10-Q

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

þ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended December 31, 2010

OR

o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________________ to ________________

Commission File Number 000-26041

F5 NETWORKS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

WASHINGTON
(State or other jurisdiction of	91-1714307
incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

401 Elliott Avenue West
Seattle, Washington 98119
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

(206) 272-5555
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

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

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

Large accelerated filer þ	Accelerated filer o	Non-accelerated filer o	Smaller reporting company o
		(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

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

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of February 2, 2011 was 80,747,473.

F5 NETWORKS, INC.

QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q

For the Quarter Ended December 31, 2010

Table of Contents

	Page
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements (unaudited)		3
Consolidated Balance Sheets —December 31, 2010 and September 30, 2010		3
Consolidated Income Statements — Three months ended December 31, 2010 and 2009		4
Consolidated Statement of Shareholders’ Equity — Three months ended December 31, 2010		5
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows — Three months ended December 31, 2010 and 2009		6
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements		7
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations		17
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk		31
Item 4. Controls and Procedures		31
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings		31
Item 1A. Risk Factors		32
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds		32
Item 6. Exhibits		33
SIGNATURES		34
Exhibit Index		35
EX-31.1
EX-31.2
EX-32.1
EX-101 INSTANCE DOCUMENT
EX-101 SCHEMA DOCUMENT
EX-101 CALCULATION LINKBASE DOCUMENT
EX-101 LABELS LINKBASE DOCUMENT
EX-101 PRESENTATION LINKBASE DOCUMENT
EX-101 DEFINITION LINKBASE DOCUMENT

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

F5 NETWORKS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(unaudited, in thousands)

	December 31,			September 30,
	2010			2010
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	168,133		$	168,754
Short-term investments		317,439			259,742
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $3,444 and $4,319		141,986			112,132
Inventories		18,184			18,815
Deferred tax assets		8,657			8,767
Other current assets		30,140			37,745
Total current assets		684,539			605,955
Property and equipment, net		35,520			34,157
Long-term investments		466,702			433,570
Deferred tax assets		39,327			37,864
Goodwill		234,700			234,700
Other assets, net		15,049			15,946
Total assets	$	1,475,837		$	1,362,192
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	$	31,254		$	21,180
Accrued liabilities		64,096			61,768
Deferred revenue		232,516			204,137
Total current liabilities		327,866			287,085
Other long-term liabilities		17,601			16,153
Deferred revenue, long-term		55,271			55,256
Total long-term liabilities		72,872			71,409
Commitments and contingencies (Note 5)
Shareholders’ equity
Preferred stock, no par value; 10,000 shares authorized, no shares outstanding		—			—
Common stock, no par value; 200,000 shares authorized, 80,732 and 80,355 shares issued and outstanding		534,194			517,215
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(4,482	)		(3,241	)
Retained earnings		545,387			489,724
Total shareholders’ equity		1,075,099			1,003,698
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	1,475,837		$	1,362,192

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

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F5 NETWORKS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS
(unaudited, in thousands, except per share data)

	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010		2009
Net revenues
Products	$	171,492	$	119,218
Services		97,442		71,938
Total		268,934		191,156
Cost of net revenues
Products		31,614		26,042
Services		17,349		13,087
Total		48,963		39,129
Gross profit		219,971		152,027
Operating expenses
Sales and marketing		86,825		65,642
Research and development		32,606		26,720
General and administrative		20,684		15,953
Total		140,115		108,315
Income from operations		79,856		43,712
Other income, net		2,545		1,705
Income before income taxes		82,401		45,417
Provision for income taxes		26,738		16,138
Net income	$	55,663	$	29,279
Net income per share — basic	$	0.69	$	0.37
Weighted average shares — basic		80,644		78,906
Net income per share — diluted	$	0.68	$	0.36
Weighted average shares — diluted		81,648		80,333

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

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F5 NETWORKS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(unaudited, in thousands)

	Three months ended December 31, 2010
							Accumulated
							Other					Total
	Common Stock						Comprehensive			Retained		Shareholders’
	Shares			Amount			Income/(Loss)			Earnings		Equity
Balance, September 30, 2010		80,355		$	517,215		$	(3,241	)	$	489,724	$	1,003,698
Exercise of employee stock options		89			1,433			—			—		1,433
Issuance of stock under employee stock purchase plan		123			7,418			—			—		7,418
Issuance of restricted stock		363			—			—			—		—
Repurchase of common stock		(198	)		(24,998	)		—			—		(24,998	)
Tax benefit from employee stock transactions		—			10,186			—			—		10,186
Stock-based compensation		—			22,940			—			—		22,940
Comprehensive income:
Net income		—			—			—			55,663		—
Foreign currency translation adjustment		—			—			(587	)		—		—
Unrealized loss on securities, net of tax		—			—			(654	)		—		—
Comprehensive income		—			—			—			—		54,422
Balance, December 31, 2010		80,732		$	534,194		$	(4,482	)	$	545,387	$	1,075,099

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

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F5 NETWORKS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(unaudited, in thousands)

	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010			2009
Operating activities
Net income	$	55,663		$	29,279
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Realized (gain) loss on disposition of assets and investments		(212	)		1
Stock-based compensation		22,940			17,064
Provisions for doubtful accounts and sales returns		228			949
Depreciation and amortization		5,250			5,994
Deferred income taxes		(888	)		6,533
Loss on auction rate securities put option		—			519
Gain on trading auction rate securities		—			(519	)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of amounts acquired:
Accounts receivable		(30,082	)		(2,633	)
Inventories		632			(1,000	)
Other current assets		7,771			(1,323	)
Other assets		(213	)		(2,298	)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		13,657			(6,871	)
Deferred revenue		28,393			28,297
Net cash provided by operating activities		103,139			73,992
Investing activities
Purchases of investments		(251,499	)		(119,672	)
Sales and maturities of investments		159,850			82,323
Investment of restricted cash		(39	)		(1	)
Purchases of property and equipment		(5,491	)		(3,648	)
Net cash used in investing activities		(97,179	)		(40,998	)
Financing activities
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation		10,130			4,685
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options and purchases of stock under employee stock purchase plan		8,842			13,727
Repurchase of common stock		(24,998	)		(15,000	)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities		(6,026	)		3,412
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents		(66	)		36,406
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		(555	)		42
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period		168,754			110,837
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$	168,133		$	147,285

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

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F5 NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Description of Business

     F5 Networks, Inc. (the “Company”) provides products and services to help companies manage their Internet Protocol (IP) traffic and file storage infrastructure efficiently and securely. The Company’s application delivery networking products improve the performance, availability and security of applications on Internet-based networks. Internet traffic between network-based applications and clients passes through these devices where the content is inspected to ensure that it is safe and modified as necessary to ensure that it is delivered securely and in a way that optimizes the performance of both the network and the applications. The Company’s storage virtualization products simplify and reduce the cost of managing files and file storage devices, and ensure fast, secure, easy access to files for users and applications. The Company also offers a broad range of services that include consulting, training, maintenance and other technical support services.

Basis of Presentation

     The year end condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In the opinion of management, the unaudited consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for their fair statement in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements have been condensed or omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information included in this Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010.

     Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior year’s financial statements to conform to the fiscal year 2011 presentation. Such reclassifications did not affect total revenues, operating income or net income.

Revenue Recognition

     The Company sells products through distributors, resellers, and directly to end users. Revenue is recognized provided that all of the following criteria have been met:

     Persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists. Evidence of an arrangement generally consists of a purchase order issued pursuant to the terms and conditions of a distributor, reseller or end user agreement.

     Delivery has occurred. The Company uses shipping or related documents, or written evidence of customer acceptance, when applicable, to verify delivery or completion of any performance terms.

     The sales price is fixed or determinable. The Company assesses whether the sales price is fixed or determinable based on payment terms associated with the transaction and whether the sales price is subject to refund or adjustment.

     Collectability is reasonable assured. The Company assesses collectability primarily based on the creditworthiness of the customer as determined by credit checks and related analysis, as well as the Customer’s payment history.

     In certain regions where the Company does not have the ability to reasonably estimate returns, the Company defers revenue on sales to its distributors until they have received information from the channel partner indicating that the product has been sold to the end-user customer. Payment terms to domestic customers are generally net 30 days to net 45 days. Payment terms to international customers range from net 30 days to net 120 days based on normal and customary trade practices in the individual markets. The Company offers extended payment terms to certain customers, in which case, revenue is recognized when payments are due.

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     Whenever product, training services and post-contract customer support (“PCS”) elements are sold together, a portion of the sales price is allocated to each element based on their respective fair values as determined when the individual elements are sold separately. Revenue from the sale of products is recognized when the product has been shipped and the customer is obligated to pay for the product. When rights of return are present and the Company cannot estimate returns, it recognizes revenue when such rights of return lapse. Revenues for PCS are recognized on a straight-line basis over the service contract term. PCS includes a limited period of telephone support updates, repair or replacement of any failed product or component that fails during the term of the agreement, bug fixes and rights to upgrades, when and if available. Consulting services are customarily billed at fixed hourly rates, plus out-of-pocket expenses, and revenues are recognized when the consulting has been completed. Training revenue is recognized when the training has been completed.

     In October 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) amended the accounting standards for revenue recognition to remove from the scope of industry-specific software revenue recognition guidance any tangible products containing software components and non-software components that operate together to deliver the products essential functionality. In addition, the FASB amended the accounting standards for certain multiple element revenue arrangements to:

• Provide updated guidance on whether multiple elements exist, how the elements in an arrangement should be separated, and how the arrangement consideration should be allocated to the separate elements;

• Require an entity to allocate arrangement consideration to each element based on a selling price hierarchy, where the selling price for an element is based on vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”), if available, third-party evidence (“TPE”), if available and VSOE is not available; or the best estimate of selling price (“BESP”), if neither VSOE or TPE is available; and

• Eliminate the use of the residual method and require an entity to allocate arrangement consideration using the selling price hierarchy.

     The Company adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 on a prospective basis for applicable arrangements originating or materially modified after October 1, 2010. The impact of this adoption was not material to the company’s financial position and results of operations for the three months ended December 31, 2010.

     The majority of the Company’s products are hardware appliances which contain software essential to the overall functionality of the products. Accordingly, the Company no longer recognizes revenue on sales of these products in accordance with the industry-specific software revenue recognition guidance.

     For all transactions entered into prior to the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 and for sales of nonessential and stand-alone software after October 1, 2010, the Company allocates revenue for arrangements with multiple elements based on the software revenue recognition guidance. Software revenue recognition guidance requires revenue earned on software arrangements involving multiple elements to be allocated to each element based on the relative fair values of those elements. The fair value of an element must be based on VSOE. Where fair value of certain elements is not available, revenue is recognized on the “residual method” based on the fair value of undelivered elements. If evidence of the fair value of one or more undelivered elements does not exist, all revenue is deferred and recognized at the earlier of the delivery of those elements or the establishment of fair value of the remaining undelivered elements.

     For transactions entered into subsequent to the adoption of the amended revenue recognition standards that are multiple-element arrangements, the arrangement consideration is allocated to each element based on the relative selling prices of all of the elements in the arrangement using the fair value hierarchy in the amended revenue recognition guidance.

     Consistent with the methodology used under the previous accounting guidance, the Company establishes VSOE for its products, training services, PCS and consulting services based on the sales price charged for each element when sold separately. The sales price is discounted from the applicable list price based on various factors including the type of customer, volume of sales, geographic region and program level. The Company’s list prices are generally not fair value as discounts may be given based on the factors enumerated above. The Company believes that the fair value of its consulting services is represented by the billable consulting rate per hour, based on the rates they charge customers when they purchase standalone consulting services. The price of consulting services is not based on the type of customer, volume of sales, geographic region or program level.

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     The Company uses historical sales transactions to determine whether VSOE can be established for each of the elements. In most instances, VSOE of fair value is the sales price of actual standalone (unbundled) transactions within the past 12 month period that are priced within a reasonable range, which the Company has determined to be plus or minus 15% of the median sales price of each respective price list.

     VSOE of PCS is based on standalone sales since the Company does not provide stated renewal rates to its customers. In accordance with the Company’s PCS pricing practice (supported by standalone renewal sales), renewal contracts are priced as a percentage of the undiscounted product list price. The PCS renewal percentages may vary, depending on the type and length of PCS purchased. The Company offers standard and premium PCS, and the term generally ranges from one to three years. The Company employs a bell-shaped-curve approach in evaluating VSOE of fair value of PCS. Under this approach, the Company considers VSOE of the fair value of PCS to exist when a substantial majority of its standalone PCS sales fall within a narrow range of pricing.

     The Company is typically not able to determine TPE for its products or services. TPE is determined based on competitor prices for similar elements when sold separately. Generally, the Company’s go-to-market strategy differs from that of other competitive products or services in its markets and the Company’s offerings contain a significant level of differentiation such that the comparable pricing of products with similar functionality cannot be obtained. Furthermore, the Company is unable to reliably determine the selling prices on a stand-alone basis of similar products offered by its competitors.

     When the Company is unable to establish selling price of its non-software elements using VSOE or TPE, the Company uses BESP in its allocation of arrangement consideration. The objective of BESP is to determine the price at which the Company would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. The Company determines BESP for a product or service by considering multiple factors including, but not limited to, cost of products, gross margin objectives, pricing practices, geographies, customer classes and distribution channels.

     The Company has established and regularly validates the VSOE of fair value and BESP for elements in its multiple element arrangements. The Company accounts for taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities on a net basis and excluded from revenues.

Goodwill

     Goodwill represents the excess purchase price over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired as of the acquisition date. The Company tests goodwill for impairment on an annual basis and between annual tests when impairment indicators are identified, and goodwill is written down when impaired. Goodwill was recorded in connection with the acquisition of Acopia Networks, Inc. in fiscal year 2007, Swan Labs, Inc. in fiscal year 2006, MagniFire Websystems, Inc. in fiscal year 2004 and uRoam, Inc. in fiscal year 2003.

     The Company performs its annual goodwill impairment test during the second fiscal quarter, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. The first step of the test identifies whether potential impairment may have occurred, while the second step of the test measures the amount of the impairment, if any. Impairment is recognized when the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its fair value. For its annual goodwill impairment analysis, the Company operates under one reporting unit. The Company determined the fair value of its reporting unit based on the Company’s enterprise value. In March 2010, the Company completed its annual impairment test and concluded there was no impairment of goodwill. The Company also considered potential impairment indicators at December 31, 2010 and noted no indicators of impairment.

Stock-Based Compensation

     The Company accounts for stock-based compensation using the straight-line attribution method for recognizing compensation expense. The Company recognized $22.9 million and $17.1 million of stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. As of December 31, 2010, there was $89.1 million of total unrecognized stock-based compensation cost, the majority of which will be recognized over the next two years. Going forward, stock-based compensation expenses may increase as the Company issues additional equity-based awards to continue to attract and retain key employees.

     The Company issues incentive awards to its employees through stock-based compensation consisting of restricted stock units (“RSUs”). On August 2, 2010, the Company awarded approximately 910,000 RSUs to employees and executive officers pursuant to

9

the Company’s annual equity and retention awards program. The value of RSUs is determined using the fair value method, which in this case, is based on the number of shares granted and the quoted price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant.

     The Company recognizes compensation expense for only the portion of restricted stock units that are expected to vest. Therefore, the Company applies estimated forfeiture rates that are derived from historical employee termination behavior. Based on historical differences with forfeitures of stock-based awards granted to the Company’s executive officers and Board of Directors versus grants awarded to all other employees, the Company has developed separate forfeiture expectations for these two groups. The Company’s estimated forfeiture rate in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 is 2.4% for grants awarded to the Company’s executive officers and Board of Directors, and 9.4% for grants awarded to all other employees. If the actual number of forfeitures differs from those estimated by management, additional adjustments to compensation expense may be required in future periods.

     In August 2010, the Company granted 181,334 and 83,000 RSUs to certain current executive officers as part of the annual equity and retention awards programs, respectively. Fifty percent of the aggregate number of RSUs granted as part of the annual equity awards program vest in equal quarterly increments over three years, until such portion of the grant is fully vested on August 1, 2013.

     One-sixth of the annual equity awards RSU grant, or a portion thereof, is subject to the Company achieving specified quarterly revenue and EBITDA goals during the period beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010 through the third quarter of fiscal year 2011. In each case, 50% of the quarterly performance stock grant is based on achieving at least 80% of the quarterly revenue goal and the other 50% is based on achieving at least 80% of the quarterly EBITDA goal. The quarterly performance stock grant is paid linearly above 80% of the targeted goals. At least 100% of both goals must be attained in order for the quarterly performance stock grant to be awarded over 100%. Each goal is evaluated individually and subject to the 80% achievement threshold and 100% over-achievement threshold. The remaining 33.33% of this annual equity awards RSU grant shall be subject to performance based vesting for each of the four quarter periods beginning with the fourth quarters of fiscal years 2011 and 2012 (16.66% in each period). The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors will set applicable performance targets and vesting formulas for each of these periods. All RSUs granted as part of the retention awards program fully vest on August 1, 2013.

     In August 2009, the Company granted 420,000 RSUs to certain current executive officers. Fifty percent of the aggregate number of RSUs granted at such time vest in equal quarterly increments over two years, until such portion of the grant is fully vested on August 1, 2011. Twenty-five percent of the RSU grant, or a portion thereof, was subject to the Company achieving specified quarterly revenue and EBITDA goals during the period beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009 through the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 and the remaining twenty-five percent is subject to the Company achieving specified quarterly revenue and EBITDA goals during the period beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010 through the third quarter of fiscal year 2011. In each case, 50% of the quarterly performance stock grant is based on achieving at least 80% of the quarterly revenue goal and the other 50% is based on achieving at least 80% of the quarterly EBITDA goal. The quarterly performance stock grant is paid linearly above 80% of the targeted goals. At least 100% of both goals must be attained in order for the quarterly performance stock grant to be awarded over 100%. Each goal is evaluated individually and subject to the 80% achievement threshold and 100% over-achievement threshold.

     The Company recognizes compensation costs for awards with performance conditions when it concludes it is probable that the performance condition will be achieved. The Company reassesses the probability of vesting at each balance sheet date and adjusts compensation costs based on the probability assessment.

Common Stock Repurchase

     On October 22, 2008, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a program to repurchase up to an additional $200 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock. On October 26, 2010, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a new program to repurchase up to an additional $200 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock. As of February 2, 2011, the Company had $204.4 million remaining to purchase shares as part of its repurchase programs. Acquisitions for the share repurchase programs will be made from time to time in private transactions or open market purchases as permitted by securities laws and other legal requirements. The programs can be terminated at any time. As of February 2, 2011, the Company had repurchased and retired 4,804,906 shares at an average price of $40.65 per share under the programs.

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Earnings Per Share

     Basic net income per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common and dilutive common stock equivalent shares outstanding during the period.

     The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net income per share (in thousands, except per share data):

	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010		2009
Numerator
Net income	$	55,663	$	29,279
Denominator
Weighted average shares outstanding — basic		80,644		78,906
Dilutive effect of common shares from stock options and restricted stock units		1,004		1,427
Weighted average shares outstanding — diluted		81,648		80,333
Basic net income per share	$	0.69	$	0.37
Diluted net income per share	$	0.68	$	0.36

     An immaterial amount of common shares potentially issuable from stock options for the three months ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share because the exercise price was greater than the average market price of common stock for the respective period.

Comprehensive Income

     Comprehensive income includes certain changes in equity that are excluded from net income. Specifically, unrealized gains (losses) on securities and foreign currency translation adjustments are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss. Comprehensive income and its components were as follows (in thousands):

	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010			2009
Net Income	$	55,663		$	29,279
Unrealized loss on securities, net of tax		(654	)		(501	)
Foreign currency translation adjustment		(587	)		(11	)
Total comprehensive income	$	54,422		$	28,767

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

     In December 2007, the FASB issued ASC 810-10, Consolidation — Overall (“ASC 810-10”), which establishes accounting and reporting standards for the noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. The Company considered ASC 810-10 and concluded that it had no impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

2. Fair Value Measurements

     In accordance with the authoritative guidance on fair value measurements and disclosure under GAAP, the Company determines fair value using a fair value hierarchy that distinguishes between market participant assumptions developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity, and the reporting entity’s own assumptions about market participant assumptions developed based on the best information available in the circumstances and expands disclosure about fair value measurements.

     Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date, essentially the exit price.

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     The levels of fair value hierarchy are:

     Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities at the measurement date.

     Level 2: Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

     Level 3: Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data available. These inputs reflect management’s assumptions of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

     Level 1 investments are valued based on quoted market prices in active markets and include the Company’s cash equivalent investments. Level 2 investments, which include investments that are valued based on quoted prices in markets that are not active, broker or dealer quotations, or alternative pricing sources with reasonable levels of price transparency, include the Company’s corporate bonds and notes, municipal bonds and notes and U.S. government securities. Fair values for the Company’s level 2 investments are based on similar assets without applying significant judgments. In addition, all of the Company’s level 2 investments have a sufficient level of trading volume to demonstrate that the fair values used are appropriate for these investments.

     A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. However, the determination of what constitutes “observable” requires significant judgment by the Company. The Company considers observable data to be market data which is readily available, regularly distributed or updated, reliable and verifiable, not proprietary, and provided by independent sources that are actively involved in the relevant market.

     The Company’s financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis subject to the disclosure requirements at December 31, 2010, were as follows (in thousands):

	Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Quoted Prices in		Significant		Significant
	Active Markets for		Other Observable		Unobservable		Fair Value at
	Identical Securities		Inputs		Inputs		December 31,
	(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)		2010
Cash equivalents	$	6,489	$	—	$	—	$	6,489
Short-term investments
Available-for-sale securities — corporate bonds and notes		—		137,604		—		137,604
Available-for-sale securities — municipal bonds and notes		—		72,211		—		72,211
Available-for-sale securities — U.S. government securities		—		107,624		—		107,624
Long-term investments
Available-for-sale securities — corporate bonds and notes		—		131,749		—		131,749
Available-for-sale securities — municipal bonds and notes		—		3,634		—		3,634
Available-for-sale securities — U.S. government securities		—		315,059		—		315,059
Available-for-sale securities — auction rate securities		—		—		16,260		16,260
Total	$	6,489	$	767,881	$	16,260	$	790,630

     The Company’s financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis subject to the disclosure requirements at September 30, 2010, were as follows (in thousands):

	Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Quoted Prices in		Significant		Significant
	Active Markets for		Other Observable		Unobservable		Fair Value at
	Identical Securities		Inputs		Inputs		September 30,
	(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)		2010
Cash equivalents	$	26,987	$	—	$	—	$	26,987
Short-term investments
Available-for-sale securities — corporate bonds and notes		—		120,124		—		120,124
Available-for-sale securities — municipal bonds and notes		—		77,063		—		77,063

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	Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Quoted Prices in		Significant		Significant
	Active Markets for		Other Observable		Unobservable		Fair Value at
	Identical Securities		Inputs		Inputs		September 30,
	(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)		2010
Available-for-sale securities — U.S. government securities		—		62,555		—		62,555
Long-term investments
Available-for-sale securities — corporate bonds and notes		—		174,053		—		174,053
Available-for-sale securities — municipal bonds and notes		—		22,094		—		22,094
Available-for-sale securities — U.S. government securities		—		221,380		—		221,380
Available-for-sale securities — auction rate securities		—		—		16,043		16,043
Total	$	26,987	$	677,269	$	16,043	$	720,299

     Due to the auction failures of the Company’s auction rate securities (“ARS”) that began in the second quarter of fiscal year 2008, there are still no quoted prices in active markets for similar assets as of December 31, 2010. Therefore, the Company has classified its ARS as level 3 financial assets. The following table provides a reconciliation between the beginning and ending balances of items measured at fair value on a recurring basis in the table above that used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended		Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2010		December 31, 2009
Balance, beginning of period	$	16,043	$	41,595
Total losses realized or unrealized:
Included in earnings (other income, net)		—		(519	)
Included in other comprehensive income		217		298
Recognition of put option to earnings		—		519
Settlements		—		—
Transfers into and/or out of level 3		—		—
Balance, end of period	$	16,260	$	41,893
Gains attributable to assets still held as of December 31, 2010		217		298

     Financial assets are considered Level 3 when their fair values are determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies or similar techniques and at least one significant model assumption or input is unobservable or there is limited market activity such that the determination of fair value requires significant judgment or estimation. Level 3 investment securities primarily include certain ARS for which there was a decrease in the observation of market pricing. At December 31, 2010, the values of these securities were estimated primarily using discounted cash flow analysis that incorporated transaction details such as contractual terms, maturity, timing and amount of future cash flows, as well as assumptions about liquidity and credit valuation adjustments of marketplace participants at December 31, 2010.

     The Company uses the fair value hierarchy for financial assets and liabilities. The Company’s non-financial assets and liabilities, which include goodwill, intangible assets, and long-lived assets, are not required to be carried at fair value on a recurring basis. These non-financial assets and liabilities are measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis when there is an indicator of impairment, and they are recorded at fair value only when impairment is recognized. The Company reviews goodwill and intangible assets for impairment annually, during the second quarter of each fiscal year, or as circumstances indicate the possibility of impairment. The Company monitors the carrying value of long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate its carrying amount may not be recoverable. During the three months ended December 31, 2010, the Company did not recognize any impairment charges related to goodwill, intangible assets, or long-lived assets.

3. Short-Term and Long-Term Investments

     Short-term investments consist of the following (in thousands):

	Cost or		Gross		Gross
	Amortized		Unrealized		Unrealized
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Fair Value
December 31, 2010
Corporate bonds and notes	$	137,310	$	318	$	(24	)	$	137,604
Municipal bonds and notes		72,109		107		(5	)		72,211
U.S. government securities		107,534		121		(31	)		107,624
	$	316,953	$	546	$	(60	)	$	317,439

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	Cost or		Gross		Gross
	Amortized		Unrealized		Unrealized
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Fair Value
September 30, 2010
Corporate bonds and notes	$	119,829	$	318	$	(23	)	$	120,124
Municipal bonds and notes		76,886		182		(5	)		77,063
U.S. government securities		62,390		165		—			62,555
	$	259,105	$	665	$	(28	)	$	259,742

     Long-term investments consist of the following (in thousands):

	Cost or		Gross		Gross
	Amortized		Unrealized		Unrealized
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Fair Value
December 31, 2010
Corporate bonds and notes	$	130,883	$	959	$	(93	)	$	131,749
Municipal bonds and notes		3,655		—		(21	)		3,634
Auction rate securities		19,000		—		(2,740	)		16,260
U.S. government securities		315,275		131		(347	)		315,059
	$	468,813	$	1,090	$	(3,201	)	$	466,702

	Cost or		Gross		Gross
	Amortized		Unrealized		Unrealized
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Fair Value
September 30, 2010
Corporate bonds and notes	$	172,493	$	1,582	$	(22	)	$	174,053
Municipal bonds and notes		22,045		67		(18	)		22,094
Auction rate securities		19,000		—		(2,957	)		16,043
U.S. government securities		221,262		200		(82	)		221,380
	$	434,800	$	1,849	$	(3,079	)	$	433,570

     The amortized cost and fair value of fixed maturities at December 31, 2010, by contractual years-to-maturity, are presented below (in thousands):

	Cost or
	Amortized
	Cost		Fair Value
One year or less	$	316,953	$	317,439
Over one year		468,813		466,702
	$	785,766	$	784,141

     The cost or amortized cost values of the Company’s fixed maturities include $19.0 million of available-for-sale ARS as of December 31, 2010 and September 30, 2010.

     The following table summarizes investments that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for less than 12 months and those that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for more than 12 months as of December 31, 2010 (in thousands):

	Less Than 12 Months					12 Months or Greater					Total
			Gross					Gross					Gross
	Fair		Unrealized			Fair		Unrealized			Fair		Unrealized
	Value		Losses			Value		Losses			Value		Losses
December 31, 2010
Corporate bonds and notes	$	59,193	$	(116	)	$	5,007	$	(1	)	$	64,200	$	(117	)
Municipal bonds and notes		13,611		(26	)		—		—			13,611		(26	)
Auction rate securities		—		—			16,280		(2,740	)		16,280		(2,740	)
U.S. government securities		210,465		(378	)		—		—			210,465		(378	)
Total	$	283,269	$	(520	)	$	21,287	$	(2,741	)	$	304,556	$	(3,261	)

     The Company invests in securities that are rated investment grade or better. The unrealized losses on investments for the first three months of fiscal year 2011 were primarily caused by reductions in the values of the ARS due to the illiquid markets and were partially offset by unrealized gains related to interest rate decreases.

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     ARS are variable-rate debt securities. The Company limits its investments in ARS to securities that carry an AAA/A- (or equivalent) rating from recognized rating agencies and limits the amount of credit exposure to any one issuer. At the time of the Company’s initial investment and at the date of this report, all ARS were in compliance with the Company’s investment policy. In the past, the auction process allowed investors to obtain immediate liquidity if so desired by selling the securities at their face amounts. Liquidity for these securities has historically been provided by an auction process that resets interest rates on these investments on average every 7-35 days. However, as has been reported in the financial press, the disruptions in the credit markets adversely affected the auction market for these types of securities.

     Beginning in February 2008, auctions failed for approximately $53.4 million in par value of municipal ARS the Company held because sell orders exceeded buy orders. The funds associated with failed auctions will not be accessible until the issuer calls the security, a successful auction occurs, a buyer is found outside the auction process or the security otherwise matures.

4. Inventories

     The Company outsources the manufacturing of its pre-configured hardware platforms to contract manufacturers, who assemble each product to the Company’s specifications. As protection against component shortages and to provide replacement parts for its service teams, the Company also stocks limited supplies of certain key product components. The Company reduces inventory to net realizable value based on excess and obsolete inventories determined primarily by historical usage and forecasted demand. Inventories consist of hardware and related component parts and are recorded at the lower of cost or market (as determined by the first-in, first-out method).

     Inventories consist of the following (in thousands):

	December 31,		September 30,
	2010		2010
Finished goods	$	14,477	$	14,949
Raw materials		3,707		3,866
	$	18,184	$	18,815

5. Commitments and Contingencies

Guarantees and Product Warranties

     In the normal course of business to facilitate sales of its products, the Company indemnifies other parties, including customers, resellers, lessors, and parties to other transactions with the Company, with respect to certain matters. The Company has agreed to hold the other party harmless against losses arising from a breach of representations or covenants, or out of intellectual property infringement or other claims made against certain parties. These agreements may limit the time within which an indemnification claim can be made and the amount of the claim. The Company has entered into indemnification agreements with its officers and directors, and the Company’s bylaws contain similar indemnification obligations to the Company’s agents. It is not possible to determine the maximum potential amount under these indemnification agreements due to the limited history of prior indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement.

     The Company offers warranties of one year for hardware for those customers without service contracts, with the option of purchasing additional warranty coverage in yearly increments. The Company accrues for warranty costs as part of its cost of sales based on associated material product costs and technical support labor costs. Accrued warranty costs as of December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were not material.

Purchase Commitments

     The Company currently has arrangements with contract manufacturers and other suppliers for the manufacturing of its products. The arrangement with the primary contract manufacturer allows them to procure component inventory on the Company’s behalf based on a rolling production forecast provided by the Company. The Company is obligated to the purchase of component inventory that the contract manufacturer procures in accordance with the forecast, unless they give notice of order cancellation in advance of applicable lead times. As of December 31, 2010, the Company was committed to purchase approximately $14.4 million of such inventory during the next quarter.

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Legal Proceedings

     Derivative Suits. Beginning on or about May 24, 2006, several derivative actions were filed against certain of the Company’s current and former directors and officers. These derivative lawsuits were filed in: (1) the Superior Court of King County, Washington, as In re F5 Networks, Inc. State Court Derivative Litigation (Case No. 06-2-17195-1 SEA), which consolidates Adams v. Amdahl, et al. (Case No. 06-2-17195-1 SEA), Wright v. Amdahl, et al. (Case No. 06-2-19159-5 SEA), and Sommer v. McAdam, et al. (Case No. 06-2-26248-4 SEA) (the “State Court Derivative Litigation”); and (2) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, as In re F5 Networks, Inc. Derivative Litigation, Master File No. C06-0794RSL, which consolidates Hutton v. McAdam, et al. (Case No. 06-794RSL), Locals 302 and 612 of the International Union of Operating Engineers-Employers Construction Industry Retirement Trust v. McAdam et al. (Case No. C06-1057RSL), and Easton v. McAdam et al. (Case No. C06-1145RSL) (the “Federal Court Derivative Litigation”). On August 2, 2007, another derivative lawsuit, Barone v. McAdam et al. (Case No. C07-1200P) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The Barone lawsuit was designated a related case to the Federal Court Derivative Litigation on September 4, 2007. The complaints generally allege that certain of the Company’s current and former directors and officers, including, in general, each of the Company’s current outside directors (other than Deborah L. Bevier, Scott Thompson, and John Chapple who joined the Board of Directors in July 2006, January 2008, and September 2010, respectively) breached their fiduciary duties to the Company by engaging in alleged wrongful conduct concerning the manipulation of certain stock option grant dates.

     On September 24, 2010, the Company entered into a Stipulation of Settlement (the “Stipulation”) in connection with the Federal Court Derivative Litigation. A copy of the Stipulation may be found under the “About F5-Investor Relations-Corporate Governance” section of the Company’s website, www.f5.com. On October 21, 2010, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington issued an order granting preliminary approval of the settlement resolving the claims asserted by the plaintiffs against the individual defendants. On January 6, 2011 the Court entered a final order approving settlement of the Federal Court Derivative Litigation. Effectiveness of the settlement of the Federal Court Derivative Litigation was conditioned on dismissal of the State Court Derivative Litigation. On January 19, 2011, the Superior Court of King County entered a final order dismissing the State Court Derivative Litigation.

     The Company is not aware of any additional pending legal proceedings that, individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, operating results, or financial condition. The Company may in the future be party to litigation arising in the ordinary course of business, including claims that we allegedly infringe upon third-party intellectual property rights. Such claims, even if not meritorious, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources.

6. Income Taxes

     The effective tax rate was 32.4% and 35.5% for the three months ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The reduction in effective tax rate was primarily due to the reinstatement of the federal research and development credit on December 17, 2010.

     At December 31, 2010, the Company has classified approximately $8.1 million of unrecognized tax liabilities as a non-current liability. The Company does not anticipate that total unrecognized tax benefits will significantly change within the next twelve months.

     The Company recognizes interest and, if applicable, penalties for any uncertain tax positions. This interest and penalty expense will be a component of income tax expense. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, the Company accrued an immaterial amount of interest expense related to its liability for unrecognized tax benefits. All unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate.

     The Company and its subsidiaries are subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as the income tax of multiple state and foreign jurisdictions. Major jurisdictions where there are wholly owned subsidiaries of F5 Networks, Inc. which require income tax filings include the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and Germany. Periods open for review by local taxing authorities are fiscal years 2008, 2010, 2007 and 2006 for the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and Germany, respectively. Within the next four fiscal quarters, the statute of limitations will begin to close on the fiscal years ended 2006 and 2007 tax returns filed in various states and the fiscal year ended 2007 federal income tax return.

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7. Geographic Sales and Significant Customers

     Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available and evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision-maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company does business in four main geographic regions: the Americas (primarily the United States); Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); Japan; and the Asia Pacific region (APAC). The Company’s chief operating decision-making group reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis accompanied by information about revenues by geographic region. The Company’s foreign offices conduct sales, marketing and support activities. Revenues are attributed by geographic location based on the location of the customer. The Company’s assets are primarily located in the United States and not allocated to any specific region. Therefore, geographic information is presented only for net revenue.

     The following presents revenues by geographic region (in thousands):

	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010		2009
Americas	$	157,919	$	111,005
EMEA		59,705		46,320
Japan		16,561		12,374
Asia Pacific		34,749		21,457
	$	268,934	$	191,156

     Net revenues from international customers are primarily denominated in U.S. dollars and totaled $111.0 million and $80.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. One worldwide distributor accounted for 18.8% of total net revenue for the three month period ended December 31, 2010. Two worldwide distributors accounted for 24.1% of total net revenue for the three month period ended December 31, 2009. No other distributors accounted for more than 10% of total net revenue.

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

     The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, expectations, strategies, intentions or other characterizations of future events or circumstances and are generally identified by the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current information and expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” herein and in other documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statements.

Overview

     We are a global provider of appliances consisting of software and hardware and services that help companies efficiently and securely manage the delivery, optimization and security of application and data traffic on Internet-based networks, and to optimize the performance and utilization of data storage infrastructure and other network resources. We market and sell our products primarily through multiple indirect sales channels in the Americas (primarily the United States); Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); Japan; and the Asia Pacific region (APAC). Enterprise customers (Fortune 1000 or Business Week Global 1000 companies) in the technology, telecommunications, financial services, transportation, education, manufacturing and health care industries, along with government customers, continue to make up the largest percentage of our customer base.

17

     Our management team monitors and analyzes a number of key performance indicators in order to manage our business and evaluate our financial and operating performance. Those indicators include:

• Revenues. The majority of our revenues are derived from sales of our Application Delivery Networking (“ADN”) products and related software modules; BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager, BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager, BIG-IP Link Controller, BIG-IP Application Security Manager, BIG-IP Edge Gateway, BIG-IP WAN Optimization module, BIG-IP Access Policy Manager, WebAccelerator, and FirePass SSL VPN appliance; and our ARX file virtualization products. We also derive revenues from the sales of services including annual maintenance contracts, training and consulting services. We carefully monitor the sales mix of our revenues within each reporting period. We believe customer acceptance rates of our new products and feature enhancements are indicators of future trends. We also consider overall revenue concentration by customer and by geographic region as additional indicators of current and future trends.

• Cost of revenues and gross margins. We strive to control our cost of revenues and thereby maintain our gross margins. Significant items impacting cost of revenues are hardware costs paid to our contract manufacturers, third-party software license fees, amortization of developed technology and personnel and overhead expenses. Our margins have remained relatively stable; however, factors such as sales price, product mix, inventory obsolescence, returns, component price increases and warranty costs could significantly impact our gross margins from quarter to quarter and represent significant indicators we monitor on a regular basis.

• Operating expenses. Operating expenses are substantially driven by personnel and related overhead expenses. Existing headcount and future hiring plans are the predominant factors in analyzing and forecasting future operating expense trends. Other significant operating expenses that we monitor include marketing and promotions, travel, professional fees, computer costs related to the development of new products, facilities and depreciation expenses.

• Liquidity and cash flows. Our financial condition remains strong with significant cash and investments and no long term debt. The increase in cash and investments for the first three months of fiscal year 2011 was primarily due to net income from operations, with operating activities providing cash of $103.1 million. This increase was partially offset by $25.0 million of cash used to repurchase outstanding common stock under our stock repurchase program in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011. Going forward, we believe the primary driver of cash flows will be net income from operations. Capital expenditures for the first three months of fiscal year 2011 were comprised primarily of information technology infrastructure and equipment to support the growth of our core business activities. We will continue to evaluate possible acquisitions of, or investments in businesses, products, or technologies that we believe are strategic, which may require the use of cash.

• Balance sheet. We view cash, short-term and long-term investments, deferred revenue, accounts receivable balances and day’s sales outstanding as important indicators of our financial health. Deferred revenues continued to increase in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 due to growth in the amount of annual maintenance contracts purchased on new products and maintenance renewal contracts related to our existing product installation base. Our day’s sales outstanding for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 was 48.

Summary of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

     The preparation of our financial condition and results of operations requires us to make judgments and estimates that may have a significant impact upon our financial results. We believe that, of our significant accounting policies, the following require estimates and assumptions that require complex, subjective judgments by management, which can materially impact reported results: revenue recognition; reserve for doubtful accounts; reserve for product returns; reserve for warranties; accounting for income taxes; stock-based compensation; investments; goodwill impairment; and the fair value measurements of financial assets and liabilities. None of these accounting policies and estimates with the exception of the revenue recognition policy discussed below, have significantly changed since our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2010 (“Form 10-K”). Critical accounting policies and estimates are more fully described in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Form 10-K. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

     We believe the following critical accounting policy, as well as those discussed in our Form 10-K, affect the more significant estimates and judgments used in the preparation of our financial statements.

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Revenue Recognition

     We sell products through distributors, resellers, and directly to end users. Revenue is recognized provided that all of the following criteria have been met:

     Persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists. Evidence of an arrangement generally consists of a purchase order issued pursuant to the terms and conditions of a distributor, reseller or end user agreement.

     Delivery has occurred. We use shipping or related documents, or written evidence of customer acceptance, when applicable, to verify delivery or completion of any performance terms.

     The sales price is fixed or determinable. We assess whether the sales price is fixed or determinable based on payment terms associated with the transaction and whether the sales price is subject to refund or adjustment.

     Collectability is reasonable assured. We assess collectability primarily based on the creditworthiness of the customer as determined by credit checks and related analysis, as well as the Customer’s payment history.

     In certain regions where we do not have the ability to reasonably estimate returns, we defer revenue on sales to our distributors until they have received information from the channel partner indicating that the product has been sold to the end-user customer. Payment terms to domestic customers are generally net 30 days to net 45 days. Payment terms to international customers range from net 30 days to net 120 days based on normal and customary trade practices in the individual markets. We offer extended payment terms to certain customers, in which case, revenue is recognized when payments are due.

     Whenever product, training services and post-contract customer support (“PCS”) elements are sold together, a portion of the sales price is allocated to each element based on their respective fair values as determined when the individual elements are sold separately. Revenue from the sale of products is recognized when the product has been shipped and the customer is obligated to pay for the product. When rights of return are present and we cannot estimate returns, we recognize revenue when such rights of return lapse. Revenues for PCS are recognized on a straight-line basis over the service contract term. PCS includes a limited period of telephone support updates, repair or replacement of any failed product or component that fails during the term of the agreement, bug fixes and rights to upgrades, when and if available. Consulting services are customarily billed at fixed hourly rates, plus out-of-pocket expenses, and revenues are recognized when the consulting has been completed. Training revenue is recognized when the training has been completed.

     In October 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) amended the accounting standards for revenue recognition to remove from the scope of industry-specific software revenue recognition guidance any tangible products containing software components and non-software components that operate together to deliver the products essential functionality. In addition, the FASB amended the accounting standards for certain multiple element revenue arrangements to:

• Provide updated guidance on whether multiple elements exist, how the elements in an arrangement should be separated, and how the arrangement consideration should be allocated to the separate elements;

• Require an entity to allocate arrangement consideration to each element based on a selling price hierarchy, where the selling price for an element is based on vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”), if available, third-party evidence (“TPE”), if available and VSOE is not available; or the best estimate of selling price (“BESP”), if neither VSOE or TPE is available; and

• Eliminate the use of the residual method and require an entity to allocate arrangement consideration using the selling price hierarchy.

     We adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 on a prospective basis for applicable arrangements originating or materially modified after October 1, 2010. The impact of this adoption was not material to our financial position and results of operations for the three months ended December 31, 2010.

19

     The majority of our products are hardware appliances which contain software essential to the overall functionality of the products. Accordingly, we no longer recognize revenue on sales of these products in accordance with the industry-specific software revenue recognition guidance.

     For all transactions entered into prior to the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 and for sales of nonessential and stand-alone software after October 1, 2010, we allocate revenue for arrangements with multiple elements based on the software revenue recognition guidance. Software revenue recognition guidance requires revenue earned on software arrangements involving multiple elements to be allocated to each element based on the relative fair values of those elements. The fair value of an element must be based on VSOE. Where fair value of certain elements is not available, revenue is recognized on the “residual method” based on the fair value of undelivered elements. If evidence of the fair value of one or more undelivered elements does not exist, all revenue is deferred and recognized at the earlier of the delivery of those elements or the establishment of fair value of the remaining undelivered elements.

     For transactions entered into subsequent to the adoption of the amended revenue recognition standards that are multiple-element arrangements, the arrangement consideration is allocated to each element based on the relative selling prices of all of the elements in the arrangement using the fair value hierarchy in the amended revenue recognition guidance.

     Consistent with the methodology used under the previous accounting guidance, we establish VSOE for our products, training services, PCS and consulting services based on the sales price charged for each element when sold separately. The sales price is discounted from the applicable list price based on various factors including the type of customer, volume of sales, geographic region and program level. Our list prices are generally not fair value as discounts may be given based on the factors enumerated above. We believe that the fair value of our consulting services is represented by the billable consulting rate per hour, based on the rates we charge customers when they purchase standalone consulting services. The price of consulting services is not based on the type of customer, volume of sales, geographic region or program level.

     We use historical sales transactions to determine whether VSOE can be established for each of the elements. In most instances, VSOE of fair value is the sales price of actual standalone (unbundled) transactions within the past 12 month period that are priced within a reasonable range, which we have determined to be plus or minus 15% of the median sales price of each respective price list.

     VSOE of PCS is based on standalone sales since we do not provide stated renewal rates to our customers. In accordance with our PCS pricing practice (supported by standalone renewal sales), renewal contracts are priced as a percentage of the undiscounted product list price. The PCS renewal percentages may vary, depending on the type and length of PCS purchased. We offer standard and premium PCS, and the term generally ranges from one to three years. We employ a bell-shaped-curve approach in evaluating VSOE of fair value of PCS. Under this approach, we consider VSOE of the fair value of PCS to exist when a substantial majority of our standalone PCS sales fall within a narrow range of pricing.

     We are typically not able to determine TPE for our products or services. TPE is determined based on competitor prices for similar elements when sold separately. Generally, our go-to-market strategy differs from that of other competitive products or services in our markets and our offerings contain a significant level of differentiation such that the comparable pricing of products with similar functionality cannot be obtained. Furthermore, we are unable to reliably determine the selling prices on a stand-alone basis of similar products offered by our competitors.

     When we are unable to establish selling price of our non-software elements using VSOE or TPE, we use BESP in our allocation of arrangement consideration. The objective of BESP is to determine the price at which we would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. We determine BESP for a product or service by considering multiple factors including, but not limited to, cost of products, gross margin objectives, pricing practices, geographies, customer classes and distribution channels.

     We have established and regularly validate the VSOE of fair value and BESP for elements in our multiple element arrangements. We account for taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities on a net basis and excluded from revenues.

Results of Operations

     The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, related notes and risk factors included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

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	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010			2009
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Net Revenues
Products	$	171,492		$	119,218
Services		97,442			71,938
Total	$	268,934		$	191,156
Percentage of net revenues
Products		63.8	%		62.4	%
Services		36.2			37.6
Total		100.0	%		100.0	%

     Net revenues. Total net revenues increased 40.7% for the three months ended December 31, 2010 from the same period in the prior year. Overall revenue growth for the three months ended December 31, 2010 was primarily due to increased service and product revenues as a result of our increased installed base of products and increased demand for our core ADN products, including application security and WAN optimization products. International revenues were 41.3% of total net revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to 41.9% for the same period in the prior year. We expect international sales will continue to represent a significant portion of net revenues, although we cannot provide assurance that international revenues as a percentage of net revenues will remain at current levels.

     Net product revenues increased 43.8% for the three months ended December 31, 2010 from the same period in the prior year. The increase in net product revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2010 was primarily due to an increase of $51.4 million in sales of our ADN products from the same period in the prior year. Sales of our ADN products represented 97.2% of product revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to 96.7% of product revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2009. We are now including our FirePass SSL VPN product as a component of ADN revenue.

     Net service revenues increased 35.5% for the three months ended December 31, 2010 from the same period in the prior year. The increase in net service revenues was primarily due to increases in the purchase or renewal of maintenance contracts driven by additions to our installed base of products.

     Avnet Technology Solutions, one of our worldwide distributors, accounted for 18.8% of our total net revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2010. Tech Data, another worldwide distributor, and Avnet Technology Solutions accounted for 12.5% and 11.6% of our total net revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2009, respectively. Avnet Technology Solutions accounted for 16.9% of our accounts receivable as of December 31, 2010. Ingram Micro, Inc., another worldwide distributor, and Avnet Technology Solutions accounted for 15.4% and 12.0%, respectively, of our accounts receivable as of December 31, 2009. No other distributors accounted for more than 10% of total net revenue or receivables.

	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010			2009
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Cost of net revenues and Gross Margin
Products	$	31,614		$	26,042
Services		17,349			13,087
Total		48,963			39,129
Gross profit	$	219,971		$	152,027
Percentage of net revenues and Gross Margin (as a percentage of related net revenue)
Products		18.4	%		21.8	%
Services		17.8			18.2
Total		18.2			20.5
Gross profit		81.8	%		79.5	%

     Cost of net product revenues. Cost of net product revenues consist of finished products purchased from our contract manufacturers, manufacturing overhead, freight, warranty, provisions for excess and obsolete inventory and amortization expenses in connection with developed technology from acquisitions. Cost of net product revenues increased 21.4% for the three months ended December 31, 2010, as compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in cost of net product revenues was primarily due to a higher volume of units shipped along with an increase in warranty expense.

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     Cost of net service revenues. Cost of net service revenues consist of the salaries and related benefits of our professional services staff, travel, facilities and depreciation expenses. For the three months ended December 31, 2010, cost of net service revenues as a percentage of net service revenues decreased to 17.8%, compared to 18.2% for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the scalability of our existing customer support infrastructure and increased revenue from maintenance contracts. Professional services headcount at the end of December 2010 increased to 444 from 356 at the end of December 2009. In addition, cost of net service revenues included stock-based compensation expense of $1.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to $1.5 million for the same period in the prior year.

	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010			2009
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Operating expenses
Sales and marketing	$	86,825		$	65,642
Research and development		32,606			26,720
General and administrative		20,684			15,953
Total	$	140,115		$	108,315
Operating expenses (as a percentage of net revenue)
Sales and marketing		32.3	%		34.3	%
Research and development		12.1			14.0
General and administrative		7.7			8.4
Total		52.1	%		56.7	%

     Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expenses consist of salaries, commissions and related benefits of our sales and marketing staff, the costs of our marketing programs, including public relations, advertising and trade shows, travel, facilities, and depreciation expenses. Sales and marketing expenses increased 32.3% for the three months ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in the prior year. The increase in sales and marketing expense was primarily due to an increase of $11.4 million in commissions and personnel costs for the three months ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in the prior year. The increased commissions and personnel costs were driven by growth in sales and marketing employee headcount and increased sales volume for the corresponding period. Sales and marketing headcount at the end of December 2010 increased to 923 from 729 at the end of December 2009. Sales and marketing expense included stock-based compensation expense of $8.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to $6.7 million for the same period in the prior year. The increase in sales and marketing expense was also due to investments in marketing promotions and initiatives aimed at promoting our brand and creating market awareness of our technology and our products.

     Research and development. Research and development expenses consist of the salaries and related benefits for our product development personnel, prototype materials and other expenses related to the development of new and improved products, facilities and depreciation expenses. Research and development expenses increased 22.0% for the three months ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in the prior year. The increase in research and development expense was primarily due to an increase of $2.9 million in personnel costs for the three months ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in the prior year. In addition, research and development expense included a year over year increase in computer equipment and software costs of $1.3 million to support the development of new and improved products. Research and development headcount at the end of December 2010 increased to 527 from 459 at the end of December 2009. Research and development expense included stock-based compensation expense of $5.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to $4.9 million for the same period in the prior year. We expect research and development expenses to remain consistent as a percentage of net revenue in the foreseeable future.

     General and administrative. General and administrative expenses consist of the salaries, benefits and related costs of our executive, finance, information technology, human resource and legal personnel, third-party professional service fees, bad debt charges, facilities and depreciation expenses. General and administrative expenses increased 29.7% for the three months ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in the prior year. The increase in general and administrative expense was primarily due to an increase of $1.5 million in personnel costs for the three months ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in the prior year. Stock-based compensation expense was $6.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to $3.9 million for the same period in the prior year. General and administrative headcount at the end of December 2010 increased to 235 from 198 at the end of December 2009.

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	Three months ended
	December 31,
	2010			2009
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Income Taxes
Income from operations	$	79,856		$	43,712
Other income, net		2,545			1,705
Income before income taxes		82,401			45,417
Provision for income taxes		26,738			16,138
Net income	$	55,663		$	29,279
Other income and income taxes (as percentage of revenue)
Income from operations		29.7	%		22.9	%
Other income, net		0.9			0.9
Income before income taxes		30.6			23.8
Provision for income taxes		9.9			8.5
Net income		20.7	%		15.3	%

     Other income, net. Other income, net, consists of interest income and foreign currency transaction gains and losses. Other income, net, increased 49.3% for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in other income, net for the three months ended December 31, 2010 was primarily due to an increase in interest income, as well as foreign currency transaction gains as compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in interest income for the three months ended December 31, 2010 was primarily due to an increase in investment balances.

     Provision for income taxes. We recorded a 32.4% provision for income taxes for the three month period ended December 31, 2010. The reduction in effective tax rate compared to the three month period ended December 31, 2009 was primarily due to the reinstatement of the federal research and development credit on December 17, 2010. At December 31, 2010, we did not have a valuation allowance on any of our deferred tax assets in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate because we believe that these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making this determination we have considered projected future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies in assessing the appropriateness of a valuation allowance. Our net deferred tax assets at December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were $48.0 million and $49.1 million, respectively. Our worldwide effective tax rate may fluctuate based on a number of factors including variations in projected taxable income in the various geographic locations in which we operate, changes in the valuation of our net deferred tax assets, resolution of potential exposures, tax positions taken on tax returns filed in the various geographic locations in which we operate, and the introduction of new accounting standards or changes in tax laws or interpretations thereof in the various geographic locations in which we operate. We have recorded liabilities to address potential tax exposures related to business and income tax positions we have taken that could be challenged by taxing authorities. The ultimate resolution of these potential exposures may be greater or less than the liabilities recorded which could result in an adjustment to our future tax expense.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

     Cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and long-term investments totaled $952.3 million as of December 31, 2010 compared to $862.1 million as of September 30, 2010, representing an increase of $90.2 million. The increase was primarily due to cash provided by operating activities of $103.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010 which was partially offset by $25.0 million of additional cash required for the repurchase of outstanding common stock under our stock repurchase program. The increase in cash flow from operations for the first three months of fiscal year 2011 resulted from increased net income combined with changes in operating assets and liabilities, as adjusted for various non-cash items including stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization charges. Based on our current operating and capital expenditure forecasts, we believe that our existing cash and investment balances, excluding auction rate securities (“ARS”), together with cash generated from operations should be sufficient to meet our operating requirements for at least the next twelve months.

     At December 31, 2010, we held $16.3 million in fair value of tax-exempt ARS, which are variable-rate debt securities and have a long-term maturity with the interest rates being reset through Dutch auctions that are typically held every 7, 28 or 35 days. The securities have historically traded at par and are callable at par at the option of the issuer. Interest is typically paid at the end of each auction period or semi-annually. We limit our investments in ARS to securities that carry a AAA/A- (or equivalent) rating from recognized rating agencies and limit the amount of credit exposure to any one issuer. At the time of initial investment and at the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, all of our ARS were in compliance with our investment policy.

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     Beginning in February 2008, auctions failed for approximately $53.4 million in par value of municipal ARS we held because sell orders exceeded buy orders. When these auctions failed to clear, higher interest rates for those securities went into effect. However, the funds associated with these failed auctions will not be accessible until the issuer calls the security, a successful auction occurs, a buyer is found outside of the auction process or the security matures.

     We have no reason to believe that any of the underlying issuers of our ARS are presently at risk of default. The underlying assets of the municipal ARS we hold, including the securities for which auctions have failed, are generally student loans which are guaranteed by the U.S. government. Through December 31, 2010, we have continued to receive interest payments on the ARS in accordance with their terms. We believe we will be able to liquidate our investments without significant loss primarily due to the government guarantee of the underlying securities. However, due to uncertainty in the ARS market, we believe certain of these available-for-sale investments may remain illiquid for longer than twelve months and as a result, we have classified $19.0 million (par value) of our ARS as long-term as of December 31, 2010.

     Cash used in investing activities was $97.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to cash used in investing activities of $41.0 million for the same period in the prior year. Investing activities include purchases, sales and maturities of available-for-sale securities, capital expenditures and changes in restricted cash requirements. The amount of cash used in investing activities for the three months ended December 31, 2010 was primarily due to the purchase of investments and capital expenditures related to maintaining our operations worldwide partially offset by the sales and maturity of investments.

     Cash used in financing activities was $6.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to cash provided by financing activities of $3.4 million for the same period in the prior year. Our financing activities for the three months ended December 31, 2010 consisted of cash required for the repurchase of outstanding common stock under our stock repurchase program of $25.0 million, partially offset by cash received from the exercise of employee stock options and stock purchases under our employee stock purchase plan of $8.8 million and tax benefits related to share-based compensation of $10.1 million.

Obligations and Commitments

     As of December 31, 2010, our principal commitments consisted of obligations outstanding under operating leases. We lease our facilities under operating leases that expire at various dates through 2022. There have been no material changes in our principal lease commitments compared to those discussed in the Form 10-K.

     We outsource the manufacturing of our pre-configured hardware platforms to contract manufacturers who assemble each product to our specifications. Our agreement with our largest contract manufacturer allows them to procure component inventory on our behalf based upon a rolling production forecast. We are contractually obligated to purchase the component inventory in accordance with the forecast, unless we give notice of order cancellation in advance of applicable lead times. As of December 31, 2010, we were committed to purchase approximately $14.4 million of such inventory during the next quarter.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

     The anticipated impact of recent accounting pronouncements is discussed in Note 1 to the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Risk Factors that May Affect Future Results

     This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our business, operating results, financial performance and share price may be materially adversely affected by a number of factors, including but not limited to the following risk factors, any one of which could cause actual results to vary materially from anticipated results or from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or in other reports, press releases or other statements issued from time to time. Additional factors that may cause such a difference are set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

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Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate in future periods, which may cause our stock price to fluctuate

     Our quarterly and annual operating results have varied significantly in the past and could vary significantly in the future, which makes it difficult for us to predict our future operating results. Our operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including the changing and recently volatile U.S. and global economic environment, and any of which may cause our stock price to fluctuate. In particular, we anticipate that the size of customer orders may increase as we continue to focus on larger business accounts. A delay in the recognition of revenue, even from just one account, may have a significant negative impact on our results of operations for a given period. In the past, a majority of our sales have been realized near the end of a quarter. Accordingly, a delay in an anticipated sale past the end of a particular quarter may negatively impact our results of operations for that quarter, or in some cases, that fiscal year. Additionally, we have exposure to the credit risks of some of our customers and sub-tenants. Although we have programs in place that are designed to monitor and mitigate the associated risk, there can be no assurance that such programs will be effective in reducing our credit risks adequately. We monitor individual payment capability in granting credit arrangements, seek to limit the total credit to amounts we believe our customers can pay and maintain reserves we believe are adequate to cover exposure for potential losses. If there is a deterioration of a sub-tenant’s or a major customer’s creditworthiness or actual defaults are higher than expected, future losses, if incurred, could harm our business and have a material adverse effect on our operating results. Further, our operating results may be below the expectations of securities analysts and investors in future quarters or years. Our failure to meet these expectations will likely harm the market price of our common stock. Such a decline could occur, and has occurred in the past, even when we have met our publicly stated revenue and/or earnings guidance.

In addition to other risks listed in this “Risk Factors” section, factors that may affect our operating results include, but are not limited to:

• fluctuations in demand for our products and services due to changing market conditions, pricing conditions, technology evolution, seasonality, or other changes in the global economic environment;

• changes or fluctuations in sales and implementation cycles for our products and services;

• reduced visibility into our customers’ spending and implementation plans

• reductions in customers’ budgets for data center and other IT purchases or delays in these purchases;

• fluctuations in our gross margins, including the factors described herein which may contribute to such fluctuations;

• our ability to control costs, including operating expenses, the costs of hardware and software components, and other manufacturing costs;

• our ability to develop, introduce and gain market acceptance of new products, technologies and services, and our success in new and evolving markets;

• any significant changes in the competitive environment, including the entry of new competitors or the substantial discounting of products or services;

• the timing and execution of product transitions or new product introductions, and related inventory costs;

• variations in sales channels, product costs, or mix of products sold;

• our ability to establish and manage our distribution channels, and the effectiveness of any changes we make to our distribution model;

• the ability of our contract manufacturers and suppliers to provide component parts, hardware platforms and other products in a timely manner;

• benefits anticipated from our investments in sales, marketing, product development, manufacturing or other activities; and

• changes in tax laws or regulations, or other accounting rules.

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Our success depends on our timely development of new products and features, market acceptance of new product offerings and proper management of the timing of the life cycle of our products

     The application delivery networking and file virtualization markets are characterized by rapid technological change, frequent new product introductions, changes in customer requirements and evolving industry standards. Our continued success depends on our ability to identify and develop new products and new features for our existing products to meet the demands of these changes, and the acceptance of those products and features by our existing and target customers. If we are unable to identify, develop and deploy new products and new product features on a timely basis, our business and results of operations may be harmed.

     The current development cycle for our products is on average 12-24 months. The introduction of new products or product enhancements may shorten the life cycle of our existing products, or replace sales of some of our current products, thereby offsetting the benefit of even a successful product introduction, and may cause customers to defer purchasing our existing products in anticipation of the new products. This could harm our operating results by decreasing sales, increasing our inventory levels of older products and exposing us to greater risk of product obsolescence. We have also experienced, and may in the future experience, delays in developing and releasing new products and product enhancements. This has led to, and may in the future lead to, delayed sales, increased expenses and lower quarterly revenue than anticipated. Also, in the development of our products, we have experienced delays in the prototyping of our products, which in turn has led to delays in product introductions. In addition, complexity and difficulties in managing product transitions at the end-of-life stage of a product can create excess inventory of components associated with the outgoing product that can lead to increased expenses. Any or all of the above problems could materially harm our business and results of operations.

Our success depends on sales and continued innovation of our Application Delivery Networking product lines

     For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010 and the three months ended December 31, 2010, we derived approximately 97.2% and 97.2% of our net product revenues, respectively, or approximately 61.8% and 62.0% of our total net revenues, respectively, from sales of our Application Delivery Networking (“ADN”) product lines. We expect to continue to derive a significant portion of our net revenues from sales of our ADN products in the future. Implementation of our strategy depends upon these products being able to solve critical network availability and performance problems for our customers. If our ADN products are unable to solve these problems for our customers or if we are unable to sustain the high levels of innovation in our ADN product feature set needed to maintain leadership in what will continue to be a competitive market environment, our business and results of operations will be harmed.

We may not be able to compete effectively in the emerging application delivery networking and file virtualization markets

     The markets we serve are new, rapidly evolving and highly competitive, and we expect competition to persist and intensify in the future. Our principal competitors in the application delivery networking market include Cisco Systems, Inc., Citrix Systems, Inc., Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. and Radware Ltd. In the adjacent WAN Optimization Controller market, we compete with Riverbed Technology, Inc., Juniper Networks, Inc., Blue Coat Systems, Inc., Cisco and Citrix. In the file virtualization market, we compete with EMC Corporation. We expect to continue to face additional competition as new participants enter our markets. As we continue to expand globally, we may see new competitors in different geographic regions. In addition, larger companies with significant resources, brand recognition, and sales channels may form alliances with or acquire competing application delivery networking solutions from other companies and emerge as significant competitors. Potential competitors may bundle their products or incorporate an Internet traffic management or security component into existing products in a manner that discourages users from purchasing our products. Any of these circumstances may limit our opportunities for growth and negatively impact our financial performance.

The average selling price of our products may decrease and our costs may increase, which may negatively impact gross profits

     It is possible that the average selling prices of our products will decrease in the future in response to competitive pricing pressures, increased sales discounts, new product introductions by us or our competitors or other factors. Therefore, in order to maintain our gross profits, we must develop and introduce new products and product enhancements on a timely basis and continually reduce our product costs. Our failure to do so will cause our net revenue and gross profits to decline, which will harm our business and results of operations. In addition, we may experience substantial period-to-period fluctuations in future operating results due to the erosion of our average selling prices.

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It is difficult to predict our future operating results because we have an unpredictable sales cycle

     Our products have a lengthy sales cycle and the timing of our revenue is difficult to predict. Historically, our sales cycle has ranged from approximately two to three months and has tended to lengthen as we have increasingly focused our sales efforts on the enterprise market. Also, as our distribution strategy has evolved into more of a channel model, utilizing value-added resellers, distributors and systems integrators, the level of variability in the length of sales cycle across transactions has increased and made it more difficult to predict the timing of many of our sales transactions. Sales of our products require us to educate potential customers in their use and benefits. Sales of our products are subject to delays from the lengthy internal budgeting, approval and competitive evaluation processes that large corporations and governmental entities may require. For example, customers frequently begin by evaluating our products on a limited basis and devote time and resources to testing our products before they decide whether or not to purchase. Customers may also defer orders as a result of anticipated releases of new products or enhancements by our competitors or us. As a result, our products have an unpredictable sales cycle that contributes to the uncertainty of our future operating results.

Our business may be harmed if our contract manufacturers are not able to provide us with adequate supplies of our products or if a single source of hardware assembly is lost or impaired

     We outsource the manufacturing of our hardware platforms to third party contract manufacturers who assemble these hardware platforms to our specifications. We have experienced minor delays in shipments from contract manufacturers in the past. However, if we experience major delays in the future or other problems, such as inferior quality and insufficient quantity of product, any one or a combination of these factors may harm our business and results of operations. The inability of our contract manufacturers to provide us with adequate supplies of our products or the loss of one or more of our contract manufacturers may cause a delay in our ability to fulfill orders while we obtain a replacement manufacturer and may harm our business and results of operations. In particular, we currently subcontract manufacturing of our application delivery networking products to a single contract manufacturer with whom we do not have a long-term contract. If our arrangement with this single source of hardware assembly was terminated or otherwise impaired, and we were not able to engage another contract manufacturer in a timely manner, our business, financial condition and results of operation could be adversely affected.

     If the demand for our products grows, we will need to increase our raw material and component purchases, contract manufacturing capacity and internal test and quality control functions. Any disruptions in product flow may limit our revenue, may harm our competitive position and may result in additional costs or cancellation of orders by our customers.

Our business could suffer if there are any interruptions or delays in the supply of hardware components from our third-party sources

     We currently purchase several hardware components used in the assembly of our products from a number of single or limited sources. Lead times for these components vary significantly. The unavailability of suitable components, any interruption or delay in the supply of any of these hardware components or the inability to procure a similar component from alternate sources at acceptable prices within a reasonable time, may delay assembly and sales of our products and, hence, our revenues, and may harm our business and results of operations.

We are subject to governmental export and import controls that could subject us to liability or impair our ability to compete in international markets

     Our products are subject to U.S. export controls and may be exported outside the U.S. only with the required level of export license or through an export license exception because we incorporate encryption technology into our products. In addition, various countries regulate the import of certain encryption technology and have enacted laws that could limit our ability to distribute our products or our customers’ ability to implement our products in those countries. Changes in our products or changes in export and import regulations may create delays in the introduction of our products in international markets, prevent our customers with international operations from deploying our products throughout their global systems or, in some cases, prevent the export or import of our products to certain countries altogether. Any change in export or import regulations or related legislation, shift in approach to the enforcement or scope of existing regulations or change in the countries, persons or technologies targeted by such regulations, could result in decreased use of our products by, or in our decreased ability to export or sell our products to, existing or potential customers with international operations. For example, we will need to comply with Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

27

Directive laws, which are being adopted by certain European Economic Area countries on a country-by-country basis. Failure to comply with these and similar laws on a timely basis, or at all, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Any decreased use of our products or limitation on our ability to export or sell our products would likely adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property and our products may infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties

     We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, and restrictions on disclosure of confidential and proprietary information to protect our intellectual property rights. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our products or technology. Monitoring unauthorized use of our products is difficult, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation of our technology, particularly in foreign countries where the laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States.

     Our industry is characterized by the existence of a large number of patents and frequent claims and related litigation regarding patent and other intellectual property rights. In the ordinary course of our business, we are involved in disputes and licensing discussions with others regarding their claimed proprietary rights and cannot assure you that we will always successfully defend ourselves against such claims. We expect that infringement claims may increase as the number of products and competitors in our market increases and overlaps occur. Also, as we have gained greater visibility, market exposure and competitive success, we face a higher risk of being the subject of intellectual property infringement claims. If we are found to infringe the proprietary rights of others, or if we otherwise settle such claims, we could be compelled to pay damages or royalties and either obtain a license to those intellectual property rights or alter our products so that they no longer infringe upon such proprietary rights. Any license could be very expensive to obtain or may not be available at all. Similarly, changing our products or processes to avoid infringing upon the rights of others may be costly or impractical. In addition, we have initiated, and may in the future initiate, claims or litigation against third parties for infringement of our proprietary rights, or to determine the scope and validity of our proprietary rights or those of our competitors. Any of these claims, whether claims that we are infringing the proprietary rights of others, or vice versa, with or without merit, may be time-consuming, result in costly litigation and diversion of technical and management personnel or require us to cease using infringing technology, develop non-infringing technology or enter into royalty or licensing agreements. Further, our license agreements typically require us to indemnify our customers, distributors and resellers for infringement actions related to our technology, which could cause us to become involved in infringement claims made against our customers, distributors or resellers. Any of the above-described circumstances relating to intellectual property rights disputes could result in our business and results of operations being harmed.

     Many of our products include intellectual property licensed from third parties. In the future, it may be necessary to renew licenses for third party intellectual property or obtain new licenses for other technology. These third party licenses may not be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. The inability to obtain certain licenses, or litigation regarding the interpretation or enforcement of license rights and related intellectual property issues, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Furthermore, we license some third party intellectual property on a non-exclusive basis and this may limit our ability to protect our intellectual property rights in our products.

We may not be able to sustain or develop new distribution relationships and a reduction or delay in sales to significant distribution partners could hurt our business

     We sell our products and services through multiple distribution channels in the United States and internationally, including leading industry distributors, value-added resellers, systems integrators, service providers and other indirect channel partners. We have a limited number of agreements with companies in these channels, and we may not be able to increase our number of distribution relationships or maintain our existing relationships. Recruiting and retaining qualified channel partners and training them in our technologies requires significant time and resources. If we are unable to establish or maintain our indirect sales channels, our business and results of operations will be harmed. In addition, two worldwide distributors of our products accounted for 24.7% of our total net revenue for fiscal year 2010. One worldwide distributor of our products accounted for 15.4% of our total net revenue for fiscal year 2009. One worldwide distributors of our products accounted for 18.8% of our total net revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2010. A substantial reduction or delay in sales of our products to these distribution partners, if not replaced by sales to other indirect channel partners and distributors, could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

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Undetected software or hardware errors may harm our business and results of operations

     Our products may contain undetected errors or defects when first introduced or as new versions are released. We have experienced these errors or defects in the past in connection with new products and product upgrades. We expect that these errors or defects will be found from time to time in new or enhanced products after commencement of commercial shipments. These problems may cause us to incur significant warranty and repair costs, divert the attention of our engineering personnel from our product development efforts and cause significant customer relations problems. We may also be subject to liability claims for damages related to product errors or defects. While we carry insurance policies covering this type of liability, these policies may not provide sufficient protection should a claim be asserted. A material product liability claim may harm our business and results of operations.

     Our products must successfully operate with products from other vendors. As a result, when problems occur in a network, it may be difficult to identify the source of the problem. The occurrence of software or hardware problems, whether caused by our products or another vendor’s products, may result in the delay or loss of market acceptance of our products. The occurrence of any of these problems may harm our business and results of operations.

Adverse general economic conditions or reduced information technology spending may adversely impact our business

     A substantial portion of our business depends on the demand for information technology by large enterprise customers and service providers, the overall economic health of our current and prospective customers and the continued growth and evolution of the Internet. International, national, regional and local economic conditions, such as recessionary economic cycles, protracted economic slowdown or further deterioration of the economy could adversely impact demand for our products. The purchase of our products is often discretionary and may involve a significant commitment of capital and other resources. Continued weak economic conditions or a reduction in information technology spending even if economic conditions improve would likely result in longer sales cycles and reduced product sales, each of which would adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our investments in auction rate securities are subject to risks that may cause losses and affect the liquidity of these investments

     At December 31, 2010, the fair value of our AAA/A- (or equivalent) rated municipal auction rate securities (“ARS”) was approximately $16.3 million. We may not be able to liquidate these ARS and realize their full carrying value unless the issuer calls the security, a successful auction occurs, a buyer is found outside of the auction process, or the security otherwise matures. While we do not believe the decline in the carrying values of these municipal ARS is permanent, if the issuers of these securities are unable to successfully close future auctions and their credit ratings are lowered, we may be required to record future impairment charges related to these investments, which would harm our results of operations. We believe certain of these available-for-sale investments may remain illiquid for longer than twelve months and as a result, we have classified these investments as long-term as of December 31, 2010.

Our operating results are exposed to risks associated with international commerce

     As our international sales increase, our operating results become more exposed to international operating risks. These risks include risks related to recessionary economic cycles or protracted slowdowns in economies outside the United States, foreign currency exchange rates, managing foreign sales offices, regulatory, political or economic conditions in specific countries, military conflict or terrorist activities, changes in laws and tariffs, inadequate protection of intellectual property rights in foreign countries, foreign regulatory requirements and natural disasters. All of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business. We intend to continue expanding into international markets. International sales represented 41.4% and 44.7% of our net revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and 41.3% for the three months ended December 31, 2010.

Changes in governmental regulations could negatively affect our revenues

     Our products are subject to various regulations promulgated by the United States and various foreign governments including, but not limited to, environmental regulations and regulations implementing export license requirements and restrictions on the import or export of some technologies, especially encryption technology. Changes in governmental regulation and our inability or failure to obtain required approvals, permits or registrations could harm our international and domestic sales and adversely affect our revenues, business and operations.

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Changes in financial accounting standards may cause adverse unexpected revenue fluctuations and affect our reported results of operations

     A change in accounting policies can have a significant effect on our reported results and may even affect our reporting of transactions completed before the change is effective. New pronouncements and varying interpretations of existing pronouncements have occurred with frequency and may occur in the future. Changes to existing rules, or changes to the interpretations of existing rules, could lead to changes in our accounting practices, and such changes could adversely affect our reported financial results or the way we conduct our business.

Acquisitions present many risks and we may not realize the financial and strategic goals that are contemplated at the time of the transaction

     With respect to our past acquisitions, as well as any other future acquisitions we may undertake, we may find that the acquired businesses, products or technologies do not further our business strategy as expected, that we paid more than what the assets are later worth or that economic conditions change, all of which may generate future impairment charges. Our acquisitions may be viewed negatively by customers, financial markets or investors. There may be difficulty integrating the operations and personnel of the acquired business, and we may have difficulty retaining the key personnel of the acquired business. We may have difficulty in integrating the acquired technologies or products with our existing product lines. Our ongoing business and management’s attention may be disrupted or diverted by transition or integration issues and the complexity of managing geographically and culturally diverse locations. We may have difficulty maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies across locations. We may experience significant problems or liabilities associated with product quality, technology and other matters.

     Our inability to successfully operate and integrate newly-acquired businesses appropriately, effectively and in a timely manner, or to retain key personnel of any acquired business, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to take advantage of further growth in demand for integrated traffic management and security solutions and other advances in technology, as well as on our revenues, gross margins and expenses.

Our success depends on our key personnel and our ability to attract and retain qualified sales and marketing, operations, product development and professional services personnel

     Our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of our key management, product development, sales, marketing and finance personnel, many of whom may be difficult to replace. The complexity of our application delivery networking products and their integration into existing networks and ongoing support, as well as the sophistication of our sales and marketing effort, requires us to retain highly trained professional services, customer support and sales personnel. Competition for qualified professional services, customer support and sales personnel in our industry is intense because of the limited number of people available with the necessary technical skills and understanding of our products. Our ability to retain and hire these personnel may be adversely affected by volatility or reductions in the price of our common stock, since these employees are generally granted restricted stock units. The loss of services of any of our key personnel, the inability to retain and attract qualified personnel in the future or delays in hiring qualified personnel may harm our business and results of operations.

We face litigation risks

     We are a party to lawsuits in the normal course of our business. Litigation in general, and intellectual property and securities litigation in particular, can be expensive, lengthy and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict. Responding to lawsuits has been, and will likely continue to be, expensive and time-consuming for us. An unfavorable resolution of these lawsuits could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Anti-takeover provisions could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us

     Our Board of Directors has the authority to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock and to determine the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, of those shares without any further vote or action by the shareholders. The rights of the holders of common stock may be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future. The issuance of preferred stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of our company without further action by our shareholders and may adversely affect the voting and

30

other rights of the holders of common stock. Further, certain provisions of our bylaws, including a provision limiting the ability of shareholders to raise matters at a meeting of shareholders without giving advance notice, may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control or management of our company, which could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. In addition, our articles of incorporation provide for a staggered board, which may make it more difficult for a third party to gain control of our Board of Directors. Similarly, state anti-takeover laws in the State of Washington related to corporate takeovers may prevent or delay a change of control of our company.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

     At December 31, 2010, the fair value of our AAA/A- (or equivalent) rated municipal ARS was approximately $16.3 million. ARS are collateralized long-term debt instruments that provide liquidity through a Dutch auction process that resets the applicable interest rate at pre-determined intervals, typically every 7, 28 or 35 days. Beginning in February 2008, auctions failed for approximately $53.4 million in par value of municipal ARS we held because sell orders exceeded buy orders. When these auctions failed to clear, higher interest rates for those securities went into effect. However, the funds associated with these failed auctions will not be accessible until the issuer calls the security, a successful auction occurs, a buyer is found outside of the auction process, or the security matures. The underlying assets of the municipal ARS we hold, including the securities for which auctions have failed, are generally student loans which are guaranteed by the U.S. government. Based on our expected operating cash flows and our other sources of cash, we do not believe that any reduction in liquidity of our municipal ARS will have a material impact on our overall ability to meet our liquidity needs. We have no intent to sell, won’t be required to sell, and believe we will hold these securities until recovery. We believe certain of these available-for-sale investments may remain illiquid for longer than twelve months and as a result, we have classified $19.0 million (par value) of securities as long-term as of December 31, 2010.

     Management believes there have been no other material changes to our quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk during the three month period ended December 31, 2010, compared to those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2010.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

     Our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) are designed to ensure that required information is properly recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the required timeframe, as specified in the rules set forth by the SEC. Our disclosure controls and procedures are also designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

     Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2010. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Accounting Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2010.

     There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the period covered by this quarterly report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II — OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

     We are not aware of any additional pending legal proceedings that, individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, or financial condition. We may in the future be party to litigation arising in the ordinary course of business, including claims that we allegedly infringe upon third-party intellectual property rights. Such claims, even if not meritorious, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources.

     Reference is made to Item 1, Note 5, “Commitments and Contingencies — Legal Proceedings,” of Part I of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Item 3, Legal Proceedings, in the Form 10-K, filed November 23, 2010 for descriptions of our legal proceedings. We continue to believe that the resolution of these legal proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on us and there have been no material developments since the time of the Form 10-K filing, except as noted in Item 1, Note 5 of Part I of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

     Information regarding risk factors appears in Part I — Item 2 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Factors that May Affect Future Results.” This information includes previously disclosed material changes to the risk factors set forth in Part I — Item 1A of the Form 10-K.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

     On October 22, 2008, we announced that our Board of Directors approved a program to repurchase up to an additional $200 million of our outstanding common stock. On October 26, 2010, we announced that our Board of Directors approved a new program to repurchase up to an additional $200 million of our outstanding common stock. As of February 2, 2011, we had $204.4 million remaining to purchase shares as part of our repurchase programs. Acquisitions for the share repurchase programs will be made from time to time in private transactions or open market purchases as permitted by securities laws and other legal requirements. The programs may be discontinued at any time. As of February 2, 2011 we had repurchased and retired 4,804,906 shares at an average price of $40.65 per share under the programs.

     Shares repurchased and retired as of February 2, 2011 are as follows (in thousands, except shares and per share data):

							Approximate Dollar
					Total Number of		Value of Shares
	Total Number				Shares Purchased		that May Yet be
	of Shares		Average Price		per the Publicly		Purchased
	Purchased		Paid per Share		Announced Plan		Under the Plan
October 1, 2008 —October 31, 2008		—	$	—		—	$	200,000
November 1, 2008 — November 30, 2008		543,100	$	22.87		543,100	$	187,553
December 1, 2008 — December 31, 2008		329,920	$	22.84		329,920	$	180,000
January 1, 2009 — January 31, 2009		—	$	—		—	$	180,000
February 1, 2009 — February 28, 2009		636,895	$	21.34		636,895	$	166,377
March 1, 2009 — March 31, 2009		703,811	$	19.58		703,811	$	152,563
April 1, 2009 — April 30, 2009		—	$	—		—	$	152,563
May 1, 2009 — May 31, 2009		—	$	—		—	$	152,563
June 1, 2009 — June 30, 2009		463,900	$	34.17		463,900	$	136,689
July 1, 2009 — July 31, 2009		146,700	$	35.51		146,700	$	131,473
August 1, 2009 — August 31, 2009		320,700	$	36.01		320,700	$	119,907
September 1, 2009 — September 30, 2009		199,021	$	36.85		199,021	$	112,564
October 1, 2009 — October 31, 2009		—	$	—		—	$	112,564
November 1, 2009 — November 30, 2009		177,950	$	47.36		177,950	$	104,128
December 1, 2009 — December 31, 2009		131,210	$	49.98		131,210	$	97,564
January 1, 2010 — January 31, 2010		—	$	—		—	$	97,564
February 1, 2010 — February 28, 2010		212,430	$	51.07		212,430	$	86,703
March 1, 2010 — March 31, 2010		152,528	$	59.87		152,528	$	77,563
April 1, 2010 — April 30, 2010		23,100	$	70.56		23,100	$	75,932
May 1, 2010 — May 31, 2010		176,365	$	68.23		176,365	$	63,890
June 1, 2010 — June 30, 2010		91,562	$	69.04		91,562	$	57,564
July 1, 2010 — July 31, 2010		5,000	$	85.81		5,000	$	57,135
August 1, 2010 — August 31, 2010		140,935	$	87.12		140,935	$	44,850
September 1, 2010 — September 30, 2010		77,225	$	94.30		77,225	$	37,564
October 1, 2010 — October 31, 2010		—	$	—		—	$	37,564
November 1, 2010 — November 30, 2010		126,125	$	120.30		126,125	$	22,384
December 1, 2010 — December 31, 2010		71,519	$	137.24		71,519	$	12,565
January 1, 2011 — January 31, 2011		43,200	$	106.71		43,200	$	7,953
February 1, 2011 — February 2, 2011		31,710	$	110.62		31,710	$	4,444

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Item 6. Exhibits

Exhibit
Number		Exhibit Description
31.1*	—	Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2*	—	Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1*	—	Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS**	—	XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

*	Filed herewith.
**	XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) information is furnished and not filed herewith, is not a part of a registration statement or Prospectus for purposes of sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, is deemed not filed for purposes of section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and otherwise is not subject to liability under these sections.

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SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized on this 7th day of February, 2011.

F5 NETWORKS, INC.
By:	/s/ JOHN RODRIGUEZ
	John Rodriguez
	Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer (principal financial officer)

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EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number		Exhibit Description
31.1*	—	Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2*	—	Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1*	—	Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS**	—	XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE**	—	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

*	Filed herewith.
**	XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) information is furnished and not filed herewith, is not a part of a registration statement or Prospectus for purposes of sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, is deemed not filed for purposes of section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and otherwise is not subject to liability under these sections.

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EX-31.1

Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATIONS

     I, John McAdam, certify that:

1) I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of F5 Networks, Inc.;

2) Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3) Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4) The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b. Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, 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;

c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting; and

5) The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting, which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: February 7, 2011

/s/ JOHN MCADAM John McAdam

Chief Executive Officer and President

EX-31.2

Exhibit 31.2

CERTIFICATIONS

     I, John Rodriguez, certify that:

1) I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of F5 Networks, Inc.;

2) Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3) Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4) The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b. Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, 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;

c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during our most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting; and

5) The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting, which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: February 7, 2011

/s/ JOHN RODRIGUEZ John Rodriguez

Senior Vice President,

Chief Accounting Officer

(principal financial officer)

EX-32.1

Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

     In connection with the Quarterly Report of F5 Networks, Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2010 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), we, John McAdam, President and Chief Executive Officer and John Rodriguez, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer (principal financial officer) of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

     (1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

     (2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and result of operations of the Company.

Date: February 7, 2011

/s/ JOHN MCADAM John McAdam

Chief Executive Officer and President

/s/ JOHN RODRIGUEZ John Rodriguez

Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer

(principal financial officer)

     A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906, or other document authenticating, acknowledging, or otherwise adopting the signature that appears in typed form within the electronic version of this written statement required by Section 906, has been provided to F5 Networks, Inc., and will be retained by F5 Networks, Inc., and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.