NetApp (NTAP) Conference June 11, 2025 10:00 AM ET Speaker0 Lane Curtis, very happy to have with us NetApp from the company Cesar Sonuda, president, as well as Chris Newton from investor relations. So I'll do thirty minute fireside, but Chris is gonna do a safe harbor for all of us to wake us up. Speaker1 That's right. Hi, everyone. Today's discussion may include forward looking statements regarding NetApp's future performance, are subject to risk and uncertainty. Actual results may differ materially from t ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Record revenue for Q4 FY 2025 was $1,730 million, up 4% year over year and up 6% sequentially [20] - Q4 billings were $2,030 million, up 12% year over year, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth [20] - Total revenue for FY 2025 was $6,570 million, up 5% year over year, with billings at $6,780 million, up 8% year over year [26] - Q4 operating margin was 28.6%, up 50 basis points year over year, representing the highest for Q4 in the company's history [24] - EPS for Q4 was $1.93, up 7% year over year, driven by lower operating expenses and an effective tax rate [24] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Hybrid cloud revenue for Q4 was $1,570 million, up 3% year over year [20] - Product revenue was $845 million, up 5% year over year, while support revenue was flat at $625 million [21] - Public cloud revenue was $164 million, up 8% year over year, and grew 22% year over year when excluding the recently divested SPOT business [21][28] - First-party and marketplace cloud storage services grew 44% year over year in Q4, comprising roughly 75% of public cloud segment revenue [11][12] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - All flash array annualized revenue run rate grew 14% year over year to a record $4,100 million in Q4 [8] - The company gained almost 300 basis points of all flash market share in calendar 2024, more than any other vendor [9] - Public cloud revenue growth was driven by strong performance in first-party and marketplace services, which are expected to continue accelerating [47] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company aims to lead in the enterprise AI market and has positioned itself to capitalize on the growth of all flash systems and public cloud services [6][7] - Focus on modernizing data infrastructure and enhancing cloud transformation to meet customer demands for AI readiness and operational efficiency [7][8] - Plans to make prudent investments in R&D and sales capacity to drive ongoing innovation and capture additional market share [17] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - The global macroeconomic outlook shows mixed signals, with expectations of increased spending caution and ongoing friction in the US public sector and EMEA [16] - Management remains confident in the company's ability to deliver strong performance despite uncertainties, driven by alignment with key IT priorities [16][17] - The company expects FY 2026 total revenue to be in the range of $6,625 million to $6,875 million, reflecting a cautious outlook due to macroeconomic factors [28][29] Other Important Information - The company exited FY 2025 with $4,540 million in deferred revenue, an increase of 7% year over year [22] - Cash flow from operations was $675 million, and free cash flow was $640 million in Q4 [24] - The company announced an increase in share repurchase authorization by $1,100 million [26] Q&A Session Summary Question: Guidance for Q1 and full year - Management acknowledged Q1 guidance appears light but emphasized strong momentum and large deals in the pipeline for the year [35][38] Question: Execution and macro concerns - Management noted that while there are macro concerns, strong execution in Q4 and a robust pipeline provide confidence in growth [42][44] Question: Public cloud revenue performance - Public cloud revenue in Q4, excluding SPOT, was up 22% year over year, with expectations for continued acceleration in FY 2026 [47] Question: AI infrastructure deals - Management confirmed ongoing negotiations for sizable AI and data infrastructure modernization deals, contributing to FY 2026 outlook [53] Question: Product gross margins outlook - Management expects product gross margins to improve gradually throughout FY 2026, with Q1 margins expected to be flattish [65][70] Question: Public sector exposure - US public sector accounts for low teens percentage of business, with ongoing concerns about budget approvals impacting growth [100][116]

FY25 Performance Highlights - Total revenue reached $6.6 billion, a 5% year-over-year increase[45] - All Flash revenue amounted to $4.1 billion, demonstrating a 14% year-over-year growth[45] - Cloud Storage revenue experienced substantial growth, reaching $416 million, a 43% year-over-year increase[47] - Keystone TCV sales achieved $224 million, marking a 54% year-over-year growth[45] - The company's EPS reached $7.25, reflecting a 12% year-over-year increase[47] Q4 FY25 Financial Summary - Revenue for Q4 FY25 was $1.73 billion, a 3.8% year-over-year increase compared to the guidance of $1.65 billion - $1.80 billion[51] - Billings for Q4 FY25 reached $2.03 billion, a 12% year-over-year increase[51] - Non-GAAP gross margin was 69.5%, a decrease of 200 bps year-over-year[51] - Non-GAAP operating margin was 28.6%, an increase of 50 bps year-over-year[51] - Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) was $1.93, a 7.2% year-over-year increase compared to the guidance of $1.84 - $1.94[51]

Group 1 - The core viewpoint of the report is that Hanyi Co., Ltd. is a leading enterprise in the font library industry, focusing on the integration of technology and culture, and actively embracing artificial intelligence for growth [1][4] - The company has launched over 1,700 B-end fonts with copyright and developed more than 3,600 font products by the end of 2024, maintaining stable revenue and a gross profit margin of around 80% from 2022 to 2024 [1] - The "Ziyou" platform has adopted a new subscription-based authorization model, achieving over 13.2 million registered users and 370,000 daily active users by the end of 2024, indicating significant growth potential [2] Group 2 - Strategic investment from Founder Holdings enhances the company's access to industry resources and collaboration opportunities, particularly in font design and artificial intelligence technology [3] - The company is leveraging AI to address issues in AI-generated content, such as text errors and copyright concerns, and is seeking partnerships in AI applications and new consumer IP sectors [3] - The profit forecast for 2025-2027 estimates revenues of 238 million, 285 million, and 326 million yuan, with net profits of 50 million, 63 million, and 72 million yuan respectively, reflecting a positive growth outlook [4]

Financial Performance - The total dividend and repurchase amount for 2024 is 64.6553 million CNY, with cumulative dividends and repurchases exceeding 100 million CNY from 2022 to 2024 [3] - In 2024, the company achieved operating revenue of 190.7174 million CNY, a year-on-year decrease of 12.17% [18] - The net profit attributable to the parent company for 2024 was 8.8084 million CNY, a decline of 78.74% compared to the previous year [18] - The comprehensive gross profit margin was 80.86% [18] Industry Outlook - The font industry is expanding with new applications due to emerging smart devices like AR/VR, enhancing human-computer interaction [4] - Increasing copyright awareness among enterprises and individuals is beneficial for product sales [4] - There is a growing demand for global language font development as more Chinese companies expand overseas [4] - The industry is moving towards resource and business integration to enhance overall strength [4] Growth Opportunities - The domestic font authorization business is expected to maintain steady growth [5] - The company aims to optimize resources through industry integration and provide more font products and services for overseas enterprises [5] - AI technology will be leveraged to offer efficient solutions for large models and design applications [5] - The company plans to create more commercial products and applications around IP [5] IP Collaboration - The company is developing traditional cultural IPs, such as products based on oracle bone script, and is also focusing on popular game and film IPs [7] - The strategic cooperation with Founder Group, where the company holds an 11.2% stake, is expected to enhance overall competitiveness and address foreign competition [7] Goodwill and Financial Risks - As of December 31, 2024, the company's goodwill was valued at 157.8314 million CNY, accounting for 13.00% of total assets [8] - The company has recognized goodwill impairment provisions of 2.8205 million CNY and 2.0492 million CNY for specific asset groups [9] - Future performance risks may arise if the operational conditions of certain subsidiaries do not meet expectations [9] AI Integration - The company has launched an AI-driven font assistant to help designers quickly find suitable fonts based on descriptions or images [10] - The "AI Recognition" service in the Ziyou business helps users identify font names and origins, reducing potential infringement risks [11] - The overseas version of the Ziyou FontApp has been launched, providing font management services for Western markets [11] C-end Business Development - The C-end business is experiencing good growth and is expected to become a second growth engine by linking online and offline channels [14] - The personalized decoration business, especially in APP customization, is projected to continue growing [15]

Core Viewpoint - The company is actively expanding its global multilingual font offerings to meet the needs of domestic and international clients, particularly as they pursue overseas business opportunities [1][2]. Group 1: Business Strategy - The company aims to enhance its product services for large and medium-sized domestic clients while also laying a solid foundation for its font tools and services to enter overseas markets [1]. - The company maintains a strong advantage in customized font services, driven by the increasing global demand for multilingual font libraries due to clients' international strategies [2]. Group 2: Product Development - Following the success of the "MiSans" multilingual project for Xiaomi in 2023, the company plans to upgrade the OPPO Sans font library to version 4.0 in 2024, adding an Arabic font library [2]. - The company has developed the "QiHei Global" font solution, which covers major global language systems including Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean, providing comprehensive font solutions for enterprises' global layouts [2]. Group 3: Market Expansion - The company has launched the overseas version of FontApp, which offers Western font management services targeting the European and American markets [2]. - The overseas version of the AI font tool station, FontKit, has also been launched, providing services such as AI font recognition, AI image text erasure, and AI font matching [2].

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q3 FY 2025, the company reported revenue of $1.64 billion, reflecting a 2% year-over-year growth, although it was $44 million below the midpoint of guidance [31] - Billings increased to $1.71 billion, also up 2% year-over-year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth [31] - Operating margin was reported at 30%, exceeding expectations, while EPS was $1.91, in line with guidance [36][37] - Operating cash flow decreased to $385 million from $484 million a year ago, and free cash flow was $338 million compared to $448 million a year ago [37] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Hybrid cloud revenue increased by 1% year-over-year, while the all-flash array business grew by 10%, reaching an annualized revenue run rate of $3.8 billion [10] - Support revenue declined by 2% year-over-year to $621 million, but was flat in constant currency [32] - Professional services revenue grew by 14% year-over-year, primarily driven by the Keystone Storage-as-a-Service offering, which saw nearly 60% growth [32] - Public cloud revenue increased by 15% year-over-year to $174 million, with first-party and marketplace storage services growing over 40% [20][32] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company noted a cautious environment in European markets, particularly in France and Germany, and some caution in the US public sector [57] - The public cloud segment, excluding Spot by NetApp, grew 21% year-over-year, indicating a healthy demand environment [20][32] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on enhancing its AI solutions and has seen significant demand for AI infrastructure and data lake modernization, with over 100 AI-related wins in Q3 [14] - The divestiture of Spot by NetApp is part of a strategy to streamline operations and focus on core offerings [18][41] - The company aims to maintain a strong operating margin and free cash flow generation while controlling expenses [30] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management acknowledged that Q3 performance did not meet expectations but expressed confidence in returning to growth in Q4 due to improved sales execution [24] - The company expects a slight decrease in FY 2025 guidance due to the divestiture of Spot, foreign exchange impacts, and near-term headwinds in the public sector [25][41] - Management remains optimistic about achieving long-term financial goals set during the Investor Day [24][48] Other Important Information - The company returned over $300 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, reducing the diluted share count by 3 million shares year-over-year [30] - The balance sheet remains healthy, with approximately $2.3 billion in cash and short-term investments against $2 billion in debt [40] Q&A Session Summary Question: Sales execution issues and rectification efforts - Management noted that several large deals slipped into Q4 due to procurement delays, but many have since closed, and tighter controls on deal progression are being implemented [51][53] Question: Public sector performance and caution - Management confirmed that there is caution in European markets and some in the US public sector, but overall performance in Q3 was as planned [57][58] Question: Competitive landscape and QLC mix - Management stated that the competitive landscape remains strong, with no significant changes, and highlighted the successful refresh of the product portfolio [62] Question: Product gross margins and future expectations - Management discussed expectations for product gross margins to stabilize and potentially improve as new products gain traction and costs decline [73] Question: Impact of divestiture of Spot on revenue - The divestiture is expected to have a neutral impact on EPS, with trailing cloud revenue from Spot being approximately $94 million [88][90] Question: AI in enterprise and storage grid enhancements - Management indicated that AI adoption is growing, with clients establishing AI centers of excellence, and enhancements to storage solutions are aimed at capitalizing on this trend [121][122] Question: Tariffs and supply chain flexibility - Management emphasized a flexible global supply chain that mitigates tariff impacts, particularly due to reduced dependency on China [128][130]