Keysight Technologies 10-K 2017-10-31

10-K 1 keys-10312017x10k.htm 10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

Commission File Number: 001-36334

Keysight Technologies, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Address of principal executive offices: 1400 Fountaingrove Parkway, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (800) 829-4444

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

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

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

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 o 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 o

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

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) 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. o

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

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

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

The aggregate market value of common equity held by non-affiliates as of April 30, 2017 was approximately $5 billion, based upon the closing price of the Registrant's common stock as quoted on New York Stock Exchange on such date. Shares of stock held by officers, directors and 5 percent or more stockholders have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

As of December 15, 2017, there were 187,284,245 shares of our common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements regarding trends, seasonality, cyclicality and growth in, and drivers of, the markets we sell into, our strategic direction, our future effective tax rate and tax valuation allowance, earnings from our foreign subsidiaries, remediation activities, new product and service introductions, the ability of our products to meet market needs, changes to our manufacturing processes, the use of contract manufacturers, the impact of local government regulations on our ability to pay vendors or conduct operations, our liquidity position, our ability to generate cash from operations, growth in our businesses, our investments, the potential impact of adopting new accounting pronouncements, our financial results, our purchase commitments, our contributions to our pension plans, the selection of discount rates and recognition of any gains or losses for our benefit plans, our cost-control activities, savings and headcount reduction recognized from our restructuring programs and other cost saving initiatives, and other regulatory approvals, the integration of our completed acquisitions and other transactions, our transition to lower-cost regions, the existence of economic instability, and our and the combined group's estimated or anticipated future results of operations, that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements due to various factors, including but not limited to those risks and uncertainties discussed in Item 1A and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

PART I

Overview

Keysight Technologies, Inc. ("we," "us," "Keysight" or the "company”), incorporated in Delaware on December 6, 2013, is a measurement company providing electronic design and test solutions to communications and electronics industries. We provide electronic design and test instrumentation systems and related software, software design tools, and services that are used in the design, development, manufacture, installation, deployment, validation, optimization and secure operation of electronics systems. Related services include start-up assistance, instrument productivity, application services and instrument calibration and repair. We also offer customization, consulting and optimization services throughout the customer's product lifecycle.

On April 18, 2017, pursuant to the terms of an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated January 30, 2017, between Keysight and Ixia (the "Merger Agreement"), we acquired all of the outstanding common stock of Ixia for $1,622 million, net of $72 million of cash acquired, pursuant to an exchange offer for $19.65 per share (the "Merger Consideration"). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, any outstanding and unexercised Ixia stock options with an exercise price below the Merger Consideration and any outstanding Ixia restricted stock awards were cancelled and converted into the right to receive a cash payment equal to the merger consideration of $19.65 per share (minus the exercise price for the Ixia stock options). The vested portion of the awards associated with prior service of Ixia employees represented approximately $47 million of the total consideration. We funded the acquisition with a combination of cash and proceeds from debt and equity financings.

On August 31, 2017, we acquired all of the outstanding common stock of ScienLab for $60 million, net of $2 million of cash acquired. ScienLab is a Germany-based company that provides test solutions to automotive original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers in the automotive and energy markets. This acquisition complements our portfolio, allowing end-to-end solutions for hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicles, and battery test solutions that address e-mobility market dynamics. We funded the acquisition using existing cash. As a result of the acquisition, ScienLab has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keysight.

We have a comprehensive sales strategy that uses our direct sales force, distributors, resellers and manufacturer's representatives. The strategy varies based on the size of customer, the complexity of products and geographical coverage. We generated $3.2 billion of net revenue in 2017 and $2.9 billion of net revenue in fiscal year 2016 and 2015. Of our total net revenue of $3.2 billion for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2017, we generated 33 percent in the United States and 67 percent outside the United States. As of October 31, 2017, we had approximately 12,600 employees worldwide. Our primary research and development sites are in California, Colorado, Georgia and Texas in the United States and outside of the United States in China, Finland, Germany, U.K., India, Japan, Malaysia, Romania, Singapore and Spain.

Net revenue, income from operations and assets by business segment as of and for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 are shown in Note 20, "Segment Information," to our consolidated financial statements, which we incorporate by reference herein.

We had more than 16,000 direct customers for our products and services in fiscal year 2017 and greater than 32,000 customers including indirect channels. No single customer represented 10 percent or more of our net revenue. Many of our customers acquire products and services across multiple segments.

Strategies

With a singular focus on electronic design and test, we deliver market-leading solutions across a wide range of industries, including commercial communications, aerospace, defense and government, automotive, energy, semiconductor and electronic industrial. Additionally, we provide test, security and visibility solutions that validate, secure and optimize networks and applications from engineering concept to live deployment. Our research and development focuses on our customers' design and test challenges, from design simulation to prototype validation to manufacturing test, to optimization in the network. Our company’s goal is to increase the productivity of our customers by speeding their product "time-to-market.” Market and customer opportunities are driven by evolving technology standards, as well as the need for faster data rates and new form factors, from feature-rich solutions to modular solutions to handheld instruments. Our strategic focus is to deliver market-leading solutions and growth by investing in the following areas:

Showing the first 8K of 74K characters. Open the full section

Risks, Uncertainties and Other Factors That May Affect Future Results

Risks Related to Our Business

Depressed and uncertain general economic conditions may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Our business is sensitive to negative changes in general economic conditions, both inside and outside the United States. The continued economic downturn may adversely impact our business, resulting in:

In addition, macroeconomic developments, such as the recent downturn in Europe, the economic slowdown in Asia and the results of the recent U.S. and other national elections, economic uncertainties caused by the result of the United Kingdom's referendum advising for its exit from the European Union could negatively affect our ability to conduct business in those geographies. Financial difficulties experienced by our suppliers and customers, including distributors, could result in product delays and inventory issues. Risks to accounts receivable could result in delays in collection and greater bad debt expense.

Our operating results and financial condition could be harmed if the markets into which we sell our products decline or do not grow as anticipated.

Visibility into our markets is limited. Our quarterly sales and operating results are highly dependent on the volume and timing of technology-related spending and orders received during the fiscal quarter, which are difficult to forecast and may be cancelled by our customers. In addition, our revenues and earnings forecasts for future fiscal quarters are often based on the expected seasonality or cyclicality of our markets. However, the markets we serve do not always experience the seasonality or cyclicality that we expect. Any decline in our customers' markets would likely result in a reduction in demand for our products and services. The broader semiconductor market is one of the drivers for our business, and therefore, a decrease in the semiconductor market could harm our business. Also, if our customers' markets decline, we may not be able to collect on outstanding amounts due to us. Such declines could harm our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and stock price, and could limit our profitability. Also, in such an environment, pricing pressures could intensify. Since a significant portion of our operating expenses is relatively fixed in nature due to sales, R&D and manufacturing costs, if we were unable to respond quickly enough, these pricing pressures could further reduce our operating margins.

If we do not introduce successful new products and services in a timely manner to address increased competition, rapid technological changes and changing industry standards, our products and services will become obsolete, and our operating results will suffer.

We generally sell our products in industries that are characterized by increased competition through frequent new product and service introductions, rapid technological changes and changing industry standards. In addition, many of the markets in which we operate are seasonal and cyclical. Without the timely introduction of new products, services and enhancements, our products and services will become technologically obsolete over time, in which case our revenue and operating results would suffer. The success of new products and services will depend on several factors, including but not limited to our ability to:

Dependence on contract manufacturing and outsourcing other portions of our supply chain may adversely affect our ability to bring products to market and damage our reputation. Dependence on outsourced information technology and other administrative functions may impair our ability to operate effectively.

As part of our efforts to streamline operations and to cut costs, we outsource aspects of our manufacturing processes and other functions and continue to evaluate additional outsourcing. If our contract manufacturers or other outsourcers fail to perform their obligations in a timely manner or at satisfactory quality levels, our ability to bring products to market and our reputation could suffer. For example, during a market upturn, our contract manufacturers may be unable to meet our demand requirements, which may preclude us from fulfilling our customers' orders on a timely basis. The ability of these manufacturers to perform is largely outside of our control. Additionally, changing or replacing our contract manufacturers or other outsourcees could cause disruptions or delays. In addition, we outsource significant portions of our information technology ("IT") and other administrative functions. Since IT is critical to our operations, any failure of our IT providers to perform could impair our ability to operate effectively. In addition to the risks outlined above, problems with manufacturing or IT outsourcing could result in lower revenues and unrealized efficiencies, and could impact our results of operations and stock price. Much of our outsourcing takes place in developing countries and, as a result, may be subject to geopolitical uncertainty.

Failure to adjust our purchases due to changing market conditions or failure to estimate our customers' demand could adversely affect our income.

Our income could be harmed if we are unable to adjust our purchases to market fluctuations, including those caused by the seasonal or cyclical nature of the markets in which we operate. The sale of our products and services are dependent, to a large degree, on customers whose industries are subject to seasonal or cyclical trends in the demand for their products. For example, the consumer electronics market is particularly volatile, making demand difficult to anticipate. During a market upturn, we may not be able to purchase sufficient supplies or components to meet increasing product demand, which could materially affect our results. In the past, we have seen a shortage of parts for some of our products. In addition, some of the parts that require custom design are not readily available from alternate suppliers due to their unique design or the length of time necessary for design work. Should a supplier cease manufacturing such a component, we would be forced to reengineer our product. In addition to discontinuing parts, suppliers may also extend lead times, limit supplies or increase prices due to capacity constraints or other factors. In order to secure components for the production of products, we may continue to enter into non-cancellable purchase commitments with vendors, or at times make advance payments to suppliers, which could impact our ability to adjust our inventory to declining market demands. Prior commitments of this type have resulted in an excess of parts when demand for electronic products has decreased. If demand for our products is less than we expect, we may

Showing the first 8K of 65K characters. Open the full section

None.

Our executive offices are located in the United States in an owned facility in Santa Rosa, California. We own or lease a total of approximately 160 operating facilities located throughout the world that handle manufacturing production, research and development, administration, assembly, sales, quality, assurance testing, distribution and packaging of our products. These facilities are primarily located in the following countries: China, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States. As of October 31, 2017, we own or lease a total of approximately 6.3 million square feet of space worldwide, of which we own approximately 4.2 million square feet and lease 2.1 million square feet. Our sales and support facilities occupy a total of approximately 0.6 million square feet. Our manufacturing plants, R&D facilities and warehouse and administrative facilities occupy approximately 5.7 million square feet. All of these facilities are well maintained and suitable for the operations conducted in them.

We are involved in lawsuits, claims, investigations and proceedings, including, but not limited to, patent, commercial and environmental matters, which arise in the ordinary course of business. There are no matters pending that we currently believe are reasonably possible of having a material impact to our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Not applicable.

PART II

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") with the ticker symbol "KEYS.’’ The following table sets forth the high and low sale prices per quarter for the fiscal years 2017 and 2016 as reported in the consolidated transaction reporting system for the New York Stock Exchange:

There were 23,622 shareholders of record of Keysight common stock as of December 15, 2017.

We have not paid any dividends, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. All decisions regarding the declaration and payment of dividends and repurchase stock are at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will be evaluated regularly in light of our financial condition, earnings, growth prospects, funding requirements, applicable law, and any other factors that our Board deems relevant.

The information required by this item with respect to equity compensation plans will be included under the caption Equity Compensation Plans in our proxy statement for the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A, and is incorporated herein by reference.

ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

The table below summarizes information about the company’s purchases, based on trade date; of its equity securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act during the quarterly period ended October 31, 2017. The total number of shares of common stock purchased by the company during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2017 is 2,288,516 shares.

The following table presents the selected combined and consolidated financial data, which should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. We derived the selected financial data as of October 31, 2017 and for each of the fiscal years in the three-year period ended October 31, 2017 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. We derived the selected financial data as of October 31, 2013 from audited combined financial statements that are not included in this Form 10-K.

Our historical combined and consolidated financial statements before November 1, 2014 include certain expenses of Agilent that were allocated to us for certain functions, including general corporate expenses related to information technology, research and development, finance, legal, insurance, compliance and human resources activities. These costs may not be representative of the costs we have incurred or will incur as an independent public company. The historical financial information included here may not necessarily reflect our financial position and results of operations or what our financial position and results of operations would have been had we been an independent, publicly-traded company during the historical periods presented or be indicative of our future performance as an independent company.

(a)On November 1, 2014, Agilent Technologies, Inc. distributed 167 million shares of Keysight common stock to existing holders of Agilent common stock. Basic and diluted net income per share for all periods through October 31, 2014 is calculated using the shares distributed on November 1, 2014. Refer to Note 6 of the consolidated financial statements for information regarding earnings per common share.

You should read the following discussion in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation, statements regarding trends, seasonality, cyclicality and growth in, and drivers of, the markets we sell into, our strategic direction, our future effective tax rate and tax valuation allowance, earnings from our foreign subsidiaries, remediation activities, new product and service introductions, the ability of our products to meet market needs, changes to our manufacturing processes, the use of contract manufacturers, the impact of local government regulations on our ability to pay vendors or conduct operations, our liquidity position, our ability to generate cash from operations, growth in our businesses, our investments, the potential impact of adopting new accounting pronouncements, our financial results, our purchase commitments, our contributions to our pension plans, the selection of discount rates and recognition of any gains or losses for our benefit plans, our cost-control activities, savings and headcount reduction recognized from our restructuring programs and other cost saving initiatives, and other regulatory approvals, the integration of our acquisitions and other transactions, our transition to lower-cost regions, the existence of economic instability, and our and the combined group's estimated or anticipated future results of operations, that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements due to various factors, including those discussed in Item 1A and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

Overview and Executive Summary

Keysight Technologies, Inc. ("we," "us," "Keysight" or the "company") incorporated in Delaware on December 6, 2013 and became an independent publicly-traded company following the separation from Agilent Technologies, Inc. ("Agilent") on November 1, 2014. We are a measurement company providing electronic test and design solutions to communications and electronics industries. Following the acquisition of Ixia, we also provide testing, visibility, and security solutions, strengthening applications across physical and virtual networks for enterprises, service providers, and network equipment manufacturers.

We provide electronic design and test instrumentation systems and related software, software design tools, and services that are used in the design, development, manufacture, installation, deployment, validation, optimization and secure operation of electronics systems. Related services include start-up assistance, instrument productivity, application services and instrument calibration and repair. We also offer customization, consulting and optimization services throughout the customer's product lifecycle.

We invest in product development to address the changing needs of the market and facilitate growth. We are investing in research and development to design measurement solutions that will satisfy the changing needs of our customers. These opportunities are being driven by evolving technology standards and the need for faster data rates and new form factors.

In fiscal year 2016, we completed an organizational change to align our organization with the industries we serve which resulted in three reportable operating segments: Communications Solutions Group, Electronic Industrial Solutions Group and Services Solutions Group. The Communications Solutions Group serves customers spanning the worldwide commercial communications end market, which includes internet infrastructure, and the aerospace, defense and government end market. The Electronic Industrial Solutions Group provides test and measurement solutions across a broad set of electronic industrial end markets. The Services Solutions Group provides repair, calibration and consulting services, and remarkets used Keysight equipment. On April 18, 2017, we completed the acquisition of Ixia, which became our fourth reportable segment, the Ixia Solutions Group (“ISG”). The group provides testing, visibility and security solutions, strengthening applications across physical and virtual networks for enterprises, service providers and network equipment manufacturers. In addition, our global team of experts provides startup assistance, consulting, optimization and application support across all of our end markets.

Years ended October 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Keysight’s total orders in 2017 were $3,406 million, an increase of 15 percent when compared to 2016. Foreign currency movements had a negligible impact on the year-over-year comparison. Orders associated with acquisitions accounted for 9 percentage points of order growth for the year ended October 31, 2017 when compared to 2016. Total orders in 2016 were $2,953 million, an increase of 3 percent when compared to 2015. Foreign currency movements had an unfavorable impact of 1 percent on the year-over-year comparison. Orders associated with acquisitions accounted for 5 percentage points of order growth for the year ended October 31, 2016 when compared to 2015.

Net revenue of $3,189 million for the year ended October 31, 2017 increased 9 percent when compared to 2016. Foreign currency movements had a negligible impact on the year-over-year comparison. Revenue associated with acquisitions accounted for 7 percentage points of revenue growth for the year ended October 31, 2017 when compared to 2016. Excluding acquisitions, revenue grew year-over-year with growth in the Electronic Industrial Solutions Group, driven by semiconductor measurement and automotive and energy markets and growth in the Services Solutions Group. The Communications Solution Group revenue was

flat as gains in the commercial communications market were offset by declines in the aerospace, defense and government market. Net revenue of $2,918 million in 2016 increased 2 percent when compared to 2015. Foreign currency movements had no impact on the year-over-year comparison. The revenue increase associated with acquisitions accounted for approximately 5 percentage points for the year ended October 31, 2016 when compared to 2015. Excluding acquisitions, revenue declined year-over-year as weakness in the smartphone supply chain and restructuring and consolidation activities in the industry offset strength in 5G technologies and data center expansion.

Net income was $102 million in 2017 compared to net income of $335 million and $513 million in 2016 and 2015, respectively. In 2017, 2016 and 2015, we generated operating cash flows of $313 million, $416 million and $376 million, respectively. The decline in net income for the year ended October 31, 2017 is primarily driven by the unfavorable impact from amortization of acquisition-related balances.

In fiscal 2015, we initiated a phased program associated with our separation from Agilent to resize and optimize our infrastructure from the one that had been established to serve a diversified technology company. The focus of the first phase of the program was on the IT infrastructure to support finance, sales and human resources. The second phase of the program, which was initiated in the third quarter of fiscal 2016, primarily addressed the optimization of the IT infrastructure to support the services business. We recognized costs related to this program of $20 million, $24 million and $20 million in the years ended October 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. We expect to recognize additional costs estimated to range from $2 million to $3 million through fiscal 2018.

Impact of Northern California Wildfires

During the week of October 8, 2017, wildfires in northern California adversely impacted the Keysight corporate headquarters site in Santa Rosa, CA.

Showing the first 8K of 90K characters. Open the full section

At various times, we use derivative financial instruments to limit exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. Because derivative instruments are used solely as hedges and not for speculative trading purposes, fluctuations in the market values of such derivative instruments are generally offset by reciprocal changes in the underlying economic exposures that the instruments are intended to hedge. For further discussion of derivative financial instruments, refer to Note 13, "Derivatives."

Currency exchange rate risk

We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risks inherent in our sales commitments, anticipated sales, and assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of our subsidiaries. We hedge future cash flows denominated in currencies other than the functional currency using sales and expense forecasts up to twelve months in advance. Our exposure to exchange rate risks is managed on an enterprise-wide basis. This strategy utilizes derivative financial instruments, including option and forward contracts, to hedge certain foreign currency exposures with the intent of offsetting gains and losses that occur on the underlying exposures with gains and losses on the derivative contracts hedging them. We do not currently and do not intend to utilize derivative financial instruments for speculative trading purposes.

Our operations generate non-functional currency cash flows such as revenue, third-party vendor payments and inter-company payments. In anticipation of these foreign currency cash flows and in view of the volatility of the currency market, we enter into such foreign exchange contracts as described above to substantially mitigate our currency risk. Approximately 71 percent of our revenues in 2017 and 2016 and 75 percent of our revenues in 2015 were generated in U.S. dollars.

We performed a sensitivity analysis assuming a hypothetical 10 percent adverse movement in foreign exchange rates to the hedging contracts and the underlying exposures described above. As of October 31, 2017 and 2016, the analysis indicated that these hypothetical market movements would not have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Interest rate risk

As of October 31, 2017, we had $2,060 million in principal amount of senior debt outstanding. The carrying amount of the fixed-rate senior notes was $1,799 million, and the related fair value based on quoted prices was $1,890 million. A change in interest rates on long-term debt impacts the fair value of the company’s fixed-rate long-term debt but not the company’s earnings or cash flow because the interest on such debt is fixed. Generally, the fair market value of fixed-rate debt will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise.

As of October 31, 2017, a hypothetical 10 percent increase in interest rates would have decreased the fair value of the company’s fixed-rate long-term debt by approximately $36 million. However, since the company currently has no plans to repurchase its outstanding fixed-rate instruments before their maturity nor do the investors in our fixed-rate debt obligations have the right to demand we pay off these obligations prior to maturity, the impact of market interest rate fluctuations on the company’s fixed-rate long-term debt does not affect the company’s results of operations or stockholders’ equity.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of Keysight Technologies, Inc.:

In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of operations, of comprehensive income, of equity and of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Keysight Technologies, Inc. and its subsidiaries at October 31, 2017 and October 31, 2016, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended October 31, 2017 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(2) presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company's management is responsible for these financial statements and financial statement schedule, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements, on the financial statement schedule, and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the financial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, in 2017 the Company changed the manner in which it presents debt issuance costs on the consolidated balance sheet due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2015-03, Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs, as well as the manner in which it recognizes the income tax consequences of intra-entity transfers due to the adoption of ASU 2016-16, Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory.

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

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

As described in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A, management has excluded Ixia and ScienLab from its assessment of internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2017, because they were acquired by the Company in purchase business combinations during 2017. We have also excluded Ixia and ScienLab from our audit of internal control over financial reporting. Ixia and ScienLab are wholly-owned subsidiaries whose total assets and total revenues excluded from management’s assessment and our audit of internal control over financial reporting collectively represent approximately 6% and less than 1% of total assets, respectively and approximately 6% and less than 1% of total revenues, respectively, of the related consolidated financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended October 31, 2017.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

San Jose, California

December 20, 2017

KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

(in millions, except per share data)

Showing the first 8K of 232K characters. Open the full section

None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management has evaluated, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of October 31, 2016, pursuant to and as required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of October 31, 2017, the company's disclosure controls and procedures, as defined by Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act, were effective and designed to ensure that(i) information required to be disclosed in the company's reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms, and (ii) information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on the results of this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of October 31, 2017.

The SEC provides for exclusion of an acquired business's internal controls from management's annual assessment of the internal controls over financial reporting when it is not possible to conduct assessments for the acquired business in the period between the acquisition date and the date of management's assessment. The company completed the acquisition of Ixia on April 18, 2017 and ScienLab on August 31, 2017. Management excluded Ixia and ScienLab from its assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2017. Ixia constituted approximately 6% of total assets and approximately 6% total revenues, while ScienLab constituted less than 1% of total assets and total revenues for the year ended October 31, 2017.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2017 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

None.

PART III

Information regarding our directors will appear under “Proposal No. 1 - Election of Directors” in our Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders (“Proxy Statement”). That portion of the Proxy Statement is incorporated by reference into this report. Information regarding our executive officers appears in Item 1 of this report under “Executive Officers of the Registrant.” Information regarding our Audit and Finance Committee and our Audit and Finance Committee's financial expert appears under “Audit and Finance Committee Report” and “Board Structure and Compensation” in our Proxy Statement. That portion of the Proxy Statement is incorporated by reference into this report.

There were no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to our Board of Directors. Information regarding our code of ethics (the company's Standards of Business Conduct) applicable to our principal executive officer, our principal financial officer, our controller and other senior financial officers appears in Item 1 of this report

under “Investor Information.” We will post amendments to or waivers from a provision of the Standards of Business Conduct with respect to those persons on our website at www.investor.keysight.com.

In order for a stockholder proposal to be considered for inclusion in Keysight’s proxy statement for the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, the written proposal must be received by Keysight no later than December 17, 2017 and should contain such information as is required under Keysight’s Bylaws. Such proposals will need to comply with the SEC’s regulations regarding the inclusion of stockholder proposals in Keysight sponsored proxy materials.

Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act

Information about compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act appears under “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” in the Proxy Statement. That portion of the Proxy Statement is incorporated by reference into this report.

Information about compensation of our named executive officers appears under “Executive Compensation,” “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation” in the Proxy Statement. Information about compensation of our directors appears under “Director Compensation” and “Compensation Committee Report” and “Stock Ownership Guidelines” in the Proxy Statement. Those portions of the Proxy Statement are incorporated by reference into this report.

Information about security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management appears under "Common Stock Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management" in the Proxy Statement. That portion of the Proxy Statement is incorporated by reference into this report.

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table summarizes information about our equity compensation plans as of October 31, 2017. All outstanding awards relate to our common stock.

appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares and performance units with performance-based conditions to vesting or exercisability, and cash awards. The 2014 Plan has a term of ten years.

Information about certain relationships and related transactions appears under "Related Person Transaction Policy and Procedures" in the Proxy Statement. Information about director independence appears under the heading "Board Structure and Compensation — Director Independence" in the Proxy Statement. Each of those portions of the Proxy Statement is incorporated by reference into this report.

Information about principal accountant fees and services as well as related pre-approval policies appears under "Fees Paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers" and "Policy on Audit and Finance Committee Preapproval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Registered Auditors" in the Proxy Statement. Those portions of the Proxy Statement are incorporated by reference into this report.

PART IV

See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements under Item 8 of this report.

The following additional financial statement schedule should be considered in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements. All other schedules have been omitted because the required information is either not applicable or not sufficiently material to require submission of the schedule.

SCHEDULE II

VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

• Additions include current year additions charged to expenses and current year build due to increases in net deferred tax assets, return to provision true-ups, other adjustments and Other Comprehensive Income ("OCI") impact to deferred taxes.

** Deductions include current year releases credited to expenses and current year reductions due to decreases in net deferred tax assets, return to provision true-ups, other adjustments and OCI impact to deferred taxes.

Exhibits are incorporated herein by reference or are filed with this report as indicated below (numbered in accordance with Item 601 of Regulation S-K):

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Date: December 20, 2017

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Stephen D. Williams and Jeffrey Li, or any of them, his or her attorneys-in-fact, for such person in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this report and to file the same, with exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that any of said attorneys-in-fact, or substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.