VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

Table of Contents

​

​

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

​

(Mark One)

​

​

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

​

OR

​

​

Commission file number 0-16244

VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

​

​

​

​

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(516) 677-0200

​

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, 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 Act). ☐ Yes ☒ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.  ☒

​

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant at June 26, 2020 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter) was $614,033,790 based on the closing price of $12.57 on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on that date.

​

As of February 11, 2021, there were 49,724,102 shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding.

​

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

​

Certain portions of the definitive Proxy Statement to be used in connection with the Registrant’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

​

​

​

​

Table of Contents

VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.

​

INDEX

​

​

​

2

Table of Contents

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, relating to Veeco Instruments Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Veeco,” the “Company,” “Registrant,” “we,” “our,” or “us,” unless the context indicates otherwise) that are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions. When used in this Form 10-K, words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “scheduled,” “estimates,” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Discussions containing such forward-looking statements may be found in Part I, Items 1 and 3, Part II, Items 7 and 7A hereof, as well as within this Form 10-K generally. Forward-looking statements in this discussion include, but are not limited to, those regarding anticipated growth and trends in our businesses and markets, industry outlooks and demand drivers, our investment and growth strategies, our development of new products and technologies, our business outlook for the current and future periods, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our ongoing transformation initiative and the effects thereof on our operations and financial results, and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements and their underlying assumptions are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements include, without limitation:

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

All forward-looking statements speak only to management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions as of the date of this filing or, in the case of any document referenced herein or incorporated by reference, the date of that document. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this filing.

3

Table of Contents

​

PART I

Item 1. Business

​

Business Description and Overview

​

Headquartered in Plainview, New York, we were organized as a Delaware corporation in 1989. We are a manufacturer of advanced semiconductor process equipment that solves an array of challenging materials engineering problems for our customers. Our comprehensive collection of ion beam, laser annealing, metal organic chemical vapor deposition (“MOCVD”), advanced packaging lithography, single wafer wet processing, molecular beam epitaxy (“MBE”), and atomic layer deposition (“ALD”) technologies play an integral role in the fabrication of key devices that are enabling the 4^th industrial revolution of all things connected. Such devices include leading node application processors for mobile devices, thin film magnetic heads for hard disk drives in data storage, photonics devices for 3D sensing, advanced displays and high-speed data communications, radio frequency (“RF”) filters and power amplifiers for fifth generation (“5G”) networks and mobile electronics. In close partnership with our customers, we combine decades of applications and materials know-how with leading-edge systems engineering to deliver high-volume manufacturing solutions with competitive cost of ownership. Serving a global and highly interconnected customer base, we have comprehensive sales and service operations across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America regions to ensure real-time close collaboration and responsiveness.

​

Our priorities are:

​

​

​

​

4

Table of Contents

​

Markets

​

Our products are purchased by customers in the following four end-markets: 1) Semiconductor; 2) Compound Semiconductor; 3) Data Storage; and 4) Scientific & Other.

​

Our array of process equipment systems are used in the production of a broad range of microelectronic components, including logic, dynamic random-access memory (“DRAM”), photonics devices (including laser diodes and micro-LEDs), power electronics, RF filters and amplifiers, thin film magnetic heads, and other semiconductor devices. Many of our systems are used to directly deposit advanced materials critical to the operation of the device and some of our systems are used in cleaning and surface preparation as well as the precise removal of critical materials. We are also a leader in systems used in the advanced packaging process flow of microelectronic components such as flip chip, fan-out wafer level packaging (“FOWLP”), and other wafer level packaging approaches used in the modern integration of diverse semiconductor products, especially in consumer electronics. In general, our customers purchase our systems to both produce current-generation devices in volume and to develop next-generation products which deliver more efficient, cost-effective, and advanced technological solutions. We operate in several highly cyclical business environments, and our customers’ buying patterns are dependent upon industry trends and buying patterns for consumer electronics. As our products are sold into multiple markets, the following table describes these markets and the applicable Veeco technologies.

​

5

Table of Contents

6

Table of Contents

​

System Products

​

Laser Annealing Systems

​

Our laser annealing systems meet the industry demand for ultra-short time-scale annealing, heating the wafer up to temperatures just below the silicon melting point over a range of timeframes (microseconds to nanoseconds), enabling thermal annealing solutions at the most advanced processing nodes. This unique annealing technology provides the solution to the difficult challenge of fabricating ultra-shallow junctions and highly activated source/drain contacts at these advanced logic nodes. In addition, our proprietary hardware design enables outstanding temperature uniformity across the wafer and die, by minimizing the pattern-density effect, thus reducing absorption variations.

​

We have also developed a next generation melt anneal technology targeted for memory devices and annealing advanced logic devices at advanced nodes. As devices scale, achieving performance targets has become a challenge. To continue the roadmap, the industry is looking at new materials and the use of thermal processes that require nanosecond time-scale thermal annealing with temperatures exceeding the melting point. It is believed that nanosecond annealing will be required to meet the device targets at future nodes.

​

Ion Beam Deposition and Etch Systems

​

Our NEXUS^® Ion Beam systems are used to deposit and etch thin film layers for multiple end applications in the Semiconductor, Data Storage, RF and other various emerging markets. These systems utilize Veeco’s proven gridded ion source technology which delivers a charged ion beam directed at a substrate for the etch application and at a sputter target for the deposition application. Our NEXUS^® IBD system has a leading position in multiple markets including EUV mask blank manufacturing in which it enables our customers to deposit multilayers with high precision and ultra-low defects which is essential for EUV lithography. Our ion sources and grid technology are incorporated into etch systems used to pattern magnetic materials for the 300mm Semiconductor STT-MRAM market. The IBD systems are also critical in the manufacture of thin film magnetic heads where they are used to deposit various magnetic and oxide layers and deliver best-in-class film properties. Our NEXUS^® IBE systems are used to precisely etch complex features on materials which are challenging to pattern by traditional reactive ion etching techniques. These systems are widely used in the data storage industry for patterning of magnetic and oxide materials and are essential for forming the precise shape of the thin film magnetic head. The NEXUS^® systems may be included on our cluster system platform to allow either parallel or sequential deposition/etch processes.

​

Our Lancer IBE system is used for etching of SAW and BAW devices in the RF filter market and various waveguide patterning steps for AR/VR markets where their best-in-class film uniformity is a key advantage.

​

7

Table of Contents

Our SPECTOR^® Ion Beam Sputtering system was developed for high precision optical coatings and offers manufacturers state of the art optical thickness monitoring, improved productivity, and target material utilization, for cutting-edge optical interference coating applications. We also provide a broad array of ion beam sources.

​

Advanced Packaging Lithography

​

We have a leading position in the Advanced Packaging lithography equipment market for applications such as FOWLP, Flip Chip (including Copper Pillar), Fan In Wafer Lever Packaging, 3D stacking, interposers and embedded die. The Advanced Packaging market is driven by the need for improved performance, reduced power consumption, and the ability to image smaller geometries for mobile and automotive applications. These applications continue to demand increasingly complex packaging techniques and heterogeneous device integration from integrated device manufacturers (“IDMs,”), Foundries, and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (“OSAT”) companies. Our Advanced Packaging tools are designed to optimize productivity for leading-edge 200mm and 300mm Advanced Packaging applications by delivering proven reliability and low cost of ownership in high-volume manufacturing environments. Our products are known for best-in-class yield coupled with outstanding resolution and depth of focus.

​

Single Wafer Wet Processing

​

We offer single wafer wet processing, and surface preparation systems which target growth opportunities in RF filters and amplifiers in the Compound Semiconductor market, as well as advanced packaging applications in the Semiconductor market. The WaferStorm^® platform is based on our unique ImmJET™ technology, which provides improved performance at a lower cost of ownership than conventional wet bench-only or spray-only approaches. This highly flexible platform targets solvent-based cleaning applications that require a significant level of process control and flexibility. The WaferEtch^® platform provides highly uniform, selective etching with onboard end-point detection for improved process control and yield in bumping applications. In addition, we have developed a state-of-the-art solution with the WaferEtch^® platform to address the requirements of wafer thinning.

​

Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Systems

​

MOCVD production systems are used to make GaN and As/P-based devices for applications including power electronics, RF devices, specialty LED, display, and many other applications. Our proven TurboDisc^® technology is at the heart of our MOCVD systems and is the key to enabling best-in-class deposition uniformity, yield performance and cost per wafer savings for our customers with a combined advantage of high operating uptime and low maintenance costs. Our Lumina™ platform is used for As/P deposition, and features long campaigns and low defectivity for exceptional yield and flexibility. Our Propel™ series (“Propel”) enables the development of highly-efficient GaN-based power electronic, RF devices and advanced GaN-on-silicon micro-LEDs. The Propel system offers 200mm and fully-automated 300mm technology and incorporates single-wafer reactor technology for outstanding film uniformity, yield, and device performance.

​

Molecular Beam Epitaxy Systems

​

MBE is the process of precisely depositing epitaxially-aligned atomically-thin crystalline layers, or epilayers, of elemental materials onto a substrate in an ultra-high vacuum environment. We are a leading supplier of MBE systems worldwide.

​

Our MBE systems, sources, and components are used to develop and manufacture compound semiconductor devices in a wide variety of applications such as high-power fiber lasers, infrared detectors, mobile phones, radar systems, high efficiency solar cells, and basic materials science research. The GENxplor^® MBE system creates high quality epitaxial layers and is ideal for cutting-edge research on a wide variety of materials including GaAs, antimonides, nitrides, and oxides on 3” diameter substrates.

​

8

Table of Contents

Atomic Layer Deposition and Other Deposition Systems

​

ALD is a thin-film deposition method in which a film is deposited on a substrate uniformly with precise control down to the atomic scale. Veeco offers a full suite of ALD systems for non-semiconductor front-end production applications across a wide range of markets and applications such as energy, optical, electronics, micro-electro mechanical systems (“MEMS”), nanostructures, and biomedical. We have recently developed a fully automated tool, Firebird™, capable of managing fragile wafers in a continuous operational sequence.

​

Other deposition systems include Physical Vapor Deposition, Diamond-Like Carbon Deposition, and Chemical Vapor Deposition Systems.

​

Sales and Service

​

We sell our products and services worldwide through various strategically located facilities in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. We believe that our customer service organization is a significant factor in our success. We provide service and support on a warranty, service contract, and an individual service-call basis. We believe that offering timely support creates stronger relationships with customers. Revenue from the sales of parts, upgrades, service, and support represented approximately 30%, 26%, and 28% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively. Parts and upgrade sales represented approximately 23%, 19%, and 23% of our net sales for those years, respectively, and service and support sales were 7%, 7%, and 5% respectively.

​

Customers

​

We sell our products to many of the world’s semiconductor IDMs and Foundries, OSAT, HDD, and photonics manufacturers, as well as research centers and universities. We rely on certain principal customers for a significant portion of our sales. Sales to Seagate Technology accounted for more than 10% of our total net sales in 2020 and 2019; and sales to Focus Lighting Tech Co. accounted for more than 10% of our total net sales in 2018. If any principal customer discontinues its relationship with us or suffers economic difficulties, our business prospects, financial condition, and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

​

Research and Development

​

Our research and development functions are focused on the timely creation of new products and enhancements to existing products, both of which are necessary to maintain our competitive position. We collaborate with our customers to align our technology and product roadmaps to customer requirements. Our research and development activities take place at our facilities in San Jose, California; Plainview, New York; Horsham, Pennsylvania; Somerset, New Jersey; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Waltham, Massachusetts.

​

Suppliers

​

We outsource certain functions to third parties, including the manufacture of several of our systems. While we rely on our outsourcing partners to perform their contracted functions, we maintain some level of internal manufacturing capability for these systems. Refer to Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” for a description of risks associated with our reliance on suppliers and outsourcing partners.

​

Backlog

​

Our backlog consists of orders for which we received a firm purchase order, a customer-confirmed shipment date generally within twelve months, and a deposit, when required. Our backlog increased to $366.0 million at December 31, 2020 from $267.6 million at December 31, 2019.

​

9

Table of Contents

Competition

​

In each of the markets that we serve, we face competition from established competitors, some of which have greater financial, engineering, and marketing resources than we do, as well as from smaller competitors. In addition, many of our products face competition from alternative technologies, some of which are more established than those used in our products. Significant factors for customer selection of our tools include system performance, accuracy, repeatability, ease of use, reliability, cost of ownership, and technical service and support. None of our competitors compete with us across all of our product lines.

​

Our principal competitors include: Aixtron; Applied Materials; Canon; Grand Plastics Technology Corporation; Screen Semiconductor Solutions; and Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment.

​

Intellectual Property

​

Our success depends, in part, on our proprietary technology, and we have over 500 patents in the United States and other countries.

​

We have patents and exclusive and non-exclusive licenses to patents owned by others covering certain of our products, which we believe provide us with a competitive advantage. We have a policy of seeking patents on inventions concerning new products and improvements as part of our ongoing research, development, and manufacturing activities. We believe that there is no single patent or exclusive or non-exclusive license to patents owned by others that is critical to our operations, as the success of our business depends primarily on the technical expertise, innovation, customer satisfaction, and experience of our employees. Refer to Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” for a description of risks associated with intellectual property.

​

Human Capital

​

Veeco’s global workforce spans 12 countries around the world. At the end of 2020, we had 993 employees with 221 located in the Asia-Pacific region, 37 in the EMEA region, and 735 in the United States. Approximately 23% of our employees are involved in research and development; 53% are involved in operations, manufacturing, service and quality assurance; and 24% are involved in sales, order administration, marketing, finance, information technology, general management and other administrative functions. Our success depends on our ability to attract, retain and motivate employees. We compete for talent with other companies and organizations. We consider our relations with our employees to be good. We are subject to various federal, state and local regulations, and regularly monitor all key employment activities, such as hiring, termination, pay and working practices to ensure compliance with such regulations. In addition, we supplement our employee base with contractors and other temporary workers.

​

Our recruitment programs are regionally focused, and hiring is done at a local level to ensure compliance with applicable regulations. To ensure diversity within our workforce we advertise job openings and source candidates broadly to attract a diverse candidate pool. As a leader in our industry, we are able to attract a strong candidate pool and have been successful in filling vacancies. In fiscal 2020, we hired 138 employees, 113 of whom were within the United States, 24 of whom were in the Asia-Pacific region and 1 of whom was within the EMEA region.

​

During fiscal 2019, we conducted a global employee survey designed to assess employee engagement, leadership, work environment and culture. We had a response rate of 91% of our total worldwide employee base, which is one indicator of a high-level of employee engagement. Participants provided over 2,000 responses to open-ended questions. The findings from this survey established an agenda for various initiatives designed to strengthen our Company. A follow-up survey is planned for fiscal 2021.

​

We track and report internally on key talent metrics including workforce demographics, talent pipeline and diversity. We believe in investing in professional development programs to ensure we provide opportunities for individuals to advance their careers either in a technical track or move to a leadership position. We offer many of our training and development programs on-line for the benefit of employees located around the world. Additional focus is placed on the development of our future leaders and we leverage a talent review process where high-potential and high-performing employees are

10

Table of Contents

assessed for future leadership roles as part of our succession management process for critical leadership positions. Since turnover is an important indicator of employee satisfaction, we closely monitor turnover globally and benchmark locally. Our 12-month rolling average for voluntary turnover at December 31, 2020 was approximately 6.8%, substantially less than benchmark data. Our employee average tenure is more than 9 years.

​

COVID-19 Update

​

As a result of the outbreak and continuing spread of COVID-19, governmental authorities have implemented and are continuing to implement numerous and constantly evolving measures to try to contain the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, limits on gatherings, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, and business shutdowns. We have important manufacturing operations in the United States and sales and support operations in China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, all of which have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

​

Measures providing for business shutdowns generally exclude certain essential services, and those essential services include critical infrastructure and the businesses that support that critical infrastructure. Our operations are considered part of the critical and essential infrastructure defined by applicable government authorities, and, although governmental measures to contain the pandemic may be modified or extended, our manufacturing facilities currently remain open. We believe our diverse product offerings and the critical nature of certain of our products for infrastructure insulate us, to some extent, from the adverse effects of the pandemic; however, a prolonged economic downturn will adversely affect our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, particularly if customers from whom we derive a significant amount of revenue reduce or delay purchases to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic or fail to make payments to us on time or at all.

​

We serve a global and highly interconnected customer base across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and North America. Our net sales to customers located outside of the United States represented approximately 68%, 70%, and 77% of our total net sales in 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively, and we expect that net sales to customers outside the United States will continue to represent a significant percentage of our total net sales. As a result, our business will be adversely impacted by further deterioration in global economic conditions, particularly in markets in Asia and Europe.

​

To date, we have not yet experienced any significant interruptions to our supply chain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to monitor our global supply chain and may experience disruptions in future periods, primarily as a result of financial challenges confronting companies in our supply chain and restrictions or disruptions of transportation, such as reduced availability of air transport, port closures and increased border controls or closures, any of which could cause a disruption in our ability to obtain raw materials or components required to manufacture our products.

​

Like many in our industry, we are managing through the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our business, results of operations, supply chains and growth can not be predicted or quantified, we proactively identified potential challenges to our business and have been executing business continuity activities to manage disruptions in our business and continue to provide critical infrastructure to our customers. In response to the pandemic, we have taken, or intend to take, the following steps, among others, to keep our employees safe and minimize the spread of the virus, while continuing to serve our customers:

​

​

​

11

Table of Contents

​

​

​

​

​

While these steps have been effective so far, there could be additional challenges ahead that may impact either our operations or those of our customers, which could have a negative effect on our financial performance, including productivity and capacity impacts as a result of the ongoing pandemic. We expect to continue to implement these measures until we determine that the COVID-19 pandemic is adequately contained for purposes of our business, and we may take further actions as government authorities require or recommend or as we determine to be in the best interests of our employees, customers and suppliers. As a result, we may incur additional expenses in future periods in response to the pandemic, which could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. In addition, we may revise our approach to these initiatives or take additional actions to meet the needs of our employees and customers, and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our business.

​

Available Information

​

Our corporate website address is www.veeco.com. All filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K, our proxy statements and any amendments thereto filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available for free in the Investor Relations section of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. The reference to our website address does not constitute inclusion or incorporation by reference of the information contained on our website in this Form 10-K or other filings with the SEC, and the information contained on our website is not part of this document.

​

12

Table of Contents

Item 1A. Risk Factors

​

Key Risk Factors That May Impact Future Results

​

Stockholders should carefully consider the risk factors described below. Any of these factors, many of which are beyond our control, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, and stock price.

​

Risks Related to Our Business, Finance and Operations

​

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have strained and have threatened to negatively impact our businesses and operations, and the duration and extent to which COVID-19 may impact our future results of operations and overall financial performance remains uncertain.

​

The outbreak and continuing spread of COVID-19 has resulted in a substantial curtailment of business activities worldwide and has caused and is likely to continue to cause weakened economic conditions, both in the United States and many countries abroad, including in markets in Asia and Europe from which we derive the majority of our revenue. Government restrictions (such as stay-at-home orders), quarantines and worker absenteeism as a result of COVID-19 have led to a significant number of business closures and other slowdowns. These slowdowns have adversely impacted and will likely continue to adversely impact Veeco directly, as well as our customers, suppliers and other partners.

​

We have determined that our operations are considered part of the critical and essential infrastructure defined by applicable government agencies. Consequently, as of the date of filing this report, we are currently permitted and are endeavoring to maintain manufacturing and supply chain operations. However, the conditions caused by COVID-19 could adversely affect our customers’ ability or willingness to purchase our products or services, delay prospective customers’ purchasing decisions, adversely impact our ability to source and deliver products and provide on-site services to our customers, delay the provisioning of our offerings, or lengthen payment terms, all of which could adversely affect our future sales, operating results and overall financial performance. In addition, adverse impacts on the creditworthiness of our customers and other counterparties and their ability to pay amounts owed to us and our ability to collect such amounts may be adversely affected, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

​

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant disruption of global financial markets and could materially impact the value of our common stock, our access to capital, and our business and results of operations in the near and long-term.

​

Unfavorable market conditions have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, our operating results.

​

Conditions of the markets in which we operate are volatile and have experienced, and may in the future continue to experience, significant deterioration. Changing market conditions require that we continuously monitor and reassess our strategic resource allocation decisions. If we fail to properly adapt to changing business environments, we may lack the infrastructure and resources necessary to scale up our businesses to successfully compete during periods of growth, or we may incur excess fixed costs during periods of decreasing demand. Adverse market conditions relative to our products have resulted in, and may continue to result in:

​

13

Table of Contents

If the markets in which we participate continue to experience deteriorations or downturns, this could negatively impact our sales and revenue generation, margins, operating expenses, and profitability.

​

The timing of our orders, shipments, and revenue recognition may cause our quarterly operating results to fluctuate significantly.

​

We derive a substantial portion of our net sales in any fiscal period from the sale of a relatively small number of high-priced systems. As a result, the timing for the recognition of revenue for a single transaction could have a material effect on our sales and operating results for a particular fiscal period. As is typical in our industry, orders and shipments often occur during the last few weeks of a quarter. As a result, a delay of only a week or two can impact which period revenue is reported and can cause volatility in our revenue for a given reporting period. Our quarterly results have fluctuated significantly in the past and we expect this trend to continue.

​

Our sales cycle is long and unpredictable.

​

Historically, we have experienced long and unpredictable sales cycles (the period between our initial contact with a potential customer and the time that we recognize revenue from resulting sales to that customer). It is not uncommon for our sales cycle to exceed twelve months. The timing of an order often depends on our customer’s capital expenditure budget, over which we have no control. In addition, the time it takes us to procure and build a product to customer specifications typically ranges from three to twelve months. When coupled with the fluctuating amount of time required for shipment, installation, and final acceptance, our sales cycles often vary widely, and these variations can cause fluctuations in our operating results. As a result of our lengthy sales cycles, we may incur significant research, development, selling, general, and administrative expenses before we generate revenue for these products. We may never generate the anticipated revenue if a customer cancels or otherwise changes its purchase plans, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

​

We are now confronting many of these risks as we gain traction in the Semiconductor market, which is often characterized by long customer qualification times, typically twelve to eighteen months. Once qualified, the ramp to volume production can take an additional extended period of time, often twelve to twenty-four months. During these periods, little to no revenue will be recognized by us, while we will continue to incur research and development costs. Despite our efforts, our products may never be qualified and may never achieve design-tool-of-record (“DTOR”) or production-tool-of-record (“PTOR”) status, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

​

Our backlog is subject to customer cancellation or modification which could result in decreased sales, increased inventory obsolescence, and liabilities to our suppliers for products no longer needed.

​

Customer purchase orders may be cancelled or rescheduled by the customer, sometimes with limited or no penalties, which may result in increased or unrecoverable costs for the Company. We adjust our backlog for such cancellations, contract modifications, and delivery delays that result in a delivery period in excess of one year, among other items. A downturn in one or more of our businesses could result in an increase in order cancellations and postponements.

​

We write-off excess and obsolete inventory based on historical trends, future usage forecasts, and other factors including the amount of backlog we have on hand. If our backlog is canceled or modified, our estimates of future product demand may prove to be inaccurate, in which case we may have understated the write-off required for excess and obsolete inventory. In the future, if we determine that our inventory is overvalued, we will be required to recognize associated costs in our financial statements at the time of such determination. In addition, we place orders with our suppliers based

14

Table of Contents

on our customers’ orders. If our customers cancel their orders with us, we may not be able to cancel our orders with our suppliers. Any resulting charges could be materially adverse to our results of operations and financial condition.

​

We may be required to take impairment charges on assets.

​

We are required to assess goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets annually for impairment, or on an interim basis whenever certain events occur or circumstances change, such as an adverse change in business climate or a decline in the overall industry, that would more likely than not reduce the fair value below its carrying amount.

​

As part of our long term strategy, we may pursue future acquisitions of, or investments in, other companies or assets which could potentially increase our assets. We are required to test certain of our assets, including acquired intangible assets, property, plant, and equipment, and equity investments without readily observable market prices, for recoverability and impairment whenever there are indicators of impairment such as an adverse change in business climate. Adverse changes in business conditions or worse-than-expected performance by these acquired companies could negatively impact our estimates of future operations and result in impairment charges to these assets. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2019 we recorded non-cash impairment charges of $25.0 million, primarily related to our equity investments without readily observable market prices. If our assets are further impaired, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

​

We are exposed to risks associated with business combinations, acquisitions, strategic investments and divestitures.

​

We have completed several significant acquisitions and investments in the past and we will consider new opportunities in the future. Acquisitions and investments involve numerous risks, many of which are unpredictable and beyond our control, including the following:

​

If we issue equity securities to pay for an acquisition or investment, the ownership percentage of our then-current shareholders would be reduced and the value of the shares held by these shareholders could be diluted, which could adversely affect the price of our stock. If we use cash to pay for an acquisition or investment, the payment could significantly reduce the cash that would be available to fund our operations, pay our indebtedness, or be used for other purposes, which could have a negative effect on our business.

​

In addition, we continually assess the strategic fit of our businesses and may from time to time seek to divest portions of our Company that no longer fit our strategic plan. Divestitures involve significant risks and uncertainties, including the ability to sell such businesses at satisfactory prices, on acceptable terms, and in a timely manner. Divestitures may also disrupt other parts of our businesses, distract the attention of our management, result in a loss of key employees or

15

Table of Contents

customers, and require that we allocate internal resources that would otherwise be devoted to operating our existing businesses. Divestitures may expose us to unanticipated liabilities (including those arising from representations and warranties made to a buyer regarding the businesses) and to ongoing obligations to support the businesses following such divestitures, any and all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

​

We have adopted certain measures that may have anti-takeover effects which may make an acquisition of our Company by another company more difficult.

​

We have adopted, and may in the future adopt, certain measures that may have the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing a takeover or other change in control of our Company, which a holder of our common stock might not consider to be in the holder’s best interest. These measures include:

​

Our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 500,000 shares of preferred stock and to fix the rights (including voting rights), preferences and privileges of these shares (“blank check” preferred). Such preferred stock may have rights, including economic rights, senior to our common stock. As a result, the issuance of the preferred stock could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock and could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding common stock.

​

Our board of directors is divided into three classes with each class serving a staggered three-year term. The existence of a classified board makes it more difficult for our shareholders to change the composition of our board of directors, and therefore the Company’s policies, in a relatively short period of time.

​

We have adopted certain certificate of incorporation and bylaws provisions which have anti-takeover effects. These include: (a) requiring certain actions to be taken at a meeting of shareholders rather than by written consent, (b) requiring a super-majority of shareholders to approve certain amendments to our bylaws, (c) limiting the maximum number of directors, and (d) providing that directors may be removed only for cause. These measures and those described above may have the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing a takeover or other change in control of our Company that a holder of our common stock may not consider to be in the holder’s best interest.

​

In addition, we are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination, including mergers and asset sales, with an interested stockholder (generally, a 15% or greater stockholder) for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. The operation of Section 203 may have anti-takeover effects, which could delay, defer, or prevent a takeover attempt that a holder of our common stock may not consider to be in the holder’s best interest.

​

Despite the above measures, an activist shareholder could undertake action to implement governance, strategic, or other changes to the Company which a holder of our common stock may not consider to be in the holder’s best interest. Such activities could interfere with our ability to execute our strategic plans, be costly and time consuming, disrupt our operations, and divert the attention of management and our employees.

​

We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle for cash conversions of our 2.70% Convertible Senior Notes due 2023 (the “2023 Notes”), our 3.50% Convertible Senior Notes due 2025 (the “2025 Notes”), or our 3.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”) (the 2023 Notes, 2025 Notes, and 2027 Notes, together, the “Notes”) or to repurchase the Notes for cash upon a fundamental change, and any future debt may contain limitations on our ability to pay cash upon conversion or repurchase of the Notes.

​

As of December 31, 2020, we had $131.7 million in principal amounts outstanding in 2023 Notes, $132.5 million in principal amounts outstanding in 2025 Notes, and $125.0 million in principal amounts outstanding in 2027 Notes.

16

Table of Contents

Holders of the Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase all or any portion of their Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change before the maturity date at a fundamental change repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date, as described in the applicable Notes and indenture. In addition, upon conversion of the Notes, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock to settle such conversion (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the notes being converted. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases of the Notes surrendered therefor or pay cash with respect to the Notes being converted.

In addition, our ability to repurchase or to pay cash upon conversion of the Notes may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our indebtedness that exist at the time of repurchase or conversion. Our failure to repurchase the Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the respective indenture or to pay any cash upon conversion of the Notes as required by the respective indenture would constitute a default under the indenture for that series of convertible notes and could also lead to a default under the indenture for the other series of convertible notes. A default under either indenture or the fundamental change itself could lead to a default under any of our future indebtedness. If the payment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase the Notes or to pay cash upon conversion of the Notes.

The conditional conversion features of the 2023 Notes, 2025 Notes, and 2027 Notes, if triggered, may materially and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

In the event the conditional conversion features of the 2023 Notes, 2025 Notes, and 2027 Notes are triggered, holders of notes will be entitled to convert the notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert the notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our common stock (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders do not elect to convert the notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which could result in a material reduction of our net working capital.

​

The accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash, such as the Notes, could have a material effect on our reported financial results.

Under Accounting Standards Codification 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options, which we refer to as ASC 470-20, an entity must separately account for the liability and equity components of certain convertible debt instruments (such as the Notes) that may be settled entirely or partially in cash upon conversion in a manner that reflects the issuer’s economic interest cost. The effect of ASC 470-20 on the accounting for the Notes is that the equity component is required to be included in the additional paid-in capital section of stockholders’ equity on our consolidated balance sheet at the issuance date, and the value of the equity component is treated as debt discount for purposes of accounting for the debt component of the Notes. As a result, we are required to record a greater amount of non-cash interest expense as a result of the amortization of the discounted carrying value of the Notes to their face amount over the respective terms of the Notes. We report lower net income (or higher net loss) in our financial results because ASC 470-20 requires interest to include both the amortization of the debt discount and the instrument’s coupon interest rate, which could adversely affect our financial results, the trading price of our common stock, and the trading price of the Notes.

In addition, under certain circumstances, including our ability and intent to settle the convertible debt instruments in cash, convertible debt instruments (such as the Notes) that may be settled entirely or partly in cash are currently accounted for utilizing the treasury stock method, the effect of which is that the shares issuable upon conversion of the Notes are not included in the calculation of diluted income per share except to the extent that the conversion value of the Notes exceeds their principal amount. Under the treasury stock method, for diluted income per share purposes, the transaction is accounted for as if the number of shares of common stock that would be necessary to settle such excess, if we elected to settle such excess in shares, are issued. We cannot be sure that we will meet the criteria to utilize the treasury stock method in the future. If we are unable to utilize the treasury stock method, we would be required to apply

17

Table of Contents

the if-converted method. Under this method, diluted income per share would generally be calculated assuming that all the Notes were converted into shares of our common stock at the beginning of the reporting period, unless the result would be anti-dilutive. If we are unable or otherwise elect not to use the treasury stock method in accounting for the shares issuable upon conversion of the Notes, then our diluted income per share could be adversely affected.

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06: Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity. Under the standard, which will be effective for our fiscal year 2022, if not earlier adopted, an entity is no longer required to separately account for the liability and equity components of convertible debt instruments, such as those described above. As a result, entities will account for a convertible debt instrument wholly as debt, unless certain other conditions are met. The elimination of these seperation models will reduce non-cash interest expense, and thereby increasing net income (or reducing net loss) for entities that have issued a convertible instrument that was within the scope of those models before the adoption of ASU 2020-06. Additionally, ASU 2020-06 requires the application of the if-converted method for calculating diluted earnings per share, and precludes the use of the treasury stock method for certain debt instruments, which could adversely affect our diluted net income (loss) per share. We cannot be sure whether other changes may be made to the current accounting standards related to the Notes, or otherwise, that could have an adverse impact on our financial statements.

Issuance of our common stock, if any, upon conversion of the Notes, as well as the capped call transactions and the hedging activities of the option counterparties, may impair or reduce our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards or our research and development credits carryforwards in the future.

Pursuant to U.S. federal and state tax rules, a corporation is generally permitted to deduct from taxable income in any year net operating losses (“NOLs”) carried forward from prior years and to reduce from tax liabilities in any year R&D credits carried forward from prior years.

As of December 31, 2020, we had U.S. federal NOL carryforwards of approximately $219.3 million, of which $6.9 million has an indefinite carryforward period, with the remaining expiring in varying amounts between 2034 and 2037, if not utilized. We also had U.S. federal R&D credits carryforwards of approximately $28.8 million expiring in varying amounts between 2021 and 2040. If we were to experience a “change in ownership” under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 382”), the NOL carry forward limitations under Section 382 would impose an annual limit on the amount of the future taxable income that may be offset by our NOLs generated prior to the change in ownership. The R&D credits carry forward limitation under Section 383 of the Internal Revenue Code would impose an annual limit on the amount of tax liabilities that may be offset by R&D credits generated prior to the change in ownership. If an ownership change were to occur, we may be unable to use a significant portion of our NOLs to offset future taxable income and/or a significant portion of R&D credits to offset future tax liabilities.

The shares of common stock, if any, issued upon conversion of the Notes will, upon such issuance, be taken into account when determining the cumulative change in our ownership for Section 382 purposes. As a result, any conversion of the Notes that we elect to settle in shares may materially increase the risk that we could experience an ownership change in the future.

​

The capped call transactions may affect the value of the 2027 Notes and our common stock.

With respect to the 2027 Notes, we have entered into capped call transactions with certain option counterparties. The capped call transactions were expected generally to reduce the potential dilution upon conversion of the 2027 Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted 2027 Notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap.

The option counterparties or their affiliates may enter into or modify hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the 2027 Notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of the 2027 Notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a

18

Table of Contents

decrease in the market price of our common stock and the 2027 Notes, which could affect the ability of the noteholders to convert the 2027 Notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of the 2027 Notes, it could affect the number of shares and value of the consideration that noteholders will receive upon conversion of the 2027 Notes.

​

Risks Associated with Operating a Global Business

​

We are exposed to risks of operating businesses outside the United States.

​

Most of our sales are to customers located outside of the United States, and we expect sales from non-U.S. markets to continue to represent a significant portion of our sales in the future. Our non-U.S. sales and operations are subject to risks inherent in conducting business outside the United States, many of which are beyond our control including:

​

These challenges, many of which are associated with sales into the Asia-Pacific region, have had and may continue to have a material adverse effect on our business.

​

Changes in U.S. trade policy and export controls and ongoing trade disputes between the U.S. and China have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

​

The U.S. government has recently enacted several changes in trade policy which have adversely affected the Company’s ability to sell and service its products to and for customers located in China and in certain other countries. These changes have included, without limitation, the elimination of license exception CIV, the addition of several companies to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List, and the implementation of new regulations governing the sale of equipment to

19

Table of Contents

defined “Military End Users” and for defined “Military End Uses”. The effect of these changes, among others, is that U.S. companies are now required to obtain export licenses before providing commodities, software, and technology (that are subject to the regulations) to customers for whom licensing requirements did not previously apply. The administrative processing, attendant delays and risk of ultimately not obtaining required export approvals pose a particular disadvantage to the Company relative to our non-U.S. competitors who are not required to comply with U.S. export controls. This difficulty and uncertainty has adversely affected our ability to compete for and win business from customers in China. Foreign customers affected by these and future U.S. government sanctions or threats of sanctions may respond by developing their own solutions to replace our products or by utilizing our foreign competitors’ products. This “trade war” with China, together with the prospect of additional governmental action related to international sanctions and tariffs, has adversely affected, and is likely to continue to adversely affect, demand for our products and the results of our operations and financial condition.

​

The changes in U.S. trade policy and export controls, as well as sanctions imposed by the U.S. against certain Chinese companies, have triggered retaliatory action by China and could trigger further retaliation. For example, China has instituted trade sanctions on certain U.S. goods, as well as other sanctions designed to deny U.S. companies access to critical raw materials. In addition, China has provided, and is expected to continue to provide, significant assistance, financial and otherwise, to its domestic industries, including some of our competitors. We face increasing competition as a result of significant investment in the semiconductor industry by the Chinese government and various state-owned or affiliated entities that is intended to advance China's stated national policy objectives. In addition, the Chinese government may restrict us from participating in the China market or may prevent us from competing effectively with Chinese companies.

​

Further, we hold inventory of products that may be affected by the recent U.S. government actions, including potential order cancellations. While we continue to take steps to mitigate our exposure to this developing situation, if the sale of these products is delayed or we are unable to return or dispose of our inventory on favorable economic terms, we may incur additional carrying costs for the inventory or otherwise record charges associated with this inventory.

​

We may be unable to obtain required export licenses for the sale of our products.

​

Whether with respect to sales to customers located in China or otherwise, products which (i) are manufactured in the United States, (ii) incorporate controlled U.S. origin parts, technology, or software, or (iii) are based on U.S. technology, are subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) when exported to and re-exported from international jurisdictions, in addition to the local jurisdiction’s export regulations applicable to individual shipments. Currently, our MOCVD, MBE, laser annealing and certain other systems and products are controlled for export under the EAR. Licenses or proper license exceptions may be required for the shipment of our products to certain customers or countries. Obtaining an export license or determining whether an export license exception exists often requires considerable effort by us and cooperation from the customer, which can add time to the order fulfillment process. We may be unable to obtain required export licenses or qualify for export license exceptions and, as a result, we may be unable to export products to our customers and/or meet their servicing needs. Non-compliance with the EAR or other applicable export regulations could result in a wide range of penalties including the denial of export privileges, fines, criminal penalties, and the seizure of commodities. In the event that an export regulatory body determines that any of our shipments violate applicable export regulations, we could be fined significant sums and our export capabilities could be restricted, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.

​

We are exposed to various risks associated with global regulatory requirements.

​

As a public company with global operations, we are subject to the laws of the United States and multiple foreign jurisdictions, and the rules and regulations of various governing bodies, which may differ among jurisdictions. We are required to comply with legal and regulatory requirements pertaining to such matters as data privacy (including, for example, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation and similar laws), labor laws, immigration, customs, trade, taxes, corporate governance, conflict minerals and other social responsibility legislation, and antitrust regulations, among others. These laws and regulations, which are ever-evolving and at times complex and inconsistent, impose costs on our business and divert management time and attention from revenue-generating activities. Changes to or ambiguities in these laws and regulations may create uncertainty regarding our compliance requirements. While we intend to invest

20

Table of Contents

the required resources to comply with these regulatory requirements, if we are found by a court or regulatory agency to have failed in these efforts, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

​

We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other similar laws.

​

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCPA”) and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign government officials, as defined by the statute, for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Violations of the FCPA or similar laws or similar customer policies may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions or the loss of supplier privileges to a customer and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

​

Our operating results may be adversely affected by tightening credit markets.

​

As a global company with worldwide operations, we are subject to volatility and adverse consequences associated with economic downturns in different parts of the world. In the event of a downturn, many of our customers may delay or reduce their purchases of our products and services. If negative conditions in the credit markets prevent our customers from obtaining credit or necessary financing, product orders in these channels may decrease, which could result in lower revenue. In addition, we may experience cancellations of orders in backlog, rescheduling of customer deliveries, and attendant pricing pressures. If our suppliers face challenges in obtaining credit, in selling their products, or otherwise in operating their businesses, their ability to continue to supply materials to us may be negatively affected.

​

In addition, we finance some of our sales through trade credit. In addition to ongoing credit evaluations of our customers’ financial condition, we seek to mitigate our credit risk by obtaining deposits and letters of credit on certain of our sales arrangements. We could suffer significant losses if a customer whose accounts receivable we have not secured fails or is otherwise unable to pay us, or if financial institutions providing letters of credit become insolvent. A loss in collections on our accounts receivable would have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

​

We are subject to foreign currency exchange risks.

​

We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risks that are inherent in our anticipated sales, purchase commitments, and assets and liabilities that are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Although we attempt to mitigate our exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, hedging activities may not always be available or adequate to mitigate the impact of our exchange rate exposure. Failure to sufficiently hedge or otherwise manage foreign currency risks properly could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

​

Risks Related to Intellectual Property and Cybersecurity

​

Disruptions in our information technology systems or data security incidents could result in significant financial, legal, regulatory, business, and reputational harm to us.

​

We are increasingly dependent on information technology systems and infrastructure, including mobile technologies, to operate our business. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, store, process and transmit significant amounts of sensitive information, including intellectual property, proprietary business information, personally-identifiable information of individuals, and other confidential information, including that of our customers and other business partners. It is critical that we do so in a secure manner to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this sensitive information. We have also outsourced elements of our operations (including elements of our information technology infrastructure) to third parties, and as a result, we manage a number of third-party vendors who have access to our computer networks and our confidential information.

​

All information systems are subject to disruption, breach, or failure. Potential vulnerabilities can be exploited from inadvertent or intentional actions of our employees, third-party vendors, business partners, or by malicious third parties. Attacks of this nature are increasing in their frequency, levels of persistence, sophistication, and intensity, and are being conducted by sophisticated and organized groups and individuals with a wide range of expertise and motives (including industrial espionage), including organized criminal groups, nation states, and others. In addition to the extraction of

21

Table of Contents

sensitive information, attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, or other means which could affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. Significant disruptions in our, or our third-party vendors’, information technology systems or other data security incidents could adversely affect our business operations and result in the loss or misappropriation of, and unauthorized access to, sensitive information, which could result in financial, legal, regulatory, business, and reputational harm to us.

​

On November 1, 2018, we announced the discovery of an attack on our computer system by a highly-sophisticated actor. We notified law enforcement of the attack and retained forensic experts to assist with the investigation. We were not able to definitively determine the extent of the breach or the potential impact on our operations. We also were not able to definitively identify who was responsible for the attack. While we have engaged in remediation and implemented, and are continuing to implement, security measures intended to protect our information technology systems and infrastructure, there can be no assurance that such remediation and security measures will successfully prevent further security incidents. Additional information technology system disruptions, whether from attacks on our technology environment or from computer viruses, natural disasters, terrorism, war or other causes, could result in a material disruption in our business operations, force us to incur significant costs and engage in litigation, harm our reputation, and subject us to liability under laws, regulations, and contractual obligations.

​

We may be unable to effectively enforce and protect our intellectual property rights.

​

Our success as a company depends in part upon the protection of our intellectual property rights. We rely primarily on patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws, as well as nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements and other methods, to protect our proprietary information, technologies, processes, and brand identity. We own various U.S. and international patents and have additional pending patent applications relating to certain of our products and technologies. The process of seeking patent protection is lengthy and expensive, and we cannot be certain that pending or future applications will result in issued patents or that issued patents will be of sufficient scope or strength to provide meaningful protection or commercial advantage. In addition, our intellectual property rights may be circumvented, invalidated, or rendered obsolete by the rapid pace of technological change, or through efforts by others to reverse engineer our products or design around patents that we own. Policing unauthorized use of our products and technologies is difficult and time consuming and the laws of other countries may not protect our proprietary rights as fully or as readily as U.S. laws. Given these limitations, our success will depend in part upon our ability to innovate ahead of our competitors.

​

In addition, our outsourcing efforts require that we share certain portions of our technology with our outsourcing partners, which poses additional risks of infringement and trade secret misappropriation. Infringement of our rights by a third party, possibly for purposes of developing and selling competing products, could result in uncompensated lost market and revenue opportunities. Similar exposure could result in the event that former employees seek to compete with us through their unauthorized use of our intellectual property and proprietary information. We cannot be certain that the protective steps and measures we have taken will prevent the misappropriation or unauthorized use of our proprietary information and technologies, nor can we be certain that applicable intellectual property laws, regulations, and policies will not be changed in a manner detrimental to the sale or use of our products.

​

Litigation has been required in the past, is currently ongoing, and may be required in the future, to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets, and to determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights of others. As a result of any such litigation, we could lose our ability to enforce one or more patents, incur substantial costs, and jeopardize relationships with current or prospective customers or suppliers. Any action we take to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights could absorb significant management time and attention, and could otherwise negatively impact our operating results.

​

We may be subject to claims of intellectual property infringement by others.

​

We receive communications from time to time from other parties asserting the existence of patent or other rights which they believe cover certain of our products. We also periodically receive notices from customers who believe that we are required to indemnify them for damages they may incur related to infringement claims made against these customers by third parties. Our customary practice is to evaluate such assertions and to consider the available alternatives, including

22

Table of Contents

whether to seek a license, if appropriate. However, we cannot ensure that licenses can be obtained or, if obtained, will be on acceptable terms or that costly litigation or other administrative proceedings will not occur. If we are not able to resolve a claim, negotiate a settlement of the matter, obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms, or successfully prosecute and defend our position, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

​

Risks Associated with Our Industry

​

We face significant competition.

​

We face significant competition throughout the world, which may increase as certain markets in which we operate continue to evolve. Some of our competitors have greater financial, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing resources than us. Other competitors are located in regions with lower labor costs and other reduced costs of operation. In addition, our ability to compete in foreign countries against local manufacturers may be hampered by nationalism, social attitudes, laws, regulations, and policies within such countries that favor local companies over U.S. companies or that are otherwise designed to promote the development and growth of local competitors. Furthermore, we face competition from smaller emerging equipment companies whose strategy is to provide a portion of the products and services we offer, with a focused approach on innovative technology for specialized markets. New product introductions or enhancements by us or our competitors could cause a decline in sales or loss of market acceptance of our existing or prior generation products. Increased competitive pressure could also lead to intensified price competition resulting in lower profit margins.

​

We operate in industries characterized by rapid technological change.

​

Each of the industries in which we operate is subject to rapid technological change. Our ability to remain competitive depends on our ability to enhance existing products and develop and manufacture new products in a timely and cost effective manner and to accurately predict technology transitions. Our performance may be adversely affected if we are unable to accurately predict evolving market trends and related customer needs and to effectively allocate our resources among new and existing products and technologies.

​

We are also exposed to potential risks associated with unexpected product performance issues. Our product designs and manufacturing processes are complex and could contain unexpected product defects, especially when products are first introduced. Unexpected product performance issues could result in significant costs and damages, including increased service and warranty expenses, the need to provide product replacements or modifications, reimbursement for damages caused by our products, product recalls, related litigation, product write-offs, and disposal costs. Product defects could also result in personal injury or property damage, claims for which may exceed our existing insurance coverages. These and other costs could be substantial and our reputation could be harmed, resulting in a reduced demand for our products and a negative effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

​

Certain of our sales are dependent on the demand for consumer electronics, which can experience significant volatility due to seasonal and other factors.

​

The demand for semiconductors, LEDs, HDDs and other devices is highly dependent on sales of consumer electronics, such as televisions, computers, tablets, digital video recorders, smartphones, cell phones, and other mobile devices. Factors that could influence the levels of spending on consumer electronic products include consumer confidence, access to credit, volatility in fuel and other energy costs, conditions in the residential real estate and mortgage markets, labor and healthcare costs, and other macroeconomic factors affecting consumer spending behavior. The emergence of new or competing technologies may also affect demand for consumer electronic products. These and other factors have had and could continue to have an adverse effect on the demand for our customers’ products and, in turn, on our customers’ demand for our products and services. Furthermore, in the past, some of our customers have overestimated their potential for market share growth. If this growth is overestimated, we may experience cancellations of orders in backlog, rescheduling of customer deliveries, obsolete inventory, and liabilities to our suppliers for products no longer needed.

​

23

Table of Contents

We have a concentrated customer base, located primarily in a limited number of regions, which operates in highly concentrated industries.

​

Our customer base continues to be highly concentrated. Orders from a relatively limited number of customers have accounted for, and likely will continue to account for, a substantial portion of our net sales, which may allow customers to demand pricing and other terms less favorable to us (including extended warranties, indemnification commitments, and the obligation to continue production of older products). Customer consolidation activity involving some of our largest customers could result in an even greater concentration of our sales in the future. Management changes at key customer accounts could result in a loss of future sales due to vendor preferences or other reasons and may introduce new challenges in managing customer relationships.

​

If a principal customer discontinues its relationship with us or suffers economic setbacks, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be materially and adversely affected. Our ability to increase sales in the future will depend in part upon our ability to obtain orders from new customers and we cannot be certain that we will be successful in these efforts. In addition, because a relatively small number of large manufacturers, many of whom are our customers, dominate the industries in which they operate, it may be especially difficult for us to replace these customers if we lose their business. A significant portion of orders in our backlog are orders from our principal customers.

​

In addition, a substantial investment is required by customers to install and integrate capital equipment into a production line. As a result, once a manufacturer has selected a particular vendor to supply capital equipment, the manufacturer will often attempt to consolidate its other capital equipment requirements with the same vendor. Accordingly, if a customer selects a competitor’s product over ours, we could experience difficulty selling to that customer for a significant period of time.

​

Furthermore, we do not have long-term contracts with our customers. As a result, our agreements with our customers do not provide assurance of future sales, and we are exposed to competitive price pressures on new orders we attempt to obtain.

​

Our customer base is also highly concentrated in terms of geography, and the majority of our sales are to customers located in a limited number of countries. Dependence upon sales emanating from a limited number of regions increases our risk of exposure to local difficulties and challenges, such as those associated with regional economic downturns, political instability, trade wars and other trade disruptions, fluctuating currency exchange rates, natural disasters, social unrest, pandemics, terrorism, and acts of war. Our reliance upon customer demand arising primarily from a limited number of countries could materially and adversely impact our future results of operations.

​

The cyclicality of the industries we serve directly affects our business.

​

Our business depends in large part upon the capital expenditures of manufacturers in our four end-markets: Semiconductor; Compound Semiconductor; Data Storage; and Scientific & Other. We are subject to the business cycles of these industries, the timing, length, and volatility of which are difficult to predict. These industries have historically been highly cyclical and have experienced significant economic downturns in the last decade. As a capital equipment provider, our revenue depends in large part on the spending patterns of these customers, who often delay expenditures or cancel or reschedule orders in reaction to variations in their businesses or general economic conditions. In downturns, we must be able to quickly and effectively align our costs with prevailing market conditions, as well as motivate and retain key employees. However, because a portion of our costs are fixed, our ability to reduce expenses quickly in response to revenue shortfalls may be limited. Downturns in one or more of these industries have had, and will likely have, a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results. Alternatively, during periods of rapid growth, we must be able to acquire and develop sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet customer demand and attract, hire, assimilate, and retain a sufficient number of qualified people. Our net sales and operating results may be negatively affected if our customers experience economic downturns or slowdowns in their businesses.

24

Table of Contents

​

Our failure to estimate customer demand accurately could result in inventory obsolescence, liabilities to our suppliers for products no longer needed, and manufacturing interruptions or delays which could affect our ability to meet customer demand.

​

The success of our business depends in part on our ability to accurately forecast and supply equipment and services that meet the rapidly changing technical and volume requirements of our customers. To meet these demands, we depend on the timely delivery of parts, components, and subassemblies from our suppliers. Uncertain worldwide economic conditions and market instabilities make it difficult for us (and our customers) to accurately forecast future product demand. If actual demand for our products is different than expected, we may purchase more or fewer parts than necessary or incur costs for canceling, postponing, or expediting delivery of parts. If we overestimate the demand for our products, excess inventory could result which could be subject to heavy price discounting, which could become obsolete, and which could subject us to liabilities to our suppliers for products no longer needed. Similarly, we may be harmed in the event that our competitors overestimate the demand for their products and engage in heavy price discounting practices as a result. In addition, the volatility of demand for capital equipment poses risks for companies in our supply chain, including challenges associated with inventory management and fluctuating working capital requirements.

​

Furthermore, certain key parts may be subject to long lead-times or may be obtainable only from a single supplier or limited group of suppliers, and some sourcing and assembly is provided by suppliers located in countries other than the United States. We may experience significant interruptions in our manufacturing operations, delays in our ability to timely deliver products or services, increased costs, or customer order cancellations as a result of:

​

In addition, in the event of an unanticipated increase in demand for our products, our need to rapidly increase our business and manufacturing capacity may be limited by our working capital constraints and those of our suppliers, which may cause or exacerbate interruptions in our manufacturing and supply chain operations. Any or all of these factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

​

Our failure to successfully manage our outsourcing activities or failure of our outsourcing partners to perform as anticipated could adversely affect our results of operations.

​

To better align our costs with market conditions, increase the percentage of variable costs relative to total costs, and to increase productivity and operational efficiency, we have outsourced certain functions to third parties, including the manufacture of several of our systems. While we maintain some level of internal manufacturing capability for these systems, we rely on our outsourcing partners to perform their contracted functions to allow us flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions, including periods of significantly diminished order volumes. If our outsourcing partners do not perform as required, or if our outsourcing efforts do not allow us to realize the intended cost savings and flexibility, our results of operations (and those of our third-party providers) may be adversely affected. Disputes and possibly litigation involving third party providers could result and we could suffer damage to our reputation. Dependence on contract manufacturing and outsourcing may also adversely affect our ability to bring new products to market. Although we attempt to select reputable providers, one or more of these providers could fail to perform as we expect. If we do not effectively manage our outsourcing efforts or if third party providers do not perform as anticipated, we may not realize the benefits of productivity improvements and we may experience operational difficulties, increased costs, manufacturing and installation interruptions or delays, inefficiencies in the structure and operation of our supply chain,

25

Table of Contents

loss of intellectual property rights, quality issues, increased product time-to-market, and an inefficient allocation of our human resources, any or all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

​

We rely on a limited number of suppliers, some of whom are our sole source for particular components.

​

Certain of the parts, components, and sub-assemblies included in our products are obtained from a single source or a limited group of suppliers. Our inability to develop alternative sources, as necessary, could result in a prolonged interruption in our ability to supply related products, a failure on our part to meet the demands our customers, and a significant increase in the price of related products, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

​

General Risk Factors

​

The price of our common shares is volatile and could decrease.

​

The stock market in general and the market for technology stocks in particular has experienced significant volatility. The trading price of our common shares has fluctuated significantly and could decline independent of the overall market, and shareholders could lose all or a substantial part of their investment. The market price of our common shares could continue to fluctuate in response to several factors, including those mentioned elsewhere in this section and, among others:

​

Securities class action litigation is often brought against a company following periods of volatility in the market price of its securities. We have defended security class actions lawsuits in the past, and are currently defending such a lawsuit now. These lawsuits, if and when brought, can result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which can adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

​

We are subject to risks of non-compliance with environmental, health, and safety regulations.

​

From a corporate governance perspective, there is an increasing focus on reducing energy usage and improving the environmental impact and sustainability associated with manufacturing operations. In addition, we are subject to environmental, health, and safety regulations in connection with our business operations, including but not limited to

26

Table of Contents

regulations related to the development, manufacture and use of our products, recycling and disposal of related materials, and the operation and use of our facilities and real property. Failure or inability to comply with existing or future environmental, safety and sustainability standards and regulations could result in significant remediation liabilities, the imposition of fines, the suspension or termination of research, development, or use of certain of our products, and other harm to the Company, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Aside from these potential adverse effects on our business operations, we are committed to ensuring safe

working conditions, treating our employees with dignity and respect, and sourcing, manufacturing, and distributing our

products in a responsible and environmentally friendly manner, and any failure on our part to do so may cause

reputational harm for the Company. Furthermore, some of our operations involve the storage, handling, and use of hazardous materials that may pose a risk of fire, explosion, or environmental release. Such events could result from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or operational failures and may result in injury or loss of life to our employees and others, local environmental contamination, and property damage. These events may cause a temporary shutdown of an affected facility, or portion thereof, and we could be subject to penalties or claims as a result. Each of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

​

Our inability to attract, retain, and motivate employees could have a material adverse effect on our business.

​

Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, retain, and motivate employees, including those in executive, managerial, engineering and marketing positions, as well as highly skilled and qualified technical personnel. Attracting, retaining, and motivating such qualified personnel may be difficult due to challenging industry conditions, competition for such personnel by other technology companies, consolidations and relocations of operations, and workforce reductions, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in recruiting or retaining key personnel. We have entered into employment agreements with certain key personnel but our inability to attract, retain, and motivate key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

​

Changes in accounting pronouncements or taxation rules or practices may adversely affect our financial results.

​

Changes in accounting pronouncements or taxation rules or practices can have a significant effect on our reported results. New accounting pronouncements and taxation rules can have a material impact on revenue recognition practices, effective tax rates, results of operations, and our financial condition. In addition, varying interpretations of accounting pronouncements or taxation practices, and the questioning of our current or past practices (such as those associated with our transfer pricing), may adversely affect our reported financial results.

​

Our income taxes may change.

​

We are subject to income tax on a jurisdictional or legal entity basis and significant judgment is required in certain instances to allocate our taxable income to a jurisdiction and to determine the related income tax expense and benefits. Losses in one jurisdiction generally may not be used to offset profits in other jurisdictions. As a result, changes in the mix of our earnings (or losses) between jurisdictions, among other factors, could alter our overall effective income tax rate, possibly resulting in significant tax rate increases.

​

We are regularly audited by various tax authorities. Income tax audit assessments or changes in tax laws, regulations, or other interpretations may result in increased tax provisions which could materially affect our operating results in the period or periods in which such determinations are made or changes occur.

​

In addition, our effective tax rate could increase if we determine that it is no longer more likely than not that we are able to realize our remaining net deferred tax assets, if we are unable to generate sufficient future taxable income in certain jurisdictions, or if we are otherwise required to increase our valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets.

​

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

​

None.

​

27

Table of Contents

Item 2. Properties

​

Our corporate headquarters and principal research and development, manufacturing, and sales and service facilities as of December 31, 2020 are as follows:

​

​

​

In addition to the above, we lease a small office in Malta, New York for sales and service and our foreign sales and service subsidiaries lease office space in China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Finally, as discussed in Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, on February 18, 2021, we entered into a new lease agreement in San Jose, California, to expand our manufacturing capabilities for our laser annealing and lithography technologies. This new facility has approximately the same square footage as our existing San Jose, California facility, but expanded manufacturing capabilities, and we will transition to the new facility over the next two years. We believe our facilities are adequate to meet our current needs.

​

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

​

The discussion under the heading Legal Proceedings within Note 10, “Commitments and Contingencies” to the Consolidated Financial Statements is incorporated herein by reference.

​

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

​

Not Applicable.

​

28

Table of Contents

PART II

​

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

​

Our common stock is quoted on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “VECO.” As of February 11, 2021, there were approximately 132 stockholders of record of our common stock. Because many of our shares of common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of stockholders represented by these record holders. We have not paid dividends on our common stock. The Board of Directors will determine future dividend policy based on our consolidated results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, and other circumstances.

​

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

​

On December 11, 2017, our Board of Directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $100 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock to be completed through December 11, 2019, after completion of the previous program on October 28, 2017. During fiscal year 2018, we repurchased 1.0 million shares of our common stock for $11.3 million through our share repurchase programs. We did not purchase any shares during the fiscal years 2020 and 2019. At the end of the program, $14.3 million of the $100 million had been utilized.

29

Table of Contents

Stock Performance Graph

​

​

ASSUMES $100 INVESTED ON DEC. 31, 2015

ASSUMES DIVIDENDS REINVESTED

FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC. 31

​

​

​

30

Table of Contents

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

​

The information set forth below should be read in conjunction with the “Results of Operations” section included in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

​

​

​

​

​

31

Table of Contents

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

​

Executive Summary

​

We are an innovative manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment. Our proven ion beam, laser annealing, lithography, MOCVD and single wafer wet processing technologies play an integral role in the fabrication and packaging of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to optimize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds leading technology positions in the markets we serve. To learn more about Veeco’s systems and service offerings, visit www.veeco.com.

​

We categorize our revenue by the end-markets into which we sell. Our four end-markets are: Semiconductor; Compound Semiconductor; Data Storage; and Scientific & Other.

​

Sales in the Semiconductor market were driven by our laser annealing systems, lithography systems for Advanced Packaging, as well as Low Defect Density IBD systems for EUV Mask Blank Production. We continue to build momentum for our laser annealing solutions with advanced node logic customers. We recently announced that Veeco won an additional application with a leading manufacturer. We have evaluation systems at a DRAM manufacturer and are working with new and existing customers on their next manufacturing nodes. Our lithography systems for Advanced Packaging are aligned with longer-term growth of FOWLP and other Advanced Packaging applications. Additionally, the ongoing adoption of EUV Lithography for advanced node, semiconductor manufacturing continues to drive requirements for our mask blank systems. Overall, our technology and market strategy is well aligned with trends such as artificial intelligence, mobile connectivity and high performance computing that drive the Semiconductor market.

​

We address the Compound Semiconductor market with a broad portfolio of technologies including Wet Processing, MOCVD, MBE, and Ion Beam, which have been developed to support emerging applications such as 5G driven RF device manufacturing, photonics applications including 3D sensing laser diodes and micro-LEDs, and GaN-based power electronics. Sales in the Compound Semiconductor market improved in 2020, and were driven by equipment shipments for RF Filters, RF Devices, and power electronics, as well as sales to the Photonics market. The Photonics market was driven by the monetization of slow moving MOCVD inventory, as well as shipments of MOCVD, Ion Beam, and MBE equipment for specialty LED and display applications.

​

Sales in the Data Storage market have been growing for several years, primarily driven by shipments of Ion Beam systems for data storage applications. Demand for our Ion Beam products for data storage is being driven by big data and cloud-based storage growth. In order to be successful, hard disk drive manufacturers are required to improve areal density of magnetic heads for hard disk drives and are manufacturing drives with an increasing number of thin film magnetic heads. These two factors taken together, along with new innovations by HDD manufacturers such as heat assisted magnetic recording and microwave assisted magnetic recording, are driving additional capacity requirements and equipment upgrades. Additionally, recent trends in the work from home environment and the importance of cloud computing are also providing tailwinds to this market. We have good visibility in this market, which we believe will remain healthy through 2021.

​

Sales in the Scientific & Other market are largely driven by sales to governments, universities, and research institutions. While sales were lower in 2020 compared to 2019, which we attribute to COVID-19 impacts to purchasing decisions, revenues did increase in the second half of 2020 which may be indicative of a recovery.

​

Overall, our laser annealing, 5G RF, and data storage products are all performing well for us today, and we expect them to provide growth in the near term, through 2021. Long term growth for 2022 and beyond is expected to come from the Semiconductor and Compound Semiconductor markets. As such, we have been making strategic investments in R&D and inventory, including evaluation systems, in these markets, as well as improving our service capabilities to support these anticipated growth opportunities.

​

32

Table of Contents

Results of Operations

​

Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019

​

The following table presents revenue and expense line items reported in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for 2020 and 2019 and the period-over-period dollar and percentage changes for those line items. Our results of operations are reported as one business segment, represented by our single operating segment.

​

​

Net Sales

​

The following is an analysis of sales by end-market and by region:

​

​

Total sales increased for the year ended December 31, 2020 against the comparable prior year period in the Data Storage and Compound Semiconductor markets, partially offset by decreases in the Semiconductor and Scientific & Other

33

Table of Contents

markets. Pricing did not have a significant impact on the change in total sales. By geography, sales increased in the United States, EMEA, and Rest of APAC regions, partially offset by a decrease in the China region. Sales in the United States and EMEA regions were largely driven by increased sales in the Data Storage market, while sales in the Rest of APAC region were largely driven by increased sales in the Compound Semiconductor market. Included within the Rest of APAC region for the year ended December 31, 2020 were sales in Singapore and Taiwan of $49.4 million and $40.0 million, respectively, while sales in Japan and Taiwan were $48.1 million and $48.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. We expect there will continue to be year-to-year variations in our future sales distribution across markets and geographies. In light of the global nature of our business, we are impacted by conditions in the various countries in which we and our customers operate. Several markets continue to remain challenged in light of ongoing restrictions on business and travel, and decreased business and consumer spending generally, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

​

Gross Profit

​

In 2020, gross profit increased compared to 2019 primarily due to an increase in sales volume, as well as increased gross margins. Gross margins increased principally due to higher production activity, as well as reductions in inventory reserves and warranty expenses. We expect our gross margins to fluctuate each period due to product mix and other factors.

​

Research and Development

​

The markets we serve are characterized by continuous technological development and product innovation, and we invest in various research and development initiatives to maintain our competitive advantage and achieve our growth objectives. Research and development expenses decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 primarily from reductions to personnel-related expenses, project materials, and professional fees as a result of our initiative to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and reduce costs. In the second half of 2019, we executed an initiative to reorganize various functions along product lines and created a central research and development organization to better allocate our resources to our highest priority projects. Additionally, we had a decrease in travel-related expenses as a result of COVID-19 related restrictions.

​

Selling, General, and Administrative

​

Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 primarily related to personnel-related expenses and professional fees as a result of our initiative to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and reduce costs. Additionally, we had a decrease in travel-related expenses as a result of COVID-19 related restrictions. Given the uncertainty regarding the impacts on our business resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are focused on the proactive management of expenses. In future periods, we may incur additional selling, general and administrative expenses to support our responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

​

Amortization Expense

​

Amortization expense decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 primarily due to the sale of a non-core product line, including related intangible assets, as well as changes in amortization expense to reflect expected cash flows of certain intangible assets.

​

Restructuring Expense

​

We continued to record restructuring charges in 2019 as a result of our efforts to further streamline operations, enhance efficiencies, and reduce costs. In the second half of 2019, we executed an initiative to reorganize various functions along product lines and created a central research and development organization to better allocate our resources to our highest priority projects. In addition, we delayered the organization while preserving our ability to execute. Collectively, these actions impacted approximately 60 employees. During the year ended December 31, 2020, additional accruals were recognized and payments were made related to these restructuring initiatives, which are largely completed at December 31, 2020.

34

Table of Contents

​

Asset Impairment

​

During the fourth quarter of 2019, we determined that one of our non-core product lines met the criteria for held for sale accounting treatment and recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $4.0 million to reduce these assets to their expected fair value upon sale. During the second quarter of 2020, we recorded additional impairment charges of $0.3 million related to the finalization of the sale of this product line.

​

Interest Income (Expense)

​

For the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded net interest expense of $23.2 million, compared to $17.4 million for the comparable prior period. The increase in interest expense was primarily related to the issuance of the 2027 Notes in May 2020 and the 2025 Notes in November 2020, partially offset by the partial repurchase and exchange of the 2023 Notes. Included in interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2020 were non-cash charges of $13.8 million related to the amortization of debt discount and transaction costs of the 2023 Notes, 2025 Notes, and 2027 Notes, while the year ended December 31, 2019 included non-cash charges of $12.7 million related to the amortization of debt discount and transaction costs of the 2023 Notes. Additionally, interest income decreased approximately $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the prior period, primarily as a result of lower interest rates, and we expect interest income to remain depressed as a result.

​

Other Income (Expense)

​

On May 18, 2020, in connection with the completion of a private offering of $125 million aggregate principal amount of 3.75% convertible senior notes, we repurchased and retired approximately $88.3 million in aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 2023 Notes, with a carrying amount of $78.1 million, for approximately $81.2 million of cash. Additionally, on November 11, 2020, we entered into a privately negotiated exchange agreement with a holder of our outstanding 2023 Notes, under which we agreed to retire $125.0 million in aggregate original principal amount of the 2023 Notes, with a carrying amount of $113.1 million, in exchange for the issuance of $132.5 million in aggregate principal amount of new 3.50% convertible senior notes. We accounted for both transactions as an extinguishment of the 2023 Notes, and as such, recorded a loss on extinguishment of approximately $7.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

During the fourth quarter of 2019, we determined that our equity investment in Kateeva had indicators of impairment, and as such, we reviewed this investment for impairment. Based on this review, we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $21.0 million.

Income Taxes

​

The 2020 income tax benefit of $0.1 million is comprised of: (i) a $0.8 million income tax benefit related to the amortization and subsequent sale of certain intangible assets during the year, which was partially offset by (ii) a $0.5 million income tax expense attributed to the profitable non-U.S. operations, as well as withholding tax to repatriate certain foreign earnings as a result of changes in tax laws under the 2017 Tax Act, and (iii) a $0.2 million income tax expense related primarily to U.S. tax amortization of our indefinite-lived intangible assets that is not available to offset existing deferred tax assets, as well as state and local income taxes.

​

The 2019 income tax expense of $0.8 million is comprised of: (i) a $1.0 million income tax expense attributed to the profitable non-U.S. operations, as well as withholding tax as we now expect to repatriate certain foreign earnings as a result of changes in tax laws under the 2017 Tax Act, (ii) a $0.3 million income tax expense related primarily to U.S. tax amortization of our indefinite-lived intangible assets that is not available to offset existing deferred tax assets, as well as state and local income taxes, which were partially offset by (iii) a $0.5 million income tax benefit related to the amortization and subsequent impairment of certain non-U.S. intangible assets during the year.

35

Table of Contents

Years Ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

​

See Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the SEC on February 21, 2020, for Management’s Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. In addition, in order to align with our evolving strategy, we have changed the end-markets by which we categorize sales. Prior period sales have been reclassified to the new end-markets for comparative purposes. The following is an analysis of sales by end-market:

​

​

Total sales decreased for the year ended December 31, 2019 against the comparable prior year period principally in the Compound Semiconductor market, partially offset by increases in the Semiconductor and Data Storage markets. Pricing did not have a significant impact on the change in total sales. The decrease in sales in the Compound Semiconductor market was largely driven by our exit out of the low margin commoditized LED market. We expect there will continue to be year-to-year variations in our future sales distribution across markets.

​

Liquidity and Capital Resources

​

Our cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments are as follows:

​

​

A portion of our cash and cash equivalents is held by our subsidiaries throughout the world, frequently in each subsidiary’s respective functional currency, which is typically the U.S. dollar. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, cash and cash equivalents of $40.2 million and $73.0 million, respectively, were held outside the United States. As of December 31, 2020, we had $12.6 million of accumulated undistributed earnings generated by our non-U.S. subsidiaries for which the U.S. repatriation tax has been provided and did not require the use of cash due to the use of net operating loss carryforwards. Approximately $6.0 million of undistributed earnings would be subject to foreign withholding taxes if distributed back to the United States. We believe that our projected cash flow from operations, combined with our cash and short-term investments, will be sufficient to meet our projected working capital requirements, contractual obligations, and other cash flow needs for the next twelve months, including scheduled interest payments on our convertible senior notes.

​

36

Table of Contents

A summary of the cash flow activity for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:

​

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

​

​

Net cash provided by operating activities was $43.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and was due to the net loss of $8.4 million plus a decline in cash flow from operating activities due to changes in operating assets and liabilities of $13.7 million, being more than offset by adjustments for non-cash items of $65.2 million. The changes in operating assets and liabilities was largely attributable to increases in accounts receivable and inventories and decreases in deferred revenue, partially offset by increases in accounts payable and customer deposits.

​

Net cash used in operating activities was $7.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 and was due to the net loss of $78.7 million plus a decline in cash flow from operating activities due to changes in operating assets and liabilities of $16.8 million, partially offset by adjustments for non-cash items of $88.1 million. The changes in operating assets and liabilities was largely attributable to decreases in accounts payable and accrued expenses and customer deposits and deferred revenue, partially offset by decreases in inventories and deferred cost of sales, accounts receivable and contract assets, and prepaid expenses and other current assets.

​

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

​

​

The net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2020 was attributable to capital expenditures and net change in investments, partially offset by the proceeds from the sale of a non-core product line. As discussed in Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, we have entered into a new lease agreement in San Jose, California, and as such, capital expenditures associated with the build-out of the new facility are expected to total between $30 million and $40 million over the next two years. In addition, we expect a period of duplicate operating expenses until the transition from our existing facility to our new facility is completed over the next two years. The net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2019 was attributable to net change in investments as well as capital expenditures.

​

37

Table of Contents

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

​

​

The net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily related to the net cash proceeds received from the issuance of the 2025 Notes and 2027 Notes, net of issuance costs, partially offset by the cash used to repurchase the 2023 Notes as well as the purchase of capped calls.

​

Convertible Senior Notes

​

2023 Notes

​

On January 10, 2017, we issued $345.0 million of 2.70% convertible senior notes. On May 18, 2020, in connection with the completion of a private offering of $125 million aggregate principal amount of 3.75% convertible senior notes described below, we repurchased and retired approximately $88.3 million in aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 2023 Notes. Additionally, on November 11, 2020, we entered into a privately negotiated exchange agreement with a holder of our outstanding 2023 Notes, under which we agreed to retire $125.0 million in aggregate original principal amount of the 2023 Notes, in exchange for the issuance of $132.5 million in aggregate principal amount of new 3.50% convertible senior notes described below. The remaining 2023 Notes bear interest at a rate of 2.70% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on January 15 and July 15 of each year. The 2023 Notes mature on January 15, 2023, unless earlier purchased by the Company, redeemed, or converted.

​

2025 Notes

​

On November 17, 2020, as part of the privately negotiated exchange agreement described above, we issued $132.5 million of 3.50% convertible senior notes. The 2025 Notes bear interest at a rate of 3.50% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on January 15 and July 15 of each year, commencing on July 15, 2021. The 2025 Notes mature on January 15, 2025, unless earlier purchased by the Company, redeemed, or converted.

​

2027 Notes

​

On May 18, 2020, we completed a private offering of $125.0 million of 3.75% convertible senior notes. We received net proceeds of approximately $121.9 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and fees and expenses payable by the Company. Additionally, we used approximately $10.3 million of cash to purchase the capped calls. The 2027 Notes bear interest at a rate of 3.75% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 of each year, commencing on December 1, 2020. The 2027 Notes mature on June 1, 2027, unless earlier purchased by the Company, redeemed, or converted.

​

We believe that we have sufficient capital resources and cash flows from operations to support scheduled interest payments on these debts.

​

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

​

We have commitments under certain contractual arrangements to make future payments for goods and services. These contractual arrangements secure the rights to various assets and services to be used in the future in the normal course of business. We expect to fund these contractual arrangements with cash generated from operations in the normal course of business, as well as existing cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. In addition, we have bank guarantees and letters of credit issued by a financial institution on our behalf as needed. At December 31, 2020, outstanding bank

38

Table of Contents

guarantees and letters of credit totaled $9.5 million and unused bank guarantees and letters of credit of $23.2 million were available to be drawn upon.

​

The following table summarizes our contractual arrangements at December 31, 2020 and the timing and effect that those commitments are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flow in future periods.

​

​

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

​

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, or capital resources other than bank guarantees and purchase commitments reflected in the preceding “Contractual Obligations and Commitments” table.

​

Application of Critical Accounting Policies

​

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires a high degree of judgment, either in the application and interpretation of existing accounting literature or in the development of estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. We continuously evaluate our estimates and judgments based on historical experience, as well as other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. The results of our evaluation form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. These estimates may change in the future if underlying assumptions or factors change, and actual results may differ from these estimates.

​

We consider the following significant accounting policies to be critical because of their complexity and the high degree of judgment involved in maintaining them.

​

Revenue Recognition

​

Revenue is recognized upon the transfer of control of the promised product or service to the customer in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for such product or service. Our contracts with customers generally do not contain variable consideration. In the rare instances where variable consideration is included, we estimate the amount of variable consideration and determine what portion of that, if any, has a high probability of significant subsequent revenue reversal, and if so, that amount is excluded from the transaction price. Our contracts with customers frequently contain multiple deliverables, such as systems, upgrades, components, spare parts, installation, maintenance, and service plans. Judgment is required to properly identify the performance obligations within a contract and to determine how the revenue should be allocated among the performance obligations. We also evaluate whether multiple transactions with the same customer or related parties should be considered part of a single contract based on an assessment of whether the contracts or agreements are negotiated or executed within a short time frame of each other or if there are indicators that the contracts are negotiated in contemplation of one another.

39

Table of Contents

​

When there are separate units of accounting, we allocate revenue to each performance obligation on a relative stand-alone selling price basis. The stand-alone selling prices are determined based on the prices at which we separately sell the systems, upgrades, components, spare parts, installation, maintenance, and service plans. For items that are not sold separately, we estimate stand-alone selling prices generally using an expected cost plus margin approach.

Most of our revenue is recognized at a point in time when the performance obligation is satisfied. We consider many facts when evaluating each of our sales arrangements to determine the timing of revenue recognition, including our contractual obligations and the nature of the customer’s post-delivery acceptance provisions. Our system sales arrangements, including certain upgrades, generally include field acceptance provisions that may include functional or mechanical test procedures. For many of these arrangements, a customer source inspection of the system is performed in our facility, test data is sent to the customer documenting that the system is functioning to the agreed upon specifications prior to delivery, or other quality assurance testing is performed internally to ensure system functionality prior to shipment. Historically, such source inspection or test data replicates the field acceptance provisions that are performed at the customer’s site prior to final acceptance of the system. When we objectively demonstrate that the criteria specified in the contractual acceptance provisions are achieved prior to delivery either through customer testing or our historical experience of our tools meeting specifications, transfer of control of the product to the customer is considered to have occurred and revenue is recognized upon system delivery since there is no substantive contingency remaining related to the acceptance provisions at that date. For new products, new applications of existing products, or for products with substantive customer acceptance provisions where we cannot objectively demonstrate that the criteria specified in the contractual acceptance provisions have been achieved prior to delivery, revenue and the associated costs are deferred. We recognize such revenue and costs upon obtaining objective evidence that the acceptance provisions can be achieved, assuming all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.

In certain cases, our contracts with customers contain a billing retention which is billed by us and payable by the customer when field acceptance provisions are completed. Revenue recognized in advance of the amount that has been billed is recorded as a contract asset on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

We recognize revenue related to maintenance and service contracts over time based upon the respective contract term. Installation revenue is recognized over time as the installation services are performed. We recognize revenue from the sales of components, spare parts, and specified service engagements at a point in time, which is typically consistent with the time of delivery in accordance with the terms of the applicable sales arrangement.

We may receive customer deposits on system transactions. The timing of the transfer of goods or services related to the deposits is either at the discretion of the customer or expected to be within one year from the deposit receipt. As such, we do not adjust transaction prices for the time value of money. Incremental direct costs incurred related to the acquisition of a customer contract, such as sales commissions, are expensed as incurred since the expected performance period is one year or less.

We have elected to treat shipping and handling costs as a fulfillment activity, and we include such costs in cost of services when we recognize revenue for the related goods. Taxes assessed by governmental authorities that are collected by us from a customer are excluded from revenue.

​

Inventory Valuation

​

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost determined on a first-in, first-out basis. Each quarter we assess the valuation and recoverability of all inventories: materials (raw materials, spare parts, and service inventory); work-in-process; and finished goods. Obsolete inventory or inventory in excess of our estimated usage requirements is written down to its estimated net realizable value if less than cost. We evaluate usage requirements by analyzing historical usage, anticipated demand, alternative uses of materials, and other qualitative factors. Unanticipated changes in demand for our products may require a write down of inventory that could materially affect our operating results.

​

40

Table of Contents

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

​

Goodwill is tested for impairment at least annually in the beginning of the fourth quarter of our fiscal year. We may first perform a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that the reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount, and, if so, we then quantitatively compare the fair value of our reporting unit to its carrying amount. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill is not impaired. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, we then record an impairment loss equal to the difference, up to the carrying value of goodwill.

​

We determine the fair value of our reporting unit based on a reconciliation of the aggregate fair value of our reporting unit to our adjusted market capitalization. The adjusted market capitalization is calculated by multiplying the average share price of our common stock for the last ten trading days prior to the measurement date by the number of outstanding common shares and adding a control premium. The control premium is estimated using historical transactions in similar industries.

​

The carrying values of long-lived assets, including identifiable intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If circumstances require a long-lived asset or asset group be tested for possible impairment, a recoverability test is performed utilizing undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by that asset or asset group compared to its carrying amount. If the carrying amount of the long-lived asset or asset group is not recoverable on an undiscounted cash flow basis, impairment is recognized to the extent the carrying amount exceeds its fair value. Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques including discounted cash flow models or, when available, quoted market values and third-party appraisals. It is not possible for us to predict the likelihood of any possible future impairments or, if such an impairment were to occur, the magnitude of any impairment.

​

Intangible assets with finite useful lives, including purchased technology, customer-related intangible assets, patents, trademarks, backlog, and software licenses, are subject to amortization over the expected period of economic benefit to us. We evaluate whether events or circumstances have occurred that warrant a revision to the remaining useful lives of intangible assets. In cases where a revision is deemed appropriate, the remaining carrying amounts of the intangible assets are amortized over the revised remaining useful life.

​

Intangible assets related to in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) projects are considered to be indefinite-lived until the completion or abandonment of the associated R&D efforts. If and when development is complete, the associated assets would be deemed long-lived and would then be amortized based on their respective estimated useful lives at that point in time. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment at least annually in the beginning of the fourth quarter of our fiscal year. In testing indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment, we may first perform a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than its carrying amount, and, if so, we then quantitatively compare the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset to its carrying amount. We determine the fair value of our indefinite-lived intangible assets using a discounted cash flow method.

​

Income Taxes

​

We estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the asset and liability balances recognized for financial reporting purposes and the balances used for income tax purposes, as well as the tax effect of carry forwards. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. Realization of our net deferred tax assets is dependent on future taxable income.

​

We recognize the effect of income tax positions for only those positions which are estimated to more likely than not be sustained if challenged. We reflect changes in recognition or measurement in the period in which our change in judgment occurs. We record interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. Income taxes related to the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) rules are expensed as incurred.

​

41

Table of Contents

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

​

We adopted ASC 842 as of January 1, 2019 and ASU 2019-12 in the second quarter of 2020. Additionally, we are currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2020-06 on our consolidated financial statements, which will be effective for us starting January 1, 2022, with early adoption permitted. Refer to Note 1, “Significant Accounting Policies,” for additional information.

​

We are also evaluating other pronouncements recently issued but not yet adopted. The adoption of these pronouncements is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

​

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

​

Interest Rate Risk

​

Our exposure to market rate risk for changes in interest rates primarily relates to our investment portfolio. We centrally manage our investment portfolios considering investment opportunities and risks, tax consequences, and overall financing strategies. Our investment portfolio includes fixed-income securities with a fair value of approximately $189.8 million at December 31, 2020. These securities are subject to interest rate risk and, based on our investment portfolio at December 31, 2020, a 100 basis point increase in interest rates would result in a decrease in the fair value of the portfolio of $0.7 million. While an increase in interest rates may reduce the fair value of the investment portfolio, we will not realize the losses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations unless the individual fixed-income securities are sold prior to recovery or the loss is determined to be other-than-temporary.

​

Currency Exchange Risk

​

We conduct business on a worldwide basis and, as such, a portion of our revenues, earnings, and net investments in foreign affiliates is exposed to changes in currency exchange rates. The economic impact of currency exchange rate movements is complex because such changes are often linked to variability in real growth, inflation, interest rates, governmental actions, and other factors. These changes, if material, could cause us to adjust our financing and operating strategies. Consequently, isolating the effect of changes in currency does not incorporate these other important economic factors.

​

Changes in currency exchange rates could affect our foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities and forecasted cash flows. We may enter into monthly forward derivative contracts with the intent of mitigating a portion of this risk. We only use derivative financial instruments in the context of hedging and not for speculative purposes and have not designated our foreign exchange derivatives as hedges. Accordingly, changes in fair value from these contracts are included in “Other operating expense (income), net” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. We execute derivative transactions with highly rated financial institutions to mitigate counterparty risk.

​

Our net sales to customers located outside of the United States represented approximately 68%, 70%, and 77% of our total net sales in 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively. We expect that net sales to customers outside the United States will continue to represent a large percentage of our total net sales. Our net sales denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar represented approximately 5%, 4%, and 1% of total net sales in 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.

​

A 10% change in foreign exchange rates would have an immaterial impact on the consolidated results of operations since most of our sales outside the United States are denominated in U.S. dollars.

​

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

​

Our Consolidated Financial Statements are listed in the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedule filed as part of this Form 10-K.

​

42

Table of Contents

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

​

None.

​

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

​

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

​

Our principal executive and financial officers have evaluated and concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective as of December 31, 2020. The disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that the information required to be disclosed in this report filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

​

Our principal executive and financial officers are responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, which is a process designed and put into effect to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Using the criteria established in the Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”), Management has evaluated, assessed, and concluded that internal control over financial reporting is effective as of December 31, 2020.

​

KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and, as part of their audit, has issued their report, included herein, on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

​

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

​

During the quarter ended December 31, 2020, there were no changes in internal control that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect internal control over financial reporting.

​

43

Table of Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

​

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors

Veeco Instruments Inc.:

​

Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

​

We have audited Veeco Instruments Inc.’s and subsidiaries’ (the Company) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

​

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes and financial statement schedule II – valuation and qualifying accounts (collectively, the consolidated financial statements), and our report dated February 22, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements.

​

Basis for Opinion

​

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

​

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

​

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

​

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

​

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

​

/s/ KPMG LLP

​

Melville, New York
February 22, 2021

44

Table of Contents

Item 9B. Other Information

​

None.

​

PART III

​

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

​

Information required by this Item that will appear under the headings “Governance,” “Executive Officers,” and “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC relating to our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is incorporated herein by reference.

​

We have adopted a Code of Ethics for Senior Officers (the “Code”) which applies to our chief executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, and persons performing similar functions. A copy of the Code can be found on our website (www.veeco.com). We intend to disclose on our website the nature of any future amendments to and waivers of the Code that apply to the chief executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, or persons performing similar functions. We have also adopted a Code of Business Conduct which applies to all of our employees, including those listed above, as well as to our directors. A copy of the Code of Business Conduct can be found on our website (www.veeco.com). The website address above is intended to be an inactive, textual reference only. None of the material on this website is part of this report.

​

Item 11. Executive Compensation

​

Information required by this Item that will appear under the heading “Compensation” in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC relating to our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is incorporated herein by reference.

​

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

​

Information required by this Item that will appear under the headings “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC relating to our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is incorporated herein by reference.

​

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

​

Information required by this Item that will appear under the headings “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and “Independence of Board” in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC relating to our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is incorporated herein by reference.

​

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

​

Information required by this Item that will appear under the heading “Independent Auditor Fees and Other Matters” in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC relating to our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is incorporated herein by reference.

​

45

Table of Contents

PART IV

​

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

​

(a)   (1)  The Registrant’s financial statements together with a separate table of contents are annexed hereto

(2)  Financial Statement Schedules are listed in the separate table of contents annexed hereto.

(3)  Exhibits

​

Unless otherwise indicated, each of the following exhibits has been previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Company under File No. 0-16244.

​