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Cerner

cern · NASDAQ Healthcare
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Employees 10,000+
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FY2009 Annual Report · Cerner
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ANNUAL REPORT 2009

1

 
 
 Table of Contents: Annual Report 2009 

Board of Directors 
Leadership 
Letter to Our Shareholders 
	 Appendix: Cerner’s Business Model and Financial Assessment 
Form 10-K 
  Business and Industry Overview 

  Risk Factors 

  Properties 

  Selected Financial Data 

  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 

  Report of Independent Registered Public Accountant 

  Consolidated Balance Sheets 

  Consolidated Statements of Operations 

  Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity 

  Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 

  Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

  Summary of Significant Accounting Policies 

  Business Acquisitions 

  Cash and Investments 

  Fair Value Measurements 

  Receivables 

  Property and Equipment 

  Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets 

  Software Development Costs 

Indebtedness 

  Hedging Activities 

Interest Income 

Income Taxes 

  Earnings Per Share 

  Share Based Compensation and Equity 

  Foundations Retirement Plan 

  Related Party Transactions 

  Commitments 

  Segment Reporting 

  Quarterly Results 

Stock Price Performance Graph 
Corporate Information 

3

4

5

6

16

22

24

30

38

41

42

64

66

67

68

69

70

70

75

77

78

80

81

81

82

83

84

84

85

87

87

91

91

91

92

94

95

96

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Board of Directors
Neal L. Patterson  
  ■ Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Cerner Corporation

Clifford W. Illig
  ■ Vice Chairman, Cerner Corporation

Gerald E. Bisbee Jr., Ph.D.
  ■ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, ReGen Biologics, Inc., Franklin Lakes, NJ

The Honorable John C. Danforth
  ■ Partner, Bryan Cave LLP, St. Louis, MO
  ■ Ambassador to the United Nations, July 2004–January 2005 
  ■ U.S. Senator - Missouri, 1976-1995

Michael E. Herman
  ■ General Partner, Herman Family Trading Company, Kansas City, MO  
  ■ President, Kansas City Royals Baseball Club, 1992-2000

William B. Neaves, Ph.D.
  ■ Chief Executive Officer and Director, The Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO

William D. Zollars
  ■ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, YRC Worldwide, Overland Park, KS

4

 Leadership

Cerner Executive Cabinet

Neal L. Patterson ▪ Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Clifford W. Illig ▪ Vice Chairman
Earl H. “Trace” Devanny, III ▪ President
Marc G. Naughton ▪ Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Michael R. Nill ▪  Executive Vice President and Chief Engineering Officer
Jeffrey A. Townsend ▪ Executive Vice President

Michael G. Valentine ▪  Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Paul N. Gorup ▪ Senior Vice President and Chief of Innovation
Julia M. Wilson ▪ Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer 
Thomas P. Herzog ▪ Vice President, IT and Medical Device Technologies
Bill D. Wing ▪ Vice President, Cerner RevWorks

Cerner Executive Management

Zane M. Burke ▪ Senior Vice President, Employer Services
Richard J. Flanigan ▪  Senior Vice President, Research Services
John B. Landis ▪ Senior Vice President, Client Operations
Farrell L. Sanders ▪ Senior Vice President, Cerner ITWorks
Kent C. Scheuler ▪ Senior Vice President, Managed Services
Shellee K. Spring ▪ Senior Vice President, PowerWorks
Joanne M. Burns ▪ Vice President, Cerner Corporation and CIO, Tiger Institute
Robert J. Campbell ▪ Vice President and Chief Learning Officer
Kimberly K. Hlobik ▪ Vice President, Lighthouse

J. Bryan Ince ▪ Vice President, Health Economy
Gay M. Johannes ▪ Vice President and Chief Quality Officer
Eva L. Karp ▪ Vice President, Direct Care and Nursing Strategies
Catherine E. Mueller ▪ Vice President, Client Experience
J. Randall Nelson ▪ Vice President, Life Sciences
David W. Sides ▪ Vice President, Worldwide Consulting
Randy D. Sims ▪ Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
Jacob P. Sorg ▪ Vice President, National Practices

Client Organization

Jude G. Dieterman ▪  Senior Vice President, Cerner Corporation and President, 

Richard W. Heise ▪  Vice President and General Manager, 

Client Development

Michael C. Neal ▪  Senior Vice President, Cerner Corporation and President, 

Pacific

John T. Peterzalek ▪  Senior Vice President, Cerner Corporation and President, 

Atlantic

Richard M. Berner ▪ Vice President and General Manager, Middle East
Marcos Garcia ▪ Vice President and General Manager, Spain

Australia and Asia Pacific
Robert J. Shave ▪  Vice President, Cerner Corporation and President, 

Cerner Canada

Bruno N. Slosse ▪ Vice President and General Manager, EMEA
Holger Cordes ▪ General Manager, Germany
Amanda J. Green ▪ Managing Director, Ireland

Intellectual Property Organization

Douglas S. McNair, M.D. & Ph.D. ▪  Senior Vice President,

Knowledge and Discovery

Ryan R. Hamilton ▪ Vice President, Intellectual Property Development

David P. McCallie, Jr., M.D. ▪ Vice President, Medical Informatics
Rama Nadimpalli ▪ Vice President and General Manager, Cerner India
Owen L. Straub ▪ Vice President, Millennium Development

5

Cerner’s Long-Term Performance

2009  represents  the  end  of  Cerner’s  third  decade.  In  business,  as  well  as  life,  we  measure  progress  against  certain 
predefined periods on the calendar. As a public company, the time intervals that get the most attention are the quarter 
and the year. The decade offers some insights the shorter intervals do not. The table below highlights Cerner’s growth 
over the past decade and since we became a publically traded company in 1986. 

1986

1999

2009

Compound Annual Growth Rates

Previous Decade
1999-2009

Since Going Public
1986-2009

e
n
i
L
p
o
T

Bookings Revenue

Revenue

Domestic Revenue 

Global Revenue 

Revenue Backlog

Operating Margin

e Operating Earnings
n
i
L
m
o
t
t
o
B

Net Earnings

Earnings Per Share

t Total Assets

e
e
h
S
e
c
n
a
a
B

l

Cash and Investments

Days Sales Outstanding

Total Debt

Equity

h
s
a
C

t
n
e
m
t
s
e
v
n
I

t
e
k
r
a
M

w Operating Cash Flow
o
F

Free Cash Flow (FCF)

l

t

h Capital Expenditures
w
o
r
G
n

R&D Spending

Associate Headcount

i

Market Capitalization

e Cerner Stock Price
c
n
a
m
r
o
f
r
e
P

Nasdaq Composite Index

S&P 500 Index

$18

$17

$17

$0.2

$11

$3

14.8%

$2

$285

$358

$334

$24

$1,832

$1,672

$1,399

$273

$501

$4,212

$13

3.5%

$7

$309

18.5%

$204

$2.43

$0.05

$0.10

$26

$8

161

$1

$16

$1

-$1

$1

$2

$661

$2,149

$76

164

$100

$379

$27

-$17

$14

$89

$559

90

$121

$1,581

$347

$138

$131

$285

 149 

 2,625 

 7,576 

$0.97

$9.84

$82.44

$45

349

242

$668

$6,992

4,069

1,469

2,269

1,115

20%

17%

15%

28%

24%

38%

40%

37%

13%

22%

-6%

2%

15%

29%

25%

12%

11%

24%

26%

-6%

-3%

22%

22%

21%

38%

30%

23%

22%

18%

21%

21%

-2%

22%

22%

31%

23%

25%

19%

21%

25%

8%

7%

Notes
Dollars are in millions except Earnings Per Share and stock prices.

Cerner’s historical stock prices are split adjusted.

Free Cash Flow represents Operating Cash Flow less Capital Expenditures and Capitalized Software.

Operating Earnings, Operating Margin, Net Earnings, and Earnings Per Share exclude impact of share-based compensation expense.

Some observations from our numerical history: First, if you grow a company consistently over a long period of time, people 
eventually start viewing it as big. (Cerner was added to the S&P 500 index in April 2010.) Second, if you use vision to guide 
the company’s development, you have a chance of growing over a long period of time. Third, it never hurts to be in the right 
place at the right time, which increases your odds for success.

6

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A Letter to our Shareholders, Clients and Associates: 

A very strong finish turned 2009 into a fair year for Cerner, despite challenging economic conditions worldwide over the 
past 24 months. 2009 capped off another decade of strong Cerner growth—we are three for three since our founding in 
1979. Each decade has seen Cerner deliver much of the vision that was in place at the beginning of that decade. We exit 
both 2009 and the first decade of the new millennium poised for future success, with a fresh vision and clear intent for 
what lies ahead. In this letter, we attempt to provide some context to Cerner’s performance in 2009, putting it into the 
perspective of the past decade. We also attempt to share some insights into how we are approaching the decade that 
has just begun. Finally, we end with comments on our vision for some of the fundamental changes necessary to sustain 
high-quality, affordable healthcare in the not-so-distant future.

At the outset, Cerner fully anticipated 2009 would be a challenging year, and it did not disappoint. Our larger clients, 
health  systems  and  hospitals  in  the  U.S.,  were  still  dealing  with  an  array  of  financial  issues  that  impacted  them  in 
2008, while they committed to strengthening their balance sheets, cash balances and operating margins. The growth 
in unemployment and corresponding cuts in Medicaid reimbursements by state governments added to their challenges. 
Moreover, there was no safe haven for healthcare around the world, with few countries enjoying prosperity. Through it all, 
our clients remained committed to their most strategic information technology (IT) projects, but more cautiously so.

In February 2009, actions by the U. S. Congress gave providers who have not yet gone paperless a reason to believe that 
investment in electronic health records (EHRs) would not only be warranted but also compulsory. By promising to provide 
approximately  $35B1  in  reimbursements  to  hospitals,  providers  and  other  eligible  professionals  who  implement  and 
demonstrate “meaningful use” of a core EHR, the HITECH2 provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 
2009 (ARRA) started the wheels in motion to create a state of near-ubiquitous EHR use in the U. S. by the middle of the 
new decade. At the same time, a lack of clarity around the definition of meaningful use created a new source of strategic 
uncertainty. By our fourth quarter, the combination of conditions and influences shifted more to the positive, and we saw 
our clients become bolder with their plans and commitments. A very strong finish gave us a fair year, one with somewhat 
disappointing top-line growth but strong shareholder returns; a year in which we met our earnings targets, expanded our 
operating margins and delivered strong cash flows.

Below are a few highlights from 2009. For more details, refer to the financial appendix that follows this letter.

g	

g	

g	

g	

g	

	New business bookings increased 19% to $1.8 billion.
	Revenue backlog increased 21% to $4.2 billion.
	Operating margins3 increased 190 basis points to 18.5%, which drove a net earnings3 increase of 12% to $204 
million, despite flat revenue levels of $1.7 billion. We were pleased to achieve a 21% operating margin in the 
fourth quarter, the first time we surpassed the 20% target that we publicly set as our goal in 2003, when our 
operating margin was 9%.
	Cash flow from operations grew 23% to $347 million. Free cash flow3, defined as operating cash flow less capital 
expenditures and capitalized software, increased 33% to $138 million.
	Cerner’s stock price increased 114%, compared to a 44% increase in the NASDAQ Composite Index and a 23% 
increase in the S&P 500, reflecting our delivery of solid results in a challenging environment, our strong position 
to benefit from the healthcare IT provisions in ARRA and improved broader stock market performance.

1   The $35 billion designated for incentives is before estimated penalties for those that do not comply and before expected savings from a more efficient healthcare system and 
higher corporate tax receipts from businesses that will spend less on healthcare in a more efficient system. The net amount of the incentives is approximately $17 billion.

2   HITECH is an acronym for Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health.
3   Operating margin, net earnings, and free cash flow reflect adjustments compared to results reported on a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis in our 2009 
Form 10-K. Non-GAAP results should not be substituted as a measure of our performance but instead should be used along with GAAP results as a supplemental measure of 
financial performance. Non-GAAP results are used by management along with GAAP results to analyze our business, make strategic decisions, assess long-term trends on a 
comparable basis and for management compensation purposes. Please see the appendix to this letter for a reconciliation of these items to GAAP results.

7

	
	
	
	
	
 A Look Back: Strong Growth in an Important Decade

The year 2009 marked the conclusion of a huge decade for Cerner. Before discussing the enormous potential in the 
decade ahead of us, we would like to reflect on the past 10 years and our track record during this time.

The decade itself was frequented by macro events, most with global impact, that challenged the overall foundations upon 
which  economies,  institutions,  behaviors,  cultures  and  liberties  are  built.  It  started  with  a  dramatic  economic  plunge 
precipitated by the dot-com bubble burst. Then, one morning in 2001, history separated itself into “before” and “after” 
9/11.  Two  wars  followed  and  have  continued  longer  than  many  expected.  Other  events  were  fused  to  this  temporal 
framework—hanging chads, anthrax, Enron, WorldCom, Katrina, a tsunami, Virginia Tech, Madoff, tainted sports heroes, 
real estate foreclosures, Wall Street’s collapse, GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, bank bailouts, “too big to fail,” H1N1 and 
Fort Hood. Late 2008 revealed a painful bookend to the era—a severe, global economic recession. Under it, the world 
economy staggered to the point of frightening governments into behaviors that will take a generation or more to evaluate.

It is against this depressed backdrop that healthcare became a much more pressing subject of debate in all countries. 
A consensus began to form that digitization of healthcare information, especially the medical record, was a change that 
would produce more efficient and safer care. In the U.S., the broad topic of healthcare reform was introduced at the 
decade’s close. While Cerner was not totally insulated from the negative impacts of the events of the past decade, we 
had a great 10 years, finding ourselves at the right place at the right time with the right stuff.

The table on the following page compares Cerner’s stock price performance over time with  that of some other major 
companies, many of which are more familiar, household names. Study this table for a bit, and you will begin to appreciate 
what your Company has accomplished over the past decade.

Cerner is in an enviable class of enterprises. Based on stock price performance, almost all of the old-world companies—
newspapers,  airlines,  auto,  film  and  telephone—did  not  fare  well  in  the  last  decade.  Many  of  these  companies  faced 
seemingly unexpected changes in their markets, often arising from the impact of disruptive technologies. To the extent 
that they may have found it possible to anticipate changes in the business environment, you wonder how much a lack 
of major innovation or timely adaptation cost these companies. Even the front-line, historically substantial technology 
companies such as IBM, HP, Microsoft and Oracle experienced declines or limited growth in market value over the past 
decade. Similarly, the new-age companies such as Amazon and eBay saw little growth in market value during the same 
timeframe. The companies that stand out were game-changing innovators, such as Google and Apple, which used their 
success to establish platforms capable of supporting the growth of entirely new market segments based on substantially 
different business models. 

From its inception, Cerner was positioned at the intersection of information technology and healthcare delivery. In our 
opinion, that is the right place to be. Both industries have a dynamic past and both continue to have a strong future 
relevance to our individual lives and to global economies. 

Despite the dot-com bust and the ensuing cascade of negative events, overall, technology had a strong decade. With 
disruptive impact, the innovators continued to innovate, transforming how we work, play and connect, possibly altering 
even how we elect our leaders. In the past 10 years, we rediscovered our personal music collections, located our grad 
school friends online, mastered new user interfaces with our thumbs, learned to play “guitar” by the light of the TV, used 
satellites to find where we were going, worked practically anywhere and discovered how to watch our favorite TV shows 
on our schedule rather than the networks’. Rapidly evolving Internet technologies helped activate innovative business 
models designed to preserve consumers’ perceptions of a free experience, while opening new worlds and options for how 
we spend our time and money. 

In healthcare, it was  the decade when progressive healthcare provider organizations  finally  committed to the difficult 
journey  of  digitizing  their  organizations.  This  era  was  launched in  part  by  an  Institute  of  Medicine  report,  released in 
November 1999, which compiled strong evidence that systematic medical errors harm and kill a staggering number of 
people each year. The name of the publication, To Err is Human4, implied both the root cause and a systems solution, 

4   Institute of Medicine, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson, MS, eds. 

Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 1999.

8

 and it set the stage for healthcare leaders to adopt EHRs. Because of two prior decades (1979-1999) of Cerner growth 
through boundary expansion, foresight and leadership in developing highly clinical, technologically superior EHRs, Cerner 
was poised at the decade’s outset to meet the demand for systemic solutions to complex healthcare problems. 

Notably, most Cerner associates still implicitly understand that healthcare has yet to realize the full potential of IT, and 
consumers have yet to discover the best ways to utilize their own health information. Right time and right place, indeed. 
Imagine with us where Cerner can be in 2020. 

Stock Price

Market Capitalization

Stock Price Change to 2009

CAGRs to 2009

Cerner

$9.84  $82.44 

$1,998

$6,843

738%

210%

1999

2009

2004

2009

1999

2004

2006

81%

3-Year

5-Year

10-Year

22%

25%

24%

105%

369%

-9%

147%

-33%

39%

-50%

21%

23%

-65%

-86%

23%

-27%

-29%

N/A

-99%

-60%

69%

-92%

-63%

22%

39%

79%

156%

-5%

204%

-47%

-71%

222%

554%

-8%

-3%

4%

26%

86%

-10%

58%

-39%

-9%

-54%

0%

-2%

-44%

-83%

-11%

33%

-74%

-69%

-98%

-68%

-14%

-93%

-74%

6%

38%

43%

27%

7%

241%

-22%

-65%

35%

148%

-21%

-16%

-6%

8%

23%

-3%

16%

-15%

-3%

-23%

0%

-1%

-18%

-44%

-4%

10%

-37%

-32%

-75%

-32%

-5%

-60%

-36%

2%

11%

13%

8%

2%

51%

-8%

-29%

10%

35%

-8%

-6%

-2%

15%

36%

-2%

20%

-8%

7%

-13%

4%

4%

-19%

-32%

4%

-6%

-7%

N/A

-58%

-17%

11%

-39%

-18%

4%

7%

12%

21%

-1%

25%

-12%

-22%

26%

46%

-2%

-1%

1%

12%

1%

-3%

N/A

-15%

-1%

-9%

1%

2%

-11%

-22%

-2%

-8%

-12%

N/A

-37%

-1%

9%

-20%

-7%

-5%

3%

-1%

3%

-6%

3%

4%

-2%

N/A

23%

-3%

-1%

-6%

McKesson

$20.83 

$62.50 

$9,114

$16,749

200%

Allscripts-Misys

$17.76 

$20.23 

Eclipsys

CPSI

$25.63 

$18.52 

N/A

$46.05 

Quadramed

$43.59 

$8.39 

$176

$970

$195

$100

$2,936

$1,055

$505

$70

AT&T

GE

Siemens

Disney

$31.64 

$28.03 

$66,350

$165,377

$38.55 

$15.13 

$320,227

$161,135

$85.04 

$91.70 

$67,769

$79,452

$26.34 

$32.25 

$52,724

$60,308

New York Times Co

$40.02 

$12.36 

Eastman Kodak

$49.78 

$4.22 

$5,171

$8,369

$1,787

$1,132

Daimler Chrysler

$62.37 

$53.30 

$43,984

$53,407

Ford

$22.72 

$10.00 

$25,968

$33,100

American Airlines

$28.37 

$7.73 

$1,763

United Airlines

N/A

$12.91 

N/A

$2,570

$2,156

14%

-28%

N/A

-81%

-11%

-61%

8%

22%

-69%

-92%

-15%

-56%

-73%

N/A

General Motors

$50.66 

$0.47 

$19,522

$272

-99%

Bank of America

$16.64 

$15.06 

$153,462

$130,269

-9%

Goldman Sachs

$73.76  $168.84 

$48,172

$86,797

129%

Citigroup

UBS

Microsoft

IBM

Oracle

$29.42 

$3.31 

$209,151

$75,667

$31.72 

$15.51 

$96,458

$54,595

$48.50 

$30.48 

$268,178

$270,662

$97.03  $127.25 

$156,493

$166,698

$28.01 

$24.53 

$70,589

$122,895

Hewlett-Packard

$39.72 

$51.51 

$57,194

$121,564

Intel

Amazon

Ebay

$36.96 

$20.40 

$133,627

$112,608

$99.88  $134.52 

$18,159

$58,244

$15.65 

$23.53 

$59,304

$30,354

-89%

-51%

-37%

31%

-12%

30%

-45%

35%

50%

Electronic Arts

$21.00 

$17.75 

$19,121

$5,777

-15%

N/A

$619.98 

$51,475

$196,701

N/A

$25.70  $210.73 

$26,887

$189,800

720%

Google

Apple

S&P 500

Dow

1,469 

1,115 

11,497 

10,428 

NASDAQ Composite

4,069 

2,269 

CAGR=Compound Annual Growth Rate

Market Capitalization Dollars in Millions

Historical stock prices are adjusted for splits and dividends.

N/A=Not available for date reflected in table.

-24%

-9%

-44%

9

 
 Health Reform Circa 2010
Health reform has been a topic in every American generation over the past century. But in the last 12 months, we have 
witnessed  an  unprecedented  national  political  discussion  about  the  characteristics  of  the  healthcare  system  we  are 
leaving for our children. Hopefully, a real dialog happened behind closed doors between wise members of the government 
and  industry.  The  public  view,  however,  was  of  a  more  negative,  polarized,  loud,  partisan  and  bitter  political  battle. 
Nevertheless, the most significant U.S. healthcare legislation in 30 years passed along party lines in March 2010. The 
language describing the legislation changed over time from health reform to health insurance reform to reflect a more 
limited scope focused on decreasing the rolls of the uninsured. 

The legislation mandates employers and individuals to offer and purchase medical insurance, and it moves a broader 
group  of  Americans  into  the  existing  Medicaid  system.  The  legislation  also  creates  state-based  insurance  exchanges 
that  give  small  employers  and  individuals  the  purchasing  powers  of  larger  groups,  and  it  eliminates  the  exclusionary 
underwriting practice around preexisting conditions. A set of new taxes on wealthy individuals, excise taxes on healthcare 
companies and unfunded mandates and penalties on employers and individuals are being used to partially underwrite 
the costs of the new benefits. The other major source of new funds is a significant projected savings from the federal 
Medicare program, which, if materialized, will come from eliminating fraud and abuse, decreasing payments to providers 
and/or decreasing services to beneficiaries. 

What  is  the  impact  of  this  legislation  on  Cerner?  To  some  degree,  the  larger  impact  on  Cerner’s  core  business  was 
introduced with little public debate a year earlier by ARRA, which provides incentives to hospitals, providers and other 
eligible professionals to implement EHRs and use them in a meaningful way. There are still some very important details 
to be resolved on how the HITECH Act will be implemented, but this legislation is expected to move the hospital and 
physician IT markets forward. Healthcare information technology (HIT) reached the status of “desired infrastructure” for 
efficient and safe healthcare delivery in the past decade. In this next decade, it will be one of the major levers for creating 
new models and methods of care delivery. 

The 2010 health insurance legislation promises to eliminate one of the biggest business risks our hospital clients face—
unreimbursed medical services. In the short term, this new source of funding is expected to grow the size of healthcare in 
the U.S., which will be a positive for our clients and Cerner. At this time, it is uncertain if the excise tax on medical device 
manufacturers will apply to Cerner.

Ultimately, a significant historical advantage to Cerner will persist because of what the legislation does not do. It does not 
try to reform healthcare delivery. To us at Cerner, it seems self-evident that the most powerful forms of innovation cannot 
be  prescribed  by  legislation.  One  of  Cerner’s  most  enduring  competitive  advantages  comes  from  using  the  power  of 
information technology to create innovative solutions that play an important role in transforming the delivery of care. While 
the term health reform probably is not definable in a broad public debate, Cerner has for decades had our own definition 
of reform: a healthcare system in which all avoidable error, inappropriate variance, unnecessary waste, needless delay 
and costly friction are eliminated. The recent legislation does create a framework for the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to experiment with new methods to achieve a reformed healthcare system. This is work to be done in the next 
10 years. Cerner will have a significant opportunity during this time frame to continue to innovate solutions that will help 
our clients achieve this transformation. At the start of a new decade, we believe there is once again a strong chance that 
we are at the right place at the right time.

1979

1982

1984

1986

1987

1990

Neal Patterson, Paul Gorup, 
and Cliff Illig leave Arthur 
Andersen & Co. to form their 
own company

PathNet® is installed in 
the lab at St. John Medical 
Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Cerner secures $1.5 million 
venture capital funding 
from First Chicago Capital 
Corporation

Cerner goes public on 
NASDAQ (CERN)

$17 million of revenue

149 associates

Cerner listed as one of Inc. 
magazine’s 100 fastest-
growing companies

Revenues surpass 
$50 million

10

 New Decade, New Opportunity: Cerner’s Agenda for the Next 10 Years

We love our core business; it has led us to become the leading HIT company in the world. We clearly believe this business 
will grow substantially over the next decade. However, we are also seeing that, in this new decade, we will probably have 
the opportunity to move the boundaries of Cerner once again to create a significant health company. Nothing will be easy. 
Success in all dimensions could make Cerner a household name in many languages by 2020. In the following sections, 
we describe some of the thinking that drives the Cerner of today and the company we aim to become.

Our Core Business—Worldwide HIT

We see significant opportunities to grow our core business with four fairly straightforward strategies: 

g	

g	

g	

g	

	First, we must seize the opportunities created in the U.S. by the government’s charge for healthcare providers to 
achieve meaningful use of EHRs. 
	Second, we must advance our leadership position in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world. 
	Third,  we  must  expand  the  concepts  and  successes  we  have  had  with  our  CernerWorksSM managed  services 
business in the past decade by growing new value-added managed services that will help our clients become the 
highest-performing and highest-quality organizations in all of healthcare. 
	And fourth, we must continue to innovate new technological solutions to current and emerging healthcare problems. 

Success in achieving these four objectives should position Cerner for profitable growth through the next decade. 

The first two strategies are very familiar territory for Cerner—implementing advanced IT solutions for healthcare provider 
organizations in the U.S. and other countries around the world. Still, achieving the continued success of both of these 
strategies will be no small feat considering the dynamic nature of what we do and the fact that we conduct business in 
more than 25 countries. While it is very important that we make full use of the opportunity created by ARRA in the U.S., 
we must do so while also advancing our position as an HIT leader in the rest of the world.

The third strategy is to expand and further align our relationships with our current clients through new services that help 
them become more successful in their local and regional markets. In 2009, we announced the signing of our first two 
Cerner ITWorksSM clients. In this enhanced relationship, Cerner assumes responsibility for running the client’s internal IT 
department and functions. We literally become a part of our clients’ organizations—the highest form of strategic alignment 
possible. A second new service is Cerner RevWorksSM, which includes solutions as well as services to help healthcare 
organizations with their revenue cycle functions. In addition to representing substantial new revenue opportunities for 
Cerner, both initiatives make us much more strategically aligned with and vital to our clients, allowing us to innovate at 
the edges of healthcare and helping our clients improve healthcare quality, safety and efficiency.

Our fourth strategy is to continue to be the technological innovator in the marketplace, creating highly valued architectural 
platforms and solutions beyond the core EHR. Our Innovation Campus in Kansas City is a high-energy hive of activity for 
this creative expansion. One example of this organic growth opportunity is in the medical device space, where the next 
generation  of  medical  devices  must  be  designed  around  the  context  of  the  EHR.  Today,  a  growing  number  of  clients 
use our CareAware® MDBus® architecture as their enterprise device connectivity strategy, including clients outside our 
Cerner Millennium® EHR installed base. Also in 2009, our CareAware RxStation® medication dispensing cabinets reached 
a new stage of maturity, having successfully administered and controlled more than one million medication orders. 

1992

1993

1994

1995

1997

1999

2 for 1 stock split (May 12)

2 for 1 stock split (March 1)

1,000 associates

2 for 1 stock split (August 7)

2,000 associates

Cerner Vision Center opens

Revenue surpasses $100 
million

HNA Millennium® Phase 1 
is completed

Cerner makes Fortune list 
of “Best 100 Companies to 
Work For”

11

	
	
	
	
 In  early  2009,  we  successfully  launched  more  than  10  new  agile  business  units  across  certain  vertical  healthcare 
markets that we believe represent meaningful whitespace opportunities for engaging existing and future clients. These 
business units each have talented next-generation Cerner leaders with aligned sales, services and development teams 
to help make Cerner a dynamic competitor in these traditionally niche markets. A good example of where this focus has 
paid off is in our Women’s Health business unit, which signed 22 major clients in 2009, displacing the top best-of-breed 
competitors in many of these client decisions. 

Becoming a Health Company—CERN

In  the  near  future,  as  medical  records  become  digitized  and  care  delivery  organizations  get  connected,  there  will  be 
a number of second-order effects, which may develop into major new opportunities for Cerner. We collectively refer to 
these opportunities by the acronym CERN, which stands for Consumer, Employer, Research and Network. At Cerner, we 
are privileged to have among our associates and clients some of the brightest and most proactive minds in healthcare 
today. Together, we often discuss the health system limitations and failings of the current healthcare-related transactions. 
Healthcare reform has been the dominant topic in the halls of Congress for the past year, but the truth is that the most 
common  and  heartbreaking  problems  with  our  modern  healthcare  system  can  never  be  fixed  by  legislation.  Instead, 
solving these problems will require significant and ambitious innovation and improvements in the delivery of healthcare. 

Part of Cerner’s vision for healthcare in this decade is placing the Consumer at the center of the health system, with 
each person in control of his or her own smart, secure, contextually relevant, interactive personal health record. This 
record should be the private property of the person and should hold their complete medical history. Also, we believe that 
this record should give people ready access to information on both the price and quality of the care they receive, and 
that it will be capable of “personalizing” medicine using a predictive model of future needs based on a person’s family 
history,  medical  history,  current  problems  and  unique  genetic  code.  Equipped  with  this  information,  consumers  and 
their providers would have financial, emotional and pragmatic incentives to work together to achieve health objectives, 
strategically manage chronic conditions and intervene early in emerging future health issues. With more complete patient 
information, providers also will be able to communicate instantly with the rest of the patient’s care team. And providers 
will receive immediate point-of-service payments for the delivery of appropriate care rather than waiting weeks or months 
while claims work through the current arcane, inefficient reimbursement system. 

We expect that a major consumer-based health company will emerge during the next 10 years. We anticipate that many 
companies  will  try  to  become  players  in  this  new  segment.  The  vision  and  strategies  that  have  positioned  Cerner  to 
succeed  in  our  first  three  decades  also  give  us  a  very  good  shot  at  becoming  the  consumer  health  company  of  this 
decade. It will not be easy, but that has never deterred us. 

We continue to believe that the Employer will be a much more active participant in healthcare solutions in this new decade, 
due to the large percentage of healthcare costs funded by employers. The new U.S. legislation further expands employers’ 
responsibilities, mandating their participation. In 2009, we expanded our footprint and capabilities in the employer space. 
Our acquisition of IMC HealthCare expands our employer clinic offering to include occupational health while increasing 
our list of employer clients, including some that are very large organizations. We have a great opportunity to grow these 
employer  relationships  to  include  other  Healthe  employer  services,  such  as  cost-effective  on-site  pharmacies,  highly 
personalized  condition  and  wellness  management  programs  and  new-age  benefit  plan  design  services.  Cerner  has 
designed  these  services  to  help  large,  self-insured  employers  better  control  the  costs  associated  with  managing  and 
improving the health of their employees. We have tested and proven our ability to do this inside Cerner, where we have 

2000

3,000 associates

2001

Revenue surpasses  
$500 million

2002

4,000 associates

2003

2004

2005

Cerner and Atos Origin 
awarded U.K. National 
Health Services Choose  
and Book contract

Cerner celebrates  
25th anniversary

Cerner ranks third among 
software companies in  
The Wall Street Journal’s  
Top 50 Returns over a  
five-year period

5,000 associates

Revenues surpass $1 billion

Cerner signs contract with 
Fujitsu for southern region 
of NHS Connecting for 
Health program in England

Nearly 7,000 associates

12

 held  health  costs  flat  over  the  past  several  years  while  improving  the  health  of  our  associate  base,  as  measured  by 
meaningful clinical indicators, such as cholesterol levels, body mass index, blood pressure and glucose levels. 

Further, we believe the managed transparency created by the EHR will transform how medical Research is conducted in 
the U.S. and abroad by academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies and others. Our EHR capabilities should enable 
new and completely different methods, processes and platforms for clinical trials and regulatory compliance, shortening 
the time frame needed for research to enter practice and giving researchers broad new data sources for prospective and 
retrospective study. Additionally, our research platform involves identifying new and effective ways to incorporate the most 
recent clinical research contextually into care delivery. 

Finally, healthcare around the globe has an array of challenges and requirements that will give rise to new Networks 
facilitating the interchange of secure medical information. In each country, either the government will define standards 
for interoperability of systems, making the sharing of data possible, or private companies will provide services that do 
so. In the U.S., the ARRA-defined requirements and funding enable and encourage the creation of regional networks that 
will facilitate broader interoperability, allowing for things like personal health records, population health management 
and chronic disease management programs to exist. Cerner’s clients will enjoy the benefits of connectivity as we create 
national capabilities that drive interoperability with all venues in healthcare. 

A New Middle for Healthcare

We have a strong belief in the value of our work over the past three decades and the momentum that is building as 
practically all venues of healthcare automate the core processes of how medicine is practiced. We see this automation 
leading to a series of disruptive structural changes to healthcare, ultimately creating new models for delivering care and 
radically altering the current middle layer that separates care organizations from the source of funds. To put it differently, 
one of our goals is to eliminate insurance companies, as they exist today.

All the CERN initiatives in the previous section are tied to this bigger vision of creating what we call a New Middle for 
healthcare.  Like  many  other  complex  systems  that  develop  from  independent  parts  over  time,  the  pieces  of  today’s 
healthcare  “system”  are  tied  together  almost  exclusively  by  financial  transactions.  Viewing  healthcare  purely  through 
finance is like trying to understand society by looking only at bank statements. Today, the insurance-based middle layer 
works for employers or governments to aggregate both the supply of healthcare goods and services and the potential 
demand for goods and services. The current middle layer is defined by loosely coupled, highly proprietary networks of 
carriers and providers that are focused on contracts and prices, not on clinical activities, standards of care and actual 
results. Further, this layer currently consists of a labyrinth of insurance-serving financial transactions. These transactions 
create misaligned economic incentives that reinforce negative trends rather than promoting quality and value. 

The  New  Middle  is  something  we have thought about extensively  and conceived as  a  radically different transactional 
layer for healthcare—one that will work synergistically with the broader EHR adoption and interoperability capabilities that 
will unfold in this decade. Over the next year, we will invest in further defining the characteristics of the New Middle and 
staking out Cerner’s IP positioning for it. Inside Cerner, our early discussions of the New Middle have already begun to 
influence and inform our internal development activities. It is becoming the vision to guide a new era of long-term growth 
for Cerner.

2006

2007

2008

2009

2 for 1 stock split (Jan. 10)

Revenues surpass $1.5 billion

Free Cash Flow surpasses $100 million

Cerner Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Introduced CareAware® device 
architecture and line of devices

Cerner signs contract with BT for London 
region of NHS program

First Cerner Millennium® site in France

Delivered Cerner Millennium 2007 
software release, containing more new 
features than any prior release and setting 
a new quality standard

Opened Cerner Healthe Clinic at World 
Headquarters

Shipped first production units of 
RxStation® medication dispensing 
devices; 25 clients purchase MDBus® 
device connectivity

Delivered new Cerner ProVision® PACS 
Workstation

Opened new Data Center at World 
Headquarters

Signed first clients in Spain and Egypt; 
opened office in Dublin, Ireland

Acquired Etreby Computer Company  
(retail pharmacy solutions)

Smart Semi, a mobile hospital room of 
the future, introduced and made 93 stops, 
hosting nearly 9,000 client attendees

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 
becomes law and includes $35 billion in 
incentives for the adoption of healthcare IT

Signed first agreement for the  
Smart Room

Expanded footprint in Middle East with 
signing of Ministry of Health in  
United Arab Emirates

Signed first hosted client in France

Signed first client in Latin America

13

First two Cerner ITWorksSM contracts signed

University of Missouri and Cerner create 
Tiger Institute for Health Innovation

Announced acquisition of IMC HealthCare

Cerner clients connect with HHS and CDC to 
fight spread of influenza

Introduced uCern™ and uDevelop™ 
platforms, to connect associates, clients, 
and consumers and allow collaboration 
between Cerner and external developers; 
opened uCern Store to provide access to 
items developed by Cerner and others

Cerner added to NASDAQ 100 Index

 In conclusion, Cerner’s healthcare intellectual property, intellectual capital and market position represent strong assets 
that we must continue to grow. As we expand our core markets, the widening network of hospitals, physicians, laboratories, 
pharmacies  and  home  health  agencies  that  are  the  Cerner  client  family  represent  an  impressive  platform  for  further 
development  and  expansion  of  our  business,  and  the  potential  for  significant  impact  on  healthcare  worldwide.  Over 
the next several years, Cerner will be building the value-based pieces of a new-age platform for consumers, providers, 
employers and researchers. While each element of the platform will have value by itself, in time, it is possible that the 
platform may become the competition for the insurance-based infrastructure that is the current middle. 

At Cerner, we are excited to be starting a new decade. It seems like with each passing year, Cerner’s vision and mission 
become more relevant. With your support, we will drive forward with the same energy and purpose that have defined our 
company for the past three decades. 

NEAL L. PATTERSON
FOUNDER
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

CLIFFORD W. ILLIG
FOUNDER
Vice Chairman

PAUL N. GORUP
FOUNDER
Senior Vice President & Chief of Innovation

EARL H. DEVANNY, III
President

JEFFREY A. TOWNSEND
Executive Vice President

MICHAEL R. NILL
Executive Vice President  
& Chief Engineering Officer

MICHAEL G. VALENTINE
Executive Vice President 
& Chief Operating Officer

MARC G. NAUGHTON
Executive Vice President
& Chief Financial Officer

JULIA M. WILSON
Senior Vice President 
& Chief People Officer

14

15

 
 Appendix: Cerner’s Business Model and Financial Assessment

Introduction

This appendix is our annual discussion of our business model and financial performance. Note that some of the results 
in this discussion reflect adjustments compared to results reported on a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) 
basis in our Form 10-K. Non-GAAP results should not be substituted as a measure of our performance but instead may 
be used along with GAAP results as a supplemental measure of financial performance. Non-GAAP results are used by 
management along with GAAP results to analyze our business, make strategic decisions, assess long-term trends on a 
comparable basis, and for management compensation purposes. Please see the end of this appendix for a reconciliation 
of non-GAAP items to GAAP results.

The Cerner Business Model

The core of our business model is the creation of intellectual property (IP) in the form of software and other types of digital 
content. Our software is bundled with other technologies and services to create complete clinical and business solutions 
for healthcare providers. In short, we build it, sell it, deliver it, and support it for healthcare provider organizations around 
the  world  (“it”  in  this  context  refers  to  the  solutions  Cerner  creates  for  healthcare  organizations).  In  our  opinion,  we 
have a healthy business model that has improved over time. Below is a graphical representation of our business model 
showing a top-to-bottom flow of how we 
convert new business opportunities and 
our backlog into revenue and earnings. 

Sales Pipeline

At the top of our model is our Sales Pipeline 
of potential future business opportunities 
we  have  identified  in  the  marketplace. 
Despite  the  challenging  economy,  our 
pipeline has increased substantially over 
the past several years, reflecting a strong 
market for our solutions.

During  each  quarter,  we  sign  new 
contracts  to  deliver  our  solutions  to 
clients.  These  contract  signings  are 
reported as New Contract Bookings and 
become part of our contract backlog. A 
typical  new  contract  will  impact  our 
revenues  in  the  current  quarter  and 
for  the  next  several  quarters,  or  even 
years,  depending  on  how  the  licenses, 
technology,  subscriptions/transactions, 
managed  services,  and  professional 
services are delivered. 

Almost  all  of  our  client  contracts  will 
also  contain  provisions  for  Support 
Contracts  in  which  Cerner  agrees  to 
provide  a  broad  set  of  services  that 
support our clients’ use of our solutions 
in  demanding  clinical  settings.  This 
support  includes  addressing  technical 
issues  related  to  our  software  and 
providing  access  to  future  releases 
of  licensed  software.  We  also  provide 
support  and  maintenance  agreements 
for  third  party  software  and  hardware 
that we resell to our clients.

New Contract Bookings: $1.8 billion

Contract Backlog: $3.6 billion

Support
Contracts

Support Backlog: 
$620 million

Licensed
Software
$254M

System Sales

Technology
$152M

Total 2009 Revenue = $1,672M

Services, Support & Maintenance 

Subscriptions/
Transactions
$99M

Professional
Services
$397M

Managed
Services
$247M

Support &
Maintenance
$493M

Note: Total Revenue 
includes $30M 
of reimbursed 
travel revenue

x88%

x11%

$224M

$17M

x52%

$51M

x28%

x28%

$111M

$69M

x74%

$365M

Contribution Margin %

Total 2009 Contribution Margin =
$837M (50% of Revenue)

Contribution Margin $

Less:
Indirect Costs

R & D
16% of revenue
($267M)

SG & A
16% of revenue
($261M)

($528M)

Operating Margin

+

D&A

=

$309M, 19%

$189M

EBITDA
$498M
30%

Less: Taxes &
Net Int. Exp./Other Income

Taxes
($106M)

Net Interest
Exp./Other Income
$1M

($105M)

Net Earnings

$204M

÷
84M
Shares

Earnings Per Share
$2.43

16

 Continuing with our top-down business model flow, the value of the new contract bookings and support contracts rolls into 
our Contract Backlog and Support Backlog, respectively. Even though almost all of our systems are in service for decades, 
our reported Support Backlog only includes the expected value for one year of support revenue for all of our client support 
contracts.  We  report  the  value  of  these  backlogs  because  we  believe  they  are  important  to  our  shareholders’  ability  to 
interpret the overall health of our business. Our total backlog (signed contracts with unrecognized revenues and one year of 
support for all support contracts) ended 2009 at $4.2 billion and has grown at healthy compounded annual rates of 16%, 
22% and 24% over the past 3, 5 and 10 years.

At the core of our business model are our various revenue streams and the contribution each stream makes toward the 
profitability of Cerner. The contribution is stated as the recognized revenue less the direct cost to produce that revenue. 
On our business model graphic, we have depicted six revenue categories that roll into the two revenue line items on our 
income statement. Licensed Software, Technology, and Subscriptions/Transactions make up the System Sales line 
of our income statement, and Professional Services, Managed Services, and Support & Maintenance make up the 
Services, Support & Maintenance line. Here is a description of each revenue stream: 
	  Licensed Software. We develop and license IP (our architectures, application software, executable and referential 
knowledge, data and algorithms) to our clients. Our standard license is perpetual—providing our clients permanent 
rights to use the software they purchase. This approach contrasts with the approach of most of our competitors who 
are always trying to sell “upgrades” to their clients. We believe our approach is part of the reason we have so many 
long-term  client  relationships—some  lasting  three  decades.  We  recognize  revenues  from  licensed  software  as  we 
achieve pre-defined client engagement milestones, such as delivery and installation of our software. In 2009, this 
type of revenue represented 15% of our total revenues with a profit contribution of 88%. Revenues from licensed 
software were flat in 2009 compared to 2008, with a very strong fourth quarter offsetting declines in two of the first 
three quarters.

Managed
Services
15%

Professional
Services
24%

Cerner 2009 Revenue Mix

	  Technology.  We  bundle  licensed  software  with  other 
companies’  IP  (e.g.,  that  of  HP,  IBM,  Microsoft,  Oracle)  in 
the  form  of  sublicenses  to  create  complete  technology 
solutions for our clients. We also resell bundled computer 
equipment (hardware) from technology companies to create 
a  completely  functional  system.  More  recently,  we  have 
begun to resell medical devices for a growing list of medical 
device companies. We recognize revenues from technology 
resale as the equipment is delivered to our clients. In 2009, 
these  revenues  represented  9%  of  our  total  revenue  with 
a  profit  contribution  of  11%.  Even  at  lower  margins  than 
the rest of our businesses, technology resale is valuable to 
Cerner as it is a driver of other high margin, high visibility 
revenue, such as technical services, sublicensed software 
support, and equipment maintenance. Technology revenue 
decreased 12% in 2009, reflecting a tepid environment for 
capital purchases most of the year. Additionally, as discussed in past years, the resale of hardware has been impacted by 
a trend of our clients electing to have us host their Cerner Millennium® systems instead of buying the hardware upfront 
from us and hosting it themselves. This is a fundamentally positive trend as a lower margin one-time revenue stream 
is replaced by a higher-margin and longer-term managed services revenue stream. We believe traditional technology 
sales will continue to be pressured by this trend, but we have been building new channels, such as relationships with 
device manufactures to resell their devices to our clients as part of our CareAware® solutions initiative. 

Support &
Maintenance
29%

Subscription/
Transaction, 6%

Licensed
Software
15%

Reimbursed
Travel, 2%

Technology
9%

	  Subscriptions/Transactions. Another method by which we provide IP is based on a subscription model that has a 
periodic usage charge. This is the primary way we package and provide medical knowledge, which changes frequently 
based on research and can be updated independently from the software in which it is embedded. Also included in 
this category of revenue is our Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transaction revenue. EDI is the electronic transfer 
of  data  between  healthcare  providers  and  payers.  Both  the  subscription  and  transaction  model  revenue  streams 
are generally recognized monthly, and in 2009 they grew 5% and represented 6% of our total revenues with a profit 
contribution of 52%.

17

 	  Professional Services. We provide a wide range of professional services to assist our clients in the implementation of 
our information systems in their organizations. These services are in the form of project management, technical and 
application expertise, and education and training of our clients’ workforce to assist in the design and implementation 
of our systems. We recognize revenues associated with these consulting activities as they are provided to our clients. 
In 2009, these revenues decreased 11% due to slightly lower billable headcount in the U.S. and a slowdown in project 
work associated with our contracts in England. The services revenue decline is 6% after adjusting for a one-time UK 
catch-up and an extra week in our 2008 fiscal year. Professional services represented 24% of our total 2009 revenue 
with a profit contribution of 28%. 

	  Managed  Services.  Under  our  CernerWorksSM  suite  of  solutions,  we  offer  a  set  of  technical  services  that  include 
Remote Hosting, Application Management Services, Operational Management Services, and Disaster Recovery. Remote 
Hosting is the largest of these offerings, and it involves Cerner buying the necessary equipment, installing it in one of 
our data centers, and operating the entire system on the client’s behalf. The revenues for this service and our charge 
for the equipment are recognized monthly as we provide the services. Most of our clients still choose to own their own 
software license, so that portion of the revenue is unchanged. We own the equipment rather than selling it upfront to 
the client, so this impacts the technology resale portion of revenue. In 2009, Managed Services revenue grew 24% and 
represented 15% of our total revenue with the profit contribution increasing from 26% to 28%. Additionally in 2009, we 
launched an extension of our CernerWorks solutions, our Cerner ITWorksSM solutions, which involves further strategic 
alignment with clients, including Cerner taking on more of their IT functions. This initiative is off to a good start with our 
first two clients operational and has the potential to become a large contributor to our revenue.

	  Support & Maintenance. The final business model is comprised of the ongoing support and maintenance services 
we provide after our systems are in use by our client organizations. Almost all of our clients contract for these services. 
Clients with support contracts get 24x7 access to our Immediate Response Center, which serves as our “emergency 
room”, as well as access to a very knowledgeable base of associates in our SolutionWorks organization for less urgent 
issues. In addition, our clients’ support payments give them ongoing access to the latest releases of our IP. We also 
provide support for sublicensed software and maintenance for third party hardware. In 2009, support and maintenance 
revenues grew 4%. Support revenue grew 8% after adjusting for the one-time UK catch-up and the extra week in our 
2008 fiscal year. This revenue stream represented 29% of total revenue with a profit contribution of 74% (note that this 
profit contribution is before a charge for research and development, which is treated as an indirect expense). 

The revenue categories discussed above add up to 98% of total revenue. The remaining 2% is revenue from reimbursed 
travel expenses related to our associates traveling to client locations. This revenue has a zero margin as it is simply a 
pass-through of our client-related travel expenses that are billed to our clients and required to be reported as revenue.

The two large indirect expenses in our business model are the costs of our Research and Development (R&D), which was 
equal to 16% of revenue in 2009, and the indirect portion of Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) activities, which 
also represented 16% of revenue in 2009. We have a long history of investing heavily in R&D and using that investment to 
systematically expand markets to create organic growth. We expect to invest at least $1 billion in R&D over the next four 
to five years, an investment we believe is unmatched in our industry. Over the next several years, we expect the industrial 
strength of our Cerner Millennium architecture and the enactment of several initiatives designed to leverage our R&D 
investments to slow the rate of increase in R&D spending, while continuing our strong record of innovation and organic 
growth. Similarly, we expect to take advantage of our scalable business infrastructure to reduce the rate of increase in 
SG&A spending to below our revenue growth rate. We expect this leverage to help improve operating margins without 
impacting our ability to develop and deliver new solutions to our clients.

In 2009, our operating margin of $309 million was 18.5% of revenue, an increase of 190 basis points compared to 2008. 
The remaining items in our business model are taxes, net interest income and other income, which totaled $105 million 
in 2009, leaving $204 million of net earnings, or $2.43 of earnings per share. 

Assessment of 2009 Financial Results

We continued to focus on three key financial objectives in 2009: growing the top line, expanding operating margins and 
generating free cash flow. 

Growing the Top Line

Cerner  has  delivered  strong  revenue  growth  over  the  long  term.  Both  our  new  business  bookings  and  revenue  have 
grown at double-digit compound annual rates over the past 5 and 10-year horizons. In 2009, we grew our new business 
bookings 19%, driven by a record fourth quarter. A challenging global economy impacted revenue growth in 2009, and 

18

 total revenue was flat compared to 2008, with domestic revenue growth being offset by a decline in global revenue. Total 
revenue grew 3% after adjusting 2008 revenue for the one-time UK catch-up and the extra week in fiscal year 2008. 
Looking at revenue by geographic segment, domestic revenue increased 7% in 2009, while global revenue decreased 
26% (20% after adjusting 2008 for the one-time UK catch-up).

In 2010, we expect our top-line growth to improve as the economy begins its recovery. In the U.S., we expect demand 
driven by the healthcare IT provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to begin driving increased demand 
both inside and outside our installed based. Innovative new solutions and services that have been introduced in the last 
few years are also expected to make a meaningful contribution to top-line growth in the coming years. Additionally, we 
expect our global business will rebound and resume being a contributor to our growth. For more information on our growth 
strategy, refer to the Cerner Growth Strategy section in Part 1, Item 1 of our Form 10-K.

Expanding Operating Margins

In February of 2004, we mapped out our path from the 2003 level of 9% operating margins to our target of 20%. We have 
made very good progress since then, with our operating margin expanding over 900 basis points to 18.5% in 2009. Our 
2009 progress was mostly in line with what we communicated last year, and our fourth quarter operating margin of 21.0% 
exceeded our goal of exiting the year with operating margins greater than 20%. We are targeting 20% operating margins 
for the full year in 2010. 

The below graph and table detail our margin expansion since 2003. 

Operating Margin

21%

19%

17%

15%

13%

11%

9%

'03

'04

'05

'06

'07

'08

'09

'10E

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010E

Contribution Margin

Licensed Software

Technology

Subscription/Transaction

Professional Services

Managed Services

Support & Maintenance

Total Contribution Margin

Indirect Costs % of Revenue

R&D

SG&A

Total

Operating Margin

89%

17%

10%

15%

18%

53%

41%

19%

13%

31%

9.3%

Cumulative Improvement (basis points)

88%

20%

12%

23%

20%

57%

45%

19%

14%

33%

85%

13%

37%

27%

25%

62%

46%

18%

15%

33%

84%

11%

43%

27%

25%

65%

46%

18%

15%

32%

89%

12%

49%

29%

25%

69%

47%

17%

15%

32%

88%

12%

50%

29%

26%

72%

48%

16%

15%

31%

88%

11%

52%

28%

28%

74%

50%

16%

16%

32%

88%

12%

53%

29%

29%

75%

51%

15%

15%

30%

12.4%

313bp

12.6%

335bp

13.4%

413bp

15.1%

579bp

16.6%

729bp

18.5%

20.3%

922bp

1101bp

19

 Highlights of the margin expansion drivers include:
	  Increase profitability of Support & Maintenance. As we have continued to harden the Cerner Millennium platform, 
our incremental cost to support each additional client has declined. We expect this to continue, which will allow us to 
expand the profitability of this highly visible revenue stream.

	  Improving  Professional  Services  Margins.  We  will  continue  to  leverage  our  Solutions  Center  implementation 
approach,  which  has  higher  margins  than  traditional  on-site  projects.  And  ongoing  efficiencies  are  expected  from 
initiatives such as our Bedrock® technology, which automates much of the implementation and management of our 
Cerner Millennium information platform, and our MethodM® implementation methodology approach, which provides 
standardized processes during implementation. These initiatives reduce the implementation costs for Cerner and our 
clients while delivering more predictable outcomes, allowing for margin expansion and a competitive advantage in the 
marketplace. 

	  Leverage R&D investments, bringing R&D as a percentage of revenue down from 16% to 15% in 2010. Leveraging 
our  significant  R&D  investment  and  common  platform  should  allow  us  to  continue  our  record  of  innovation  while 
growing R&D spending at a rate that is slower than our top-line growth rate. The key to doing this will be our ability to 
extend our solutions to new revenue opportunities, such as the global marketplace, without significant incremental 
costs. Efficiencies from our operations in India will also contribute to our ability to control the rate of R&D growth.
	  Leverage Sales, General and Administrative expenses. We have built a scalable business infrastructure that should 

allow us to keep our SG&A spending growth rate lower than our top-line growth rate.

	  Increase profitability of Technology Resale. The primary driver of this will be focusing on achieving better margins 
on hardware sales and increasing the mix of higher margin sublicensed software as a percent of total technology 
resale.

	  Expand  Margins  and  grow  revenue  in  Subscriptions/Transactions  business  model.  This  business  model  is 
relatively immature, but has good growth potential, and we expect it to become more profitable as it grows and the 
fixed costs associated with supporting it are spread over a higher revenue base.

A  key  point  regarding  our  margin  expansion  strategy  is  that  we 
are  executing  it  while  our  business  model  is  transitioning  to  more 
visible  and  recurring  revenue  components.  For  example,  in  2000, 
approximately  55%  of  our  revenue  (before  reimbursed  travel)  came 
from what we consider visible or recurring sources such as Professional 
Services,  Managed  Services,  Subscriptions/Transactions,  and 
Support  &  Maintenance.  In  2009,  75%  of  our  revenue  came  from 
these sources. Similarly, Contribution Margin from recurring or visible 
sources increased from 41% to 71%.

Strong  margin  expansion  allowed  us  to  grow  our  earnings  12%  in 
2009 even though revenue growth was flat. Our 3-, 5-, and 10-year 
compound  annual  earnings  growth  rates  of  22%,  26%,  and  40%, 
respectively,  reflect  our  ability  to  drive  long-term  earnings  growth. 
Going forward, our top-line growth strategies coupled with continued 
focus on productivity enhancements and margin expansion position 
us well for continued strong earnings growth.

Generating Cash Flow

A healthy business generates cash flow. Perhaps our most significant 
improvement in recent years has been in our cash flow performance. 
Despite  the  challenging  economy,  2009  was  a  record  year  for  cash 
performance  with  $347  million  of  operating  cash  flow  and  $138 
million of free cash flow (operating cash flow less capital expenditures 
and capitalized software). Operating cash flow increased 23% in 2009 
and more than offset slightly higher capital expenditures. Free cash 
flow as a percent of net earnings has increased from 22% in 2007, 
to  55%  in  2008,  and  then  to  72%  in  2009.  We  expect  to  continue 

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

$350

$300

$250

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0

($50)

20

25%

29%

45%

55%

75%

59%

41%

71%

2000

2009

Revenue

2009
2000
Contribution Margin

Non-recurring

Recurring and Visible

Operating Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow

'00

'01

'02

'03

'04

'05

'06

'07

'08

'09

*FCF = Operating CF less Capital Expenditures and Capitalized Software

 growing free cash flow in the next few years through growth in operating cash flow combined with keeping capital spending 
in the $150 million per year range.

Stock Price

At Cerner, we manage the company, not the stock price. In the short-term, the stock price can be influenced by many 
factors beyond our control, but we believe in the long-term it will closely reflect the quality of our decisions. We believe 
it  is  important  for  our  shareholders  that  we  focus  on  delivering  strong  long-term  results,  but  we  also  understand  the 
importance of delivering consistently against short-term targets. 

Following the economic turmoil of 2008 and early 2009, the stock market rebounded, with the NASDAQ Composite Index 
and S&P 500 ending 2009 up 44% and 23%, respectively. Cerner’s stock price increased 114% in 2009, reflecting our 
delivery of solid results in a challenging environment, our strong position to benefit from the healthcare IT provisions in 
the U.S. stimulus bill, and improved broader market performance. When measuring our stock performance over the 5-, 
10- and 20-year periods using compound annual growth rates, the returns are 25%, 24%, and 26%, respectively. These 
returns are significantly greater than the returns over the same time frames for the NASDAQ Composite Index (1%, -6%, 
and 8%) and S&P 500 (-2%, -3%, 6%).

Reconciliation of 2009 GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Results*

($ in millions except Earnings Per Share)

GAAP Operating Earnings

Share-based compensation expense

Adjusted Operating Earnings

GAAP Net Earnings

Share-based compensation expense

Income tax benefit of share-based compensation

Adjusted Net Earnings (non-GAAP)

Operating 
Earnings

  $ 

  $ 

  $ 

292

17

309

Net 
Earnings

  $ 

  $ 

  $ 

  $ 

193

17

(6)

204

Reconciliation of GAAP Operating Cash Flow to Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow

Cash flows from operating activities

Capital purchases

Capitalized software development costs

Free cash flow (FCF)

*More detail on these adjustments and management’s use of Non-GAAP results is in our 2009 Form 10-K and 8-Ks.

Operating 
Margin %

17.5%

18.5%

Diluted 
Earnings 
Per Share

$  2.31

  0.20

(0.08)

$  2.43

Cash Flow

$  347

$  (131)

$ 

(78)

$  138

21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
FORM 10-K

22

 
UNITED STATES 
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

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

For the fiscal year ended: January 2, 2010
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: 0-15386

CERNER CORPORATION

 (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
Incorporation or organization)

2800 Rockcreek Parkway
North Kansas City, MO
(Address of principal executive offices)

43-1196944
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

64117
(Zip Code)

(816) 221-1024 
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: 
 Common Stock, $.01 par value per share 
(Title of Class)

NASDAQ Stock Market 
(Name of exchange on which registered)

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 [  ]

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 (§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 [  ]

No [  ]

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. [X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See 
the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer [X]

Smaller reporting company [  ]

Non-accelerated filer [  ]

Accelerated filer [  ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes [  ]

No [X]

As of July 4, 2009, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $4,265,742,365 based on the 

closing sale price as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

Class

[Common Stock, $.01 par value per share]

Outstanding at February 16, 2010

81,889,914 shares

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Document

Proxy Statement for the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting to be held May 28, 2010 (Proxy Statement)

Parts Into Which Incorporated
Part III

23

 
 PART I

Item 1.  Business

Overview
Cerner Corporation is a Delaware business corporation formed in 1980. Unless the context otherwise requires, references 
in this report to “Cerner,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” mean Cerner Corporation and its subsidiaries. 

Our corporate headquarters are located at 2800 Rockcreek Parkway, North Kansas City, Missouri 64117. Our telephone 
number is  816.221.1024.  Our Web site address, which  we use to  communicate  important  business  information, can 
be accessed at: www.cerner.com. We make our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current 
reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports available free of charge on or through this Web site as soon 
as  reasonably  practicable  after  such  material  is  electronically  filed  with  or  furnished  to  the  Securities  and  Exchange 
Commission.

We are a leading supplier of healthcare information technology (HIT) solutions, healthcare devices and related services, 
and are transforming healthcare by eliminating error, variance and waste for healthcare providers and consumers. Cerner® 
solutions optimize processes for healthcare organizations ranging in size from single-doctor practices, to health systems, 
to entire countries, for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, and for the healthcare commerce system. These 
solutions are licensed by more than 8,500 facilities around the world, including approximately 2,300 hospitals; 3,400 
physician practices covering more than 30,000 physicians; 600 ambulatory facilities, such as laboratories, ambulatory 
centers, cardiac facilities, radiology clinics and surgery centers; 700 home health facilities; and 1,500 retail pharmacies.

We design and develop most of our software solutions on the unified Cerner Millennium® architecture, a person-centric 
computing framework, which combines clinical, financial and management information systems. This architecture allows 
providers  to  securely  access  an  individual’s  electronic  health  record  (EHR)  at  the  point  of  care,  and  it  organizes  and 
proactively delivers information to meet the specific needs of physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, pharmacists or 
other care providers, front- and back-office professionals and consumers.

We also offer a broad range of services, including implementation and training, remote hosting, operational management 
services,  revenue  cycle  services,  support  and  maintenance,  healthcare  data  analysis,  clinical  process  optimization, 
transaction  processing,  employer  health  centers,  employee  wellness  programs  and  third  party  administrator  (TPA) 
services for employer-based health plans.

The following table presents our consolidated revenues by major solutions and services and by segment, as a 
percentage of total revenues:

For the Years Ended

2009

2008

2007

Revenues by Solutions & Services

System sales

Support and maintenance

Services

Reimbursed travel

Revenues by Segment

Domestic

Global

31%

28%

38%

2%

100%

78%

22%

100%

33%

26%

39%

2%

100%

81%

19%

100%

30%

29%

39%

2%

100%

84%

16%

100%

24

 
 The	Healthcare	and	Healthcare	IT	Industry
The lingering downturn in the worldwide economy has impacted almost all industries. While healthcare is not immune to 
economic cycles, we believe it is more resilient than most segments of the economy. The impact of the current economic 
conditions  on  our  existing  and  prospective  clients  has  been  mixed.  Some  organizations  are  doing  well  operationally, 
but others face challenges such as higher levels of uninsured patients and Medicaid payments being impacted by the 
weakened financial condition of state governments.

We  believe  the  result  of  these  challenges  is  that  healthcare  organizations  are  focusing  on  strategic  spending  that 
generates a return on their investment. Because HIT solutions play an important role in healthcare by improving safety, 
efficiency and reducing cost, they are often viewed as more strategic than other potential purchases. Most healthcare 
providers also recognize that they must invest in HIT to meet regulatory, compliance and government reimbursement 
requirements.

Overall,  while  the  economy  has  certainly  impacted  and  could  continue  to  impact  our  business,  we  believe  there  are 
several macro trends that are favorable for the HIT industry. One example is the need to curb the growth of United States 
healthcare spending, which analysts from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimate at $2.5 trillion or 
17.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2009. In the United States, politicians and policymakers agree that the growing 
cost of our healthcare system is unsustainable. Leaders of both parties say the intelligent use of information systems will 
improve health outcomes and, correspondingly, drive down costs. They cite a 2005 study by RAND Corp., which estimated 
that the widespread adoption of HIT in the United States could cut healthcare costs by $162 billion annually. 

In 2009, the broad recognition that HIT is essential to helping control healthcare costs contributed to the inclusion of HIT 
incentives in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Health Information Technology for Economic and 
Clinical Health (HITECH) provisions within ARRA include more than $35 billion (in the form of incentives and penalties) 
to help healthcare organizations modernize operations through the acquisition and wide-spread use of HIT. We believe 
ARRA  could  represent  the  single  biggest  United  States  HIT  opportunity  in  our  30  years  as  a  company.  With  our  large 
footprint in United States hospitals and physician practices, together with our proven ability to deliver value, we believe 
the Company is well-positioned to benefit from these incentives over the next several years. 

Another dynamic in the United States marketplace is broader federal healthcare reform and uncertainty about how the 
legislation will impact the industry. While this creates some near-term uncertainty for healthcare providers, we believe HIT 
continues to be viewed as a transformational agent that is essential in all scenarios of reform.

Outside of the United States, the economy has impacted and could continue to impact our results in almost all regions. 
However, we believe revenue growth opportunities outside the United States remain significant because other countries 
are also grappling with increased healthcare spending, safety concerns and inefficient care, and many of these countries 
recognize HIT as an important part of the solution to these issues.

In summary, while the current economic environment has impacted our business, the fundamental value proposition of 
HIT remains strong. The HIT industry will likely benefit as healthcare providers and governments continue to recognize 
that these solutions and services contribute to safer, more efficient healthcare.

Cerner	Vision
Cerner’s  vision  has  evolved  from  a  fundamental  thought:  Healthcare  should  revolve  around  the  individual,  not  the 
encounter. This concept led to Cerner’s vision of the unified Cerner Millennium architecture and a Community Health 
Model, which encompasses four steps:

Automate the Care Process
We offer a longitudinal, person-centric EHR, which gives clinicians electronic access to the right information at the right 
time and place to achieve optimal health outcomes.

25

 Connect the Person
We are dedicated to building a personal health system. Medical information and care regimens accessible from home 
empower  consumers  to  effectively  manage  their  conditions  and  adhere  to  treatment  plans,  creating  a  new  medium 
between physicians and individuals.

Structure the Knowledge
We are dedicated to building systems that help bring the best science to every medical decision by structuring, storing 
and studying the content surrounding each care episode to achieve optimal clinical and financial outcomes.

Close the Loop
Incorporating a medical discovery into daily practice can take as long as 10 years. We are dedicated to building systems 
that  implement  evidence-based  medicine,  reducing  the  average  time  between  discovery  of  an  improved  method  to  a 
change in the standard of care.

As our vision evolves, we expect medicine will become increasingly personalized and technology more accessible. We are 
creating new solutions and collaborative, information-sharing networks for large user communities, including strategies 
to:

g	

g	

g	

	Connect all stakeholders in the healthcare system, including payers (employers and governments), providers and 
consumers
	Remove clinical, financial and administrative friction
	Create a secure, transparent and open network for data sharing to improve disease management and facilitate 
personalized medicine

To achieve this vision, we are leveraging the Cerner Millennium architecture and expanding our solutions and services, 
as discussed below.

Cerner	Growth	Strategy
Our business strategies are anchored by our industry-leading solution and device architectures, the breadth and depth 
of  our solutions and  services,  our proven  ability  to  deliver  value,  and,  most  importantly,  the  success  of  our clients.  A 
core strength that has led to this strong market position is our proven ability to innovate, which has driven consistent 
expansion of solutions and services, entry into new markets and strong long-term growth. 

We believe our strengths position us well to gain market share in the United States during a period of expected strong 
demand driven by the HITECH provisions of ARRA. We also have a strong global brand and a presence in more than 25 
countries and believe we have a good opportunity to gain market share outside of the United States. 

We also have a significant opportunity to grow revenues by expanding our solution footprint in existing clients. In addition 
to the opportunity to expand penetration of core solutions, such as EHR’s and computerized physician order entry, we 
have a broad range of solutions that can be offered into our existing client base. Examples include solutions and services 
for  women’s  health,  anesthesiology,  imaging,  clinical  process  optimization,  critical  care,  medical  device  connectivity, 
emergency department, revenue cycle and surgery.

Additionally, we have recently introduced additional services targeted at capturing a larger percent of our clients’ existing 
IT spending. These services leverage our proven operational capabilities and the success of our CernerWorksSM managed 
services  business,  where  we  have  demonstrated  the  ability  to  improve  our  clients’  service  levels  at  a  cost  that  is  at 
or below levels they were previously spending. One of these new services is Cerner ITWorksSM, a suite of services that 
improve the ability of hospital IT departments to meet their organization’s needs while also creating a closer alignment 
between Cerner and our clients. A second example is Cerner RevWorksSM, which includes solutions and services to help 
healthcare organizations with their revenue cycle functions. 

26

	
	
	
 We  have  made  good  progress  over  the  past  several  years  at  reducing  the  total  cost  of  ownership  of  our  solutions, 
which expands our end market opportunities by allowing us to offer lower-cost, higher-value solutions and services to 
smaller  community  hospitals,  critical  access  hospitals  and  physician  practices.  Our  ability  to  address  these  markets 
has  been  aided  by  our  Bedrock®  technology,  which  automates  much  of  the  implementation  and  management  of  the 
Cerner Millennium platform. We have also streamlined implementations and made them more predictable through our 
MethodM® implementation methodology, which draws upon practices proven to be effective during thousands of past 
implementations. Additionally, we reduced up-front hardware costs and ongoing technology obsolescence risks through 
our remote-hosted, managed services offering, CernerWorks.

We also expect to drive growth over the course of the next decade through initiatives outside the core HIT market. For 
example, we offer clinic, pharmacy and wellness services directly to employers. And as described below, we believe being 
able to connect employers, governments and consumers directly with their healthcare providers through a “New Middle” 
presents a substantial growth opportunity as we aim to help eliminate the friction that consumes more than 30 percent 
of healthcare spending.

Creating	the	Cerner	Network	and	The	New	Middle
Several  years  ago,  we  introduced  a  surveillance  system  called  the  LightsOn  Network®,  which  identifies  performance 
problems in real time and has the ability to predict issues that could create system vulnerability. With more than 300 
participating clients, the LightsOn™ solution has become an evidence-based network that enhances performance and 
allows our clients to maximize the value they gain from our systems. Our LightsOn solution also shows our ability to create 
a network—a common platform of learning and improvements from which all our clients can benefit. 

Along  these  lines,  we  have  created  the  uCern™  platform,  a  collaboration  and  social  networking  platform  which  gives 
clients a place where they can collaborate with peers or Cerner associates about topics ranging from healthcare reform 
to solution enhancements to project status updates. Approximately 95 percent of our core Cerner Millennium clients 
actively engage on this platform. Additionally, we have created the uDevelop™ solution, a collaborative ecosystem that 
supports a unique audience of engineers, including both our associates and external developers, who work to improve 
our solutions; and the uCern Store, which offers quick access to innovations developed by us, as well as other individuals 
and organizations.

Another example of how we are creating value out of the connectedness of our client base is the Flu Pandemic Initiative. 
In partnership with the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), we created a secure, rapid-detection network for the influenza virus in 2009. This network supplies 
public health departments, clients and the CDC with real-time situational awareness information to help communities 
triage resources during an influenza outbreak.

In addition, we are leading efforts to create interoperability in order to make the process of electronically sharing clinical 
information faster and easier for healthcare providers. For example, we have solutions like the Cerner Hub, which enables 
the secure electronic flow of clinical data between hospitals and physician practices, regardless of the EHR system being 
used.

Through  these  connections  and  networks,  we  are  creating  the  building  blocks  for  an  entirely  new  healthcare  system 
that  will  introduce  much-needed  competition  for  our  current,  insurance-based  infrastructure.  In  this  new  system,  a 
“New Middle” would facilitate the sharing of relevant clinical and financial information between payers, consumers and 
providers, enhancing care and reducing friction. 

Consumers would have a personal health record, giving them ready access to information on both the price and quality of 
the care they receive. This record would have the consumer’s complete medical history and a predictive model of future 
needs based on his or her genetic code. Armed with this information, consumers would have financial incentives to focus 
on controlling chronic conditions and reducing future maladies. 

With  more  complete  patient  information,  providers  could  focus  on  preventive  rather  than  reactive  medicine.  Through 
this New Middle, providers could communicate instantly with the rest of the patient’s care team, and they would receive 
immediate  point-of-service  payments  for  the  delivery  of  appropriate  care  rather  than  waiting  weeks  or  months  while 
claims work through the reimbursement process. 

27

 Finally, the segments of our society that pay for care—employers or governments—would receive a rational health system, 
one that eliminates variance, cost and waste while maximizing the quality of healthcare for all of us.

Software	Development
We  commit  significant  resources  to  developing  new  health  information  system  solutions.  As  of  the  end  of  2009, 
approximately  2,000  associates  were  engaged  in  research  and  development  activities.  Total  expenditures  for  the 
development and enhancement of our software solutions were approximately $285.2 million, $291.4 million and $283.1 
million  during  the  2009,  2008  and  2007  fiscal  years,  respectively.  These  figures  include  both  capitalized  and  non-
capitalized portions and exclude amounts amortized for financial reporting purposes. 

As discussed above, continued investment in research and development remains a core element of our strategy. This will 
include ongoing enhancement of our core solutions and development of new solutions and services.

Sales	and	Marketing
The markets for Cerner® HIT solutions, healthcare devices and services include integrated delivery networks, physician 
groups and networks, managed care organizations, hospitals, medical centers, free-standing reference laboratories, home 
health agencies, blood banks, imaging centers, pharmacies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, employers, governments 
and public health organizations. The majority of our sales are sales of clinical solutions and services to hospital and 
health systems, but the Cerner Millennium architecture is highly scalable and organizations ranging from several-doctor 
physician  practices,  to  community  hospitals,  to  complex  integrated  delivery  networks,  to  local,  regional  and  national 
government agencies use our Cerner Millennium solutions. 

As previously discussed, we have focused on bringing down the total cost of ownership of our systems, which allows us to 
be price competitive across the full size and organizational structure range of healthcare providers. Sales to large health 
systems typically take approximately nine to 18 months, with the sale cycle often shorter when selling to smaller hospitals 
and physician practices. We have seen some indications that the HITECH provisions of ARRA may shorten this process.

Our  executive  marketing  management  is  located  in  our  North  Kansas  City,  Missouri  headquarters,  while  our  client 
representatives  are  deployed  across  the  United  States  and  globally.  In  addition  to  the  United  States,  through  our 
subsidiaries, we have sales associates and/or offices in Australia, Canada, Chile, England, France, Germany, China (Hong 
Kong), India, Ireland, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. 

We support our sales force with technical personnel who perform demonstrations of Cerner solutions and services and 
assist clients in determining the proper hardware and software configurations. Our primary direct marketing strategy is 
to generate sales contacts from our existing client base and through presentations at industry seminars and tradeshows. 
We market the PowerWorks® solutions, offered on a subscription basis, directly to the physician practice market using 
telemarketing, channel partners and through existing acute care clients that are looking to extend Cerner solutions to 
affiliated physicians. We attend a number of major tradeshows each year and sponsor executive user conferences, which 
feature industry experts who address the HIT needs of large healthcare organizations.

Client	Services	
Substantially  all  of  Cerner’s  HIT  software  solutions  clients  enter  into  software  maintenance  agreements  with  us  for 
support of their Cerner systems. In addition to immediate software support in the event of problems, these agreements 
allow  clients  the  use  of  new  releases  of  the  Cerner  solutions  covered  by  maintenance  agreements.  Each  client  has 
24-hour access to the client support team located at our world headquarters in North Kansas City, Missouri, and our 
global support organization in England and Ireland.

Most  Cerner  clients  who  buy  hardware  through  us  also  enter  into  hardware  maintenance  agreements with  us.  These 
arrangements normally provide for a fixed monthly fee for specified services. In the majority of cases, we subcontract 
hardware  maintenance  to  the  hardware  manufacturer.  We  also  offer  a  set  of  managed  services  that  include  remote 
hosting, operational management services and disaster recovery.

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 Backlog	
At the end of 2009, we had a contract backlog of approximately $3.6 billion as compared to approximately $2.9 billion 
at the end of 2008. Such backlog represents system sales and services from signed contracts that have not yet been 
recognized as revenue. At the end of 2009, we had approximately $135.3 million of contracts receivable compared to 
$141.0 million at the end of 2008, which represents revenues recognized but not yet billable under the terms of the 
contract. At the end of 2009, we had a software support and maintenance backlog of approximately $620.6 million as 
compared to approximately $580.9 million at January 3, 2009. Such backlog represents contracted software support and 
hardware maintenance services for a period of 12 months. We estimate that approximately 33 percent of the aggregate 
backlog at the end of 2009 of $4.2 billion will be recognized as revenue during 2010. 

Competition
The  market  for  HIT  solutions,  devices  and  services  is  intensely  competitive,  rapidly  evolving  and  subject  to  rapid 
technological  change.  Our  principal  existing  competitors  in  the  healthcare  solutions  and  services  market  include: 
Computer  Programs  and  Systems,  Inc.,  Eclipsys  Corporation,  Epic  Systems  Corporation,  GE  Healthcare  Technologies, 
iSoft Group Limited, McKesson Corporation, Medical Information Technology, Inc. (Meditech), Misys Healthcare Systems 
and  Siemens  Medical  Solutions  Health  Services  Corporation,  each  of  which  offers  a  suite  of  software  solutions  that 
compete with many of our software solutions and services. 

Other competitors focus on only a portion of the market that we address. For example, competitors such as Accenture, 
Capgemini, Computer Sciences Corporation, Computer Task Group, Inc. (CTG), Dell, Inc., Deloitte LLP, Hewlett-Packard 
Company  and  IBM  Corporation  offer  HIT  services  that  compete  directly  with  our  consulting  services.  Allscripts-Misys 
Healthcare Solutions, Inc., athenahealth, Inc., eClinicalWorks LLC, Emdeon Corporation, Greenway Medical Technologies, 
Quality  Systems,  Inc.  and  Sage  Software  Healthcare  LLC  offer  solutions  to  the  physician  practice  market  but  do  not 
currently have a significant presence in the health systems and independent hospital market. 

We  view  our  principal  competitors  in  the  healthcare  device  market  to  include:  CareFusion  Corporation,  McKesson 
Corporation,  Omnicell,  Inc.  and  Royal  Philips  Electronics;  and  we  view  our  principal  competitors  in  the  healthcare 
transactions  market  to  include:  Emdeon  Corporation,  McKesson  Corporation  and  ProxyMed,  Inc.  (d/b/a  MedAvant 
Healthcare  Solutions),  with  almost  all  of  these  competitors  being  substantially  larger  or  having  more  experience  and 
market share than us in their respective market. 

In  addition,  we  expect  that  major  software  information  systems  companies,  large  information  technology  consulting 
service providers and system integrators, start-up companies, managed care companies and others specializing in the 
healthcare industry may offer competitive software solutions, devices or services. The pace of change in the HIT market 
is rapid and there are frequent new software solutions, devices or service introductions, enhancements and evolving 
industry standards and requirements. We believe that the principal competitive factors in this market include the breadth 
and quality of solution and service offerings, the stability of the solution provider, the features and capabilities of the 
information systems and devices, the ongoing support for the systems and devices and the potential for enhancements 
and future compatible software solutions and devices.

Number	of	Employees	(Associates)
At the end of 2009, we employed approximately 7,600 associates worldwide.

Operating	Segments
Information  about  our  operating  segments,  which  are  geographically  based,  may  be  found  in  Item  7  “Management’s 
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” below and in Note 18 to the financial statements.

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 Item 1A.  Risk Factors

Risks Related to Cerner Corporation

We	 may	 incur	 substantial	 costs	 related	 to	 product-related	 liabilities.  Many  of  our  software  solutions,  healthcare 
devices or services (including life sciences/research services) provide data for use by healthcare providers in providing 
care to patients. We attempt to limit by contract our liability to clients; however, the limitations of liability set forth in 
the contracts may not be enforceable or may not otherwise protect us from liability for damages. Although we maintain 
liability insurance coverage in an amount that we believe is sufficient for our business, there can be no assurance that 
such coverage will cover any particular claim that has been brought or that may be brought in the future, prove to be 
adequate or that such coverage will continue to remain available on acceptable terms, if at all. A successful material 
claim or series of claims brought against us, if uninsured or under-insured, could materially harm our business, results 
of operations and financial condition. Product-related claims, even if not successful, could damage our reputation, cause 
us to lose existing clients, limit our ability to obtain new clients, divert management’s attention from operations, result in 
revenues loss, create potential liabilities for our clients and us and increase insurance and other operational costs.

We	 may	 be	 subject	 to	 claims	 for	 system	 errors	 and	 warranties.  Our  software  solutions  and  healthcare  devices, 
particularly the Cerner Millennium versions, are very complex. Our software solutions and healthcare devices may contain 
design,  coding  or  other  errors,  especially  when  first  introduced.  We  have  discovered  errors  in  our  software  solutions 
and healthcare devices after their introduction. Our software solutions and healthcare devices are intended for use in 
collecting,  storing,  and  displaying  clinical  and  healthcare-related  information  used  in  the  diagnosis  and  treatment  of 
patients and in related healthcare settings such as admissions, billing, etc. Therefore, users of our software solutions 
and healthcare devices have a greater sensitivity to errors than the market for software products and devices generally. 
Our  client  agreements  typically  provide  warranties  concerning  material  errors  and  other  matters.  Failure  of  a  client’s 
Cerner software solutions and/or healthcare devices to meet these warranties could constitute a material breach under 
the client agreement, allowing the client to terminate the agreement and possibly obtain a refund and/or damages, or 
might require us to incur additional expense in order to make the software solution or healthcare device meet these 
criteria. Our client agreements generally limit our liability arising from such claims but such limits may not be enforceable 
in certain jurisdictions or circumstances. Although we maintain liability insurance coverage in an amount that we believe 
is sufficient for our business, there can be no assurance that such coverage will cover any particular claim that has been 
brought or that may be brought in the future, prove to be adequate or that such coverage will continue to remain available 
on acceptable terms, if at all. A successful material claim or series of claims brought against us, if uninsured or under-
insured, could materially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. 

We	may	experience	interruption	at	our	data	centers	or	client	support	facilities. We perform data center and/or hosting 
services for certain clients, including the storage of critical patient and administrative data. In addition, we provide support 
services to our clients through various client support facilities. We have invested in reliability features such as multiple 
power feeds, multiple backup generators and redundant telecommunications lines, as well as technical (such as multiple 
overlapping security applications and countermeasures) and physical security safeguards, and structured our operations 
to reduce the likelihood of disruptions. Periodic risk assessments are conducted to ensure additional risks are identified 
and appropriately mitigated. However, complete failure of all local public power and backup generators, impairment of all 
telecommunications lines, a “concerted denial of service cyber attack”, damage (environmental, accidental, intentional 
or pandemic) to the buildings, the equipment inside the buildings housing our data centers, the client data contained 
therein and/or the personnel trained to operate such facilities could cause a disruption in  operations and negatively 
impact clients who depend on us for data center and system support services. Any interruption in operations at our data 
centers and/or client support facilities could damage our reputation, cause us to lose existing clients, hurt our ability to 
obtain new clients, result in revenue loss, create potential liabilities for our clients and us and increase insurance and 
other operating costs.

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 Our	proprietary	technology	may	be	subject	to	claims	for	infringement	or	misappropriation	of	intellectual	property	
rights	of	others,	or	may	be	infringed	or	misappropriated	by	others.	We rely upon a combination of license agreements, 
confidentiality  procedures,  employee  nondisclosure  agreements,  confidentiality  agreements  with  third  parties  and 
technical  measures  to  maintain  the  confidentiality  and  trade  secrecy  of  our  proprietary  information.  We  also  rely  on 
trademark and copyright laws to protect our intellectual property rights in the United States and abroad. We continue to 
develop our patent portfolio of United States and global patents, but currently have a limited number of issued patents. 
Despite our protective measures and intellectual property rights, we may not be able to adequately protect against copying, 
reverse-engineering, misappropriation, infringement or unauthorized use or disclosure of our intellectual property.

In addition, we are routinely involved in intellectual property infringement or misappropriation claims and we expect this 
activity to continue or even increase as the number of competitors, patents and patent enforcement organizations in the 
HIT market increases, the functionality of our software solutions and services expands, and we enter new markets such 
as healthcare device innovation, healthcare transactions and life sciences. These claims, even if not meritorious, are 
expensive to defend. If we become liable to third parties for infringing or misappropriating their intellectual property rights, 
we could be required to pay a substantial damage award, develop alternative technology, obtain a license and/or cease 
using, selling, licensing, implementing and supporting the solutions, devices and services that violate the intellectual 
property rights.

We	are	subject	to	risks	associated	with	our	non-U.S.	operations. We market, sell and service our solutions, devices and 
services globally. We have established offices around the world, including in: the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and 
the Asia Pacific region. We will continue to expand our non-U.S. operations and enter new global markets. This expansion 
will require significant management attention and financial resources to develop successful direct and indirect non-U.S. 
sales and support channels. Our business is generally transacted in the local functional currency. In some countries, our 
success will depend in part on our ability to form relationships with local partners. There is a risk that we may sometimes 
choose the wrong partner. For these reasons, we may not be able to maintain or increase non-U.S. market demand for 
our solutions, devices and services.

Non-U.S.  operations  are  subject  to  inherent  risks,  and  our  future  results  could  be  adversely  affected  by  a  variety  of 
uncontrollable and changing factors. These include, but are not limited to:

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	Greater difficulty in collecting accounts receivable and longer collection periods
	Difficulties and costs of staffing and managing non-U.S. operations
	The impact of global economic conditions
	Unfavorable or changing foreign currency exchange rates
	Legal  compliance  costs  and/or  business  risks  associated  with  our  global  operations  where  local  laws  and 
customs differ from those in the United States
	Certification, licensing or regulatory requirements
	Unexpected changes in regulatory requirements
	Changes to or reduced protection of intellectual property rights in some countries
	Inability  to  obtain  necessary  financing  on  reasonable  terms  to  adequately  support  non-U.S.  operations  and 
expansion
	Potentially adverse tax consequences and difficulties associated with repatriating cash generated or held abroad 
in a tax-efficient manner.
	Different or additional functionality requirements
	Trade protection measures
	Export control regulations
	Service provider and government spending patterns
	Natural disasters, war or terrorist acts
	Labor disruptions that may occur in a country
	Poor selection of a partner in a country
	Political conditions which may impact sales or threaten the safety of associates or our continued presence in 
these countries

31

	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 Our	failure	to	effectively	hedge	exposure	to	fluctuations	in	foreign	currency	exchange	rates	could	unfavorably	affect	
our	 performance.  We  currently  utilize  a  non-derivative  instrument  to  hedge  our  exposure  to  fluctuations  in  foreign 
currency  exchange  rates.  This  instrument  may  involve  elements  of  market  risk  in  excess  of  the  amounts  recognized 
in the Consolidated Financial Statements. For additional information about risk on financial instruments, see Item 7A 
“Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk”. Further, our financial results from non-U.S. operations may 
be negatively affected if we fail to execute or improperly hedge our exposure to currency fluctuations.

We	are	subject	to	tax	legislation	in	several	countries;	tax	legislation	initiatives	or	challenges	to	our	tax	positions	
could	adversely	affect	our	results	of	operations	and	financial	condition. We are a large corporation with operations in 
more than twenty countries. As such, we are, or in the future could be, subject to tax laws and regulations of the United 
States  federal,  state  and  local  governments  and  of  other  country  jurisdictions.  From  time  to  time,  various  legislative 
initiatives  may  be  proposed  that  could  adversely  affect  our  tax  positions  and/or  our  tax  liabilities.  There  can  be  no 
assurance that our effective tax rate or tax payments will not be adversely affected by these initiatives. In addition, United 
States federal, state and local, as well as other countries’ tax laws and regulations, are extremely complex and subject to 
varying interpretations. There can be no assurance that our tax positions will not be challenged by relevant tax authorities 
or that we would be successful in any such challenge. 

Our	success	depends	upon	the	recruitment	and	retention	of	key	personnel. To remain competitive in our industries, 
we  must  attract,  motivate  and  retain  highly  skilled  managerial,  sales,  marketing,  consulting  and  technical  personnel, 
including executives, consultants, programmers and systems architects skilled in the HIT, healthcare devices, healthcare 
transactions and life sciences industries and the technical environments in which our solutions, devices and services are 
needed. Competition for such personnel in our industries is intense in both the United States and abroad. Our failure to 
attract additional qualified personnel to meet our non-U.S. personnel needs could have a material adverse effect on our 
prospects for long-term growth. Our success is dependent to a significant degree on the continued contributions of key 
management, sales, marketing, consulting and technical personnel. The unexpected loss of key personnel could have a 
material adverse impact on our business and results of operations, and could potentially inhibit development and delivery 
of our solutions, devices and services and market share advances. 

We	 rely	 significantly	 on	 third	 party	 suppliers.  We  license  or  purchase  intellectual  property  and  technology  (such  as 
software, hardware and content) from third parties, including some competitors, and incorporate such third party software, 
hardware and/or content into or sell it in conjunction with our solutions, devices and services. We rely significantly on 
some of the third party software, hardware and/or content in the operation and delivery of our solutions, devices and 
services. For instance, we currently depend on Microsoft and IBM Websphere technologies for portions of the operational 
abilities of our Millennium solutions. Our remote hosting business also relies on a single or a limited number of suppliers 
for certain functions of this business, such as Oracle database technologies, CITRIX technologies and CISCO network 
technologies, and we rely on Hewlett Packard and IBM for our hardware technology platforms.

Most of the third party software licenses we have expire within one to five years, can be renewed only by mutual consent 
and may be terminated if we breach the terms of the license and fail to cure the breach within a specified period of time. 
Most of these third party software licenses are non-exclusive; therefore, our competitors may obtain the right to use any 
of the technology covered by these licenses and use the technology to compete directly with us. 

If any of the third party suppliers were to change product offerings, cease actively supporting the technologies, fail to 
update and enhance the technologies to keep pace with changing industry standards, encounter technical difficulties 
in the continuing development of these technologies, significantly increase prices or terminate our licenses or supply 
contracts,  we  would  need  to  seek  alternative  suppliers  and  incur  additional  internal  or  external  development  costs 
to  ensure  continued  performance  of  our  solutions,  devices  and  services.  Such  alternatives  may  not  be  available  on 
attractive terms, or may not be as widely accepted or as effective as the intellectual property or technology provided by 
our existing suppliers. If the cost of licensing, purchasing or maintaining the third party intellectual property or technology 
significantly increases, our gross margin levels could significantly decrease. In addition, interruption in functionality of 
our solutions, devices and services as a result of changes in third party suppliers could adversely affect future sales of 
solutions, devices and services.

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 We	intend	to	continue	strategic	business	acquisitions,	which	are	subject	to	inherent	risks. In order to expand our 
solutions, device offerings and services and grow our market and client base, we may continue to seek and complete 
strategic  business  acquisitions  that  we  believe  are  complementary  to  our  business.  Acquisitions  have  inherent  risks 
which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results or prospects, including, 
but not limited to: 1) failure to successfully integrate the business and financial operations, services, intellectual property, 
solutions or personnel of an acquired business and to maintain uniform standard controls, policies and procedures; 2) 
diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns; 3) entry into markets in which we have little or no direct 
prior experience; 4) failure to achieve projected synergies and performance targets; 5) loss of clients or key personnel; 
6) incurrence of debt and/or assumption of known and unknown liabilities; 7) write-off of software development costs, 
goodwill, client lists and amortization of expenses related to intangible assets; 8) dilutive issuances of equity securities; 
and,  9)  accounting  deficiencies  that  could  arise  in  connection  with,  or  as  a  result  of,  the  acquisition  of  an  acquired 
company,  including  issues  related  to  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  and  the  time  and  cost  associated  with 
remedying such deficiencies. If we fail to successfully integrate acquired businesses or fail to implement our business 
strategies with respect to these acquisitions, we may not be able to achieve projected results or support the amount of 
consideration paid for such acquired businesses.

Risks Related to the Healthcare Information Technology, Healthcare Device and Healthcare Transaction Industry

The	healthcare	industry	is	subject	to	changing	political,	economic	and	regulatory	influences. For example, the Health 
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (as modified by The Health Information Technology for Economic 
and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) (HIPAA) continues 
to  have  a  direct  impact  on  the  healthcare  industry  by  requiring  identifiers  and  standardized  transactions/code  sets 
and  necessary  security  and  privacy  measures  in  order  to  ensure  the  appropriate  level  of  privacy  of  protected  health 
information. These regulatory factors affect the purchasing practices and operation of healthcare organizations. Federal 
and state legislatures have periodically considered programs to reform or amend the United States healthcare system at 
both the federal and state level and to change healthcare financing and reimbursement systems. These programs may 
contain proposals to increase governmental involvement in healthcare, lower reimbursement rates or otherwise change 
the  environment  in  which  healthcare  industry  participants  operate.  Healthcare  industry  participants  may  respond  by 
reducing their investments or postponing investment decisions, including investments in our solutions and services. 

Many healthcare providers are consolidating to create integrated healthcare delivery systems with greater market power. 
These providers may try to use their market power to negotiate price reductions for our solutions and services. As the 
healthcare industry consolidates, our client base could be eroded, competition for clients could become more intense 
and the importance of landing new client relationships becomes greater.

Recently, Congressional leaders also have expressed their intention to enact a comprehensive healthcare reform plan, 
including  provisions  to  control  healthcare  costs,  improve  healthcare  quality,  and  expand  access  to  affordable  health 
insurance, potentially including the establishment of a government health insurance plan that would compete with private 
health plans. Healthcare reform legislation could include changes in Medicare and Medicaid payment policies and other 
healthcare  delivery  reforms  that  would  potentially  impact  our  business.  The  United  States  House  of  Representatives 
and United States Senate have each passed different versions of healthcare reform legislation, but Congress has not 
yet issued a Conference Committee Report reconciling the House and Senate versions of the legislation. As a result, the 
exact provisions to be included in a final bill are unknown at this time, and we cannot be certain of when or if any such 
legislation will be enacted. Given the potentially sweeping nature of the changes under consideration, there can be no 
assurances that healthcare reform legislation, if adopted, will not adversely impact either our results of operations or the 
manner in which we operate our business. 

The	healthcare	industry	is	highly	regulated	at	the	local,	state	and	federal	level. We are subject to a significant and 
wide-ranging number of regulations both within the United States and elsewhere, such as regulations in the areas of 
healthcare fraud, e-prescribing, claims processing and transmission, medical devices, the security and privacy of patient 
data and interoperability standards.

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 Healthcare  Fraud.  Federal  and  state  governments  continue  to  enhance  regulation  of  and  increase  their  scrutiny  over 
practices involving healthcare fraud affecting healthcare providers whose services are reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid 
and other government healthcare programs. Our healthcare provider clients are subject to laws and regulations on fraud 
and abuse which, among other things, prohibit the direct or indirect payment or receipt of any remuneration for patient 
referrals, or arranging for or recommending referrals or other business paid for in whole or in part by these federal or 
state healthcare programs. Federal enforcement personnel have substantial funding, powers and remedies to pursue 
suspected or perceived fraud and abuse. The effect of this government regulation on our clients is difficult to predict. 
Many of the regulations applicable to our clients and that may be applicable to us, including those relating to marketing 
incentives  offered  in  connection  with  medical  device  sales,  are  vague  or  indefinite  and  have  not  been  interpreted  by 
the courts. They may be interpreted or applied by a prosecutorial, regulatory or judicial authority in a manner that could 
broaden their applicability to us or require our clients to make changes in their operations or the way in which they deal 
with us. If such laws and regulations are determined to be applicable to us and if we fail to comply with any applicable 
laws and regulations, we could be subject to civil and criminal penalties, sanctions or other liability, including exclusion 
from government health programs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and 
financial condition. 

E-Prescribing.  The  use  of  our  solutions  by  physicians  for  electronic  prescribing,  electronic  routing  of  prescriptions  to 
pharmacies and dispensing is governed by state and Federal law. States have differing prescription format requirements, 
which we have programmed into our solutions. In addition, in November 2005, the Department of Health and Human 
Services announced regulations by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) related to “E-Prescribing and the 
Prescription Drug Program” (E-Prescribing Regulations). These E-Prescribing Regulations were mandated by the Medicare 
Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. The E-Prescribing Regulations set forth standards for 
the transmission of electronic prescriptions. These standards are detailed and significant, and cover not only transactions 
between prescribers and dispensers for prescriptions but also electronic eligibility, benefits inquiries, drug formulary and 
benefit coverage information. Our efforts to provide solutions that enable our clients to comply with these regulations 
could be time-consuming and expensive. 

Claims Transmissions. Certain of our solutions assist our clients in submitting claims to payers, which claims are governed 
by federal and state laws. Our solutions are capable of electronically transmitting claims for services and items rendered 
by a physician to many patients’ payers for approval and reimbursement. Federal law provides civil liability to any person 
that knowingly submits a claim to a payer, including Medicare, Medicaid and private health plans, seeking payment for 
any services or items that have not been provided to the patient. Federal law may also impose criminal penalties for 
intentionally submitting such false claims. We have policies and procedures in place that we believe result in the accurate 
and  complete  transmission  of  claims,  provided  that  the  information  given  to  us  by  our  clients  is  also  accurate  and 
complete. The HIPAA security, privacy and transaction standards, as discussed below, also have a potentially significant 
effect on our claims transmission services, since those services must be structured and provided in a way that supports 
our clients’ HIPAA compliance obligations. Any investigation or proceeding related to these laws may have an adverse 
impact on our results of operations.

Regulation of Medical Devices. The United States Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) has determined that certain 
of our solutions are medical devices that are actively regulated under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (Act) 
and amendments to the Act. Other countries have similar regulations in place related to medical devices, that now or 
may in the future apply to certain of our solutions. If other of our solutions are deemed to be actively regulated medical 
devices by the FDA or similar regulatory agencies in countries where we do business, we could be subject to extensive 
requirements  governing  pre-  and  post-marketing  requirements  including  pre-market  notification  clearance.  Complying 
with these medical device regulations on a global perspective is time consuming and expensive, and could be subject 
to unanticipated and significant delays. Further, it is possible that these regulatory agencies may become more active in 
regulating software that is used in healthcare. If we are unable to obtain the required regulatory approvals for any such 
solutions or medical devices, our short to long term business plans for these solutions and/or medical devices could be 
delayed or canceled.

34

 There have been nine FDA inspections at various Cerner sites since 1998. Inspections conducted at our world headquarters 
in 1999 and our prior Houston, Texas facility in 2002 each resulted in the issuance of an FDA Form 483 that we responded 
to promptly. The FDA has taken no further action with respect to either of the Form 483s that were issued in 1999 and 
2002. The remaining seven FDA inspections, including inspections at our world headquarters in 2006 and 2007, resulted 
in no issuance of a Form 483. We remain subject to periodic FDA inspections and we could be required to undertake 
additional actions to comply with the Act and any other applicable regulatory requirements. Our failure to comply with the 
Act and any other applicable regulatory requirements could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue to 
manufacture and distribute our solutions. The FDA has many enforcement tools including recalls, seizures, injunctions, 
civil fines and/or criminal prosecutions. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results 
of operations and financial condition.

Security and Privacy of Patient Information. State, federal and local laws regulate the confidentiality of patient records 
and the circumstances under which those records may be released. These regulations govern both the disclosure and 
use of confidential patient medical record information and require the users of such information to implement specified 
security measures. United States regulations currently in place governing electronic health data transmissions continue 
to evolve and are often unclear and difficult to apply. Similarly, laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions may have similar or even 
stricter requirements related to the treatment of patient information.

In  the  United  States,  HIPAA  regulations  require  national  standards  for  some  types  of  electronic  health  information 
transactions and the data elements used in those transactions, security standards to ensure the integrity and confidentiality 
of health information and standards to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information. Covered entities 
under HIPAA, which include healthcare organizations such as our clients, our employer clinic business model and our 
claims  transmission  services,  are  required  to  comply  with  the  privacy  standards,  the  transaction  regulations  and  the 
security regulations. Moreover, the recently enacted HITECH provisions of ARRA extend many of the HIPAA obligations, 
formerly imposed only upon covered entities, to business associates as well. As a business associate of our clients who 
are  covered  entities,  we  were  in  most  instances  already  contractually  required  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  HIPAA 
regulations as it pertains to handling of covered client data, and when the HITECH provisions go into effect, we will have 
additional liability risks related to the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information. 

Evolving HIPAA and HITECH-related laws or regulations and regulations in non-U.S. jurisdictions could restrict the ability 
of our clients to obtain, use or disseminate patient information. This could adversely affect demand for our solutions if 
they are not re-designed in a timely manner in order to meet the requirements of any new interpretations or regulations 
that seek to protect the privacy and security of patient data or enable our clients to execute new or modified healthcare 
transactions.  We  may  need  to  expend  additional  capital,  software  development  and  other  resources  to  modify  our 
solutions and devices to address these evolving data security and privacy issues. Furthermore, our failure to maintain 
confidentiality of sensitive personal information in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements could damage 
our reputation and expose us to breach of contract claims, fines and penalties.

Interoperability Standards. Our clients are concerned with and often require that our software solutions and healthcare 
devices be interoperable with other third party HIT suppliers. Market forces or governmental/regulatory authorities could 
create software interoperability standards that would apply to our solutions, and if our software solutions and/or healthcare 
devices are not consistent with those standards, we could be forced to incur substantial additional development costs to 
conform. The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) has developed a comprehensive 
set of criteria for the functionality, interoperability and security of various software modules in the HIT industry. CCHIT, 
however,  continues  to  modify  and  refine  those  standards.  Achieving  CCHIT  certification  is  becoming  a  competitive 
requirement, resulting in increased software development and administrative expense to conform to these requirements. 
Additionally, various Federal, state and non-U.S. government agencies are also developing standards that could become 
mandatory for systems purchased by these agencies. For example, ARRA requires “meaningful use of certified electronic 
health  record  technology”  by  healthcare  providers  in  order  to  receive  stimulus  funds  from  the  United  States  Federal 
government. Interim final regulations have been issued that identify initial standards and implementation specifications 
and establish the certification standards for qualifying electronic health record technology. Nevertheless, these standards 
and specifications, once finalized, will be subject to interpretation by the entities designated to certify such technology. 

35

 We may incur increased development costs and delays in delivering solutions if we need to upgrade our software and 
healthcare devices to be in compliance with these varying and evolving standards. In addition, delays in interpreting these 
standards may result in postponement or cancellation of our clients’ decisions to purchase our solutions. If our software 
solutions and healthcare devices are not consistent with these evolving standards, our market position and sales could 
be impaired and we may have to invest significantly in changes to our software solutions and healthcare devices, although 
we do not expect such costs to be significant in relation to the overall development costs for our solutions. 

We	operate	in	intensely	competitive	and	dynamic	industries,	and	our	ability	to	successfully	compete	and	continue	
to	grow	our	business	depends	on	our	ability	to	respond	quickly	to	market	changes	and	changing	technologies	and	
to	 bring	 competitive	 new	 solutions,	 devices,	 features	 and	 services	 to	 market	 in	 a	 timely	 fashion.  The  market  for 
healthcare information systems, healthcare devices, healthcare transactions and life sciences consulting services are 
intensely competitive, dynamically evolving and subject to rapid technological and innovative changes. Development of 
new proprietary technology or services is complex, entails significant time and expense and may not be successful. We 
cannot guarantee that we will be able  to introduce new solutions, devices or services on schedule, or at all, nor can 
we guarantee that errors will not be found in our new solution releases, devices or services before or after commercial 
release, which could result in solution, device or service delivery redevelopment costs and loss of, or delay in, market 
acceptance. 

Certain of our competitors have greater financial, technical, product development, marketing and other resources than us 
and some of our competitors offer software solutions that we do not offer. Our principal existing competitors are set forth 
above under Part I, Item 1 Competition. 

In  addition,  we  expect  that  major  software  information  systems  companies,  large  information  technology  consulting 
service providers and system integrators, start-up companies and others specializing in the healthcare industry may offer 
competitive software solutions, devices or services. We face strong competitors and often face downward price pressure, 
which  could  adversely  affect  our  results  of  operations  or  liquidity.  Additionally,  the  pace  of  change  in  the  healthcare 
information  systems  market  is  rapid  and  there  are  frequent  new  software  solution  introductions,  software  solution 
enhancements, device introductions, device enhancements and evolving industry standards and requirements. There 
are a limited number of hospitals and other healthcare providers in the United States HIT market and in recent years, 
the healthcare industry has been subject to increasing consolidation. As the industry consolidates, costs fall, technology 
improves, and market factors continue to compel investment by healthcare organizations in solutions and services like 
ours, market saturation in the United States may change the competitive landscape in favor of larger, more diversified 
competitors with greater scale. 

Risks Related to Our Stock

The	ongoing	adverse	financial	market	environment	and	uncertainty	in	global	economic	conditions	could	negatively	
affect	our	business,	results	of	operations	and	financial	condition. Our operating results may be impacted by the health 
of the global economy. Adverse economic conditions may cause a slowdown or decline in client spending which could 
adversely affect our business and financial performance. Our business and financial performance, including new business 
bookings and collection of our accounts receivable, may be adversely affected by current and future economic conditions 
(including a reduction in the availability of credit, higher energy costs, rising interest rates, financial market volatility and 
recession) that cause a slowdown or decline in client spending. Reduced purchases by our clients or changes in payment 
terms could adversely affect our revenue growth and cause a decrease in our cash flow from operations. Bankruptcies 
or similar events affecting clients may cause us to incur bad debt expense at levels higher than historically experienced. 
Further, the ongoing global financial crisis may also limit our ability to access the capital markets at a time when we would 
like, or need, to raise capital, which could have an impact on our ability to react to changing economic and business 
conditions. Accordingly, if the global financial crisis and current economic downturn continue or worsen, our business, 
results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

36

 Our	quarterly	operating	results	may	vary,	which	could	adversely	affect	our	stock	price. Our quarterly operating results 
have varied in the past and may continue to vary in future periods, including, variations from guidance, expectations or 
historical  results  or  trends.  Quarterly  operating  results  may  vary  for  a  number  of  reasons  including  accounting  policy 
changes,  demand  for  our  solutions,  devices  and  services,  the  financial  condition  of  our  clients  and  potential  clients, 
our long sales cycle, potentially long installation and implementation cycles for larger, more complex and higher-priced 
systems  and  other  factors  described  in  this  section  and  elsewhere  in  this  report.  As  a  result  of  healthcare  industry 
trends and the market for our Cerner Millennium solutions, a large percentage of our revenues are generated by the 
sale and installation of larger, more complex and higher-priced systems. The sales process for these systems is lengthy 
and involves a significant technical evaluation and commitment of capital and other resources by the client. Sales may 
be  subject  to  delays  due  to  changes  in  clients’  internal  budgets,  procedures  for  approving  large  capital  expenditures, 
competing needs for other capital expenditures, availability of personnel resources and by actions taken by competitors. 
Delays  in  the  expected  sale,  installation  or  implementation  of  these  large  systems  may  have  a  significant  impact  on 
our anticipated quarterly revenues and consequently our earnings, since a significant percentage of our expenses are 
relatively fixed. 

Revenue recognized in any quarter may depend upon our and our clients’ abilities to meet project milestones. Delays in 
meeting these milestone conditions or modification of the project plan could result in a shift of revenue recognition from 
one quarter to another and could have a material adverse effect on results of operations for a particular quarter. 

Our revenues from system sales historically have been lower in the first quarter of the year and greater in the fourth 
quarter of the year, primarily as a result of clients’ year-end efforts to make all final capital expenditures for the then-
current year.

Our	sales	forecasts	may	vary	from	actual	sales	in	a	particular	quarter. We use a “pipeline” system, a common industry 
practice, to forecast sales and trends in our business. Our sales associates monitor the status of all sales opportunities, 
such as the date when they estimate that a client will make a purchase decision and the potential dollar amount of the 
sale. These estimates are aggregated periodically to generate a sales pipeline. We compare this pipeline at various points 
in time to evaluate trends in our business. This analysis provides guidance in business planning and forecasting, but 
these pipeline estimates are by their nature speculative. Our pipeline estimates are not necessarily reliable predictors 
of revenues in a particular quarter or over a longer period of time, partially because of changes in the pipeline and in 
conversion rates of the pipeline into contracts that can be very difficult to estimate. A negative variation in the expected 
conversion rate or timing of the pipeline into contracts, or in the pipeline itself, could cause our plan or forecast to be 
inaccurate and thereby adversely affect business results. For example, a slowdown in information technology spending, 
adverse  economic  conditions  or  a  variety  of  other  factors  can  cause  purchasing  decisions  to  be  delayed,  reduced  in 
amount or cancelled, which would reduce the overall pipeline conversion rate in a particular period of time. Because a 
substantial portion of our contracts are completed in the latter part of a quarter, we may not be able to adjust our cost 
structure quickly enough in response to a revenue shortfall resulting from a decrease in our pipeline conversion rate in 
any given fiscal quarter. 

The	trading	price	of	our	common	stock	may	be	volatile. The market for our common stock may experience significant 
price and volume fluctuations in response to a number of factors including actual or anticipated variations in operating 
results, rumors about our performance or solutions, devices and services, changes in expectations of future financial 
performance  or  estimates  of  securities  analysts,  governmental  regulatory  action,  healthcare  reform  measures,  client 
relationship developments, changes occurring in the securities markets in general and other factors, many of which are 
beyond our control. As a matter of policy, we do not generally comment on our stock price or rumors.

Furthermore, the stock market in general, and the markets for software, healthcare devices, other healthcare solutions 
and  services  and  information  technology  companies  in  particular,  have  experienced  extreme  volatility  that  often  has 
been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may 
adversely affect the trading price of our common stock, regardless of actual operating performance.

37

 Our	Directors	have	authority	to	issue	preferred	stock	and	our	corporate	governance	documents	contain	anti-takeover	
provisions. Our Board of Directors has the authority to issue up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock and to determine 
the preferences, rights and privileges of those shares without any further vote or action by the shareholders. The rights of 
the holders of common stock may be harmed by rights granted to the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued 
in the future. 

In addition, some provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws could make it more difficult for a potential 
acquirer  to  acquire  a  majority  of  our  outstanding  voting  stock.  These  include  provisions  that  provide  for  a  classified 
board of directors, prohibit shareholders from taking action by written consent and restrict the ability of shareholders to 
call special meetings. We are also subject to provisions of Delaware law that prohibit us from engaging in any business 
combination with any interested shareholder for a period of three years from the date the person became an interested 
shareholder, unless certain conditions are met, which could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control. 

Factors that May Affect Future Results of Operations, Financial Condition or Business 

Statements made in this report, the Annual Report to Shareholders of which this report is made a part, other reports 
and  proxy  statements  filed  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission,  communications  to  shareholders,  press 
releases and oral statements made by representatives of the Company that are not historical in nature, or that state 
the  Company’s  or  management’s  intentions,  hopes,  beliefs,  expectations  or  predictions  of  the  future,  may  constitute 
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended 
(the Exchange Act). Forward-looking statements can often be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such 
as  “could,”  “should,”  “will,”  “intended,”  “continue,”  “believe,”  “may,”  “expect,”  “hope,”  “anticipate,”  “goal,”  “forecast,” 
“plan,” “guidance” or “estimate” or the negative of these words, variations thereof or similar expressions. Forward-looking 
statements are not guarantees of future performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. It is 
important to note that any such performance and actual results, financial condition or business, could differ materially 
from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences 
include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this Item 1A. Risk Factors and elsewhere herein or in other reports filed 
with the SEC. Other unforeseen factors not identified herein could also have such an effect. We undertake no obligation 
to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events 
or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business over time.

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2.  Properties

Our properties consist mainly of owned and leased office and data center facilities. 

Our United States corporate world headquarters operations are located in a Company-owned office park (the Headquarters 
Campus) in North Kansas City, Missouri, containing approximately 1.1 million gross square feet of useable space and 
land capable of housing approximately 300,000 square feet of future building development. The Headquarters Campus 
primarily  houses  office  space,  but  also  includes  space  for  other  business  needs,  such  as  our  Healthe  Clinic  and  our 
Headquarters Campus data center.

In December 2009, we purchased approximately 790,000 gross square feet of property located in Kansas City, Missouri, 
which we had previously occupied under a long-term lease since 2007. This office space, known as the Innovation Campus, 
houses associates from our intellectual property organizations. 

Our Cerner-operated data center facilities, which are used to provide remote hosting, disaster recovery and other services 
to our clients, are located at the Headquarters Campus and a leased facility in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

38

 As of the end of 2009, we leased additional office space in Beverly Hills and Garden Grove, California; Denver, Colorado; 
Overland  Park,  Kansas;  Waltham,  Massachusetts;  Minneapolis  and  Rochester,  Minnesota;  N.  Kansas  City,  Missouri; 
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania; and Vienna, Virginia. Globally, we also leased office space in: Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, 
Australia; London-Ontario, Canada; Santiago, Chile; Hong Kong, China; London, England; Paris, France; Herzogenrath and 
Idstein, Germany; Bangalore, India; Dublin, Ireland; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Barcelona 
and Madrid, Spain; and, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  

Item 3. 

Legal Proceedings

We have no material pending litigation. 

Item 4.  Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

No matters were submitted to a vote of the shareholders of the Company during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended 
January 2, 2010.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

The following table sets forth the names, ages, positions and certain other information regarding the Company’s executive 
officers as of February 16, 2010. Officers are elected annually and serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors. 

Name

Age

Positions

Neal L. Patterson

Clifford W. Illig

Earl H. Devanny, III

Marc G. Naughton

Michael R. Nill

Randy D. Sims

Jeffrey A. Townsend 

Mike Valentine

Julia M. Wilson

60

59

58

54

45

49

46

41 

47

Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer 

Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors

President

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Executive Vice President and Chief Engineering Officer

Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

Executive Vice President

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer

Neal L. Patterson has been Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Company for more than 
five years. Mr. Patterson also served as President of the Company from March of 1999 until August of 1999.

Clifford W. Illig has been a Director of the Company for more than five years. He also served as Chief Operating Officer of 
the Company for more than five years until October 1998 and as President of the Company for more than five years until 
March of 1999. Mr. Illig was appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors in March of 1999.

Earl H. Devanny, III joined the Company in August of 1999 as President. Mr. Devanny also served as interim President of 
Cerner Southeast from January 2003 through July 2003. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Devanny served as president of 
ADAC Healthcare Information Systems, Inc. Prior to joining ADAC, Mr. Devanny served as a Vice President of the Company 
from 1994 to 1997. Prior to that he spent 17 years with IBM Corporation. 

39

 Marc G. Naughton joined the Company in November 1992 as Manager of Taxes. In November 1995 he was named Chief 
Financial Officer and in February 1996 he was promoted to Vice President. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 
March 2002. 

Michael R. Nill joined the Company in November, 1996. Since that time he has held several positions in the Technology, 
Intellectual Property and CernerWorks client hosting organizations. He was promoted to Vice President in January 2000, 
promoted to Senior Vice President in April 2006 and promoted to Executive Vice President and named Chief Engineering 
Officer in February 2009. 

Randy D. Sims joined the Company in March 1997 as Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. Prior to joining the Company, 
Mr. Sims worked at Farmland Industries, Inc. for three years where he served most recently as Associate General Counsel. 
Prior to Farmland, Mr. Sims was in-house legal counsel at The Marley Company for seven years, holding the position of 
Assistant General Counsel when he left to join Farmland.

Jeffrey A. Townsend joined the Company in June 1985. Since that time he has held several positions in the Intellectual 
Property Organization and was promoted to Vice President in February 1997. He was appointed Chief Engineering Officer 
in March 1998, promoted to Senior Vice President in March 2001 and promoted to Executive Vice President in March 
2005. 

Mike Valentine joined the Company in December 1998 as Director of Technology. He was promoted to Vice President in 
2000 and to President of Cerner Mid America in January of 2003. In February 2005, he was named General Manager 
of the United States Client Organization and was promoted to Senior Vice President in March 2005. He was promoted to 
Executive Vice President in March 2007 and named Chief Operation Officer in January 2010. Prior to joining the Company, 
Mr. Valentine was with Accenture Consulting.

Julia M. Wilson joined the Company in November 1995. Since that time, she has held several positions in the Functional 
Group Organization. She was promoted to Vice President and Chief People Officer in August 2003 and to Senior Vice 
President in March 2007.

PART II 

Item 5. 

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

Our common stock trades on The NASDAQ Global Select MarketSM under the symbol CERN. The following table sets forth 
the high, low and last sales prices for the fiscal quarters of 2009 and 2008 as reported by The Nasdaq Stock Market®. 

2009

Low

High

Last

High 

2008

Low

Last

First Quarter

 $   46.40 

 $   33.72 

 $   43.29 

 $   59.59 

 $   38.40 

 $   38.40 

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

 63.82 

 75.17

 85.51 

 41.88 

 56.80 

 73.53 

 60.05 

 72.50 

 82.44 

 48.17 

 49.34 

 45.08 

 37.28 

 43.21 

 31.58 

 45.70 

 47.32 

 39.18 

At February 16, 2010, there were approximately 1,106 owners of record. To date, we have paid no cash dividends and we 
do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We believe it is in the shareholders’ best interest for us to 
reinvest funds in the operation of the business.

In March 2008, our Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program for $45 million of our Common Stock. 
There were no shares repurchased by us during the quarter or the year ended January 2, 2010. 

40

 Item 6.  Selected Financial Data

(In thousands, except per share data)

Statement of Earnings Data:

Revenues

Operating earnings

Earnings before income taxes 

Net earnings

Earnings per share: 

Basic

Diluted

Weighted average shares outstanding: 

Basic

Diluted

Balance Sheet Data:

Working capital

Total assets

2009

(1)

2008

(1)(2)

2007

(1)(3)(4)(5)

2006

(1)(6)

2005

(7)(8)

  $ 1,671,864

  $ 1,676,028 

  $ 1,519,877 

  $ 1,378,038 

  $ 1,160,785 

 292,006 

 292,681 

 193,465 

 278,885 

 281,431 

 188,658 

 204,083 

 203,967 

 127,125 

 166,167 

 167,544 

 109,891 

 140,436 

 135,244 

 86,251 

2.39

2.31

2.34

2.26

1.60

1.53

1.41

1.34

1.16

1.10

 80,981 

 83,882 

 80,549 

 83,435 

 79,395 

 83,218 

 77,691 

 81,723 

 74,144 

 78,090 

  $  788,232 

  $  517,650 

  $  530,441 

  $  444,656 

  $  391,541 

 2,148,567 

 1,880,988 

 1,689,956 

 1,496,433 

 1,303,629 

Long-term debt, excl. current installments

 95,506 

 111,370 

 177,606 

Cerner Corporation stockholders’ equity

 1,580,678 

 1,311,009 

 1,132,428 

 187,391 

 922,294 

 194,265 

 760,533 

  (1)  Includes share-based compensation expense recognized in accordance with ASC 718, Stock Compensation. The impact of including this expense is a $10.6 million 
decrease, net of $6.3 million tax benefit, in net earnings and a decrease to diluted earnings per share of $0.12 in 2009, $9.5 million decrease, net of $5.6 million tax 
benefit, in net earnings and a decrease to diluted earnings per share of $0.11 in 2008, a $10.2 million decrease, net of $6.0 million tax benefit, in net earnings and a 
decrease to diluted earnings per share of $0.12 in 2007 and a $11.7 million decrease, net of $7.3 million tax benefit, in net earnings and a decrease to diluted earnings 
per share of $0.14 in 2006.

  (2)  Includes expense related to a settlement with a third party provider of software related to the use of the third party’s software in our remote hosting business. The 
settlement included compensation for the use of the software for periods prior to 2008 as well as compensation for licenses of the software for future use for existing 
and additional clients through January 2009. Of the total settlement amount, we determined that $5.0 million should have been recorded in prior periods, primarily 2005 
through 2007. Based on this valuation, 2008 results include an increase of $8.0 million to sales and client service expense, a decrease of $5.0 million to net earnings, 
and a decrease of $0.06 to diluted earnings per share that are attributable to prior periods.

  (3)  Includes a research and development write-off related to the RxStation® medication dispensing devices. In connection with production and delivery of the RxStation 
medication dispensing devices, we reviewed the accounting treatment for the RxStation line of devices and determined that $8.6 million of research and development 
activities  for  the  RxStation  medication  dispensing  devices  that  should  have  been  expensed  was  incorrectly  capitalized.  The  impact  of  this  charge  is  a  $5.4  million 
decrease, net of $3.2 million tax benefit, in net earnings and a decrease to diluted earnings per share of $0.06 in the year ended December 29, 2007. $2.1 million of 
this $5.4 million after tax amount recorded in 2007 related to periods prior to 2007. 

  (4)  Includes a $3.1 million tax benefit recorded in 2007 related to periods prior to 2007. The tax benefit relates to the over-expensing of state income taxes, which resulted 

in an increase to diluted earnings per share of $0.04 in the year ended December 29, 2007. 

  (5)  Includes an adjustment to correct the amounts previously reported for the second quarter of 2007 for a previously disclosed out-of-period tax item relating to foreign net 
operating losses. The effect of this adjustment increases tax expense for the year ended December 29, 2007, by $4.2 million and increases January 1, 2005 retained 
earnings (Shareholders’ Equity) by the same amount. 

  (6)  Includes a tax benefit of $2.0 million for adjustments relating to prior periods. This results in an increase to diluted earnings per share of $0.02.

  (7)  Includes a tax benefit of $4.8 million relating to the carry-back of a capital loss generated by the sale of Zynx Health Incorporated (Zynx) in the first quarter of 2004. The 

impact of this refund claim is a $4.8 million increase in net earnings and an increase in diluted earnings per share of $0.06 for 2005.

  (8)  Includes a charge for the write-off of acquired in process research and development related to the acquisition of the medical business division of VitalWorks, Inc. The 

impact of this charge is a $3.9 million decrease, net of $2.4 million tax benefit, in net earnings and a decrease to diluted earnings per share of $0.05 for 2005.

41

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

The  following  Management  Discussion  and  Analysis  (MD&A)  is  intended  to  help  the  reader understand  our  results  of 
operations and financial condition. This MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, 
our financial statements and the accompanying notes to the financial statements (Notes). 

Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to December 31. Fiscal year 2009 consisted of 52 weeks and ended on 
January 2, 2010; fiscal year 2008 consisted of 53 weeks and ended on January 3, 2009; and fiscal year 2007 consisted 
of  52  weeks  and  ended  on  December  29,  2007.  All  references  to  years  in  this  MD&A  represent  fiscal  years  unless 
otherwise noted.

Management	Overview
Our revenues are primarily derived by selling, implementing and supporting software solutions, clinical content, hardware, 
healthcare devices and services that allow healthcare providers to securely access clinical, administrative and financial 
data in real time, allowing them to improve the quality, safety and efficiency in the delivery of healthcare. We implement 
the healthcare solutions as stand-alone, combined or enterprise-wide systems. Cerner Millennium® software solutions 
can be managed by our clients or in our data center via a managed services model. 

Our fundamental strategy centers on creating organic growth by investing in research and development (R&D) to create 
solutions and services for the healthcare industry. This strategy has driven strong growth over the long-term, as reflected 
in five- and ten-year compound annual revenue growth rates of 13% or more. This growth has also created a very strategic 
footprint in healthcare, with Cerner® solutions licensed by over 8,500 facilities, including approximately 2,300 hospitals; 
3,400  physician  practices  with  over  30,000  physicians;  600  ambulatory  facilities,  such  as  laboratories,  ambulatory 
centers, cardiac facilities, radiology clinics and surgery centers; 700 home health facilities; and 1,500 retail pharmacies. 
Selling additional solutions back into this client base is an important element of our future revenue growth. We are also 
focused  on  driving  growth  through  market  share  expansion  by  replacing  competitors  in  healthcare  settings  that  are 
looking to replace their current HIT partners or those who have not yet strategically aligned with a supplier. We expect 
the HITECH provisions in ARRA will create a period of increased demand within the United States during which we believe 
we can gain additional market share. We also expect to drive growth through new initiatives and services that reflect our 
ongoing ability to innovate and expand our reach into healthcare. Examples of these include our CareAware® healthcare 
device architecture and devices, Healthe™ employer services, Cerner ITWorksSM services, Cerner RevWorksSM services, 
physician practice solutions and solutions and services for the pharmaceutical market. Finally, we are focused on selling 
our solutions and services outside of the United States. Many non-U.S. markets have a low penetration of HIT solutions 
and their governing bodies are in many cases focused on HIT as part of their strategy to improve the quality and lower the 
cost of healthcare. 

Beyond our strategy for driving revenue growth, we are also focused on earnings growth. Similar to our history of growing 
revenue, our net earnings have increased at more than 20% compound annual rates over five- and ten-year periods. We 
believe we can continue driving strong levels of earnings growth by continuing to grow revenue while also leveraging key 
areas to create operating margin expansion. The primary areas of opportunity for margin expansion include:

g	

g	

g	

	becoming more efficient at implementing our software by leveraging implementation tools and methodologies 
we have developed that can reduce the amount of effort required to implement our software; 
	leveraging our investments in R&D by addressing new markets that do not require significant incremental R&D 
but can contribute significantly to revenue growth; and, 
	leveraging  our  scalable  business  infrastructure  to  reduce  the  rate  of  increase  in  general  and  administrative 
spending to below our revenue growth rate.

We are also focused on increasing cash flow by growing earnings, reducing the use of working capital and controlling 
capital expenditures. 

42

	
	
	
 Results	Overview
In a challenging economic environment, we continued to execute on our core strategies to drive top-line growth, expand 
operating margins, grow earnings and generate good cash flow in 2009. The 2009 results included strong levels of new 
business bookings, earnings and cash flow. 

New  business  bookings  revenue  in  2009,  which  reflects  the  value  of  executed  contracts  for  software,  hardware, 
professional services and managed services, was $1.83 billion, which is an increase of 19% compared to $1.54 billion 
in 2008. This growth was concentrated in the second half of 2009, which included strong bookings growth that offset 
slight declines in the first half of the year. The improvement in the second half of the year reflects slightly better economic 
conditions and some early demand driven by the HITECH stimulus incentives. 

Our 2009 revenues remained flat at $1.7 billion as compared to 2008, with the lack of growth largely the result of the 
challenging economic conditions that persisted through much of the year. Additionally, our revenue comparisons in 2009 
were impacted by a $28.6 million cumulative catch-up adjustment recognized in the fourth quarter of 2008, resulting 
from a significant change in an accounting estimate related to our contract in London as part of the NHS initiative to 
automate clinical processes and digitize medical records in England. 

Our 2009 net earnings increased 3% to $193.5 million compared to $188.7 million in 2008. Diluted earnings per share 
increased 2% to $2.31 compared to $2.26 in 2008. The 2009 and 2008 net earnings and diluted earnings per share 
reflect  the  impact  of  accounting  for  stock-based  compensation  using  the  fair  value  method  to  measure  and  record 
expense for stock options, pursuant to Accounting Standards Codification (ASC), 718, Stock Compensation. The effect of 
these expenses reduced the 2009 net earnings and diluted earnings per share by $10.5 million and $0.12, and the 2008 
earnings and diluted earnings per share by $9.5 million and $0.11, respectively. Our 2008 net earnings also include the 
previously discussed cumulative catch-up adjustment. The after-tax effect of this catch-up increased 2008 net earnings 
and diluted earnings per share by $20.6 million and $0.24, respectively. The growth in net earnings and diluted earnings 
per share was driven primarily by continued progress with our margin expansion initiatives, particularly expanding the 
profitability of support and maintenance revenue, leveraging R&D investments, and controlling sales and client services 
expenses, partially offset by the 2008 catch-up adjustment. Our 2009 operating margin was 17.5%, compared to 16.6% 
in 2008, and we remain on target to achieve our long term goal of 20% operating margins. 

We had cash collections of receivables of $1.8 billion in 2009 compared to $1.7 billion in 2008. Days sales outstanding 
decreased to 90 days for the 2009 fourth quarter compared to 105 days for 2009 third quarter and 92 days for the 2008 
fourth quarter. Approximately 12 days of this quarterly decline is driven by the reclassification of our Fujitsu receivables 
to other long term assets, which are not included in our days sales outstanding calculation. The remaining decline is 
reflective of improved cash collections. Operating cash flows for 2009 were $347.3 million compared to $281.8 million in 
2008, with the growth driven by increased earnings and decreased use of working capital.

Healthcare	Information	Technology	Market	Outlook
We  have  provided  a  detailed  assessment  of  the  healthcare  information  technology  market  under  Part  I,  Item  1,  The 
Healthcare and Healthcare IT Industry.

43

 Results	of	Operations

Fiscal	Year	2009	Compared	to	Fiscal	Year	2008

(in thousands) 

Revenues

System sales
Support and maintenance
Services
Reimbursed travel

Total revenues

Costs of revenue

Costs of revenue

Total margin

Operating expenses
Sales and client 
Software development 
General and administrative 

Total operating expenses

Total costs and expenses 

Operating earnings

Interest income (expense), net
Other income (expense), net
Income taxes

2009

% of
Revenue

2008

% of
Revenue

% Change

  $  504,561 
 493,193 
 643,678 
 30,432 
 1,671,864 

30%   $  522,373 
 472,579 
29%
 643,317 
39%
 37,759 
2%
 1,676,028 
100%

 281,198 
 1,390,666 

 700,639 
 271,051 
 126,970 
 1,098,660 

 1,379,858 

 292,006 

 308 
 367 
 (99,216)

17%
83%

42%
16%
8%
66%

83%

17%

 296,063 
 1,379,965 

 715,512 
 272,519 
 113,049 
 1,101,080 

 1,397,143 

 278,885 

 3,056 
 (510)
 (92,773)

31%
28%
38%
2%
100%

18%
82%

43%
16%
7%
66%

83%

17%

-3%
4%
0%
-19%
0%

-5%
1%

-2%
-1%
12%
0%

-1%

5%

Net earnings

  $  193,465 

  $  188,658 

3%

As  discussed  in  the  results  overview,  our  2008  consolidated  and  global  segment  revenues  and  margin  included 
a  cumulative  catch-up  adjustment  recognized  in  the  fourth  quarter,  in  the  amount  of  $28.6  million,  resulting  from  a 
significant change in accounting estimate related to our contract in London. The majority of the catch-up adjustment 
revenue was included in support, maintenance and services. Refer to Note (1a) of the notes to consolidated financial 
statements for more information on this adjustment.

Revenues & Backlog

Revenues were $1.7 billion in 2009, which is flat compared to 2008.

g	

g	

	System sales, which include revenues from the sale of software, technology resale (hardware and sublicensed 
software),  deployment  period  licensed  software  upgrade  rights,  installation  fees,  transaction  processing  and 
subscriptions, decreased 3% to $504.6 million in 2009 from $522.4 million in 2008. The decrease in system 
sales  was  driven  by  a  decline  in  technology  resale,  with  licensed  software  basically  flat  and  subscriptions 
increasing slightly. 
	Support  and  maintenance  revenues  increased  4%  to  $493.2  million  in  2009  compared  to  $472.6  million  in 
2008. This increase is attributable to continued success at selling Cerner Millennium applications, implementing 
them  at  client  sites  and  initiating  billing  for  support  and  maintenance  fees.  The  growth  rate  of  support  and 
maintenance revenue was negatively impacted by the extra week in 2008 (53) compared to 2009 (52) and the 
catch-up adjustment in 2008. 

44

 
	
	
g	

	Services revenue, which includes professional services excluding installation, and managed services, remained 
flat, with growth in CernerWorksSM managed services being offset by declines in professional services. The decline 
in professional services reflects the impact of the economy and lower billable headcount in 2009 compared to 
2008. 

Contract backlog, which reflects new business bookings that have not yet been recognized as revenue, increased 23% 
in 2009 compared to 2008. This increase was driven by growth in new business bookings during the past four quarters, 
including continued strong levels of managed services bookings that typically have longer contract terms. In the second 
quarter of 2008, contract backlog was reduced by approximately $178.0 million as a result of the contract withdrawal by 
Fujitsu Limited as the prime contractor in the southern region of England. A summary of our total backlog for 2009 and 
2008 follows:

(In thousands)

Contract backlog

2009

2008

$  3,591,026 

$ 

2,907,762 

Support and maintenance backlog

 620,616 

 580,915 

Total backlog

$  4,211,642 

$  3,488,677 

Costs of Revenue

Cost of revenues was 17% of total revenues in 2009, as compared to 18% in 2008, with the slightly lower level reflective 
of  the  decline  in  technology  resale,  which  includes  higher  third  party  costs.  The  cost  of  revenues  includes  the  cost 
of reimbursed travel expense, sales commissions, third party consulting services and subscription content, computer 
hardware and sublicensed software purchased from hardware and software manufacturers for delivery to clients. It also 
includes the cost of hardware maintenance and sublicensed software support subcontracted to the manufacturers. Such 
costs, as a percent of revenues, typically have varied as the mix of revenue (software, hardware, maintenance, support, 
services and reimbursed travel) carrying different margin rates changes from period to period. Costs of revenues does 
not include the costs of our client service personnel who are responsible for delivering our service offerings, such costs 
are included in sales and client service expense.

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses remained flat in 2009 at $1.1 billion as compared to 2008. Accounting pursuant to ASC 718, 
which results in the expensing of share-based compensation, impacted expenses in 2009 and 2008 as indicated below:

(In thousands)

Sales and client service expenses

Software development expense

General and administrative expenses

2009

$ 

7,552 

 4,374 

 4,916 

2008

$ 

7,750 

 3,232 

 4,162 

Total stock-based compensation expense

$ 

16,842 

$ 

15,144 

g	

	Sales  and  client  service  expenses  as  a  percent  of  total  revenues  were  42%  in  2009,  as  compared  to  43% 
in 2008. These expenses decreased 2% to $700.6 million in 2009, from $715.5 million in 2008. Sales and 
client service expenses include salaries of sales and client service personnel, depreciation and other expenses 
associated with our CernerWorks managed service business, communications expenses, unreimbursed travel 
expenses,  expense  for  share-based  payments,  sales  and  marketing  salaries  and  trade  show  and  advertising 
costs. The decrease was primarily attributable to lower professional services expense, partially offset by growth 
in the managed services business. 

45

 	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
	
g	

	Software  development  expense  decreased  1%  in  2009  to  $271.1  million,  from  $272.5  million  in  2008. 
Expenditures  for  software  development  in  2009  reflect  continued  development  and  enhancement  of  the  
Cerner Millennium platform and software solutions and investments in new growth initiatives. A summary of our 
total software development expense in 2009 and 2008 is as follows:

(In thousands)

2009

2008

Software development costs

Capitalized software costs

Capitalized costs related to share-based payments

Amortization of capitalized software costs

$ 

285,187 

$ 

291,368 

 (76,876)

 (871)

 63,611 

 (69,039)

 (942)

 51,132 

Total software development expense

$ 

271,051 

$ 

272,519 

g	

	General and administrative expenses as a percent of total revenues were 8% in 2009, as compared to 7% in 2008. 
These expenses increased 12% to $127.0 million in 2009 from $113.0 million in 2008. General and administrative 
expenses include salaries for corporate, financial and administrative staff, utilities, communications expenses, 
professional fees, the transaction gains or losses on foreign currency and expense for share-based payments. 
We  recorded  a  net  transaction  gain  on  foreign  currency  of  $4.0  million  and  $9.9  million  in  2009  and  2008, 
respectively. The lower gain in 2009 compared to 2008 was the primary reason for the increase in general and 
administrative expenses, with the balance driven by legal fees and other corporate expenses.

Non-Operating Items

g	

g	

g	

	Net interest income was $0.3 million in 2009, compared with net interest income of $3.1 million in 2008. Interest 
income decreased to $8.8 million in 2009 from $13.6 million in 2008, due primarily to a decline in investment 
returns.  Interest  expense  decreased  to  $8.5  million  in  2009  from  $10.5  million  in  2008,  due  primarily  to  a 
reduction in long-term debt.
	Other  income  was  $0.4  million  in  2009,  compared  to  other  expense  of  $0.5  million  in  2008.  Other  income 
and expense in 2009 and 2008 includes offsetting unrealized gains and losses included in earnings related to 
our auction rate securities and put-like settlement feature in the amounts of $10.5 million and $19.9 million, 
respectively.  Refer  to  Liquidity  and  Capital  Resources  within  this  MD&A  and  Notes  3  and  4  of  the  notes  to 
consolidated financial statements for additional information on our auction rate securities.
	Our effective tax rate was 34% and 33% in 2009 and 2008, respectively. This net increase is primarily due to 
higher tax expense recorded at the statutory rates of approximately $5.0 million and prior period tax expense 
of $2.3 million, offset by a decrease in our unrecognized tax benefits of $5.6 million. The tax rate for 2008 was 
slightly lower than normal due to strong income levels from global regions that have lower tax rates. Tax expense 
for  2009  includes  expense  of  approximately  $2.3  million  and  2008  includes  benefits  of  approximately  $2.9 
million for corrections relating to prior periods. 

Operations by Segment

We  have  two  operating  segments,  Domestic  and  Global.  The  Domestic  segment  includes  revenue  contributions  and 
expenditures associated with business activity in the United States. The Global segment includes revenue contributions 
and expenditures linked to business activity in Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China 
(Hong  Kong),  Egypt,  England,  France,  Germany,  India,  Ireland,  Malaysia,  Puerto  Rico,  Saudi  Arabia,  Singapore,  Spain, 
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. 

46

 	
 
 
 
 
 
	
	
	
	
 The following table presents a summary of our operating segment information for the years ended 2009 and 2008:

(in thousands) 

Domestic Segment

Revenues

Costs of revenue

Operating expenses

Total costs and expenses

Domestic operating earnings

Global Segment

Revenues

Costs of revenue

Operating expenses

Total costs and expenses

Global operating earnings

Other, net

2009

%	of
Revenue

2008

%	of
Revenue

% Change

  $ 1,398,715 

100%   $  1,307,510 

100%

 240,847 

 372,370 

 613,217 

 785,498 

17%

27%

44%

56%

 225,955 

 361,213 

 587,168 

 720,342 

17%

28%

45%

55%

 273,149 

100%

 368,518 

100%

 40,351 

 130,256 

 170,607 

 102,542 

 (596,034)

15%

48%

62%

38%

 70,108 

 150,729 

 220,837 

 147,681 

 (589,138)

19%

41%

60%

40%

7%

7%

3%

4%

9%

-26%

-42%

-14%

-23%

-31%

1%

5%

Consolidated operating earnings 

  $  292,006 

  $  278,885 

Domestic Segment

g	

g	

g	

g	

	Revenues increased 7% to $1.4 billion in 2009 from $1.3 billion in 2008. This increase was driven by growth 
in managed services, licensed software, technology resale, and support and maintenance, partially offset by a 
decline in professional services.
	Cost of revenues was 17% of revenues in both 2009 and 2008. 
	Operating  expenses  increased  3%  to  $372.4  million  in  2009,  from  $361.2  million  in  2008,  due  primarily  to 
growth in managed services. 
	Operating earnings of the Domestic segment increased 9% to $785.5 million in 2009 from $720.3 million in 
2008. 

Global Segment

g	

g	

g	

g	

	Revenues decreased 26% to $273.1 million in 2009 from $368.5 million in 2008. This decrease was driven by 
the previously discussed cumulative catch-up adjustment in 2008 and a decline in revenue from Middle Eastern 
and European countries resulting from the challenging global economic conditions. 
	Cost of revenues was 15% and 19% of revenues in 2009 and 2008, respectively. The lower cost of revenues was 
driven by a lower mix of hardware revenues in 2009.
	Operating expenses decreased 14% to $130.3 million in 2009, from $150.7 million in 2008, primarily due to a 
decrease in professional services expense.
	Operating earnings of the Global segment decreased 31% to $102.5 million in 2009 from $147.7 million in 2008. 
This decline was driven by the catch-up adjustment in 2008 and the lower level of revenues in 2009.

47

 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 Other, net

Operating results not attributed to an operating segment include expenses, such as software development, marketing, 
general  and  administrative,  stock-based  compensation  and  depreciation.  These  expenses  increased  1%  to  $596.0 
million in 2009 from $589.1 million in 2008.

Fiscal	Year	2008	Compared	to	Fiscal	Year	2007

(in thousands) 

Revenues

System sales

Support and maintenance

Services

Reimbursed travel

Total revenues

Costs of revenue

Costs of revenue

Total margin

Operating expenses

Sales and client

Software development

General and administrative

Total operating expenses

Total costs and expenses 

Operating earnings

Interest income (expense), net

Other income (expense), net

Income taxes

Net earnings

2008

%	of
Revenue

2007

%	of
Revenue

% Change

  $  522,373 

31%   $  500,319 

 472,579 

 643,317 

 37,759 

28%

38%

2%

 397,713 

 585,067 

 36,778 

33%

26%

38%

2%

 1,676,028 

100%

 1,519,877 

100%

 296,063 

 1,379,965 

 715,512 

 272,519 

 113,049 

 1,101,080 

 1,397,143 

 278,885 

 3,056 

 (510)

 (92,773)

18%

82%

43%

16%

7%

66%

83%

17%

 280,110 

 1,239,767 

 657,956 

 270,576 

 107,152 

 1,035,684 

 1,315,794 

 204,083 

 1,269 

 (1,385)

 (76,842)

18%

82%

43%

18%

7%

68%

87%

13%

4%

19%

10%

3%

10%

6%

11%

9%

1%

6%

6%

6%

37%

  $  188,658 

  $  127,125 

48%

As  discussed  in  the  results  overview,  our  2008  consolidated  and  global  segment  revenues  and  margin  included 
a  cumulative  catch-up  adjustment  recognized  in  the  fourth  quarter,  in  the  amount  of  $28.6  million,  resulting  from  a 
significant change in accounting estimate related to our contract in London. The majority of the catch-up adjustment 
revenue was included in support, maintenance and services. Refer to Note (1a) of the notes to consolidated financial 
statements for more information on this adjustment.

48

 
 Revenues and Backlog

Revenues increased 10% to $1.7 billion in 2008, compared with $1.5 billion in 2007.

g	

g	

g	

	System sales revenues increased 4% to $522.4 million in 2008 from $500.3 million in 2007. The increase in 
system sales was driven by growth in licensed software, sublicensed software and subscriptions.
	Support  and  maintenance  revenues  increased  19%  to  $472.6  million  in  2008  from  $397.7  million  in  2007, 
mainly due to continued success at selling Cerner Millennium applications, implementing them at client sites 
and initiating billing for support and maintenance fees. 
	Services revenue increased 10% to $643.3 million in 2008 from $585.1 million in 2007 primarily attributable to 
growth in CernerWorks managed services. 

Contract backlog, which reflects new business bookings that have not yet been recognized as revenue, increased 7% 
in 2008 compared to 2007. This increase was driven by growth in new business bookings during the past four quarters, 
including continued strong levels of managed services bookings that typically have longer contract terms. In the second 
quarter of 2008, contract backlog was reduced by approximately $178.0 million as a result of the contract withdrawal 
by the prime contractor in the southern region of England. A summary of our total backlog for 2008 and 2007 follows:

(In thousands)

Contract backlog

2008

2007

$ 

2,907,762 

$ 

2,712,195 

Support and maintenance backlog

 580,915 

 541,095 

Total backlog

$  3,488,677 

$  3,253,290 

Costs of Revenue

Cost  of  revenues  was  18%  of  total  revenues  in  both  2008  and  2007.  Such  costs,  as  a  percent  of  revenues,  typically 
have varied as the mix of revenue (software, hardware, maintenance, support, services and reimbursed travel) carrying 
different margin rates changes from period to period. 

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses increased 6% to $1.1 billion in 2008 from $1.0 billion in 2007. Accounting pursuant to ASC 718, 
which results in the expensing of share-based compensation, impacted expenses in 2008 and 2007 as indicated below:

Sales and client service expenses

Software development expense

General and administrative expenses

2008

$ 

7,750 

 3,232 

 4,162 

2007

$ 

9,518 

 3,032 

 3,639 

Total stock-based compensation expense

$ 

15,144 

$ 

16,189 

g	

	Sales  and  client  service  expenses  as  a  percent  of  total  revenues  were  43%  in  both  2008  and  2007.  These 
expenses  increased  9%  to  $715.5  million  in  2008,  from  $658.0  million  in  2007.  The  increase  was  primarily 
attributable  to  growth  in  the  managed  services  business,  including  $8.0  million  of  expense  recorded  in  the 
second quarter of 2008 for a settlement with a third party provider of software related to the use of the third 
party’s software in this business. 

49

	
	
	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
	
g	

	Total expense for software development in 2008 increased 1% to $272.5 million, from $270.6 million in 2007. 
Included in 2007 software development expense is $8.6 million of research and development activities for the 
RxStation medical dispensing device. $3.4 million of this amount recorded in 2007 is related to periods prior to 
2007. A summary of our total software development expense in 2008 and 2007 is as follows:

(In thousands)

2008

2007

Software development costs

Capitalized software costs

Capitalized costs related to share-based payments

Amortization of capitalized software costs

$ 

291,368

$ 

283,086

(69,039)

(942)

51,132

(64,789)

(1,196)

53,475 

Total software development expense

$ 

272,519

$ 

270,576 

g	

	General and administrative expenses as a percent of total revenues were 7% in 2008 and 2007. These expenses 
increased 6% to $113.0 million in 2008 from $107.2 million in 2007. This increase was due primarily to the 
growth of our core business and increased presence in the global market. We recorded a net transaction gain on 
foreign currency of $9.9 million and $3.7 million in 2008 and 2007, respectively. 

Non-Operating Items

g	

g	

g	

	Net interest income was $3.1 million in 2008, compared with net interest income of $1.3 million in 2007. Interest 
income increased to $13.6 million in 2008 from $13.2 million in 2007, due primarily to higher returns received 
from our investments in auction rate securities. Interest expense decreased to $10.5 million in 2008 from $11.9 
million in 2007, due primarily to a reduction in long-term debt. 
	Other  expense  was  $0.5  million  in  2008,  compared  to  $1.4  million  in  2007.  As  a  result  of  entering  into  a 
settlement agreement with an investment firm relating to auction rate securities, other expense in 2008 includes 
the recognition of a gain of $19.9 million for a put-like feature. This gain was offset by the recognition of an 
unrealized loss recorded on our auction rate securities due to a transfer of these securities from available-for-
sale to trading.
	Our effective tax rate was 33% and 38% in 2008 and 2007, respectively. This decrease is primarily due to a 
higher than normal rate in 2007. The effective rate in 2007 was impacted primarily by a recognition of a valuation 
allowance  in  the  third  quarter  of  2007  on  certain  of  our  foreign  tax  loss  carry-forwards.  Such  additional  tax 
expense in 2007 was partially offset by a tax benefit for adjustments relating to prior periods. The tax rate for 
2008 was slightly lower than normal due to strong income levels from global regions that have lower tax rates. 

During the second quarter of 2007, we determined that due to a change in circumstances in the quarter, it was more 
likely than not that certain tax operating loss carry-forwards in a non-U.S. jurisdiction would not be realized resulting in 
the recognition of a valuation allowance totaling approximately $8.0 million. The 2007 valuation allowance was used in 
2008 to offset a reduction in the operating loss carry-forward for the non-U.S. jurisdiction.

Tax  expense  for  2008  and  2007  include  benefits  of  approximately  $2.9  million  and  $3.1  million,  respectively,  for 
corrections relating to prior periods.

50

 	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
	
	
	
	
 Operations by Segment

The following table presents a summary of our operating segment information for the years ended 2008 and 2007:

(in thousands) 

Domestic Segment

Revenues

Costs of revenue

Operating expenses

Total costs and expenses

Domestic operating earnings

Global Segment

Revenues

Costs of revenue

Operating expenses

Total costs and expenses

Global operating earnings

Other, net

2008

%	of
Revenue

2007

%	of
Revenue

% Change

  $ 1,307,510 

100%   $ 1,227,434 

100%

 225,955 

 361,213 

 587,168 

 720,342 

17%

28%

45%

55%

 221,154 

 331,124 

 552,278 

 675,156 

18%

27%

45%

55%

 368,518 

100%

 290,677 

100%

 70,108 

 150,729 

 220,837 

 147,681 

 (589,138)

19%

41%

60%

40%

 53,367 

 151,355 

 204,722 

 85,955 

 (557,028)

18%

52%

70%

30%

7%

2%

9%

6%

7%

27%

31%

0%

8%

72%

6%

37%

Consolidated operating earnings 

  $  278,885 

  $  204,083 

Domestic Segment

g	

g	

g	

g	

	Revenues increased 7% to $1.3 billion in 2008 from $1.2 billion in 2007. This increase was primarily driven by 
growth in managed services and support and maintenance.
	Cost of revenues was 17% and 18% of revenues in 2008 and 2007, respectively. The decline was driven primarily 
by a lower level of hardware sales. 
	Operating expenses increased 9% to $361.2 million 2008, from $331.1 million in 2007, due primarily to growth 
in managed services. 
	Operating earnings of the Domestic segment increased 7% to $720.3 million in 2008 from $675.2 million in 
2007. 

Global Segment

g	

g	

g	

g	

	Revenues increased 27% to $368.5 million in 2008 from $290.7 million in 2007. This increase was primarily 
driven by an increase in sales in Europe and the Middle East and the previously discussed cumulative catch-up 
adjustment. 
	Cost of revenues was 19% and 18% of revenues in 2008 and 2007, respectively. The higher cost of revenues 
was driven by a higher mix of hardware revenues in 2008.
	Operating expenses remained flat in 2008 as compared to 2007.
	Operating earnings of the Global segment increased 72% to $147.7 million in 2008 from $86.0 million in 2007. 

51

 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 Other, net

Net operating expenses not attributed to an operating segment increased 6% to $589.1 million in 2008 from $557.0 
million in 2007. This increase was primarily due to increased research and development and general and administrative 
spending and a settlement with a third party supplier in the second quarter of 2008 related to the prior period usage of 
their software in our remote hosting business. The third party supplier settlement increased expense by $8.0 million in 
the second quarter of 2008. 

Liquidity	and	Capital	Resources
Our liquidity is influenced by many factors, including the amount and timing of our revenues, our cash collections from our 
clients, and the amount we invest in software development, acquisitions and capital expenditures. 

Our principal sources of liquidity are our cash, cash equivalents, which consist of money market funds, time deposits 
and bonds with original maturities of less than 90 days and short-term investments. At the end of 2009, we had cash of 
$144.8 million, cash equivalents of $97.0 million and short-term investments of $317.1 million, as compared to cash of 
$199.5 million, cash equivalents of $71.0 million and short-term investments of $38.4 million at the end of 2008. 

We believe that our present cash position, together with cash generated from operations, short-term investments and, if 
necessary, our available lines of credit, will be sufficient to meet anticipated cash requirements during 2010.

During the second quarter of 2008, Fujitsu Services Limited’s (Fujitsu) contract as the prime contractor in the National 
Health  Service  (NHS)  initiative  to  automate  clinical  processes  and  digitize  medical  records  in  the  Southern  region  of 
England was terminated by the NHS.  This had the effect of automatically terminating our subcontract for the project.  
We  are  in  dispute  with  Fujitsu  regarding  Fujitsu’s  obligation  to  pay  the  amounts  comprised  of  accounts  receivable 
and  contracts  receivable  related  to  that  subcontract,  and  we  are  working  with  Fujitsu  to  resolve  these  issues  based 
on  processes  provided  for  in  the  contract.    Part  of  that  process  requires  resolution  of  disputes  between  Fujitsu  and 
the NHS regarding the contract termination. During the 2009 fourth quarter certain events occurred in the resolution 
process between Fujitsu and the NHS which reduced the likelihood the matter will be resolved in the next 12 months. 
Therefore we reclassified the receivables, which represented more than 10% of our net receivables, from current assets 
to other long term assets during the 2009 fourth quarter. These receivables represent the significant majority of other 
long-term  assets  at  the  end  of  2009.  While  the  ultimate  collectability  of  the  receivables  pursuant  to  this  process  is 
uncertain, management believes that it has valid and equitable grounds for recovery of such amounts and that collection 
of recorded amounts is probable. 

In February and March 2008, liquidity issues in the global credit markets resulted in the progressive failure of auctions 
representing all the auction rate securities held by us. These conditions persisted through the remainder of 2008 and into 
2009. During the fourth quarter of 2008, we entered into a settlement agreement with the investment firm that sold us 
the auction rate securities. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, we received the right to redeem the securities 
at par value during a period from mid-2010 through mid-2012. The settlement is in effect a put-like instrument with a 
fair value generally equal to the difference between the auction rate securities’ fair value and par value. In the fourth 
quarter of 2009, these securities were reclassified to short term investments based on our intention to exercise the put-
like settlement feature and redeem the securities within the next year. At the end of 2009, we held auction rate securities 
with a par value of $94.6 million and an estimated fair value of $85.2 million.

We anticipate that any future changes in the fair value of the put-like feature will be offset by the changes in the fair 
value of the related auction rate securities with no material net impact to the Consolidated Statements of Operations. 
For  a  more  detailed  discussion  of  the  auction  rate  securities,  please  refer  to  Note  (3),  Cash  and  Investments,  in  the 
Consolidated Financial Statements. We do not expect the auction failures to impact our ability to fund our working capital 
needs, capital expenditures or other business requirements. 

52

 The following table provides details about our cash flows in 2009, 2008 and 2007:

 For the Years Ended 

(In thousands)

2009

2008

2007

Cash flows from operating activities

$ 

347,291 

$ 

281,802 

$ 

274,565 

Cash flows from investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

 (394,321)

 16,770 

 1,489 

 (170,607)

 (11,654)

 (11,961)

 (287,666)

 37,083 

 (3,613)

Total change in cash and cash equivalents

$ 

(28,771)

$ 

87,580 

$ 

20,369 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Cash flows from operations increased in 2009 due primarily to the increase in cash impacting earnings and decreased 
use of working capital. During 2009, 2008 and 2007, we received total client cash collections of $1.8 billion, $1.7 billion 
and  $1.6  billion,  respectively,  of  which  approximately  3%,  5%  and  5%  were  received  from  third  party  client  financing 
arrangements and non-recourse payment assignments, respectively. Days sales outstanding decreased to 90 days for the 
2009 fourth quarter compared to 105 days for 2009 third quarter and 92 days for the 2008 fourth quarter. Approximately 
12 days of this quarterly decline is driven by the reclassification of our Fujitsu receivables to other long term assets, which 
are  not  included  in  our  days  sales  outstanding  calculation.  The  remaining  decline  is  reflective  of  our  improved  cash 
collections. Revenues provided under support and maintenance agreements represent recurring cash flows. Support and 
maintenance revenues increased 4% in 2009 and 19% in 2008, and we expect these revenues to continue to grow as 
the base of installed Cerner Millennium systems grows.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

(In thousands)

Capital purchases

Capitalized software development costs

Purchases of investments, net of maturities

Other, net

 For the Years Ended 

2009

2008

2007

$ 

(131,265)

$ 

(108,099)

$ 

(180,723)

 (77,747)

 (169,295)

 (16,014)

 (70,098)

 17,510 

 (9,920)

 (66,063)

 (13,277)

 (27,603)

Total cash flows from investing activities

$ 

(394,321)

$ 

(170,607)

$ 

(287,666)

Cash flows from investing activities consists primarily of capital spending and our short-term investment activities. Capital 
spending consists of capitalized equipment purchases primarily to support growth in our CernerWorks managed services 
business, capitalized land, building and improvement purchases to support our facilities requirements and capitalized 
spending to support our ongoing software development initiatives. Capital spending in 2010 is expected to approximate 
our 2009 levels. 

53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cash Flows from Financing Activities

 For the Years Ended 

(In thousands)

2009

2008

2007

Line of credit and long-term debt borrowings and 
repayments, net

Cash from option exercises (incl. excess tax benefits)

Purchase of treasury stock

Other, net

$ 

(32,352)

$ 

(15,317)

$ 

(22,359)

 47,234 

 - 

 1,888 

 24,530 

 (28,002)

 7,135 

 59,442 

 - 

 - 

Total cash flows from financing activities

$ 

16,770 

$ 

(11,654)

$ 

37,083 

In November 2005, we completed a £65.0 million private placement of debt at 5.54% pursuant to a Note Agreement. The 
Note Agreement is payable in seven equal annual installments, which commenced in November 2009. The proceeds were 
used to repay the outstanding amount under our credit facility and for general corporate purposes. The Note Agreement 
contains certain net worth and fixed charge coverage covenants and provides certain restrictions on our ability to borrow, 
incur liens, sell assets and pay dividends. We were in compliance with all covenants at the end of 2009.

In December 2002, we completed a $60.0 million private placement of debt pursuant to a Note Agreement. The Series 
A Senior Notes, with a $21.0 million principal amount at 5.57% were paid in full by the end of 2008. The Series B Senior 
notes, with a $39.0 million principal amount at 6.42%, are payable in four equal annual installments, which commenced 
in December 2009. The proceeds were used to repay the outstanding amount under our credit facility and for general 
corporate purposes. The Note Agreement contains certain net worth and fixed charge coverage covenants and provides 
certain restrictions on our ability to borrow, incur liens, sell assets and pay dividends. We were in compliance with all 
covenants at the end of 2009. 

In April 1999, we completed a $100.0 million private placement of debt pursuant to a Note Agreement. The Series A 
Senior Notes, with a $60.0 million principal amount at 7.14%, were paid in full by the end of 2006. The Series B Senior 
Notes, with a $40.0 million principal amount at 7.66%, were paid in full by the end of 2009.

We maintain a $90 million, multi-year revolving credit facility, which provides an unsecured revolving line of credit for 
working capital purposes. Interest is payable at a rate based on prime or LIBOR plus a spread that varies depending 
on the net worth ratios maintained. The agreement contains certain net worth, current ratio and fixed charge coverage 
covenants and provides certain restrictions on our ability to borrow, incur liens, sell assets and pay dividends. The current 
agreement expires on May 31, 2013. As of the end of 2009, we had no outstanding borrowings under this agreement and 
were in compliance with all covenants. 

54

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contractual	Obligations,	Commitments	and	Off	Balance	Sheet	Arrangements
The following table represents a summary of our contractual obligations and commercial commitments, excluding interest, 
at the end of 2009, except short-term purchase order commitments arising in the ordinary course of business.

Payments due by period

(In thousands)

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 and 
thereafter

Total

Long-term debt obligations

  $ 

24,765   $  25,338   $ 

24,765    $  15,015   $  15,015   $  15,015   $  119,913 

Capital lease obligations

 249 

 250 

 108 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 607 

Operating lease obligations

 25,504 

 23,041 

 20,573 

 17,677 

 15,143 

 60,195 

 162,133 

Purchase obligations

 15,592 

 6,067 

 5,644 

 5,597 

 2,797 

 10,665 

 46,362 

Uncertain tax positions 

 - 

 314 

 3,226 

 3,059 

 - 

 - 

 6,599 

Total

  $  66,110   $  55,010   $  54,316   $  41,348   $  32,955   $  85,875   $  335,614 

The effects of inflation on our business during 2009, 2008 and 2007 were not significant.

Recent	Accounting	Pronouncements
In September 2009, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 09-13, Revenue Recognition (Topic 605) – Multiple Deliverable 
Revenue Arrangements, was issued, which will require an entity to apply the relative selling price allocation method in order 
to estimate selling price for all units of accounting, including delivered items, when vendor-specific objective evidence 
(VSOE) or acceptable third party evidence (TPE) does not exist and expands the disclosure requirements to require an 
entity  to  provide  both  qualitative  and  quantitative  information  about  the  significant  judgments  made  in  applying  the 
guidance in ASU 09-13 and subsequent changes in those judgments that may significantly affect the timing or amount of 
revenue recognition. ASU 09-13 is effective for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years 
beginning on or after June 15, 2010 and shall be applied on a prospective basis. Earlier application is permitted. We are 
assessing the potential impact of ASU 09-13 on our financial position and results of operations. 

In September 2009, ASU 09-14, Software (Topic 985) – Certain Revenue Arrangements that Include Software Elements, 
was issued, which requires the exclusion from the scope of ASC 985 of all tangible products containing both software and 
non-software components that function together to deliver the product’s essential functionality. ASU 09-14 is effective for 
revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010 and shall 
be applied on a prospective basis. Earlier application is permitted. We are assessing the impact of ASU 09-14 on our 
financial position and results of operations. 

In  December  2009,  ASU  09-16,  Accounting  for  Transfers  of  Financial  Assets,  was  issued,  which  among  other  things 
creates more stringent conditions for reporting a transfer of a portion of a financial asset as a sale. ASU 09-16 is effective 
for financial asset transfers as of the beginning of fiscal years that begin after November 15, 2009. Earlier adoption is 
prohibited. We are assessing the impact of ASU 09-16 on our financial position and results of operations.

Critical	Accounting	Policies
We  believe  that  there  are  several  accounting  policies  that  are  critical  to  understanding  our  historical  and  future 
performance, as these policies affect the reported amount of revenue and other significant areas involving our judgments 
and  estimates.  These  significant  accounting  policies  relate  to  revenue  recognition,  software  development,  potential 
impairments of goodwill and income taxes. These policies and our procedures related to these policies are described in 
detail below and under specific areas within this MD&A. In addition, Note (1) to the consolidated financial statements 
expands upon discussion of our accounting policies.

55

 Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue within our multiple element arrangements, including software and software-related services, using 
the residual method under ASC 985-605, Software - Revenue Recognition. Key factors in our revenue recognition model 
are our assessments that installation services are essential to the functionality of our software whereas implementation 
services are not; and the length of time it takes for us to achieve the delivery and installation milestones for our licensed 
software. If our business model were to change such that implementation services are deemed to be essential to the 
functionality of our software, the period of time over which our licensed software revenue would be recognized would 
lengthen.  We  generally  recognize  revenue  from  the  sale  of  our  licensed  software  over  two  key  milestones,  delivery 
and installation, based on percentages that reflect the underlying effort from planning to installation. Generally, both 
milestones  are  achieved  in  the  quarter  the  contracts  are  executed.  If  the  period  of  time  to  achieve  our  delivery  and 
installation milestones for our licensed software were to lengthen, our milestones would be adjusted and the timing of 
revenue recognition for our licensed software could materially change.

We  also  recognize  revenue  for  certain  projects  using  the  percentage  of  completion  method  pursuant  to  ASC  605-35, 
Revenue Recognition – Construction-Type and Production-Type Contracts, as prescribed by ASC 985-605. Our revenue 
recognition is dependent upon our ability to reliably estimate the direct labor hours to complete a project which generally 
can span several years. We utilize our historical project experience and detailed planning process as a basis for our future 
estimates to complete current projects. Significant delays in completion of the projects, unforeseen cost increases or 
penalties could result in significant reductions to revenue and margins on these contracts. The actual project results can 
be significantly different from the estimated results. When adjustments are indentified near or at the end of a project, the 
full impact of the change in estimate is recognized in that period. This can result in a material impact on our results for 
a single reporting period.

Software Development Costs

Costs incurred internally in creating computer software solutions and enhancements to those solutions are expensed until 
completion of a detailed program design, which is when we determine that technological feasibility has been established. 
Thereafter, all software development costs are capitalized until such time as the software solutions and enhancements 
are available for general release, and the capitalized costs subsequently are reported at the lower of amortized cost or 
net realizable value. 

Net realizable value is computed as the estimated gross future revenues from each software solution less the amount 
of  estimated  future  costs  of  completing  and  disposing  of  that  product.  Because  the  development  of  projected  net 
future revenues related to our software solutions used in our net realizable value computation is based on estimates, a 
significant reduction in our future revenues could impact the recovery of our capitalized software development costs. We 
historically have not experienced significant inaccuracies in computing the net realizable value of our software solutions 
and the difference between the net realizable value and the unamortized cost has grown over the past three years. We 
expect that trend to continue in the future. If we missed our estimates of net future revenues by up to 10%, the amount 
of our capitalized software development costs would not be impaired. 

Capitalized costs are amortized based on current and expected net future revenue for each software solution with minimum 
annual amortization equal to the straight-line amortization over the estimated economic life of the software solution. We 
are amortizing capitalized costs over five years. The five-year period over which capitalized software development costs 
are amortized is an estimate based upon our forecast of a reasonable useful life for the capitalized costs. Historically, use 
of our software programs by our clients has exceeded five years and is capable of being used a decade or more. 

We expect that major software information systems companies, large information technology consulting service providers 
and systems integrators and others specializing in the healthcare industry may offer competitive products or services. 
The pace of change in the HIT market is rapid and there are frequent new product introductions, product enhancements 
and  evolving  industry  standards  and  requirements.  As  a  result,  the  capitalized  software  solutions  may  become  less 
valuable or obsolete and could be subject to impairment.

56

 Fair Value Measurements

We determine fair value measurements used in our consolidated financial statements based upon the price that would 
be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the 
measurement date. The fair value hierarchy distinguishes between (1) market participant assumptions developed based 
on  market  data  obtained  from  independent  sources  (observable  inputs)  and  (2)  an  entity’s  own  assumptions  about 
market participant assumptions developed based on the best information available in the circumstances (unobservable 
inputs).  The  fair  value  hierarchy  consists  of  three  broad  levels,  which  gives  the  highest  priority  to  unadjusted  quoted 
prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). 
The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below: 

g	

g	

g	

	Level 1 – Valuations based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the entity has 
the ability to access.
	Level 2 – Valuations based on quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not 
active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable data for substantially the full 
term of the assets or liabilities.
	Level 3 – Valuations based on inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to 
the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

As  of  the  end  of  2009,  we  held  investments  in  money  market  funds,  time  deposits,  commercial  paper,  government 
and corporate bonds and auction rate securities. Auction rate securities are debt instruments with long-term nominal 
maturities,  for  which  the  interest  rates  regularly  reset  every  7-35  days  under  an  auction  system.  Due  to  the  lack  of 
availability of observable market quotes on our investment portfolio of auction rate securities, we utilize valuation models 
that  are  based  on  discounted  cash  flow  streams,  including  assessments  of  counterparty  credit  quality,  default  risk 
underlying the security, discount rates and overall capital market liquidity. The valuation is subject to uncertainties that 
are difficult to predict. If different assumptions were used for the various inputs to the valuation, including, but not limited 
to, assumptions involving the estimated holding periods for the auction rate securities, the estimated cash flows over 
those estimated lives, and the estimated discount rates, including the liquidity discount rate, applied to those cash flows, 
the estimated fair value of these investments could be significantly higher or lower than the fair value we determined.

A considerable amount of judgment and estimation is applied in the valuation of auction rate securities. In addition, we 
also apply judgment in determining whether the marketable securities are other-than-temporarily impaired. We typically 
consider the severity and duration of the decline, future prospects of the issuer and our ability and intent to hold the 
security to recovery.

Goodwill

We account for goodwill under the provisions of ASC 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other. As a result, goodwill and 
intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized but are evaluated for impairment annually or whenever there 
is an impairment indicator. All goodwill is assigned to a reporting unit, where it is subject to an annual impairment test 
based on fair value. We assess goodwill for impairment in the second quarter of each fiscal year and evaluate impairment 
indicators at each quarter end. We assessed our goodwill for impairment in the second quarters of 2009 and 2008 and 
concluded that goodwill was not impaired. In each respective year, the fair values of each of our reporting units exceeded 
their  carrying  amounts  by  a  significant  margin.  We  used  a  discounted  cash  flow  analysis  utilizing  Level  3  inputs,  to 
determine the fair value of the reporting units for all periods. Goodwill amounted to $151.5 million and $146.7 million at 
the end of 2009 and 2008, respectively. If future, anticipated cash flows from our reporting units that recognized goodwill 
do not materialize as expected, our goodwill could be impaired, which could result in significant charges to earnings.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes under the provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes. We make a number of assumptions and 
estimates in determining the appropriate amount of expense to record for income taxes. These assumptions and estimates 
consider  the  taxing  jurisdictions  in  which  we  operate  as  well  as  current  tax  regulations.  Accruals  are  established  for 
estimates of tax effects for certain transactions, business structures and future projected profitability of our businesses 
based on our interpretation of existing facts and circumstances. If these assumptions and estimates were to change as 
a result of new evidence or changes in circumstances, the change in estimate could result in a material adjustment to 
the consolidated financial statements. 

57

	
	
	
 We have discussed the development and selection of these critical accounting estimates with the Audit Committee of our 
Board of Directors and the Audit Committee has reviewed our disclosure contained herein.

Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We use a foreign-currency denominated debt instrument to reduce our foreign currency exposure in the U.K. As of the 
end of 2009, we designated all of our Great Britain Pound (GBP) denominated long-term debt (55.7 million GBP) as a net 
investment hedge of our U.K. operations. Because the borrowing is denominated in pounds, we are exposed to movements 
in the foreign currency exchange rate between the U.S. dollar (USD) and the GPB. We estimate that a hypothetical 10% 
change in the foreign currency exchange rate between the USD and GBP would have impacted the unrealized loss, net 
of related income tax effects, of the net investment hedge recognized in other comprehensive income by approximately 
$6.6 million. Please refer to Notes (9) and (10) to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a more detailed discussion 
of the foreign-currency denominated debt instrument.

Item 8. 

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

The Financial Statements and Notes required by this Item are submitted as a separate part of this report.

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

N/A

Item 9.A.  Controls and Procedures 

a) 

b) 

c) 

 Evaluation  of  disclosure  controls  and  procedures.  The  Company’s  Chief  Executive  Officer  (CEO)  and  Chief 
Financial Officer (CFO) have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures 
(as  defined  in  the  Exchange  Act  Rules  13a-15(e)  and  15d-15(e))  as  of  the  end  of  the  period  covered  by  the 
Annual Report (the Evaluation Date). They have concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date and based on the 
evaluation  of  these  controls  and  procedures  required  by  paragraph  (b)  of  Exchange  Act  Rule  13a-15  or  15d-
15, these disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that material information relating to the 
Company and its consolidated subsidiaries would be made known to them by others within those entities and 
would be disclosed on a timely basis. The CEO and CFO have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls 
and procedures are designed, and are effective, to give reasonable assurance that the information required to be 
disclosed by the Company in reports that it files under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and 
reported within the time period specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. They have also concluded that the 
Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed 
in the reports that are filed or submitted under the Exchange Act are accumulated and communicated to the 
Company’s management, including the CEO and CFO, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. 

 There  were  no  changes  in  the  Company’s  internal  controls  over  financial  reporting  during  the  three  months 
ended January 2, 2010, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, its internal 
controls over financial reporting.

 The Company’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, have concluded 
that our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting are designed to provide 
reasonable  assurance  of  achieving  their  objectives  and  are  effective  at  that  reasonable  assurance  level. 
However, the Company’s management can provide no assurance that our disclosure controls and procedures or 
our internal control over financial reporting can prevent all errors and all fraud under all circumstances. A control 
system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that 
the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that 
there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because 
of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that 
all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been or will be detected. The design 

58

of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, 
and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential 
future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree 
of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective 
control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

The  Company’s  management  is  responsible  for  establishing  and  maintaining  adequate  internal  control  over  financial 
reporting  (as  defined  in  Rule  13a-15(f)  under  the  Securities  Exchange  Act  of  1934,  as  amended).  The  Company’s 
management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of January 2, 2010. 
In  making  this  assessment,  the  Company’s  management  used  the  criteria  set  forth  by  the  Committee  of  Sponsoring 
Organizations  of  the  Treadway  Commission  (COSO)  in  its  Internal  Control-Integrated  Framework.  The  Company’s 
management  has  concluded  that,  as  of  January  2,  2010,  the  Company’s  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  is 
effective  based  on  these  criteria.  The  Company’s  independent  registered  public  accounting  firm  that  audited  the 
consolidated financial statements included in the annual report has issued an audit report on the effectiveness of the 
Company’s internal control over financial reporting, which is included herein under “Report of Independent Registered 
Public Accounting Firm.”

Item 9.B.  Other Information

N/A

PART III

Item 10.  Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information required by this Item 10 regarding our Directors will be set forth under the caption “Election of Directors” in 
our Proxy Statement in connection with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled to be held May 28, 2010, and 
is incorporated in this Item 10 by reference. The information required by this Item 10 concerning compliance with Section 
16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 will be set forth under the caption “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership 
Reporting Compliance” in our Proxy Statement in connection with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled to 
be held May 28, 2010, and is incorporated in this Item 10 by reference. 

The information required by this Item 10 concerning our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics will be set forth under the 
caption “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” in our Proxy Statement in connection with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ 
Meeting scheduled to be held May 28, 2010, and is incorporated in this Item 10 by reference. The information required by 
this Item 10 concerning our Audit Committee and our Audit Committee financial expert will be set forth under the caption 
“Audit Committee” in our Proxy Statement in connection with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled to be 
held May 28, 2010, and is incorporated in this Item 10 by reference.

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to our Board 
of Directors since our last disclosure thereof. The names of our executive officers and their ages, titles and biographies 
are incorporated by reference under the caption “Executive Officers of the Registrant” under Part I, above.

Item 11.  Executive Compensation

The  information  required  by  this  Item  11  concerning  our  executive  compensation  will  be  set  forth  under  the  caption 
“Compensation  Discussion  and  Analysis”  in  our  Proxy  Statement  in  connection  with  the  2010  Annual  Shareholders’ 
Meeting scheduled to be held May 28, 2010, and is incorporated in this Item 11 by reference. The information required 
by  this  Item  11  concerning  Compensation  Committee  interlocks  and  insider  participation  will  be  set  forth  under  the 
caption “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation” in our Proxy Statement in connection with the 
2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled to be held May 28, 2010, and is incorporated in this Item 11 by reference. 

59

 
 The information required by this Item 11 concerning Compensation Committee report will be set forth under the caption 
“Compensation Committee Report” in our Proxy Statement in connection with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting 
scheduled to be held May 28, 2010 and is incorporated in this Item 11 by reference. 

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

The  information  required  by  this  Item  12  will  be  set  forth  under  the  caption  “Voting  Securities  and  Principal  Holders 
Thereof” in our Proxy Statement in connection with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled to be held May 28, 
2010, and is incorporated in this Item 12 by reference.

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

The information required by this Item 13 concerning our transactions with related parties will be set forth under the caption 
“Certain Transactions” in our Proxy Statement in connection with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled to be 
held May 28, 2010, and is incorporated in this Item 13 by reference. The information required by this Item 13 concerning 
director independence will be set forth under the caption “Director Independence” in our Proxy Statement in connection 
with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled to be held May 28, 2010, and is incorporated in this Item 13 by 
reference.

Item 14.  Principal Accountant Fees and Services  

The information required by this Item 14 will be set forth under the caption “Relationship with Independent Registered 
Public Accounting Firm” in our Proxy Statement in connection with the 2010 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled to 
be held May 28, 2010, and is incorporated in this Item 14 by reference.

PART IV

Item 15.  Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

(a) 

(1) 

Financial Statements and Exhibits. 

Consolidated Financial Statements:

Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Consolidated Balance Sheets - 
As of January 2, 2010 and January 3, 2009 

Consolidated Statements of Operations - 
Years Ended January 2, 2010, January 3, 2009, and December 29, 2007

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity 
Years Ended January 2, 2010, January 3, 2009, and December 29, 2007

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 
Years Ended January 2, 2010, January 3, 2009, and December 29, 2007 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

(2) 

 The following financial statement schedule and Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm of the Registrant for the 
three-year period ended January 2, 2010 are included herein:

Schedule II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 All other schedules are omitted, as the required information is inapplicable or the information is presented in the consolidated 
financial statements or related notes.

(3) 

 The exhibits required to be filed by this item are set forth below:

60

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Number 
3(a) 

3(b) 

4(a) 

4(b) 

4(c) 

4(d) 

4(e) 

4(f) 

10(a) 

10(b) 

10(c) 

10(d) 

10(e) 

10(f) 

10(g) 

10(h) 

10(i) 

10(j) 

10(k) 

10(l) 

10(m) 

Description

 Second Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, dated December 5, 2003 (filed as exhibit 3(a) to Registrant’s Annual Report on 
Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference).

 Amended and Restated Bylaws, dated September 16, 2008 (filed as Exhibit 3.1 to Registrant’s Form 8-K filed on September 22, 2008 and 
incorporated herein by reference).

 Specimen stock certificate (filed as Exhibit 4(a) to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2006 and 
incorporated herein by reference). 

 Amended and Restated Credit Agreement between Cerner Corporation and U.S. Bank N.A., Bank of America, N.A. (successor in interest to LaSalle 
Bank National Association), Commerce Bank, N.A. and UMB Bank, N.A., dated November 30, 2006 (filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Registrant’s Form 8-K 
filed on December 6, 2006, and incorporated herein by reference).

 First Amendment to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement between Cerner Corporation, U.S. Bank National Association, Bank of America, N.A., 
Commerce Bank, N.A. and UMB Bank, N.A., dated November 12, 2009 (filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Registrant’s Form 8-K filed on November 18, 2009, 
and incorporated herein by reference).

 Cerner Corporation Note Agreement dated April 1, 1999 among Cerner Corporation, Principal Life Insurance Company, Principal Life Insurance 
Company, on behalf of one or more separate accounts, Commercial Union Life Insurance Company of America, Nippon Life Insurance Company 
of America, John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Company, and Investors Partner Life Insurance 
Company (filed as Exhibit 4(e) to Registrant’s Form 8-K dated April 23, 1999 and incorporated herein by reference).

 Note Purchase Agreement between Cerner Corporation and the purchasers therein, dated December 15, 2002 (filed as Exhibit 10(x) to 
Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2002 and incorporated herein by reference).

 Cerner Corporation Note Purchase Agreement dated November 1, 2005 among Cerner Corporation, as issuer, and AIG Annuity Insurance Company, 
American General Life Insurance Company and Principal Life Insurance Company, as purchasers, (filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Registrant’s Form 8-K 
filed on November 7, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference).

 Indemnification Agreement Form for use between the Registrant and its Directors (filed as Exhibit 10(a) to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 
10-K for the year ended December 30, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Employment Agreement of Earl H. Devanny, III dated August 13, 1999 (filed as Exhibit 10(q) to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 
year ended January 1, 2000 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Amendment Number One to Cerner Associate Employment Agreement between Cerner Corporation and E. H. Devanny, III, dated November 
1, 2008 (filed as Exhibit 10(c) to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2009 and incorporated herein by 
reference).*

 Amended & Restated Executive Employment Agreement of Neal L. Patterson dated January 1, 2008 (filed as Exhibit 10(c) to Registrant’s Annual 
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Amended Stock Option Plan D of Registrant dated December 8, 2000 (filed as Exhibit 10(f) to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 
year ended December 30, 2000 and incorporated herein by reference).* 

 Amended Stock Option Plan E of Registrant dated December 8, 2000 (filed as Exhibit 10(g) to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 
year ended December 30, 2000 and incorporated herein by reference).* 

 Cerner Corporation 2001 Long-Term Incentive Plan F (filed as Annex I to Registrant’s 2001 Proxy Statement and incorporated herein by 
reference).*

 Cerner Corporation 2004 Long-Term Incentive Plan G Amended & Restated dated October 1, 2007 (filed as Exhibit 10(g) to Registrant’s Annual 
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Cerner Corporation 2001 Associate Stock Purchase Plan (filed as Annex II to Registrant’s 2001 Proxy Statement and incorporated herein by 
reference).*

 Qualified Performance-Based Compensation Plan dated December 3, 2007 (filed as Exhibit 10(i) to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K 
for the year ended December 29, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Form of 2009 Executive Performance Agreement (filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 6, 2009 and incorporated herein by 
reference).*

 Cerner Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan as Amended & Restated dated January 1, 2008 (filed as Exhibit 10(k) to Registrant’s 
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference.)*

 Cerner Corporation 2005 Enhanced Severance Pay Plan as Amended and Restated dated January 1, 2008 (filed as Exhibit 10(l) to Registrant’s 
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference.)*

61

 10(n) 

10(o) 

10(p) 

10(q) 

10(r) 

10(s) 

10(t) 

11 

21 

23 

31.1 

31.2 

32.1  

32.2  

 Cerner Corporation 2001 Long-Term Incentive Plan F Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (filed as Exhibit 10(v) to Registrant’s Annual Report on 
Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Cerner Corporation 2001 Long-Term Incentive Plan F Nonqualified Stock Option Grant Certificate (filed as Exhibit 10(a) to Registrant’s Quarterly 
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 1, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Cerner Corporation 2001 Long-Term Incentive Plan F Nonqualified Stock Option Director Agreement (filed as Exhibit 10(x) to Registrant’s Annual 
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Cerner Corporation 2001 Long-Term Incentive Plan F Director Restricted Stock Agreement (filed as Exhibit 10(w) to Registrant’s Annual Report on 
Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Cerner Corporation 2004 Long-Term Incentive Plan G Nonqualified Stock Option Grant Certificate (filed as Exhibit 10(q) to Registrant’s Annual 
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Time Sharing Agreements between the Registrant and Neal L. Patterson and Clifford W. Illig, both dated February 7, 2007 (filed as Exhibits 10.2 
and 10.3, respectively, to Registrant’s Form 8-K filed on February 9, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference).*

 Notice of Change of Aircraft Provided Under Time Sharing Agreements from Registrant to Neal L. Patterson and Clifford W. Illig, both notices dated 
December 28, 2009.*

 *Management contracts or compensatory plans or arrangements required to be identified by Item 15(a)(3)

 Computation of Registrant’s Earnings Per Share. (Exhibit omitted. Information contained in notes to consolidated financial statements.)

 Subsidiaries of Registrant.

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

Certification of Neal L. Patterson pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Certification of Marc G. Naughton pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(b) 

Exhibits.

The response to this portion of Item 15 is submitted as a separate section of this report.

(c) 

Financial Statement Schedules.

The response to this portion of Item 15 is submitted as a separate section of this report.

62

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
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.

SIGNATURES

Date: February 22, 2010 

CERNER CORPORATION

 By:/s/Neal L. Patterson 
  Neal L. Patterson
  Chairman of the Board and
  Chief Executive Officer 

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:

Signature and Title 

           Date

/s/Neal L. Patterson 
Neal L. Patterson, Chairman of the Board and
 Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) 

/s/Clifford W. Illig 
Clifford W. Illig, Vice Chairman and Director

/s/Marc G. Naughton 
Marc G. Naughton, Senior Vice President and
 Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)

/s/Michael R. Battaglioli   
Michael R. Battaglioli, Vice President and
 Chief Accounting Officer

/s/Gerald E. Bisbee, Jr. 
Gerald E. Bisbee, Jr., Ph.D., Director

/s/John C. Danforth 
John C. Danforth, Director

/s/Michael E. Herman 
Michael E. Herman, Director

/s/William B. Neaves 
William B. Neaves, Ph.D., Director

/s/William D. Zollars 
William D. Zollars, Director

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2010

63

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Stockholders
Cerner Corporation:

We have audited Cerner Corporation’s (the Corporation) internal control over financial reporting as of January 2, 2010, 
based  on  criteria  established  in  Internal  Control  –  Integrated  Framework  issued  by  the  Committee  of  Sponsoring 
Organizations  of  the  Treadway  Commission  (COSO).  The  Corporation’s  management  is  responsible  for  maintaining 
effective  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  and  for  its  assessment  of  the  effectiveness  of  internal  control  over 
financial  reporting,  included  in  the  accompanying  Management’s  Report  on  Internal  Control  over  Financial  Reporting, 
appearing  in  Item  9.A.  Our  responsibility  is  to  express  an  opinion  on  the  Corporation’s  internal  control  over  financial 
reporting based on our audit.

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

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

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

In our opinion, Cerner Corporation maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting 
as of January 2, 2010, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee 
of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

We  also  have  audited,  in  accordance  with  the  standards  of  the  Public  Company  Accounting  Oversight  Board  (United 
States), the consolidated balance sheets of Cerner Corporation and subsidiaries as of January 2, 2010 and January 3, 
2009, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each 
of  the  years  in  the  three-year  period  ended  January  2,  2010,  and  our  report  dated  February  22,  2010  expressed  an 
unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements.

/s/KPMG LLP
Kansas City, Missouri
February 22, 2010

64

 
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Stockholders
Cerner Corporation:

We  have  audited  the  accompanying  consolidated  balance  sheets  of  Cerner  Corporation  and  subsidiaries  (collectively, 
the Corporation) as of January 2, 2010 and January 3, 2009, and the related consolidated statements of operations, 
changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 2, 2010. 
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Corporation’s management. Our responsibility is to 
express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements 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 audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the 
financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting 
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used 
and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We 
believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial 
position of the Cerner Corporation and subsidiaries as of January 2, 2010 and January 3, 2009, and the results of their 
operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 2, 2010, in conformity with 
U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We  also  have  audited,  in  accordance  with  the  standards  of  the  Public  Company  Accounting  Oversight  Board  (United 
States), Cerner Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of January 2, 2010, based on criteria established 
in  Internal  Control  –  Integrated  Framework  issued  by  the  Committee  of  Sponsoring  Organizations  of  the  Treadway 
Commission (COSO), and our report dated February 22, 2010 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of 
Cerner Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting.

/s/KPMG LLP
Kansas City, Missouri
February 22,2010

Management’s Report

The management of Cerner Corporation is responsible for the consolidated financial statements and all other information 
presented  in  this  report.  The  financial  statements  have  been  prepared  in  conformity  with  U.S.  generally  accepted 
accounting principles appropriate to the circumstances, and, therefore, included in the financial statements are certain 
amounts  based  on  management’s  informed  estimates  and  judgments.  Other  financial  information  in  this  report  is 
consistent with that in the consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements have been audited 
by Cerner Corporation’s independent registered public accountants and have been reviewed by the Audit Committee of 
the Board of Directors.

65

 
CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
As of January 2, 2010 and January 3, 2009

(In thousands, except share data)

2009

2008

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

Short-term investments

Receivables, net

Inventory

Prepaid expenses and other

Deferred income taxes

Total current assets

Property and equipment, net

Software development costs, net

Goodwill

Intangible assets, net

Long-term investments

Other assets

Total assets

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

Current installments of long-term debt

Deferred revenue

Accrued payroll and tax withholdings 

Other accrued expenses

Total current liabilities

Long-term debt

Deferred income taxes and other liabilities

Deferred revenue

Total Liabilities

Stockholders’ Equity:

Cerner Corporation stockholders’ equity:

Com mon stock, $.01 par value, 150,000,000 shares authorized, 

82,564,708 shares issued at January 2, 2010 and  
81,043,345 issued at January 3, 2009

Additional paid-in capital

Retained earnings

Treasury stock

        Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net

  $ 

241,723 

  $ 

270,494 

 317,113 

 461,411 

 11,242 

 106,791 

 8,055 

 1,146,335 

 509,178 

 233,265 

 151,479 

 33,719 

 - 

 74,591 

 38,400 

 468,928 

 10,096 

 69,553 

 1,402 

 858,873 

 483,399 

 218,811 

 146,666 

 51,925 

 105,300 

 16,014 

  $  2,148,567 

  $  1,880,988 

  $ 

36,893 

  $ 

93,667 

 25,014 

 137,095 

 80,093 

 79,008 

 358,103 

 95,506 

 98,372 

 15,788 

 567,769 

 826 

 557,545 

 1,053,563 

 (28,002)

 (3,254)

 30,116 

 107,554 

 67,266 

 42,620 

 341,223 

 111,370 

 100,546 

 15,554 

 568,693 

 810 

 491,080 

 860,098 

 (28,002)

 (12,977)

Total Cerner Corporation stockholders’ equity

 1,580,678 

 1,311,009 

Noncontrolling interest

Total stockholders’ equity

 120 

 1,286 

 1,580,798 

 1,312,295 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

  $  2,148,567 

   $  1,880,988 

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

66

 
 
CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the years ended January 2, 2010, January 3, 2009 and December 29, 2007

(In thousands, except per share data)

2009

2008

2007

For the Years Ended

Revenues:

System sales

Support, maintenance and services

Reimbursed travel

Total revenues

Costs and expenses:

Cost of system sales

Cost of support, maintenance and services

Cost of reimbursed travel

Sales and client service

Software development

(Includes amortization of  
$63,611, $51,132 and $53,475, respectively)

General and administrative

Total costs and expenses

Operating earnings

Other income (expense):

Interest income (expense), net

Other income (expense), net

Total other income (expense), net

Earnings before income taxes 

Income taxes

Net earnings

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

   $ 

504,561 

$ 

522,373 

$ 

500,319 

 1,136,871 

 1,115,896 

 30,432 

 37,759 

 982,780 

 36,778 

 1,671,864 

 1,676,028 

 1,519,877 

 186,626 

 64,140 

 30,432 

 700,639 

 271,051 

 197,150 

 61,154 

 37,759 

 715,512 

 272,519 

 181,744 

 61,588 

 36,778 

 657,956 

 270,576 

 126,970 

 113,049 

 107,152 

 1,379,858 

 1,397,143 

 1,315,794 

 292,006 

 278,885 

 204,083 

 308 

 367 

 675 

 292,681 

 (99,216)

193,465 

2.39 

2.31 

 80,981 

 83,882 

$ 

$ 

$ 

 3,056 

 (510)

 2,546 

 281,431 

 (92,773)

188,658 

2.34 

2.26 

 80,549 

 83,435 

$ 

$ 

$ 

 1,269 

 (1,385)

 (116)

 203,967 

 (76,842)

127,125 

1.60 

1.53 

 79,395 

 83,218 

$ 

$ 

$ 

67

 
	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(In thousands)

Common Stock

Shares

Amount

Additional
Paid-in
Capital

Retained 
Earnings

Treasury
Stock

Accumulated 
Other
Comprehensive
Income (Loss)

Comprehensive
Income (Loss)

Balance at December 31, 2006

 78,392     $ 

784   

$  376,595   

$  544,315   

$ 

-     $ 

600 

Exercise of options

 1,756 

 17 

 29,068 

Employee stock option compensation 
expense

Employee stock option compensation 
net excess tax benefit

Foreign currency translation 
adjustments and other

Net earnings

Comprehensive Income

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 16,348 

 29,865 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 127,125 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 7,711 

 $7,711 

 - 

 127,125 

 $134,836 

Balance at December 29, 2007

 80,148    $ 

801   

$  451,876   

$  671,440   

$ 

-   

$ 

8,311 

Exercise of options

 895 

 9 

 15,250 

Employee stock option compensation 
expense

Employee stock option compensation 
net excess tax benefit

Purchase of treasury shares

Foreign currency translation 
adjustments and other

Net earnings

Comprehensive Income

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 14,788 

 9,166 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 188,658 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 (28,002)

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 (21,288)

 $(21,288)

 - 

 188,658 

 $167,370 

Balance at January 3, 2009

 81,043    $ 

810   

$  491,080   

$  860,098   

$ 

(28,002) 

$ 

(12,977)

Exercise of options

 1,522 

 16 

 29,773 

Employee stock option compensation 
expense

Employee stock option compensation 
net excess tax benefit

Foreign currency translation 
adjustments and other

Net earnings

Comprehensive Income

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 15,786 

 20,906 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 193,465 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 9,723 

 $9,723 

 193,465 

 $203,188 

Balance at January 2, 2010

 82,565    $ 

826   

$  557,545   

$ 1,053,563   

$ 

(28,002) 

$ 

(3,254)

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

68

  
CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the years ended January 2, 2010, January 3, 2009 and December 29, 2007

(In thousands)

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

Net earnings

Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

Share-based compensation expense

Provision for deferred income taxes

Changes in assets and liabilities (net of businesses acquired):

Receivables, net

Inventory

Prepaid expenses and other

Accounts payable

Accrued income taxes

Deferred revenue

Other accrued liabilities

For the Years Ended

2009

2008

2007

   $  193,465   

$  188,658   

$  127,125 

 189,603 

 170,466 

 152,817 

 15,786 

 (4,141)

 14,683 

 (2,521)

 16,189 

 (4,496)

 (46,599)

 (108,072)

 (22,802)

 290 

 (26,350)

 (53,417)

 29,263 

 28,127 

 21,264 

 (2,542)

 (11,735)

 2,320 

 22,827 

 8,345 

 (627)

 5,435 

 5,752 

 1,768 

 (5,236)

 10,993 

 (12,980)

 274,565 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 347,291 

 281,802 

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

Capital purchases

Capitalized software development costs

Purchases of investments

Maturities of investments

Purchase of other intangibles

Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired

Net cash used in investing activities

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

Proceeds from sale of future receivables

Proceeds from revolving line of credit and long-term debt

Repayment of revolving line of credit and long-term debt

Proceeds from excess tax benefits from stock compensation

Proceeds from exercise of options

Purchase of treasury stock

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

 (131,265)

 (108,099)

 (180,723)

 (77,747)

 (266,776)

 97,481 

 (12,485)

 (3,529)

 (70,098)

 (488,761)

 506,271 

 (4,201)

 (5,719)

 (66,063)

 (495,508)

 482,231 

 (3,542)

 (24,061)

 (394,321)

 (170,607)

 (287,666)

 1,888 

 - 

 (32,352)

 17,445 

 29,789 

 - 

 16,770 

 1,489 

 (28,771)

 270,494 

 7,135 

 44,500 

 (59,817)

 9,166 

 15,364 

 (28,002)

 (11,654)

 (11,961)

 87,580 

 182,914 

 - 

 40,000 

 (62,359)

 30,357 

 29,085 

 - 

 37,083 

 (3,613)

 20,369 

 162,545 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

$  241,723   

$  270,494   

$  182,914 

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information

Cash paid during the year for:

Interest

Income taxes, net of refund

Non-cash changes resulting from acquisitions:

Increase in accounts receivable

Increase in property and equipment, net

Increase in goodwill and intangibles

Increase in deferred revenue

Increase in long term debt

Decrease in other working capital components

Total

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

69

$ 

8,583   

$ 

10,512   

$ 

12,024 

 47,114 

 56,066 

 54,301 

   $ 

-  

$ 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

$ 

-  

 - 

 4,025 

 (25)

 - 

 - 

930 

 391 

 23,368 

 (476)

 - 

 (152)

$ 

-  

$ 

4,000   

$ 

24,061 

 
               
 
 
 
 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

(1)  Basis of Presentation, Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis	of	Presentation 

The consolidated financial statements include all the accounts of Cerner Corporation and its subsidiaries. All significant 
intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. 

The consolidated financial statements were prepared using accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. 
These principles require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, 
the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. Actual results 
could differ from those estimates. 

Certain  prior  year amounts in  the  consolidated  financial  statements have  been  reclassified to  conform  to  the  current 
year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on the results of operations or stockholders’ equity as previously 
reported.

Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to December 31. Fiscal year 2009 consisted of 52 weeks and ended on 
January 2, 2010; fiscal year 2008 consisted of 53 weeks and ended on January 3, 2009; and fiscal year 2007 consisted of 
52 weeks and ended on December 29, 2007. All references to years in these notes to consolidated financial statements 
represent fiscal years unless otherwise noted.

Nature	of	Operations	

We design, develop, market, install, host and support healthcare information technology, healthcare devices and content 
solutions for healthcare organizations and consumers. We also provide a wide range of value-added services, including 
implementing solutions as individual, combined or enterprise-wide systems; hosting solutions in our data center; and 
clinical process optimization services. Furthermore, we provide fully–automated on-site employer health clinics and third 
party administrator health plan services for employers. 

Summary	of	Significant	Accounting	Policies

(a)  Revenue Recognition – We recognize software-related revenue in accordance with the provisions of ASC 985-605, 
Software – Revenue Recognition and non software-related revenue in accordance ASC 605, Revenue Recognition. The 
following are our major components of revenue: 

g	

g	

g	

	System sales – includes the licensing of computer software, deployment period upgrades, installation, content 
subscriptions, transaction processing and the sale of computer hardware and sublicensed software;
	Support, Maintenance and Service – includes software support and hardware maintenance, remote hosting and 
managed services, training, consulting and implementation services; 
	Reimbursed Travel – includes reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses (primarily travel) incurred in connection with 
our client service activities.

We provide for several models of procurement of our information systems and related services. The predominant model 
involves multiple deliverables and includes a perpetual software license agreement, project-related installation services, 
implementation  and  consulting  services,  software  support  and  either  hosting  services  or  computer  hardware  and 
sublicensed software. 

Allocation of Revenue to Multiple Element Arrangements

ASC 985-605 generally requires revenue earned on software arrangements involving multiple-elements to be allocated to 
each element based on the relative fair values of those elements if fair values exist for all elements of the arrangement. 
Since we do not have vendor specific objective evidence (VSOE) of fair values on all the elements within our multiple 
element arrangements, we recognize revenue using the residual method.

70

	
	
	
 Under  the  residual  method,  revenue  is  recognized  in  a  multiple-element  arrangement  when  vendor-specific  objective 
evidence of fair value exists for all of the undelivered elements in the arrangement (i.e. professional services, software 
support, hardware maintenance, remote hosting services, hardware and sublicensed software), but does not exist for 
one or more of the delivered elements in the arrangement (i.e. licenses for software solutions including project-related 
installation services). We allocate revenue to each undelivered element in a multiple-element arrangement based on the 
element’s respective fair value, with the fair value determined by the price charged when that element is sold separately. 
Specifically, we determine the fair value of the software support, hardware maintenance, sublicensed software support, 
remote hosting and subscriptions portions of the arrangement based on the substantive renewal price for these services 
charged  to  clients;  professional  services  (including  training  and  consulting)  portion  of  the  arrangement,  other  than 
installation services, based on hourly rates which we charge for these services when sold apart from a software license; 
and,  the  hardware  and  sublicensed  software,  based  on  the  prices  for  these  elements  when  they  are  sold  separately 
from the software. The residual amount of the fee after allocating revenue to the fair value of the undelivered elements 
is attributed to the licenses for software solutions, including project-related installation services. If evidence of the fair 
value cannot be established for the undelivered elements of a license agreement, the entire amount of revenue under 
the arrangement is deferred until these elements have been delivered or objective evidence can be established. 

For certain arrangements, the implementation services are deemed to be essential to the functionality of the licenses for 
software solutions due to significant modifications and customization of the software. For such software arrangements, 
revenue for both product and services are accounted for using the percentage-of-completion method under ASC 605-
35, Revenue Recognition – Construction-Type and Production-Type Contracts. Such arrangements typically include post-
contract support (PCS). In certain arrangements for which fair value of PCS cannot be established, we classify revenue as 
systems sales or support, maintenance and services based on the nature of costs incurred. For similar arrangements for 
which VSOE of PCS exists, PCS is separated from the arrangement based on VSOE and the residual amount is allocated 
to the software and services accounted for on a combined basis under ASC 605-35. For these arrangements, the service 
component  of  the  ASC  605-35  deliverable  is  classified  as  service  revenue  based  on  the  VSOE  of  the  services  as  if 
provided on a stand-alone basis and the residual is classified as systems sales revenue. Approximately $18.1 million, 
$26.7 million and $20.0 million of such revenues in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, were included in system sales. 
Approximately $60.4 million, $86.6 million and $95.0 million of such revenues were included in 2009, 2008 and 2007, 
respectively, were included in support, maintenance and services for such arrangements. 

Revenue Recognition Models for Each Element

We  provide  project-related  installation  services  when  licensing  our  software  solutions,  which  include  project-scoping 
services, conducting pre-installation audits and creating initial environments. We have deemed installation services to be 
essential to the functionality of the software, and therefore recognize the software license over the software installation 
period using the percentage of completion method pursuant ASC 605-35, Revenue Recognition – Construction-Type and 
Production-Type Contracts, as prescribed by ASC 985-605. We measure the percentage of completion based on output 
measures  which  reflect  direct  labor  hours  incurred,  beginning  at  software  delivery  and  culminating  at  completion  of 
installation. The installation services process length is dependent upon client specific factors and generally occurs in the 
same period the contracts are executed but can extend up to one year.

We provide implementation and consulting services. These services vary depending on the scope and complexity requested 
by the client. Examples of such services may include database consulting, system configuration, project management, 
testing assistance, network consulting, post conversion review and application management services. Implementation 
and consulting services generally are not deemed to be essential to the functionality of the software, and thus do not 
impact the timing of the software license recognition, unless software license fees are tied to implementation milestones. 
In those instances, the portion of the software license fee tied to implementation milestones is deferred until the related 
milestone is accomplished and related fees become billable and non-forfeitable. Implementation fees are recognized 
over the service period, which may extend from nine months to three years for multi-phased projects.

Remote hosting and managed services are marketed under long-term arrangements generally over periods of five to 10 
years. These services are typically provided to clients that have acquired a perpetual license for licensed software and 
have contracted with us to host the software in our data center. Under these arrangements, the client generally has the 

71

 contractual right to take possession of the licensed software at any time during the hosting period without significant 
penalty and it is feasible for the client to either run the software on its own equipment or contract with another party 
unrelated to us to host the software. These services are not deemed to be essential to the functionality of the licensed 
software or other elements of the arrangement and as such, we account for these arrangements under ASC 985-605 
(EITF Issue No. 00-3, Application of AICPA Statement of Position 97-2 to Arrangements That Include the Right to Use 
Software Stored on Another Entity’s Hardware). For those arrangements where the client does not have the contractual 
right or the ability to take possession of the software at any time, we account for the arrangement as a service contract 
and thereby recognize revenues for the arrangement over the hosting service period. The hosting and managed services 
are recognized as the services are performed.   

We also offer our solutions on an application service provider (ASP) model, making available time based licenses for our 
software functionality and providing the software solutions on a remote processing basis from our data centers. The data 
centers provide system and administrative support as well as processing services. Revenue on software and services 
provided on an ASP or term license basis is combined and recognized on a monthly basis over the term of the contract. 
We  capitalize  related  direct  costs  consisting  of  third  party  costs  and  direct  software  installation  and  implementation 
costs associated with the initial set up of the client on the ASP service. These costs are amortized over the term of the 
arrangement.

Software support fees are marketed under annual and multi-year arrangements and are recognized as revenue ratably 
over the contracted support term. Hardware and sublicensed software maintenance revenues are recognized ratably over 
the contracted maintenance term.

Subscription  and  content  fees  are  generally  marketed  under  annual  and  multi-year  agreements  and  are  recognized 
ratably over the contracted terms.

Hardware and sublicensed software sales are generally recognized when delivered to the client, assuming title and risk 
of loss have transferred to the client.

Where  we  have  contractually  agreed  to  develop  new  or  customized  software  code  for  a  client  as  a  single  element 
arrangement, we utilize percentage of completion accounting, labor-hours method, in accordance with ASC 605-35. 

Payment Arrangements

Our payment arrangements with clients typically include an initial payment due upon contract signing and date-based 
licensed software payment terms and payments based upon delivery for services, hardware and sublicensed software. 
Revenue recognition on payments received in advance of the services being performed are deferred and classified as 
either current or long term deferred revenue depending on whether the revenue will be earned within one year. 

We have periodically provided long-term financing options to creditworthy clients through third party financing institutions 
and  have  directly  provided  extended  payment  terms  to  clients  from  contract  date.  These  extended  payment  term 
arrangements typically provide for date based payments over periods ranging from 12 months up to seven years. Pursuant 
to ASC 985-605, because a significant portion of the fee is due beyond one year, we have analyzed our history with these 
types of arrangements and have concluded that we have a standard business practice of using extended payment term 
arrangements  and  a  long  history  of  successfully  collecting  under  the  original  payment  terms  for  arrangements  with 
similar clients, product offerings, and economics without granting concessions. Accordingly, we consider the fee to be 
fixed and determinable in these extended payment term arrangements and, thus, the timing of revenue is not impacted 
by the existence of extended payments. 

Some of these payment streams have been assigned on a non-recourse basis to third party financing institutions. We 
account for the assignment of these receivables as “true sales” as defined in ASC 860, Transfers and Servicing. Provided 
all revenue recognition criteria have been met, we recognize revenue for these arrangements under our normal revenue 
recognition criteria, and if appropriate, net of any payment discounts from financing transactions. 

72

 NHS Initiative

In  England,  we  have  contracted  with  third  parties  to  customize  software  and  provide  implementation  and  support 
services under long term arrangements (nine years). Prior to 2008 we accounted for the arrangements as single units 
of accounting under ASC 605-35 because the arrangements require customization and development of software, and 
fair value for the support services had not been established. Also prior to 2008 we believed it was reasonably assured 
that no loss would be incurred under these arrangements and therefore we utilized the zero margin approach of applying 
percentage-of-completion accounting. 

During 2008 we established fair value of the undelivered elements of the arrangement that are not subject to percentage 
of completion accounting.  Also, during the fourth quarter of 2008 we realized a significant milestone in London which 
significantly enhances our ability to reliably estimate work effort for the remainder of the contract and estimate a minimum 
level of profit on the arrangement.  These events, combined with our experience since the contract signed in 2006 and 
the experience gained in the South, allowed us to conclude that reasonably dependable work effort estimates could be 
produced and allow for margin recognition. 

As a result, our fourth quarter 2008 revenues included a cumulative catch-up adjustment, resulting from the significant 
change in accounting estimate, in the amount of $28.6 million which represents the margin on the contract which had 
been  previously  deferred  as  a  result  of  the  zero  margin  approach  of  applying  percentage  of  completion  accounting. 
Greater than a majority of the catch-up adjustment revenue was included in support, maintenance and services. The 
remaining margin attributed to the services subject to ASC 605-35 will be recognized over the remaining service period 
until  the  services  are  complete  and  amounts  allocated  to  the  other support  services  subject to  ASC  985-605  will  be 
recognized over the relevant support periods. The contract expires in 2014.

Cash Equivalents – Cash equivalents consist of short-term marketable securities with original maturities less than 

(b) 
90 days.

(c) 
Investments – Our short-term investments are primarily invested in time deposits, commercial paper, government 
and corporate bonds and auction rate securities. Refer to Note (3) and Note (4) for a comprehensive description of these 
assets and their value.

Concentrations – Substantially all of our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments are held at two 
(d) 
major  financial  institutions.  The  majority  of  our  cash  equivalents  consist  of  money  market  funds.  Deposits  held  with 
banks may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. Generally these deposits may be redeemed upon 
demand and, therefore, bear minimal risk. 

Substantially  all  of  our  clients  are  integrated  delivery  networks,  physicians,  hospitals  and  other  healthcare  related 
organizations.  If  significant  adverse  macro-economic  factors  were  to  impact  these  organizations  it  could  materially 
adversely affect us. Our access to certain software and hardware components is dependent upon single and sole source 
suppliers. The inability of any supplier to fulfill our supply requirements could affect future results.

As of the end of 2009, we had significant concentration of receivables owed to us by Fujitsu Services Limited, which are 
currently in dispute. Refer to Note 5 for additional information. 

Inventory - Inventory consists primarily of computer hardware, sublicensed software held for resale and RxStation 

(e) 
medication dispensing units. Inventory is recorded at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or market.

Property and Equipment - Property, equipment and leasehold improvements are stated at cost. Depreciation of 
(f) 
property  and  equipment  is  computed  using  the  straight-line  method  over  periods  of  two  to  50  years.  Amortization  of 
leasehold improvements is computed using a straight-line method over the shorter of the lease terms or the useful lives, 
which range from periods of two to 15 years.

73

 (g) 
Software Development Costs – Software development costs are accounted for in accordance with ASC 985-20, 
Costs of Software to be Sold, Leased or Marketed. Costs incurred internally in creating computer software products are 
expensed until technological feasibility has been established upon completion of a detailed program design. Thereafter, 
all software development costs are capitalized and subsequently reported at the lower of amortized cost or net realizable 
value. Capitalized costs are amortized based on current and expected future revenue for each software solution with 
minimum annual amortization equal to the straight-line amortization over the estimated economic life of the solution. 

(h)  Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets –  We account for goodwill under the provisions of ASC 350, Intangibles – 
Goodwill and Other. As a result, goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized but are evaluated for 
impairment annually or whenever there is an impairment indicator. Based on these evaluations, there was no impairment 
of goodwill in 2009, 2008 or 2007. Refer to Note (7) for more information of Goodwill and other intangible assets. 

Contingencies – We accrue for legal and other contingencies in accordance with ASC 450, Contingencies. We 

(i) 
currently have no material pending litigation.

The  terms of our software license agreements with our clients generally provide for a limited indemnification of such 
intellectual property against losses, expenses and liabilities arising from third party claims based on alleged infringement 
by our solutions of an intellectual property right of such third party. The terms of such indemnification often limit the 
scope of and remedies for such indemnification obligations and generally include a right to replace or modify an infringing 
solution.  To  date,  we  have  not  had  to  reimburse  any  of  our  clients  for  any  losses  related  to  these  indemnification 
provisions pertaining to third party intellectual property infringement claims. For several reasons, including the lack of 
prior indemnification claims and the lack of a monetary liability limit for certain infringement cases under the terms of 
the corresponding agreements with our clients, we cannot determine the maximum amount of potential future payments, 
if any, related to such indemnification provisions.

From time to time we are involved in routine litigation incidental to the conduct of our business, including for example, 
employment  disputes  and  litigation  alleging  solution  defects,  intellectual  property  infringement,  violations  of  law  and 
breaches of contract and warranties.  We believe that no such routine litigation currently pending against us, if adversely 
determined, would have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash 
flows.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities - We follow ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging to account for our 

(j) 
hedging activities. Refer to Note (10) for more information on our hedging activities.

Income Taxes - Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to 
(k) 
differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax 
bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in 
the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled.

Earnings per Common Share – Earnings per common share is computed in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings 

(l) 
Per Share. Refer to Note (13) for additional details of our earnings per share computations. 

(m)  Accounting for Share-based payments - We follow ASC 718, Stock Compensation, which addresses the accounting 
for share-based payment transactions with employees and other third parties and requires that the compensation costs 
relating to such transactions be recognized in the consolidated statement of earnings. Refer to Note (14) for a detailed 
discussion of share-based payments.

Foreign Currency - Assets and liabilities of non-U.S. subsidiaries whose functional currency is the local currency 
(n) 
are  translated  into  U.S.  dollars  at  exchange  rates  prevailing  at  the  balance  sheet  date.  Revenues  and  expenses  are 
translated at average exchange rates during the year. The net exchange differences resulting from these translations are 
reported in accumulated other comprehensive income. Gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions 
are included in the consolidated statements of operations. The net gain resulting from foreign currency transactions is 
included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations and amounted to $4.0 
million, $9.9 million, and $3.7 million in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

74

 (o) 
Collaborative  Arrangements  -  We  account  for  arrangements  involving  joint  operating  activities  of  two  or  more 
parties that are each actively involved and exposed to risks and rewards of the activities in accordance with ASC 808, 
Collaborative Arrangements. Third party costs incurred and revenues generated by such activities are classified in the 
consolidated statements of operations based on the gross or net reporting requirements included in ASC 605. Payments 
between participants are recorded based on the nature of the payments in accordance with the applicable authoritative 
guidance.

(p)  Recent Accounting Pronouncements - In September 2009, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 09-13, Revenue 
Recognition (Topic 605) – Multiple Deliverable Revenue Arrangements, was issued, which will require an entity to apply 
the relative selling price allocation method in order to estimate selling price for all units of accounting, including delivered 
items,  when  vendor-specific  objective  evidence  (VSOE)  or  acceptable  third  party  evidence  (TPE)  does  not  exist  and 
expands the disclosure requirements to require an entity to provide both qualitative and quantitative information about 
the significant judgments made in applying the guidance in ASU 09-13 and subsequent changes in those judgments that 
may significantly affect the timing or amount of revenue recognition. ASU 09-13 is effective for revenue arrangements 
entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010 and shall be applied on a prospective 
basis. Earlier application is permitted. We are assessing the potential impact of ASU 09-13 on our financial position and 
results of operations. 

In September 2009, ASU 09-14, Software (Topic 985) – Certain Revenue Arrangements that Include Software Elements, 
was issued, which requires the exclusion from the scope of ASC 985 of all tangible products containing both software and 
non-software components that function together to deliver the product’s essential functionality. ASU 09-14 is effective for 
revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010 and shall 
be applied on a prospective basis. Earlier application is permitted. We are assessing the impact of ASU 09-14 on our 
financial position and results of operations. 

In  December  2009,  ASU  09-16,  Accounting  for  Transfers  of  Financial  Assets,  was  issued,  which  among  other  things 
creates more stringent conditions for reporting a transfer of a portion of a financial asset as a sale. ASU 09-16 is effective 
for financial asset transfers as of the beginning of fiscal years that begin after November 15, 2009. Earlier adoption is 
prohibited. We are assessing the impact of ASU 09-16 on our financial position and results of operations.

(2)  Business Acquisitions 

There  were  no  business  acquisitions  by  the  Company  during  2009.  During  the  2008  and  2007,  we  completed  two 
acquisitions, which were accounted for under the purchase method of accounting. The results of each acquisition were 
included in our consolidated statements of operations from the date of each acquisition. Below is a description of the 
acquisitions.

On  August  1,  2008,  we  completed  the  purchase  of  LingoLogix,  Inc.  (LingoLogix),  for  $4.0  million  in  cash.  LingoLogix 
was  a  provider  of  software  used  for  computer  automated  coding  technology.  The  acquisition  of  LingoLogix  enhanced 
our revenue cycling offerings as the solutions can be used in both inpatient and outpatient environments to improve 
physician  workflow  and  drive  more  accurate  and  efficient  reimbursement  through  automated  coding.  The  operating 
results of LingoLogix were combined with our operating results subsequent to the purchase date of August 1, 2008. The 
allocation of the purchase price to the estimated fair values of the identified tangible and intangible assets acquired and 
liabilities assumed resulted in goodwill of $1.3 million and $4.1 million in intangible assets. The goodwill was allocated to 
our Domestic operating segment. The intangible assets are being amortized over 5 years. Pro-forma results of operations 
have not been presented because the effect of this acquisition was not material to our results.

On February 22, 2007, we completed the purchase of assets of Etreby Computer Company, Inc. (Etreby), for $25.1 million 
in cash, which was reduced by $1.6 million for a working capital adjustment in the second quarter of 2007. Etreby was a 
software provider of retail pharmacy management systems. The acquisition of Etreby’s assets expanded our pharmacy 
systems portfolio. The operating results of Etreby were combined with our operating results subsequent to the purchase 
date of February 22, 2007. The allocation of the purchase price to the estimated fair values of the identified tangible and 

75

 intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed resulted in goodwill of $12.7 million and $10.2 million in intangible 
assets. The goodwill was allocated to our Domestic operating segment and is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. 
The  intangible  assets  are  being  amortized  over  five  years.  Pro-forma  results  of  operations  have  not  been  presented 
because the effect of this acquisition was not material to our results. 

A summary of our purchase acquisitions for the three years ended 2009, is as follows:

(In millions)

Date

Goodwill

(Tax Basis)

Intangibles

Developed 
Technology

Form of 
Consideration

Fiscal	Year	2008	Acquisition

Name:

LingoLogix, Inc.

Description of Business:

Computer Automated Coding Technology

Reason for Acquisition:

Integrate technology into Cerner Millennium

Fiscal	Year	2007	Acquisition

Name:

Etreby Computer Company, Inc.

Description of Business:

Software provider of retail pharmacy 
management systems

Reason for Acquisition:

Integrate technology into Cerner Millennium

8/08

$1.3

 $  - 

$0.5

$3.6

$4.0 cash

2/07

$12.7

($12.7)

$8.3

$1.9

$23.5 cash

The assets and liabilities of the acquired companies at the date of acquisition are as follows: 

(In thousands)

Current assets

Total assets

Current liabilities

Total liabilities

LingoLogix, Inc.

Etreby Computer 
Company, Inc.

$ 

-    

$ 

 5,306 

 25 

 1,306 

1,002 

 24,280 

 748 

 748 

76

 
 
 (3)  Cash and Investments

Our cash, cash equivalents and investment securities consisted of the following:

(In thousands)

Cash and cash equivalents:

Cash

Money market funds

Time deposits

Corporate bonds

2009

2008

   $ 

144,764 

   $  199,543 

 80,242 

 8,523 

 8,194 

 70,951 

 - 

Total cash and cash equivalents

   $ 

241,723 

   $  270,494 

Short-term investments

Time deposits

Commercial paper

Government and corporate bonds

Auction rate securities

Put-like feature

   $ 

37,784 

   $ 

4,084 

 19,987 

 164,792 

 85,203 

 9,347 

 34,316 

 - 

 - 

 - 

Total short-term investments

   $ 

317,113 

   $ 

38,400 

Long-term investments

Auction rate securities

Put-like feature

Total long-term investments

   $ 

   $ 

- 

 - 

- 

   $ 

85,440 

 19,860 

   $  105,300 

Refer to Note (4) for details of the fair value measurements within the fair value hierarchy of these financial assets. 

Auction rate securities are debt instruments with long-term nominal maturities, for which the interest rates regularly reset 
every 7-35 days under an auction system. Because auction rate securities historically re-priced frequently, they traded 
in the market on a par-in, par-out basis. In prior periods, we regularly liquidated our investments in these securities for 
reasons including, among others, changes in the market interest rates and changes in the availability of, and the yield 
on,  alternative  investments.  Beginning  in  February  2008,  liquidity  issues  in  the  global  credit  markets  resulted  in  the 
progressive failure of auctions representing all of the auction rate securities we hold, because the amount of securities 
submitted for sale in those auctions exceeded the amount of bids. To date we have collected all interest receivable on 
our auction rate securities when due and expect to continue to do so in the future; however, the principal associated with 
failed auctions will not be accessible until successful auctions occur, a buyer is found outside of the auction process, 
the issuers establish a different form of financing to replace these securities or final payments come due according to 
contractual maturities ranging from 13 to 30 years. 

In August 2008, our broker agreed to a settlement in principle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New 
York Attorney General and other regulatory agencies to restore liquidity to clients who hold auction rate securities. During 
the fourth quarter of 2008, we entered into a settlement agreement (the Settlement Agreement) with the investment firm 
that sold us the auction rate securities. Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, we received the right to redeem 
the securities at par during a period from mid-2010 through mid-2012. Additionally, we have the option to obtain a loan, 
secured by such securities, at no net cost prior to the redemption period. 

77

 
 In conjunction with the execution of the Settlement Agreement, we transferred the auction rate securities from available-
for-sale to trading securities. As trading securities, these investments are carried at fair value with changes recorded 
through earnings. At the end of 2009, we held auction rate securities with a par value of $94.6 million and recognized 
an unrealized trading gain of $10.5 million for the year then ended in other income within the Consolidated Statements 
of Operations. 

The Settlement Agreement is being accounted for as a put-like feature and is carried at fair value with changes recorded 
through  earnings.  We  have  valued  the  put-like  feature  as  the  difference  between  the  par  value  of  the  auction  rate 
securities and the fair value of the securities, discounted by the credit risk of the broker. The loan option was also valued 
taking into account the settlement discount and credit risk during the time necessary to administer the loan. At the end of 
2009, we valued the put-like feature at $9.3 million and recognized an unrealized loss of $10.5 million for the year then 
ended in other income within the Consolidated Statement of Operations. We anticipate that any future changes in the fair 
value of the put-like feature will be substantially offset by changes in the fair value of the related auction rate securities 
with no material net impact to the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

All  of  the  auction  rate  securities  that  we  currently  hold  are  A  rated  or  higher  and  are  collateralized  by  student  loan 
portfolios, the majority of which are backed by the U.S. government through its Federal Family Education Loan Program.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, we reclassified our auction rate securities from long-term to short-term investments based 
on our intention of exercising the put-like settlement feature and redeeming the securities within the next year. 

We regularly review investment securities for impairment based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria that include 
the extent to which cost exceeds fair value, the duration of the market decline, our intent and ability to hold to maturity 
or until forecasted recovery, and the financial health of and specific prospects for the issuer. Unrealized losses that are 
other than temporary are recognized in earnings. 

(4) 

Fair Value Measurements

We determine fair value measurements used in our consolidated financial statements based upon the price that would 
be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the 
measurement date. The fair value hierarchy distinguishes between (1) market participant assumptions developed based 
on  market  data  obtained  from  independent  sources  (observable  inputs)  and  (2)  an  entity’s  own  assumptions  about 
market participant assumptions developed based on the best information available in the circumstances (unobservable 
inputs).  The  fair  value  hierarchy  consists  of  three  broad  levels,  which  gives  the  highest  priority  to  unadjusted  quoted 
prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). 
The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below: 

g	

g	

g	

	Level 1 – Valuations based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the entity has 
the ability to access.
	Level 2 – Valuations based on quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not 
active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable data for substantially the full 
term of the assets or liabilities.
	Level 3 – Valuations based on inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to 
the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

78

	
	
	
 The following table details our financial assets measured at fair value within the fair value hierarchy at the end of 2009:

(In thousands)

Description

Balance Sheet

 Classification

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using

Quoted Prices in 

Significant Other 

Active Markets for 

Observable 

Significant 

Identical Assets 

Inputs 

Unobservable Inputs 

2009

(Level 1)

(Level 2)

(Level 3)

Money market funds

Cash equivalents

   $ 

80,242 

   $ 

80,242 

   $ 

- 

   $ 

Time deposits

Corporate bonds

Time deposits

Commercial paper

Cash equivalents

Cash equivalents

Short-term investments

Short-term investments

 8,523 

 8,194 

 37,784 

 19,987 

Government and corporate bonds

Short-term investments

 164,792 

Auction rate securities

Short-term investments

Put-like feature

Short-term investments

 85,203 

 9,347 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 8,523 

 8,194 

 37,784 

 19,987 

 164,792 

 - 

 - 

- 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 85,203 

 9,347 

Refer to Note (3) for a comprehensive description of these assets. Our auction rate securities have been classified as 
Level 3 assets within the fair value hierarchy, as their valuation requires substantial judgment and estimation of factors 
that are not currently observable in the market due to the lack of trading in the securities. If different assumptions were 
used for the various inputs to the valuation, including, but not limited to, assumptions involving the estimated holding 
periods for the auction rate securities, the estimated cash flows over those estimated lives, and the estimated discount 
rates, including the liquidity discount rate, applied to those cash flows, the estimated fair value of these investments 
could be significantly higher or lower than the fair value we determined.

The  table  below  presents  the  activity  of  our  assets  measured  at  fair  value  on  a  recurring  basis  using  significant 
unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the years ended 2009 and 2008:

 (In thousands)

Beginning balance

Purchases and settlements, net

Transfer to Level 3

Redemptions at par

Unrealized gain (loss) on auction rate securities included in earnings

Unrealized gain (loss) on put-like feature included in earnings

2009

2008

$ 

105,300 

$ 

160,900 

 - 

 - 

 (10,750)

 10,513 

 (10,513)

 (54,950)

 105,950 

 (650)

 (19,860)

 19,860 

Ending balance

$ 

94,550 

$ 

105,300 

On January 4, 2009, we fully adopted ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, to include all non-financial 
assets and liabilities that are not recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis, 
which includes goodwill and non-financial long-lived assets, and are measured at fair value in certain circumstances (for 
example, when there is evidence of impairment). As of the end of 2009, there was no indication of impairment related to 
our non-financial assets and liabilities. Refer to Note (7) – Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets for further description of 
the inputs used to measure fair value of goodwill as part of our annual impairment test. 

79

 
 
 
 
 (5)  Receivables

Receivables consist of accounts receivable and contracts receivable. Accounts receivable represent recorded revenues 
that have been billed. Contracts receivable represent recorded revenues that are billable by us at future dates under the 
terms of a contract with a client. Billings and other consideration received on contracts in excess of related revenues 
recognized are recorded as deferred revenue. Substantially all receivables are derived from sales and related support and 
maintenance and professional services of our clinical, administrative and financial information systems and solutions to 
healthcare providers located throughout the United States and in certain non-U.S. countries. 

We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our clients and generally do not require collateral from our clients. We provide an 
allowance for estimated uncollectible accounts based on specific identification, historical experience and our judgment. 
Provisions for losses on uncollectible accounts for 2009, 2008 and 2007 totaled $3.1 million, $10.0 million and $7.4 
million, respectively. 

A summary of receivables, net is as follows:

(In thousands)

2009

2008

Gross accounts receivable

   $  342,992 

  $ 

346,063 

Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts

Accounts receivable, net of allowance

Contracts receivable

Total receivables, net

 16,895 

 326,097 

 135,314 

 18,149 

 327,914 

 141,014 

  $ 

461,411 

  $ 

468,928 

During the second quarter of 2008, Fujitsu Services Limited’s (Fujitsu) contract as the prime contractor in the National 
Health  Service  (NHS)  initiative  to  automate  clinical  processes  and  digitize  medical  records  in  the  Southern  region  of 
England was terminated by the NHS.  This had the effect of automatically terminating our subcontract for the project.  
We  are  in  dispute  with  Fujitsu  regarding  Fujitsu’s  obligation  to  pay  the  amounts  comprised  of  accounts  receivable 
and  contracts  receivable  related  to  that  subcontract,  and  we  are  working  with  Fujitsu  to  resolve  these  issues  based 
on  processes  provided  for  in  the  contract.    Part  of  that  process  requires  resolution  of  disputes  between  Fujitsu  and 
the NHS regarding the contract termination. During the 2009 fourth quarter certain events occurred in the resolution 
process between Fujitsu and the NHS which reduced the likelihood the matter will be resolved in the next 12 months. 
Therefore we reclassified the receivables, which represented more than 10% of our net receivables, from current assets 
to other long term assets during the 2009 fourth quarter. These receivables represent the significant majority of other 
long-term  assets  at  the  end  of  2009.  While  the  ultimate  collectability  of  the  receivables  pursuant  to  this  process  is 
uncertain, management believes that it has valid and equitable grounds for recovery of such amounts and that collection 
of recorded amounts is probable. 

During 2009 and 2008, we received total client cash collections of $1.8 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively, of which 
$54.0 million and $89.9 million were received from third party arrangements with non-recourse payment assignments.

80

 
 (6) 

Property and Equipment

A  summary  of  property,  equipment  and  leasehold  improvements  stated  at  cost,  less  accumulated  depreciation  and 
amortization, is as follows: 

(In thousands)

Furniture and fixtures

Computer and communications equipment

Leasehold improvements

Capital lease equipment

Land, buildings and improvements

Other equipment

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

Depreciable Lives (Yrs)

2009

2008

5

2

2

3

12

5

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

12

5

15

5

50

20

$ 

56,631 

$ 

58,334 

 585,685 

 139,331 

 17,147 

 204,080 

 964 

 1,003,838 

 494,660 

 513,652 

 135,792 

 16,797 

 177,596 

 2,983 

 905,154 

 421,755 

Total property and equipment, net

$ 

509,178 

$ 

483,399 

Depreciation expense for 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $104.6 million, $96.7 million and $80.0 million, respectively.

(7)  Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are tested for impairment annually or whenever there is an impairment 
indicator. All goodwill is assigned to a reporting unit, where it is subject to an impairment test based on fair value using 
Level 3 inputs as defined in the fair value hierarchy. Refer to Note (4) - Fair Value Measurements for the definition of the 
levels in the fair value hierarchy as defined by ASC 820. The inputs used to calculate the fair value included the projected 
cash flows and a discount rate that we estimated would be used by a market participant in valuing these assets. Our 
most recent annual test of goodwill impairment indicated that goodwill was not impaired. The fair values of each of our 
reporting units exceeded their carrying amounts by a significant margin. 

The changes in the carrying amounts of goodwill were as follows:

(In thousands)

Beginning Balance

Goodwill acquired and earnout payments for prior acquisitions

Foreign currency translation adjustment and other

Ending Balance

2009

2008

$ 

146,666 

$ 

143,924 

 3,425 

 1,388 

 2,392 

 350 

$ 

151,479 

$ 

146,666 

81

  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Our intangible assets, other than goodwill or intangible assets with indefinite lives, are all subject to amortization, are 
amortized on a straight-line basis, and are summarized as follows:

(In thousands)

Purchased software

Customer lists

Patents

Non-compete agreements

Total

Weighted-Average
Amortization 
Period (Yrs)

2009

2008

Gross Carrying
Amount

Accumulated 
Amortization

Gross Carrying
Amount

Accumulated 
Amortization

5.0

5.0

14.5

3.0

5.5

$  84,968 

$  62,802 

$  83,302 

$  53,233 

 55,606 

 8,184 

 1,057 

 50,960 

 1,729 

 605 

 55,553 

 7,491 

 2,011 

 40,604 

 1,275 

 1,320 

$  149,815 

$  116,096 

$  148,357 

$  96,432 

Amortization expense for 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $20.4 million, $20.0 million and $19.7 million, respectively.

Estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the next five years is as follows:

(In thousands)

For year ended:

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

$ 

10,161 

 8,163 

 4,977 

 3,218 

 1,877 

(8) 

Software Development Costs

Information regarding our software development costs is included in the following table:

(in thousands)

Software development costs

Capitalized software development costs

Amortization of capitalized software development costs

Total software development expense

For the Years Ended

2009

2008

2007

$  285,187   

$  291,368   

$  283,086 

 (77,747)

 63,611 

 (69,981)

 51,132 

 (65,985)

 53,475 

$  271,051  

$  272,519  

$  270,576 

Included in 2007 total software development costs is $8.6 million of research and development activities for the RxStation 
medical dispensing devices. Of this amount, $3.4 million was related to periods prior to 2007 and was immaterial to both 
2007 and the prior periods to which it related.

We  are  amortizing  capitalized  costs  over  five  years.  Accumulated  amortization  as  of  the  end  of  2009  and  2008  was 
$474.3 million and $410.4 million, respectively. 

82

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (9) 

Indebtedness

The following is a summary of indebtedness outstanding:

(In thousands)

2009

2008

Note agreement, 5.54%

Senior Notes, Series B, 6.42%

Senior Notes, Series B, 7.66%

Other obligations

Less: current portion

$ 

90,090 

$  94,556 

 29,250 

 - 

 1,180 

 120,520 

 (25,014)

 39,000 

 6,667 

 1,263 

 141,486 

 (30,116)

$ 

95,506 

$  111,370 

In November 2005, we completed a £65.0 million private placement of debt at 5.54% pursuant to a Note Agreement. The 
Note Agreement is payable in seven equal annual installments, which commenced November 2009. The proceeds were 
used to repay the outstanding amount under our credit facility and for general corporate purposes. The Note Agreement 
contains certain net worth and fixed charge coverage covenants and provides certain restrictions on our ability to borrow, 
incur liens, sell assets and pay dividends. We were in compliance with all covenants at the end of 2009.

In December 2002, we completed a $60.0 million private placement of debt pursuant to a Note Agreement. The Series 
A Senior Notes, with a $21.0 million principal amount at 5.57% were paid in full in 2008. The Series B Senior notes, with 
a $39.0 million principal amount at 6.42%, are payable in four equal annual installments, which commenced December 
2009.  The  proceeds  were  used  to  repay  the  outstanding  amount  under  our  credit  facility  and  for  general  corporate 
purposes. The Note Agreement contains certain net worth and fixed charge coverage covenants and provides certain 
restrictions on our ability to borrow, incur liens, sell assets and pay dividends. We were in compliance with all covenants 
at the end of 2009. 

In April 1999, we completed a $100.0 million private placement of debt pursuant to a Note Agreement. The Series A 
Senior Notes, with a $60.0 million principal amount at 7.14% were paid in full in 2006. The Series B Senior Notes, with a 
$40.0 million principal amount at 7.66%, were paid in full in 2009. 

We maintain a $90 million, multi-year revolving credit facility, which provides an unsecured revolving line of credit for 
working capital purposes. Interest is payable at a rate based on prime or LIBOR plus a spread that varies depending 
on the net worth ratios maintained. The agreement contains certain net worth, current ratio and fixed charge coverage 
covenants and provides certain restrictions on our ability to borrow, incur liens, sell assets and pay dividends.  The current 
agreement expires on May 31, 2013. As of the end of 2009, under this agreement we had $6.6 million of outstanding 
letters of credit, no direct borrowings and were in compliance with all covenants. 

We also have capital lease obligations amounting to $0.6 million, payable over the next three years.

The aggregate maturities for our long-term debt, including capital lease obligations, are as follows (in thousands):

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 and thereafter

Total maturities

$ 

25,014 

 25,588 

 24,873 

 15,015 

 15,015 

 15,015 

$  120,520 

83

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We estimate the fair value of our long-term, fixed-rate debt using a level 3 discounted cash flow analysis based on our 
current borrowing rates for debt with similar maturities. The fair value of our long-term debt was approximately $124.8 
million and $159.3 million at the end of 2009 and 2008, respectively.

(10)  Hedging Activities

We designated all of our Great Britain Pound (GBP) denominated long-term debt as a net investment hedge of our U.K. 
operations.  The  objective  of  the  hedge  is  to  reduce  our  foreign  currency  exposure  in  our  U.K.  subsidiary  investment. 
Changes in the exchange rate between the United States Dollar (USD) and GBP, related to the notional amount of the 
hedge, are recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss, to the extent the hedge is effective. 
The following table represents the fair value of the net investment hedge included within the Consolidated Balance Sheet 
and the unrealized loss, net of related income tax effects, on the net investment hedge recognized in accumulated other 
comprehensive income: 

(In thousands)

Derivatives designated

Net investment hedge

Net investment hedge

Total net investment hedge

(In thousands)

Derivatives designated

Net investment hedge

Net investment hedge

Total net investment hedge

Balance Sheet 
Classification

Fair Value

 Short-term liabilities 

$ 

15,015 

 Long-term liabilities 

 75,075 

$ 

90,090 

2009

2008

Net Unrealized  
Gain (Loss)

$ 

$ 

(1,192)

 (5,543)

(6,735)

Balance Sheet 
Classification

Fair Value

Net Unrealized  
Gain (Loss)

 Short-term liabilities 

$ 

13,508 

$ 

3,158 

 Long-term liabilities 

 81,048 

 18,945 

$ 

94,556 

$ 

22,103 

We  recognize  foreign  currency  transaction  gains  and  losses  within  the  Consolidated  Statements  of  Operations  as  a 
component  of  general  and  administrative  expenses.  We  realized  foreign  currency  gains  in  2009,  2008  and  2007  of  
$4.0 million, $9.9 million and $3.7 million, respectively.  

(11) 

Interest Income

A summary of interest income and expense is as follows:

(In thousands)

Interest income

Interest expense

For the Years Ended

2009

2008

2007

$ 

8,801   

$  13,604   

$  13,206 

 (8,493)

 (10,548)

 (11,937)

Interest income, net

$ 

308    

$ 

3,056   

$ 

1,269 

84

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (12) 

Income Taxes

Income tax expense (benefit) for 2009, 2008 and 2007 consists of the following:

(In thousands)

2009

2008

2007

For the Years Ended

Current:

Federal

State

Foreign

Total Current Expense

Deferred:

Federal

State

Foreign

Total deferred expense (benefit)

$  90,992 

$  68,466 

$  66,701 

 8,350 

 4,015 

 103,357 

 (1,545)

 845 

 (3,441)

 (4,141)

 9,338 

 9,789 

 87,593 

 10,873 

 (1,105)

 (4,588)

 5,180 

 3,600 

 24,629 

 94,930 

 (1,726)

 (1,360)

 (15,002)

 (18,088)

Total income tax expense

$  99,216 

$  92,773 

$  76,842 

Temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and tax basis of assets and liabilities that give 
rise to significant portions of deferred income taxes at the end of 2009 and 2008 relate to the following:

(In thousands)

Deferred tax assets

Accrued expenses

Separate return net operating losses

Share based compensation

Other

Total deferred tax assets

Deferred tax liabilities

Software development costs

Contract and service revenues and costs

Depreciation and amortization

Other

Total deferred tax liabilities

2009

2008

$ 

17,920 

$ 

24,077 

 23,403 

 18,548 

 814 

 60,685 

 (84,947)

 (9,205)

 (45,762)

 (4,489)

 22,156 

 15,678 

 7,914 

 69,825 

 (80,623)

 (17,070)

 (39,814)

 (17,621)

 (144,403)

 (155,128)

Net deferred tax liability before valuation allowance

 (83,718)

 (85,303)

Valuation allowance

Net deferred tax liability

 - 

 - 

$ 

(83,718)

$ 

(85,303)

85

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 During 2007, we determined that due to a change in circumstances, it is more likely than not that certain tax operating 
loss carry-forwards in a non-U.S. jurisdiction would not be realized resulting in the recognition of a valuation allowance 
totaling approximately $8.0 million. During 2008, this non-U.S. jurisdiction audited us. As a result of the audit, certain tax 
positions previously taken were disallowed by the foreign jurisdiction, which reduced the deferred tax asset relating to the 
net operating loss carryforward in that jurisdiction. The valuation allowance related to the net operating loss carryforward 
was  released  because  we  believe  it  is  more  likely  than  not  we  will  realize  the  remaining  operating  loss  carry-forward 
amount. Based upon the level of historical taxable income and projections for future taxable income over the periods 
which the remaining deferred tax assets are expected to be deductible, as well as the scheduled reversal of deferred tax 
liabilities, we believe it is more likely than not we will realize the remaining deferred tax assets and no valuation allowance 
is required. 

At the end of 2009, we had net operating loss carry-forwards subject to Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code for 
Federal income tax purposes of $11.6 million which are available to offset future Federal taxable income, if any, through 
2020. We had net operating loss carry-forwards from non-U.S. jurisdictions of $1.5 million which are available to offset 
future taxable income, if any, through 2015 and $49.7 million which are available to offset future taxable income, if any, 
with no expiration.

The effective income tax rates for 2009, 2008, and 2007 were 34%, 33%, and 38%, respectively. These effective rates 
differ from the Federal statutory rate of 35% as follows:

(In thousands)

2009

2008

2007

Tax expense at statutory rates

$  102,438   

$  98,500   

$  71,389 

For the Years Ended

State income tax, net of federal benefit

Prior period adjustments

Valuation allowance

Audit settlements

Tax Credits

Unrecognized Tax Benefit

Other, net

Total income tax expense

 6,658 

 2,310 

- 

 - 

 (5,150)

 (5,581)

 (1,459)

 6,403 

 (2,879)

 (7,982)

 4,412 

 (5,150)

 5,691 

 (6,223)

 4,640 

 (3,125)

 7,982 

 - 

 (4,150)

 2,882 

 (2,776)

$  99,216   

$  92,772   

$  76,842 

The 2009 tax expense amount includes $2.3 million expense related to adjustments from prior period tax returns. The 
impact to any one of these tax years was not material. The 2008 and 2007 tax expense amounts include the recognition of 
approximately $2.9 million and $3.1 million, respectively, of tax benefits. The 2008 amount was related to an adjustment 
of a foreign tax credit claimed. The adjustments in 2007 were recorded primarily to correct an error in our 2006 state 
income tax rate. These differences have accumulated over several years and the impact to any one of these prior periods 
is not material.

The 2009 beginning and ending amounts of accrued interest related to the underpayment of taxes was $0.9 million and 
$0.1 million, respectively. We classify interest and penalties as income tax expense in our consolidated statement of 
operations, which is consistent with how we previously classified interest and penalties related to the underpayment of 
income taxes. No accrual for tax penalties was recorded at the end of the year.

During  2008,  we  settled  IRS  examinations  for  the  2005  to  2006  periods  and  as  a  result  reversed  previously  recorded 
reserves for tax uncertainties by $1.3 million. During 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) completed its examination 
of the 2007 income tax return and refund claim related to the foreign tax credit for the 2004, 2005 and 2006 income tax 
returns. We decreased the unrecognized tax benefits by $8.0 million primarily due to the settlement of the 2007 IRS audit.

As of the end of 2009, the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits, including interest, was $6.6 million. We do not 
expect to resolve any of these matters within the next 12 months.

86

 
 
 
 A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax is presented below:

(In thousands)

2009

2008

2007

Unrecognized tax benefit - beginning balance

$ 

12,440 

$ 

8,069 

$ 

13,300 

Gross decreases- tax positions in prior periods

Gross increases- in current-period tax positions

Settlements

Unrecognized tax benefit - ending balance

$ 

 (7,961)

 2,379 

 (259)

6,599 

 - 

 5,690 

 (1,319)

 (1,732)

 4,614 

 (8,113)

$ 

12,440 

$ 

8,069 

(13)  Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share (EPS) excludes dilution and is computed by dividing income available to common shareholders 
by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution 
that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue stock were exercised or converted into common stock or resulted in 
the issuance of common stock that then shared in our earnings. A reconciliation of the numerators and the denominators 
of the basic and diluted per-share computations are as follows:

2009

2008

2007

Earnings 
(Numerator)

Shares 
(Denominator)

Per-Share 
Amount

Earnings 
(Numerator)

Shares 
(Denominator)

Per-Share 
Amount

Earnings 
(Numerator)

Shares 
(Denominator)

Per-Share 
Amount

(In thousands, except per share data)

Basic earnings per share:

Income available to common 

stockholders

  $  193,465 

 80,981 

  $  2.39 

  $  188,658 

 80,549 

  $  2.34 

  $  127,125 

 79,395 

  $  1.60 

Effect of dilutive securities:

Stock options

Diluted earnings per share:

Income available to common 

stockholders including 

assumed conversions

 2,901 

 - 

 2,886 

 - 

 3,823 

  $  193,465 

 83,882 

  $  2.31 

  $  188,658 

 83,435 

  $  2.26 

  $  127,125 

 83,218 

  $  1.53 

Options to purchase 1.8 million, 2.3 million and 1.1 million shares of common stock at per share prices ranging from 
$38.64 to $136.86, $33.63 to $136.86 and $40.84 to $136.86, were outstanding at the end of 2009, 2008 and 2007, 
respectively, but were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because they were anti-dilutive. 

(14)  Share Based Compensation and Equity

Stock Option and Equity Plans

As of the end of 2009, we had four fixed stock option and equity plans in effect for associates. This includes two plans 
from which we could issue grants, (Plans F & G); and two plans from which no new grants were permitted to be issued 
after January 1, 2005, but some awards remain outstanding, (Plans D & E).

Under  the  2001  Long-Term  Incentive  Plan  F,  we  are  authorized  to  grant  to  associates,  directors  and  consultants  4.0 
million shares of common stock awards taking into account the stock-split effective January 10, 2006. Awards under 
this plan may consist of stock options, restricted stock and performance shares, as well as other awards such as stock 
appreciation rights, phantom stock and performance unit awards which may be payable in the form of common stock or 
cash at our discretion. However, not more than 1.0 million of such shares will be available for granting any types of grants 
other than options or stock appreciation rights. Options under Plan F are exercisable at a price not less than fair market 
value on the date of grant as determined by the Section 16 Insider Equity and Incentive Compensation Subcommittee 
(the Committee). Options under this plan typically vest over a period of five years as determined by the Committee and 
are exercisable for periods of up to 25 years.

87

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Under the 2004 Long-Term Incentive Plan G, we are authorized to grant to associates and directors 4.0 million shares of 
common stock awards taking into account the stock-split effective January 10, 2006. Awards under this plan may consist 
of stock options, restricted stock and performance shares, as well as other awards such as stock appreciation rights, 
phantom stock and performance unit awards which may be payable in the form of common stock or cash at our discretion. 
Options under Plan G are exercisable at a price not less than fair market value on the date of grant as determined by the 
Committee. Options under this plan typically vest over a period of five years as determined by the Committee and are 
exercisable for periods of up to 12 years. In 2007, Long-Term Incentive Plan G was amended to provide us the ability to 
recover fringe benefit tax payments made by us on behalf of our associates in India.

Stock Options

The fair market value of each stock option award is estimated on the date of grant using a lattice option-pricing model. 
The pricing model requires the use of the following estimates and assumptions:

	g		Expected volatilities under the lattice model are based on an equal weighting of implied volatilities from traded options 
on  our  shares  and  historical  volatility.  We  use  historical  data  to  estimate  the  stock  option  exercise  and  associate 
departure behavior used in the lattice model; groups of associates (executives and non-executives) that have similar 
historical behavior are considered separately for valuation purposes. 

	g		The expected term of stock options granted is derived from the output of the lattice model and represents the period 
of time that stock options granted are expected to be outstanding; the range given below results from certain groups 
of associates exhibiting different post-vesting behaviors. 

	g		The risk-free rate is based on the zero-coupon U.S. Treasury bond with a term equal to the contractual term of the 

awards. 

The weighted-average assumptions used to estimate the fair market value of stock options are as follows:

(In thousands)

2009

2008

2007

Expected volatility (%)

45.2 - 51.5

45.9 - 52.4

43.1 - 46.1

Expected term (yrs)

Risk-free rate (%)

9.3 - 9.6

8.4 - 9.7

9.6 - 9.9

3.8

4.4

4.6

A combined summary of the stock option activity of our four fixed stock option and equity plans is presented below:

 Options

2009

Number of 
Shares

Weighted-
Average 
Exercise Price

Aggregate Intrinsic 
Value

Weighted-Average 
Remaining 
Contractual Term

Outstanding at beginning of year

 8,924,321    $  27.25 

Granted

Exercised

Forfeited and Expired

 950,680 

 (1,504,863)

 (88,214)

 52.04 

 19.80 

 42.13 

Outstanding at end of year

 8,281,924    $  31.29    $ 

423,581,294 

Options exercisable at the end of the year

 5,436,321    $  22.81    $ 

318,812,325 

 6.31 

 5.36 

88

 
 
(In thousands, except for grant date fair value)

2009

2008

2007

Weighted-average grant date fair values

$ 

27.96 

$ 

22.99 

$ 

29.17 

Total intrinsic value of options exercised

$  63,465 

$  26,841 

$  67,336 

Cash received from exercise of stock options

$  29,789 

$  15,364 

$  29,085 

Tax benefit realized upon exercise of stock options

$  23,654 

$  10,001 

$  29,865 

For the Years Ended

As of the end of 2009, there was $49.3 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to stock options granted 
under all plans. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.09 years. 

Nonvested Shares

Nonvested  shares  were  valued  at  the  fair  market  value  on  the  date  of  grant  and  will  vest  provided  the  recipient  has 
continuously served on the Board of Directors through such vesting date or in the case of an associate provided that 
performance measures are attained. The expense associated with these grants is being recognized over the period from 
the date of grant to the vesting date. 

A summary of our nonvested restricted stock compensation arrangements granted under all plans is presented below:

Nonvested shares

Outstanding at beginning of year

Granted

Vested

Forfeited

Outstanding at end of year

2009

Weighted-Average

Grant Date

Fair Value

$  45.91 

 56.52 

 45.91 

 45.91 

 56.52 

Number of Shares

 19,800 

 13,500 

 (16,500)

 (3,300)

 13,500 

(In thousands, except for grant date fair value)

2009

2008

2007

Weighted average grant date fair values

Total fair value of shares vested during the year

$ 

$ 

56.52 

923 

$ 

$ 

45.91 

797 

 $ 

$ 

54.20 

1,380 

For the Years Ended

As of the end of 2009, there was $0.3 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested share awards 
granted under all plans. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.4 years. 

Associate Stock Purchase Plan 

We  established  an  Associate  Stock  Purchase  Plan  (ASPP)  in  2001,  which  qualifies  under  Section  423  of  the  Internal 
Revenue Code. Each individual employed by us and associates of our United States based subsidiaries, except as provided 
below, are eligible to participate in the Plan (Participants). The following individuals are excluded from participation: (a) 
persons who, as of the beginning of a purchase period under the Plan, have been continuously employed by us or our 

89

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
 domestic subsidiaries for less than two weeks; (b) persons who, as of the beginning of a purchase period, own directly or 
indirectly, or hold options or rights to acquire under any agreement or Company plan, an aggregate of 5% or more of the 
total combined voting power or value of all outstanding shares of all classes of Company Common Stock; and, (c) persons 
who are customarily employed by us for less than 20 hours per week or for less than five months in any calendar year. 
Participants may elect to make contributions from 1% to 20% of compensation to the ASPP, subject to annual limitations 
determined by the Internal Revenue Service. Participants may purchase Company Common Stock at a 15% discount on 
the last business day of the option period. The purchase of our Common Stock is made through the ASPP on the open 
market and subsequently reissued to the associates. Under ASC 718, the difference of the open market purchase and 
the participant’s purchase price is being recognized as compensation expense.

Share Based Compensation Cost

Our stock option and nonvested share awards qualify for equity classification pursuant to ASC 718, Stock Compensation. 
The  costs  of  our  ASPP,  along  with  participant  contributions,  are  recorded  as  a  liability  until  open  market  purchases 
are  completed.  The  amounts  recognized  in  the  consolidated  statements  of  operations  with  respect  to  stock  options, 
nonvested shares and ASPP are as follows:

(In thousands)

For the Years Ended

2009

2008

2007

Stock option and non-vested share compensation expense

$  15,786 

$  14,674 

$  16,348 

Associate stock purchase plan expense

Amounts capitalized in software development costs, net of amortization

 1,318 

 (262)

 1,310 

 (840)

 986 

 (1,145)

Amounts charged against earnings, before income tax benefit

$  16,842   

$  15,144 

$  16,189 

Amount of related income tax benefit recognized in earnings

$ 

6,274 

$ 

5,641   

$  6,030 

Treasury Stock

In March 2008, our Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $45 million of our Common Stock 
on the open market and/or in privately-negotiated purchase. There were no shares repurchased by us during 2009. The 
stock repurchase activity in 2008 was as follows:

Shares repurchased

Average price per share

 790,000 

$ 

35.45 

Cost of shares repurchased, net of commissions

$  28,002,000 

These repurchased shares are recorded as treasury stock and are accounted for under the cost method. No repurchased 
shares have been retired.

Preferred Stock

As of the end of 2009 and 2008, we had 1.0 million shares of authorized but unissued preferred stock, $0.01 par value. 

90

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (15)  Foundations Retirement Plan

The Cerner Corporation Foundations Retirement Plan (the Plan) was established under Section 401(k) of the Internal 
Revenue Code. All associates age 18 and older and who are not a member of an excluded class are eligible to participate. 
Participants may elect to make pretax contributions from 1% to 80% of eligible compensation to the Plan, subject to 
annual limitations determined by the Internal Revenue Service. Participants may direct contributions into mutual funds, 
a stable value fund, a Company stock fund, or a self-directed brokerage account. We have a first tier discretionary match 
that is made on behalf of participants in an amount equal to 33% of the first 6% of the participant’s salary contribution. 
Our first tier discretionary match expenses for the Plan amounted to $8.7 million, $8.7 million and $8.3 million for 2009, 
2008 and 2007, respectively.

We added a second tier discretionary match to the Plan in 2000. Contributions are based on attainment of established 
earnings per share goals for the year or the established financial metric for the Plan. Only participants who defer 2% of 
their paid base salary, are actively employed as of the last day of the Plan year and are employed before October 1 of 
the Plan year are eligible to receive the discretionary match contribution. For the years ended 2009, 2008 and 2007 we 
expensed $2.0 million, $2.2 million and $6.0 million for the second tier discretionary distributions, respectively. 

(16)  Related Party Transactions

From July 1994 until August 2008 we leased an airplane from PANDI, Inc. (PANDI), a company owned by Neal L. Patterson 
and Clifford W. Illig, our Chairman of the Board and CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board, respectively. During 2009, 2008 
and 2007 we paid an aggregate of $1.4 million, $0.4 million and $0.6 million for the rental of the airplane, respectively. 
The airplane was used principally by us for client development and support and business development activities; and in 
particular, to reduce business related travel time of our executives and associates, increase travel flexibility and increase 
the number of client visits than would have been possible using solely commercial travel. On August 14, 2008, PANDI sold 
the airplane to a third party and the lease agreement with us was terminated.

Following the sale of the airplane, PANDI undertook a complete accounting of the actual financing, operation, depreciation 
and maintenance costs of the airplane during the 14 year time period that we leased the airplane from PANDI. Following 
the due diligence efforts by a committee comprised of the independent members of the Board of Directors, we were 
authorized to pay PANDI the sum of $1.4 million.

(17)  Commitments

Leases

We  are  committed  under  operating  leases  for  office  space  and  computer  equipment  through  October  2027.  Rent 
expense for office and warehouse space for our regional and global offices for 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $16.6 million,  
$16.1 million and $12.4 million, respectively. Aggregate minimum future payments under these non-cancelable operating 
leases are as follows:

Operating Lease 
Obligations

$ 

25,504 

 23,041 

 20,573 

 17,677 

 15,143 

 60,195 

$ 

162,133 

(In thousands)

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 and thereafter

Total:

91

 
 
 
 Purchase Obligations

We  have  purchase  commitments  with  various  vendors  through  2020.  These  commitments  represent  non-cancellable 
commitments primarily to provide ongoing support, maintenance and service to our clients. Aggregate future payments 
under these commitments are as follows:

(In thousands)

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 and thereafter

Total:

Purchase Obligations

$ 

15,592 

 6,067 

 5,644 

 5,597 

 2,797 

 10,665 

46,362 

$ 

(18)  Segment Reporting

We have two operating segments, Domestic and Global. Revenues are derived primarily from the sale of clinical, financial 
and administrative information systems and solutions. The cost of revenues includes the cost of third party consulting 
services,  computer  hardware  and  sublicensed  software  purchased  from  computer  and  software  manufacturers  for 
delivery to clients. It also includes the cost of hardware maintenance and sublicensed software support subcontracted 
to  the  manufacturers.  Operating  expenses  incurred  by  the  geographic  business  segments  consist  of  sales  and  client 
service expenses including salaries of sales and client service personnel, communications expenses and unreimbursed 
travel expenses. Performance of the segments is assessed at the operating earnings level and, therefore, the segment 
operations  have  been  presented  as  such.  “Other”  includes  revenues  not  generated  by  the  operating  segments  and 
expenses such as software development, marketing, general and administrative, share-based compensation expense and 
depreciation that has not been allocated to the operating segments. It is impractical for us to track assets by geographical 
business segment.

92

 
 
 
 Accounting  policies  for  each  of  the  reportable  segments  are  the  same  as  those  used  on  a  consolidated  basis.  The 
following table presents a summary of the operating information for 2009, 2008 and 2007.

Operating Segments

(In thousands)

Domestic

Global

Other

Total

2009

Revenues

  $  1,398,715 

  $ 

273,149 

  $ 

Cost of revenues

Operating expenses

Total costs and expenses

 240,847 

 372,370 

 613,217 

 40,351 

 130,256 

 170,607 

- 

 - 

 596,034 

 596,034 

  $  1,671,864 

 281,198 

 1,098,660 

 1,379,858 

Operating earnings (loss)

  $ 

785,498 

  $ 

102,542 

  $ 

(596,034)

  $ 

292,006 

Operating Segments

(In thousands)

Domestic

Global

Other

Total

2008

Revenues

  $  1,307,510 

  $ 

368,518 

  $ 

Cost of revenues

Operating expenses

Total costs and expenses

 225,955 

 361,213 

 587,168 

 70,108 

 150,729 

 220,837 

- 

 - 

 589,138 

 589,138 

  $  1,676,028 

 296,063 

 1,101,080 

 1,397,143 

Operating earnings (loss)

  $ 

720,342 

  $ 

147,681 

  $ 

(589,138)

  $ 

278,885 

Operating Segments

(In thousands)

Domestic

Global

Other

Total

2007

Revenues

  $  1,227,434 

  $ 

290,677 

  $ 

1,766 

  $  1,519,877 

Cost of revenues

Operating expenses

Total costs and expenses

 221,154 

 331,124 

 552,278 

 53,367 

 151,355 

 204,722 

 5,589 

 553,205 

 558,794 

 280,110 

 1,035,684 

 1,315,794 

Operating earnings (loss)

  $ 

675,156 

  $ 

85,955 

  $ 

(557,028)

  $ 

204,083 

93

 
 (19)  Quarterly Results (unaudited)

Selected quarterly financial data for 2009 and 2008 is set forth below:

(In thousands,  
except per share data)

2009 quarterly results:

Revenues

Earnings Before 
Income Taxes

Net Earnings

Basic Earnings 
Per Share

Diluted Earnings 
Per Share

First Quarter

$  392,322 

$ 

61,863 

$ 

40,830 

$ 

0.51 

$ 

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

 403,806 

 409,415 

 466,321 

 66,223 

 70,887 

 93,708 

 43,745 

 48,394 

 60,496 

 0.54 

 0.60 

 0.74 

Total

$  1,671,864 

$ 

292,681 

$  193,465 

2008 quarterly results:

First Quarter

$ 

384,765 

$ 

57,284 

$ 

36,817 

$ 

0.46 

$ 

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

 402,800 

 422,728 

 53,723 

 67,958 

Fourth Quarter (1)

 465,735 

 102,466 

 35,287 

 45,014 

 71,540 

 0.44 

 0.56 

 0.89 

Total

$  1,676,028 

$ 

281,431 

$  188,658 

0.49 

 0.52 

 0.57 

 0.71 

0.44 

 0.42 

 0.54 

 0.86 

(1)   Includes margin of $28.6 million related to our contract in London as part of the National Health Service (NHS) initiative to automate clinical processes and digitize 
medical records in England. This represents a one-time catch-up resulting from a change in accounting estimate and the ability to separate the support services 
element of the contract. The after tax effect of this item increased fourth quarter 2008 net earnings and diluted earnings per share by $20.6 million and $0.24, 
respectively.

94

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Stock Price Performance Graph

The following graph presents a comparison for the five-year period ended December 31, 2009 of the performance of the Common 
Stock of the Company with the NASDAQ Composite Index (US Companies) (as calculated by The Center for Research in Security Prices) 
and the NASDAQ Computer/Data Processing Group (as calculated by The Center for Research in Security Prices):

Comparison of 5 Year Cumulative Total Return

$500

$400

$300

$200

$100

$0

12/04

12/05

12/06

12/07

12/08

12/09

Cerner Corporation

Nasdaq Computer and Data Processing Index

Nasdaq Stock Market (US Companies)

The above comparison assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2004 in Common Stock of the Company and in each of the 
foregoing indices and assumes reinvestment of dividends. The results of each component issuer of each group are weighted according 
to such issuer’s stock market capitalization at the beginning of each year.

95

 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting
The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on May 28, 2010, at The Cerner Round auditorium in the Cerner Vision 
Center, located on the Cerner campus at 2850 Rockcreek Parkway, North Kansas City, Missouri. A formal notice of the Meeting, with 
a Proxy Statement and Proxy Card, will be available, to each shareholder of record, in April 2010.

Annual Report/10-K Report
Publications of interest to current and potential Cerner investors are available upon written request or via Cerner’s Web site at  
www.cerner.com. These include annual and quarterly reports and the Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Written requests should be made to:

Cerner Corporation
Investor Relations
2800 Rockcreek Parkway
North Kansas City, MO 64117-2551

Inquiries of an administrative nature relating to shareholder accounting records, stock transfer, change of address and 
miscellaneous shareholder requests should be directed to the transfer agent and registrar, Computershare Trust Company,  
at 1-800-884-4225.

Transfer Agent and Registrar
Computershare Trust Company, N.A. 
P.O. Box 43078 
Providence, RI 02940-3078 
1-800-884-4225

Stock Listings
Cerner Corporation’s common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC under the symbol CERN.

Independent Accountants
KPMG LLP 
Kansas City, MO

96