UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

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

For the fiscal year ended June 25, 2017

OR

¨ 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: 0-12933

LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	94-2634797
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
4650 Cushing Parkway, Fremont, California	94538
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip code)

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

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

Title of class	Name of exchange on which registered
Common Stock, Par Value $0.001 Per Share	The Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq Global Select Market)

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

None

(Title of class)

_________________________

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  x    No  ¨

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.    x

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

Large accelerated filer	x	Accelerated filer	¨
Non-accelerated filer	¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)	Smaller reporting company	¨
		Emerging growth company	¨

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

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

The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value, held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, as of December 25, 2016, the last business day of the most recently completed second fiscal quarter with respect to the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K, was $12,210,431,182. Common Stock held by each officer and director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the outstanding Common Stock has been excluded from this computation in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination of such status for other purposes.

As of August 10, 2017, the Registrant had 162,454,686 outstanding shares of Common Stock.

_________________________

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Parts of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders expected to be held on or about November 8, 2017, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K. Except as expressly incorporated by reference herein, the Registrant’s proxy statement shall not be deemed to be part of this report.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K1

LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION

2017 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

		Page
Part I.
Item 1.	Business	3
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	14
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	25
Item 2.	Properties	25
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	26
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	26
Part II.
Item 5.	Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	27
Item 6.	Selected Financial Data	30
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	32
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	45
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	49
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	95
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	95
Item 9B.	Other Information	95
Part III.
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance	96
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	96
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	96
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence	96
Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	96
Part IV.
Item 15.	Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules	97
Signatures		98
Exhibit Index		101

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K2

PART I

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

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

Item 1. Business

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

Additional information about Lam Research is available on our website at www.lamresearch.com. The content on any website referred to in this Form 10-K is not a part of or incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K unless expressly noted.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K3

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

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

We are a global supplier of innovative wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. We have built a strong global presence with core competencies in areas like nanoscale applications enablement, chemistry, plasma and fluidics, advanced systems engineering and a broad range of operational disciplines. Our products and services are designed to help our customers build smaller, faster, and better performing devices that are used in a variety of electronic products, including mobile phones, personal computers, servers, wearables, automotive devices, storage devices, and networking equipment. Our vision is to realize full value from natural technology extensions of our company.

Our customer base includes leading semiconductor memory, foundry, and integrated device manufacturers (“IDMs”) that make products such as non-volatile memory (“NVM”), DRAM memory, and logic devices. We aim to increase our strategic relevance with our customers by contributing more to their continued success. Our core technical competency is integrating hardware, process, materials, software, and process control enabling results on the wafer.

Semiconductor manufacturing, our customers’ business, involves the complete fabrication of multiple dies or integrated circuits (“ICs”) on a wafer. This involves the repetition of a set of core processes and can require hundreds of individual steps. Fabricating these devices requires highly sophisticated process technologies to integrate an increasing array of new materials with precise control at the atomic scale. Along with meeting technical requirements, wafer processing equipment must deliver high productivity and be cost-effective.

Demand from cloud computing (the “Cloud”), the Internet of Things (“IoT”), and other markets is driving the need for increasingly powerful and cost-efficient semiconductors. At the same time, there are growing technical challenges with traditional two-dimensional scaling. These trends are driving significant inflections in semiconductor manufacturing, such as the increasing importance of vertical scaling strategies like three-dimensional (“3D”) architectures as well as multiple patterning to enable shrinks.

These demand and technology inflections have significantly expanded our addressable markets from about 26% of wafer fabrication equipment (“WFE”) spending in calendar year 2013 to about 34% in calendar year 2016. We believe we are in a strong position with our leadership and competency in deposition, etch, and single wafer clean to facilitate some of the most significant innovations in semiconductor device manufacturing. Several factors create opportunity for sustainable differentiation for us: (i) our focus on research and development, with several on-going programs relating to sustaining engineering, product and process development, and concept and feasibility; (ii) our ability to effectively leverage cycles of learning from our broad installed base; and (iii) our collaborative focus with semi-ecosystem partners.

We also address processes for back-end wafer-level packaging (“WLP”), which is an alternative to traditional wire bonding and can offer a smaller form factor, increased interconnect speed and bandwidth, and lower power consumption, among other benefits. In addition, our products are well-suited for related markets that rely on semiconductor processes and require production-proven manufacturing capability, such as complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (“CMOS”) image sensors (“CIS”) and micro-electromechanical systems (“MEMS”).

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

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K4

Products

Thin Film Deposition

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

In dielectric deposition, high-productivity, high-quality films are needed for a number of critical patterning and gapfill applications. For example, atomic layer deposition is required for front-end-of-line (“FEOL”) transistor structures and back-end-of-line (“BEOL”) self-aligned multiple patterning schemes to deposit highly conformal and uniform films. For NVM applications, high-quality conformal films are needed to form device isolation and ensure structural integrity. Plasma-enhanced CVD (“PECVD”) is used to deposit multiple dielectric films, including the alternating mold stack layers used in NVM memory and critical patterning layers for logic/foundry. These applications require excellent thickness uniformity, low defectivity, and stress control. For gapfill deposition, achieving defect-free fills while maintaining high throughput is essential. Preferred approaches are to use high-density plasma CVD (“HDP-CVD”) either as a complete gapfill solution or as a cap over other gapfill technologies to enhance process control and mitigate integration risks. Lastly, innovative post-deposition film treatments such as ultraviolet thermal processing (“UVTP”) are being used to improve low-k film integrity and increase strain in nitride layers for improved device performance.

Copper Metal Films — SABRE^® Product Family

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

Tungsten Metal Films — ALTUS^® Product Family

Our ALTUS systems deposit highly conformal atomic layer films for advanced tungsten metallization applications. The patented Multi-Station Sequential Deposition (“MSSD”) architecture enables a nucleation layer to be formed using Pulsed Nucleation Layer (“PNL”) technology and bulk CVD fill to be performed in the same chamber (“in situ”). PNL^®, our ALD technology, is used in the deposition of tungsten nitride films to achieve high step coverage with reduced thickness relative to conventional barrier films. PNL is also used to reduce thickness and alter CVD bulk fill grain growth, lowering the overall resistivity of thin tungsten films. The advanced ExtremeFill^TM CVD and LFW (low-fluorine tungsten) ALD technologies provide extendibility to fill the most challenging structures at advanced technology nodes. Applications include tungsten plug and via fill, NVM word lines, low-stress composite interconnects, and tungsten nitride barrier for via and contact metallization.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K5

PECVD Dielectric Films — VECTOR^® Product Family

The VECTOR family of PECVD systems delivers advanced thin film quality, wafer-to-wafer uniformity, productivity, and low cost of ownership. The MSSD architecture combines the required film performance with both sequential and parallel processing to provide flexibility for a range of applications. VECTOR products include specialized systems for logic and memory applications with multiple platform options. The Express platform offers a small footprint with four processing stations. Excel is a modular platform for advanced technology nodes where pre-and-post deposition treatments are needed. The Extreme platform accommodates up to 12 processing stations for high-throughput applications. Our Q platform accommodates up to 16 processing stations for depositing multi-stack films. Applications include deposition of oxides, nitrides, and carbides for hardmasks, multiple patterning films, anti-reflective layers, multi-layer stack films, and diffusion barriers.

ALD Dielectric Films — Striker^® Product Family

The Striker family of ALD systems delivers highly conformal dielectric films for spacer-based patterning and liner applications in the most advanced memory and logic structures. The MSSD architecture combines the required film performance with both sequential and parallel processing modes to provide flexibility to deliver both precise control of critical dimensions and low cost of ownership. The unique capability to deliver tunable and high-quality films over a vast range of temperatures and process conditions allows the Striker family to deliver unique and high electrical quality films to support the most demanding logic, DRAM, NVM, and CIS applications. Striker products include specialized systems for logic and memory applications, with similar multiple platform options as are available for our VECTOR products. Applications include conformal deposition of dielectric films for spacers and liners.

Gapfill Dielectric Films — SPEED^® Product Family

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

Film Treatment — SOLA^® Product Family

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

Plasma Etch

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

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K6

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

The Kiyo product family is designed to deliver high-performance, high-productivity, low-risk solutions for conductor etch applications. Uniformity, uniformity control, and repeatability are enabled by a symmetrical chamber design, electrostatic chuck technology, and independent tuning features. The Kiyo products deliver high productivity with low defectivity on multi-film stacks, enabled by in situ etch capability, continuous plasma, and advanced Waferless Autoclean technology. To address technology inflections in patterning, the Kiyo family offers state-of-the-art capability with our Hydra^® technology, which enables extraordinary within-wafer uniformity for FEOL/BEOL process modules in NVM, DRAM and logic devices. In addition, Kiyo systems can be configured to perform atomic layer etching (“ALE”), which delivers atomic-scale variability control to enable next-generation wafer processing. Applications include FinFET gate, fin definition, STI, high-k/metal gate, and multiple patterning. The Versys Metal product family provides a flexible platform for BEOL metal etch processes. Symmetrical chamber design and independent tuning features provide critical dimension, profile uniformity, and uniformity control for metal hardmask applications. The products’ proprietary chamber cleaning technology ensures high availability, high yield, and exceptional process repeatability for BEOL processing. Applications include metal hardmask, multiple patterning, high-density aluminum line, and aluminum pad. For both Kiyo and Versys Metal families, multiple platforms options are available to address fab productivity needs; these include the 2300e4^®, 2300e5^®, and 2300e6^® platforms.

Dielectric Etch — Flex^TM Product Family

The Flex product family offers differentiated technologies and application-focused capabilities for critical dielectric etch applications. Uniformity, repeatability, and tunability are enabled by a multi-frequency, small-volume, confined plasma design. The systems deliver high productivity with low defectivity, enabled by in situ multi-step etch and continuous plasma capability. Low-risk, cost-effective upgrades provide evolutionary product transitions that extend product life and maximize return on investment. Applications include low-k and ultra low-k dual damascene, mask open, and high aspect ratio applications for DRAM capacitor cell, NVM hole, trench, and contact. In addition, Flex systems can be configured to perform ALE, which delivers atomic-scale variability control to enable next-generation wafer processing for applications such as self-aligned contacts. Multiple platforms are available - including 2300e4^®, 2300e5^®, 2300e6^® - to address fab productivity needs.

TSV Etch — Syndion^® Product Family

Based on our production-proven conductor etch products, the Syndion family provides low-risk, flexible solutions to address multiple TSV and CIS etch applications. The Syndion products provide a low cost of ownership due to high etch rates, excellent repeatability, and in situ etching of multiple materials in the TSV stack (silicon, dielectrics, conducting films). The systems support both conventional single-step etch and rapidly alternating process (“RAP”). High process flexibility, superior profile control, and excellent uniformity enable successful TSV implementation for a variety of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor 3D IC and image sensor applications. Multiple platforms are available - including 2300e4^®, 2300e5^®, 2300e6^® - to address fab productivity needs.

Single-Wafer Clean

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

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

Single-wafer spin technology pioneered the industry transition from batch to single-wafer wet processing. These production-proven spin wet clean systems provide the productivity and flexibility needed for both high-volume manufacturing and leading-edge development across multiple technology nodes and for all device types. The products deliver process uniformity across the wafer, wafer-to-wafer, and lot-to-lot. Proprietary technologies enhance damage-free particle removal and enable wafer drying without pattern collapse or watermarks. Offering the latest in dilute chemistry and solvent systems, the products meet defectivity and material integrity requirements. Applications include particle, polymer, and residue removal; photoresist removal; wafer backside/

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K7

bevel cleaning; and film removal. Our wet clean systems are also used for multiple wet etch and clean applications for WLP, including silicon substrate thinning, wafer stress relief, underbump metallization etch, and photoresist removal.

Plasma Bevel Clean — Coronus^® Product Family

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

Legacy Products

For applications that do not require the most advanced wafer processing capability, semiconductor manufacturers can benefit from the proven performance of previous-generation products to increase their production capacity at a reduced economic investment. Purchasing through an original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) like us minimizes the risks of unexpected costs and unpredictable time to production that are typically associated with the legacy equipment market. To meet semiconductor manufacturers’ needs for high-performance, maximum-predictability, and low-risk equipment, we provide new, refurbished, and legacy products to customers utilizing technology nodes at and above 28 nm. These products benefit from many of the technical advances from our newest systems, enabling extended lifetime and productivity. Our products also provide production-worthy, cost-effective solutions for MEMS, power semiconductor, radio frequency device, and light emitting diode (“LED”) markets.

Products Table

Market	Process/Application	Technology	Products
Thin Film Deposition	Metal Films	ECD (Copper & Other)  CVD, ALD (Tungsten)	SABRE® family  ALTUS® family
	Dielectric Films	PECVD ALD  Gapfill HDP-CVD	VECTOR® family Striker®family SPEED® family
	Film Treatment	UVTP	SOLA® family
Plasma Etch	Conductor Etch	Reactive Ion Etch	Kiyo® family,  Versys® Metal family
	Dielectric Etch	Reactive Ion Etch	FlexTM family
	TSV Etch	Deep Reactive Ion Etch	Syndion® family
Single-Wafer Clean	Wafer Cleaning	Wet Clean	EOS®, DV-Prime®, Da Vinci®, SP Series
	Bevel Cleaning	Dry Plasma Clean	Coronus® family

Fiscal Periods Presented

All references to fiscal years apply to our fiscal years, which ended June 25, 2017, June 26, 2016, and June 28, 2015.

Research and Development

The market for semiconductor capital equipment is characterized by rapid technological change and product innovation. Our ability to achieve and maintain our competitive advantage depends in part on our continued and timely development of new products and enhancements to existing products. Accordingly, we devote a significant

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K8

portion of our personnel and financial resources to research and development (“R&D”) programs and seek to maintain close and responsive relationships with our customers and suppliers.

Our R&D expenses during fiscal years 2017, 2016, and 2015 were $1.0 billion, $914 million, and $825 million, respectively. The majority of R&D spending over the past three years has been targeted at deposition, etch, single-wafer clean, and other semiconductor manufacturing products. We believe current challenges for customers at various points in the semiconductor manufacturing process present opportunities for us.

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

Marketing, Sales, and Service

Our marketing, sales, and service efforts are focused on building long-term relationships with our customers and targeting product and service solutions designed to meet their needs. These efforts are supported by a team of product marketing and sales professionals as well as equipment and process engineers who work closely with individual customers to develop solutions for their wafer processing needs. We maintain ongoing service relationships with our customers and have an extensive network of service engineers in place throughout the United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan. We believe that comprehensive support programs and close working relationships with customers are essential to maintaining high customer satisfaction and our competitiveness in the marketplace.

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

International Sales

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

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017		June 26, 2016		June 28, 2015
	(in thousands)
Revenue:
Korea	$	2,480,329	$	1,057,331	$	1,406,617
Taiwan	2,095,669		1,485,037		1,084,239
Japan	1,041,969		983,821		623,575
China	1,023,195		1,039,951		661,094
United States	629,937		495,123		890,891
Southeast Asia	401,877		605,236		278,350
Europe	340,644		219,394		314,546
Total revenue	$	8,013,620	$	5,885,893	$	5,259,312

Long-Lived Assets

Refer to Note 18 of our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 8 of this report, for information concerning the geographic locations of long-lived assets.

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Customers

Our customers include all of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers. Customers continue to establish joint ventures, alliances, and licensing arrangements which have the potential to positively or negatively impact our competitive position and market opportunities. Customers accounting for greater than 10% of total revenues in fiscal year 2017 included Micron Technology, Inc.; Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd.; SK hynix Inc.; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd; and Toshiba, Inc. Customers accounting for greater than 10% of total revenues in fiscal year 2016 included Micron Technology, Inc.; Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd.; SK hynix Inc.; and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. Customers accounting for greater than 10% of total revenues in fiscal year 2015 included Micron Technology, Inc.; Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd.; and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.

A material reduction in orders from our customers could adversely affect our results of operations and projected financial condition. Our business depends upon the expenditures of semiconductor manufacturers. Semiconductor manufacturers’ businesses, in turn, depend on many factors, including their economic capability, the current and anticipated market demand for ICs, and the availability of equipment capacity to support that demand.

Backlog

In general, we schedule production of our systems based upon our customers’ delivery requirements and forecasts. In order for a system to be included in our backlog, the following conditions must be met: (1) we have received a written customer request that has been accepted, (2) we have an agreement on prices and product specifications, and (3) there is a scheduled shipment within the next 12 months. In order for spares and services to be included in our backlog, the following conditions must be met: (1) we have received a written customer request that has been accepted and (2) delivery of products or provision of services is anticipated within the next 12 months. Where specific spare parts and customer service purchase contracts do not contain discrete delivery dates, we use volume estimates at the contract price and over the contract period, not to exceed 12 months, in calculating backlog amounts. Our policy is to revise our backlog for order cancellations and to make adjustments to reflect, among other things, changes in spares volume estimates and customer delivery date changes. As of June 25, 2017, and June 26, 2016, our backlog was $2.1 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively. Generally, orders for our products and services are subject to cancellation by our customers with limited penalties. Because some orders are received and shipped in the same quarter and because customers may change delivery dates and cancel orders, our backlog at any particular date is not necessarily indicative of business volumes or actual revenue levels for succeeding periods.

Manufacturing

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

We have agreements with third parties to outsource certain aspects of our manufacturing, production warehousing, and logistics functions. We believe that these outsourcing contracts provide us more flexibility to scale our operations up or down in a timely and cost-effective manner, enabling us to respond quickly to any changes in our business. We believe that we have selected reputable providers and have secured their performance on terms documented in written contracts. However, it is possible that one or more of these providers could fail to perform as we expect, and such failure could have an adverse impact on our business and have a negative effect on our operating results and financial condition. Overall, we believe we have effective mechanisms to manage risks associated with our outsourcing relationships. Refer to Note 15 of our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 8 of this report, for further information concerning our outsourcing commitments.

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

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Environmental Matters

We are subject to a variety of governmental regulations related to the management of hazardous materials that we use in our business operations. We are currently not aware of any pending notices of violations, fines, lawsuits, or investigations arising from environmental matters that would have a material effect on our business. We believe that we are generally in compliance with these regulations and that we have obtained (or will obtain or are otherwise addressing) all necessary environmental permits to conduct our business. Nevertheless, the failure to comply with present or future regulations could result in fines being imposed on us, require us to suspend production or cease operations, or cause our customers to not accept our products. These regulations could require us to alter our current operations, to acquire significant additional equipment, or to incur substantial other expenses to comply with environmental regulations. Our failure to control the use, sale, transport, or disposal of hazardous substances could subject us to future liabilities.

Employees

As of August 10, 2017, we had approximately 9,400 regular employees globally. Although we have employment-related agreements with a number of key employees, these agreements do not guarantee continued service. Each of our employees is required to comply with our policies relating to maintaining the confidentiality of our non-public information.

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

Competition

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

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

We face competition from a number of established and emerging companies in the industry. We expect our competitors to continue to improve the design and performance of their current products and processes, to introduce new products and processes with enhanced price/performance characteristics, and to provide more comprehensive offerings of products. If our competitors make acquisitions or enter into strategic relationships with leading semiconductor manufacturers, or other entities, covering products similar to those we sell, our ability to sell our products to those customers could be adversely affected. Strategic investments to encourage local semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain in China could increase competition from domestic equipment manufacturers in China. There can be no assurance that we will continue to compete successfully in the future.

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Patents and Licenses

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

Executive Officers of the Company

As of August 10, 2017, the executive officers of Lam Research were as follows:

Name	Age	Title
Martin B. Anstice	50	President and Chief Executive Officer
Timothy M. Archer	50	Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Douglas R. Bettinger	50	Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Accounting Officer
Richard A. Gottscho	65	Executive Vice President, Corporate Chief Technology Officer
Patrick J. Lord	51	Group Vice President, Customer Support Business Group (“CSBG”)
Sarah A. O’Dowd	67	Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
Vahid Vahedi	51	Group Vice President, Etch Business Unit
Sesha Varadarajan	42	Group Vice President, Deposition Business Unit

Martin B. Anstice has been our president and chief executive officer since January 2012. Mr. Anstice joined us in April 2001 as senior director, operations controller, was promoted to the position of managing director and corporate controller in May 2002, and was promoted to group vice president and chief financial officer in June 2004. He was appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer in September 2008 and president in December 2010. Prior to joining us, he held various finance positions from 1988 to 1999 at Raychem Corporation, a global materials science company. Subsequent to the acquisition of Raychem by Tyco International, a global provider of engineered electronic components, network solutions, and wireless systems, he assumed responsibility for supporting mergers and acquisitions activities of Tyco Electronics. Mr. Anstice is an Associate member of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants in the United Kingdom.

Timothy M. Archer joined us in June 2012 as our executive vice president, chief operating officer. Prior to joining us, he spent 18 years at Novellus Systems, Inc., (“Novellus”) in various technology development and business leadership roles, including most recently as chief operating officer from January 2011 to June 2012; executive vice president of Worldwide Sales, Marketing, and Customer Satisfaction from September 2009 to January 2011; and executive vice president of the PECVD and Electrofill Business Units from November 2008 to September 2009. His tenure at Novellus also included assignments as senior director of technology for Novellus Systems Japan from 1999 to 2001 and senior director of technology for the Electrofill Business Unit from April 2001 to April 2002. He started his career in 1989 at Tektronix, where he was responsible for process development for high-speed bipolar ICs. Mr. Archer completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Business and earned a B.S. degree in applied physics from the California Institute of Technology.

Douglas R. Bettinger is our executive vice president, chief financial officer, and chief accounting officer with responsibility for finance, tax, treasury, information technology, and investor relations. Prior to joining the Company in 2013, Mr. Bettinger served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Avago Technologies

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from 2008 to 2013. From 2007 to 2008, he served as vice president of Finance and corporate controller at Xilinx, Inc., and from 2004 to 2007, he was chief financial officer at 24/7 Customer, a privately held company. Mr. Bettinger worked at Intel Corporation from 1993 to 2004, where he held several senior-level finance positions, including corporate planning and reporting controller and Malaysia site operations controller. Mr. Bettinger earned an M.B.A. degree in finance from the University of Michigan and a B.S. degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Richard A. Gottscho is our executive vice president, corporate chief technology officer, a position he has held since May 2017. Prior to that time, he had been executive vice president, Global Products Group beginning in August 2010; and group vice president and general manager, Etch Businesses beginning in March 2007. He joined us in January 1996 and has served at various director and vice president levels in support of etch products, CVD products, and corporate research. Prior to joining us, he was a member of Bell Laboratories for 15 years, where he started his career working in plasma processing. During his tenure at Bell, he headed research departments in electronics materials, electronics packaging, and flat panel displays. He is the author of numerous papers, patents, and lectures in plasma processing and process control. He is a recipient of the American Vacuum Society’s Peter Mark Memorial Award and Plasma Science and Technology Division Prize, the Gaseous Electronics Conference Foundation Lecturer, the Dry Process Symposium Nishizawa Award, and the Tegal Thinker Award. He is a fellow of the American Physical and American Vacuum Societies, has served on numerous editorial boards of refereed technical publications and program committees for major conferences in plasma science and engineering, and was vice-chair of a National Research Council study on plasma science in the 1980s. In 2016, Dr. Gottscho was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Gottscho earned Ph.D. and B.S. degrees in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Pennsylvania State University, respectively.

Patrick J. Lord is our group vice president and general manager of the Customer Support Business Group, a position he has held since December 2016. Previously, Dr. Lord held the position of group vice president and deputy general manager of the Global Products Group from September 2013 to December 2016. He served as the head of the Direct Metals, GapFill, Surface Integrity Group, and Integrated Metals (“DGSI”) Business Units between June 2012 and September 2013. Prior to the acquisition of Novellus in June 2012, Dr. Lord was senior vice president and general manager of the DGSI Business Units at Novellus. Additionally, Dr. Lord held the position of senior vice president of Business Development and Strategic Planning. He joined Novellus in 2001 and held a number of other positions, including executive vice president and general manager of the CMP Business Unit, senior director of Business Development, senior director of Strategic Marketing, and acting vice president of Corporate Marketing. Before joining Novellus, Dr. Lord spent six years at KLA-Tencor Corporation (“KLA-Tencor”) in various product marketing and management roles. He earned his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sarah A. O’Dowd is our senior vice president, chief legal officer and secretary. She joined us in September 2008 as group vice president and chief legal officer, responsible for general legal matters, intellectual property and ethics, and compliance. In addition to her Legal function, in April 2009 she was appointed vice president of Human Resources and served in this dual capacity through May 2012. Prior to joining us, she was vice president and general counsel for FibroGen, Inc., from February 2007 until September 2008. Until February 2007, Ms. O’Dowd was a shareholder in the law firm of Heller Ehrman LLP for more than 20 years, practicing in the areas of corporate securities, governance, and mergers and acquisitions for a variety of clients, principally publicly traded high-technology companies. She served in a variety of leadership and management roles at Heller Ehrman, including managing partner of the Silicon Valley and San Diego offices, member of the firm’s Policy Committee, and, as head of the firm’s business practice groups, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Ms. O’Dowd earned her J.D. and M.A. degrees in communications from Stanford Law School and Stanford University, respectively, and her B.A. degree in mathematics from Immaculata College.

Vahid Vahedi is our group vice president of the Etch Business Unit, a position he has held since March 2012. Previously, he served as vice president of Etch Business Product Management and Marketing, vice president of Dielectric Etch, vice president of Conductor and 3DIC Etch, and director of Conductor Etch Technology Development. He joined us in 1995. He earned his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Sesha Varadarajan is our group vice president of the Deposition Business Unit, a position he has held since September 2013. Previously, he served as the head of the PECVD/Electrofill Business Unit between June 2012

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and September 2013. Prior to joining us, Mr. Varadarajan was senior vice president and general manager of Novellus’ PECVD and Electrofill Business Units. He joined Novellus in 1999 as a process engineer with the Electrofill Business Unit and held various roles in that business unit before being appointed director of technology in 2004. Between 2006 and 2008, he worked in the PECVD Business Unit, initially as director of technology, until being promoted to product general manager. In 2009, he returned to the Electrofill Business Unit as vice president and general manager. In mid-2011, he was promoted to senior vice president and general manager, where he was also responsible for the PECVD Business Unit. Mr. Varadarajan earned an M.S. degree in manufacturing engineering and material science from Boston University and a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Mysore.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

In addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“2017 Form 10-K”), the following risk factors should be carefully considered in evaluating the Company and its business because such factors may significantly impact our business, operating results, and financial condition. As a result of these risk factors, as well as other risks discussed in our other SEC filings, our actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. No priority or significance is intended, nor should be attached, to the order in which the risk factors appear.

The Semiconductor Capital Equipment Industry Is Subject to Variability and Periods of Rapid Growth or Decline; We Therefore Face Risks Related to Our Strategic Resource Allocation Decisions

The semiconductor capital equipment industry has historically been characterized by rapid changes in demand. The industry environment has moved toward being more characterized by variability across segments and customers accentuated by consolidation within the industry. Variability in our customers’ business plans may lead to changes in demand for our equipment and services, which could negatively impact our results. The variability in our customers’ investments during any particular period is dependent on several factors, including but not limited to electronics demand, economic conditions (both general and in the semiconductor and electronics industries), industry supply and demand, prices for semiconductors, and our customers’ ability to develop and manufacture increasingly complex and costly semiconductor devices. The changes in demand may require our management to adjust spending and other resources allocated to operating activities.

During periods of rapid growth or decline in demand for our products and services, we face significant challenges in maintaining adequate financial and business controls, management processes, information systems, and procedures for training and managing our workforce, and in appropriately sizing our supply chain infrastructure and facilities, work force, and other components of our business on a timely basis. If we do not adequately meet these challenges during periods of increasing or declining demand, our gross margins and earnings may be negatively impacted.

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

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

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

Our business depends on the capital equipment expenditures of semiconductor manufacturers, which in turn depend on the current and anticipated market demand for integrated circuits. With the consolidation of customers within the industry, the semiconductor capital equipment market may experience rapid changes in demand driven both by changes in the market generally and the plans and requirements of particular customers. The economic, political, and business conditions occurring nationally, globally, or in any of our key sales regions, which are often unpredictable, have historically impacted customer demand for our products and normal commercial relationships with our customers, suppliers, and creditors. Additionally, in times of economic uncertainty, our customers’ budgets for our products, or their ability to access credit to purchase them, could be adversely affected. This would limit their ability to purchase our products and services. As a result, changing business or economic conditions can cause material adverse changes to our results of operations and financial condition, including but not limited to: 

• a decline in demand for our products or services;

• an increase in reserves on accounts receivable due to our customers’ inability to pay us;

• an increase in reserves on inventory balances due to excess or obsolete inventory as a result of our inability to sell such inventory;

• valuation allowances on deferred tax assets;

• restructuring charges;

• asset impairments including the potential impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets;

• a decline in the value of our investments;

• exposure to claims from our suppliers for payment on inventory that is ordered in anticipation of customer purchases that do not come to fruition;

• a decline in the value of certain facilities we lease to less than our residual value guarantee with the lessor; and

• challenges maintaining reliable and uninterrupted sources of supply.

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

Our Quarterly Revenues and Operating Results Are Variable

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

• economic conditions in the electronics and semiconductor industries in general and specifically the semiconductor equipment industry;

• the size and timing of orders from customers;

• consolidation of the customer base, which may result in the investment decisions of one customer or market having a significant effect on demand for our products or services;

• procurement shortages;

• the failure of our suppliers or outsource providers to perform their obligations in a manner consistent with our expectations;

• manufacturing difficulties;

• customer cancellations or delays in shipments, installations, and/or customer acceptances;

• the extent that customers continue to purchase and use our products and services in their business;

• our customers’ reuse of existing and installed products, to the extent that such reuse decreases their need to purchase new products or services;

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• changes in average selling prices, customer mix, and product mix;

• our ability to develop, introduce, and market new, enhanced, and competitive products in a timely manner;

• our competitors’ introduction of new products;

• legal or technical challenges to our products and technologies;

• transportation, communication, demand, information technology, or supply disruptions based on factors outside our control, such as strikes, acts of God, wars, terrorist activities, and natural or man-made disasters;

• legal, tax, accounting, or regulatory changes (including but not limited to change in import/export regulations) or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing requirements;

• changes in our estimated effective tax rate;

• foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; and

• the dilutive impact of our Convertible Notes (as defined below) and related warrants on our earnings per share.

We May Incur Impairments to Goodwill or Long-Lived Assets

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

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

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

We have $2.9 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes and convertible note instruments outstanding. Additionally, we have $750 million available to us in revolving credit arrangements, with an option for us to request an increase in the facility of up to an additional $250 million, for a potential total commitment of $1.0 billion. We may, in the future, decide to borrow amounts under the revolving credit agreement, or to enter into additional debt arrangements.

In addition, we have entered, and in the future may enter, into derivative instrument arrangements to hedge against the variability of cash flows due to changes in the benchmark interest rate of fixed rate debt. We could be exposed to losses in the event of nonperformance by the counterparties to our derivative instruments.

Our indebtedness could have adverse consequences, including:

• risk associated with any inability to satisfy our obligations;

• a portion of our cash flows that may have to be dedicated to interest and principal payments and may not be available for operations, working capital, capital expenditures, expansion, acquisitions, or general corporate or other purposes; and

• impairing our ability to obtain additional financing in the future.

Our ability to meet our expenses and debt obligations will depend on our future performance, which will be affected by financial, business, economic, regulatory, and other factors. Furthermore, our operations may not generate sufficient cash flows, particularly in the United States, to enable us to meet our expenses and service our debt. As a result, we may need to enter into new financing arrangements to obtain the necessary funds. If we

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determine it is necessary to seek additional funding for any reason, we may not be able to obtain such funding or, if funding is available, obtain it on acceptable terms. If we fail to make a payment on our debt, we could be in default on such debt, and this default could cause us to be in default on our other outstanding indebtedness.

Conversion of our Convertible Notes and the exercise of the related warrants may cause dilution to our stockholders and to our earnings per share. The number of shares of our Common Stock into which the Convertible Notes are convertible and for which related warrants are exercisable for may be adjusted from time to time, including increases in such rates as a result of dividends that we pay to our stockholders. Upon conversion of any Convertible Notes, we will deliver cash in the amount of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes and, with respect to any excess conversion value greater than the principal amount of the Convertible Notes, shares of our Common Stock, which would result in dilution to our stockholders. This dilution may not be completely mitigated by the hedging transactions we entered into in connection with the sale of certain Convertible Notes or through share repurchases. Prior to the maturity of the Convertible Notes, if the price of our Common Stock exceeds the conversion price, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that we report an increase in diluted share count, which would result in lower reported earnings per share. The price of our Common Stock could also be affected by sales of our Common Stock by investors who view the Convertible Notes as a more attractive means of equity participation in our company and also by hedging activity that may develop involving our Common Stock by holders of the Convertible Notes.

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

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

• incur additional debt, assume obligations in connection with letters of credit, or issue guarantees;

• create liens;

• enter into transactions with our affiliates;

• sell certain assets; and

• merge or consolidate with any person.

Our ability to comply with these covenants is dependent on our future performance, which will be subject to many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including prevailing economic conditions. In addition, our failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default under the Senior Notes, the Convertible Notes, or our other debt, which could permit the holders to accelerate such debt. If any of our debt is accelerated, we may not have sufficient funds available to repay such debt, which could materially and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operation.

We Have a Limited Number of Key Customers

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

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

Rapid technological changes in semiconductor manufacturing processes subject us to increased pressure to develop technological advances that enable those processes. We believe that our future success depends in part upon our ability to develop and offer new products with improved capabilities and to continue to enhance our existing products. If new products or existing products have reliability, quality, design, or safety problems, our performance may be impacted by reduced orders, higher manufacturing costs, delays in acceptance of and payment for new products, and additional service and warranty expenses. We may be unable to develop and manufacture products successfully, or products that we introduce may fail in the marketplace. For more than 25 years, the primary driver of technology advancement in the semiconductor industry has been to shrink the lithography that prints the circuit design on semiconductor chips. That driver could be approaching its technological limit, leading semiconductor manufacturers to investigate more complex changes in multiple technologies in an effort to continue technology development. In the face of uncertainty on which technology solutions will become successful, we will need to focus our efforts on developing the technology changes that are ultimately successful in supporting our customer requirements. Our failure to develop and offer the correct technology solutions in a timely manner with productive and cost-effective products could adversely affect our business in a material way. Our failure to commercialize new products in a timely manner could result in loss of market share, unanticipated costs, and inventory obsolescence, which would adversely affect our financial results.

In order to develop new products and processes and enhance existing products and processes, we expect to continue to make significant investments in R&D, to investigate the acquisition of new products and technologies, to invest in or acquire such business or technologies, and to pursue joint development relationships with customers, suppliers, or other members of the industry. Our investments and acquisitions may not be as successful as we may expect, particularly as we seek to invest or acquire product lines and technologies that are new to us. We may find that acquisitions are not available to us, for regulatory or other reasons, and that we must therefore limit ourselves to collaboration and joint venture development activities, which do not have the same benefits as acquisitions. Pursuing development through collaboration and/or joint development activities rather than through an acquisition poses substantial challenges for management, including those related to aligning business objectives, sharing confidential information and intellectual property, sharing value with third parties, and realizing synergies that might have been available in an acquisition but are not available through a joint development project. We must manage product transitions and joint development relationships successfully, as the introduction of new products could adversely affect our sales of existing products and certain jointly developed technologies may be subject to restrictions on our ability to share that technology with other customers, which could limit our market for products incorporating those technologies. Future technologies, processes, or product developments may render our current product offerings obsolete, leaving us with non-competitive products, obsolete inventory, or both. Moreover, customers may adopt new technologies or processes to address the complex challenges associated with next-generation devices. This shift may result in a reduction in the size of our addressable markets or could increase the relative size of markets in which we either do not compete or have relatively low market share.

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

We derive a substantial percentage of our revenues from a limited number of products. Our products are priced up to approximately $10 million per system. As a result, the inability to recognize revenue on even a few systems can cause a significantly adverse impact on our revenues for a given quarter, and, in the longer term, the continued market acceptance of these products is critical to our future success. Our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows could therefore be adversely affected by:

• a decline in demand for even a limited number of our products,

• a failure to achieve continued market acceptance of our key products,

• export restrictions or other regulatory or legislative actions that could limit our ability to sell those products to key customers or customers within certain markets,

• an improved version of products being offered by a competitor in the markets in which we participate,

• increased pressure from competitors that offer broader product lines,

• technological changes that we are unable to address with our products, or

• a failure to release new or enhanced versions of our products on a timely basis.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Although we attempt to select reputable providers and suppliers and we attempt to secure their performance on terms documented in written contracts, it is possible that one or more of these providers or suppliers could fail to perform as we expect, or fail to secure or protect intellectual property rights, and such failure could have an adverse impact on our business. In some cases, the requirements of our business mandate that we obtain certain components and sub-assemblies included in our products from a single supplier or a limited group of suppliers. Where practical, we endeavor to establish alternative sources to mitigate the risk that the failure of any single provider or supplier will adversely affect our business, but this is not feasible in all circumstances. There is therefore a risk that a prolonged inability to obtain certain components or secure key services could impair our ability to manage operations, ship products, and generate revenues, which could adversely affect our operating results and damage our customer relationships.

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

Our manufacturing facilities are concentrated in just a few locations. These locations are subject to disruption for a variety of reasons, such as natural or man-made disasters, terrorist activities, disruptions of our information technology resources, and utility interruptions. Such disruptions may cause delays in shipping our products,

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K19

which could result in the loss of business or customer trust, adversely affecting our business and operating results.

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

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

We Face a Challenging and Complex Competitive Environment

We face significant competition from multiple competitors, and with increased consolidation efforts in our industry, we may face increasing competitive pressures. Other companies continue to develop systems and/or acquire businesses and products that are competitive to ours and may introduce new products and product capabilities that may affect our ability to sell our existing products. We face a greater risk if our competitors enter into strategic relationships with leading semiconductor manufacturers covering products similar to those we sell or may develop, as this could adversely affect our ability to sell products to those manufacturers.

We believe that to remain competitive we must devote significant financial resources to offer products that meet our customers’ needs, to maintain customer service and support centers worldwide, and to invest in product and process R&D. Certain of our competitors, including those that are created and financially backed by foreign governments, have substantially greater financial resources and more extensive engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and customer service and support resources than we do and therefore have the potential to offer customers a more comprehensive array of products and/or product capabilities and to therefore achieve additional relative success in the semiconductor equipment industry. These competitors may deeply discount or give away products similar to those that we sell, challenging or even exceeding our ability to make similar accommodations and threatening our ability to sell those products. We also face competition from our own customers, who in some instances have established affiliated entities that manufacture equipment similar to ours. In addition, we face competition from companies that exist in a more favorable legal or regulatory environment than we do, allowing the freedom of action in ways that we may be unable to match. In many cases speed to solution is necessary for customer satisfaction and our competitors may be better positioned to achieve these objectives. For these reasons, we may fail to continue to compete successfully worldwide.

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

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

Non-U.S. sales, as reflected in Part 1 Item 1. Business, accounted for approximately 92%, 92%, and 83% of total revenue in fiscal years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. We expect that international sales will continue to account for a substantial majority of our total revenue in future years.

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

• trade balance issues;

• tariffs and other barriers;

• global or national economic and political conditions;

• changes in currency controls;

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• differences in the enforcement of intellectual property and contract rights in varying jurisdictions;

• our ability to respond to customer and foreign government demands for locally sourced systems, spare parts, and services and develop the necessary relationships with local suppliers;

• compliance with U.S. and international laws and regulations affecting foreign operations, including U.S. and international trade restrictions and sanctions, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, environmental, tax, and labor laws;

• fluctuations in interest and foreign currency exchange rates;

• our ability to repatriate cash in a tax-efficient manner;

• the need for technical support resources in different locations; and

• our ability to secure and retain qualified people, and effectively manage people, in all necessary locations for the successful operation of our business.

Certain international sales depend on our ability to obtain export licenses from the U.S. government. Our failure or inability to obtain such licenses would substantially limit our markets and severely restrict our revenues. Many of the challenges noted above are applicable in China, which is a fast developing market for the semiconductor equipment industry and therefore an area of potential significant growth for our business. As the business volume between China and the rest of the world grows, there is inherent risk, based on the complex relationships among China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States, that political and diplomatic influences might lead to trade disruptions. This would adversely affect our business with China, Japan, Korea, and/or Taiwan and perhaps the entire Asia Pacific region. A significant trade disruption in these areas could have a materially adverse impact on our future revenue and profits. In addition, there are risks that the Chinese government may, among other things, insist on the use of local suppliers; compel companies that do business in China to partner with local companies to design and supply equipment on a local basis, requiring the transfer of intellectual property rights and/or local manufacturing; and provide special incentives to government-backed local customers to buy from local competitors, even if their products are inferior to ours; all of which could adversely impact our revenues and margins.

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

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

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

Our ability to compete successfully depends in large part on our ability to attract, retain, and motivate key employees with the appropriate skills, experiences and competencies. This is an ongoing challenge due to intense competition for top talent, fluctuations in industry or business economic conditions, as well as increasing geographic expansion that may require cycles of hiring activity and workforce reductions. Our success in hiring

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depends on a variety of factors, including the attractiveness of our compensation and benefit programs, global economic or political and industry conditions, our organizational structure, global competition for talent and the availability of qualified employees, the availability of career development opportunities, the ability to obtain necessary authorizations for workers to provide services outside their home countries, and our ability to offer a challenging and rewarding work environment. We periodically evaluate our overall compensation and benefit programs and make adjustments, as appropriate, to maintain or enhance their competitiveness. If we are not able to successfully attract, retain, and motivate key employees, we may be unable to capitalize on market opportunities and our operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

We Rely upon Certain Critical Information Systems for the Operation of Our Business That Are Susceptible to Cybersecurity and Other Threats or Incidents

We maintain and rely upon certain critical information systems for the effective operation of our business. These information systems include, but are not limited to, telecommunications, the Internet, our corporate intranet, various computer hardware and software applications, network communications, and email. These information systems may be owned and maintained by us, our outsourced providers, or third parties such as vendors, contractors, and Cloud providers. Many of these information systems and outsourced service providers, including certain hosted software applications that we use for storage of confidential data and data processing (e.g., company-related, whether intellectual property or not; customer-related; supplier-related; and/or employee-related), employ Cloud technology for such storage and data processing (which refers to an information technology hosting and delivery system in which data is not stored or processed within the user’s physical infrastructure but instead is delivered to and consumed by the user as an Internet-based service). All of these information systems are subject to disruption, breach or failure from sources including but not limited to attacks, degradation, and failures resulting from potential sources, including viruses, malware, denial of service, destructive or inadequate code, power failures, and physical damage to computers, hard drives, communication lines, and networking equipment. Confidential and/or sensitive information stored on these information systems or transmitted to or from Cloud storage could be intentionally or unintentionally compromised, lost, and/or stolen. While we have implemented ISO 27001 compliant security procedures and virus protection software, intrusion prevention systems, access control, and emergency recovery processes to mitigate the outlined risks with respect to information systems that are under our control, they cannot be guaranteed to be fail-safe and may be breached. Our inability to use or access these information systems at critical points in time, or unauthorized releases of proprietary or confidential information, could unfavorably impact the timely and efficient operation of our business, including our results of operations, and our reputation.

We have experienced cyber attacks. Although past attacks have not resulted in a material adverse effect, we may incur material losses related to cyber attacks in the future. The insurance we carry may not fully compensate us for the effects of potential losses arising from a cyber-related incident. Cyber-related incidents could result in:

• disruptions to our operations;

• misappropriation or theft of Company, customer, supplier, or other’s assets or resources, including intellectual property and confidential information, and costs associated therewith;

• litigation with, or claims of damages arising from, our employees, customers, suppliers, or other third parties which whom we collaborate; or

• adverse impact to our results of operations, as a result of associated remediation costs such as those related to responding to potential regulatory inquiries, to rebuild the effected information systems, and those associated with improving our security and internal control environment.

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

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

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on our ability to generate future taxable income in the United States. In addition, the amount of income taxes we pay is subject to ongoing audits in various jurisdictions, and a material assessment by a governing tax authority could affect our profitability.

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

We are subject to a variety of domestic and international governmental regulations related to the handling, discharge, and disposal of toxic, volatile, or otherwise hazardous chemicals. Failure to comply with present or future environmental regulations could result in fines being imposed on us, require us to suspend production, and/or cease operations, or cause our customers to not accept our products. These regulations could require us to alter our current operations, acquire significant additional equipment, incur substantial other expenses to comply with environmental regulations, or take other actions. Any failure to comply with regulations governing the use, handling, sale, transport, or disposal of hazardous substances could subject us to future liabilities that may adversely affect our operating results, financial condition, and ability to operate our business.

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

An important element of our management strategy is to review acquisition prospects that would complement our existing products, augment our market coverage and distribution ability, or enhance our technological capabilities. As a result, we may seek to make acquisitions of complementary companies, products, or technologies, or we may reduce or dispose of certain product lines or technologies that no longer fit our long-term strategies. For regulatory or other reasons, we may not be successful in our attempts to acquire or dispose of businesses, products, or technologies, resulting in significant financial costs, reduced or lost opportunities, and diversion of management’s attention. Managing an acquired business, disposing of product technologies, or reducing personnel entails numerous operational and financial risks, including difficulties in assimilating acquired operations and new personnel or separating existing business or product groups, diversion of management’s attention away from other business concerns, amortization of acquired intangible assets, adverse customer reaction to our decision to cease support for a product, and potential loss of key employees or customers of acquired or disposed operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve and manage successfully any such integration of potential acquisitions, disposition of product lines or technologies, or reduction in personnel or that our management, personnel, or systems will be adequate to support continued operations. Any such inabilities or inadequacies could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and/or cash flows.

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

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

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

• general market, semiconductor, or semiconductor equipment industry conditions;

• economic or political events, trends, and unexpected developments occurring nationally, globally, or in any of our key sales regions;

• variations in our quarterly operating results and financial condition, including our liquidity;

• variations in our revenues, earnings, or other business and financial metrics from forecasts by us or securities analysts or from those experienced by other companies in our industry;

• announcements of restructurings, reductions in force, departure of key employees, and/or consolidations of operations;

• government regulations;

• developments in, or claims relating to, patent or other proprietary rights;

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K23

• technological innovations and the introduction of new products by us or our competitors;

• commercial success or failure of our new and existing products;

• disruptions of relationships with key customers or suppliers; or

• dilutive impacts of our Convertible Notes and related warrants.

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

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

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

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

Our success depends in part on our proprietary technology and our ability to protect key components of that technology through patents, copyrights, and trade secret protection. Protecting our key proprietary technology helps us to achieve our goals of developing technological expertise and new products and systems that give us a competitive advantage; increasing market penetration and growth of our installed base; and providing comprehensive support and service to our customers. As part of our strategy to protect our technology, we currently hold a number of U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications, and we keep certain information, processes, and techniques as trade secrets. However, other parties may challenge or attempt to invalidate or circumvent any patents the U.S. or foreign governments issue to us; these governments may fail to issue patents for pending applications; or we may lose trade secret protection over valuable information due to the intentional or unintentional actions or omissions of third parties, of ours, or even of our own employees. Additionally, intellectual property litigation can be expensive and time-consuming and even when patents are issued or trade secret processes are followed, the legal systems in certain of the countries in which we do business do not enforce patents and other intellectual property rights as rigorously as the United States. The rights granted or anticipated under any of our patents, pending patent applications, or trade secrets may be narrower than we expect or, in fact, provide no competitive advantages. Moreover, because we determine the jurisdictions in which to file patents at the time of filing, we may not have adequate protection in the future based on such previous decisions. Any of these circumstances could have a material adverse impact on our business.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K24

We Are Exposed to Various Risks from Our Regulatory Environment

We are subject to various risks related to (1) new, different, inconsistent, or even conflicting laws, rules, and regulations that may be enacted by legislative bodies and/or regulatory agencies in the countries that we operate; (2) disagreements or disputes between national or regional regulatory agencies related to international trade; and (3) the interpretation and application of laws, rules, and regulations. As a public company with global operations, we are subject to the laws of multiple jurisdictions and the rules and regulations of various governing bodies, including those related to financial and other disclosures, corporate governance, privacy, anti-corruption, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials, conflict minerals or other social responsibility legislation, immigration or travel regulations, and antitrust regulations, among others. Each of these laws, rules, and regulations imposes costs on our business, including financial costs and potential diversion of our management’s attention associated with compliance, and may present risks to our business, including potential fines, restrictions on our actions, and reputational damage if we are unable to fully comply.

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

There Can Be No Assurance That We Will Continue to Declare Cash Dividends or Repurchase Our Shares at All or in Any Particular Amounts

Our Board of Directors has declared quarterly dividends since April 2014. Our intent to continue to pay quarterly dividends and to repurchase our shares is subject to capital availability and, in the case of dividends, periodic determinations by our Board of Directors that cash dividends are in the best interest of our stockholders and are in compliance with all laws and agreements applicable to the declaration and payment of cash dividends by us. Future dividends and share repurchases may also be affected by, among other factors, our views on potential future capital requirements for investments in acquisitions and the funding of our research and development; legal risks; changes in federal and state income tax laws or corporate laws; contractual restrictions, such as financial or operating covenants in our debt arrangements; availability of onshore cash flow; and changes to our business model. Our dividend payments and share repurchases may change from time to time, and we cannot provide assurance that we will continue to declare dividends or repurchase shares at all or in any particular amounts. A reduction or suspension in our dividend payments could have a negative effect on the price of our Common Stock.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Our executive offices and principal operating and R&D facilities are located in Fremont and Livermore, California; Tualatin, Oregon; and Villach, Austria. The majority of the Fremont and Livermore facilities are held under operating leases expiring in 2020 and 2021. The Villach facilities are held under capital leases expiring in calendar year 2021. Our Fremont, Livermore, and Villach leases include options to renew or purchase the facilities. In addition, we lease or own properties for our service, technical support, and sales personnel throughout the United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan and lease or own manufacturing facilities located in Ohio, and Korea. The Company owns two properties in Fremont, as well as the Tualatin facilities. Our facilities lease obligations are subject to periodic increases. We believe that our existing facilities are well-maintained and in good operating condition.

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Item 3. Legal Proceedings

While we are not currently party to any legal proceedings that we believe are material, we are either a defendant or plaintiff in various actions that have arisen from time to time in the normal course of business, including intellectual property claims. We accrue for a liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Significant judgment is required in both the determination of probability and the determination as to whether a loss is reasonably estimable. These accruals are reviewed at least quarterly and adjusted to reflect the effects of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other information and events pertaining to a particular matter. To the extent there is a reasonable possibility that the losses could exceed the amounts already accrued, we believe that the amount of any such additional loss would be immaterial to our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II

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

Stock Information

Our Common Stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market^SM under the symbol “LRCX.” As of August 10, 2017, we had 440 stockholders of record. In the second fiscal quarter of 2017 we increased our stockholders quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share; previous to that quarter of fiscal year 2017 and throughout fiscal year 2016, quarterly dividends of $0.30 per share were paid. The table below sets forth the high and low prices of our Common Stock as reported by the Nasdaq Stock Market, for the period indicated:

	2017
	High		Low
First quarter	$	95.77	$	79.15
Second quarter	$	108.60	$	90.56
Third quarter	$	129.35	$	105.30
Fourth quarter	$	167.05	$	124.91
	2016
	High		Low
First quarter	$	84.13	$	61.20
Second quarter	$	80.85	$	61.65
Third quarter	$	81.29	$	63.10
Fourth quarter	$	87.19	$	72.00

Repurchase of Company Shares

In November 2016, the Board of Directors authorized us to repurchase up to $1.0 billion of our Common Stock, which included the remaining value available under our prior authorization. These repurchases can be conducted on the open market or as private purchases and may include the use of derivative contracts with large financial institutions, in all cases subject to compliance with applicable law. Repurchases may be funded using our onshore cash and onshore cash generation, or our available debt instruments. This repurchase program has no termination date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. As part of our share repurchase program, we may from time to time enter into structured share repurchase arrangements with financial institutions using general corporate funds.

On April 19, 2017, we entered into two separate accelerated share repurchase agreements (collectively, the “ASR”) with two financial institutions to repurchase a total of $500 million of our Common Stock. We took an initial delivery of approximately 2,570,000 shares, which represented 70% of the prepayment amount divided by our closing stock price on April 19, 2017. The total number of shares to be received under the ASR is based upon the average daily volume weighted average price of our Common Stock during the repurchase period, less an agreed upon discount. Following our fiscal year end, the counterparties designated June 30, 2017, as the termination date, at which time we settled the ASR. Approximately 780,000 shares were received at final settlement, which represented a weighted-average share price of approximately $149.16 for the transaction period.

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

Period	Total Number of Shares Repurchased (1)	Average Price Paid per Share(2)		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Amount Available Under Repurchase Program
	(in thousands, except per share data)
Available balance as of June 26, 2016					$	229,094
Quarter ended September 25, 2016	20	$	90.53	—	229,094
Board-approved increase (November 2016)					1,000,000
Quarter ended December 25, 2016	735	$	103.43	619	934,986
Quarter ended March 26, 2017	1,826	$	115.12	1,223	795,226
March 27, 2017 - April 23, 2017	2,682	$	128.27	2,672	282,141
April 24, 2017 - May 21, 2017	5	$	150.58	—	282,141
May 22, 2017 - June 25, 2017	55	$	154.92	—	282,141
Total	5,323	$	137.39	4,514	$	282,141

 __________________________________ 

(1) In addition to shares repurchased under the Board-authorized repurchase program, the Company acquired 809,427 shares at a total cost of $93.8 million which we withheld through net share settlements to cover minimum tax withholding obligations upon the vesting of restricted stock unit awards granted under our equity compensation plans. The shares retained through these net share settlements are not a part of the Board-authorized repurchase program, but instead are authorized under our equity compensation plans.

(2) Average price paid per share excludes effect of accelerated share repurchases, see additional disclosure above regarding our accelerated share repurchase activity during the fiscal year.

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Cumulative Five-Year Return

The graph below compares Lam Research Corporation’s cumulative five-year total shareholder return on Common Stock with the cumulative total returns of the Nasdaq Composite index, the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 index, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector Index. The graph tracks the performance of a $100 investment in our Common Stock and in each of the indices (with the reinvestment of all dividends) from June 30, 2012, to June 30, 2017.

COMPARISON OF FIVE-YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
	Among Lam Research Corporation, the Nasdaq Composite Index, the S&P 500 Index, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index

*$100 invested on 6/30/2012 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends. Fiscal years ending June 30.

Copyright© 2017 Standard & Poor’s, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved.

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	6/12	6/13	6/14	6/15	6/16	6/17
Lam Research Corporation	100.00	117.49	179.56	218.44	229.31	391.30
Nasdaq Composite Index	100.00	117.69	155.50	177.19	173.36	221.11
S&P 500 Index	100.00	120.60	150.27	161.43	167.87	197.92
Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector Index	100.00	116.96	156.62	161.36	173.61	241.00

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017		June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015			June 29, 2014			June 30, 2013
	(in thousands, except per share data)
OPERATIONS:
Revenue	$	8,013,620	$	5,885,893		$	5,259,312		$	4,607,309		$	3,598,916
Gross margin	3,603,359		2,618,922			2,284,336			2,007,481			1,403,059
Goodwill impairment (1)	—		—			79,444			—			—
Restructuring charges, net	—		—			—			—			1,813
Operating income	1,902,132		1,074,256			788,039			677,669			118,071
Net income	1,697,763		914,049			655,577			632,289			113,879
Net income per share:
Basic	$	10.47	$	5.75		$	4.11		$	3.84		$	0.67
Diluted	$	9.24	$	5.22		$	3.70		$	3.62		$	0.66
Cash dividends declared per common share	$	1.65	$	1.20		$	0.84		$	0.18		$	—
BALANCE SHEET:
Working capital	$	6,192,383	$	6,795,109		$	3,639,488		$	3,201,661		$	2,389,354
Total assets	12,122,765		12,264,315		(2)	9,358,904		(2)	7,986,998		(2)	7,241,645		(2)
Long-term obligations, less current portion	2,185,338		3,744,205		(2)	1,386,536		(2)	1,191,913		(2)	1,161,378		(2)
Current portion of long-term debt and capital leases	908,439		947,733		(2)	1,355,705		(2)	518,267			514,655

 __________________________________

(1) Goodwill impairment analysis during fiscal year 2015 resulted in a non-cash impairment charge to our Single-Wafer Clean reporting unit, extinguishing the goodwill ascribed to the reporting unit.

(2) Adjusted for effects of retrospective implementation of ASU 2015-3, see Notes 3 and 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Part II, Item 8.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K30

	Three Months Ended (1)
	June 25, 2017		March 26, 2017		December 25, 2016		September 25, 2016
	unaudited (in thousands, except per share data)
QUARTERLY FISCAL YEAR 2017:
Revenue	$	2,344,907	$	2,153,995	$	1,882,299	$	1,632,419
Gross margin	1,068,961		971,404		846,797		716,197
Operating income	607,939		538,418		439,828		315,947
Net income	526,424		574,713		332,791		263,835
Net income per share
Basic	$	3.25	$	3.52	$	2.05	$	1.64
Diluted	$	2.82	$	3.10	$	1.81	$	1.47
Number of shares used in per share calculations:
Basic	162,213		163,408		162,659		160,607
Diluted	186,427		185,094		183,543		180,017

	Three Months Ended (1)
	June 26, 2016		March 27, 2016		December 27, 2015		September 27, 2015
	unaudited (in thousands, except per share data)
QUARTERLY FISCAL YEAR 2016:
Revenue	$	1,546,261	$	1,314,055	$	1,425,534	$	1,600,043
Gross margin	698,784		571,265		626,510		722,363
Operating income	309,241		190,753		238,834		335,428
Net income	258,939		143,451		222,980		288,679
Net income per share
Basic	$	1.62	$	0.90	$	1.41	$	1.82
Diluted	$	1.46	$	0.82	$	1.28	$	1.66
Number of shares used in per share calculations:
Basic	159,862		159,039		158,424		158,352
Diluted	177,649		174,373		174,242		174,374

  __________________________________

(1) Our reporting period is a 52/53-week fiscal year. The fiscal years ended June 25, 2017, and June 26, 2016, included 52 weeks. All quarters presented above included 13 weeks.

Item 7. 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, which are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in condition, significance, value, and effect. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to those discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this 2017 Form 10-K and other documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in Part I of this 2017 Form 10-K.)

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) provides a description of our results of operations and should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this 2017 Form 10-K. MD&A consists of the following sections:

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

Results of Operations provides an analysis of operating results.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K31

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates discusses accounting policies that reflect the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.

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

Executive Summary

Lam Research has been an innovative supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry for more than 35 years. Our vision is to realize full value from natural technology extensions of our company. Our customer base includes leading semiconductor memory, foundry, and IDMs that make products such as NVM, DRAM memory, and logic devices. We aim to increase our strategic relevance with our customers by contributing more to their continued success. Our core technical competency is integrating hardware, process, materials, software, and process control enabling results on the wafer.

Our products and services are designed to help our customers build smaller, faster, and better performing devices that are used in a variety of electronic products, including mobile phones, personal computers, servers, wearables, automotive devices, storage devices, and networking equipment.

Semiconductor manufacturing, our customers’ business, involves the complete fabrication of multiple dies or integrated circuits on a wafer. This involves the repetition of a set of core processes and can require hundreds of individual steps. Fabricating these devices requires highly sophisticated process technologies to integrate an increasing array of new materials with precise control at the atomic scale. Along with meeting technical requirements, wafer processing equipment must deliver high productivity and be cost-effective.

Demand from the Cloud, IoT, and other markets is driving the need for increasingly powerful and cost-efficient semiconductors. At the same time, there are growing technical challenges with traditional two-dimensional scaling. These trends are driving significant inflections in semiconductor manufacturing, such as the increasing importance of vertical scaling strategies like 3D architectures as well as multiple patterning to enable shrinks.

We believe we are in an strong position with our leadership and competency in deposition, etch, and single-wafer clean to facilitate some of the most significant innovations in semiconductor device manufacturing. Several factors create opportunity for sustainable differentiation for us: our focus on research and development, with a breadth of programs across sustaining engineering, product and process development, and concept and feasibility; our ability to effectively leverage cycles of learning from our broad installed base; and our collaborative focus with ecosystem partners.

During the most recent fiscal year, demand for our products improved as semiconductor device manufacturers, particularly non volatile memory and foundry customers, made capacity and technology investments. Technology inflections in our industry, including NVM, multiple patterning, FinFET and advanced packaging have led to an increase in our served addressable market for our products in deposition, etch, single-wafer clean and customer service business. We believe that demand for our products and services should increase faster than overall spending on wafer fabrication equipment, as the proportion of customers’ capital expenditures rises in these technology inflection areas, and we continue to gain market share.

In October 2015, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization with KLA-Tencor. On October 5, 2016, we announced that the parties mutually agreed to terminate that agreement.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K32

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

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017			June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015			FY17 vs. FY16					FY16 vs. FY15
	(in thousands, except per share data and percentages)
Revenue	$	8,013,620		$	5,885,893		$	5,259,312		$	2,127,727		36.1	%	$	626,581		11.9	%
Gross margin	$	3,603,359		$	2,618,922		$	2,284,336		$	984,437		37.6	%	$	334,586		14.6	%
Gross margin as a percent of total revenue	45.0		%	44.5		%	43.4		%	0.5		%			1.1		%
Total operating expenses	$	1,701,227		$	1,544,666		$	1,496,297		$	156,561		10.1	%	$	48,369		3.2	%
Net income	$	1,697,763		$	914,049		$	655,577		$	783,714		85.7	%	$	258,472		39.4	%
Net income per diluted share	$	9.24		$	5.22		$	3.70		$	4.02		77.0	%	$	1.52		41.1	%

Revenues in fiscal year 2017 increased 36% compared to fiscal year 2016, and revenues in fiscal year 2016 increased 12% compared to fiscal year 2015, reflecting a continuous increase in technology and capacity investments by our customers.

The increase in gross margin as a percentage of revenue for fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal year 2016 was primarily due to higher revenue and improved factory utilization resulting from higher production volume.

Fiscal year 2016 gross margin as a percentage of revenue compared to fiscal year 2015 improved primarily due to a more favorable customer and product mix.

Operating expenses in fiscal year 2017 increased as compared to fiscal year 2016 primarily as a result of continued investments in research and development including the effect of increased employee headcount, partially offset by a decrease in acquisition-related costs associated with the terminated agreement with KLA-Tencor.

Operating expenses in fiscal year 2016 increased as compared to fiscal year 2015 primarily as a result of continued investments in research and development and increased employee headcount. Fiscal year 2016 also included $51 million of acquisition-related costs associated with the terminated agreement with KLA-Tencor.

Our cash and cash equivalents, investments, and restricted cash and investments balances totaled approximately $6.3 billion as of June 25, 2017, compared to $7.1 billion as of June 26, 2016. Cash flow provided from operating activities was $2.0 billion for fiscal year 2017 compared to $1.4 billion for fiscal year 2016. Cash flow provided from operating activities in fiscal 2017 was primarily used for $1.7 billion of principal payments on debt instruments, $812 million in treasury stock purchases, $243 million in dividends paid to our stockholders, and $157 million of capital expenditures and are partially offset by $73 million of treasury stock reissuance and Common Stock issuance resulting from our employee equity-based compensation programs.

Results of Operations

Shipments and Backlog

Shipments for fiscal year 2017 were approximately $8.6 billion, an increase of 46% compared to fiscal year 2016.Shipments for fiscal year 2016 were approximately $5.9 billion, an increase of 8% compared to fiscal year 2015. The increase in shipments during the fiscal year 2017 as compared to the last two fiscal years is related to continued strengthening of customer demand for semiconductor equipment.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K33

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017			June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015
Shipments (in millions)	$	8,586		$	5,901		$	5,472
Korea	32		%	17		%	26		%
Taiwan	24		%	25		%	22		%
Japan	15		%	16		%	14		%
China	13		%	20		%	12		%
United States	8		%	8		%	15		%
Southeast Asia	4		%	11		%	5		%
Europe	4		%	3		%	6		%

The percentage of total Lam semiconductor processing system shipments to each of the markets we serve were as follows for fiscal years 2017, 2016, and 2015.

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017		June 26, 2016		June 28, 2015
Memory	67	%	68	%	58	%
Foundry	27	%	23	%	30	%
Logic/integrated device manufacturing	6	%	9	%	12	%

Our shipments to memory customers during fiscal year 2017 was largely unchanged compared to fiscal year 2016. Foundry spending increased due to higher investments at leading-edge process nodes.

Unshipped orders in backlog as of June 25, 2017, were approximately $2.1 billion, an increase from approximately $1.4 billion as of June 26, 2016. Our unshipped orders backlog includes orders for systems, spares, and services. Please refer to “Backlog” in Part I Item 1, “Business” of this report for a description of our policies for adding to and adjusting backlog.

Revenue

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017			June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015
Revenue (in millions)	$	8,014		$	5,886		$	5,259
Korea	31		%	18		%	27		%
Taiwan	26		%	25		%	21		%
Japan	13		%	17		%	12		%
China	13		%	18		%	12		%
United States	8		%	8		%	17		%
Southeast Asia	5		%	10		%	5		%
Europe	4		%	4		%	6		%

The revenue increases in fiscal year 2017 compared to the last two fiscal years and in fiscal year 2016 compared to fiscal year 2015, reflect an increase in technology and capacity investments by our customers. Our revenue levels are generally correlated to the amount of shipments and our installation and acceptance timelines. The overall Asia region continues to account for a majority of our revenues as a substantial amount of the worldwide capacity additions for semiconductor manufacturing continues to occur in this region. Our deferred revenue balance was $966 million as of June 25, 2017, compared to $566 million as of June 26, 2016. Our deferred revenue balance does not include shipments to Japanese customers, to whom title does not transfer until customer acceptance. Shipments to Japanese customers are classified as inventory at cost until the time of customer acceptance. The anticipated future revenue value from shipments to Japanese customers was approximately $397 million as of June 25, 2017, compared to $132 million as of June 26, 2016.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K34

Gross Margin

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017			June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015			FY17 vs. FY16					FY16 vs. FY15
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Gross margin	$	3,603,359		$	2,618,922		$	2,284,336		$	984,437		37.6	%	$	334,586		14.6	%
Percent of total revenue	45.0		%	44.5		%	43.4		%	0.5		%			1.1		%

The increase in gross margin as a percentage of revenue for fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal year 2016 was primarily due to higher revenue and improved factory utilization resulting from higher production volume.

The increase in gross margin as a percentage of revenue for fiscal year 2016 compared to fiscal year 2015 was due to a more favorable customer mix and product mix. Additionally, there was a $10 million impairment charge of a long-lived asset in fiscal year 2015.

Research and Development

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017			June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015			FY17 vs. FY16					FY16 vs. FY15
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Research & development	$	1,033,742		$	913,712		$	825,242		$	120,030		13.1	%	$	88,470		10.7	%
Percent of total revenue	12.9		%	15.5		%	15.7		%	(2.6		)%			(0.2		)%

We continued to make significant R&D investments focused on leading-edge deposition, plasma etch, single wafer clean, and other semiconductor manufacturing requirements. The increase in R&D expense during fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal year 2016 was primarily due to an $80 million increase in employee compensation and benefits related to increased headcount, a $20 million increase in depreciation and lab maintenance, a $9 million increase in outside services, and a $7 million increase in supplies.

The increase in R&D expense during fiscal year 2016 compared to fiscal year 2015 was primarily due to a $36 million increase in employee compensation and benefits related to increased headcount, a $14 million increase in facility and information technology related spending, a $14 million increase in supplies, a $12 million increase in depreciation and lab maintenance, and an $8 million increase in costs associated with campus consolidation.

Selling, General, and Administrative

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017			June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015			FY17 vs. FY16					FY16 vs. FY15
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Selling, general, and administrative	$	667,485		$	630,954		$	591,611		$	36,531		5.8	%	$	39,343		6.7	%
Percent of total revenue	8.3		%	10.7		%	11.2		%	(2.4		)%			(0.5		)%

The increase in selling, general, and administrative (“SG&A”) expense during fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal year 2016 was primarily due to a $36 million increase in employee compensation and benefits from increased headcount, a $15 million gain from sale of assets in fiscal year 2016, and a $14 million increase in outside services, offset by a $41 million decrease in acquisition-related costs associated with the terminated agreement with KLA-Tencor.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K35

The increase in SG&A expense during fiscal year 2016 compared to fiscal year 2015 was primarily due to $51 million of KLA-Tencor acquisition-related costs and a $3 million increase in restructuring charges. This increase was offset by a $15 million gain on sale of assets, net of associated exit costs.

Goodwill Impairment

Our annual goodwill impairment analysis for fiscal year 2015 resulted in a non-cash impairment charge upon our Single-Wafer Clean reporting unit of $79 million, extinguishing the goodwill ascribed to the reporting unit. Uncertainty surrounding future revenue growth in certain products resulted in the estimated discounted cash flow falling below the carrying value of the goodwill balance. There were no impairment charges in fiscal year 2017 or 2016.

Other Expense, Net

Other expense, net, consisted of the following:

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017			June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015			FY17 vs. FY16					FY16 vs. FY15
	(in thousands)
Interest income	$	57,858		$	29,512		$	19,268		$	28,346		96.0	%	$	10,244		53.2	%
Interest expense	(117,734		)	(134,773		)	(73,682		)	$	17,039		(12.7	)%	$	(61,091	)	82.9	%
Gains (losses) on deferred compensation plan related assets, net	17,880			(3,995		)	9,071			$	21,875		(547.6	)%	$	(13,066	)	(144.0	)%
Loss on extinguishment of debt, net	(36,252		)	—			—			$	(36,252	)	(100.0	)%	$	—		—	%
Foreign exchange (losses) gains, net	(569		)	308			2,331			$	(877	)	(284.7	)%	$	(2,023	)	(86.8	)%
Other, net	(11,642		)	(5,191		)	(4,177		)	$	(6,451	)	125.7	%	$	(1,014	)	24.3	%
	$	(90,459	)	$	(114,139	)	$	(47,189	)	$	23,680		(20.7	)%	$	(66,950	)	141.9	%

Interest income increased in fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal years 2016 and 2015 primarily as a result of higher average cash and investment balances, as well as higher yield.

The decrease in interest expense during fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal year 2016 was primarily due to the retirement of the 2016 Convertible Note. The increase in interest expense during fiscal year 2016 compared to fiscal year 2015 was primarily due to the $1.0 billion Senior Note issuance in March 2015, combined with the note issuance cost amortization related to the October 2015 bridge financing arrangement.

The gain on deferred compensation plan related assets, in fiscal year 2017, compared to a loss in fiscal year 2016 and gain in fiscal year 2015 was driven by a rally in the fair market value of the underlying funds at year end.

Loss on extinguishment of debt during fiscal year 2017 related to the special mandatory redemption of our 2023 and 2026 Notes, as well as the termination of the Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement following the termination of the Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization with KLA-Tencor.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K36

Income Tax Expense

	Year Ended
	June 25, 2017			June 26, 2016			June 28, 2015			FY17 vs. FY16				FY16 vs. FY15
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Income tax expense	$	113,910		$	46,068		$	85,273		$	67,842	147.3	%	$	(39,205	)	(46.0	)%
Effective tax rate	6.3		%	4.8		%	11.5		%			1.5	%				(6.7	)%

The increase in the effective tax rate in fiscal year 2017 as compared to fiscal year 2016 was primarily due to the change in the mix of income offset by the recognition of previously unrecognized tax benefits.

The decrease in the effective tax rate in fiscal year 2016 as compared to fiscal year 2015 was primarily due to the tax benefit of the Altera court ruling (discussed in more detail below), higher income in lower tax jurisdictions, and an increased federal tax benefit due to a retroactive and permanent extension of federal research and development tax credit in fiscal year 2016.

In July 2015, the U.S. Tax Court (the “Court”) issued an opinion favorable to Altera Corporation (“Altera”) with respect to Altera’s litigation with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The litigation relates to the treatment of stock-based compensation expense in an intercompany cost-sharing arrangement with Altera’s foreign subsidiary. In its opinion, the Court accepted Altera’s position of excluding stock-based compensation from its intercompany cost-sharing arrangement. However, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has not withdrawn the requirement to include stock-based compensation from its regulations. We have evaluated the opinion and as a result of such evaluation have recorded a tax benefit of $88 million related to reimbursement of cost share payments for the previously shared stock-based compensation costs. We have also recorded a tax benefit of $11 million related to stock-based compensation expense. In addition, we have recorded a tax liability of $74 million for the U.S. tax cost of potential repatriation of the associated contingent foreign earnings because at this time we cannot reasonably conclude that we have the ability and the intent to indefinitely reinvest these contingent earnings. We will continue to monitor this matter and related potential impacts to our consolidated financial statements.

International revenues account for a significant portion of our total revenues, such that a material portion of our pre-tax income is earned and taxed outside the United States at rates that are generally lower than in the United States. Please refer to Note 6 of our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Deferred Income Taxes

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes, as well as the tax effect of carryforwards. Our gross deferred tax assets were $546 million and $465 million at the end of fiscal years 2017 and 2016, respectively. These gross deferred tax assets were offset by gross deferred tax liabilities of $585 million and $429 million at the end of fiscal years 2017 and 2016, respectively, and a valuation allowance of $114 million and $102 million at the end of fiscal years 2017 and 2016, respectively. The change in the gross deferred tax assets, gross deferred tax liabilities, and valuation allowance between fiscal year 2017 and 2016 is primarily due to an increase related to allowances and reserves and an increase in deferred tax liabilities related to an accrual for future tax liabilities due to the expected repatriation of foreign earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries.

As of our fiscal year end of June 25, 2017, we continue to record a valuation allowance to offset the entire California deferred tax asset balance due to the single sales factor apportionment election resulting in lower taxable income in California. We also recorded a valuation allowance on certain state tax credits and continue to record valuation allowances on certain foreign entities’ net operating losses. The valuation allowances were $114 million and $102 million at the end of fiscal years 2017 and 2016, respectively.

We evaluate if the deferred tax assets are realizable on a quarterly basis and will continue to assess the need for changes in valuation allowances, if any.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K37

Uncertain Tax Positions

We re-evaluate uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis. This evaluation is based on factors including, but not limited to, changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law, and effectively settled issues under audit. Such a change in recognition or measurement would result in the recognition of a tax benefit or an additional charge to the tax provision.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

A critical accounting policy is defined as one that has both a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations and requires us to make difficult, complex and/or subjective judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make certain judgments, estimates and assumptions that could affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. We base our estimates and assumptions on historical experience and on various other assumptions we believe to be applicable and evaluate them on an ongoing basis to ensure they remain reasonable under current conditions. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates, which could have a material impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Our critical accounting estimates include:

• the recognition and valuation of revenue from multiple-element arrangements, which impacts revenue;

• the valuation of inventory, which impacts gross margin;

• the valuation of warranty reserves, which impacts gross margin;

• the valuation of equity-based compensation expense, including forfeiture estimates, which impacts both gross margin and operating expenses;

• the recognition and measurement of current and deferred income taxes, including the measurement of uncertain tax positions, which impact our provision for income tax expenses; and

• the valuation and recoverability of long-lived assets, which impacts gross margin and operating expenses when we record asset impairments or accelerate their depreciation or amortization.

We believe that the following critical accounting policies reflect the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements regarding the critical accounting estimates indicated above. See Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” of our Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding our accounting policies.

Revenue Recognition: We recognize revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred and title has passed or services have been rendered, the selling price is fixed or determinable, collection of the receivable is reasonably assured, and we have received customer acceptance or are otherwise released from our customer acceptance obligations. If terms of the sale provide for a lapsing customer acceptance period, we recognize revenue upon the expiration of the lapsing acceptance period or customer acceptance, whichever occurs first. If the practices of a customer do not provide for a written acceptance or the terms of sale do not include a lapsing acceptance provision, we recognize revenue when it can be reliably demonstrated that the delivered system meets all of the agreed-to customer specifications. In situations with multiple deliverables, we recognize revenue upon the delivery of the separate elements to the customer and when we receive customer acceptance or are otherwise released from our customer acceptance obligations. We allocate revenue from multiple-element arrangements among the separate elements using their relative selling prices, based on our best estimate of selling price. Our sales arrangements do not include a general right of return. The maximum revenue recognized on a delivered element is limited to the amount that is not contingent upon the delivery of additional items. We generally recognize revenue related to sales of spare parts and system upgrade kits upon shipment. We generally recognize revenue related to services upon completion of the services requested by a customer order. We recognize revenue for extended maintenance service contracts with a fixed payment amount on a straight-line basis over the term of the contract. When goods or services have been delivered to the customer, but all conditions for revenue recognition have not been met, deferred revenue and deferred costs are recorded in deferred profit on our Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Inventory Valuation: Our policy is to assess the valuation of all inventories including manufacturing raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, and spare parts in each reporting period. Obsolete inventory or inventory in excess of management’s estimated usage requirement is written down to its estimated market value if less than

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K38

cost. Estimates of market value include but are not limited to management’s forecasts related to our future manufacturing schedules, customer demand, technological and/or market obsolescence, general semiconductor market conditions, and possible alternative uses. If future customer demand or market conditions are less favorable than our projections, additional inventory write-downs may be required and would be reflected in cost of goods sold in the period in which we make the revision.

Warranty: We record a provision for estimated warranty expenses to cost of sales for each system when we recognize revenue. We periodically monitor the performance and cost of warranty activities, if actual costs incurred are different than our estimates, we may recognize adjustments to provisions in the period in which those differences arise or are identified. We do not maintain general or unspecified reserves; all warranty reserves are related to specific systems.

Equity-based Compensation: Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) and Employee Stock Plans: We determine the fair value of our restricted stock units (“RSUs”), excluding market-based performance RSUs, based upon the fair market value of our Common Stock at the date of grant, discounted for dividends. We estimate the fair value of our market-based performance RSUs using a Monte Carlo simulation model at the date of the grant. We estimate the fair value of our stock options and ESPP awards using a Black-Scholes option valuation model. This model requires the input of highly subjective assumptions, including expected stock price volatility and the estimated life of each award. We amortize the fair value of equity-based awards over the vesting periods of the award and we have elected to use the straight-line method of amortization. We estimate expected equity award forfeitures based on historical forfeiture rate activity and expected future employee turnover. We recognize the effect of adjustments made to the forfeiture rate, if any in the period that we change the forfeiture estimate.

Income Taxes: Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the carrying amount of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes, as well as the tax effect of carryforwards. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. Realization of our net deferred tax assets is dependent on future taxable income. We believe it is more likely than not that such assets will be realized; however, ultimate realization could be negatively impacted by market conditions and other variables not known or anticipated at this time. In the event that we determine that we would not be able to realize all or part of our net deferred tax assets, an adjustment would be charged to earnings in the period such determination is made. Likewise, if we later determine that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets would be realized, then the previously provided valuation allowance would be reversed.

We recognize the benefit from a tax position only if it is more likely than not that the position would be sustained upon audit based solely on the technical merits of the tax position. Our policy is to include interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense.

Long-lived assets: We review goodwill at least annually for impairment. If certain events or indicators of impairment occur between annual impairment tests, we will perform an impairment test at that date. In testing for a potential impairment of goodwill, we: (1) allocate goodwill to the reporting units to which the acquired goodwill relates; (2) estimate the fair value of our reporting units; and (3) determine the carrying value (book value) of those reporting units. Prior to this allocation of the assets to the reporting units, we assess long-lived assets for impairment. Furthermore, if the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying value, we must estimate the fair value of all identifiable assets and liabilities of that reporting unit, in a manner similar to a purchase price allocation for an acquired business. This can require independent valuations of certain internally generated and unrecognized intangible assets such as in-process R&D and developed technology. Only after this process is completed can the amount of goodwill impairment, if any, be determined. In our goodwill impairment process we first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative analysis. We do not calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless we determine, based on a qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that the reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount.

The process of evaluating the potential impairment of goodwill is subjective and requires significant judgment at many points during the analysis. We determine the fair value of our reporting units by using an income approach. Under the income approach, we determine fair value based on estimated future cash flows of each reporting unit,

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K39

discounted by an estimated weighted-average cost of capital, which reflects the overall level of inherent risk of a reporting unit and the rate of return an outside investor would expect to earn.

In estimating the fair value of a reporting unit, we make estimates and judgments about the future cash flows of our reporting units, including estimated growth rates and assumptions about the economic environment. Although our cash flow forecasts are based on assumptions that are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage the underlying businesses, there is significant judgment involved in determining the cash flows attributable to a reporting unit. In addition, we make certain judgments about allocating shared assets to the estimated balance sheets of our reporting units. Changes in judgment on these assumptions and estimates could result in a goodwill impairment charge.

As a result, several factors could result in an impairment of a material amount of our goodwill balance in future periods, including but not limited to: (1) weakening of the global economy, weakness in the semiconductor equipment industry, or our failure to reach internal forecasts, which could impact our ability to achieve our forecasted levels of cash flows and reduce the estimated discounted cash flow value of our reporting units; and (2) a decline in our Common Stock price and resulting market capitalization, to the extent we determine that the decline is sustained and indicates a reduction in the fair value of our reporting units below their carrying value. Further, the value assigned to intangible assets, other than goodwill, is based on estimates and judgments regarding expectations such as the success and lifecycle of products and technology acquired. If actual product acceptance differs significantly from the estimates, we may be required to record an impairment charge to write down the asset to its realizable value.

For other long-lived assets, we routinely consider whether indicators of impairment are present. If such indicators are present, we determine whether the sum of the estimated undiscounted cash flows attributable to the assets is less than their carrying value. If the sum is less, we recognize an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying amount of the assets over their respective fair values. Fair value is determined by discounted future cash flows, appraisals or other methods. We recognize an impairment charge to the extent the present value of anticipated net cash flows attributable to the asset are less than the asset’s carrying value. The fair value of the asset then becomes the asset’s new carrying value, which we depreciate over the remaining estimated useful life of the asset. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

For a description of recent accounting pronouncements, including the expected dates of adoption and estimated effects, if any, on our consolidated financial statements, see Note 3, “Recent Accounting Pronouncements,” of our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 8 of this report.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Total gross cash, cash equivalents, investments, and restricted cash and investments balances were $6.3 billion at the end of fiscal year 2017 compared to $7.1 billion at the end of fiscal year 2016. This decrease was primarily due to the redemption of our Senior Notes with contractual maturities in 2023 and 2026. Approximately $4.8billion and $3.1 billion of our total cash and investments as June 25, 2017, and June 26, 2016, respectively, was held outside the United States in our foreign subsidiaries, the majority of which is held in U.S. dollars, and substantially all of which would be subject to tax at U.S. rates if it were to be repatriated. Refer to Note 6 of our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 8 of this report, for information concerning the potential tax impact of repatriating earnings of certain non-U.S. subsidiaries that are permanently reinvested outside the United States.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K40

Cash Flow from Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities of $2.0 billion during fiscal year 2017 consisted of (in millions):

Net income	$	1,698
Non-cash charges:
Depreciation and amortization	307
Equity-based compensation expense	150
Deferred income taxes	105
Loss on extinguishment of debt, net	36
Amortization of note discounts and issuance costs	25
Changes in operating asset and liability accounts	(311		)
Other	19
	$	2,029

Significant changes in operating asset and liability accounts, net of foreign exchange impact, included the following uses of cash: increases in accounts receivable of $411 million, inventories of $308 million, and prepaid expenses and other assets of $27 million, partially offset by the following sources of cash: increases in accounts payable of $127 million, deferred profit of $258 million, and accrued expenses and other liabilities of $50 million.

Cash Flow from Investing Activities

Net cash used for investing activities during fiscal year 2017 was $2.1 billion, primarily consisting of net purchases of available-for-sale securities of $1.9 billion, and capital expenditures of $157 million.

Cash Flow from Financing Activities

Net cash used by financing activities during fiscal year 2017 was $2.6 billion, primarily consisting of $1.7 billion of cash paid for debt extinguishment, $812 million in treasury stock repurchases, and $243 million of dividends paid, partially offset by $73 million of stock issuance and treasury stock reissuances associated with our employee stock-based compensation plans.

Liquidity

Given that the semiconductor industry is highly competitive and has historically experienced rapid changes in demand, we believe that maintaining sufficient liquidity reserves is important to support sustaining levels of investment in R&D and capital infrastructure. Anticipated cash flows from operations based on our current business outlook, combined with our current levels of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments as of June 25, 2017, are expected to be sufficient to support our anticipated levels of operations, investments, debt service requirements, capital expenditures, capital redistributions, and dividends through at least the next 12 months. However, uncertainty in the global economy and the semiconductor industry, as well as disruptions in credit markets, have in the past, and could in the future, impact customer demand for our products, as well as our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with our customers, suppliers, and creditors.

In the longer term, liquidity will depend to a great extent on our future revenues and our ability to appropriately manage our costs based on demand for our products and services. While we have substantial cash balances in

the United States and offshore, we may require additional funding and need or choose to raise the required funds through borrowings or public or private sales of debt or equity securities. We believe that, if necessary, we will be able to access the capital markets on terms and in amounts adequate to meet our objectives. However, given the possibility of changes in market conditions or other occurrences, there can be no certainty that such funding will be available in needed quantities or on terms favorable to us.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K41

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Contractual Obligations

We have certain obligations to make future payments under various contracts, some of which are recorded on our balance sheet and some of which are not. Obligations that are recorded on our balance sheet in accordance with GAAP include our long-term debt which is outlined in the following table. Our off-balance sheet arrangements are presented as operating leases and purchase obligations in the table. Our contractual obligations and commitments as of June 25, 2017, relating to these agreements and our guarantees are included in the following table based on their contractual maturity date. The amounts in the table below exclude $120 million of liabilities related to uncertain tax benefits as we are unable to reasonably estimate the ultimate amount or time of settlement. See Note 6 of our Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion. The amounts in the table below also exclude $19 million associated with funding commitments related to non-marketable equity investments as we are unable to make a reasonable estimate regarding the timing of capital calls.

	Total		Less than 1 Year		1-3 Years		3-5 Years		More than 5 years
	(in thousands)
Operating leases	$	156,845	$	50,798	$	60,453	$	19,639	$	25,955
Capital leases	7,201		744		1,457		5,000		—
Purchase obligations	284,804		274,574		6,942		3,061		227
Long-term debt and interest expense (1)	3,518,070		523,401		634,822		888,114		1,471,733
Other long-term liabilities (2)	280,186		3,487		2,728		10,246		263,725
Total	$	4,247,106	$	853,004	$	706,402	$	926,060	$	1,761,640

  __________________________________

(1) The conversion period for the Convertible Notes was open as of June 25, 2017, and as such the net carrying value of the Convertible Notes is included within current liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. The principal balances of the Convertible Notes are reflected in the payment period in the table above based on the contractual maturity assuming no conversion. See Note 13 of our Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information concerning the Convertible Notes and associated conversion features.

(2) Certain tax-related liabilities and post-retirement benefits classified as other non-current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet are included in the “more than five years” category due to the uncertainty in the timing and amount of future payments. Additionally, the balance excludes contractual obligations recorded in our consolidated balance sheet as current liabilities.

Operating Leases

We lease most of our administrative, R&D, and manufacturing facilities; regional sales/service offices; and certain equipment under non-cancelable operating leases. Certain of our facility leases for buildings located in Fremont and Livermore, California, and certain other facility leases provide us with an option to extend the leases for additional periods or to purchase the facilities. Certain of our facility leases provide for periodic rent increases based on the general rate of inflation. In addition to amounts included in the table above, we have guaranteed residual values for certain of our Fremont and Livermore facility leases of up to $250 million. See Note 15 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion.

Capital Leases

Capital leases reflect building and office equipment lease obligations. The amounts in the table above include the interest portion of payment obligations.

Purchase Obligations

Purchase obligations consist of significant contractual obligations either on an annual basis or over multi-year periods related to our outsourcing activities or other material commitments, including vendor-consigned inventories. The contractual cash obligations and commitments table presented above contains our minimum obligations at June 25, 2017, under these arrangements and others. For obligations with cancellation provisions, the amounts included in the preceding table were limited to the non-cancelable portion of the agreement terms or the minimum cancellation fee. Actual expenditures will vary based on the volume of transactions and length of contractual service provided.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K42

Long-Term Debt

In May 2011, we issued and sold $450.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due May 2018 (the “2018 Notes”) at par. We pay cash interest on the 2018 Notes at an annual rate of 1.25%, on a semi-annual basis. Concurrently with the issuance of the 2018 Notes, we purchased convertible note hedges and sold warrants, which were structured to reduce the potential future economic dilution associated with the conversion of the 2018 Notes.

The 2018 Notes may be converted into our Common Stock, under certain circumstances, based on a conversion rate of 16.5702 shares of our Common Stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes, which is equal to a conversion price of approximately $60.35 per share of our Common Stock. The conversion price will be subject to adjustment for certain corporate events, including dividends on our Common Stock.

In June 2012, with the acquisition of Novellus, we assumed $700 million in aggregate principal amount of 2.625% Convertible Senior Notes due May 2041 (the “2041 Notes”). We pay cash interest on the 2041 Notes at an annual rate of 2.625%, on a semi-annual basis. The 2041 Notes may be converted, under certain circumstances, into our Common Stock based on a conversion rate of 29.7371 shares of Common Stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, which represents a conversion price of approximately $33.63 per share of Common Stock. The conversion price will be subject to adjustment for certain events, including dividends on our Common Stock.

During the quarter-ended June 25, 2017, the market value of our Common Stock was greater than or equal to130% of the 2018 Notes and 2041 Notes conversion prices for 20 or more trading days of the 30 consecutive trading days preceding the quarter end. As a result, the 2018 Notes and the 2041 Notes are convertible at the option of the holder and are classified as current liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets for fiscal year 2017.

On March 12, 2015, we completed a public offering of $500 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due March 15, 2020 (the “2020 Notes”) and $500 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due March 15, 2025 (the “2025 Notes”). We pay interest at an annual rate of 2.75% and 3.80%, respectively, on the 2020 Notes and 2025 Notes, on a semi-annual basis on March 15 and September 15 of each year.

We may redeem the 2020 Notes and 2025 Notes at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of such series (“par”), plus a “make whole” premium as described in the indenture in respect to the 2020 Notes and 2025 Notes and accrued and unpaid interest before February 15, 2020, for the 2020 Notes and before December 15, 2024, for the 2025 Notes. We may redeem the 2020 Notes and 2025 Notes at par, plus accrued and unpaid interest, at any time on or after February 15, 2020, for the 2020 Notes and on or after December 24, 2024, for the 2025 Notes. In addition, upon the occurrence of certain events, as described in the indenture, we will be required to make an offer to repurchase the 2020 Notes and 2025 Notes at a price equal to 101% of the principal amount of the respective note, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

On June 7, 2016, we completed a public offering of $800.0 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due June 15, 2021, (the “2021 Notes”), $600.0 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due June 15, 2023 (the “2023 Notes”) and $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due June 15, 2026 (the “2026 Notes”, together with the 2020 Notes, and 2021 Notes, the “Senior Notes”, and collectively with the Convertible Notes, the “Notes”). We pay interest at an annual rate of 2.80% on the 2021 Notes on a semi-annual basis on June 15 and December 15 of each year.

As a result of the October 5, 2016, termination of the Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization with KLA-Tencor, the 2023 Notes and the 2026 Notes were redeemed on October 13, 2016, under the special mandatory redemption terms of the indenture governing these Notes. We were required to redeem all of the 2023 Notes and the 2026 Notes then outstanding, on October 13, 2016, at a special mandatory redemption price equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount of such notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest from the date of initial issuance.

We may redeem the 2021 Notes at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of such series (“par”), plus a “make whole” premium as described in the respective indenture, and accrued and unpaid interest before May 15, 2021. We may redeem the 2021 Notes at par, plus accrued and unpaid interest at any time on or after May 15, 2021. In addition, upon the occurrence of certain events, as described in the indenture, we will be

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K43

required to make an offer to repurchase the 2021 Notes, at a price equal to 101% of the principal amount of the respective note, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

On May 13, 2016, we entered into an Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement (the “Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement”), which amends and restates the Term Loan Agreement we entered into on November 10, 2015, with a syndicate of lenders. The Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement provides for a commitment of $1,530.0 million senior unsecured term loan facility composed of two tranches (the “Commitments”): (1) a $1,005.0 million tranche of three-year senior unsecured loans and (2) a $525.0 million tranche of five-year senior unsecured loans. The Commitments automatically terminated on October 5, 2016, upon termination of the Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization with KLA-Tencor Corporation.

During fiscal year 2017, 2016, and 2015, we made $1.7 billion, $451 million, and $2 million, respectively, in principal payments on long-term debt and capital leases.

Revolving Credit Arrangements

On November 10, 2015, we entered into an Amendment and Restatement Agreement (as amended on April 26, 2016, by Amendment No.1 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and as further amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented, or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Amended and Restated Credit Agreement”), which amends and restates our prior unsecured Credit Agreement, dated March 12, 2014 (as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated March 5, 2015). The Amended and Restated Credit Agreement provides for an increase to our revolving unsecured credit facility, from $300 million to $750 million with a syndicate of lenders. It includes an expansion option, subject to certain requirements, for us to request an increase in the facility of up to an additional $250 million, for a potential total commitment of $1.0 billion. Proceeds from the credit facility can be used for general corporate purposes. The facility matures on November 10, 2020.

Interest on amounts borrowed under the credit facility is, at our option, based on (1) a base rate, defined as the greatest of (a) prime rate, (b) Federal Funds rate plus 0.5%, or (c) one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 1.0%, plus a spread of 0.0% to 0.5%, or (2) LIBOR multiplied by the statutory reserve rate, plus a spread of 0.9% to 1.5%, in each case as the applicable spread is determined based on the rating of our non-credit enhanced, senior unsecured long-term debt. Principal and any accrued and unpaid interest is due and payable upon maturity. Additionally, we will pay the lenders a quarterly commitment fee that varies based on our credit rating. The Amended and Restated Credit Agreement contains affirmative covenants, negative covenants, financial covenants, and events of default that are substantially similar to those in the Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement. As of June 25, 2017, we had no borrowings outstanding under the credit facility and were in compliance with all financial covenants.

Other Guarantees

We have issued certain indemnifications to our lessors for taxes and general liability under some of our agreements. We have entered into certain insurance contracts that may limit our exposure to such indemnifications. As of June 25, 2017, we had not recorded any liability on our Consolidated Financial Statements in connection with these indemnifications, as we do not believe, based on information available, that it is probable that we will pay any amounts under these guarantees.

Generally, we indemnify, under pre-determined conditions and limitations, our customers for infringement of third-party intellectual property rights by our products or services. We seek to limit our liability for such indemnity to an amount not to exceed the sales price of the products or services subject to our indemnification obligations. We do not believe, based on information available, that it is probable that we will pay any material amounts under these guarantees.

We provide guarantees and standby letters of credit to certain parties as required for certain transactions initiated during the ordinary course of business. As of June 25, 2017, the maximum potential amount of future payments that we could be required to make under these arrangements and letters of credit was $16 million. We do not believe, based on historical experience and information currently available, that it is probable that any amounts will be required to be paid.

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Lam Research Corporation 2017 10-K44

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Investments

We maintain an investment portfolio of various holdings, types, and maturities. As of June 25, 2017, our mutual funds are classified as trading securities. Investments classified as trading securities are recorded at fair value based upon quoted market prices. Any material differences between the cost and fair value of trading securities is recognized as “Other income (expense)” in our Consolidated Statement of Operations. All of our other investments are classified as available-for-sale and consequently are recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value with unrealized gains or losses reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax.

Interest Rate Risk

Fixed-Income Securities

Our investments in various interest-earning securities carry a degree of market risk for changes in interest rates. At any time, a sharp rise in interest rates could have a material adverse impact on the fair value of our fixed-income investment portfolio. Conversely, declines in interest rates could have a material adverse impact on interest income for our investment portfolio. We target to maintain a conservative investment policy, which focuses on the safety and preservation of our capital by limiting default risk, market risk, reinvestment risk, and concentration risk. The following table presents the hypothetical fair values of fixed-income securities that would result from selected potential decreases and increases in interest rates. Market changes reflect immediate hypothetical parallel shifts in the yield curve of plus or minus 50 basis points (“BPS”), 100 BPS, and 150 BPS. The hypothetical fair values as of June 25, 2017,were as follows:

	Valuation of Securities Given an Interest Rate Decrease of X Basis Points						Fair Value as of		Valuation of Securities Given an Interest Rate Increase of X Basis Points
							June 25, 2017
	(150 BPS)		(100 BPS)		(50 BPS)		—%		50 BPS		100 BPS		150 BPS
	(in thousands)
Time deposit	$	640,666	$	640,666	$	640,666	$	640,666	$	640,666	$	640,666	$	640,666
Municipal notes and bonds	197,037		196,890		195,918		194,876		193,834		192,792		191,751
U.S. Treasury and agencies	821,172		813,220		804,147		795,049		785,862		776,677		767,493
Government-sponsored enterprises	25,355		25,069		24,783		24,496		24,210		23,924		23,638
Foreign government bonds	65,205		64,482		63,752		63,022		62,292		61,563		60,833
Bank and corporate notes	2,494,798		2,475,500		2,455,967		2,436,436		2,416,907		2,397,381		2,377,857
Mortgage backed securities - residential	105,825		104,728		103,543		102,358		101,171		99,984		98,797
Mortgage backed securities - commercial	68,710		67,719		66,729		65,739		64,750		63,761		62,773
Total	$	4,418,768	$	4,388,274	$	4,355,505	$	4,322,642	$	4,289,692	$	4,256,748	$	4,223,808

We mitigate default risk by investing in high credit quality securities and by positioning our portfolio to respond appropriately to a significant reduction in a credit rating of any investment issuer or guarantor. The portfolio includes only marketable securities with active secondary or resale markets to achieve portfolio liquidity and maintain a prudent amount of diversification.

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Long-Term Debt

As of June 25, 2017, we had $2.9 billion in principal amount of fixed-rate long-term debt outstanding, with a fair value of $5.8 billion. The fair value of our Notes is subject to interest rate risk, market risk, and other factors due to the convertible feature, as applicable. Generally, the fair value of Notes will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Additionally, the fair value of the Convertible Notes will increase as our Common Stock price increases and decrease as our Common Stock price decreases. The interest and market value changes affect the fair value of our Notes but do not impact our financial position, cash flows, or results of operations due to the fixed nature of the debt obligations. We do not carry the Notes at fair value, but present the fair value of the principal amount of our Notes for disclosure purposes.

Equity Price Risk

Publicly Traded Securities

The values of our investments in publicly traded securities, including mutual funds related to our obligations under our deferred compensation plans, are subject to market price risk. The following table presents the hypothetical fair values of our publicly traded securities that would result from potential decreases and increases in the price of each security in the portfolio. Potential fluctuations in the price of each security in the portfolio of plus or minus 10%, 15%, or 25% were selected based on potential near-term changes in those security prices. The hypothetical fair values as of June 25, 2017, were as follows:

	Valuation of Securities Given an X% Decrease in Stock Price						Fair Value as of	Valuation of Securities Given an X% Increase in Stock Price
							June 25, 2017
	(25)%		(15)%		(10)%		—%	10%		15%		25%
	(in thousands)
Mutual funds	$	42,191	$	47,816	$	50,629	56,254	$	61,879	$	64,692	$	70,318

Foreign Currency Exchange (“FX”) Risk

We conduct business on a global basis in several major international currencies. As such, we are potentially exposed to adverse as well as beneficial movements in foreign currency exchange rates. The majority of our revenues and expenses are denominated in U.S. dollars. However, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations primarily related to revenues denominated in Japanese yen and euro-denominated and Korean won-denominated expenses.

We enter into foreign currency forward contracts to minimize the short-term impact of exchange rate fluctuations on certain foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities, primarily cash, third-party accounts receivable, accounts payable, and intercompany receivables and payables. In addition, we hedge certain anticipated foreign currency cash flows, primarily on revenues denominated in Japanese yen and expenses denominated in euro and Korean won.

To protect against the reduction in value of anticipated revenues denominated in Japanese yen and expenses denominated in euro and Korean won, we enter into foreign currency forward and option contracts that generally expire within 12 months and no later than 24 months. These foreign currency hedge contracts are designated as cash flow hedges and are carried on our balance sheet at fair value, with the effective portion of the contracts’ gains or losses included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and subsequently recognized in earnings in the same period the hedged revenue and/or expense is recognized. We also enter into foreign currency forward contracts to hedge the gains and losses generated by the remeasurement of certain non-U.S.-dollar denominated monetary assets and liabilities, primarily cash, third-party accounts receivable, accounts payable, and intercompany receivables and payables. The change in fair value of these balance sheet hedge contracts is recorded into earnings as a component of other income (expense), net, and offsets the change in fair value of the foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities also recorded in other income (expense), net, assuming the hedge contract fully covers the hedged items. The notional amount and unrealized gain of our outstanding forward and option contracts that are designated as cash flow hedges, as of June 25, 2017, are shown in the table below. This table also shows the change in fair value of these cash flow hedges

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assuming a hypothetical foreign currency exchange rate movement of plus or minus 10 percent and plus or minus 15 percent.

		Notional Amount		Unrealized  FX Gain/(Loss)			Valuation of FX Contracts Given an X% Increase (+)/Decrease(-) in Each
				June 25, 2017			= +/- (10%)		= +/- (15%)
		(in millions)
Forward contracts
Sell	Japanese yen	$	670.2	$	(1.4	)	$	66.4	$	99.6
Buy	Euro	58.9		2.7			6.1		9.1
Buy	Korean won	22.0		—			2.2		3.3
				$	1.3