providing outsourced services focused on customer experience to a broad range of enterprises. We are organized to provide our products and services through two reportable business segments: Technology Solutions and Concentrix. Our Technology Solutions segment distributes peripherals, information technology (“IT”) systems including data center server and storage solutions, system components, software, networking, communications and security equipment, consumer electronics (“CE”) and complementary products. Within our Technology Solutions segment, we also provide systems design and integration solutions. Our Concentrix segment offers a portfolio of technology-infused strategic solutions and end-to-end business services focused on customer experience, process optimization, technology innovation, front and back-office automation and business transformation to clients in eight identified industry verticals.

On January 9, 2020, we announced a plan to separate our Concentrix segment into an independent publicly-traded company, in a transaction expected to be completed in the second half of 2020. The separation is intended to qualify as a tax-free transaction for federal income tax purposes for both us and our current stockholders. Immediately following the separation, our stockholders would own shares of both SYNNEX and Concentrix, each at the same percentage ownership that they held of us prior to the transaction. Completion of the separation will not require a stockholder vote but will be subject to customary closing conditions, including final approval of our Board of Directors, the receipt of a favorable opinion with respect to the tax-free nature of the transaction, and the effectiveness of a Form 10 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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In our Technology Solutions segment, we distribute more than 40,000 technology products (as measured by active SKUs) from more than 400 IT, CE and original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”), suppliers to more than 25,000 resellers, system integrators, and retailers throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico and Central and South America. We purchase peripherals, IT systems, system components, software, networking, communications and security equipment, CE and complementary products from our suppliers and sell them to our reseller and retail customers. We perform a similar function for our distribution of licensed software products. Our reseller customers include value-added resellers (“VARs”), corporate resellers, government resellers, system integrators, direct marketers, and national and regional retailers. We combine our core strengths in distribution with demand generation, supply chain management and design and integration solutions to help our customers achieve greater efficiencies in time to market, cost minimization, real-time linkages in the supply chain and aftermarket product support. We also provide comprehensive IT solutions in key vertical markets such as government and healthcare and we provide specialized service offerings that increase efficiencies in the areas of print management, renewals, logistics services and supply chain management. Additionally, we provide our customers with systems design and integration solutions for data center servers and networking solutions built specific to our customers’ workloads and data center environments.

Our Technology Solutions business is characterized by low gross profit as a percentage of revenue, or gross margin, and low income from operations as a percentage of revenue, or operating margin. The market for IT and CE products is generally characterized by declining unit prices and short product life cycles. We set our sales price based on the market supply and demand characteristics for each particular product or bundle of products we distribute and services we provide.

In our Technology Solutions segment, we are highly dependent on the end-market demand for IT and CE products, and on our partners’ strategic initiatives and business models. This end-market demand is influenced by many factors including the introduction of new IT and CE products and software by OEMs, replacement cycles for existing IT and CE products, trends toward cloud computing, overall economic growth and general business activity. A difficult and challenging economic environment may also lead to consolidation or decline in the IT and CE industries and increased price-based competition.

In our Concentrix segment, we provide a comprehensive range of strategic services and solutions to enhance our clients’ customer life cycles to acquire, support and renew customer relationships, to automate and optimize processes, to maximize the value of every customer experience and to improve business outcomes. Our portfolio of services includes end-to-end process outsourcing to customers in various industry vertical markets delivered through omni-channels that include both voice and non-voice media and in more than 70 languages. Our portfolio of solutions and services support our clients and their customers globally. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018, we acquired Convergys Corporation ("Convergys"), which added scale, diversified our revenue base, expanded Concentrix delivery footprint and strengthened Concentrix leadership position as a top global provider of customer experience services.

Our Concentrix segment generates revenue from performing services that are generally tied to our clients’ products and services and how they are received in the marketplace. Any shift in business or size of the market for our clients’ products, any failure of technology or failure of acceptance of our clients’ products in the market may impact our business. The employee turnover rate in this business and the risk of losing experienced employees is high. Higher turnover rates can increase costs and decrease operating efficiencies and productivity.

We have been in business since 1980 and are headquartered in Fremont, California. We have significant operations in North and South America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa. We were originally incorporated in the State of California as COMPAC Microelectronics, Inc. in November 1980, and we changed our name to SYNNEX Information Technologies, Inc. in February 1994. We later reincorporated in the State of Delaware under the name of SYNNEX Corporation in October 2003. As of November 30, 2019, we had over 240,000 full-time and temporary employees worldwide.

Financial information by segment is provided in our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Report.

Our Products and Suppliers

In our Technology Solutions segment, we distribute a broad line of IT products, including peripherals, IT systems, system components, software, security, UCC and networking equipment from more than 400 OEM suppliers, enabling us to offer comprehensive solutions to our reseller and retail customers. Our product offerings also include systems design and full rack integration solutions, build-to-order, and configure-to-order assemblies. Our Technology Solutions segment represented 80%, of our consolidated revenue in fiscal year 2019 and 88% (as adjusted) of our consolidated revenue in fiscal years 2018 and 2017. Fiscal years 2018 and 2017 have been adjusted for new accounting guidance on revenue recognition described elsewhere in this report.

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For fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017, our product mix by category in the Technology Solutions segment was in the following ranges:

Our suppliers include leading peripherals, IT systems, system components, software, security, networking equipment, UCC and CE manufacturers. Our primary OEM suppliers are Alphabet Inc. (Google), Asus Tek Computer Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., HP Inc. (“HP”), Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company, Intel Corporation, Lenovo Group Ltd, Microsoft Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, and Samsung Semiconductor Inc.

Our largest OEM supplier is HP. Revenue from the sale of products and services provided by HP represented approximately 12%, 13% (as adjusted) and 14% (as adjusted) of our consolidated revenue for fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. As is typical with our OEM supplier agreements, our United States Business Development Partner Agreement with HP is short-term and may be terminated without cause upon short notice. In the event of any breach of the agreement by us, HP may terminate the agreement and we may be required to refund HP any discounts or program payments paid during the period we were in breach of the agreement and reimburse HP for reasonable attorneys’ fees. In the event the agreement is terminated for cause or if we fail to perform our obligations under the agreement, our agreement with HP for the resale of products, support and services will automatically terminate upon such default or termination. If either party becomes insolvent or bankrupt, the other party may terminate the agreement without notice and cancel any unfulfilled obligations, except for payment obligations. Some of our subsidiaries also have territorial supplier agreements with subsidiaries of HP located in the respective countries.

We have distribution agreements with most of our suppliers, including HP. These agreements usually provide for nonexclusive distribution rights and pertain to specific geographic territories. The agreements are also generally short-term, subject to periodic renewal, and often contain provisions permitting termination by either our supplier or us without cause upon relatively short notice. An OEM supplier that elects to terminate a distribution agreement will generally repurchase its products carried in our inventory.

Our Technology Solutions business subjects us to the risk that the value of our inventory will be affected adversely by suppliers’ price reductions or by technological changes affecting the usefulness or desirability of the products comprising our inventory. Many of our OEM suppliers offer us limited protection from the loss in value of our inventory due to technological change or a supplier’s price reduction. Under many of these agreements, we have a limited period of time to return or exchange products or claim price protection credits. We monitor our inventory levels and attempt to time our purchases to maximize our protection under supplier programs.

Our Customers

In our Technology Solutions segment, we distribute IT products to more than 25,000 resellers, system integrators and retailers. Resellers are classified primarily by their end-user customers. End-users include large corporations or enterprises, federal, state and local governments, small/medium sized businesses, or SMBs, and individual consumers. In addition, resellers vary greatly in size and geographic reach. Our reseller customers buy from us and other distributors. Our larger reseller customers also buy certain products directly from OEM suppliers. System integrators offer services in addition to product resale, primarily in systems customization, integration, and deployment. Retailers serve mostly individual end-users and to a small degree, small office/home office customers. We also provide systems design and integration solutions for data center servers built for our customers’ data center environments.

In our Concentrix segment, we serve over 650 clients in eight industry verticals: automotive; banking, financial services and insurance; energy and public-sector; healthcare; media and communications; retail and e-commerce; technology and consumer electronics; and travel and transportation. We focus on developing long-term, strategic relationships with large companies in these customer-intensive industry verticals to benefit from the complexity of services required, the anticipated growth of their market segments and their increasing need for more cost-effective customer experience services.

In fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017, one customer accounted for 19%, 17% (as adjusted) and 21% (as adjusted), respectively, of our consolidated revenue. We do not believe that the loss of any single customer would have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.

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Our Services and Solutions

We offer a variety of business process services to our customers. These services can be purchased individually or they can be purchased in combination with others in the form of supply chain solutions and aftermarket product support. The two major categories of services and solutions include Technology Solutions and Concentrix:

Technology Solutions. We have sophisticated pick, pack and ship operations, which allows us to efficiently receive shipments from our OEM suppliers and quickly fill orders for our reseller and retail customers. We generally stock or otherwise have access to the inventory of our OEM suppliers to satisfy the demands of our reseller and retail customers. In addition, we design and integrate energy efficient and cost-effective data center servers which are built specific to the data center environments and actual workloads of our large-scale data center customers.

The above services are complemented by the following:

Systems Design and Integration Solutions. We provide our customers with systems design and full rack integration solutions, build-to-order, and configure-to-order assembly capabilities. In both of these cases, we offer design, integration, test and other production value-added solutions such as thermal testing, power-draw efficiency testing, burn-in, quality and logistics support.

Logistics Services. We provide logistics support to our reseller customers such as outsourced fulfillment, virtual distribution and direct ship to end-users. Other logistics support activities we provide include generation of customized shipping documents, multi-level serial number tracking for customized, configured products and online order and shipment tracking. We also offer full turn-key logistics solutions designed to address the needs of large volume or specialty logistics services. Our full turn-key service offering is modular in nature and is designed to cover all aspects of the logistics life cycle including, transportation management, inventory optimization, complementary product matching, reverse logistics, asset refurbishment and disposal and strategic procurement.

Cloud Services. We provide cloud-based solutions and services to our reseller customers to enable sales of and migration to technologies in a hosted environment to small and medium businesses. Our proprietary cloud platform offers a complete package of cloud-based solutions on a user-friendly platform and allows our reseller customers and OEM vendors to own the complete customer lifecycle through direct billing, provisioning, management, and support. Our solutions cover all end-user customer needs, including, pure public cloud solutions in productivity and collaboration, IaaS, or Infrastructure as a Service, PaaS, or Platform as a Service, SaaS, or Software as a Service, Security, Mobility, IoT, or Internet of Things, and other hybrid solutions. Our dedicated cloud team comprising developers, sales engineers and solutions specialists, supports our reseller customers in the sales of these solutions.

Online Services. We maintain electronic data interchange, or EDI, extensible markup language, or XML, web-based communication links and mobile applications with many of our reseller and retail customers. These links improve the speed and efficiency of our transactions with our customers by enabling them to search for products, check inventory availability and prices, configure systems, place and track orders, receive invoices, review account status and process returns. We also have web-based application software that allows our customers or their end-user customers to order software and take delivery online.

Financing Services. We offer our reseller customers a wide range of financing options, including net terms, third party leasing, floor plan financing and letters-of-credit backed financing and arrangements where we collect payments directly from the end-user. We also lease products to our reseller customers and their end-users and provide device-as-a-service to end-users. The availability and terms of our financing services are subject to our credit policies or those of third-party financing providers to our customers.

Marketing Services. We offer our OEM suppliers a full range of marketing activities targeting resellers, system integrators and retailers including direct mail, external media advertising, reseller product training, targeted telemarketing campaigns, national and regional trade shows, trade groups, database analysis, print on demand services and web-based marketing.

Concentrix. Our Concentrix segment represented 20% of our consolidated revenue in fiscal year 2019 and 12% (as adjusted) in fiscal years 2018 and 2017. We offer a portfolio of technology-infused comprehensive solutions and end-to-end business outsourcing services to approximately 650 clients around the world in eight identified industry verticals.

We operate from over 275 locations in numerous countries throughout the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa. Services are provided from these global locations to clients worldwide in more than 70 languages. Our portfolio of services is sold as integrated solutions to clients which include:

Customer Lifecycle Management. Services provided to our clients’ customers across multiple media such as, intelligent self-service, voice, chat, social, messaging, email and knowledge management, support our client’s entire customer care lifecycle. This includes services such as welcome and activation calls, billing, payments, product and service inquiries, complaint resolution, customer surveys and emergency response. We also provide back office support for these processes which include document management, claims management, fraud prevention, mortgage document verification, rebate management as a few examples. We also provide services that provide feedback to our clients. This is provided through a dedicated team of professionals to deliver data-driven insights to our clients to improve the customer experience through analytics and consulting, and software solutions, such as, Enterprise Feedback Management/Multi-channel, Voice of Customer Software, Integrated Customer Experience Analytics, Post-Contact Surveys, Relational Loyalty Research, Customer Segmentation and Profiling, Call Elimination Analysis, Analysis of Customer Effort, Digital Channel Optimization, and Integrated Contact Center Analytics.

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Marketing Solutions. Our services include data-driven customer acquisition and retention marketing solutions across digital, social, mobile and print channels that help our clients manage their marketing through a diverse distribution channel enabling each constituent in the channel to participate in targeting end customers with the right brand experience. We also support our client’s loyalty and incentive programs, event administration, point of purchase and targeted lifecycle messaging to customers through services as described in our Customer Lifecycle Management services.

Third Party Administration of Insurance Policies. We are a licensed Third Party Administrator of certain types of insurance policies that are managed through our proprietary insurance management system as well as other third-party systems. The services are provided primarily in the United States.

Enterprise Mobile Development. We provide mobile application development across multiple industries for both IOS and Android devices that are focused on Enterprise deployments. Services within this group include UX/UI designed/development, optimization of applications and movement of on-premise systems to the cloud.

Automation and Process Optimization. We deliver focused front office solutions with workflows and macro/desktop automation that drive improved staff efficiency and implement cognitive systems/robotic process automation to replace manual touch points. These services use both internal technology assets as well as third party tools.

Technology Assets. We license a number of our technology assets without being bundled with services which enable our clients to be more efficient, drive higher visibility to data and identify valuable customer patterns and insights from enterprise data to design better customer experience strategies. These assets are used within our portfolio of services as well.

Sales and Marketing

In our Technology Solutions segment, we serve our large commercial, government reseller, and retail customers through dedicated sales professionals. We market to smaller resellers and OEMs through dedicated regional sales teams. In addition, we have dedicated product management and business development specialists that focus on the sale and promotion of products and services of selected suppliers or for specific end-market verticals. These specialists are also directly involved in establishing new relationships with leading OEMs to create demand for their products and services and with resellers for their customers’ needs. We also have a direct sales approach for our design and integration solutions business. Our sales and marketing professionals are complemented by members of our executive management team who are integral in identifying potential new customer opportunities, promoting sales growth and ensuring customer satisfaction. We have sales and marketing professionals in close geographic proximity to our reseller, retail and OEM customers.

In our Concentrix segment, we market our services through a sales force organized by industry vertical and geography. The length of our selling cycle varies depending on the type of engagement. Our efforts may begin in response to our lead generation program, a perceived opportunity, a reference by an existing client, a request for proposal or otherwise. The sales cycle varies depending on the type of services, as well as the existence of established relationships with the client.

We have designated client partners or global relationship managers for each of our strategic relationships. The relationship manager is supported by process improvement, quality, transition, finance, human resources, information technology and industry or subject matter expert teams to ensure the best possible solution is provided to our clients.

We also strive to foster relationships between our senior leadership team and our clients’ senior management. These “C-level” relationships ensure that both parties are focused on establishing priorities, aligning objectives and driving client value from the top down. High-level executive relationships have been particularly constructive as a means of increasing business from our existing clients. It also provides us with a forum for addressing client concerns. We constantly measure our client satisfaction levels to ensure that we maintain high service levels for each client.

Our Operations

In our Technology Solutions segment, we operate approximately 65 distribution and administrative facilities in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico, China, and Central and South America. Our distribution processes are highly automated to reduce errors, ensure timely order fulfillment and enhance the efficiency of our warehouse operations and back office administration. Our distribution facilities are geographically dispersed to be near reseller customers and their end-users. This decentralized, regional strategy enables us to benefit from lower shipping costs and shorter delivery lead times to our customers. Furthermore, we track several performance measurements to continuously improve the efficiency and accuracy of our distribution operations. Our regional locations also enable us to make local deliveries and provide will-call fulfillment to more customers than if our distribution operations were more centralized, resulting in better service to our customers. Our workforce is comprised of permanent and temporary employees, enabling us to respond to short-term changes in order activity.

Our proprietary IT systems and processes enable us to automate many of our distribution operations. We use radio frequency and bar code scanning technologies in all of our warehouse operations to maintain real-time inventory records, facilitate frequent cycle counts and improve the accuracy of order fulfillment.

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To enhance the accuracy of our distribution order fulfillment and protect our inventory from shrinkage, our distribution systems also incorporate numerous controls. These controls include order weight checks, bar code scanning, and serial number profile verification. We also use digital video imaging to record our small package shipping activities by order. These images and other warehouse and shipping data are available online to our customer service representatives, enabling us to quickly respond to order inquiries by our customers.

We operate our principal system design and integration solutions facilities in the United States, and we operate integration facilities in the United Kingdom and China. We generally design and integrate IT systems, data center servers and networking solutions and IT appliances, by incorporating system components purchased directly from vendors or obtained from our distribution inventory. Additionally, we perform other production value-added services, including thermal testing, power-draw efficiency testing, burn-in, quality and logistics support. Some of our design and integration solutions facilities are ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 certified.

In our Concentrix segment, we have global delivery capability which allows us to scale people and other resources from around the world, including foreign language fluency, proximity to clients and time-zone advantages. A critical component of this capability is our over 275 delivery and administrative centers in 40 countries throughout North and South America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa. Our delivery centers improve the efficiency of our engagement teams through the reuse of processes, solution designs and infrastructure by leveraging the experience of delivery center professionals. Services are provided from these global locations to clients worldwide in multiple languages. These services are supported by proprietary technology to enable efficient and secure customer contact through various methods including voice, chat, web, email, social media and digital and mobility competencies by providing improved business intelligence and performance through enabling technologies. Many of our delivery centers are PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council's Data Security Standards) version 3.2.1 certified. Many of our delivery centers are certified to ISO standards. Twenty-eight of our delivery centers around the world are certified to COPC (Customer Operation Performance Center) OSP standard.

We operate a distributed data processing environment that can integrate service delivery center data servers and databases with thirty-nine data centers and point of presence strategically located across the globe. Our technologically-advanced and secured data centers provide availability 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with redundant power and communication feeds and emergency power back-up, and are designed to withstand most natural disasters.

The capacity of our data center and contact center operations, coupled with the scalability of our customer management solutions, enable us to meet the changing needs of large-scale and rapidly growing companies and government entities. By employing the scale and efficiencies of common application platforms, we can provide client-specific enhancements and modifications without incurring many of the costs of a full custom application, which positions us as a value-added provider of customer support products and services.

International Operations

Approximately 34% of our consolidated revenue for fiscal year 2019 was generated by our international operations. Our end market strategy for our Technology Solutions business, while focused on the Americas, is expanding internationally on a selective basis in order to provide our distribution capabilities to OEMs in locations that meet their regional requirements. A key element in our business strategy has been to locate our Concentrix service delivery contact centers in markets that are strategic to our client requirements and cost beneficial. Our Concentrix segment has significant operations in the Philippines and India.

Sales and cost concentrations in foreign jurisdictions subject us to various risks, including the impact of changes in the value of these foreign currencies relative to the US Dollar, which in turn can impact reported sales.

See Note 12 -- Segment Information to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report for additional financial information related to foreign and domestic operations.

Seasonality

Our operating results in the Technology Solutions segment are affected by the seasonality of the IT and CE products industries. We have historically experienced higher sales in our fourth fiscal quarter due to patterns in capital budgeting, federal government spending and purchasing cycles of our customers and end-users. These patterns may not be repeated in subsequent periods.

Revenue in our Concentrix segment is typically the highest in our fourth fiscal quarter.

Purchasing

In our Technology Solutions segment, product cost represents our single largest expense and IT and CE product inventory is one of our largest working capital investments. Furthermore, product procurement from our OEM suppliers is a highly complex process that involves incentive programs, rebate programs, price protection, volume and early payment discounts and other arrangements. Consequently, efficient and effective purchasing operations are critical to our success.

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Our purchasing group works closely with many areas of our organization, especially our product managers who work closely with our OEM suppliers and our sales force, to understand the volume and mix of IT products that should be purchased.

In addition, the purchasing group utilizes an internally developed, proprietary information systems application that further aids in forecasting future product demand based on several factors, including historical sales levels, expected product life cycle and current and projected economic conditions. We may also rely on our receipt of good-faith, non-binding, customer forecasts. We maintain electronic data interchange, or EDI, connection with our OEM suppliers to send purchase orders, receive purchase order status and receive notification once the product has shipped from our supplier. Our information system also tracks warehouse and channel inventory levels and open purchase orders on a real-time basis enabling us to stock inventory at a regional level closer to the customer as well as to actively manage our working capital resources. This level of automation promotes greater efficiencies of inventory management by replenishing and turning inventory, as well as placing purchase orders on a more frequent basis. Furthermore, our system tool also allows for automated checks and controls to prevent the generation of inaccurate orders.

Managing our OEM supplier incentive programs is another critical function of our purchasing and product management teams. We attempt to maximize the benefits of incentives, rebates and volume and early payment discounts that our OEM suppliers offer us from time to time. We carefully evaluate these supplier incentive benefits relative to our product handling and carrying costs so that we do not over-invest in our inventory. We also closely monitor inventory levels on a product-by-product basis and plan purchases to take advantage of OEM supplier provided price protection. By managing inventory levels and monitoring customer purchase patterns at each of our regional distribution facilities, we believe we can minimize our shipping costs by stocking products near our resellers and retailers, and their end-user customers.

Financial Services

In our Technology Solutions segment, we offer various financing options to our customers as well as prepayment, credit card and cash on delivery terms. In providing credit terms to our reseller and retail customers, we closely and regularly monitor their creditworthiness through our information systems, credit ratings information and periodic detailed credit file reviews by our financial services staff. We have also purchased credit insurance in some geographies to further control credit risks. Finally, we establish reserves for estimated credit losses in the normal course of business based on the overall quality and aging of our accounts receivable portfolio, the existence of a limited amount of credit insurance and specifically identified customer risks.

We also sell to certain reseller customers pursuant to third party floor plan financing. The expenses charged by these financing companies are subsidized either by our OEM suppliers or paid by us. We generally receive payment from these financing companies within 15 to 30 days from the date of sale, depending on the specific arrangement.

Information Technology

Within our Technology Solutions segment, our IT systems manage the entire order cycle, including processing customer orders, customer billing and payment tracking. These internally developed IT systems make our operations more efficient and provide visibility into our operations. We believe our IT infrastructure is scalable to support further growth. We continue to enhance and invest in our IT systems to improve product and inventory management, streamline order and fulfillment processes, and increase operational flexibility.

To allow our customers and suppliers to communicate and transact business with us in an efficient and consistent manner, we have implemented a mix of proprietary and off-the-shelf software programs that integrate our IT systems with those of our customers and suppliers. In particular, we maintain EDI, XML, web-based communication links and mobile platform applications with many of our reseller and retail customers to enable them to search for products, check real-time pricing, inventory availability and specifications, place and track orders, receive invoices and process returns.

Within our Concentrix segment, we invest in IT systems, infrastructure, automation and security to enhance workforce management and improve productivity. Our contact centers can employ a broad range of technology, including digital switching, intelligent call routing and tracking, proprietary workforce management systems, case management tools, proprietary software systems, computer telephony integration, interactive voice response, advanced speech recognition, web-based tools and relational database management systems with embedded security. Our innovative use of technology enables us to improve our voice, chat, web and e-mail handling and personnel scheduling, thereby increasing our efficiency and enhancing the quality of the services we deliver to our clients and their customers. We are able to respond to changes in client call volumes and manage call volume traffic based on agent availability. Additionally, we can use this technology to collect information concerning the contacts, including number, response time, duration and results of the contact and report the information to the client on a periodic basis for purposes of monitoring quality of service and accuracy of billing.

Competition

We operate in a highly competitive global environment. The IT product industry is characterized by intense competition, based primarily on product availability, credit terms, price, speed and accuracy of delivery, effectiveness of sales and marketing programs, ability to tailor specific solutions to customer needs, quality and depth of product lines, pre- and post-sale technical support, flexibility and timely response to design changes, technological capabilities and product quality, service and support. We compete with a variety of regional, national and international IT product distributors and manufacturers.

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Our major competitors in our Technology Solutions segment include Arrow Electronics, Inc., Ingram Micro, Inc., ScanSource, Inc., and Tech Data Corporation and, to a lesser extent, regional distributors. We also face competition from our OEM suppliers that sell directly to resellers, retailers and end-users. The distribution industry has historically undergone, and continues to undergo, consolidation. Over the years, a number of providers within the IT distribution industry exited or merged with other providers. For example, during fiscal year 2017, we acquired the Westcon-Comstor Americas distribution business and Tech Data Corporation acquired the Technology Solutions operating group of Avnet Inc. We have participated in this consolidation and expect to continue to assess opportunities.

As we enter new business areas, we may encounter increased competition from our current competitors and/or new competitors. Some of our competitors are substantially larger and may have greater financial, operating, manufacturing and marketing resources than us. Some of our competitors may have broader geographic breadth and range of services than us. Some may have more developed relationships with their existing customers. We attempt to offset our comparative scale differences by focusing on a limited number of leading OEMs in the Technology Solutions segment, by running a more efficient and low-cost operation, and by offering a high level of value-added and customer services in both the Technology Solutions and Concentrix segments.

In our Concentrix segment, we operate in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving global marketplace. Our competitors are both regional players as well as global companies. Our major competitors include Accenture plc, Conduent Inc., Genpact Limited, Globant S.A., Sykes Enterprises Inc., Teleperformance S.A., TTEC Holdings, Inc., and Transcosmos Inc.

In the future, we may face greater competition due to the consolidation of business process outsourcing providers. Consolidation activity may result in competitors with greater scale, a broader footprint or more attractive pricing than ours. In addition, a client or potential client may choose not to outsource its business, by setting up captive outsourcing operations or by performing formerly outsourced services for themselves, or may switch customer care providers.

We constantly seek to expand our business into areas primarily related to our core distribution and outsourced business services as well as other support, logistics and related value-added services, both organically and through strategic acquisitions.

Employees

As of November 30, 2019, we had approximately 235,000 full-time employees. Given the variability in our business and the quick response time required by customers, it is critical that we are able to rapidly ramp-up and ramp-down our operational capabilities to maximize efficiency. As a result, we use temporary or contract workers, who totaled approximately 5,900, on a full-time equivalent basis, as of November 30, 2019. Except for a small number of our employees in certain countries, generally required by local regulations or brought in through acquisitions, our employees are not represented by a labor union, nor are they covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our employee relations to be good.

Available Information

Our website is http://www.synnex.com. We make available free of charge, on or through our website, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, if any, or other filings filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing or furnishing these reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Information contained on our website is not a part of this Report. We have adopted a code of ethics applicable to our employees including our principal executive, financial and accounting officers, and it is available free of charge, on our website’s investor relations page.

The SEC maintains an Internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, if any, or other filings filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, and our proxy and information statements.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following discussion is divided into two sections. The first section, which begins immediately following this paragraph, discusses some of the risks that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The second section, captioned "Risk Factors Related to the Proposed Separation," discusses some of the risks relating to our plan to separate Concentrix into an independent publicly-traded company. You should carefully review both of these sections, as well as our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and the other information appearing in this report, for important information regarding risks that affect us. These risk factors should be considered in connection with evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this Report because these factors could cause the actual results and conditions to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our Company, you should know that making such an investment involves some risks, including the risks described below. The risks that have been highlighted here are not the only ones that we face. If any of the risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

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We anticipate that our revenue and operating results will fluctuate, which could adversely affect the enterprise value of our Company and our securities.

Our operating results have fluctuated and will fluctuate in the future as a result of many factors, including:

Although we attempt to control our expense levels, these levels are based, in part, on anticipated revenue. Therefore, we may not be able to control spending in a timely manner to compensate for any unexpected revenue shortfall.

Our operating results in the Technology Solutions segment also are affected by the seasonality of the IT and CE products and services industry. We have historically experienced higher sales in our fourth fiscal quarter due to patterns in the capital budgeting, federal government spending and purchasing cycles of end-users. Revenue in our Concentrix segment is typically higher in our fourth quarter due to seasonal patterns in our clients’ business. These patterns may not be repeated in subsequent periods. You should not rely on period-to-period comparisons of our operating results as an indication of future performance. In future years, our operating results may be below our expectations or those of our public market analysts or investors, which would likely cause our share price to decline.

We are subject to uncertainties and variability in demand by our customers, which could decrease revenue and adversely affect our operating results, and we have customer contracts with provisions that could cause fluctuations in our revenue.

In our Technology Solutions segment, we sell to our customers on a purchase order basis, rather than pursuant to long-term contracts or contracts with minimum purchase requirements. Consequently, our sales are subject to demand variability by our customers. The level and timing of orders placed by our customers vary for a variety of reasons, including seasonal buying by end-users, the introduction of new hardware and software technologies and general economic conditions. Customers submitting a purchase order may cancel, reduce or delay their orders. If we are unable to anticipate and respond to the demands of our reseller, retail and design and integration solutions customers, we may lose customers because we have an inadequate supply of products, or we may have excess inventory, either of which could harm our business, financial position and operating results.

With regard to our design and integration solutions customers, unique parts are purchased based both on customer purchase orders and forecasted demand. We have limited protection against excess inventory should anticipated demand not materialize.

In our Concentrix segment, we provide global business services to our clients under contracts with provisions that, if triggered, could impact our profitability. For example, many of our contracts may be terminated with a short amount of notice, and to the extent our clients terminate these contracts, we could experience unexpected fluctuations in our revenue and operating results from period to period. Additionally, some contracts have performance-related bonus or penalty provisions, whereby we could receive a bonus if we satisfy certain performance levels or have to pay a penalty for failing to do so. Whether we receive a bonus or are required to pay a penalty is unpredictable, and may cause additional fluctuations in our financial results. In addition, our clients may not guarantee a minimum volume; however, we hire employees based on anticipated volumes. If we fail to anticipate volumes correctly, our operations and financial results may suffer. The reduction of volume, loss of clients, payment of penalties or inability to terminate any unprofitable contracts could have an adverse impact on our operations and financial results.

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In our Technology Solutions segment, we depend on a limited number of OEMs to supply the IT and CE products and services that we sell and the loss of, or a material change in, our business relationship with a major OEM supplier could adversely affect our business, financial position and operating results.

Our future success is highly dependent on our relationships with a small number of OEM suppliers. For example, sales of HP products and services comprised approximately 12%, 13% (as adjusted) and 14% (as adjusted) of our consolidated revenue for fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Our OEM supplier agreements typically are short-term and may be terminated without cause upon short notice. The loss or deterioration of our relationship with HP or any other major OEM supplier, the authorization by OEM suppliers of additional distributors, the sale of products by OEM suppliers directly to our reseller and retail customers and end-users, or our failure to establish relationships with new OEM suppliers or to expand the distribution and supply chain services that we provide OEM suppliers could adversely affect our business, financial position and operating results. In addition, OEM suppliers may face liquidity or solvency issues that in turn could negatively affect our business and operating results.

Our business is also highly dependent on the terms provided by our OEM suppliers. Generally, each OEM supplier has the ability to change the terms and conditions of its distribution agreements, such as reducing the amount of price protection and return rights or reducing the level of purchase discounts, incentive rebates and marketing programs available to us.

From time to time we may conduct business with a supplier without a formal agreement because the agreement has expired or was otherwise terminated. In such case, we are subject to additional risk with respect to products, warranties and returns, and other terms and conditions. If we are unable to pass the impact of these changes through to our reseller and retail customers, our business, financial position and operating results could be adversely affected.

In our Technology Solutions segment our gross margins are low, which magnifies the impact of variations in gross margin, operating costs and our operating results.

As a result of significant price competition in the IT and CE products and services industry, our gross margins are low, and we expect them to continue to be low in the future. Increased competition arising from industry consolidation and low demand for certain IT and CE products and services may hinder our ability to maintain or improve our gross margins. These low gross margins magnify the impact of variations in revenue and operating costs on our operating results. A portion of our operating expense is relatively fixed, and planned expenditures are based in part on anticipated orders that are forecasted with limited visibility of future demand. As a result, we may not be able to reduce our operating expense to sufficiently mitigate any further reductions in gross profit or margin in the future. If we cannot proportionately decrease our cost structure in response to competitive price pressures, our business and operating results could suffer.

We also receive purchase discounts and rebates from OEM suppliers based on various factors, including sales or purchase volume and breadth of customers. A decrease in net sales could negatively affect the level of volume rebates received from our OEM suppliers and thus, our gross margin. Because some rebates from OEM suppliers are based on percentage increases in sales of products, it may become more difficult for us to achieve the percentage growth in sales required for larger discounts due to the current size of our revenue base. A decrease or elimination of purchase discounts and rebates from our OEM suppliers would adversely affect our business and operating results.

We are subject to the risk that our inventory value may decline, and protective terms under our OEM supplier agreements may not adequately cover the decline in value, which in turn may harm our business, financial position and operating results.

The IT and CE products industry is subject to rapid technological change, new and enhanced product specification requirements, and evolving industry standards. These changes may cause inventory on hand to decline substantially in value or to rapidly become obsolete. Most of our OEM suppliers offer limited protection from the loss in value of inventory. For example, we can receive a credit from many OEM suppliers for products held in inventory in the event of a supplier price reduction. In addition, we have a limited right to return a certain percentage of purchases to most OEM suppliers. These policies are often subject to time restrictions and do not protect us in all cases from declines in inventory value. In addition, our OEM suppliers may become unable or unwilling to fulfill their protection obligations to us. The decrease or elimination of price protection, or the inability of our OEM suppliers to fulfill their protection obligations, could lower our gross margins and cause us to record inventory write-downs. If we are unable to manage our inventory with our OEM suppliers with a high degree of precision, we may have insufficient product supplies or we may have excess inventory, resulting in inventory write-downs, either of which could harm our business, financial position and operating results.

We depend on OEM suppliers to maintain an adequate supply of products to fulfill customer orders on a timely basis, and any supply shortages or delays could cause us to be unable to timely fulfill orders, which in turn could harm our business, financial position and operating results.

Our ability to obtain particular products in the required quantities and to fulfill reseller and retail customer orders on a timely basis is critical to our success. In most cases, we have no guaranteed price or delivery agreements with our OEM suppliers. We occasionally experience a supply shortage of certain products as a result of strong demand or problems experienced by our OEM suppliers. If shortages or delays persist, the price of those products may increase, or the products may not be available at all. Such delays could also impact our ability to procure critical components required to complete customer orders. In addition, our OEM suppliers may decide to distribute, or to substantially increase their existing distribution business, through other distributors, their own dealer networks, or directly to resellers, retailers or end-users. Accordingly, if we are not able to secure and maintain an adequate

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supply of products to fulfill our customer orders on a timely basis, our business, financial position and operating results could be adversely affected.

Our delivery center activities in our Concentrix business are significantly concentrated in Philippines and India, which may expose us to operational risks.

Operations in our Concentrix segment are based on a global delivery model with client services provided from delivery centers located in several countries with more than half of our workforce located in Philippines and India. Socio-economic situations which are specific to these countries can severely disrupt our operations and impact our ability to fulfill our contractual obligations to our clients. If these regions experience severe natural calamities or political unrest, our personnel resources may be affected, our IT and communication infrastructure may be at risk and the client processes that we manage may be adversely affected. Changes in governments, laws, regulations, minimum wages, and taxation rules may severely impact our ability to do business in these countries, our business practices, our operating costs and our results of operations.

Both our Technology Solutions and Concentrix segments have customer concentration and intense competition which could adversely impact our revenue.

Our business experiences customer concentration from time to time. In 2019, 2018 and 2017, one customer accounted for 19%, 17% (as adjusted) and 21% (as adjusted), respectively, of our revenue. While we do not believe that the loss of any single customer would have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, such loss could result in an adverse impact on certain of our businesses. For example, the systems design and integration solutions business of our Technology Solutions segment has significant customer concentration, requires investments in working capital and infrastructure, and has customer contracts that often offer limited or no volume guarantees or protection for end-of-life investments. The loss of a customer or reduction in order volumes could adversely impact our revenue, provision for inventory losses, the absorption of fixed overhead costs and our future expansion plans. The systems design and integration solutions business operates in a competitive environment. Volumes can fluctuate based on customer demand, delivery quality and the competitive landscape. Our ability to deliver customized solutions on a timely basis is critical to our success. Any delay could impact our competitive position and result in loss of customer orders, which could impact our financial position and operating results.

In our Concentrix segment, we have experienced client concentration. This client concentration increases the risk of quarterly fluctuations in our operating results, depending on the seasonal pattern of our top clients’ business. In addition, our top clients could make greater demands on us with regard to pricing and contractual terms in general. The loss of, or significant decrease in demand from, any of our top clients could affect our business, results of operations and financial condition of the segment.

The market for CE products that we distribute is characterized by short product life cycles. Increased competition for limited retailer shelf space, decreased promotional support from resellers or retailers or increased popularity of downloadable or online content and services could adversely impact our revenue.

The market for CE products, such as personal computers and tablets, mobile devices, wearable devices, video game titles and hardware, and audio or visual equipment, is characterized by short product life cycles and frequent introductions of new products. The markets in which we compete frequently introduce new products to meet changing consumer preferences and trends. As a result, competition is intense for resellers’ and retailers’ limited shelf space and promotions. If our vendors’ new products are not introduced in a timely manner or do not achieve significant market acceptance, we may not generate sufficient sales or profitability. Further, if we are unable to successfully compete for resellers’ or retailers’ space and promotional resources, this could negatively impact market acceptance of our products and negatively impact our business and operating results.

Our Concentrix business is subject to dynamic changes in its business model and intense competition, which in turn could cause our operations to suffer.

The customer experience services industry is highly competitive, highly fragmented and subject to rapid change. We believe that the principal competitive factors in this market are breadth and depth of process and domain expertise, service quality, the ability to attract, train and retain qualified people, compliance rigor, global delivery capabilities, price and marketing and sales capabilities. We compete for business with a variety of companies, including in-house operations of existing and potential clients. If our clients place more focus in this area and internalize these operations, this could also cause a significant reduction in the size of the available market for third party service providers like us. Similarly, if competitors offer their services at lower prices to gain market share or provide services that gain greater market acceptance than the services we offer or develop, this could cause a significant decrease in the available market for us. In addition, our success may depend on our ability to continue to develop and implement services and solutions that anticipate and respond to rapid and continuing changes in technology and offerings to serve the evolving needs of our clients. Some of these technologies, such as cloud-based services, artificial intelligence and automation, may cause an adverse shift in the way our existing business operations are conducted or decrease the size of the available market.

If we are unable to hire and retain employees with domain expertise for our Concentrix business, our operations will be disrupted, and such disruption may impact our ability to manage our costs, which in turn could impact our profitability.

The success of our operations and the quality of our services are highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel in all of our international delivery centers. The industry is characterized by high employee attrition rates and we face

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competition in hiring, retaining and motivating talented and skilled leaders and employees with domain experience. Any increase in our employee turnover rate could increase recruiting and training costs and could decrease operating effectiveness and productivity.

In addition, our profitability is directly affected by the utilization rate of our personnel resources. If we are unable to achieve optimum utilization of our personnel resources, we may experience erosions in our profit margin. However, if our utilization is too high, it may result in a deterioration in the quality of services provided to our clients and may also result in higher attrition rates. If we are unable to manage our employee attrition rates, adequately motivate our employees or utilize our personnel resources efficiently, our operations will be disrupted, and such disruption may impact our ability to manage our costs, which in turn could impact our profitability.

If we fail to maintain effective internal controls over operations we perform for our clients in our Concentrix business or if our information systems are breached or client data are compromised, client relations may suffer, which in turn may adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.

Our customer experience services business involves us representing our clients in certain critical operations of their business processes such as sales, marketing and customer support. If our clients experience disruptions in these operations or are dissatisfied with the quality of service provided, our client relationships may suffer and we may face possible legal action.

In addition, in management of our clients’ operations, we manage large volumes of customer information and confidential data. We may be liable and our operations may be disrupted if there is a breach of confidentiality of client data, if an employee violates policies and regulations governing the management of personal information, if we lose our client’s data or if the security of our IT systems is compromised.

We may also be liable if we do not maintain adequate internal controls over the processes we manage for our clients or if we fail to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to the operations in which we represent our clients. Our clients may request us to obtain audit reports over our internal controls. If we are unable to complete these audit reports in a timely manner, or if internal control deficiencies are identified in the audit process, our client relationships may suffer.

We have issued guarantees to certain of our Concentrix clients to guarantee the performance obligations of our subsidiaries. If our subsidiaries are unable to meet their performance obligations under the terms of client contracts, we are obligated under these guarantees to pay damages, which may adversely affect the results of our operations.

If we are unable to successfully manage our delivery centers in the Concentrix business, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our Concentrix business, which has extensive international operations, may be adversely impacted if we are unable to manage and communicate with the resources located internationally. Service quality may be placed at risk and our ability to optimize our resources may be compromised if we are unable to manage our resources remotely. Our Concentrix business uses a wide variety of technologies to allow us to manage a large volume of work. These technologies are designed to keep our employees productive. Any failure in technology may have a negative impact on our operations. The success of our services primarily depends on the performance of our employees and resulting client satisfaction. Any increase in average waiting time or handling time or lack of promptness or technical expertise of our employees will directly impact client satisfaction. Any adverse client satisfaction may impact the overall business. If we are unable to successfully manage our delivery centers, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

Changes in foreign currency exchange rates and limitations on the convertibility of foreign currencies could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Approximately 34%, 28% (as adjusted) and 27% (as adjusted) of our revenues in fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively, were generated outside the United States. Most of our international revenue, cost of revenue and operating expenses are denominated in foreign currencies. Westcon-Comstor Latin America revenue is generally denominated in local currencies while cost of revenue is denominated in U.S. dollars. We presently have currency exposure arising from both sales and purchases denominated in foreign currencies. Changes in exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar may adversely affect our operating margins. For example, if these foreign currencies appreciate against the U.S. dollar, it will be more expensive in terms of U.S. dollars to purchase inventory or pay expenses with foreign currencies. This could have a negative impact on us if revenue related to these purchases is transacted in U.S. dollars. In addition, currency devaluation can result in our products, the majority of which are purchased by us in U.S. dollars, to be relatively more expensive to procure than products manufactured locally. In our Technology Solutions segment, we currently conduct only limited hedging activities, which involve the use of currency forward contracts. Hedging foreign currencies can be risky. Certain of these hedge positions are undesignated hedges of balance sheet exposures, such as intercompany loans, and typically have maturities of less than one year.

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In our Concentrix segment, our customer experience services are delivered from several delivery centers located around the world, with significant operations in the Philippines and India. As a result, our revenue may be earned in currencies that are different from the currencies in which we incur corresponding expenses. Fluctuations in the value of currencies, such as the Philippine Peso and the Indian Rupee against the U.S. Dollar, and inflation in the local economies in which these delivery centers are located, could increase the operating and labor costs in these delivery centers which can result in reduced profitability. Although we enter into hedging contracts in certain currencies to limit our potential foreign currency exposure, a significant decrease in the value of the contractual currency, relative to the currencies where services are provided, could have a material adverse impact on our operating results that are not fully offset by gains realized under our hedging contracts.

There is also additional risk if the currency is not freely or actively traded. Some currencies, such as the Chinese Renminbi, the Philippines Peso and the Indian Rupee, are subject to limitations on conversion into other currencies, which can limit our ability to hedge or to otherwise react to rapid foreign currency devaluations. We cannot predict the impact of future exchange rate fluctuations on our business and operating results.

We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative trading purposes, nor do we hedge our foreign currency exposure in a manner that entirely offsets the effects of changes in foreign exchange rates.

As a general rule, we do not use financial instruments to hedge local currency denominated operating expenses in countries where a natural hedge exists. For example, in many countries, revenue from the local currency services substantially offsets the local currency denominated operating expenses.

Because we conduct substantial operations in China, risks associated with economic, political and social events in China could negatively affect our business and operating results.

A substantial portion of our Technology Solutions IT systems operations, including our IT systems support and software development operations, and a portion of our Concentrix services, are located in China. In addition, we also conduct general and administrative activities from our facilities in China. Our operations in China are subject to a number of risks relating to China’s economic and political systems, including:

Our IT systems are an important part of our global operations. Any significant interruption in service, whether resulting from any of the above uncertainties, natural disasters or otherwise, could result in delays in our inventory purchasing, errors in order fulfillment, reduced levels of customer service and other disruptions in operations, any of which could cause our business and operating results to suffer.

We may have higher than anticipated tax liabilities.

We conduct business globally and file income tax returns in various tax jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by several factors, many of which are outside of our control, including:

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We report our results of operations based on our determination of the amount of taxes owed in various tax jurisdictions in which we operate. The determination of our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities requires estimation, judgment and calculations where the ultimate tax determination may not be certain. Our determination of tax liability is always subject to review or examination by tax authorities in various tax jurisdictions. Any adverse outcome of such review or examination could have a negative impact on our operating results and financial condition. The results from various tax examinations and audits may differ from the liabilities recorded in our financial statements and could adversely affect our financial results and cash flows.

We have pursued and intend to continue to pursue strategic acquisitions or investments in new markets and may encounter risks associated with these activities, which could harm our business and operating results.

We have in the past pursued, and in the future expect to pursue, acquisitions of, or investments in, businesses and assets in new markets, either within or outside the IT and CE products and services industries and the customer experience services industry, that complement or expand our existing business. Our acquisition strategy involves a number of risks, including:

We may incur additional costs and certain redundant expenses in connection with our acquisitions and investments, which may have an adverse impact on our operating margins. Future acquisitions may result in dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of additional debt, large write-offs, a decrease in future profitability, or future losses. The incurrence of debt in connection with any future acquisitions could restrict our ability to obtain working capital or other financing necessary to operate our business. Our recent and future acquisitions or investments may not be successful, and if we fail to realize the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions or investments, our business and operating results could be harmed.

Our goodwill and identifiable intangible assets could become impaired, which could have a material non-cash adverse effect on our results of operations.

We recorded substantial goodwill and amortizable intangible assets as a result of our previous acquisitions. We review our goodwill and intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. We assess whether there has been an impairment in the value of goodwill at least annually. Factors that may be considered a change in circumstances indicating that the carrying value of our goodwill or intangible assets may not be recoverable include declines in stock price, market capitalization or cash flows and slower growth rates in our industry. We could be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill or intangible assets were determined, negatively impacting our results of operations.

Because of the capital-intensive nature of our Technology Solutions business, we need continued access to capital, which if not available to us or if not available on favorable terms, could harm our ability to operate or expand our business.

Our Technology Solutions business requires significant levels of capital to finance accounts receivable and product inventory that is not financed by trade creditors. If cash from available sources is insufficient, proceeds from our accounts receivable securitization and revolving credit programs are limited or cash is used for unanticipated needs, we may require additional capital sooner than anticipated.

In the event we are required, or elect, to raise additional funds, including as a result of the separation, we may be unable to do so on favorable terms, or at all, and may incur expenses in raising the additional funds. Our current and future indebtedness could adversely affect our operating results and severely limit our ability to plan for, or react to, changes in our business or industry. We could also be limited by financial and other restrictive covenants in securitization or credit arrangements, including limitations on our borrowing of additional funds and issuing dividends. Furthermore, the cost of securitization or debt financing could significantly increase in the future, including as a result of the separation, making it cost prohibitive to securitize our accounts receivable or borrow, which could force us to issue new equity securities. If we issue new equity securities, existing stockholders may experience dilution,

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or the new equity securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing holders of common stock. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, we may not be able to take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated requirements. Any inability to raise additional capital when required could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.

The terms of our debt arrangements impose significant restrictions on our ability to operate which in turn could negatively affect our ability to respond to business and market conditions and therefore could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.

As of November 30, 2019, we had $3.0 billion in outstanding short and long-term borrowings under term loans, lines of credit, accounts receivable securitization programs and capital leases, excluding trade payables. The terms of one or more of the agreements under which this indebtedness was incurred may limit or restrict, among other things, our ability to:

We are also required to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy certain financial condition tests under certain of our debt facilities. Our inability to meet these ratios and tests, including as a result of the separation, could result in the acceleration of the repayment of the related debt, termination of the applicable facility, an increase in our effective cost of funds or the cross-default of other credit and securitization arrangements. As a result, our ability to operate may be restricted and our ability to respond to business and market conditions may be limited, which could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations, which could adversely affect our business.

Our ability to make scheduled debt payments or to refinance our debt obligations depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We cannot be certain that we will maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal and interest on our indebtedness.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, including as a result of the separation, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or operations, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot be certain that we would be able to take any of these actions, that these actions would be successful and permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our existing or future debt agreements. In the absence of such operating results and resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. Some of our credit facilities restrict our ability to dispose assets and use the proceeds from such disposition. As such, we may not be able to consummate those dispositions or use any resulting proceeds and, in addition, such proceeds may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due.

If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and, as a result:

If the interest rates on our borrowings increase, our access to capital and net income could be adversely affected.

Our borrowings and securitization arrangements are variable-rate obligations and expose us to interest rate risks. If interest rates increase, debt service obligations and our interest expense will increase even though the amount borrowed remains the same. Our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease.

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An increase in interest rates may increase our future borrowing costs and restrict our access to capital. Additionally, current market conditions, the recovering global economy, and overall credit conditions could limit our availability of capital, which could cause increases in interest margin spreads over underlying indices, effectively increasing the cost of our borrowing. While some of our credit facilities have contractually negotiated spreads, any changes to these spreads in connection with renegotiations of our credit facilities could adversely affect our results of operations.

We have entered into interest rate swaps with financial institutions to effectively convert a portion of our floating rate debt to a fixed interest rate to manage our exposure to fluctuations in interest rates. In the event of the nonperformance by the counterparties, we are exposed to credit losses.

A portion of our revenue is financed by floor plan financing companies and any termination or reduction in these financing arrangements could increase our financing costs and harm our business and operating results.

A portion of our product distribution revenue is financed by floor plan financing companies. Floor plan financing companies are engaged by our customers to finance, or floor, the purchase of products from us. In exchange for a fee, we transfer the risk of loss on the sale of our products to the floor plan companies. We currently receive payment from these financing companies within approximately 15 to 30 days from the date of the sale, which allows our business to operate at much lower relative working capital levels than if such programs were not available. If these floor plan arrangements are terminated or substantially reduced, the need for more working capital and the increased financing cost could harm our business and operating results.

We have significant credit exposure to our customers, and negative trends in their businesses could cause us significant credit loss and negatively impact our cash flow and liquidity position.

We extend credit to our customers for a significant portion of our sales to them and they have a period of time, generally 30 days after the date of invoice, to make payment. However, in certain cases, for some of our larger customers, we offer longer terms of payment. As a result, we are subject to the risk that our customers will not pay on time or at all. Our credit exposure risk may increase due to financial difficulties or liquidity or solvency issues experienced by our customers, resulting in their inability to repay us. The liquidity or solvency issues may increase as a result of an economic downturn or a decrease in IT or CE spending by end-users. If we are unable to collect payments in a timely manner from our customers due to changes in financial or economic conditions, or for other reasons, and we are unable to collect under our credit insurance policies, we may write-off the amount due from the customers. These write-offs may result in credit insurance being more expensive and on terms that are less favorable to us and may negatively impact our ability to utilize accounts receivable-based financing. In addition, the failure of customers to pay within a specified time period after the date of an invoice could result in defaults under our accounts receivable securitization program. These circumstances could negatively impact our cash flow and liquidity position, or result in the cross-default to our other indebtedness and acceleration of the repayment of our indebtedness. Further, we are exposed to higher collection risk as we continue to expand internationally, where the payment cycles are generally longer and the credit rating process may not be as robust as in the United States, and where our access to accounts receivable financing is more limited.

We are dependent on a variety of IT and telecommunications systems and the Internet, and any failure of these systems could adversely impact our business and operating results.

We depend on IT and telecommunications systems and the Internet for our operations. These systems support a variety of functions including inventory management, order processing, shipping, shipment tracking, billing, and our Concentrix business.

Failures or significant downtime of our IT or telecommunications systems could prevent us from taking customer orders, printing product pick-lists, shipping products, billing customers and handling call volume. Frequent or prolonged interruption in our ability to provide service in our Concentrix business would adversely affect our client relationships and damage our reputation. Sales also may be affected if our reseller and retail customers are unable to access our pricing and product availability information. We also rely on the Internet, and in particular EDI and XML, for a large portion of our orders and information exchanges with our OEM suppliers and reseller and retail customers. The Internet and individual websites have experienced a number of disruptions and slowdowns, some of which were caused by organized attacks. In addition, some websites have experienced security breakdowns. If we were to experience a security breakdown, disruption or breach that compromised sensitive information, it could harm our relationship with our OEM suppliers and reseller and retail customers. Disruption of our website or the Internet in general could impair our order processing or more generally prevent our OEM suppliers and reseller and retail customers from accessing information. Our Concentrix business is dependent upon telephone and data services provided by third party telecommunications service vendors and our IT and telecommunications systems. Any significant increase in our IT and telecommunications costs or temporary or permanent loss of our IT or telecommunications systems could harm our relationships with our customers. The occurrence of any of these events could have an adverse effect on our operations and financial results.

Cyberattacks or the improper disclosure or control of personal information could result in liability and harm our reputation, which could adversely affect our business.

Our business is heavily dependent upon information technology networks and systems. Internal or external attacks on those networks and systems could disrupt our normal operations centers and impede our ability to provide critical products and services to our customers and clients, subjecting us to liability under our contracts and damaging our reputation.

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Our business also involves the use, storage and transmission of information about our employees, our clients and customers of our clients. If any person, including any of our employees, negligently disregards or intentionally breaches our established controls with respect to such data or otherwise mismanages or misappropriates that data, we could be subject to monetary damages, fines or criminal prosecution. Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential client or customer data, whether through system failure, employee negligence, fraud or misappropriation, along with unauthorized access to or through our information systems or those we develop for clients, whether by our employees or third parties, could result in negative publicity, loss of clients, legal liability and damage to our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.

While we take measures to protect the security of, and prevent unauthorized access to, our systems and personal and proprietary information, the security controls for our systems, as well as other security practices we follow, may not prevent improper access to, or disclosure of, personally identifiable or proprietary information. Furthermore, data privacy is subject to frequently changing rules and regulations, which sometimes conflict among the various jurisdictions and countries in which we provide services. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, the Data Privacy Act in Philippines, the California Consumer Privacy Act and other similar laws have resulted, and will continue to result, in increased compliance costs. Our failure to adhere to or successfully implement processes in response to these and other changing regulatory requirements in this area could result in legal liability or impairment to our reputation in the marketplace, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on independent shipping companies for delivery of products, and price increases or service interruptions from these carriers could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We rely almost entirely on arrangements with independent shipping companies, such as FedEx and UPS, for the delivery of our products from OEM suppliers and delivery of products to reseller and retail customers. Freight and shipping charges can have a significant impact on our gross margin. As a result, an increase in freight surcharges due to rising fuel cost or general price increases will have an immediate adverse effect on our margins, unless we are able to pass the increased charges to our reseller and retail customers or renegotiate terms with our OEM suppliers. In addition, in the past, carriers have experienced work stoppages due to labor negotiations with management. An increase in freight or shipping charges, the termination of our arrangements with one or more of these independent shipping companies, the failure or inability of one or more of these independent shipping companies to deliver products, or the unavailability of their shipping services, even temporarily, could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Because of the experience of our key personnel in the IT, CE and the customer experience services industries and their technological and industry expertise, if we were to lose any of our key personnel, it could inhibit our ability to operate and grow our business successfully.

We are dependent in large part on our ability to retain the services of our key senior executives and other technological and industry experts and personnel. Except for Dennis Polk, our President and Chief Executive Officer, we generally do not have employment agreements with our executives or employees. We also do not carry “key person” insurance coverage for any of our key executives. We compete for qualified senior management and technical personnel. The loss of, or inability to hire, key executives or qualified employees could inhibit our ability to operate and grow our business successfully.

We may experience theft of product from our warehouses, water damage to our properties and other casualty events which could harm our operating results.

From time to time, we have experienced incidents of theft at various facilities, water damages to our properties and other casualty events. These types of incidents may make it more difficult or expensive for us to obtain insurance coverage in the future. Also, the same or similar incidents may occur in the future for which we may not have sufficient insurance coverage or policy limits to be fully compensated for the loss, which may have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

We may become involved in intellectual property or other disputes that could cause us to incur substantial costs, divert the efforts of our management, and require us to pay substantial damages or require us to obtain a license, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

From time to time, we receive notifications alleging infringements of intellectual property rights allegedly held by others relating to our business or the products we sell or integrate for our OEM suppliers and others. Litigation with respect to patents or other intellectual property matters could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and other resources and could have an adverse effect on our business. Although we generally have various levels of indemnification protection from our OEM suppliers and design and integration solutions customers, in many cases any indemnification to which we may be entitled is subject to maximum limits or other restrictions.

In addition, we have developed proprietary IT systems, mobile applications, and cloud-based technology and acquired technologies that play an important role in our business. If any infringement claim is successful against us and if indemnification is not available or sufficient, we may be required to pay substantial damages or we may need to seek and obtain a license of the other party’s intellectual property rights. We may be unable to obtain such a license on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

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We are from time to time involved in other litigation in the ordinary course of business. We may not be successful in defending these or other claims. Regardless of the outcome, litigation could result in substantial expense and could divert the efforts of our management.

We have significant operations concentrated in North and Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe and any disruption in the operations of our facilities could harm our business and operating results.

Our worldwide operations could be subject to natural disasters, adverse weather conditions and other business disruptions, which could seriously harm our revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses. We have significant operations in our facilities located in North and Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. As a result, any prolonged disruption in the operations of our facilities, whether due to technical difficulties, power failures, break-ins, destruction or damage to the facilities as a result of a natural disaster, fire or any other reason, could harm our operating results. If there are related disruptions in local or international supply chains, we may experience supply shortages or delays in receiving products from our OEM suppliers or experience other delays in shipping to our customers. If we are unable to fulfill customer requirements in a timely manner, this could harm our operating results. For example, our Philippines operation is at greater risk due to adverse weather conditions, such as typhoons, mudslides and floods. We currently have a disaster recovery plan and business interruption insurance; however, they may not be sufficient to compensate for losses that may occur.

Global health and economic, political and social conditions may harm our ability to do business, increase our costs and negatively affect our stock price.

Worldwide economic conditions remain uncertain due to adverse consequences concerning the United States and China trade negotiations, the United Kingdom’s impending exit from the European Union, United States federal government budget disruptions, market volatility as a result of political leadership in certain countries and other disruptions to global and regional economies and markets. External factors, such as potential terrorist attacks, acts of war, geopolitical and social turmoil or epidemics and other similar outbreaks in many parts of the world, could prevent or hinder our ability to do business, increase our costs and negatively affect our stock price. More generally, these geopolitical, social and economic conditions could result in increased volatility in the United States and worldwide financial markets and economy. For example, increased instability may enhance volatility in currency exchange rates, cause our customers or potential customers to delay or reduce spending on our products or services, and limit our suppliers’ access to credit. It could also adversely impact our ability to obtain adequate insurance at reasonable rates and may require us to incur increased costs for security measures for our domestic and international operations. We are predominantly uninsured for losses and interruptions caused by terrorism, acts of war and similar events. These uncertainties make it difficult for us and our suppliers and customers to accurately plan future business activities.

Part of our business is conducted outside of the United States, exposing us to additional risks that may not exist in the United States, which in turn could cause our business and operating results to suffer.

We have significant international operations and presence which subjects us to risks, including:

We may continue to expand internationally to respond to competitive pressure and customer and market requirements. Establishing operations in any foreign country or region presents risks such as those described above as well as risks specific to the particular country or region. In addition, until a payment history is established over time with customers in a new geography or region,

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the likelihood of collecting accounts receivable generated by such operations could be less than our expectations. As a result, there is a greater risk that reserves set with respect to the collection of such accounts receivable may be inadequate. Furthermore, if our international expansion efforts in any foreign country are unsuccessful, we may decide to cease operations, which would likely cause us to incur additional expense and loss.

In addition, changes in policies or laws of the United States or foreign governments resulting in, among other things, higher taxation, currency conversion limitations, restrictions on fund transfers or the expropriation of private enterprises, could reduce the anticipated benefits of our international expansion. Any actions by countries in which we conduct business to reverse policies that encourage foreign trade or investment could adversely affect our business. If we fail to realize the anticipated growth of our future international operations, our business and operating results could suffer.

The concentration of ownership of our common stock among our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders could allow them to influence all matters requiring stockholder approval and could delay or prevent a change in control of SYNNEX.

As of November 30, 2019, our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders owned approximately 20% of our outstanding common stock. In particular, MiTAC Holdings Corporation (“MiTAC Holdings”) and its affiliates owned approximately 18% of our common stock. MiTAC Holdings is a publicly-traded company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. As a result, these stockholders have the potential ability to influence or control matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers and acquisitions, or exert influence on actions of our Board of Directors. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common stock.

There could be potential conflicts of interest between us and MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates, which could affect our business and operating results.

MiTAC Holdings’ and its affiliates’ continuing beneficial ownership of our common stock could create conflicts of interest with respect to a variety of matters, such as potential acquisitions, competition, issuance or disposition of securities, election of directors, payment of dividends and other business matters. For example, we currently purchase inventories from MiTAC Holdings. Similar risks could exist as a result of Matthew Miau’s positions as our Chairman Emeritus, a member of our Board of Directors, the Chairman of MiTAC Holdings and as a director or officer of MiTAC Holdings’ affiliates. For fiscal year 2019, Mr. Miau received the same compensation as our independent directors and during fiscal year 2020 Mr. Miau will receive the same compensation as our independent directors. Mr. Miau’s compensation as one of our directors is based upon the approval of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, which is solely composed of independent members of the Board of Directors. We also have adopted a policy requiring material transactions in which any of our directors has a potential conflict of interest to be approved by our Audit Committee, which is also composed of independent members of the Board of Directors.

Synnex Technology International Corp., or Synnex Technology International, a publicly-traded company based in Taiwan and affiliated with MiTAC Holdings, currently provides distribution and fulfillment services to various markets in Asia and Australia, and is also a potential competitor of ours. As of November 30, 2019, MiTAC Incorporated, a privately-held company based in Taiwan and a separate entity from MiTAC Holdings, directly and indirectly owned approximately 14.4% of Synnex Technology International and approximately 7.8% of MiTAC Holdings. As of November 30, 2019, MiTAC Holdings directly and indirectly owned 0.8% of Synnex Technology International. In addition, MiTAC Holdings directly and indirectly owned approximately 8.7% of MiTAC Incorporated and Synnex Technology International directly and indirectly owned approximately 18.4% of MiTAC Incorporated as of November 30, 2019. Synnex Technology International indirectly through its ownership of Peer Developments Limited owned approximately 7.5% of our outstanding common stock as of November 30, 2019. Neither MiTAC Holdings, nor Synnex Technology International is restricted from competing with us. In the future, we may increasingly compete with Synnex Technology International, particularly if our business in Asia expands or Synnex Technology International expands its business into geographies or customers we serve. Although Synnex Technology International is a separate entity from us, it is possible that there will be confusion as a result of the similarity of our names. Moreover, we cannot limit or control the use of the Synnex name by Synnex Technology International in certain geographies and our use of the Synnex name may be restricted as a result of registration of the name by Synnex Technology International or the prior use in jurisdictions where it currently operates.

Volatility in the IT and CE industries could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

We have in the past, experienced decreases in demand and we anticipate that the industries we operate in will be subject to a high degree of cyclicality in the future. Softening demand for our products and services caused by an ongoing economic downturn and over-capacity may impact our revenue, as well the salability of inventory and collection of reseller and retail customer accounts receivable. In addition, if we are not able to adequately adapt to the emergence of new technology or customer demand, such as cloud-based IT infrastructure and software-as-a-service, our future operating results could be adversely affected.

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We are subject to intense competition in the Technology Solutions and Concentrix businesses, both in the United States and internationally, and if we fail to compete successfully, we will be unable to gain or retain market share.

We operate in a highly competitive environment, both in the United States and internationally. This competition is based primarily on product and service availability, credit availability, price, speed of delivery, ability to tailor specific solutions to customer needs, quality and depth of product and service lines, pre-sales and post-sales technical support, flexibility and timely response to design changes, and technological capabilities, service and support. We compete with a variety of regional, national and international IT and CE product and service providers and contract manufacturers and assemblers and providers of customer experience services. In some instances, we also compete with our own customers, our own OEM suppliers and MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates.

Our primary competitors are substantially larger and have greater financial, operating, manufacturing and marketing resources than us. Some of our competitors may have broader geographic breadth and range of services than us and may have more developed relationships with their existing customers. We may lose market share in the United States or in international markets, or may be forced in the future to reduce our prices in response to the actions of our competitors and thereby experience a reduction in our gross margins.

In addition, in our Concentrix business, we also face competition from our clients. For example, some of our clients may have internal capabilities and resources to provide their own customer contact centers. Furthermore, pricing pressures and quality of services could impact our business adversely. Our ability to provide a high quality of service is dependent on our ability to retain and properly train our employees and to continue investing in our infrastructure, including IT and telecommunications systems.

We may initiate other business activities, including the broadening of our supply chain capabilities, and may face competition from companies with more experience in those new areas. In addition, as we enter new areas of business, we may also encounter increased competition from current competitors or from new competitors, including some that may once have been our OEM suppliers or reseller and retail customers. Increased competition and negative reaction from our OEM suppliers or reseller and retail customers resulting from our expansion into new business areas could harm our business and operating results.

Our business may be adversely affected by some OEM suppliers’ strategies to consolidate business or increase their direct sales, which in turn could cause our business and operating results to suffer.

A determination by any of our primary OEMs to consolidate their business with other distributors or integration service providers could negatively affect our business and operating results. Consolidation of OEM suppliers has resulted in fewer sources for some of the products and services that we distribute. This consolidation has also resulted in larger OEM suppliers that have significant operating and financial resources. Other suppliers may reduce or eliminate promotional activities to reduce their expenses, which could, in turn, result in declined demand from our reseller or retailer customers and end-users.

Some OEM suppliers, including some of the leading OEM suppliers that we service, have been selling products and services directly to reseller and retail customers and end-users, thereby limiting our business opportunities. If large OEM suppliers increasingly sell directly to end-users or our resellers and retailers, rather than use us as the distributor of their products and services, our business and operating results will suffer.

The IT and CE industries are subject to rapidly changing technologies and process developments, and we may not be able to adequately adjust our business to these changes, which in turn would harm our business and operating results.

Dynamic changes in the IT and CE industries, including the consolidation of OEM suppliers and reductions in the number of authorized distributors used by OEM suppliers, have resulted in new and increased responsibilities for management personnel and have placed, and continue to place, a significant strain upon our management, operating and financial systems and other resources. We may be unable to successfully respond to and manage our business in light of industry developments and trends. As end-users migrate to cloud-based IT infrastructure and software-as-a-service, sales of hardware products may be reduced, thereby negatively impacting our operating results. Also crucial to our success in managing our operations is our ability to achieve additional economies of scale. Our failure to achieve these additional economies of scale or to respond to changes in the IT and CE industries could adversely affect our business and operating results.

If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to report our financial results on a timely and accurate basis may be adversely affected, which in turn could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires our management to report on, and our independent registered public accounting firm to attest to, the effectiveness of our internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting. We completed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for fiscal year 2019, and we have an ongoing program to perform the system and process evaluation and testing necessary to continue to comply with these requirements. However, internal control over financial reporting has inherent limitations, including human error, the possibility that controls could be circumvented or become inadequate because of changed conditions, and fraud. Because of the inherent limitations, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and may not always be prevented or timely detected. We expect to continue to incur significant expense and to devote management resources to Section 404 compliance. In the event that one of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or

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independent registered public accounting firm determines that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective as defined under Section 404, investor perceptions and our reputation may be adversely affected, and the market price of our stock could decline.

Changes to financial accounting standards may affect our results of operations and cause us to change our business practices.

We prepare our financial statements to conform to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). These accounting principles are subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the SEC and various bodies formed to interpret and create appropriate accounting policies. A change in those policies can have a significant effect on our reported results and may affect our reporting of transactions completed before a change is announced. Changes to those rules or the questioning of current practices may adversely affect our reported financial results or the way we conduct our business.

Risks Relating to the Proposed Separation

Our plan to separate into two independent publicly-traded companies is subject to various risks and uncertainties and may not be completed in accordance with the expected plans or anticipated timeline, or at all, and will involve significant time and expense, which could disrupt or adversely affect our business.

On January 9, 2020, we announced plans to separate into two independent publicly-traded companies. The separation, which is currently targeted to be completed in the second half of 2020, is subject to certain closing conditions, including final approval of the SYNNEX Board of Directors, the receipt of favorable opinion with respect to the tax-free nature of the transaction, and the effectiveness of a Form 10 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Unanticipated developments, including changes in the competitive conditions of SYNNEX’ and Concentrix’ respective markets, possible delays in obtaining tax opinions, the uncertainty of the financial markets and challenges in executing the separation, could delay or prevent the completion of the proposed separation, or cause the proposed separation to occur on terms or conditions that are different or less favorable than expected.     

We expect that the process of completing the proposed separation will be time-consuming and involve significant costs and expenses, which may be significantly higher than what we currently anticipate and may not yield a discernible benefit if the separation is not completed. Executing the proposed separation will require significant time and attention from our senior management and employees, which could adversely affect our business, financial results and results of operations. We may also experience increased difficulties in attracting, retaining and motivating employees during the pendency of the separation and following its completion, which could harm our businesses.

The separation may not achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits.

We may not realize some or all of the anticipated strategic, financial, operational, marketing or other benefits from the separation, or such benefits may be delayed by a variety of circumstances, which may not be under the control of SYNNEX or Concentrix. As independent publicly-traded companies, SYNNEX and Concentrix will be smaller, less diversified companies with a narrower business focus and may be more vulnerable to changing market conditions, which could materially and adversely affect their respective business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, there can be no assurance that the combined value of the common stock of the two publicly-traded companies will be equal to or greater than what the value of our common stock would have been had the proposed separation not occurred.

The proposed separation may result in disruptions to, and negatively impact our relationships with, our customers and other business partners.

Parties with which we do business may experience uncertainty associated with the separation, including with respect to current or future business relationships with us. Our business relationships may be subject to disruption as clients, vendors and others may attempt to negotiate changes in existing business relationships or consider entering into business relationships with parties other than us. These disruptions could have a material and adverse effect on the businesses, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of the combined business, including a material and adverse effect on our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the separation.

The separation could result in substantial tax liability.

We intend to obtain an opinion to the effect that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the separation will qualify, for both SYNNEX and its stockholders, as a tax-free reorganization within the meaning of Sections 368(a)(1)(D) and 355 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The opinion will be based, among other things, on various factual assumptions and

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representations we have made. If any of these assumptions or representations are, or become, inaccurate or incomplete, reliance on the opinion may be affected and the separation could be taxable to SYNNEX and its stockholders. The opinion we will receive will not be binding on the IRS or any court. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not challenge the conclusions reflected in the opinion or that a court would not sustain such a challenge.

The separation could negatively impact our access to capital and the terms of our borrowing arrangements, which in turn would have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.

The provisions of our term loans, lines of credit, accounts receivable securitization programs and capital leases (excluding trade payables) may require that we amend the terms of our borrowings due to the separation, and we may not be able to secure terms that are as favorable as those received prior to the separation. Additionally, as a result of the separation and the resulting decreased revenue diversification and decreased earnings we may become unable to satisfy certain financial condition tests or maintain specified financial ratios that are required under our debt facilities, which could result in the acceleration of the repayment of debt (including as a result of cross-defaults under other arrangements), termination of the applicable facility or an increase in our effective cost of funds.  As a result, our ability to operate would be restricted, which would have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Our principal executive offices are located in Fremont, California, and are owned by us. We operate distribution, integration, contact center and administrative facilities in different countries.

Our Technology Solutions segment occupies approximately 65 facilities covering approximately 5.8 million square feet and includes warehouse, logistics and administrative facilities. We own approximately 2.1 million square feet of property and lease the remainder.

Our Concentrix segment occupies approximately 275 facilities comprising service and delivery centers and administrative facilities covering approximately 16.6 million square feet. We own approximately 1.3 million square feet and lease the remainder.

We have sublet unused portions of some of our facilities. We believe our facilities are well maintained and adequate for current and near future operating needs. Upon the expiration or termination of any of our leased facilities, we believe we could obtain comparable office space.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are from time to time involved in legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that these proceedings will have a material adverse effect on the results of our operations, our financial position or the cash flows of our business.

In addition, we have been involved in various bankruptcy preference actions where we were a supplier to the companies now in bankruptcy. These preference actions are filed by the bankruptcy trustee on behalf of the bankrupt estate and generally seek to have payments made by the debtor within 90 days prior to the bankruptcy returned to the bankruptcy estate for allocation among all of the bankruptcy estate’s creditors. We are not currently involved in any material preference proceedings.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Information About our Executive Officers

The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers as of November 30, 2019:

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Dennis Polk is our President and Chief Executive Officer and has served in this capacity since March 2018. Mr. Polk is also a Director and has served in this capacity since February 2012. Mr. Polk previously served as our Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance since joining us in February 2002.

Michael Urban is our President of Worldwide Technology Solutions Distribution and has served in this capacity since February 2019. Prior to joining SYNNEX, Mr. Urban was Corporate Vice President of Strategy, Transformation, and Global Vendor Management of Tech Data Corporation from September 2012 until January 2019. Prior to Tech Data Corporation, Mr. Urban served in progressive leadership roles including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Actebis. Mr. Urban received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Paderborn University in Germany.

Peter Larocque is President, North American Technology Solutions and has served in this capacity since November 2013, having previously served as President of U.S. Distribution since July 2006, Executive Vice President of Distribution since June 2001, and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing from September 1997 until June 2001. Mr. Larocque is responsible for SYNNEX’ North American Technology Solutions business. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Marshall Witt is our Chief Financial Officer and has served in this capacity since April 2013. Prior to joining SYNNEX, Mr. Witt was Senior Vice President of Finance and Controller with FedEx Freight. During his fifteen year tenure with FedEx Corporation, Mr. Witt held progressive financial and operational roles. Prior to FedEx Corporation, he held accounting and finance leadership positions including five years with KPMG LLP as an audit manager for banking and transportation clients. Mr. Witt holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Pacific Lutheran University and a Masters in Accounting from Seattle University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Christopher Caldwell is Executive Vice President and President of Concentrix Corporation and has served in this capacity since February 2014. He previously served as President of Concentrix Corporation from June 2012 to February 2014, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Concentrix Corporation from March 2007 to June 2012, and Senior Vice President, Global Business Development from March 2007 to June 2012. Mr. Caldwell joined SYNNEX in 2004 as Vice President, Emerging Business through the acquisition of EMJ Data Systems Ltd.

Simon Leung is our Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and has served in this capacity since May 2001. Mr. Leung joined SYNNEX in November 2000 as Corporate Counsel. Prior to SYNNEX, Mr. Leung was an attorney at the law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Mr. Leung received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis in International Relations and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota Law School.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our common stock, par value $0.001, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol “SNX.”

As of January 24, 2020, our common stock was held by approximately 5,000 stockholders of record. Because many of the shares of our common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of beneficial owners represented by these stockholders of record.

Stock Price Performance Graph

The stock price performance graph below, which assumes a $100 investment on November 30, 2014, compares our cumulative total stockholder return, the NYSE Composite Index, S&P Midcap 400 Index, Computer and Peripheral Equipment index and a peer group of our Concentrix segment for the period beginning November 30, 2014 through November 30, 2019. The Computer and Peripheral Equipment index is based on the Standard Industrial Classification Code 5045—Wholesale Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software. The companies selected to form the Concentrix peer group index include Accenture plc, Genpact Limited, Teleperformance S.A., TTEC Holdings Inc., Conduent Inc., Transcosmos Inc., Sykes Enterprises, Inc., and Globant S.A. The closing price per share of our common stock was $122.81 on November 30, 2019. The comparisons in the table are required by the SEC and are not intended to forecast or be indicative of possible future performance of our common stock.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

Information regarding the Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans can be found under Item 12 of this Report.

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Dividends

On September 29, 2014, we announced the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend. Since then, dividends have been declared in January, March, June and September and paid at the end of January, April, July and October. Dividends declared per share by fiscal quarter in 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

On January 9, 2020, we announced a cash dividend of $0.40 per share to stockholders of record as of January 24, 2020, payable on January 31, 2020. Dividends are subject to continued capital availability, compliance with the covenants and conditions in some of our credit facilities and the declaration by our Board of Directors in the best interest of our stockholders.

Purchases of Equity Securities

In June 2017, our Board of Directors authorized a three-year $300,000,000 share repurchase program, effective July 1, 2017, pursuant to which we may repurchase our outstanding common stock from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019, we repurchased shares of our common stock aggregating 159,930 for an aggregate purchase price of $15,184,260. As of November 30, 2019, we had repurchased 839,517 shares of our common stock for a total cost of $81,171,706 since inception of the stock repurchase program, and the remaining authorized amount for stock repurchases under this program is $218,828,294. The share purchases were made on the open market and the shares repurchased by the Company are held in treasury for general corporate purposes.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following selected consolidated financial data are qualified by reference to, and should be read together with, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in Item 7 of this Report and the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes included in Item 8 of this Report. The selected Consolidated Statements of Operations and other data presented below for fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of November 30, 2019 and 2018 have been derived from our audited Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Report. The Consolidated Statements of Operations and other data for fiscal years 2016 and 2015 and the Consolidated Balance Sheet data as of November 30, 2017, 2016 and 2015 have been derived from our Consolidated Financial Statements that are not included in this Report. The Consolidated Statements of Operations data include the operating results from our acquisitions from the closing date of each acquisition. Historical operating results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period. Please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Notes 2 and 3 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Report for a discussion of factors, such as business combinations and the adoption of new accounting guidance, that affect the comparability of the following selected consolidated financial data.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

For an understanding of SYNNEX and the significant factors that influenced our performance during the past two fiscal years, the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the description of the business appearing in Item 1 of this Report, Selected Consolidated Financial Data and the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes and Schedules included elsewhere in this Report. You should carefully review and consider the information regarding our financial condition and results of operations set forth under Part I-Item 7 (Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations) in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 28, 2019, for an understanding of our results of operations and liquidity discussions and analysis comparing fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2017.

On December 1, 2018, we adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606 applying the full retrospective method. Amounts for fiscal years ended November 30, 2018 and 2017 have been adjusted in this Report to reflect the adoption of ASC Topic 606, which did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. Refer to Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements under Item 8 of this Report for further information on the impact of ASC Topic 606 on our financial results, our financial condition and cash flows from operations. Amounts in certain tables appearing in this Report may not add or compute due to rounding.

When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or this Report, the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “allows,” “can,” “may,” “designed,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These are statements that relate to future periods and include statements about market trends, our business model and our services, our market strategy, including expansion of our product lines, the proposed separation of SYNNEX and Concentrix, including as to the effect on our results of operations going forward, our infrastructure, our investment in information technology, or IT, systems, our employee hiring, retention and turnover, the ownership interest of MiTAC Holdings Corporation, or MiTAC Holdings, in us and its impact, our revenue, our gross margins, our operating costs and results, the value of our inventory, competition with Synnex Technology International Corp., our future needs for additional financing, the likely sources for such funding and the impact of such funding ,market acceptance of our customers’ products, concentration of customers, our international operations, foreign currency exchange rates and expected trends related thereto, expansion and scaling of our operations and related effects, including our Concentrix business, our strategic acquisitions and divestitures of businesses and assets, including our acquisition of Convergys and the impact of the acquisition on our business, revenue, cost of revenue and gross margin, our goodwill, seasonality of sales, adequacy of our capital resources to meet our capital needs, cash held by our foreign subsidiaries and repatriation, changes in fair value of derivative instruments, adequacy of our disclosure controls and procedures, pricing pressures, competition, impact of economic and industry trends, impact of our accounting policies and recently issued accounting pronouncements, our belief regarding the impact of inventory repurchase obligations and commitments and contingencies, our effective tax rates, our share repurchase and dividend program, our securitization programs and revolving credit lines, our succession planning, our investments in working capital, personnel, facilities and operations. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risks discussed herein, as well as the seasonality of the buying patterns of our customers, concentration of sales to large customers, dependence upon and trends in capital spending budgets in the IT, and consumer electronics, or CE, industries, fluctuations in general economic conditions and other risk factors set forth under Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.” These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Announcement of a plan to separate our Concentrix segment into a separate publicly-traded company

On January 9, 2020, we announced a plan to separate our Concentrix segment into an independent publicly-traded company, in a transaction expected to be completed in the second half of 2020. The separation is intended to qualify as a tax-free transaction for federal income tax purposes for both us and our current stockholders. Immediately following the separation, our stockholders will own shares of both SYNNEX and Concentrix, each at the same percentage ownership that they held of us prior to the transaction. Completion of the separation will not require a stockholder vote but will be subject to customary closing conditions, including final approval of our Board of Directors, the receipt of a favorable opinion with respect to the tax-free nature of the transaction, and the effectiveness of a Form 10 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Revenue and Cost of Revenue

We derive our Technology Solutions revenue primarily through the distribution of peripherals, IT systems, system components, software, networking, communications and security equipment and CE and complementary products, and the delivery of servers and networking solutions for our design and integration solutions customers’ data centers. In our Concentrix segment, we provide high value business outsourcing services and solutions to improve customer experience of our clients. Our Concentrix customer contracts typically consist of a master services agreement or statement of work, which contains the terms and conditions of each program or service we offer. Our agreements can range from less than one year to over five years and are subject to early termination by our customers or us for any reason, typically with 30 to 90 days’ notice.

In fiscal years 2019 and 2018, approximately 34% and 28% of our consolidated revenue, respectively, was generated from our international operations. As a result, our revenue growth has been impacted by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Upon

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completion of the planned separation of our Concentrix segment, we expect this trend to reverse, with a greater proportion of our revenue generated in the United States.

The market for IT products and services is generally characterized by declining unit prices and short product life cycles. Our overall business is also highly competitive on the basis of price. We set our sales price based on the market supply and demand characteristics for each particular product or bundle of products we distribute and solutions we provide. From time to time, we also participate in the incentive and rebate programs of our OEM suppliers. These programs are important determinants of the final sales price we charge to our reseller customers. To mitigate the risk of declining prices and obsolescence of our distribution inventory, our OEM suppliers generally offer us limited price protection and return rights for products that are marked down or discontinued by them. We carefully manage our inventory to maximize the benefit to us of these supplier provided protections.

A significant portion of our Technology Solutions cost of revenue is the purchase price we pay our OEM suppliers for the products we sell, net of any incentives, rebates, price protection and purchase discounts received from our OEM suppliers. Cost of products revenue also consists of provisions for inventory losses and write-downs, freight expenses associated with the receipt in and shipment out of our inventory, and royalties due to OEM vendors. In addition, cost of revenue includes the cost of material, labor and overhead for our systems design and integration solutions. In our Concentrix segment, cost of revenue consists primarily of personnel costs related to contract delivery.

Revenue and cost of revenue in our Technology Solutions segment relate to products, and revenue and cost of revenue in our Concentrix segment relate to services.

Margins

The Technology Solutions industry in which we operate is characterized by low gross profit as a percentage of revenue, or gross margin, and low income from operations as a percentage of revenue, or operating margin. Our Technology Solutions gross margin has fluctuated annually due to changes in the mix of products we offer, customers we sell to, incentives and rebates received from our OEM suppliers, competition, seasonality, replacement of lower margin business, inventory obsolescence, and lower costs associated with increased efficiencies. Generally, when our revenue becomes more concentrated on limited products or customers, our Technology Solutions gross margin tends to decrease due to increased pricing pressure from OEM suppliers or reseller customers. Concentrix gross margins, which are higher than those in our Technology Solutions segment, can be impacted by the mix of customer contracts, additional lead time for programs to be fully scalable and transition and initial set-up costs. Our operating margin has also fluctuated in the past, based primarily on our ability to achieve economies of scale, the management of our operating expenses, changes in the relative mix of our Technology Solutions and Concentrix revenue, and the timing of our acquisitions and investments.

Economic and Industry Trends

Our Technology Solutions revenue is highly dependent on the end-market demand for IT and CE products. This end-market demand is influenced by many factors including the introduction of new IT and CE products and software by OEMs, replacement cycles for existing IT and CE products, seasonality and overall economic growth and general business activity. A difficult and challenging economic environment may also lead to consolidation or decline in the IT and CE distribution industry and increased price-based competition. Business in our system design and solutions is highly dependent on the demand for cloud infrastructure, and the number of key customers and suppliers in the market. Our Technology Solutions business includes operations in the United States, Canada, Japan and Latin America, so we are affected by demand for our products in those regions and the strengthening or weakening of local currencies relative to the U.S. Dollar.

The customer experience services industry in which our Concentrix segment operates is competitive. Customers’ performance measures are based on competitive pricing terms and quality of services. Accordingly, we could be subject to pricing pressure and may experience a decline in our average selling prices for our services. Our Concentrix business is largely concentrated in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, India, Canada, China and Japan. Accordingly, we would be impacted by economic strength or weakness in these geographies and by the strengthening or weakening of local currencies relative to the U.S. Dollar.

During the three-year period ended November 30, 2019, the economic environment was generally stable.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The discussions and analysis of our consolidated financial condition and results of operations are based on our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in conformity with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of any contingent assets and liabilities at the financial statement date, and reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, we review and evaluate our estimates and assumptions. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and a variety of other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making our judgment about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily available from other sources. Actual results could differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

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We believe the following critical accounting policies involve the more significant judgments, estimates and/or assumptions used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Revenue Recognition.

On December 1, 2018, we adopted ASC Topic 606 applying the full retrospective method. See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding the impact of adopting this new revenue standard.

We generate revenue primarily from (i) the sale of various IT products through our Technology Solutions business unit and (ii) the provision of business outsourcing services focused on customer experience through our Concentrix business unit.

Revenue from our Technology Solutions segment is categorized as products revenue in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. Revenue from our Concentrix segment is categorized as services revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

We recognize revenue from the sale of IT hardware and software as control is transferred to customers, which is at the time when the product is shipped or delivered. Products sold by us are delivered via shipment from our facilities, drop-shipment directly from the vendor, or by electronic delivery of software products. We account for a contract with a customer when it has written approval, the contract is committed, the rights of the parties, including payment terms, are identified, the contract has commercial substance and consideration is probable of collection. Binding purchase orders from customers together with agreement to our terms and conditions of sale by way of an executed agreement or other signed documents are considered to be the contract with a customer. In situations where arrangements include customer acceptance provisions, revenue is recognized when we can objectively verify the products comply with specifications underlying acceptance and the customer has control of the goods. Revenue is presented net of taxes collected from customers and remitted to government authorities. We generally invoice a customer upon shipment, or in accordance with specific contractual provisions. Payments are due as per contract terms and do not contain a significant financing component. 

Provisions for sales returns and allowances are estimated based on historical data and are recorded concurrently with the recognition of revenue. A liability is recorded at the time of sale for estimated product returns based upon historical experience and an asset is recognized for the amount expected to be recorded in inventory upon product return. These provisions are reviewed and adjusted periodically. Revenue is reduced for early payment discounts and volume incentive rebates offered to customers, which are considered variable consideration, at the time of sale based on an evaluation of the contract terms and historical experience.

We recognize revenue on a net basis on certain contracts, where our performance obligation is to arrange for the products or services to be provided by another party or the rendering of logistics services for the delivery of inventory for which we do not assume the risks and rewards of ownership, by recognizing the margins earned in revenue with no associated cost of revenue. Such arrangements, which are not material to our consolidated revenue or our “Products” or “Services” revenue, include supplier service contracts, post-contract software support services and extended warranty contracts.

We consider shipping and handling activities as costs to fulfill the sale of products. Shipping revenue is included in net sales when control of the product is transferred to the customer, and the related shipping and handling costs are included in cost of products sold.

For the Concentrix segment, we recognize revenue from services contracts over time as the promised services are delivered to clients for an amount that reflects the consideration to which we are entitled in exchange for those services. We account for a contract with a customer when it has written approval, the contract is committed, the rights of the parties, including payment terms, are identified, the contract has commercial substance and consideration is probable of collection. Revenue is presented net of taxes collected from customers and remitted to government authorities. We generally invoice a customer after performance of services, or in accordance with specific contractual provisions. Payments are due as per contract terms and do not contain a significant financing component. Service contracts may be based on a fixed price or on a fixed unit-price per transaction or other objective measure of output. We determine whether the services performed during the initial phases of an arrangement, such as setup activities, are distinct. In most cases, the arrangement is a single performance obligation comprised of a series of distinct services that are substantially the same and that have the same pattern of transfer (i.e., distinct days of service). We record deferred revenue attributable to certain process transition, setup activities where such activities do not represent separate performance obligations. Billings related to such transition activities are classified under contract liabilities and subsequently recognized ratably over the period in which the related services are performed. We apply a measure of progress (typically time-based) to any fixed consideration and allocates variable consideration to the distinct periods of service based on usage. As a result, revenue is generally recognized over the period the services are provided on a usage basis. This results in revenue recognition that corresponds with the benefit to the client of the services transferred to date relative to the remaining services promised. Revenue on fixed price contracts is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the contract as services are provided. Revenue on unit-price transactions is recognized using an objective measure of output including staffing hours or the number of transactions processed by service agents. Client contract terms can range from less than one year to more than five years.

Certain client contracts include incentive payments from the client upon achieving certain agreed-upon service levels and performance metrics or service level agreements that could result in credits or refunds to the client. Revenue relating to such

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arrangements is accounted for as variable consideration when the likely amount of revenue to be recognized can be estimated to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of any incremental revenue will not occur.

Business Combinations. We allocate the fair value of purchase consideration to the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and noncontrolling interests in the acquiree generally based on their fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair value of these assets acquired, liabilities assumed and noncontrolling interests in the acquiree is recorded as goodwill and may involve engaging independent third-parties to perform an appraisal. When determining the fair values of assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and noncontrolling interests in the acquiree, we make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets. Critical estimates in valuing intangible assets include, but are not limited to, expected future cash flows, which includes consideration of future growth rates and margins, attrition rates, and discount rates. Fair value estimates are based on the assumptions we believe a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability. Amounts recorded in a business combination may change during the measurement period, which is a period not to exceed one year from the date of acquisition, as additional information about conditions existing at the acquisition date becomes available.

Acquisitions

We continually seek to augment organic growth in both our business segments with strategic acquisitions of businesses and assets that complement and expand our existing capabilities. We also divest businesses that we deem no longer strategic to our ongoing operations. In our Technology Solutions business we seek to acquire new OEM relationships, enhance our supply chain and integration capabilities, the services we provide to our customers and OEM suppliers, and expand our geographic footprint. In our Concentrix segment we seek to enhance our capabilities and domain expertise in our key verticals, expand our geographic footprint and further expand into higher value service offerings. We are also strategically focused on further increasing our scale to support our customers.

Acquisition during fiscal year 2018

On October 5, 2018, we acquired 100% of Convergys Corporation, ("Convergys”), a customer experience outsourcing company for a purchase price of $2.3 billion. This acquisition is related to our Concentrix segment and added scale, diversified our revenue base, expanded our service delivery footprint, and strengthened our leadership position as a top global provider of services to improve customer experience.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth, for the indicated periods, data as percentages of total revenue:

With the announcement of a plan to separate the Concentrix segment into a separate publicly-traded company in a transaction expected to be completed in the second half of 2020, our services revenue and cost of services revenue which represent revenue and cost of revenue of our Concentrix segment are expected to be discontinued following the separation. Further, selling, general and administrative expenses, interest expense and finance charges, net, other income (expense), net and provision for income-taxes are expected to decrease by amounts related to the Concentrix segment or impacted by the proposed separation, with related reductions in gross profit, operating income and net income. Additionally, our gross margin and operating margin are expected to decrease due to the discontinuance of the higher margins earned in the Concentrix segment.

In addition, in the second half of 2020, we expect a decrease in our products revenue of approximately $1.2 billion due to a customer moving to a consignment model where we will provide integration services on an agency basis.

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Certain non-GAAP financial information

In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with GAAP, we also disclose certain non-GAAP financial information, including:

We believe that providing this additional information is useful to the reader to better assess and understand our base operating performance, especially when comparing results with previous periods and for planning and forecasting in future periods, primarily because management typically monitors the business adjusted for these items in addition to GAAP results. Management also uses these non-GAAP measures to establish operational goals and, in some cases, for measuring performance for compensation purposes. As these non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, they may not necessarily be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures and should be used as a complement to, and in conjunction with, data presented in accordance with GAAP.

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Non-GAAP Financial Information:

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Fiscal Years Ended November 30, 2019 and 2018

Revenue

Our revenue includes sales of products and services. In our Technology Solutions segment, we distribute a comprehensive range of products for the technology industry and design and integrate data center equipment. The prices of our products are highly dependent on the volumes purchased within a product category. The products we sell from one period to the next are often not comparable due to changes in product models, features and customer demand requirements. The revenue generated by our Concentrix segment relates to business outsourcing services focused on customer experience, process optimization and back office automation. Inter-segment elimination represents services generated between our reportable segments that are eliminated on consolidation. Substantially all of the inter-segment revenue represents services provided by the Concentrix segment to the Technology Solutions segment.

Revenue in our Technology Solutions segment increased in fiscal year 2019 compared to fiscal year 2018 primarily due to broad-based strength in system components, IT systems, networking equipment and peripherals, primarily in the United States, which was partially offset by a decrease driven by revenue that is subject to net revenue presentation, primarily consisting of software, cloud and security products. By product category, our sales of system components, networking equipment, IT systems and peripherals, in fiscal year 2019, increased by 32%, 14%, 9% and 3%, respectively, while sales of software decreased by 1%. On a constant currency basis, revenue in our Technology Solutions segment increased by 10.6% during fiscal year 2019, compared to fiscal year 2018.

Concentrix segment revenue increased in fiscal year 2019, compared to fiscal year 2018, primarily due to the impact of the acquisition of Convergys in October 2018, which was partially offset by the translation effect of foreign currencies.

Gross Profit

Our Technology Solutions gross margin is affected by a variety of factors, including competition, selling prices, mix of products and services, product costs along with rebate and discount programs from our suppliers, reserves or settlement adjustments, freight costs, inventory losses, acquisition of business units and fluctuations in revenue. Concentrix margins, which are higher than those in our Technology Solutions segment, can be impacted by resource location, client mix and pricing, additional lead time for programs to be fully scalable, and transition and initial set-up costs.

In fiscal year 2019, our gross profit increased due to increases in both the Technology Solutions and Concentrix segments, compared to fiscal year 2018. The increase in our gross margin over the prior fiscal year is due to an increase in the Technology Solutions gross margin and an increase in the proportion of gross profit generated in the Concentrix segment, primarily due to the acquisition of Convergys.

Technology Solutions gross profit and margin increased in fiscal year 2019, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to product mix, including higher yielding project and integration-based transactions, and broad-based growth across our product portfolio, primarily in the United States. This increase was partially offset by net unfavorable foreign currency translation. The

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increase in gross margin during the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019 was also attributable to an increase in our revenue generated from sales of products and services where revenue is reported on a net basis by recognizing the margins earned in revenue with no associated cost of revenue.

Concentrix gross profit increased in fiscal year 2019, as compared to the prior fiscal year, primarily due to the full year impact of the acquisition of Convergys in October 2018 and client mix. This increase was partially offset by net unfavorable foreign currency translation. Concentrix gross margin during the year ended November 30, 2019 decreased compared to the prior year, primarily due to client mix.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Our selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs such as salaries, commissions, bonuses, share-based compensation and temporary personnel costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses also include cost of warehouses, delivery centers and other non-integration facilities, utility expenses, legal and professional fees, depreciation on certain of our capital equipment, bad debt expense, amortization of our non-technology related intangible assets, and marketing expenses, offset in part by reimbursements from our OEM suppliers.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased, in both absolute dollars and as a percentage of revenue, in fiscal year 2019, compared to the prior fiscal year, primarily due to the full year impact of the Convergys acquisition.

Selling, general and administrative expenses in our Technology Solutions segment increased in fiscal year 2019, compared to fiscal year 2018, primarily due to an increase in investments in our associates to support growth and incremental bad debt provision for specific customers, partially offset by a decrease in amortization of intangible assets and acquisition-related and integration expenses. Scale efficiencies resulted in a decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of segment revenue in the current year, compared to the prior year period.

Concentrix selling, general and administrative expenses increased in fiscal year 2019, compared to the prior year, primarily due to the full year impact of the acquisition of Convergys, an increase in the amortization of intangible assets by $92.5 million and an increase in acquisition-related and integration expenses of $33.0 million. These increases were partially offset by the impact of net favorable foreign currency translation. Scale efficiencies resulted in a decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of segment revenue in the current year, compared to the prior year period.

Operating Income

Operating income and margin in our Technology Solutions segment increased during fiscal year 2019, compared to the prior year, due to broad-based growth, higher operating income from our systems design and integration solutions business and a decrease in the amortization of intangible assets and acquisition-related and integration expenses.

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Operating income and margin in our Concentrix segment increased during fiscal year 2019, compared to the prior year, due to the Convergys acquisition and integration synergies. These increases were partially offset by higher acquisition-related and integration expenses and the amortization of intangible assets, as compared to the prior fiscal year.

Interest Expense and Finance Charges, Net

Amounts recorded in interest expense and finance charges, net, consist primarily of interest expense paid on our lines of credit and term loans, fees associated with third party accounts receivable flooring arrangements and the sale or pledge of accounts receivable through our securitization facilities, offset by income earned on our cash investments.

The increase in our interest expense and finance charges, net, compared to the prior year, was due to higher interest expense as a result of the full year interest impact of borrowings in the prior year to fund the Convergys acquisitions and to support growth in our Technology Solutions segment. Our interest expense was also unfavorably impacted by higher borrowing rates during the first half of fiscal year 2019. This increase was partially offset by a reduction in outstanding borrowings and declining borrowing rates in the second half of fiscal year 2019. $2.0 billion of our outstanding borrowings of $3.0 billion at November 30, 2019 have been economically converted to fixed-rate debt through interest rate swaps.

Other Income (Expense), Net

Amounts recorded as other income (expense), net include foreign currency transaction gains and losses, other than cash flow hedges, investment gains and losses, non-service component of pension costs, debt extinguishment gains and losses and other non-operating gains and losses, such as changes in the fair value of convertible debt conversion spread, settlements received from class actions lawsuits and realization of contingent assets.

During the year ended November 30, 2019, net other income (expense) increased from net other (expense) of $9.0 million in the prior year to a net other income of $30.4 million, primarily due to a gain of $19.0 million upon the settlement of contingent consideration related to our acquisition of Westcon-Comstor Americas in fiscal year 2017, a gain of $11.1 million recorded upon realization of contingent sales-tax assets related to the Westcon-Comstor Americas acquisition, and net foreign currency exchange gains of $9.3 million in the current year compared to net foreign currency exchange losses of $ 19.2 million, mainly in our Latin American businesses, in the prior year. The losses and expenses in the prior year were partially offset by gains of $10.0 million related to changes in the fair value of the conversion spread of convertible debentures assumed in connection with the acquisition of Convergys and extinguishment gains on settlement of certain of those debentures.

Provision for Income Taxes

Income taxes consist of our current and deferred tax expense resulting from our income earned in domestic and foreign jurisdictions.

Our income tax expense increased during fiscal year ended November 30, 2019, as compared to the prior year, due to the increase in our income before taxes. The effective tax rate for year ended November 30, 2019 decreased, compared to the prior year, primarily due to the impact of the reduction in federal income tax rates due to Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”), the mix of income earned in different tax jurisdictions, and the favorable impact of the non-taxable gain upon the settlement of contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Westcon-Comstor Americas in fiscal year 2017. Additionally, the effective tax rate decreased

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in fiscal year 2019, compared to the prior year, due to the discrete impact of a net tax charge of $33.1 million related to the TCJA in the prior year period. This charge included $59.8 million of transition tax expense for mandatory repatriation, partially offset by $26.7 million of tax benefit from the remeasurement of our net deferred tax balance to the new U.S. tax rate enacted under the TCJA.

See Note 15 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further details.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash Conversion Cycle

Cash Flows

Our Technology Solutions business is working capital intensive. Our working capital needs are primarily to finance accounts receivable and inventory. We rely heavily on term loans, accounts receivable arrangements, our securitization programs and our revolver programs for our working capital needs. We have financed our growth and cash needs to date primarily through cash generated from operations and financing activities. As a general rule, when sales volumes are increasing, our net investment in working capital dollars typically increases, which generally results in decreased cash flow generated from operating activities. Conversely, when sales volume decreases, our net investment in working capital dollars typically decreases, which generally results in increases in cash flows generated from operating activities. We calculate CCC as days of the last fiscal quarter’s sales outstanding in accounts receivable plus days of supply on hand in inventory, less days of the last fiscal quarter’s direct cost outstanding in accounts payable. Our CCC was 44 days and 48 days at the end of fiscal years 2019 and 2018, respectively. The decrease in fiscal year 2019, compared to fiscal year 2018, was primarily due to the impact of the acquisition of Convergys on October 5, 2018, which was included in our revenue and cost of revenue from the date of its acquisition, as well as our continued focus to optimize working capital efficiency by efficient collections of accounts receivable and managing inventory levels. Our DPO was also impacted by the timing of payments of accounts payable.

To increase our market share and better serve our customers, we may further expand our operations through investments or acquisitions. We expect that such expansion would require an initial investment in working capital, personnel, facilities and operations. These investments or acquisitions would likely be funded primarily by our existing cash and cash equivalents, additional borrowings, or the issuance of securities.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $549.9 million during fiscal year 2019, primarily due to net income of $500.7 million, adjustments for non-cash items of $410.6 million, an increase in accounts payable of $98.4 million, and a net change in other operating assets and liabilities of $46.5 million. These cash inflows were partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable and

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receivables from vendors of $353.1 million and an increase in inventories of $153.1 million. The increase in accounts receivable, including receivables from vendors, inventories and accounts payable was driven by growth in our Technology Solutions segment. The adjustments for non-cash items consist primarily of amortization and depreciation, provision for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation expense, a gain recorded upon the settlement of contingent consideration related to our Westcon-Comstor Americas acquisition in fiscal year 2017 and a deferred tax benefit. Excluding the impact of intercompany transactions, $93.1 million of our cash provided by operating activities was generated in our Technology Solutions segment and $456.8 million was generated by our Concentrix segment.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $100.7 million in fiscal year 2018, primarily generated from our net income of $300.0 million, adjustments for non-cash items of $204.7 million, an increase in accounts payable of $382.0 million and the net change in other assets and liabilities of $95.5 million, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable and receivable from vendors of $515.0 million, and an increase in inventories of $366.4 million. The increase in accounts payable and inventories was primarily due to growth in our distribution business especially in the United States. The increase in accounts receivable was due to the growth in our Technology Solutions business. The adjustments for non-cash items primarily consist of $225.3 million of depreciation and amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense of $22.7 million. These non-cash expenses were partially offset by a deferred tax benefit of $47.1 million, including $26.7 million related to the remeasurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities to the new U.S. tax rate due to the enactment of the TCJA, and gains of $10.0 million related to changes in the fair value of the conversion spread of convertible debentures assumed in connection with the acquisition of Convergys and extinguishment gains on settlement of certain of those debentures.

Net cash used in investing activities in fiscal year 2019 was $146.8 million, primarily due to capital expenditures of $137.4 million, principally related to infrastructure investments to support the anticipated growth in our Concentrix segment and from $9.4 million of cash paid related to the settlement of employee stock-based awards assumed under the Convergys acquisition.

Net cash used in investing activities in fiscal year 2018 was $1.2 billion, primarily due to payments of $1.1 billion, net of cash acquired, for the acquisition of the Convergys and $125.3 million invested in capital expenditures primarily to support growth in our Concentrix segment and our design and integration solutions business in the Technology Solutions segment. These outflows were partially offset by the sale of approximately $12.9 million of trading securities related to a non-qualified, unfunded executive deferred compensation plan acquired as part of the Convergys acquisition and terminated subsequently.

Net cash used in financing activities in fiscal year 2019 was $631.7 million, primarily due to net repayments of $521.4 million under our borrowing arrangements. Cash generated from our operations was used to pay down revolving lines of credit. During fiscal year 2019, we drew the last tranche of $250.0 million under a term loan facility obtained in fiscal year 2018 for the Convergys acquisition, which was used for the settlement of the remaining amount of convertible debentures assumed as part of this acquisition, and the remainder used for working capital purposes. We also returned cash to stockholders through $76.6 million of dividend payments and $15.2 million of repurchases of our common stock. $14.0 million in cash was used to pay contingent consideration related to our Westcon-Comstor Americas acquisition.

Net cash provided by financing activities in fiscal year 2018 was $1.0 billion, consisting primarily of proceeds of $1.1 billion from borrowings, net of repayments and debt discount and issuance costs. The net borrowings increase was to fund the acquisition of Convergys and to support growth in our Technology Solutions segment. The cash inflow was partially offset by $66.0 million of repurchases of our common stock and dividend payments of $59.7 million. During the year, we obtained a term loan facility of $1.8 billion to fund the Convergys acquisition, the related refinancing or settlement of Convergys' debt and payment of related fees and expenses. By November 30, 2018, we had drawn $1.6 billion of this term loan, of which approximately $1.2 billion was utilized to pay for the acquisition and approximately $313.8 million was utilized for settlement of Convergys' assumed debt.

We believe our current cash balances and credit availability are sufficient to support the operating activities for at least the next twelve months on a combined basis or as an operating entity after the separation of our Concentrix segment into an independent publicly-traded company.

Capital Resources

Our cash and cash equivalents totaled $225.5 million and $454.7 million as of November 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Of our total cash and cash equivalents, the cash held by our foreign subsidiaries was $219.7 million and $301.1 million as of November 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Our cash and cash equivalents held by foreign subsidiaries are no longer subject to U.S. federal tax on repatriation into the United States. Repatriation of some foreign balances is restricted by local laws. Historically, we have fully utilized and reinvested all foreign cash to fund our foreign operations and expansion. If in the future our intentions change, and we repatriate the cash back to the United States, we will report in our consolidated financial statements the impact of state and withholding taxes depending upon the planned timing and manner of such repatriation. Presently, we believe we have sufficient resources, cash flow and liquidity within the United States to fund current and expected future working capital, investment and other general corporate funding requirements, including the impact of the planned separation of our Concentrix segment.

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We believe that our available cash and cash equivalents balances, the cash flows expected to be generated from operations and our existing sources of liquidity, will be sufficient to satisfy our current and planned working capital and investment needs, including the impact of the planned separation of our Concentrix segment, for the next twelve months in all geographies. We also believe that our longer-term working capital, planned capital expenditures, anticipated stock repurchases, dividend payments and other general corporate funding requirements will be satisfied through cash flows from operations and, to the extent necessary, from our borrowing facilities and future financial market activities.

Historically, we have renewed our accounts receivable securitization program and our U.S. credit facility agreement described below on, or prior to, their respective expiration dates. We have no reason to believe that these and other arrangements will not be renewed or replaced as we continue to be in good credit standing with the participating financial institutions. We have had similar borrowing arrangements with various financial institutions throughout our years as a public company.

On-Balance Sheet Arrangements

In the United States, we have an accounts receivable securitization program to provide additional capital for our operations (the “U.S. AR Arrangement”). Under the terms of the U.S. AR Arrangement, which expires in May 2020, our subsidiary, which is the borrower under this facility, can borrow up to a maximum of $850.0 million based upon eligible trade accounts receivable. In addition, the U.S. AR Arrangement includes an accordion feature to allow requests for an increase in the lenders' commitment by an additional $150.0 million. The effective borrowing cost under the U.S. AR Arrangement is a blended rate based upon the composition of the lenders that includes prevailing dealer commercial paper rates and a rate based upon LIBOR, provided that LIBOR shall not be less than zero. In addition, a program fee of 0.75% per annum based on the used portion of the commitment, and a facility fee of 0.35% per annum, is payable on the adjusted commitment of the lenders.

Under the terms of the U.S. AR Arrangement, we and two of our U.S. subsidiaries sell, on a revolving basis, our receivables to a wholly-owned bankruptcy-remote subsidiary. The borrowings are funded by pledging all of the rights, title and interest in the receivables acquired by our bankruptcy-remote subsidiary as security. Any amounts received under the U.S. AR Arrangement are recorded as debt on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of November 30, 2019 and 2018, $108.0 million and $615.0 million, respectively, was outstanding under the U.S. AR Arrangement.

In Canada, we have an accounts receivable securitization program with a bank to provide additional capital for operations. Under the terms of this program, SYNNEX Canada Limited (“SYNNEX Canada”) can borrow up to CAD100.0 million, or $75.3 million, in exchange for the transfer of eligible trade accounts receivable, on an ongoing revolving basis through May 2020. The program includes an accordion feature that allows us to request an increase in the bank's commitment by an additional CAD50.0 million, or $37.6 million. Any amounts received under this arrangement are recorded as debt on our Consolidated Balance Sheets and are secured by pledging all of the rights, title and interest in the receivables, to the bank. The effective borrowing cost is based on the weighted-average of the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate plus a margin of 2.00% per annum and the prevailing lender commercial paper rates. In addition, SYNNEX Canada is obligated to pay a program fee of 0.75% per annum based on the used portion of the commitment. SYNNEX Canada pays a fee of 0.40% per annum for any unused portion of the commitment up to CAD60.0 million, or $45.2 million, and when the unused portion exceeds CAD60.0 million, or $45.2 million, a fee of 0.40% on the first CAD25.0 million, or $18.8 million, of the unused portion and a fee of 0.55% per annum on the remaining unused commitment. As of both November 30, 2019 and 2018, there was no outstanding balance under this arrangement.

SYNNEX Japan has a credit agreement with a group of banks for a maximum commitment of JPY15.0 billion or $137.0 million. The credit agreement is comprised of a JPY7.0 billion, or $63.9 million, term loan and a JPY8.0 billion, or $73.1 million, revolving credit facility and expires in November 2021. The interest rate for the term loan and revolving credit facility is based on the Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate, plus a margin, which is based on our consolidated leverage ratio, and currently equals 0.70% per annum. The unused line fee on the revolving credit facility is currently 0.10% per annum based on our consolidated current leverage ratio. The term loan can be repaid at any time prior to the expiration date without penalty. We have guaranteed the obligations of SYNNEX Japan under this facility. As of November 30, 2019 and 2018, the balances outstanding under the term loan component of these facilities were $63.9 million and $61.7 million, respectively. Balances outstanding under the revolving credit facilities were $5.9 million and $20.3 million as of November 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

One of our subsidiaries in Mexico maintains a United States Dollars denominated $40.0 million revolving credit facility with a financial institution (the “LATAM facility”) that matures in February 2020. We guarantee the obligations under this credit facility. The interest rate on this facility ranges from 10.12% to 10.85%. There were no borrowings outstanding under the LATAM facility as of either November 30, 2019 or 2018.

The Indian subsidiaries of our Concentrix segment have credit facilities with a financial institution to borrow up to an aggregate amount of $22.0 million. The interest rate under these facilities is the higher of the bank's minimum lending rate or LIBOR, plus a margin of 0.9% per annum. We guarantee the obligations under these credit facilities. These credit facilities can be terminated at any time by our Indian subsidiaries or the financial institution. There were no borrowings outstanding under these credit facilities as of either November 30, 2019 or 2018.

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In the United States, we have a senior secured credit agreement (as amended, the U.S. Credit Agreement) with a group of financial institutions. The U.S. Credit Agreement includes a $600.0 million commitment for a revolving credit facility and a term loan in the original principal amount of $1.2 billion. We can request incremental commitments to increase the principal amount of the revolving line of credit or term loan by $500.0 million, plus an additional amount which is dependent upon our pro forma first lien leverage ratio, as calculated under the U.S. Credit Agreement. The U.S. Credit Agreement matures in September 2022. The outstanding principal amount of the term loan is repayable in quarterly installments of $15.0 million, with the unpaid balance due in full on the September 2022 maturity date. The term loan can be repaid at any time prior to the maturity date without penalty. Interest on borrowings under the U.S. Credit Agreement can be based on LIBOR or a base rate at our option, plus a margin. The margin for LIBOR loans ranges from 1.25% to 2.00% and the margin for base rate loans ranges from 0.25% to 1.00%, provided that LIBOR shall not be less than zero. The base rate is a variable rate which is the highest of (a) the Federal Funds Rate, plus a margin of 0.50%, (b) the rate of interest announced, from time to time, by the agent, Bank of America, N.A., as its “prime rate,” and (c) the Eurodollar Rate, plus 1.00%. The unused revolving credit facility commitment fee ranges from 0.175% to 0.30% per annum. The margins above the applicable interest rates and the revolving commitment fee for revolving loans are based on our consolidated leverage ratio, as calculated under the U.S. Credit Agreement. Our obligations under the U.S. Credit Agreement are secured by substantially all of the parent company’s and its United States domestic subsidiaries’ assets on a pari passu basis with the interests of the lenders under the U.S. Term Loan Credit Agreement (defined below) pursuant to an intercreditor agreement and are guaranteed by certain of our United States domestic subsidiaries. As of November 30, 2019 and 2018, the balance outstanding under the term loan component of the U.S. Credit Agreement was $1.1 billion. As of November 30, 2019, the balance outstanding under the revolving line of credit component of the U.S. Credit Agreement was $25.8 million. As of November 30, 2018, there was no outstanding balance under the revolving line of credit component.

In order to fund the Convergys acquisition, the related refinancing or settlement of Convergys debt and payment of related fees and expenses, we entered into a secured term loan credit agreement on August 9, 2018 (the “U.S. Term Loan Credit Agreement”) with a group of financial institutions, which provided for the extension of one or more term loans in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $1.80 billion. The U.S. Term Loan Credit Agreement matures in October 2023. Until November 30, 2018, we had drawn $1.55 billion of term loans. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019, we borrowed the remaining available amount of $0.25 billion under this facility, to settle part of Convergys outstanding convertible debentures. The outstanding principal amount of the term loans is payable in quarterly installments of $22.5 million, with the unpaid balance due in full on the maturity date. The term loan can be repaid at any time prior to the maturity date without penalty. Interest on borrowings under the U.S. Term Loan Credit Agreement can be based on LIBOR or a base rate at our option, plus a margin. The margin for LIBOR loans ranges from 1.25% to 1.75% and the margin for base rate loan ranges from 0.25% to 0.75%, provided that LIBOR shall not be less than zero. The base rate is a variable rate which is the highest of (a) 0.5% plus the greater of (x) the Federal Funds Rate in effect on such day and (y) the overnight bank funding rate in effect on such day, (b) the Eurodollar Rate plus 1.0% per annum, and (c) the rate of interest last quoted by The Wall Street Journal as the “Prime Rate” in the U.S. During the period in which the term loans were available to be drawn, we paid term loan commitment fees. The margins above our applicable interest rates are, and the term loan commitment fee were, based on our consolidated leverage ratio as calculated under the U.S. Term Loan Credit Agreement. Our obligations under the U.S. Term Loan Credit Agreement are secured by substantially all of the parent company and certain of its domestic subsidiaries’ assets on a pari passu basis with the interests of the lenders under the existing U.S. Credit Agreement pursuant to an intercreditor agreement, and are guaranteed by certain of our domestic subsidiaries. As of November 30, 2019 and 2018, the balance outstanding under the U.S. Term Loan Credit Agreement was $1.73 billion and $1.55 billion, respectively.

SYNNEX Canada has an uncommitted revolving line of credit with a bank under which it can borrow up to CAD50.0 million, or $37.6 million. Borrowings under the facility are secured by eligible inventory and bear interest at a base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.50% to 2.25% depending on the base rate used. The base rate could be a Banker's Acceptance Rate, a Canadian Prime Rate, LIBOR or U.S. Base Rate. As of both November 30, 2019 and 2018, there were no borrowings outstanding under this credit facility.

We also maintain other local currency denominated lines of credit and accounts receivable factoring arrangements with financial institutions at certain locations outside the United States aggregating commitments of $27.4 million at November 30, 2019. Interest rates and other terms of borrowing under these lines of credit vary by country, depending on local market conditions. Borrowings under these facilities are guaranteed by us or secured by eligible accounts receivable. As of November 30, 2019 and 2018, the balances outstanding under these revolving credit facilities were $6.0 million and $5.0 million, respectively.

The maximum commitment amounts for local currency credit facilities have been translated into United States Dollars at November 30, 2019 exchange rates.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have financing programs in the United States and Japan under which trade accounts receivable of certain customers may be sold to financial institutions. Available capacity under these programs is dependent upon the level of our trade accounts receivable eligible to be sold into these programs and the financial institutions’ willingness to purchase such receivables. At November 30, 2019 and 2018, we had a total of $35.3 million and $36.5 million, respectively, of trade accounts receivable sold to and held by the financial institutions under these programs.

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Covenant Compliance

Our credit facilities have a number of covenants and restrictions that, among other things, require us to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy certain financial condition tests. They also limit our ability to incur additional debt, make intercompany loans, pay dividends and make other types of distributions, make certain acquisitions, repurchase our stock, create liens, cancel debt owed to us, enter into agreements with affiliates, modify the nature of our business, enter into sale-leaseback transactions, make certain investments, enter into new real estate leases, transfer and sell assets, cancel or terminate any material contracts and merge or consolidate. As of November 30, 2019, we were in compliance with all material covenants for the above arrangements.

Contractual Obligations

Our contractual obligations consist of future payments due under our loans and repatriation tax under the TCJA, which are already recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. In addition, our contractual obligations include interest on our debt and payments for our operating lease arrangements and guarantees. The following table summarizes our contractual obligations at November 30, 2019:

Principal debt payments assumes the repayment of our revolving lines of credit within a year. Interest on debt, in the table above, includes estimated interest on our term loans and revolving credit facilities at rates of interest applicable at the end of our fiscal year.

We are contingently liable under agreements, without expiration dates, to repurchase repossessed inventory acquired by flooring companies as a result of default on floor plan financing arrangements by our customers. There have been no repurchases through November 30, 2019 under these agreements and we are not aware of any pending customer defaults or repossession obligations. As we do not have access to information regarding the amount of inventory purchased from us still on hand with the customer at any point in time, our repurchase obligations relating to inventory cannot be reasonably estimated. As of November 30, 2019 and 2018, accounts receivable subject to flooring arrangements were $69.6 million and $84.7 million, respectively. For more information on our third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements, see Note 9 -- Accounts Receivable Arrangements to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Report.

As of November 30, 2019, we have established a reserve of $71.4 million for unrecognized tax benefits.

As we are unable to reasonably predict the timing of settlement of these guarantees and the reserve for unrecognized tax benefits, the table above excludes such liabilities.

Related Party Transactions

We have a business relationship with MiTAC Holdings, a publicly-traded company in Taiwan, which began in 1992 when MiTAC Holdings became our primary investor through its affiliates. As of both November 30, 2019 and 2018, MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates beneficially owned approximately 18% of our outstanding common stock. Mr. Matthew Miau, the Chairman Emeritus of our Board of Directors and a director, is the Chairman of MiTAC Holdings’ and a director or officer of MiTAC Holdings’ affiliates.

The shares owned by MiTAC Holdings are held by the following entities:

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MiTAC Holdings generally has significant influence over us regarding matters submitted to stockholders for consideration, including any merger or acquisition of ours. Among other things, this could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change of control over us.

We purchased inventories and services from MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates totaling $173.4 million and $217.4 million during fiscal years 2019 and 2018, respectively. Our sales to MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates during fiscal years 2019 and 2018 totaled $0.8 million and $2.4 million, respectively. In addition, we made payments of $41 thousand to MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates for reimbursement of rent and overhead costs for facilities used by us during fiscal year ended November 30, 2019. During fiscal year ended November 30, 2018, we received reimbursement of rent and overhead costs for MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates amounting to $0.1 million.

Our business relationship with MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates has been informal and is generally not governed by long-term commitments or arrangements with respect to pricing terms, revenue or capacity commitments. We negotiate pricing and other material terms on a case-by-case basis with MiTAC Holdings. We have adopted a policy requiring that material transactions with MiTAC Holdings or its related parties be approved by our Audit Committee, which is composed solely of independent directors. In addition, Mr. Miau’s compensation is approved by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, which is also composed solely of independent directors.

Synnex Technology International is a publicly-traded corporation in Taiwan that currently provides distribution and fulfillment services to various markets in Asia and Australia, and is also our potential competitor. MiTAC Holdings and its affiliates are not restricted from competing with us.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

For a summary of recent accounting pronouncements and the anticipated effects on our consolidated financial statements see Note 2 -- Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Consolidated Financial Statements, which can be found under Item 8 of this Report.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 

Foreign Currency Risk

We are exposed to foreign currency risk in the ordinary course of business. We manage cash flow exposures for our major countries and the foreign currency impact of assets and liabilities denominated in non-functional currencies using a combination of forward contracts. Principal currencies hedged are the Philippine Peso, Indian Rupee, Euro, Canadian Dollar, British Pound, Chinese Yuan, Brazilian Real, and Colombian Peso. We do not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading purposes.

The following table presents the hypothetical changes in fair values of our outstanding foreign currency derivative instruments as of November 30, 2019 and 2018, arising from an instantaneous strengthening or weakening of the U.S. dollar by 5%, 10% and 15% (in thousands).

We apply hedge accounting to our long-term forward contracts which would reduce the variability of cash flows denominated in foreign currencies. We serve many of our clients using service delivery centers in other geographies. As a result, the contracts with these clients are typically priced in one currency, while a substantial portion of the costs incurred to deliver services under these contracts are denominated in the local currency of the country where services are provided, which represents a foreign exchange exposure. The change in the value of these forward contracts would be expected to offset a corresponding foreign currency change in forecasted hedged revenues or cost when recognized.

All other foreign exchange contracts have typical maturities of twelve months or less and are executed to protect us against foreign currency exposure pertaining to receivables, payables and intercompany transactions that are denominated in currencies different from the functional currencies of the respective entities. These contracts are marked-to-market and any material gains and

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losses on our hedge contracts resulting from a hypothetical, instantaneous change in the strength of the U.S. dollar would be significantly offset by mark-to-market gains and losses on the corresponding assets and liabilities being hedged.

Interest Rate Risk

Our exposure to changes in interest rates relates primarily to our outstanding debt obligations which have floated relative to major interest rate benchmarks in the United States, Canada and Japan. We are most sensitive to fluctuations in U.S. interest rates, changes in which affects the costs associated with hedging and interest paid on our debt.

To manage interest rate risk on the U.S. dollar-denominated floating-rate debt, we have entered into interest rate swaps with aggregate notional amounts of $2.0 billion as of both November 30, 2019 and 2018, which effectively converted a portion of the floating rate debt to a fixed interest rate. Substantially, all of our interest rate swaps are accounted as cash flow hedges. A 15% variation in our interest rates would not have a material impact on the fair value of our swaps.

The following tables present hypothetical interest expense related to our outstanding borrowings with variable interest rates (after considering the impact of the above mentioned swaps) for the years ended November 30, 2019 and 2018, arising from hypothetical parallel shifts in the respective countries’ yield curves, of plus or minus 5%, 10% and 15% (in thousands).

Equity Price Risk

The equity price risk associated with our marketable equity securities as of November 30, 2019 and 2018 is not material in relation to our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Marketable equity securities include shares of common stock and are recorded at fair market value based on quoted market prices. Gains and losses on marketable equity securities are included in earnings.

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Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

INDEX