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Monolithic Power Systems

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FY2012 Annual Report · Monolithic Power Systems
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2012 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

To Our Shareholders, Customers, Partners and Employees: 

In  2012  MPS  continued  its  evolution  from  a  consumer  centric  company  to  a  diversified  company  targeting  cloud 
computing,  internet  appliances,  and  industrial  and  automotive  applications.  With  the  breadth  of  our  newly  released 
products and our strong pipeline, MPS will accelerate its growth in 2013 and the coming years.  Let me highlight some 
of our key accomplishments: 

Financial Highlights 

MPS’s  full  year  revenue  grew  8.8  percent  in  2012;  clearly  outperforming  the  analog  industry  which  SIA  estimates 
shrank  7.2  percent.    I  feel  strongly  that  with  our  industry  leading  products  gaining  acceptance  in  cloud  computing, 
industrial  and  automotive  markets,  we  will  continue  to  realize  new  growth  opportunities  as  we  further  diversify  our 
product offerings.  In 2012, gross margin expanded 120 basis points to 52.9 percent and non-GAAP net income grew to 
93 cents per fully diluted share in 2012 from 71 cents in 2011. 

In 2012, revenue in each of our targeted market segments grew with the Industrial segment up 93.2 percent; Computing 
up 36.4 percent and Communications increasing 13.5 percent, compared with 2011.  These are significant events which 
set the foundation for our future growth. 

On the Technology Front 

2012 has been a great year for our technology development. We launched our next generation BCD4 process technology 
which represents as much as a 50% die size reduction from our BCD3 technology released just a year ago.  Our BCD3 
technology  leapfrogged  the  competition  and  we  believe  that  BCD4  will  extend  our  lead  even  further  with  the  first 
products targeting networking, servers and storage. 

New Products and Market Highlights 

 

 

In the computing and storage space our 2012 design activities were stronger than ever.  Having been approved 
by Intel for our solution on the Grantley server platform,  we experienced a surge of design activities both in 
Tier 1 and up-in-coming server makers for large internet companies.  In storage, we released our PMIC for the 
SSD application.  We expect these design wins will generate revenues starting in 2013. 

In  the  automotive  markets,  our products  and design wins now  cover  diverse  applications  such  as  lighting  for 
chassis and interior, ignition switches, power doors, power windows and infotainment system.  In the industrial 
markets, we released the industry’s first fully integrated high voltage, high current, high frequency synchronous 
single chip solution that surpasses the performance of all existing discrete solutions. Because of these cutting 
edge products, we are continuing to achieve gains in this stable market segment. 

  Our ACDC products including industrial lighting have generated meaningful revenue as of today.  We expect 

significant growth from this family in 2013. 

 

In the high volume consumer-related market, we have shipped over 20 million units of our CoolPower products 
for inclusion in Set Top Boxes, TVs, and other consumer-related products.  Because CoolPower products are 
extremely cost competitive and have better performance, I believe this product family will continue to recapture 
and gain additional share in these market segments.   

In  summary,  the  future  for MPS  continues  to  look  bright.      Our  total  revenue growth  in  2012  and  the  changes  in our 
revenue  mix  indicate  clearly  that  we  are  executing  our  vision  of  growing  MPS  to  a  $500  million  company.    We  will 
further extend our technology leadership, expand the product roadmap, and gain market acceptance and market share in 
targeted high value growth markets.  This will set MPS on track for sustainable growth in 2013 and beyond. 

Michael R. Hsing 
President and Chief Executive Officer 

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

FORM 10-K  

(Mark One) 
 

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 

or 

 

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

Commission file number: 000-51026 

 Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)  

Delaware 
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

77-0466789 
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

79 Great Oaks Boulevard, San Jose, CA 95119 (408) 826-0600 
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code and telephone number) 

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

Title of each class 
Common Stock, $0.001 Par Value 

Name of each exchange on which registered 
The NASDAQ Global Select Market 

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 of 1933.  Yes  No 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act 

of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).  Yes  No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act 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   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 is not contained herein, and will not be 
contained, to the best of the 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.  

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           Accelerated filer           Non-accelerated filer            Smaller reporting company   

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

The  number  of  shares  of  the  registrant’s  stock  outstanding  as  of  June  30,  2012  was  34,820,281.  The  closing  price  of  the  registrant’s 
common  stock  on  the  Nasdaq  Global  Select  Market  as  of  June  30,  2012  was  $19.85.  The  aggregate  market  value  of  the  voting  and  non-voting 
common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant based upon the closing price of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 
30, 2012 was $383,762,611.* 

There were 36,501,530 shares of the registrant’s common stock issued and outstanding as of February 20, 2013. 

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for the registrant’s 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into 
Part III of this Form 10-K to the extent stated herein.  The Proxy Statement will be filed within 120 days of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 
31, 2012.   

 DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE 

* 

Excludes 15,487,152 shares of the registrant’s common stock held by executive officers, directors and stockholders whose ownership exceeds 5%
(“affiliates”)  of  the  Common  Stock  outstanding  at  June  30,  2012.   Exclusion of  such  shares  should  not  be  construed  to  indicate that  any  such
person possesses the power, direct or indirect, to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of the registrant or that such person 
is controlled by or under common control with the registrant. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page

PART I

Item 1. 

Business ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 
Executive Officers of the Registrant .......................................................................................................... 6 
Item 1A  Risk Factors ............................................................................................................................................... 7 
Item 1B  Unresolved Staff Comments ...................................................................................................................... 24 
Item 2. 
Properties ................................................................................................................................................... 24 
Legal Proceedings ...................................................................................................................................... 24 
Item 3. 
Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures ............................................................................................................................ 25 

PART II

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

Equity Securities ........................................................................................................................................ 26 
Item 6. 
Selected Financial Data ............................................................................................................................. 28 
Item 7.  Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ..................... 29 
Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk ................................................................... 42 
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data .......................................................................................... 43 
Item 8. 
Item 9. 
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure .................... 75 
Item 9A.  Controls and Procedures ............................................................................................................................ 75 
Item 9B.  Other Information ...................................................................................................................................... 78 

PART III
Item 10.  Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance ......................................................................... 79 
Item 11. 
Executive Compensation ........................................................................................................................... 79 
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters .. 79 
Item 12. 
Item 13.  Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence ........................................... 79 
Principal Accounting Fees and Services .................................................................................................... 79 
Item 14. 

Item 15. 

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules ................................................................................................... 80 
Signatures .................................................................................................................................................. 84 

PART IV

Except  as  the  context  otherwise  requires,  the  terms  “Monolithic  Power  Systems”,  “MPS”,  “Registrant”, 
“Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our” as used herein are references to Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. and its consolidated 
subsidiaries. 

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 

This  annual  report  on  Form  10-K  and  the  documents  incorporated  herein  by  reference  contain  forward-looking 
statements  within  the  meaning  of  Section  27A  of  the  Securities  Act  of  1933,  as  amended,  and  Section  21E  of  the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that have been made pursuant to and in reliance on the provisions of the 
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include among other things, statements concerning: 

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the above-average industry growth of product and market areas that we have targeted, 

our plan to introduce additional new products within our existing product families as well as in new product
categories and families, 

our intention to exercise our purchase option with respect to our manufacturing facility in Chengdu, China. 

our belief that we will continue to incur significant legal expenses that vary with the level of activity in each
of our legal proceedings, 

the effect of auction-rate securities on our liquidity and capital resources, 

the  application  of  our  products  in  the  Communications,  Computing,  Consumer  and  Industrial  markets
continuing to account for a majority of our revenue, 

estimates of our future liquidity requirements, 

the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, 

protection of our proprietary technology, 

near term business outlook for 2013, 

the factors that we believe will impact our ability to achieve revenue growth, 

the outcome of the IRS audit of our tax return for the tax years ended December 31, 2005 through  2007, 

the percentage of our total revenue from various market segments, and 

the factors that differentiate us from our competitors. 

In  some  cases,  words  such  as  “would,”  “could,”  “may,”  “should,”  “predict,”  “potential,”  “targets,”  “continue,” 
“anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “will,” the negative of these 
terms or other variations of such terms and similar expressions relating to the future identify forward-looking statements. 

All forward-looking statements are based on our current outlook, expectations, estimates, projections, beliefs and plans 
or  objectives  about  our  business  and  our  industry.  These  statements  are  not  guarantees  of  future  performance  and  are 
subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in 
any such forward-looking statements. 

Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include those set forth throughout this annual 
report on Form 10-K and, in particular, in the section entitled “Item 1A. Risk Factors”. 

Except  as  required  by  law,  we  disclaim  any  duty  to  and  undertake  no  obligation  to  update  any  forward-looking 
statements, whether as a result of new information relating to existing conditions, future events or otherwise or to release 
publicly  the  results  of  any  future  revisions  we  may  make  to  forward-looking  statements  to  reflect  events  or 
circumstances  after  the  date  hereof  or  to  reflect  the  occurrence  of  unanticipated  events.  Readers  are  cautioned  not  to 
place undue reliance on such statements, which speak only as of the date of this annual report on Form 10-K. Readers 
should carefully review future reports and documents that we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission, such as our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and any current reports on Form 8-K. 

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ITEM 1.    BUSINESS 

General 

PART I 

Monolithic  Power  Systems  is  a  fabless  semiconductor  company  that  designs,  develops  and  markets  proprietary, 
advanced  analog  and  mixed-signal  semiconductors.  We  combine  advanced  process  technology  with  our  highly 
experienced analog designers to produce high-performance power management integrated circuits (ICs) for DC to DC 
converters and Lighting Control Products. Our products are used extensively in computing and network communications 
products, flat panel TVs, set top boxes and a wide variety of consumer and portable electronics products, automotive and 
industrial markets. We partner with world-class manufacturing organizations to deliver top quality, ultra-compact, high-
performance  solutions  through  productive,  cost-efficient  channels.  Founded  in  1997  and  headquartered  in  San  Jose, 
California, we have expanded our global presence with offices in Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan, which operate under 
MPS International, Ltd. We have marketing representatives in Europe and Singapore. 

Industry Overview 

Semiconductors  comprise  the  basic  building  blocks  of  electronic  systems  and  equipment.  Within  the  semiconductor 
industry,  components  can  be  classified  either  as  discrete  devices,  such  as  individual  transistors,  or  as  ICs,  in  which  a 
number of transistors and other elements are combined to form a more complicated electronic circuit. ICs can be further 
divided  into  three  primary  categories:  digital,  analog,  and  mixed-signal.  Digital  ICs,  such  as  memory  devices  and 
microprocessors,  can  store  or  perform  arithmetic  functions  on  data  that  is  represented  by  a  series  of  ones  and  zeroes. 
Analog  ICs,  in  contrast,  handle  real  world  signals  such  as  temperature,  pressure,  light,  sound,  or  speed.  In  addition, 
analog ICs also perform power management functions, such as regulating or converting voltages, for electronic devices. 
Mixed-signal  ICs  combine  digital  and  analog  functions  onto  a  single  chip  and  play  an  important  role  in  bridging  real 
world phenomena to digital systems. 

Analog  and  Mixed-Signal  Markets.  We  focus  on  the  market  for  ‘high  performance’  analog  and  mixed-signal  ICs. 
‘High  performance’  products  generally  are  differentiated  by  functionality  and  performance  factors  which  include 
integration of higher levels of functionality onto a single chip, greater precision, higher speed and lower heat and noise. 
There  are  several  key  factors  that  distinguish  analog  and  mixed-signal  IC  markets  from  digital  IC  markets  and  in 
particular the high performance portion of the analog and mixed signal IC market. These factors include longer product 
life cycles, numerous market segments, technology that is difficult to replicate, relative complexity of design and process 
technology, importance of experienced design engineers, lower capital requirements and diversity of end markets.  We 
have, however, targeted product and market areas that we believe have the ability to offer above average industry growth 
over the long term. 

Products and Applications 

We  currently  have  two  primary  product  families  that  address  multiple  applications  within  the  computing,  consumer 
electronics,  communications,  and  industrial/automotive  markets.  Our  products  are  differentiated  with  respect  to  their 
high  degree  of  integration  and  strong  levels  of  accuracy  and  efficiency,  making  them  cost-effective  relative  to  many 
competing solutions. These product families include: 

Direct Current (DC) to DC Converters. DC to DC converter ICs are used to convert and control voltages within a broad 
range of electronic systems, such as portable electronic devices, wireless LAN access points, computers, set top boxes, 
TVs and monitors, automobiles and medical equipment. We believe that our DC to DC converters are differentiated in 
the market, particularly with respect to their high degree of integration, high voltage operation, high load current, high 
switching speed and small footprint. These features are important to our customers as they result in fewer components, a 
smaller  form  factor,  more  accurate  regulation  of  voltages,  and,  ultimately,  lower  system  cost  and  increased  reliability 
through the elimination of many discrete components and power devices. 

Lighting  Control  Products  and  AC/DC  Offline  Solutions.  Lighting  control  ICs  are  used  in  backlighting  and  general 
illumination products. Lighting control ICs for backlighting are used in systems that provide the light source for LCD 
panels  typically  found  in  notebook  computers,  LCD  monitors,  car  navigation  systems,  and  LCD  televisions. 
Backlighting  solutions  are  typically  either  white  light  emitting  diode  (“WLED”)  lighting  sources  or  cold  cathode 
fluorescent lamps (CCFL). WLED lighting control ICs step-up or step-down a DC voltage, or convert from an AC line 

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voltage  supplied  by  the  utility  company  (also  called  AC/DC  Offline)  and  provide  efficient  precision  power  and 
protection to a LED string or to multiple LED strings. The CCFL ICs function by converting low-voltage direct current 
(DC) or battery voltage to high-voltage alternating current (AC). We believe our CCFL ICs were the first to utilize a full 
bridge resonant topology that allows for high efficiency, extended lifetimes for cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs), 
and lower signal interference with adjacent components. The full bridge topology is now the industry standard for these 
products. 

In addition to AC/DC offline solutions for lighting illumination applications, MPS also offers AC/DC power conversion 
solutions for a diverse number of end products that plug into a wall outlet.  

We  currently  target  our  products  at  the  consumer  electronics,  communications  and  computing  markets,  with  the 
consumer market representing the largest portion of our revenue. 

The following is a brief summary of our product family for various applications. For each of these applications, we are 
currently shipping products or have design wins, which are decisions by original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, or 
original design manufacturers, or ODMs, to use our ICs: 

Application 

WLED 
Lighting 
Illumination 
(non-
backlight) 

LCD 
Backlight 
(Inverters 
or WLED) 

DC to DC 
Converters 
(Buck & 
Boost) 

µP Reset & 
Supervisory 

Audio 
Amplifiers

AC/DC 
Offline 

Chargers 
(Switching 
& Linear) 

Current 
Limit 
Switches 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Computing 

Computers and 
PDA devices 
LCD Monitors     
Disk Drives/ 
Storage 
Networks 

Consumer 
Electronics 
LCD TV 
Displays 
Plasma TV 
Displays 
Set Top Boxes     
Blu-Ray & 
DVD Players 

Digital Still 
Cameras 
Commercial & 
Industrial Bulb & 
CFL 
Replacement 
GPS and 
Infotainment 
systems 
Communications     

Cellular 
Handsets 
Networking 
Infrastructure 
VOIP 
Wireless 
Access Points 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

2 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

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We  derive  a  majority  of  our  revenue  from  the  sales  of  our  DC  to  DC  converter  IC  product  family  to  the  consumer 
electronics, communications, computing and industrial markets.  In the future, we will continue to introduce additional 
new  products  within  our  existing  product  families,  such  as  high  current,  high  voltage,  small  form  factor  switching 
voltage regulators, as well as expand our newer product families in battery chargers, voltage references and low dropout 
regulators. Our ability to achieve revenue growth will depend in part upon our ability to enter new market segments, gain 
market  share,  grow  in  regions  outside  of  Greater  China,  expand  our  customer  base  and  successfully  secure 
manufacturing capacity. 

Please  refer  to  the  table  showing  our  revenue  by  product  family  in  the  section  entitled  “Item  7.  Management’s 
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Results of Operations”.  

Customers, Sales, and Marketing 

We sell our products through third party distributors, value-added resellers and directly to OEMs, ODMs, and electronic 
manufacturing service (EMS) providers. Our third party distributors are subject to distribution agreements with us which 
allow the distributor to sell our products to end customers and other resellers.  Distributors may distribute our products to 
end  customers  which  include  OEMs,  ODMs  or  EMS  providers.  Our  value-added  resellers  may  second  source  our 
products and provide other services to customers. ODMs typically design and manufacture electronic products on behalf 
of  OEMs,  and  EMS  providers  typically  provide  manufacturing  services  for  OEMs  and  other  electronic  product 
suppliers.    

As  a  result  of  consolidations  in  recent  years  among  distributors,  sales  to  our  largest  distributor  accounted  for 
approximately  32%  of  revenues  in  2012,  27%  of  revenues  in  2011  and  21%  of  revenue  in  2010.  No  other  customers 
accounted for more than 10% of revenues in any periods presented. 

Current distribution agreements with several of our major distributors provide that each distributor shall have the non-
exclusive right to sell and use its best efforts to promote and develop a market for our products. These agreements may 
be  terminated  by  either  us  or  the  distributor  generally  up  to  three  months’  notice.  These  agreements  provide  that 
payment for purchases from us will generally occur within 30 to 45 days from the date of invoice.  In addition, we allow 
for limited stock rotation in certain agreements. 

We have sales offices located in the United States, Taiwan, China, Korea, and Japan and have marketing representatives 
in  Europe  and  Singapore.  Our  products  typically  require  a  highly  technical  sales  and  applications  engineering  effort 
where  we  assist  our  customers  in  the  design  and  use  of  our  products  in  their  application.  We  maintain  a  staff  of 
applications engineers who work directly with our customers’ engineers in the development of their systems electronics 
containing our products. 

Because  our  sales  are  billed  and  payable  in  United  States  dollars,  our  sales  are  not  directly  subject  to  fluctuating 
currency  exchange  rates. However,  because  89% of our revenue  in  2012  was  attributable  to direct or  indirect  sales  to 
customers in Asia, changes in the relative value of the dollar may create pricing pressures for our products. 

Our  sales  are  made  primarily  pursuant  to  standard  individual  purchase  orders.  Our  backlog  consists  of  orders  that  we 
have received from customers which have not yet shipped. Our manufacturing lead times are generally 4 to 12 weeks 
and  we  often  build  inventory  in  advance  of  customer  orders  based  on  our  forecast  of  future  customer  orders.  This 
subjects  us  to  certain  risks,  most  notably  the  possibility  that  sales  will  not  meet  our  forecast,  which  could  lead  to 
inventories in excess of demand. If excess inventory exists, it may be necessary for us to sell it at a substantial discount 
or dispose of it altogether, either of which would negatively affect our profit margins. 

We operate in the cyclical semiconductor industry where there is seasonal demand for certain of our products. While we 
are not and will not be immune from current and future industry downturns, we have targeted product and market areas 
that we believe have the ability to offer above average industry performance over the long term. 

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Research and Development 

We have assembled a qualified team of engineers in the United States and China with core competencies in analog and 
mixed-signal  design.  Through  our  research  and  development  efforts,  we  have  developed  a  collection  of  intellectual 
property and know-how that we are able to leverage across our products and markets. These include the development of 
high  efficiency  power  devices,  the  design  of  precision  analog  circuits,  expertise  in  mixed-signal  integration  and  the 
development of proprietary semiconductor process technologies. 

Our  research  and  development  efforts  are  generally  targeted  at  three  areas:  systems  architecture,  circuit  design  and 
implementation, and process technology. In the area of systems architecture, we are exploring new ways of solving our 
customers’  system  design  challenges  and  are  investing  in  the  development  of  systems  expertise  in  new  markets  and 
applications that align well with our core capabilities. In the area of circuit design and implementation, our initiatives 
include expanding our portfolio of products and adding new features to our products. 

Please refer to the discussion of the amount spent on research and development during each of the last three fiscal years 
in the section entitled “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 
– Results of Operations – Research and Development”. In the area of process technology, we are investing research and 
development  resources  to  provide  leading-edge  analog  power  processes  for  our  next  generation  of  integrated  circuits. 
Process technology is a key strategic component to our future growth.  

Patents and Intellectual Property Matters 

We  rely  on  our  proprietary  technologies,  which  include  both  our  proprietary  circuit  designs  for  our  products  and  our 
proprietary  manufacturing  process  technologies.  Our  future  success  and  competitive  position  depend  in  part  upon  our 
ability to obtain and maintain protection of our proprietary technologies. 

In general, we have elected to pursue patent protection for aspects of our circuit designs that we believe are patentable 
and to protect our manufacturing process technologies by maintaining those process technologies as trade secrets. As of 
January 22, 2013, we had approximately 893 patents issued and pending, of which 133 have been issued in the United 
States.  Our  U.S.  issued patents  are  scheduled  to  expire  at  various  times  through December  2031  and our other  issued 
patents are scheduled to expire at various times through December 2032. Our patents are material to our business, but we 
do not rely on any one particular patent for our success. We also rely on a combination of nondisclosure agreements and 
other  contractual  provisions,  as  well  as  our  employees’  commitment  to  confidentiality  and  loyalty,  to  protect  our 
technology, know-how, and processes. In April 2008, we entered into a patent license agreement with another integrated 
circuit company, which is a value-added reseller, pursuant to which we have granted this company a license (with certain 
limited sublicense rights) under certain of our patents to make, use, and sell certain of this company’s own integrated 
circuit products for a period of two years, with an automatic renewal for successive one year periods, unless either party 
terminates,  and  for  which  this  company  is  obligated  to  pay  us  royalties  based  on  sales  of  those  products.  In  October 
2012,  we  renewed  this  patent  license  agreement  with  same  terms  and  conditions,  which  will  remain  in  effect  until 
terminated  by  either  party  with  prior  written  notice.  We  also  seek  to  register  certain  of  our  trademarks  as  we  deem 
appropriate. We have not registered any of our copyrights and do not believe registration of copyrights is material to our 
business.  Despite  precautions  that  we  take,  it  may  be  possible  for  unauthorized  third  parties  to  copy  aspects  of  our 
current or future technology or products or to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. There can be no 
assurance that the steps we take will be adequate to protect our proprietary rights, that our patent applications will lead to 
issued patents, that others will not develop or patent similar or superior products or technologies, or that our patents will 
not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by others. Furthermore, the laws of the countries in which our products 
are or may be developed, manufactured or sold may not protect our products and intellectual property rights to the same 
extent  as  laws  in  the  United  States.  Our  failure  to  adequately  protect  our  proprietary  technologies  could  harm  our 
business. 

The semiconductor industry is characterized by frequent claims of infringement and litigation regarding patent and other 
intellectual property rights. For a more complete description of our legal matters, please read the section entitled Item 3. 
Legal Proceedings and Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements. Patent infringement is an ongoing risk, in part 
because  other  companies  in  our  industry  could  have  patent  rights  that  may  not  be  identifiable  when  we  initiate 
development efforts. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, and we may have to defend 
ourselves  against  infringement  claims.  Any  such  litigation  could  be  very  costly  and  may  divert  our  management 
resources. Further, we have agreed to indemnify certain of our customers and a supplier in some circumstances against 
liability from infringement by our products. In the event any third party were to make an infringement claim against us 

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or our customers, we could be enjoined from selling selected products or could be required to indemnify our customers 
or  supplier  or  pay  royalties  or  other  damages  to  third  parties.  If  any  of  our  products  is  found  to  infringe  and  we  are 
unable to obtain necessary licenses or other rights on acceptable terms, we would either have to change our product so 
that  it  does  not  infringe  or  stop  making  the  infringing  product,  which  could  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our 
operating results, financial condition, and cash flows. 

Manufacturing 

We utilize a fabless business model, working with third parties to manufacture and assemble our integrated circuits. This 
fabless approach allows us to focus our engineering and design resources on our strengths and to reduce our fixed costs 
and  capital  expenditures.  In  contrast  to  many  fabless  semiconductor  companies,  who  utilize  standard  process 
technologies  and  design  rules  established  by  their  foundry  partners,  we  have  developed  our  own  proprietary  process 
technology and collaborate with our foundry partners to install our technology on their equipment in their facilities for 
use solely on our behalf. This close collaboration and control over the manufacturing process has historically resulted in 
favorable yields and product performance for our integrated circuits. 

We  currently  contract  with  three  suppliers  to  manufacture  our  wafers  in  foundries  located  in  China.  Once  our  silicon 
wafers  have  been  produced,  they  are  shipped  to  our  facility  in  Chengdu,  China  for  wafer  sort.  Our  semiconductor 
products are then assembled and packaged by independent subcontractors in China and Malaysia. The assembled ICs are 
then sent for final testing primarily at our Chengdu facility prior to shipping to our customers. 

We  do  not  use  conflict  minerals,  as  defined  in  Section  1502  of  the  Dodd-Frank  Wall  Street  Reform  and  Consumer 
Protection Act, that originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the manufacturing of our products.  

In September 2004, we signed an agreement with a Chinese local authority to construct a facility in Chengdu, China, 
initially for the testing of our ICs. Pursuant to this agreement, we agreed to contribute capital in the form of cash, in-kind 
assets,  and/or  intellectual  property,  of  at  least  $5.0  million  to  our  wholly-owned  Chinese  subsidiary  as  the  registered 
capital for the subsidiary and have exercised the option to purchase land use rights for the facility for approximately $0.2 
million. Following the five-year lease term, we now have an option to acquire the facility in Chengdu for approximately 
$1.8 million which consists of total construction costs incurred minus total rent paid by us during the lease term. This 
option  became  exercisable  in  March  2011.  We  will  likely  exercise  our  purchase  option  and  enter  into  a  purchase 
agreement for this facility in the future. The facility has been fully operational since 2006 and we have benefitted from 
shorter manufacturing cycle times and lower labor and overhead costs. Furthermore, we are continuing to expand our 
product  testing  capabilities  in  our  China  facility  and  are  able  to  take  advantage  of  the  rich  pool  of  local  engineering 
talent to expand our manufacturing support and engineering operations. We constructed a 150,000 square foot research 
and development facility in Chengdu, China which was put into operation in October 2010. 

Key Personnel and Employees 

Our performance is substantially dependent on the performance of our executive officers and key employees. Due to the 
relative  complexity  of  the  design  of  our  analog  and  mixed-signal  ICs,  our  engineers  generally  have  more  years  of 
experience and greater circuit design aptitude than the more prevalent digital circuit design engineer. Analog engineers 
with advanced skills are limited in number and difficult to replace. The loss of the services of key officers, managers, 
engineers and other technical personnel would harm our business. Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability 
to attract, train, retain, and motivate highly qualified technical and managerial personnel.  We may not be successful in 
attracting and retaining such personnel. Our employees are not represented by a collective bargaining organization, and 
we have never experienced a work stoppage or strike. Our management considers employee relations to be good. As of 
December 31, 2012, we employed 993 employees located in the United States, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, Europe and 
Singapore. 

Competition 

The  analog  and  mixed-signal  semiconductor  industry  is  highly  competitive,  and  we  expect  competitive  pressures  to 
continue. Our ability to compete effectively and to expand our business will depend on our ability to continue to recruit 
both applications engineering and design engineering personnel, our ability to introduce new products, and our ability to 
maintain  the  rate  at  which  we  introduce  these  new  products.  Our  industry  is  characterized  by  decreasing  unit  selling 
prices over the life of a product. We compete with domestic and international semiconductor companies, many of which 
have substantially greater financial and other resources with which to pursue engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and 

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distribution of their products. We are in direct and active competition, with respect to one or more of our product lines, 
with at least 10 manufacturers of such products, of varying size and financial strength. The number of our competitors 
has grown due to expansion of the market segments in which we participate. We consider our primary competitors to 
include  Analog  Devices,  Fairchild  Semiconductor  International,  International  Rectifier,  Intersil  Corporation,  Linear 
Technology,  Maxim  Integrated  Products,  Micrel  Inc.,  Microchip  Technology,  Microsemi  Corporation,  O2Micro 
International,  ON  Semiconductor,  Richtek  Technology  Corporation,  Rohm  Co.,  Ltd.,  Semtech  Corporation, 
STMicroelectronics N.V., Texas Instruments Incorporated and Volterra. 

We  expect  continued  competition  from  existing  competitors  as  well  as  competition  from  new  entrants  into  the 
semiconductor  market.  We  believe  that  we  are  competitive  with  respect  to  these  factors,  particularly  because  our  ICs 
typically  are  smaller  in  size,  are  highly  integrated,  possess  higher  levels  of  power  management  functionalities  and 
achieve high performance specifications at lower price points than most of our competition. However, we cannot assure 
you  that  our  products  will  continue  to  compete  favorably  or  that  we  will  be  successful  in  the  face  of  increasing 
competition  from  new products  and  enhancements  introduced by  existing  competitors  or new  companies  entering  this 
market. 

Geographical and Segment Information 

Please  refer  to  the  geographical  and  segment  information  for  each  of  the  last  three  fiscal  years  in  Note  13  to  our 
consolidated financial statements. 

Please refer to the discussion of risks attendant to our foreign operations in the section entitled “Item 1A: Risk Factors”. 

Available Information 

We were incorporated in California in 1997 and reincorporated in Delaware in November 2004. Our executive offices 
are  located  at  79  Great  Oaks  Boulevard,  San  Jose  CA  95119.  Our  telephone  number  is  (408)  826-0600.  Our  e-mail 
address is investors@monolithicpower.com, and our website is www.monolithicpower.com. Our annual reports on Form 
10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those filed or furnished pursuant 
to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge. These may 
be obtained from our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish 
it  to,  the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission,  or  at  the SEC  website  at  www.sec.gov.  Information  contained on  our 
website is not a part of this Form 10-K. 

Executive Officers of the Registrant 

The executive officers of the Company, and their ages as of March 1, 2013 are as follows: 

Name 
Michael R. Hsing 
Meera P. Rao 
Deming Xiao 
Maurice Sciammas 
Saria Tseng 

Age Position 
53  President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director 
52  CFO and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer 
50  President of MPS Asia Operations 
53  Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing 
42  Vice President, Strategic Corporate Development, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary 

Michael R. Hsing has served on our board of directors and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since 
founding  Monolithic  Power  Systems  in  August  1997.  Before  founding  our  company,  Mr.  Hsing  held  senior  technical 
positions at companies such as Supertex, Inc. and Micrel, Inc. Mr. Hsing is an inventor on numerous patents related to 
the  process  development  of  bipolar  mixed-signal  semiconductor  manufacturing.  Mr.  Hsing  holds  a  B.S.E.E.  from  the 
University of Florida. 

Meera  P.  Rao  has  served  as  our  Chief  Financial  Officer  since  January  2011.  Ms.  Rao  joined  us  in  January  2009  and 
served as our Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller. Prior to joining MPS, she was the principal in her own 
consulting  practice,  working  with  various  semiconductor  companies,  including  MPS,  where  she  set  up  our  business 
operations  in  Chengdu,  China  in  2006.  Ms.  Rao  has  more  than  20  years  of  experience  with  semiconductor  and  high 
technology companies and has held various senior executive positions, including CFO of Integration Associates, Vice 
President of Finance and Interim CFO at Atrica, Vice President of Finance at Raza Foundries, Corporate Controller and 

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Interim CFO at nVIDIA, as well as various positions at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).  Ms. Rao is a CPA and holds 
an MBA from the University of Rochester. 

Maurice Sciammas currently serves as our Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing, a position he has 
had  since  2007.  Mr.  Sciammas  joined  the  Company  in  July  1999  and  served  as  Vice  President  of  Products  and  Vice 
President of Sales (excluding greater China) until he was appointed to his current position.  Before joining the Company, 
he was Director  of IC  Products  at  Supertex  from  1990  to 1999. He  has also held positions  at  Micrel,  Inc. He holds  a 
B.S.E.E. degree from San Jose State University. 

Deming Xiao has served as our President of our Asia Operations since January 2008. Since joining us in May 2001, Mr. 
Xiao has held several executive positions, including Foundry Manager and Senior Vice President of Operations. Before 
joining  us,  from  June  2000  to  May  2001,  Mr.  Xiao  was  Engineering  Account  Manager  at  Chartered  Semiconductor 
Manufacturing, Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Xiao spent 6 years as the Manager of Process Integration Engineering at Fairchild 
Imaging  Sensors.  Mr.  Xiao  holds  a  B.S.  in  Semiconductor  Physics  from  Sichuan  University,  Chengdu,  China  and  a 
M.S.E.E. from Wayne State University. 

Saria  Tseng  has  served  as  our  Vice  President  and  General  Counsel  since  November  2004.  Ms.  Tseng  joined  the 
Company from MaXXan Systems, Inc., a privately held provider of intelligent storage networking solutions, where she 
was also Vice President and General Counsel from January 2001 to November 2004. Prior to her corporate experience, 
Ms.  Tseng  was  an  attorney  at  Gray  Cary  Ware  &  Freidenrich,  LLP  from  July  1999  to  January  2001.  Previously,  she 
practiced  law  at  Wang  &  Wang  and  Jones  Day,  Reavis  &  Pogue.  Ms.  Tseng  is  a  member  of  the  state  bar  in  both 
California and New York and is a member of the bar association of the Republic of China (Taiwan). She holds Masters 
of Law degrees from Boalt Hall, University of California at Berkeley and the Chinese Culture University in Taipei. 

ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS 

Our business involves risks and uncertainties. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all 
of  the  other  information  in  this  annual  report  on  Form  10-K  and  other  filings  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange 
Commission in evaluating our business.  If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, 
operating  results,  and  growth  prospects  would  likely  be  adversely  affected.  In  such  an  event,  the  trading  price  of  our 
common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. Our past financial 
performance  should  not  be  considered  to  be  a  reliable  indicator  of  future  performance,  and  investors  should  not  use 
historical trends to anticipate results or trends in future periods.  These risks involve forward-looking statements and our 
actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. 

The future trading price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of 
factors. 

The future trading price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in 
price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including: 

• 

• 

• 

our results of operations and financial performance; 

general economic, industry and global market conditions; 

our  ability  to  outperform  the  market,  and  outperform  at  a  level  that  meets  or  exceeds  our  investors’
expectations; 

•  whether our forward guidance meets the expectations of our investors; 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the depth and liquidity of the market for our common stock; 

developments generally affecting the semiconductor industry; 

commencement of or developments relating to our involvement in litigation; 

investor perceptions of us and our business strategies; 

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• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

changes in securities analysts’ expectations or our failure to meet those expectations; 

actions by institutional or other large stockholders; 

terrorist acts or acts of war; 

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our results of operations; 

developments with respect to intellectual property rights; 

announcements of technological innovations or significant contracts by us or our competitors; 

introduction of new products by us or our competitors; 

our sale of common stock or other securities in the future; 

conditions and trends in technology industries; 

changes in market valuation or earnings of our competitors; 

our  ability  to  develop  new  products,  enter  new  market  segments,  gain  market  share,  manage  litigation  risk,
diversify our customer base and successfully secure manufacturing capacity; 

our ability to increase our gross margins; and 

changes in the estimation of the future size and growth rate of our markets. 

In  addition,  the  stock  market  in  general  often  experiences  substantial  volatility  that  is  seemingly  unrelated  to  the 
operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price 
of our common stock. 

We  expect  our  operating  results  to  fluctuate  from  quarter  to  quarter  and  year  to  year,  which  may  make  it 
difficult to predict our future performance and could cause our stock price to decline and be volatile. 

Our  revenue,  expenses,  and  results  of operations  are  difficult  to  predict,  have varied  significantly  in  the  past  and  will 
continue to fluctuate significantly in the future due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control. We 
expect fluctuations to continue for a number of reasons, including: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

a deterioration in general demand for electronic products as a result of worldwide financial crises and associated
macro-economic slowdowns; 

a deterioration in business conditions at our distributors, value-added resellers and/or end-customers; 

adverse general economic conditions in the countries where our products are sold or used; 

the timing of developments and related expenses in our litigation matters; 

the  possibility  of  additional  lost  business  as  a  result  of  customer  and  prospective  customer  concerns  about 
adverse outcomes in our litigations or about being litigation targets; 

continued dependence on our turns business (orders received and shipped within the same fiscal quarter); 

increases in assembly costs due to commodity price increases, such as the price of gold; 

the timing of new product introductions by us and our competitors; 

changes in our revenue mix between OEM’s, ODM’s, distributors and value-added resellers; 

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• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

changes in product mix; 

the acceptance of our new products in the marketplace; 

our ability to develop new process technologies and achieve volume production; 

our ability to meet customer product demand in a timely manner; 

the scheduling, rescheduling, or cancellation of orders by our customers; 

the cyclical nature of demand for our customers’ products; 

the fluctuations in our estimate for stock rotation reserves; 

our ability to manage our inventory levels, including the levels of inventory held by our distributors; 

inventory levels and product obsolescence; 

seasonality and variability in the computer, consumer electronics, and communications markets; 

the availability of adequate manufacturing capacity from our outside suppliers; 

increases in prices for finished wafers due to general capacity shortages;  

the potential loss of future business resulting from current capacity issues; 

changes in manufacturing yields; 

•  movements in exchange rates, interest rates or tax rates; and 

• 

determining the probability of accounting charges associated with performance based equity awards granted to
our employees. 

Due  to  the  factors  noted  above  and  other  risks  described  in  this  section,  many  of  which  are  beyond  our  control,  you 
should  not  rely  on  quarter-to-quarter  or  year-over-year  comparisons  to  predict  our  future  financial  performance. 
Unfavorable changes in any of the above factors may seriously harm our business and cause our stock price to decline 
and be volatile. 

Our business has been and may continue to be significantly impacted by the deterioration in worldwide economic 
conditions and uncertainty in the outlook for the global economy makes it more likely that our actual results will 
differ materially from expectations. 

Global  credit  and  financial  markets  have  experienced  disruptions,  and  may  continue  to  experience  disruptions  in  the 
future,  including  diminished  liquidity  and  credit  availability,  declines  in  consumer  confidence,  declines  in  economic 
growth,  increases  in  unemployment  rates,  and  continued  uncertainty  about  economic  stability.  These  economic 
uncertainties affect businesses such as ours in a number of ways, making it difficult to accurately forecast and plan our 
future  business  activities.  The  continued  or  further  tightening  of  credit  in  financial  markets  may  lead  consumers  and 
businesses to postpone spending, which may cause our customers to cancel, decrease or delay their existing and future 
orders  with  us.  In  addition,  financial  difficulties  experienced  by  our  suppliers  or  distributors  could  result  in  product 
delays, increased accounts receivable defaults and inventory challenges. The volatility in the credit markets has severely 
diminished  liquidity  and  capital  availability.  Demand  for  consumer  electronics  is  a  function  of  the  health  of  the 
economies in the United States, Japan and around the world. As a result of the recent global recession experienced by the 
U.S.  and  other  economies  around  the  world,  as  well  as  the  European  sovereign  debt  crisis,  the  overall  demand  for 
electronics has been and may continue to be adversely affected. We cannot predict the timing, strength or duration of any 
economic  disruption  or  subsequent  economic  recovery,  worldwide,  in  the  United  States,  in  our  industry,  or  in  the 
consumer electronics market. These and other economic factors have had and may continue to have a material adverse 
effect on demand for our products and on our financial condition and operating results. 

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We may not be profitable on a quarterly or annual basis. 

Our profitability is dependent on many factors, including: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

our sales, which because of our turns business (i.e., orders received and shipped within the same fiscal quarter),
is difficult to accurately forecast; 

consumer electronic sales, which has experienced and may continue to experience a downturn as a result of the
worldwide economic crisis; 

changes in revenue mix between OEM’s, ODM’s, distributors and value-added resellers; 

changes in product mix; 

changes  in  revenue  mix  between  end  market  segments  (i.e.  Communication,  Computing,  Consumer  and
Industrial); 

our competition, which could adversely impact our selling prices and our potential sales; 

our manufacturing costs, including our ability to negotiate with our vendors and our ability to efficiently run
our test facility in China; 

•  manufacturing capacity constraints; 

• 

• 

determining the probability and magnitude of stock compensation accounting charges; and 

our operating expenses, including general and administrative expenses, selling and marketing expenses, stock-
based compensation expenses, litigation expenses, and research and development expenses relating to products
that will not be introduced and will not generate revenue until later periods, if at all. 

We  may  not  achieve profitability  on  a  quarterly  or  annual  basis  in  the future.  Unfavorable  changes  in  our operations, 
including any of the factors noted above, may have a material adverse effect on our quarterly or annual profitability. 

For  example,  due  to  product  shortages  early  in  2010,  several  major  customers  in  Korea  sought  alternative  suppliers, 
which impacted our revenue particularly in 2011 and may continue to impact our revenue in future periods. If we are 
unable to find alternative sources of revenue to offset this lost revenue, our profitability may be impacted, which could 
materially and adversely affect our stock price and results of operations. 

We may not experience growth rates comparable to past years. 

In the past, our revenues increased significantly in certain years due to increased sales of certain of our products. Due to 
various factors, including increased competition, loss of certain of our customer install base, unfavorable changes in our 
operations,  reduced  global  electronics  demand,  end-customer  market  downturn,  market  acceptance  and  penetration  of 
our current and future products and ongoing litigation, we may not experience growth rates comparable to past periods, 
which could materially and adversely affect our stock price and results of operations. 

We may be unsuccessful in developing and selling new products with margins similar to or better than what we 
have experienced in the past, which would impact our overall gross margin and financial performance. 

Our  success  depends  on  products  that  are  differentiated  in  the  market,  which  result  in  gross  margins  that  have 
historically been above the industry averages. During the year ended December 31, 2011, our gross margin decreased 
materially  as  compared  to  the  same  period  in  2010.  Should  we  fail  to  improve  our  gross  margin  in  the  future,  and 
accordingly develop and introduce sufficiently differentiated products that result in higher gross margins than industry 
averages, our financial condition could be materially adversely affected.  

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The  highly  cyclical  nature  of  the  semiconductor  industry,  which  has  produced  significant  and  sometimes 
prolonged downturns, could materially adversely affect our operating results, financial condition and cash flows. 

Historically,  the  semiconductor  industry  has  been  highly  cyclical  and,  at  various  times,  in  particular  since  2008,  has 
experienced  significant  downturns  and  wide  fluctuations  in  supply  and  demand.  These  conditions  have  caused 
significant variances in product demand and production capacity, as well as rapid erosion of average selling prices. The 
industry may experience severe or prolonged downturns in the future, which could result in downward pressure on the 
price of our products as well as lower demand for our products. Because significant portions of our expenses are fixed in 
the  short  term  or  incurred  in  advance  of  anticipated  sales,  we  may  not  be  able  to  decrease  our  expenses  in  a  timely 
manner  to  offset  any  sales  shortfall.  These  conditions  could  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our  operating  results, 
financial condition and cash flows. 

If demand for our products declines in the major end markets that we serve, our revenue will decrease and our 
results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected. 

We believe that the application of our products in the computer, consumer electronics, communications and industrial 
markets will continue to account for the majority of our revenue. If the demand for our products declines in the major 
end  markets  that  we  serve,  our  revenue  will  decrease  and  our  results  of  operations  and  financial  condition  would  be 
materially and adversely affected. In addition, as technology evolves, the ability to integrate the functionalities of various 
components, including our discrete semiconductor products, onto a single chip and/or onto other components of systems 
containing our products increases. Should our customers require integrated solutions that we do not offer, demand for 
our products could decrease, and our business and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected. 

We  may  be  unsuccessful  in  developing  and  selling  new  products  or  in  penetrating  new  markets  required  to 
maintain or expand our business. 

Our competitiveness and future success depend on our ability to design, develop, manufacture, assemble, test, market, 
and support new products and enhancements on a timely and cost-effective basis. A fundamental shift in technologies in 
any of our product markets could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position within these markets. Our 
failure to timely develop new technologies or to react quickly to changes in existing technologies could materially delay 
our  development  of  new  products,  which  could  result  in  product  obsolescence,  decreased  revenue,  and/or  a  loss  of 
market share to competitors. 

As we develop new product lines, we must adapt to market conditions that are unfamiliar to us, such as competitors and 
distribution channels that are different from those we have known in the past. Some of our new product lines require us 
to re-equip our labs to test parameters we have not tested in the past. If we are unable to adapt rapidly to these new and 
additional conditions, we may not be able to successfully penetrate new markets. 

The  success  of  a  new  product  depends  on  accurate  forecasts  of  long-term  market  demand  and  future  technological 
developments, as well as on a variety of specific implementation factors, including: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

timely and efficient completion of process design and device structure improvements; 

timely and efficient implementation of manufacturing, assembly, and test processes; 

the ability to secure and effectively utilize fabrication capacity in different geometries; 

product performance; 

product availability; 

the quality and reliability of the product; and 

effective marketing, sales and service. 

To  the  extent  that  we  fail  to  timely  introduce  new  products  or  to  quickly  penetrate  new  markets,  our  revenue  and 
financial condition could be materially adversely affected. 

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We derive most of our revenue from direct or indirect sales to customers in Asia and have significant operations 
in Asia, which may expose us to political, cultural, regulatory, economic, foreign exchange, and operational risks. 

We  derive  most  of  our  revenue  from  customers  located  in  Asia  through  direct  or  indirect  sales  through  distribution 
arrangements and value-added reseller agreements with parties located in Asia. As a result, we are subject to increased 
risks  due  to  this  geographic  concentration  of  business  and  operations.  For  the  year  ended  December  31,  2012, 
approximately 89% of our revenue was from customers in Asia. There are risks inherent in doing business in Asia, and 
internationally in general, including: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

changes in, or impositions of, legislative or regulatory requirements, including tax laws in the United States and
in the countries in which we manufacture or sell our products; 

trade  restrictions,  including  restrictions  imposed  by  the  United  States  government  on  trading  with  parties  in
foreign countries; 

currency exchange rate fluctuations impacting intra-company transactions; 

transportation delays; 

changes in tax regulations in China that may impact our tax status in Chengdu; 

•  multi-tiered distribution channels that lack visibility to end customer pricing and purchase patterns; 

• 

• 

• 

international political relationships and threats of war; 

terrorism and threats of terrorism; 

epidemics and illnesses; 

•  work stoppages and infrastructure problems due to adverse weather conditions or natural disasters; 

•  work stoppages related to employee dissatisfaction; 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

economic, social and political instability; 

changes in import/export regulations, tariffs, and freight rates; 

longer accounts receivable collection cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivables; 

enforcing contracts generally; and 

less effective protection of intellectual property and contractual arrangements. 

If we fail to expand our customer base and significantly reduce the geographical concentration of our customers, we will 
continue  to  be  subject  to  the  foregoing  risks,  which  could  materially  and  adversely  affect  our  revenue  and  financial 
condition. 

We depend on a limited number of customers for a significant percentage of our revenues. 

Historically, we have generated most of our revenues from a limited number of customers. For example, as a result of 
consolidations in  recent  years  among  distributors,  sales  to  our  largest  distributor  accounted  for  approximately  32% of 
revenue  in  2012,  27%  of  revenue  in  2011  and  21%  of  revenue  in  2010. We  continue  to  rely  on  a  limited  number  of 
customers  for  a  significant  portion  of  our  revenue.  Because  we  rely  on  a  limited  number  of  customers  for  significant 
percentages  of  our  revenues,  a  decrease  in  demand  for  our  products  from  any  of  our  major  customers  for  any  reason 
(including  due  to  market  conditions,  catastrophic  events  or  otherwise)  could  have  a  materially  adverse  impact  on  our 
financial conditions and results of operations. 

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We  are  subject  to  anti-corruption  laws  in  the  jurisdictions  in  which  we  operate,  including  the  U.S.  Foreign 
Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA. Our failure to comply with these laws could result in penalties which could 
harm  our  reputation  and  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our  business,  results  of  operations  and  financial 
condition. 

We  are  subject  to  the  FCPA,  which  generally  prohibits  companies  and  their  intermediaries  from  making  improper 
payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business and/or other benefits, along with various 
other  anticorruption  laws.  Although  we  have  implemented  policies  and  procedures  designed  to  ensure  that  we,  our 
employees and other intermediaries comply with the FCPA and other anticorruption laws to which we are subject, there 
is no assurance that such policies or procedures will work effectively all of the time or protect us against liability under 
the FCPA or other laws for actions taken by our employees and other intermediaries with respect to our business or any 
businesses that we may acquire. We have significant operations in Asia, which places us in frequent contact with persons 
who may be considered “foreign officials” under the FCPA, resulting in an elevated risk of potential FCPA violations. If 
we  are  not  in  compliance  with  the  FCPA  and  other  laws  governing  the  conduct  of  business  with  government  entities 
(including local laws), we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties and other remedial measures, which could have 
an  adverse  impact  on  our  business,  financial  condition,  results  of  operations  and  liquidity.  Any  investigation  of  any 
potential violations of the FCPA or other anticorruption laws by U.S. or foreign authorities could harm our reputation 
and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. 

We receive a significant portion of our revenue from distribution arrangements, value-added resellers and direct 
customers,  and  the  loss  of  any  one  of  these  distributors,  value-added  resellers  or  direct  customers  or  failure  to 
collect a receivable from them could adversely affect our operations and financial position. 

We  market our products  through distribution  arrangements  and value-added  resellers  and  through our direct  sales  and 
applications  support  organization  to  customers  that  include  OEMs,  ODMs  and  electronic  manufacturing  service 
providers. Receivables from our customers are generally not secured by any type of collateral and are subject to the risk 
of being uncollectible. As a result of consolidations in recent years among distributors, sales to our largest distributor 
accounted for approximately 32% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012. Significant deterioration 
in the liquidity or financial condition of any of our major customers or any group of our customers could have a material 
adverse impact on the collectability of our accounts receivable and our future operating results. We primarily conduct 
our sales on a purchase order basis, and we do not have any long-term supply contracts. 

Moreover,  we  believe  a  high  percentage  of  our  products  are  eventually  sold  to  a  number  of  OEMs.  Although  we 
communicate  with  OEMs  in  an  attempt  to  achieve  “design  wins,”  which  are  decisions  by  OEMs  and/or  ODMs  to 
incorporate  our  products,  we  do  not  have  purchase  commitments  from  these  end  users.  Therefore,  there  can  be  no 
assurance  that  the  OEMs  and/or  ODMs  will  continue  to  incorporate  our  ICs  into  their  products.  OEM  technical 
specifications and requirements can change rapidly, and we may not have products that fit new specifications from an 
end-customer for whom we have had previous design wins. We cannot be certain that we will continue to achieve design 
wins from large OEMs, that our direct customers will continue to be successful in selling to the OEMs, or that the OEMs 
will  be  successful  in  selling  products  which  incorporate  our  ICs.  The  loss  of  any  significant  customer,  any  material 
reduction  in  orders  by  any  of  our  significant  customers  or  by  their  OEM  customers,  the  cancellation  of  a  significant 
customer order, or the cancellation or delay of a customer’s or OEM’s significant program or product could reduce our 
revenue and adversely affect our operations and financial condition.  

Due to the nature of our business as a component supplier, we may have difficulty both in accurately predicting 
our future revenue and appropriately managing our expenses. 

Because we provide components for end products and systems, demand for our products is influenced by our customers’ 
end  product  demand.  As  a  result,  we  may  have  difficulty  in  accurately  forecasting  our  revenue  and  expenses.  Our 
revenue depends on the timing, size, and speed of commercial introductions of end products and systems that incorporate 
our products, all of which are inherently difficult to forecast, as well as the ongoing demand for previously introduced 
end products and systems. In addition, demand for our products is influenced by our customers’ ability to manage their 
inventory. Our sales to distributors are subject to higher volatility because they service demand from multiple levels of 
the  supply  chain  which,  in  itself,  is  inherently  difficult  to  forecast.  If  our  customers,  including  distributors,  do  not 
manage their inventory correctly or misjudge their customers’ demand, our shipments to and orders from our customers 
may vary significantly on a quarterly basis. 

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Our  ability  to  increase  product  sales  and  revenues may  be constrained  by  the  manufacturing  capacity  of  our 
suppliers. 

Although we provide our suppliers with rolling forecasts of our production requirements, their ability to provide wafers 
to us is limited by the available capacity, particularly capacity in the geometries we require, at the facilities in which they 
manufacture wafers for us.  As a result, this lack of capacity has at times, such as in 2010, constrained our product sales 
and  revenue  growth.  In  addition,  an  increased  need  for  capacity  to  meet  internal  demands  or  demands  of  other 
customers could cause our suppliers to reduce capacity available to us. Our suppliers may also require us to pay amounts 
in excess of contracted or anticipated amounts for wafer deliveries or require us to make other concessions in order to 
acquire the wafer supply necessary to meet our customer requirements. If our suppliers extend lead times, limit supplies 
or the types of capacity we require, or increase prices due to capacity constraints or other factors, our revenue and gross 
margin  may  materially  decline.  In  addition,  if  we  experience  supply  delays  or  limitations,  our  customers  may  reduce 
their  purchase  levels  with  us  and/or  seek  alternative  solutions  to  meet  their  demand,  which  could  materially  and 
adversely impact our business and results of operations. 

For  example,  due  to  lack  of  capacity,  which  resulted  in  product  shortages  in  2010,  several  major  customers  in  Korea 
sought alternative suppliers, which impacted our revenue in 2011 and 2012 and may continue to impact our revenue in 
future  periods.  If  we  are  faced  with  capacity  issues  similar  to  what  we  experienced  in  2010,  our  product  sales  and 
revenue may be further impacted, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. 

We  currently  depend  on  three  third-party  suppliers  to  provide  us  with  wafers  for  our  products.  If  any  of  our 
wafer  suppliers  become  insolvent  or  capacity  constrained  and  are  unable  and/or  fail  to  provide  us  sufficient 
wafers at acceptable yields and at anticipated costs, our revenue and gross margin may decline or we may not be 
able to fulfill our customer orders. 

We have a supply arrangement with three suppliers for the production of wafers. Should any of our suppliers become 
insolvent or capacity constrained, we may not be able to fulfill our customer orders, which would likely cause a decline 
in our revenue. 

While certain aspects of our relationship with these suppliers are contractual, many important aspects of this relationship 
depend on our suppliers’ continued cooperation and our management relationships. In addition, the fabrication of ICs is 
a highly complex and precise process. Problems in the fabrication process can cause a substantial percentage of wafers to 
be rejected or numerous ICs on each wafer to be non-functional. This could potentially reduce yields. The failure of our 
suppliers to supply us wafers at acceptable yields could prevent us from fulfilling our customer orders for our products 
and would likely cause a decline in our revenue. 

Further, as is common in the semiconductor industry, our customers may reschedule or cancel orders on relatively short 
notice. Under our agreement with our suppliers, we have an option to order wafers based on a committed forecast that 
can  cover  a  period  of  one  to  six  months.  If  our  customers  cancel  orders  after  we  submit  a  committed  forecast  to  our 
suppliers for the corresponding wafers, we may be required to purchase wafers that we may not be able to resell, which 
would adversely affect our operating results, financial condition, and cash flows. 

We  might  not  be able to  deliver  our  products  on a timely basis  if our  relationships  with our assembly and  test 
subcontractors are disrupted or terminated. 

All of our products are assembled by third-party subcontractors and a portion of our testing is currently performed by 
third-party subcontractors. We do not have any long-term agreements with these subcontractors. As a result, we may not 
have direct control over product delivery schedules or product quality. Also, due to the amount of time typically required 
to  qualify  assembly  and  test  subcontractors,  we  could  experience  delays  in  the  shipment  of  our  products  if  we  were 
forced  to  find  alternate  third  parties  to  assemble  or  test  our  products.  In  addition,  events  such  as  the  recent  global 
economic crisis may materially impact our assembly supplier’s ability to operate. Any future product delivery delays or 
disruptions  in  our  relationships  with  our  subcontractors  could  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our  operating  results, 
financial condition, and cash flows.  

14 

 
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
There  may  be  unanticipated  costs  associated  with  adding  to  or  supplementing  our  third-party  supplier’s 
manufacturing capacity. 

We anticipate that future growth of our business will require increased manufacturing capacity on the part of third-party 
supply foundries, assembly shops, or testing facilities for our products.  In order to facilitate such growth, we may need 
to  enter  into  strategic  transactions,  investments  and  other  activities.  Such  activities  are  subject  to  a  number  of  risks, 
including: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the costs and expense associated with such activities; 

the availability of modern foundries to be developed, acquired, leased or otherwise made available to us or our 
third-party suppliers; 

the ability of foundries and our third-party suppliers to obtain the advanced equipment used in the production of
our products; 

delays in bringing new foundry operations online to meet increased product demand; and 

unforeseen  environmental,  engineering  or  manufacturing  qualification  problems  relating  to  existing  or  new
foundry facilities. 

These and other risks may affect the ultimate cost and timing of any expansion of our third-party supplier’s capacity. 

We purchase inventory in advance based on expected demand for our products, and if demand is not as expected, 
we may have insufficient or excess inventory, which could adversely impact our financial position. 

As a fabless semiconductor company, we purchase our inventory from a third party manufacturer in advance of selling 
our  product.  We  place  orders  with  our  manufacturer  based  on  existing  and  expected  orders  from  our  customers  for 
particular  products.  While  our  contracts  with  our  customers  and  distributors  include  lead  time  requirements  and 
cancellation penalties that are designed to protect us from misalignment between customer orders and inventory levels, 
we  must  nonetheless  make  some  predictions  when  we  place  orders  with  our  manufacturer.  In  the  event  that  our 
predictions are inaccurate due to unexpected increases in orders or unavailability of product within the time frame that is 
required, we may have insufficient inventory to meet our customer demands. In the event that we order products that we 
are  unable  to  sell  due  to  a  decrease  in  orders,  unexpected  order  cancellations,  injunctions  due  to  patent  litigations,  or 
product  returns,  we  may  have  excess  inventory  which,  if  not  sold,  may  need  to  be  disposed  of  or  would  result  in  a 
decrease in our revenues in future periods as the excess inventory at our distributors is sold. If any of these situations 
were to arise, it could have a material impact on our business and financial position. 

The outcome of currently ongoing and future examinations of our income tax returns by the IRS could have a 
material adverse effect on our results of operations. 

We are subject to examination of our income tax returns by the IRS and other tax authorities.  Our U.S. Federal income 
tax returns for the years ended December 31, 2005 through December 31, 2007 are under examination by the IRS. In 
April  2011,  we  received  from  the  IRS  a  Notice  of  Proposed  Adjustment,  or  “NOPA”,  relating  to  a  cost-sharing 
agreement  entered  into  by  the  Company  and  its  international  subsidiaries  on  January  1,  2004.  In  the  NOPA,  the  IRS 
objected  to  the  Company’s  allocation  of  certain  litigation  expenses  between  the  Company  and  our  international 
subsidiaries and the amount of “buy-in payments” made by our international subsidiaries to the Company in connection 
with  the  cost-sharing  agreement,  and  proposed  to  increase  our  U.S.  taxable  income  according  to  a  few  alternative 
methodologies. The methodology resulting in the largest potential adjustment, if the IRS were to prevail on all matters in 
dispute,  would  result  in  potential  federal  and  state  income  tax  liabilities  of  up  to  $37.0  million,  plus  interest  and 
penalties, if any. We believe that the IRS's position in the NOPA is incorrect and that our tax returns for those years were 
correct  as  filed.  We  are  contesting  these  proposed  adjustments  vigorously.  In  February  2012,  we  received  a  revised 
NOPA from the IRS (Revised NOPA).  In this Revised NOPA, the IRS raised the same issues as in the NOPA issued in 
April  2011  but  under  a  different  methodology.  Under  the  Revised  NOPA,  the  largest  potential  federal  income  tax 
adjustment,  if  the  IRS  were  to  prevail  on  all  matters  in  dispute,  has  decreased  to  $10.5  million,  plus  interest  and 
penalties, if any.  We responded to the IRS Revised NOPA in May 2012, but have not yet received a response from the 
IRS. 

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The IRS also audited the research and development credits carried forward into year 2005 and the credits generated in 
the years 2005 through 2007. We received a NOPA from the IRS in February 2011, proposing to reduce the research and 
development credits generated in year 2005 through 2007 and the carryforwards, which would then reduce the value of 
such credits carried forward to subsequent tax years.  

We have reviewed and responded to the above proposed adjustments. We regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse 
outcome resulting from such examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. As of December 
31, 2012, based on the technical merits of our tax return filing positions, we believe that it is more-likely-than-not that 
the benefit of such positions will be sustained upon the resolution of our audits resulting in no significant impact on our 
consolidated financial position and the results of operations and cash flows.  

The French subsidiary of the Company is currently under audit for taxable years 2009 and 2010. The Company is in the 
process of responding to the questions raised by the tax authority. We do not believe the resolution of the audits will 
result  in  a  significant  impact  on  our  consolidated  financial  position,  results  of  operations  and  cash  flows.  Aside  from 
U.S. and France, there are no other income tax audits in process in any other material jurisdiction. 

Changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income tax returns could 
adversely affect our results. 

Our future effective tax rates could be adversely affected by earnings being lower than anticipated in countries where we 
have lower statutory rates and higher than anticipated in countries where we have higher statutory rates, by changes in 
the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or by changes in tax laws, regulations, accounting principles or 
interpretations thereof  and  discrete  items  such  as  future  exercises  or  dispositions  of  stock options  and  restricted  stock 
releases. In addition, we are subject to the continuous examination of our income tax returns by the Internal Revenue 
Service  and  other  tax  authorities.  We  regularly  assess  the  likelihood  of  adverse  outcomes  resulting  from  these 
examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. There can be no assurance that the outcomes 
from these continuous examinations will not have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. 

The  complexity  of  calculating  our  tax  provision  may  result  in  errors  that  could  result  in  restatements  of  our 
financial statements. 

Due to the complexity associated with the calculation of our tax provision, we have hired independent tax advisors to 
assist us in the calculation. If we or our independent tax advisors fail to resolve or fully understand certain issues that we 
may have had in the past and issues that may arise in the future, we could be subject to errors, which would result in us 
having  to  restate  our  financial  statements.  For  example,  because  of  the  complexity  of  our  tax  structure,  we  have  had 
errors in our financial statements in the calculation of our tax provision that previously resulted in restatements of our 
prior  year  financial  results.  Restatements  are  generally  costly  and  could  adversely  impact  our  results  of  operations 
and/or have a negative impact on the trading price of our common stock.  

If we are unsuccessful in legal proceedings brought against us or any of our competitors, we could be prevented 
from selling many of our products and/or be required to pay substantial damages. An unfavorable outcome or an 
additional award of damages, attorneys’ fees or an injunction could cause our revenue to decline significantly and 
could severely harm our business and operating results. 

From time to time we are party to various legal proceedings. If we are not successful in litigation that could be brought 
against us or our customers, we could be ordered to pay monetary fines and/or damages. If we are found liable for willful 
patent infringement, damages could be doubled or tripled. We and/or our customers could also be prevented from selling 
some or all of our products. Moreover, our customers and end-users could decide not to use our products or our products 
or  our  customers’  accounts  payable  to  us  could  be  seized.  Finally,  interim  developments  in  these  proceedings  could 
increase the volatility in our stock price as the market assesses the impact of such developments on the likelihood that 
we will or will not ultimately prevail in these proceedings. 

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Given our inability to control the timing and nature of significant events in our legal proceedings that either have 
arisen  or  may  arise,  our  legal  expenses  are  difficult  to  forecast  and  may  vary  substantially  from  our  publicly-
disclosed forecasts with respect to any given quarter, which could contribute to increased volatility in our stock 
price and financial condition. 

Historically, we have incurred significant expenses in connection with various legal proceedings that vary with the level 
of activity in the proceeding. It is difficult for us to forecast our legal expenses for any given quarter, which adversely 
affects our ability to forecast our expected results of operations in general. We may also be subject to unanticipated legal 
proceedings, which would result in our incurrence of unexpected legal expenses. If we fail to meet the expectations of 
securities or industry analysts as a result of unexpected changes in our legal expenses, our stock price could be impacted. 

Future legal proceedings may divert our financial and management resources. 

The semiconductor industry is characterized by frequent claims of infringement and litigation regarding patent and other 
intellectual property rights. Patent infringement is an ongoing risk, in part because other companies in our industry could 
have  patent  rights  that  may  not  be  identifiable  when  we  initiate  development  efforts.  Litigation  may  be  necessary  to 
enforce  our  intellectual  property  rights,  and  we  may  have  to  defend  ourselves  against  additional  infringement  claims. 
Such litigation is very costly. In the event any third party makes a new infringement claim against us or our customers, 
we could incur additional ongoing legal expenses. In addition, in connection with these legal proceedings, we may be 
required to post bonds to defend our intellectual property rights in certain countries for an indefinite period of time, until 
such dispute is resolved. If our legal expenses materially increase or exceed anticipated amounts, our capital resources 
and  financial  condition  be  adversely  affected.  Further,  if  we  are  not  successful  in  any  of  our  intellectual  property 
defenses,  our  financial  condition  could  be  adversely  affected  and  our  business  could  be  harmed.  In  addition,  our 
management  team  may  also  be  required  to  devote  a  great  deal  of  time,  effort  and  energy  to  these  legal  proceedings, 
which could distract management’s focus on our operations and adversely affect our business. 

We will continue to vigorously defend and enforce our intellectual property rights around the world, especially as 
it relates to patent litigation. 

From time to time, we are faced with having to defend our intellectual property rights throughout the world. Should we 
become engaged in such proceedings, it could divert management’s attention from focusing on and implementing our 
business  strategy.  Further,  should  we  not  be  successful  in  any  of  our  intellectual  property  enforcement  actions,  our 
revenue may be affected and our business could be harmed. 

Failure to protect our proprietary technologies or maintain the right to certain technologies may negatively affect 
our ability to compete. 

We rely heavily on our proprietary technologies. Our future success and competitive position depend in part upon our 
ability to obtain and maintain protection of certain proprietary technologies used in our products. We pursue patents for 
some of our new products and unique technologies, and we also rely on a combination of nondisclosure agreements and 
other  contractual  provisions,  as  well  as  our  employees’  commitment  to  confidentiality  and  loyalty,  to  protect  our 
technology, know-how, and processes. Despite the precautions we take, it may be possible for unauthorized third parties 
to  copy  aspects  of  our  current  or  future  technology  or  products  or  to  obtain  and  use  information  that  we  regard  as 
proprietary. We intend to continue to protect our proprietary technology, including through patents. However, there can 
be no assurance that the steps we take will be adequate to protect our proprietary rights, that our patent applications will 
lead  to  issued  patents,  that  others  will  not  develop  or  patent  similar  or  superior  products  or  technologies,  or  that  our 
patents will not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by others. Furthermore, the laws of the countries in which 
our  products  are  or  may  be  developed,  manufactured,  or  sold  may  not  protect  our  products  and  intellectual  property 
rights  to  the  same  extent  as  laws  in  the  United  States.  Our  failure  to  adequately  protect  our  proprietary  technologies 
could harm our business.  

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The  downgrade  of  the  credit  rating  for  U.S.  long-term  sovereign  debt  and  that  of  certain  Eurozone  countries 
could  affect  global  and  domestic  financial  markets,  which  may  affect  our  business,  financial  condition  and 
liquidity. 

Although a downgrade of long-term sovereign credit ratings is not unprecedented, a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating 
is, and the potential impact is uncertain. Management will continue to monitor the situation and there could be future 
changes in capital requirements or a rebalancing of investment portfolios in response to management’s assessment of the 
related risk weightings. At this time, however, U.S. treasuries continue to trade in active markets, and the yield curve on 
U.S. treasuries remains an appropriate basis for determining risk-free rates. 

Should there be a deterioration of the global and financial markets as a result of the downgraded credit rating for U.S. 
long-term sovereign debt, and that of certain Eurozone countries, our business, financial condition and liquidity could be 
adversely affected. 

The market for government-backed student loan auction-rate securities has suffered a decline in liquidity which 
may impact the liquidity and potential value of our investment portfolio. 

The  market  for  government-backed  student  loan  auction-rate  securities  with  interest  rates  that  reset  through  a  Dutch 
auction every 7 to 35 days, became illiquid in 2008. We experienced our first failed auction in mid-February 2008. At 
December  31,  2012, the  Company’s investment  portfolio included  $11.8  million,  net  of  impairment  charges  of  $0.5 
million, in government-backed student loan auction-rate securities. As of that date, $12.3 million, the face value of our 
auction-rate  security  investments,  have  failed  to  reset  through  successful  auctions  and  it  is  unclear  as  to  when  these 
investments will regain their liquidity. The underlying maturity of these auction-rate securities is up to 35 years.  

Based on certain assumptions described in Note 2, “Fair Value Measurements”, to our consolidated financial statements 
and  the  Liquidity  and  Capital  Resources  section  of  “Item  7,  Management’s  Discussion  and  Analysis  of  Financial 
Condition  and  Results  of  Operations”  of  this  annual  report  on  Form  10-K,  we  recorded  temporary  and  other-than-
temporary  impairment  charges  on  these  investments.  The  valuation  is  subject  to  fluctuations  in  the  future,  which  will 
depend on many factors, including the quality of underlying collateral, estimated time for liquidity including potential to 
be called or restructured, underlying final maturity, insurance guaranty and market conditions, among others. 

Should  there  be  further  deterioration  in  the  market  for  auction-rate  securities,  the  value  of  our  portfolio  may  decline, 
which  may  have  an  adverse  impact  on  our  cash  position  and  our  earnings. If  the  accounting  rules  for  these  securities 
change, there may be an adverse impact on our earnings. It is unlikely that we will be able to liquidate our auction-rate 
securities in the short term. 

We face risks in connection with our internal control over financial reporting. 

Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable and accurate financial reports. 
If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud or other financial misconduct, our business and operating 
results could be harmed. Our failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could 
result in a material misstatement of our financial statements or otherwise cause us to fail to meet our financial reporting 
obligations. This, in turn, could result in a loss of investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial 
reports, which  could have  an  adverse  effect  on our results  of operations and/or  have  a negative  impact  on  the  trading 
price of our common stock, and could subject us to stockholder litigation. For example, because of the complexity of our 
tax  structure,  we  have  had  errors  in  our  financial  statements  in  the  calculation  of  our  tax  provision  that  previously 
resulted in restatements of our prior year financial results. Although we believe that we have implemented appropriate 
internal control over financial reporting related to the computation of our income tax provision, we cannot be certain that 
any  measures  we  have  taken  or  may  take  in  the  future  will  ensure  that  we  implement  and  maintain  adequate  internal 
control over financial reporting and that we will avoid any material weakness in the future. In addition, we cannot assure 
you that we will not in the future identify further material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that 
we have not discovered to date, which may impact the reliability of our financial reporting and financial statements. 

18 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
Our products must meet exacting specifications, and undetected defects and failures may occur, which may cause 
customers to return or stop buying our products and may expose us to product liability risk. 

Our  customers  generally  establish  demanding  specifications  for  quality,  performance,  and  reliability  that  our  products 
must  meet.  Integrated  circuits  as  complex  as  ours  often  encounter  development  delays  and  may  contain  undetected 
defects or failures when first introduced or after commencement of commercial shipments, which might require product 
replacement or recall. Further, our third-party manufacturing processes or changes thereof, or raw material used in the 
manufacturing  processes  may  cause  our  products  to  fail.  We  have  from  time  to  time  in  the  past  experienced  product 
quality, performance or reliability problems. Our standard warranty period is one year, which exposes the company to 
significant risks of claims for defects and failures. If defects and failures occur in our products, we could experience lost 
revenue,  increased  costs,  including  warranty  expense  and  costs  associated  with  customer  support,  delays  in, 
cancellations  or  rescheduling  of  orders  or  shipments,  and  product  returns  or  discounts,  any  of  which  would  harm  our 
operating results. 

In addition, product liability claims may be asserted with respect to our technology or products. Although we currently 
have insurance, there can be no assurance that we have obtained a sufficient amount of insurance coverage, that asserted 
claims  will  be  within  the  scope  of  coverage  of  the  insurance,  or  that  we  will  have  sufficient  resources  to  satisfy  any 
asserted claims. 

The  price  and  availability  of  commodities  (e.g.,  gold,  platinum,  copper  and  silicon)  may  adversely  impact  our 
ability to deliver our products in a timely and cost-effective manner and may adversely affect our business and 
results of operations. 

Our products incorporate commodities such as gold, platinum, copper and silicon. An increase in the price or a decrease 
in the availability of these commodities and other like commodities that we use could negatively impact our business and 
results of operations. 

Devaluation of the U.S. Dollar relative to other foreign currencies, including the renminbi, may adversely affect 
results of operations. 

Our manufacturing and packaging suppliers are and will continue to be primarily located in China for the foreseeable 
future.  Should  the  value  of  the  renminbi  continue  to  rise  against  the  U.S. Dollar,  there  could  be  an  increase  in  our 
manufacturing costs relative to competitors who have manufacturing facilities located in the U.S., which could adversely 
affect  our  operations.  In  addition,  because  we  collect  payments  from  all  customers  in  U.S.  dollars,  fluctuations  in  the 
value of foreign currencies could have an adverse impact on our customers’ business, which could negatively impact our 
business and results of operations. 

We and our manufacturing partners are or will be subject to extensive Chinese government regulation, and the 
benefit of various incentives from Chinese governments that we and our manufacturing partners receive may be 
reduced or eliminated, which could increase our costs or limit our ability to sell products and conduct activities in 
China. 

Most of our manufacturing partners are located in China. In addition, we have established a facility in China, initially for 
the testing of our ICs. The Chinese government has broad discretion and authority to regulate the technology industry in 
China. China’s government has implemented policies from time to time to regulate economic expansion in China. It also 
exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of 
foreign  currency-denominated  obligations,  setting  monetary  policy  and  providing  preferential  treatment  to  particular 
industries  or  companies.  New  regulations  or  the  readjustment  of  previously  implemented  regulations  could  require  us 
and our manufacturing partners to change our business plans, increase our costs, or limit our ability to sell products and 
conduct activities in China, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. 

In  addition,  the  Chinese  government  and  provincial  and  local  governments  have  provided,  and  continue  to  provide, 
various  incentives  to  encourage  the  development  of  the  semiconductor  industry  in  China.  Such  incentives  include  tax 
rebates, reduced tax rates, favorable lending policies, and other measures, some or all of which may be available to our 
manufacturing  partners  and  to  us  with  respect  to  our  facility  in  China.  Any  of  these  incentives  could  be  reduced  or 
eliminated by governmental authorities at any time. Any such reduction or elimination of incentives currently provided 
to our manufacturing partners could adversely affect our business and operating results. 

19 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
There  are  inherent  risks  associated  with  the  operation  of  our  testing  facility  in  China,  which  could  increase 
product costs or cause a delay in product shipments. 

We have a testing facility in China that began operations in 2006. In addition to the risks discussed elsewhere in this 
annual report on Form 10-K, we face the following risks, among others, with respect to our testing facility in China: 

• 

• 

• 

inability to hire and maintain a qualified workforce; 

inability to maintain appropriate and acceptable manufacturing controls; and. 

higher than anticipated overhead and other costs of operation. 

If we are unable to maintain our testing facility in China at fully operational status with qualified workers, appropriate 
manufacturing  controls  and  reasonable  cost  levels,  we  may  incur  higher  costs  than  our  current  expense  levels,  which 
would affect our gross margins. In addition, if capacity restraints result in significant delays in product shipments, our 
business and results of operations would be adversely affected. 

The average selling prices of products in our markets have historically decreased over time and will likely do so in 
the future, which could harm our revenues and gross profits. 

Average  selling  prices  of  semiconductor  products  in  the  markets  we  serve  have  historically  decreased  over  time.  Our 
gross profits and financial results will suffer if we are unable to offset any reductions in our average selling prices by 
reducing our costs, developing new or enhanced products on a timely basis with higher selling prices or gross profits, or 
increasing our sales volumes. Additionally, because we do not operate our own manufacturing or assembly facilities, we 
may not be able to reduce our costs as rapidly as companies that operate their own facilities, and our costs may even 
increase, which could also reduce our margins.  

Because of the lengthy sales cycles for our products and the fixed nature of a significant portion of our expenses, 
we  may  incur  substantial  expenses  before  we  earn  associated  revenue  and  may  not  ultimately  achieve  our 
forecasted sales for our products. 

The  introduction  of  new  products  presents  significant  business  challenges  because  product  development  plans  and 
expenditures  must  be  made  up  to  two  years  or  more  in  advance  of  any  sales.  It  takes  us  up  to  12  months  or  more  to 
design  and  manufacture  a  new  product  prototype.  Only  after  we  have  a  prototype  do  we  introduce  the  product  to  the 
market and begin selling efforts in an attempt to achieve design wins. This sales process requires us to expend significant 
sales and marketing resources without any assurance of success. Volume production of products that use our ICs, if any, 
may not be achieved for an additional period of time after an initial sale. Sales cycles for our products are lengthy for a 
number of reasons, including: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

our customers usually complete an in-depth technical evaluation of our products before they place a purchase 
order; 

the commercial adoption of our products by OEMs and ODMs is typically limited during the initial release of
their product to evaluate product performance and consumer demand; 

our products must be designed into a customer’s product or system; and 

the  development  and  commercial  introduction  of  our  customers’  products  incorporating  new  technologies
frequently are delayed. 

As a result of our lengthy sales cycles, we may incur substantial expenses before we earn associated revenue because a 
significant portion of our operating expenses is relatively fixed and based on expected revenue. The lengthy sales cycles 
of  our  products  also  make  forecasting  the  volume  and  timing  of  orders  difficult.  In  addition,  the  delays  inherent  in 
lengthy  sales  cycles  raise  additional  risks  that  customers  may  cancel  or  change  their  orders.  Our  sales  are  made  by 
purchase  orders.  Because  industry  practice  allows  customers  to  reschedule  or  cancel  orders  on  relatively  short  notice, 
backlog is not always a good indicator of our future sales. If customer cancellations or product changes occur, we could 
lose anticipated sales and not have sufficient time to reduce our inventory and operating expenses. 

20 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Our success depends on our investment of significant amount of resources in research and development. We may 
have to invest more resources in research and development than anticipated, which could increase our operating 
expenses and negatively impact our operating results. 

Our success depends on us investing significant amounts of resources into research and development. Our research and 
development expenses as a percent of our total revenue were 22.8% and 22.7% for the year ended December 31, 2012 
and  2011,  respectively.  We  expect  to  have  to  continue  to  invest  heavily  in  research  and  development  in  the  future  in 
order to continue to innovate and come to market with new products in a timely manner and increase our revenue and 
profitability.  If  we  have  to  invest  more  resources  in  research  and  development  than  we  anticipate,  we  could  see  an 
increase in our operating expenses which may negatively impact our operating results. Also, if we are unable to properly 
manage and effectively utilize our research and development resources, we could see adverse effects on our business, 
financial condition and operating results. 

In  addition,  if  new  competitors,  technological  advances  by  existing  competitors,  our  entry  into  new  markets,  or  other 
competitive factors require us to invest significantly greater resources than anticipated in our research and development 
efforts,  our  operating  expenses  would  increase.  If  we  are  required  to  invest  significantly  greater  resources  than 
anticipated in research and development efforts without a corresponding increase in revenue, our operating results could 
decline.  Research  and development  expenses  are  likely  to  fluctuate  from  time  to  time  to  the  extent we  make  periodic 
incremental investments in research and development and these investments may be independent of our level of revenue 
which could negatively impact our financial results. In order to remain competitive, we anticipate that we will continue 
to devote substantial resources to research and development, and we expect these expenses to increase in absolute dollars 
in the foreseeable future due to the increased complexity and the greater number of products under development. 

The  loss  of  any  of  our  key  personnel  or  the  failure  to  attract  or  retain  specialized  technical  and  management 
personnel could impair our ability to grow our business. 

Our future success depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified technical and managerial personnel. We 
are particularly dependent on the continued services of our key executives, including Michael Hsing, our President and 
Chief  Executive  Officer,  who  founded  our  company  and  developed  our  proprietary  process  technology.  In  addition, 
personnel  with  highly  skilled  analog  and  mixed-signal  design  engineering  expertise  are  scarce  and  competition  for 
personnel with these skills is intense. There can be no assurance that we will be able to retain existing key employees or 
that we will be successful in attracting, integrating or retaining other highly qualified personnel with critical capabilities 
in  the  future.  If  we  are  unable  to  retain  the  services  of  existing  key  employees  or  are  unsuccessful  in  attracting  new 
highly qualified employees quickly enough to meet the demands or our business, including design cycles, our business 
could be harmed. 

If we fail to retain key employees in sales, applications, finance and legal or to make continued improvements to 
our internal systems, particularly in the accounting and finance area, our business may suffer. 

If  we  fail  to  continue  to  adequately  staff  our  sales,  applications,  financial  and  legal  staff,  maintain  or  upgrade  our 
business systems and maintain internal controls that meet the demands of our business, our ability to operate effectively 
will suffer. The operation of our business also depends upon our ability to retain these employees, as these employees 
hold  a  significant  amount  of  institutional  knowledge  about  us  and  our  products,  and,  if  they  were  to  terminate  their 
employment, our sales and internal control over financial reporting could be adversely affected. 

We  intend  to  continue  to  expand  our  operations,  which  may  strain  our  resources  and  increase  our  operating 
expenses. 

We  plan  to  continue  to  expand  our  domestic  and  foreign  operations  through  internal  growth,  strategic  relationships, 
and/or acquisitions. We expect that any such expansion will strain our systems and operational and financial controls. In 
addition, we are likely to incur significantly higher operating costs. To manage our growth effectively, we must continue 
to improve and expand our systems and controls, as well as hire experienced administrative and financial personnel. If 
we fail to do so, our growth will be limited. If we fail to effectively manage our planned expansion of operations, our 
business and operating results may be harmed. 

21 

 
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
We  may  engage  in  future  acquisitions  that  dilute  the  ownership  interests  of  our  stockholders  and  cause  us  to 
incur debt or to assume contingent liabilities, and we may be unable to successfully integrate these companies into 
our operations, which would adversely affect our business. 

As a part of our business strategy, from time to time we review acquisition prospects that would complement our current 
product  offerings,  enhance  our  design  capability  or  offer  other  competitive  opportunities.  In  the  event  of  future 
acquisitions, we could use a significant portion of our available cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, issue 
equity  securities  which  would  dilute  current  stockholders’  percentage  ownership,  incur  substantial  debt  or  contingent 
liabilities, and/or incur impairment charges related to goodwill or other intangibles. Such actions by us could impact our 
operating results and/or the price of our common stock. 

In addition, we may be unable to identify or complete prospective acquisition for various reasons, including competition 
from other companies in the semiconductor industry, the valuation expectations of acquisition candidates and applicable 
antitrust  laws  or  related  regulations.  If  we  are  unable  to  identify  and  complete  acquisitions,  we  may  not  be  able  to 
successfully expand our business and product offerings. 

To the extent we are successful in completing strategic acquisitions, if we are unsuccessful in integrating any acquired 
company into our operations or if integration is more difficult than anticipated, we may experience disruptions that could 
harm our business and not realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions. Some of the risks that may adversely affect 
our ability to integrate or realize any anticipated benefits from the acquired companies, businesses or assets include those 
associated with: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

unexpected losses of key employees or customers of the acquired companies or businesses; 

conforming the acquired company’s standards, processes, procedures and controls with our operations; 

coordinating new product and process development; 

hiring additional management and other critical personnel; 

increasing the scope, geographic diversity and complexity of our operations; 

difficulties in consolidating facilities and transferring processes and know-how; 

other difficulties in the assimilation of acquired operations, technologies or products; 

the  risk  of  undisclosed  liabilities  of  the  acquired  businesses  and  potential  legal  disputes  with  founders  or 
stockholders of acquired companies; 

our inability to commercialize acquired technologies; 

the risk that the future business potential as projected is not realized and as a result, we may be required to take
a charge to earnings that would impact our profitability; 

the need to take impairment charges or write-downs with respect to acquired assets and technologies; 

diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns; and 

adverse effects on existing business relationships with customers. 

22 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
We  compete  against  many  companies  with  substantially  greater  financial  and  other  resources,  and  our  market 
share may be reduced if we are unable to respond to our competitors effectively. 

The  analog  and  mixed-signal  semiconductor  industry  is  highly  competitive,  and  we  expect  competitive  pressures  to 
continue. Our ability to compete effectively and to expand our business will depend on our ability to continue to recruit 
applications  and  design  talent,  our ability  to  introduce new  products,  and  our  ability  to  maintain  the  rate  at  which we 
introduce these new products. We compete with domestic and non-domestic semiconductor companies, many of which 
have substantially greater financial and other resources with which to pursue engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and 
distribution of their products. We are in direct and active competition, with respect to one or more of our product lines, 
with at least 10 manufacturers of such products, of varying size and financial strength. The number of our competitors 
has grown due to the expansion of the market segments in which we participate. We consider our competitors to include, 
but not be limited to: Fairchild Semiconductor, Intersil, Linear, Maxim Integrated Products, Micrel, Microsemi, National 
Semiconductor,  O2Micro,  RichTek,  Rohm,  Semtech,  STMicroelectronic,  Texas  Instruments  and  Volterra.  We  expect 
continued competition from existing competitors as well as competition from new entrants in the semiconductor market. 

We cannot assure you that our products will continue to compete favorably or that we will be successful in the face of 
increasing  competition  from  new  products  and  enhancements  introduced  by  existing  competitors  or  new  companies 
entering this market, which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations and our financial condition. 

If securities or industry analysts downgrade our stock or do not continue to publish research or reports about our 
business, our stock price and trading volume could decline. 

The  trading  market  for  our  common  stock  will  depend,  in  part,  on  the  research  and  reports  that  industry  or  securities 
analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts 
who cover us downgrade our stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage 
of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause 
our stock price or trading volume to decline. 

Because of their significant stock ownership, our officers and directors will be able to exert significant influence 
over our future direction. 

Executive  officers,  directors,  and  affiliated  entities  beneficially  owned  in  aggregate,  approximately  17%  of  our 
outstanding  common  stock  as  of  December  31,  2012.  These  stockholders,  if  acting  together,  would  be  able  to 
significantly  influence  all  matters  requiring  approval  by  our  stockholders,  including  the  election  of  directors  and  the 
approval of mergers or other business combination transactions.  

Major earthquakes or other natural disasters and resulting systems outages may cause us significant losses. 

Our corporate headquarters, the production facilities of our third-party wafer suppliers, our IC testing facility, a portion 
of our assembly and research and development activities, and certain other critical business operations are located in or 
near seismically active regions and are subject to periodic earthquakes. We do not maintain earthquake insurance and 
could  be  materially  and  adversely  affected  in  the  event  of  a  major  earthquake.  Much  of  our  revenue,  as  well  as  our 
manufacturers  and  assemblers,  are  concentrated  in  Asia.  Such  concentration  increases  the  risk  that  other  natural 
disasters, labor strikes, terrorism, war, political unrest, epidemics, and/or health advisories could disrupt our operations. 
In addition, we rely heavily on our internal information and communications systems and on systems or support services 
from third parties to manage our operations efficiently and effectively. Any of these are subject to failure due to a natural 
disaster  or  other  disruption.  System-wide  or  local  failures  that  affect  our  information  processing  could  have  material 
adverse effects on our business, financial condition, operating results, and cash flows. 

Our facilities in Chengdu, China are located in a seismically active area, as evidenced by the May 2008 earthquake that 
was  centered  in  the  Sichuan  Province  of  China.  Although  there  was  no  damage  to  our  facilities  as  a  result  of  that 
earthquake, should there be additional earthquakes in the area, we may incur losses and our business, financial condition 
and/or operating results may suffer. 

We  have  a  sales  facility  in  Japan,  which  is  located  in  a  seismically  active  area,  as  evidenced  by  the  March  2011 
earthquake that was centered off the coast of Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture. While there was no damage to our facilities as a 
result  of  the  earthquake,  our  customers  may  have  experienced  disruptions  in  their  supply  chains  that  may  impact  our 

23 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
revenue in future quarters. Additional earthquakes in the region may have a more significant impact longer term, which 
could affect our results of operations and financial conditions. 

ITEM 1B.    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS 

None. 

ITEM 2.    PROPERTIES 

Our primary operating locations are currently in San Jose, California and Chengdu, China. Up until May 2012, we were 
leasing approximately 55,110 square feet in San Jose, which served as our corporate headquarters, as well as our sales 
and research and development center. Certain test procedures and manufacturing also took place in our San Jose facility. 
The landlord exercised their right to terminate the lease which required us to seek new headquarters facility before May 
1, 2012 deadline. 

In  2011,  we  purchased  a  property  located  at  79  Great  Oaks  Boulevard  in  San  Jose,  CA,  to  be  used  as  our  corporate 
headquarters  and  sales  offices.  Such  property  consists  of  an  approximately  106,262  square  foot  office  building  and 
approximately 5.5 acres of land. Based on information provided by a third party valuation, the $11.0 million purchase 
price for the property was allocated as follows: $5.0 million attributed to the building and $6.0 million attributed to the 
land. The Company invested an additional $7.7 million in building improvements. We moved into our new headquarters 
and started to depreciate the building in May 2012. 

We lease approximately 56,000 square feet in Chengdu which serves as our test facility and manufacturing hub and we 
constructed  a  150,000  square  foot  research  and  development  facility  in  Chengdu,  which  was  put  into  operation  in 
October 2010. 

We  also  lease  sales  and  research  and  development  offices  in  the  United  States,  Japan,  China,  Taiwan  and  Korea.  We 
believe that our existing facilities are adequate for our current operations. 

ITEM 3.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 

The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are parties to actions and proceedings incident to the Company's business in 
the  ordinary  course  of  business,  including  litigation  regarding  its  shareholders,  a  former  employee  and  its  intellectual 
property, challenges to the enforceability or validity of its intellectual property and claims that the Company’s products 
infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. These proceedings often involve complex questions of fact and law 
and may require the expenditure of significant funds and the diversion of other resources to prosecute and defend. The 
Company defends itself vigorously against any such claims. 

O2 Micro 

On  May  3,  2012, the  United  States  District  Court  for  the  Northern  District  of  California  issued  an  order  finding  O2 
Micro International,  Ltd.  (“O2  Micro”) liable  for  approximately  $9.1  million  in attorneys’  fees  and non-taxable  costs, 
plus interest, in connection with the patent litigation that the Company won in 2010.  This award is in addition to the 
approximately  $0.3  million  in  taxable  costs  that  the  Court  had  earlier  ordered  O2  Micro  to  pay  to  the  Company  in 
connection with the same lawsuit. The Court then entered judgment for the Company. In October 2012, O2 Micro filed 
an appeal against this judgment.  

Silergy 

In  December  2011,  the  Company  entered  into  a  settlement  and  license  agreement  with  Silergy  Corp  and  Silergy 
Technologies for infringement of the Company’s patent whereby the Company will receive a total of $2 million which 
will be paid in equal installments of $0.3 million in each quarter of 2012 and the remainder will be paid in two equal 
installments  in  first  two  quarters  of  2013.  For  the  year  ended  December  31,  2012,  the  Company  received  payments 
totaling $1.2 million, which  were recorded  as  credits  to  litigation  expense  (benefit) in  the  Consolidated Statements of 
Operations. 

24 

 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
Linear 

On August 12, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an order affirming the judgment 
issued by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware finding Linear Technology Corporation (“Linear”) 
liable  for  approximately  $2.3  million  in  attorneys’  fees  and  non-taxable  costs,  plus  interest,  in  connection  with  the 
litigation regarding a contract dispute that the Company won in 2011. During the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company 
received  a  payment  from  Linear  of  $2.3  million  plus  $0.2  million  reimbursement  of  additional  attorney  fees  in 
connection with the cost of defending the appeal, which was recorded as a credit to litigation expense (benefit) in the 
Consolidated Statements of Operations.  

ITEM 4.    MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES 

Not applicable. 

25 

 
 
   
 
  
 
 
ITEM 5.  Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholders Matters, and Issuer Purchases of  

PART II 

Equity Securities. 

Market Price of Our Common Stock 

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “MPWR”. The following table sets 
forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales price per share of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select 
Market.  These  prices  represent  quotations  among  dealers  without  adjustments  for  retail  mark-ups,  markdowns  or 
commissions, and may not represent prices of actual transactions.  

2012 
Fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012 ..  $
Third quarter ended September 30, 2012 ..   $
Second quarter ended June 30, 2012 ..........  $
First quarter ended March 31, 2012 ...........  $

2011 
Fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011 ..  $
Third quarter ended September 30, 2011 ...  $
Second quarter ended June 30, 2011 ..........  $
First quarter ended March 31, 2011 ...........  $

High

Low 

22.38   $
23.07   $
22.40   $
19.91   $

15.61   $
15.64   $
18.56   $
17.12   $

17.17  
17.07  
17.70  
14.58  

9.49  
10.16  
13.41  
12.95  

Holders of Our Common Stock 

As of February 20, 2013, there were 16 registered holders of record of our common stock. 

Dividend Policy 

On December 11, 2012, our Board declared MPS’s first ever cash dividend of $1.00 per share to stockholders of record 
as of December 21, 2012. The cash dividend was paid on December 28, 2012 and totaled approximately $35.7 million. 
Other than this dividend, we have not paid cash dividends on our common stock since our inception. We currently do not 
anticipate paying any further cash dividends in the future. 

26 

 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
  
   
    
   
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
Performance of Our Common Stock 

The  following  graph  compares  the  cumulative  60-month  total  return  provided  shareholders  on  our  common  stock 
relative  to  the  cumulative  total  returns  of  the  Nasdaq  Composite  Index,  the  S  &  P  500  Index  and  the  Philadelphia 
Semiconductor Index. An investment of $100 (with reinvestment of all dividends) is assumed to have been made in our 
common stock on December 31, 2007 and its relative performance is tracked through December 31, 2012. 

The information contained in the Stock Performance Graph section shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or 
“filed”  or  incorporated  by  reference  in  future  filings  with  the  SEC,  or  subject  to  the  liabilities  of  Section  18  of  the 
Exchange  Act,  except  to  the  extent  that  the  Company  specifically  incorporates  it  by  reference  into  a  document  filed 
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities 

There were no sales of unregistered securities during the year ended December 31, 2012. 

27 

 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
ITEM 6.    SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA 

The following financial data is derived from our audited annual consolidated financial statements as of and for the years 
ended  December  31,  2012,  2011,  2010,  2009  and  2008.  You  should  read  the  following  table  in  conjunction  with  the 
consolidated  financial  statements  and  the  related  notes  contained  elsewhere  in  this  report  on  Form  10-K.  Operating 
results for any year are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any future periods. 

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data: 

2012

Year ended December 31, 
2010
(in thousands, except per share amounts)

2009 

2011

2008

Revenue ................................................................    $ 213,813   $ 196,519   $ 218,840   $ 165,008   $ 160,511 
61,184 
Cost of revenue (1) ................................................   

100,665    

97,383     

94,925    

67,330    

Gross profit ................................................. 
Operating expenses: ..............................................   
Research and development (2) ..........................   
Selling, general and administrative (3) ..............   
Litigation expense (benefit), net ........................   
Patent litigation settlement (provision reversal)   

113,148    

101,594    

121,457     

97,678    

99,327 

48,796    
50,018    
(2,945)   
-    

44,518    
40,280    
3,379    
-    

44,372     
41,169     
5,418     
-     

38,295    
36,752    
9,457    
(6,356)  

34,850 
35,256 
6,714 
- 

Total operating expenses ............................ 

95,869    

88,177    

90,959     

78,148    

76,820 

Income from operations ........................................   
Interest income and other, net ...............................   

17,279    
611    

13,417    
309    

30,498     
922     

19,530    
618    

22,507 
2,935 

Income before income taxes..................................   
Income tax provision .............................................   

17,890    
2,134    

13,726    
425    

31,420     
1,857     

20,148    
474    

25,442 
1,216 

Net income ............................................................    $

15,756   $

13,301   $

29,563   $

19,674   $

24,226 

Basic net income per share ....................................    $
Diluted net income per share .................................    $
Weighted average common shares outstanding: 

0.45   $
0.43   $

0.39   $
0.38   $

0.83   $
0.78   $

0.57   $
0.54   $

0.72 
0.67 

Basic ..................................................................   
Diluted ...............................................................   

34,871    
36,247    

34,050    
35,160    

35,830     
37,826     

34,310    
36,634    

33,509 
36,120 

(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...    $
(2) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...   
(3) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...   
Total stock-based compensation expense ... 

 $

510   $
6,922    
11,220    
18,652   $

312   $
5,909    
6,905    
13,126   $

393   $
6,742     
9,675     
16,810   $

246   $
6,408    
7,957    
14,611   $

344 
5,821 
6,993 
13,158 

28 

 
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
   
   
    
   
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
     
    
      
     
 
 
  
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
  
  
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
 
 
  
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
 
 
  
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
  
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
  
 
     
    
      
     
 
 
 
  
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
  
  
 
      
     
       
      
 
 
 
  
 
 
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: 

2012

2011

As of December 31, 
2010
(in thousands) 

2009 

2008

Cash and cash equivalents ...................................  $
Short-term investments .......................................    
Long-term investments .......................................    
Restricted cash ....................................................    
Working capital ...................................................    
Total assets ..........................................................    
Long-term tax liabilities ......................................    
Common stock ....................................................    
Total stockholders' equity ...................................    
Cash dividend per common share: 

Declared ..........................................................   $
Paid ..................................................................   $

75,104   $
85,521     
11,755     
-     
190,841     
287,162     
5,408     
194,079     
258,294     

96,371   $
77,827     
13,675     
-     
185,435     
273,867     
4,920     
159,336     
242,877     

48,010    $
129,709      
19,180      
-      
195,403      
281,603      
5,015      
178,269      
246,895      

46,717    $
118,914     
19,445     
-     
179,577     
241,821     
4,915     
175,518     
212,957     

83,266 
21,922 
37,425 
7,360 
117,365 
195,299 
4,762 
147,298 
164,645 

1.00   $
1.00   $

-   $
-   $

-    $
-    $

-    $
-    $

- 
- 

ITEM 7.  MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS  

OF OPERATIONS 

The  following  discussion  should  be  read  in  conjunction  with  the  consolidated  financial  statements  and  related  notes 
which appear elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K. 

Overview 

We are a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops, and markets proprietary, advanced analog and mixed-
signal  semiconductors.  We  currently  offer  products  that  serve  multiple  markets,  including  consumer  electronics, 
communications, computing (which includes storage) and industrial markets. We believe that we differentiate ourselves 
by offering solutions that are more highly integrated, smaller in size, more energy efficient, more accurate with respect 
to  performance  specifications  and,  consequently,  more  cost-effective  than  many  competing  solutions.  We  plan  to 
continue to introduce additional new products within our existing product families, as well as in new product categories. 

We operate in the cyclical semiconductor industry where there is seasonal demand for certain of our products. We are 
not and will not be immune from current and future industry downturns, but we have targeted product and market areas 
that we believe have the ability to offer above average industry performance over the long term. 

We work with third parties to manufacture and assemble our integrated circuits (“ICs”). This has enabled us to limit our 
capital expenditures and fixed costs, while focusing our engineering and design resources on our core strengths. 

Following  the  introduction  of  a  product,  our  sales  cycle  generally  takes  a  number  of  quarters  to  achieve  revenue  and 
volume  production  is  usually  achieved  several  months  after  we  receive  an  initial  customer  order  for  a  new  product. 
Typical  lead  time  for  orders  is  fewer  than  90  days.  These  factors,  combined  with  the  fact  that  orders  in  the 
semiconductor industry can typically be cancelled or rescheduled without significant penalty to the customer, make the 
forecasting of our orders and revenue difficult. 

We derive most of our revenue from sales through distribution arrangements or direct sales to customers in Asia, where 
the  components  we  produce  are  incorporated  into  an  end-user  product.  For  the  years  ended  December  31,  2012  and 
2011, 89% and 90%, respectively, of our revenue was attributable to direct or indirect sales to customers in Asia. We 
derive a majority of our revenue from the sales of our DC to DC converter product family which services the consumer 
electronics,  communications,  computing  (which  includes  storage)  and  industrial  markets.  We  believe  our  ability  to 
achieve revenue growth will depend, in part, on our ability to develop new products, enter new market segments, gain 
market share, manage litigation risk, diversify our customer base and successfully secure manufacturing capacity. 

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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates 

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial 
statements,  which  have  been  prepared  in  accordance  with  generally  accepted  accounting  principles  in  the  U.S.  The 
preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of 
assets,  liabilities,  revenue  and  expenses,  and  related  disclosure  of  contingent  assets  and  liabilities.  We  evaluate  our 
estimates  on  an  on-going  basis,  including  those  related  to  revenue  recognition,  stock-based  compensation,  long-term 
investments,  short-term  investments,  inventories,  income  taxes,  warranty  obligations  and  contingencies.  We  base  our 
estimates  on  historical  experience  and  on  various  other  assumptions  that  are  believed  to  be  reasonable  under  the 
circumstances,  the  results  of  which  form  the  basis  for  making  the  judgments  about  the  carrying  values  of  assets  and 
liabilities  that  are  not  readily  apparent  from  other  sources.  Estimates  and  judgments  used  in  the  preparation  of  our 
financial  statements  are,  by  their  nature,  uncertain  and  unpredictable,  and  depend  upon,  among  other  things,  many 
factors  outside  of  our  control,  such  as  demand  for  our  products  and  economic  conditions.  Accordingly,  our  estimates 
and judgments may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ, perhaps significantly, from these estimates. 

We believe the following critical accounting policies reflect our more significant judgments used in the preparation of 
our consolidated financial statements. 

Revenue  Recognition.  We  recognize  revenue  in  accordance  with  Financial  Accounting  Standards  Board  (“FASB”)  – 
Accounting  Standards  Codification  (“ASC”)  605-10-S25 Revenue  Recognition –  Overall  –  Recognition. ASC 605-10-
S25  requires  that  four  basic  criteria  must  be  met  before  revenue  can  be  recognized:  (1)  persuasive  evidence  of  an 
arrangement exists; (2) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered; (3) the fee is fixed or determinable; and (4) 
collectability is reasonably assured. Determination of criteria (3) and (4) are based on management’s judgment regarding 
the fixed nature of the fee charged for products delivered and the collectability of those fees. The application of these 
criteria  has  resulted  in  our  generally  recognizing  revenue  upon  shipment  (when  title  passes)  to  customers.  Should 
changes in conditions cause management to determine these criteria are not met for certain future transactions, revenue 
recognized for any reporting period could be adversely impacted. 

Approximately 91% of our distributor sales, including sales to our value-added resellers, for the year ended December 
31, 2012 were made through distribution arrangements with third parties. These arrangements do not include any special 
payment  terms  (our  normal  payment  terms  are  30-45  days  for  our  distributors),  price  protection  or  exchange  rights. 
Returns are limited to our standard product warranty. Certain of our large distributors have contracts that include limited 
stock rotation rights that permit the return of a small percentage of the previous six months’ purchases. 

Approximately 9% of our distributor sales for the year ended December 31, 2012 were made through small distributors 
primarily based on purchase orders. These distributors also have limited or no stock rotation rights. 

Our revenue consists primarily of sales of assembled and tested finished goods. We also sell die in wafer form to our 
customers and value-added resellers, and we receive royalty revenue from third parties and value-added resellers. 

We  maintain  a  sales  reserve  for  stock  rotation  rights,  which  is  based  on  historical  experience  of  actual  stock  rotation 
returns on a per distributor basis, where available, and information related to products in the distribution channel. This 
reserve  is  recorded  at  the  time  of  sale.  Historically,  these  returns  were  not  material  to  our  consolidated  financial 
statements.  In  the  future,  if  we  are  unable  to  estimate  our  stock  rotation  returns  accurately,  we  may  not  be  able  to 
recognize revenue from sales to our distributors based on when we sell inventory to our distributors. Instead, we may 
have to recognize revenue when the distributor sells through such inventory to an end-customer. 

We generally recognize revenue upon shipment of products to the distributor for the following reasons (based on ASC 
605-15-25-1 Revenue Recognition – Products – Recognition – Sales of Products When Right of Return Exists): 

(1)  Our  price  is  fixed  and  determinable  at  the  date  of  sale.  We  do  not  offer  special  payment  terms,  price

protection or price adjustments to distributors where we recognize revenue upon shipment 

(2)  Our distributors are obligated to pay us and this obligation is not contingent on the resale of our products 
(3) 

The  distributor’s  obligation  is  unchanged  in  the  event  of  theft  or  physical  destruction  or  damage  to  the
products 

(4)  Our distributors have stand-alone economic substance apart from our relationship 
(5)  We do not have any obligations for future performance to directly bring about the resale of our products by

the distributor 

30 

 
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
(6) 

The  amount  of  future  returns  can  be  reasonably  estimated.  We  have  the  ability  and  the  information 
necessary to track inventory sold to and held at our distributors. We maintain a history of returns and have
the ability to estimate the stock rotation returns on a quarterly basis. 

If  we  enter  into  arrangements  that  have  rights  of  return  that  are  not  estimable,  we  recognize  revenue  under  such 
arrangements only after the distributor has sold our products to an end customer. 

The terms in a majority of our distribution agreements include the non-exclusive right to promote, develop a market for, 
and  sell our products  in  certain  regions  of  the  world  and  the  ability  to  terminate  the  distribution  agreement  by  either 
party with up to three months’ notice. We provide a one year warranty against defects in  materials and workmanship. 
Under  this  warranty, we will  repair  the  goods, provide  replacements  at  no  charge,  or,  under  certain  circumstances, 
provide  a  refund  to  the  customer  for  defective  products.  Estimated  warranty  returns  and  warranty  costs  are  based  on 
historical experience and are recorded at the time product revenue is recognized. 

Two of our U.S. distributors have distribution agreements where revenue is recognized upon sale by these distributors to 
their  end  customers  because  these  distributors  have  certain  rights  of  return  which  management  believes  are  not 
estimable. The deferred income balance from these two distributors as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 was $1.4 million 
and $0.9 million, respectively. 

Inventory  Valuation. We  value  our  inventory  at  the  lower  of  the  standard  cost  (which  approximates  actual  cost  on  a 
first-in,  first-out  basis)  or  its  current  estimated  market  value.  We  write  down  inventory  for  obsolescence  or  lack  of 
demand,  based  on  assumptions  about  future  demand  and  market  conditions.  If  actual  market  conditions  are  less 
favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required. Conversely, if market 
conditions are more favorable, inventory may be sold that was previously reserved.  

Accounting  for  Income  Taxes. ASC  740-10 Income  Taxes  –  Overall prescribes  a  recognition  threshold  and 
measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be 
taken in a tax return. This interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, 
accounting in interim periods and disclosure. In accordance with ASC 740-10, we recognize federal, state and foreign 
current  tax  liabilities  or  assets  based  on  our  estimate  of  taxes  payable  or  refundable  in  the  current  fiscal  year  by  tax 
jurisdiction. We also recognize federal, state and foreign deferred tax assets or liabilities for our estimate of future tax 
effects attributable to temporary differences and carryforwards. We record a valuation allowance to reduce any deferred 
tax  assets  by  the  amount  of  any  tax  benefits  that,  based  on  available  evidence  and  judgment,  are  not  expected  to  be 
realized. 

Our calculation of current and deferred tax assets and liabilities is based on certain estimates and judgments and involves 
dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax laws. Our estimates of current and deferred tax assets and 
liabilities may change based, in part, on added certainty or finality or uncertainty to an anticipated outcome, changes in 
accounting or tax laws in the U.S., or foreign jurisdictions where we operate, or changes in other facts or circumstances. 
In addition, we recognize liabilities for potential U.S. and foreign income tax for uncertain income tax positions taken on 
our tax returns if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained. If we determine that payment of these amounts is 
unnecessary  or  if  the  recorded  tax  liability  is  less  than  our  current  assessment,  we  may  be  required  to  recognize  an 
income tax benefit or additional income tax expense in our financial statements in the period such determination is made. 
We  have  calculated  our  uncertain  tax  positions  which  were  attributable  to  certain  estimates  and  judgments  primarily 
related to transfer pricing, cost sharing and our international tax structure exposure. 

As  of  December  31,  2012  and 2011,  we  had  a  valuation  allowance  of  $12.5  million  and  $14.6  million,  respectively, 
attributable  to  management’s  determination  that  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that most  of  the  deferred  tax  assets  in  the 
United States will not be realized. Should it be determined that additional amounts of the net deferred tax asset will not 
be realized in the future, an adjustment to increase the deferred tax asset valuation allowance will be charged to income 
in the period such determination is made. Likewise, in the event we were to determine that it is more likely than not that 
we would be able to realize our deferred tax assets in the future in excess of our net recorded amount, an adjustment to 
the valuation allowance for the deferred tax asset would increase income in the period such determination was made. 

31 

 
  
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
As  a  result  of the  cost  sharing  arrangements  with  the  Company’s  international  subsidiaries  (cost  share  arrangements), 
relatively  small  changes  in  costs  that  are  not  subject  to  sharing  under  the  cost  share  arrangements  can  significantly 
impact  the  overall  profitability  of  the  U.S.  entity.  Because  of  the  U.S.  entity’s  inconsistent  earnings  history  and 
uncertainty  of  future  earnings,  the  Company  has  determined  that  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that  the  U.S.  deferred  tax 
benefits will not be realized. 

In November 2012, California taxpayers voted in favor of mandating the use of a single sales factor for California state 
apportionment,  effective  for  tax  years  beginning  on  or  after  January  1,  2012.  As  a  result  of  this  law  change  that 
happened, our California  deferred  tax  assets  were  revalued  down.  As  we  have  a valuation  allowance against our U.S. 
deferred tax assets, this revaluation of our California deferred tax assets did not impact income tax expense. 

The Company incurred significant stock-based compensation expense, some of which related to incentive stock options 
for  which  no  corresponding  tax  benefit  will  be  recognized  unless  a  disqualifying  disposition  occurs.  Disqualifying 
dispositions  result  in  a  reduction  of  income  tax  expense  in  the  period  when  the  disqualifying  disposition  occurs.  Tax 
benefits  related  to  realized  tax  deductions  in  excess  of  previously  expensed  stock  compensation  are  recorded  as  an 
addition to paid-in-capital. 

Contingencies. We and certain of our subsidiaries are parties to actions and proceedings incident to our business in the 
ordinary course of business, including litigation regarding our intellectual property, challenges to the enforceability or 
validity of our intellectual property and claims that our products infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. The 
pending proceedings involve complex questions of fact and law and will require the expenditure of significant funds and 
the diversion of other resources to prosecute and defend. In addition, from time to time, we become aware that we are 
subject  to  other  contingent  liabilities. When  this  occurs,  we  will  evaluate  the  appropriate  accounting  for  the  potential 
contingent liabilities using ASC 450-20-25-2 Contingencies – Loss Contingencies - Recognition to determine whether a 
contingent liability should be recorded. In making this determination, management may, depending on the nature of the 
matter, consult with internal and external legal counsel and technical experts. Based on the facts and circumstances in 
each matter, we use our judgment to determine whether it is probable that a contingent loss has occurred and whether the 
amount of such loss can be estimated. If we determine a loss is probable and estimable, we record a contingent loss in 
accordance with ASC 450-20-25-2. In determining the amount of a contingent loss, we take into account advice received 
from experts for each specific matter regarding the status of legal proceedings, settlement negotiations (which may be 
ongoing),  prior  case  history  and  other  factors.  Should  the  judgments  and  estimates  made  by  management  need  to  be 
adjusted  as  additional  information  becomes  available,  we  may  need  to  record  additional  contingent  losses  that  could 
materially  and  adversely  impact  our  results  of  operations.  Alternatively,  if  the  judgments  and  estimates  made  by 
management are adjusted, for example, if a particular contingent loss does not occur, the contingent loss recorded would 
be reversed which could result in a favorable impact on our results of operations. 

Accounting  for  Stock-Based  Compensation. We  account  for  stock-based  compensation  under  the  provisions  of  ASC 
718-10-30 Compensation – Stock Compensation – Overall – Initial Measurement. This standard requires us to measure 
the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant-date fair value 
of  the  award.  We  currently  use  the  Black-Scholes  option-pricing  model  to  estimate  the  fair  value  of  our  share-based 
payments. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model is based on a number of assumptions, including historical volatility, 
expected life, risk-free interest rate and expected dividends. The fair value for time-based stock awards and stock awards 
that are contingent upon the achievement of financial performance metrics is based on the grant date share price. 

We  recognize  compensation  expense  equal  to  the  grant-date  fair  value  for  all  share-based  payment  awards  that  are 
expected to vest. This expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the entire award, 
unless the awards are subject to market or performance conditions, in which case we recognize compensation expense 
over  the  requisite  service  period  of  each  separate  vesting  tranche.  We  recognize  compensation  expense  for  our 
performance share units when it becomes probable that the performance criteria specified in the plan will be achieved. 
The amount of stock-based compensation that the Company recognizes is also based on an expected forfeiture rate. If 
there  is  a  difference  between  the  forfeiture  assumptions  used  in  determining  stock-based  compensation  costs  and  the 
actual  forfeitures  which  become  known  over  time,  we  may  change  the  forfeiture  rate,  which  could  have  a  significant 
impact on our stock-based compensation expense. 

32 

 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
Fair  Value  of  Financial  Instruments.  ASC  820-10  Fair  Value  Measurements and  Disclosures  –  Overall defines  fair 
value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles in the United States 
of  America,  and  requires  that  assets  and  liabilities  carried  at fair  value  be  classified  and disclosed  in  one of  the  three 
categories, as follows: 

    Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets; 

    Level 2: Significant other observable inputs; and 

    Level 3: Significant unobservable inputs. 

ASC 820-10-35-51 Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure – Overall – Subsequent Measurement – Determining Fair 
Value  When  the  Volume  and  Level  of  Activity  for  the  Asset  or  Liability  Have  Significantly  Decreased  and  Identifying 
Transactions That Are Not Orderly provides additional guidance for estimating fair value in accordance with ASC 820-
10 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures – Overall, when the volume and level of activity for the asset or liability 
have significantly decreased. 

Our financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments. Cash equivalents 
are  stated  at  cost, which  approximates  fair  market  value. Short-term  and  long-term  investments  are  stated  at  their  fair 
market value. 

The face value of our holdings in auction rate securities is $12.3 million, all of which is classified as long-term available-
for-sale investments. 

Investments in available-for-sale securities are recorded at fair value, and unrealized gains or losses (that are deemed to 
be temporary) are recognized through shareholders' equity, as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income 
in our consolidated balance sheet and in our consolidated statement of comprehensive income. We record an impairment 
charge to earnings when an available-for-sale investment has experienced a decline in value that is deemed to be other-
than-temporary. 

We  followed  the  guidelines  of  ASC  320  in  determining  if  the  impairment  is  temporary  or  other-than-temporary 
(“OTTI”).  During  the  year  ended  December  31,  2012,  we  were  able  to  redeem  a  security  at  face  value  for  which  an 
OTTI of $40,000 had previously been recorded for and therefore, recognized a gain of $40,000 in interest income and 
other, net, in our Consolidated Statement of Operations. 

Based on certain assumptions described in Note 2, “Fair Value Measurements” to our consolidated financial statements 
and the Liquidity and Capital Resources section of Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial 
Condition  and  Results  of  Operations”  of  this  annual  report  on  Form  10-K,  we  recorded  impairment  charges  on  our 
holdings in auction-rate securities. The valuation of these securities is subject to fluctuations in the future, which will 
depend on many factors, including the collateral quality, potential to be called or restructured, underlying final maturity, 
insurance guaranty, liquidity and market conditions, among others. 

Recently Adopted and New Accounting Pronouncements 

In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 
No. 2013-02, Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. This ASU adds new 
disclosure  requirement  for  items  reclassified  out  of  accumulated  other  comprehensive  income  (“AOCI”).  The  ASU  is 
effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after December 15, 2012 and must be 
applied prospectively. The Company is evaluating the impact of the standard on its consolidated financial statements and 
related disclosures. 

In  June  2011,  the  FASB  issued  ASU  No.  2011-05  relating  to  Comprehensive  Income  (Topic  220)  –  Presentation  of 
Comprehensive  Income  (ASU  2011-05),  which  requires  an  entity  to  present  the  total  of  comprehensive  income,  the 
components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement 
of  comprehensive  income  or  in  two  separate  but  consecutive  statements.  The  ASU  is  effective  for  fiscal  years,  and 
interim periods within those years, beginning on or after December 15, 2011 and must be applied retrospectively. The 
Company adopted this standard effective January 1, 2012. 

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In  May  2011,  the  FASB  issued  ASU  No.  2011-04,  Amendments  to  Achieve  Common  Fair  Value  Measurement  and 
Disclosure  Requirements  in  U.S.  GAAP  and  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards  (Topic  820)  –  Fair  Value 
Measurement (ASU 2011-04), to provide a consistent definition of fair value and ensure that the fair value measurement 
and  disclosure  requirements  are  similar  between  U.S.  GAAP  and  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards.  ASU 
2011-04  changes  certain  fair  value  measurement  principles  and  enhances  the  disclosure  requirements  particularly  for 
level 3 fair value measurements. The ASU is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning 
on  or  after  December  15,  2011  and  should  be  applied  prospectively.  The  Company  adopted  this  standard  effective 
January 1, 2012. 

Results of Operations 

The  table  below  shows  the  Consolidated  Statements  of  Operations  amounts  (in  thousands)  and  shows  each  as  a 
percentage of revenue. 

2012

Year ended December 31,
2011
(in thousands, except percentages) 

2010

Revenue ......................................   $
Cost of revenue ...........................     
Gross profit .................................     

213,813    
100,665    
113,148    

100.0 %  $
47.1  
52.9  

196,519    
94,925    
101,594    

100.0 %  $  218,840     
97,383     
121,457     

48.3  
51.7  

100.0 %
44.5  
55.5  

Operating expenses: 

Research and development ..     
Selling, general and 

48,796    

22.8  

44,518    

22.7  

44,372     

20.3  

administrative ...................     

50,018    

23.4  

40,280    

20.5  

41,169     

18.8  

Litigation expense (benefit), 

net .....................................     
Total operating expenses ..     

(2,945)   
95,869    

(1.4)    
44.8  

3,379    
88,177    

Income from operations ..............     
Interest income and other, net .....     

17,279    
611    

Income before income taxes........     
Income tax provision ...................     

17,890    
2,134    

8.1  
0.3  

8.4  
1.0  

13,417    
309    

13,726    
425    

1.7  
44.9  

6.8  
0.2  

7.0  
0.2  

5,418     
90,959     

30,498     
922     

31,420     
1,857     

2.5  
41.6  

13.9  
0.5  

14.4  
0.9  

Net income ..................................   $

15,756    

7.4 %  $

13,301    

6.8 %  $ 

29,563     

13.5 %

The following table shows our revenue by product family (amounts in thousands, except percentages): 

Year ended December 31,

Product Family 
   2011*  
88.3% $170,032   
DC to DC Converters .............  $188,736    
Lighting Control Products ......     25,077    
11.7%   26,487   
Total .......................................  $213,813     100.0% $196,519   

  2012 

  2010*   
86.5% $190,286   
13.5%   28,554   
100.0% $218,840   

% of 
Revenue 

% of 
Revenue 

% of 
Revenue    
87.0%    
13.0%    
100.0%    

     Percent Change  
2011 to 
2010 
Change 

2012 to 
2011 
Change  

11.0%   
(5.3%)  
8.8%   

(10.6%)
(7.2%)
(10.2%)

*  2011 and 2010 revenue associated with Audio Amplifiers has been included with DC to DC Converters to conform 

with current year presentation. 

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Revenue 

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $213.8 million, an increase of $17.3 million, or 8.8%, from $196.5 
million for the year ended December 31, 2011. This increase was primarily due to increased demand for our DC to DC 
converters. Revenue from our DC to DC converters was $188.7 million, an increase of $18.7 million, or 11.0%, over the 
same period in 2011 primarily due to increased demand for our DC to DC converters, Mini-Monster and CLS products. 
Sales of our lighting control products for the year ended December 31, 2012 were down by 5.3% compared to the same 
period in 2011 primarily due to reductions in demand for our CCFL and WLED products. 

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $196.5 million, a decrease of $22.3 million, or 10.2%, from $218.8 
million for the year ended December 31, 2010. For the year ended December 31, 2011, the decrease in revenue from the 
same period last year was largely attributable to having lost certain DC to DC converters product customers in Korea as 
a lack of production capacity resulted in product shortages during 2010. Audio sales, which are reported in DC to DC 
converters beginning in 2012, were  $4.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, a decrease of $2.8 million from 
the same period in 2010 due to a change in product mix. The sales of our lighting control products were down for the 
year  ended  December  31,  2011  from  the  similar  period  in  2010  because  of  a  reduction  in  the  demand  for  our  CCFL 
products, which was partially offset by increased sales of our WLED products.  

Cost of Revenue and Gross Margin 

Year ended December 31,
2012
2010
2011 
(in thousands, except percentages)

97,383  
Cost of Revenue (1) .........................................................................................  $ 100,665    $ 
Cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue .....................................................   
44.5%
47.1%   
Gross Profit ......................................................................................................  $ 113,148    $  101,594    $ 121,457  
55.5%
Gross Margin ...................................................................................................   
393  
(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense ..............................................  $

94,925    $
48.3%  

52.9%   
510    $ 

51.7%  
312    $

Cost  of  revenue  consists  primarily  of  costs  incurred  to  manufacture,  assemble  and  test  our  products,  as  well  as  other 
overhead  costs  relating  to  the  aforementioned  costs  including  stock-based  compensation  expense.  Gross  profit  as  a 
percentage of revenue, or gross margin, was 52.9% for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to 51.7% for the 
year ended December 31, 2011. The increase in gross profit margin year-over-year was primarily due to lower inventory 
reserves and improved product mix compared to the same period in 2011. 

Gross margin was 51.7% for the year ended December 31, 2011 and 55.5% for the year ended December 31, 2010. For 
the year ended December 31, 2011, gross margin declined between years as a result of declining average selling prices 
for certain of our products, unabsorbed test manufacturing costs and an increase in inventory reserves. 

Research and Development   

Research and development expenses consist of salary and benefit expenses for design and product engineers, expenses 
related to new product development, and related facility costs.  

Year ended December 31,

      Percentage Change

Research and development (“R&D”) (1) ...........  $
R&D as a percentage of revenue ........................   
(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense  $

48,796    $
22.8%  
6,922    $

44,518    $
22.7%  
5,909    $

44,372      
20.3%     
6,742       

2012
2010
2011
(in thousands, except percentages)

2012 to 
2011 

2011 to 
2010

9.6%   

0.3%

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R&D expenses were $48.8 million, or 22.8% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2012 and $44.5 million, or 
22.7% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2011. R&D expenses increased year-over-year primarily due to an 
increase  in  cash  and  stock-based  compensation  expenses  and  an  increase  in  expenses  associated  with  increased  new 
product development. Our R&D headcount as of December 31, 2012 was 388 employees, compared to 374 employees as 
of December 31, 2011. 

R&D expenses were $44.5 million, or 22.7% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2011 and $44.4 million, or 
20.3%  of  revenue,  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2010.  For  the  year  ended  December  31,  2011,  R&D  expenses 
remained flat with the same period in 2010 due to lower stock-based compensation expenses. These were partially offset 
by an increase in cash compensation expenses and new product development expenses. 

Selling, General and Administrative 

Selling, general and administrative expenses include salary and benefit expenses for sales, marketing and administrative 
personnel,  sales  commissions,  travel  expenses,  related  facilities  costs,  outside  legal  and  accounting  fees,  and  fees 
associated with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements. 

Year ended December 31,

2010
2011
2012
(in thousands, except percentages)

Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) (1)   $
SG&A as a percentage of net revenue ...................   
(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense ....  $

50,018    $
23.4%   
11,220    $

40,280   $
20.5%  
6,905   $

41,169      
18.8%     
9,675       

Percentage Change
2012 to 
2011 

2011 to 
2010

24.2%   

(2.2%)

SG&A expenses were $50.0 million, or 23.4% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2012 and $40.3 million, or 
20.5% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2011. SG&A expenses increased year-over-year primarily due to an 
increase  in  cash  and  stock-based  compensation  expenses,  professional  services  fees  and  sales  commission  on  higher 
revenue  compared  to  the  same  period  in  2011. Our  SG&A  headcount  as  of  December  31,  2012  was  250  employees, 
compared to 238 employees as of December 31, 2011. 

SG&A expenses were $40.3 million, or 20.5% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2011 and $41.2 million, or 
18.8%  of  revenue,  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2010.  For  the  year  ended  December  31,  2011,  SG&A  expenses 
decreased from the same period in 2010 due to lower stock-based compensation expenses. These were partially offset by 
an increase in cash compensation expenses.  

Litigation expense (benefit), net 

Litigation expense (benefit), net ........................  $
Litigation expense (benefit), net, as a 

Year ended December 31,

      Percentage Change

2012
2010
2011
(in thousands, except percentages)

     2012 to 2011  

2011 to 
2010

(2,945) 

 $

3,379    $

5,418      

(187.2%)   

(37.6%)

percentage of revenue .....................................   

(1.4%)  

1.7%  

2.5%    

Litigation benefit, net, was ($2.9) million, or (1.4%) of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to an 
expense  of  $3.4  million,  or  1.7%  of  revenue,  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2011.  The  year-over-year  decrease  in 
litigation  expense  was  primarily  due  to  $3.7  million  received  in  connection  with  settlements  reached  with  Linear  and 
Silergy. These payments were recorded as credits to litigation expense (benefit), net, in the Consolidated Statements of 
Operations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, we incurred legal expenses primarily to recover attorneys’ fees 
from  O2Micro  relating  to  our  lawsuits  involving  O2Micro,  which  were  resolved  in  the  second  quarter  of  2010. 
Compared with 2011, litigation expenses decreased as a result of us being party to fewer material legal actions. 

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Litigation  expenses  were  $3.4  million,  or  1.7% of  revenue,  for  the  year  ended  December 31,  2011, compared  to  $5.4 
million,  or  2.5%  of  revenue,  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2010.  During  the  year  ended  December  31,  2011,  we 
incurred  legal  expenses  primarily  to  recover  attorneys’  fees  from  O2Micro  relating  to  our  earlier  lawsuits  with  them, 
which  were  resolved  in  the  second  quarter  of  2010.  During  the  year  ended  December  31,  2010,  we  incurred  legal 
expenses  primarily  for  the  defense  of  those  lawsuits.  Overall,  our  litigation  expense  decreased  as  a  result  of  us  being 
party to fewer material legal actions. 

For a more complete description of our current material litigation matters, please see Part I, Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” 
and Note 10 “Litigation” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 

Interest Income and Other, Net 

For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, interest income and other, net, was $0.6 million, $0.3 million 
and $0.9 million, respectively. Interest income increased from 2011 to 2012 due to higher average cash and investment 
balances in 2012 as compared to 2011. Interest income decreased from 2010 to 2011 due to lower cash and investment 
balances in 2011, which resulted from stock repurchase activity and the purchase of our San Jose headquarters as well as 
interest rate declines year-over-year. 

Income Tax Provision 

The  income  tax  provision  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2012  was  $2.1  million  or  11.9%  of  our  income  before 
income  taxes.  This  differs  from  the  federal  statutory  rate  of  34%  primarily  because  our  foreign  income  was  taxed  at 
lower rates and because of the benefit that we realized as a result of stock options exercised and restricted units released. 

The  income  tax provision  for  year ended December  31, 2011 was $0.4  million  or 3.1%  of our  income  before  income 
taxes. This differs from the federal statutory rate of 34% primarily because our foreign income was taxed at lower rates 
and because of the benefit that we realized as a result of stock options exercised and restricted units released. 

The income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $1.9 million or 5.9% of our income before income 
taxes. This was lower than the federal statutory rate of 34% primarily because our foreign income was taxed at lower 
rates and because of the benefit that we realized as a result of stock options exercised and restricted units released.  

For additional information, see Note 8 “Income Taxes” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 

Liquidity and Capital Resources 

December 31,

2012 

2011

Cash and cash equivalents ............................................................................................  $
Short-term investments ................................................................................................   
Total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments .....................................  $
Percentage of total assets ...................................................................................   

(In thousands)
75,104    $
85,521      
160,625    $
55.9%   

Total current assets.......................................................................................................  $
Total current liabilities .................................................................................................   
Working Capital ................................................................................................  $

214,301    $
(23,460)     
190,841    $

96,371  
77,827  
174,198  
63.6%

211,505  
(26,070) 
185,435  

As  of  December  31,  2012,  we  had  cash  and  cash  equivalents  of  $75.1  million  and  short-term  investments  of  $85.5 
million  compared  with  cash  and  cash  equivalents  of  $96.4  million  and  short-term  investments  of  $77.8  million  as  of 
December 31, 2011. The decrease of $21.3 million in cash and cash equivalents in 2012 compared to 2011 was primarily 
due to the $35.7 million cash dividend paid to common stockholders on December 28, 2012, investment in equipment 
and  building  improvements  at  our  new  headquarters  located  in  San  Jose,  California  and  investment  in  short-term 
securities.  These  uses  of  cash  were  partially  offset  by  cash  generated  from  operating  activities  and  proceeds  from  the 
exercise  of  stock  options  and  purchases  under  our  employee  stock  purchase  plan.  We  have  financed  our  operations 
primarily  with  cash  generated  from  operating  activities,  proceeds  received  from  the  exercise  of  stock  options  and 
proceeds  from  the  issuance  of  shares  through  our  employee  stock  purchase  plan.  As  of  December  31,  2012,  $43.8 

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million  of  the  $75.1  million  of  cash  and  cash  equivalents  and  $17.0  million  of  the  $85.5  million  of  short-term 
investments were held by our international subsidiaries. If these funds are needed for our operations in the U.S., we may 
be required to accrue and pay U.S. taxes to repatriate these funds. However, our intent is to indefinitely reinvest these 
funds outside of the U.S. and our current plans do not demonstrate a need to repatriate them to fund our U.S. operations. 

The  significant  components  of  our  working  capital  are  cash  and  cash  equivalents,  short-term  investments,  accounts 
receivable,  inventories,  deferred  income  taxes  and  prepaid  expenses  and  other  current  assets,  reduced  by  accounts 
payable, accrued and other current liabilities, deferred revenue and customer prepayments. 

As of December 31, 2012, we had working capital of $190.8 million compared with working capital of $185.4 million as 
of December 31, 2011. The $5.4 million increase in working capital since December 31, 2011 was due to a $2.8 million 
net  increase  in  current  assets  and  a  $2.6  million  net  decrease  in  current  liabilities.  The  increase  in  current  assets  was 
primarily due to an increase in inventories, short-term investments and accounts receivable, which were partially offset 
by a reduction in cash and cash equivalents. The reduction in cash and cash equivalents was primarily due to the $35.7 
million cash dividend paid to common stockholders on December 28, 2012, which was partially offset by cash generated 
from operating activities. In addition, accounts receivable increased primarily reflecting an increase in shipments. The 
decrease in current liabilities was primarily due to a decrease in accrued compensation and related benefits, which were 
partially offset by an increase in accounts payable. 

Summary of Cash Flows 

The  table  below  summarizes  the  cash  and  cash  equivalents  provided  by  (used  in)  in  our  operating,  investing  and 
financing activities for the periods presented: 

2012

December 31, 
2011 
(In thousands) 

2010

Cash provided by operating activities ...............................................................  $
Cash provided by (used in) investing activities .................................................   
Cash used in financing activities .......................................................................   
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents .........................   
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents ................................  $

24,912    $
(26,837)     
(19,553)     
211      
(21,267)   $

43,685    $
36,222     
(31,975)    
429     
48,361    $

48,494 
(33,751)
(14,047)
597 
1,293 

For  the  year  ended December  31, 2012, net  cash  provided  by operating activities  was  $24.9 million, primarily  due  to 
cash contributed from our operating results during the year partially offset by increases in both inventories and accounts 
receivable. The increase in accounts receivable resulted in large measure from an increase in shipments. The increase in 
inventories was primarily due to an increase in strategic wafer and die bank inventories as well as finished goods to meet 
anticipated  future  demand.  Net  cash  provided  by  operating  activities  decreased  by  $18.8  million  for  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2012 as compared to the same period in 2011, primarily due to a $27.8 million increase in working capital 
requirements  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2012  as  compared  to  the  same  period  in  2011  partially  offset  by  cash 
provided by our operating results during the year 2012 compared to 2011. For the year ended December 31, 2011, net 
cash provided by operating activities was $43.7 million primarily reflecting cash generated from our operating results. 
For the year ended December 31, 2010, net cash provided by operating activities was $48.5 million primarily reflecting 
cash contributed from our operating results, partially offset by an increase in inventories to support the deliveries in the 
first quarter of 2011. 

For  the  year  ended  December  31,  2012,  net  cash  used  in  investing  activities  was  $26.8  million  in  support  of  our 
investment  in  equipment,  building  improvements  at  our  new  headquarters  located  in  San  Jose,  California  and  net 
purchases of short-term investments. For the year ended December 31, 2011, net cash provided by investing activities 
was $36.2 million as proceeds from the sale of short-term investments were used to fund our stock repurchase program 
and to purchase our corporate headquarters in San Jose, California. For the year ended December 31, 2010, net cash used 
in  investing  activities  was  $33.8  million  reflecting  the  construction  of  and  equipment  purchases  for  our  facilities  in 
Chengdu and the net purchase of short-term investments. 

We  use  professional  investment  management  firms  to  manage  the  majority  of  our  invested  cash.  Our  fixed  income 
portfolio is primarily invested in US government securities and auction-rate securities. The balance of the fixed income 
portfolio is managed internally and invested primarily in money market securities for working capital purposes. 

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We  used  the  guidelines  of  ASC  320  to  determine  whether  the  impairment  was  temporary  or  other-than 
temporary.  During  the  year  ended December  31,  2012, we  were  able  to redeem  a  security  at  face  value for which  an 
OTTI of $40,000 had previously been recorded for and therefore, recognized a gain of $40,000 in interest income and 
other, net, in our Consolidated Statement of Operations. 

Our investment portfolio as of December 31, 2012 included $11.8 million, in government-backed student loan auction-
rate securities, net of impairment charges of $0.52 million; of which, $0.49 million was temporary and $0.03 million was 
other-than-temporary.  This  compares  to  an  investment  balance  of  auction-rate  securities  as  of  December  31,  2011  of 
$13.7 million, net of impairment charges of $0.7 million; of which, $0.6 million was temporary and $0.1 million was 
other-than-temporary. 

The underlying maturities of these auction-rate securities are up to 35 years. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the 
portion of the impairment classified as temporary was based on the following analysis: 

1.  The decline in the fair value of these securities is not attributable to adverse conditions specifically related to

these securities or to specific conditions in an industry or in a geographic area; 

2.  Management  possesses  both  the  intent  and  ability  to  hold  these  securities  for  a  period  of  time  sufficient  to

allow for any anticipated recovery in fair value; 

3.  Management  believes  that  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that  we  will  not  have  to  sell  these  securities  before

recovery of its cost basis; 

4.  Except  for  the  credit  loss  of  $70,000  recognized  in  the  year  ended  December  31,  2009  for  our  holdings  in
auction  rate  securities  described  below,  we  do  not  believe  that  there  is  any  additional  credit  loss  associated
with other auction-rate securities because we expect to recover the entire amortized cost basis; 

5.  $6.3  million  of the  auction-rate  securities were  downgraded  by  Moody’s  to  A3-Baa3  during  the  year  ended

December 31, 2009. There have been no further downgrades since; 

6.  All scheduled interest payments have been made pursuant to the reset terms and conditions; and 
7.  All  redemptions  of  auction-rate  securities  representing  68%  of  the  original  portfolio  purchased  by  us  in

February 2008 have been at par. 

Based  on  the  guidance  of  ASC  320-10-35  and  ASC  320-10-50,  we  evaluated  the  potential  credit  loss  of  each  of  the 
auction-rate securities that are currently held by us. Based on such analysis, we determined that those securities that are 
not 100% Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELPS) guaranteed are potentially subject to credit risks based on 
the extent to which the underlying debt is collateralized and the security-specific student-loan default rates. Our portfolio 
includes  two  such  securities.  The  senior  parity  ratio  for  the  two  securities  is  approximately  106%.  If,  therefore,  the 
student-loan default rate and borrowing rate increases for these issuers, the remaining balance in these trusts may not be 
sufficient to cover the senior debt. We therefore concluded that there is potential credit risk for these two securities and 
as  such,  used  the  discounted  cash  flow  model  to  determine  the  amount  of  credit  loss  to  be  recorded.  In  valuing  the 
potential credit loss, the following parameters were used: 2.0 year expected term, cash flows based on the 90-day t-bill 
rates for 2.0 year forwards and a risk premium of 5.9%, the amount of interest that we were receiving on these securities 
when  the  market  was  last  active.  During  the  year  ended  December  31,  2009,  the  potential  credit  loss  associated  with 
these securities was $70,000, which we deemed other-than-temporary and recorded in other expense in its Consolidated 
Statement of Operations during 2009. There have been no such losses since. During the year ended December 31, 2012, 
we were able to redeem one of these two securities at par and therefore, recognized a gain of $40,000 in interest income 
and other, net, in our Consolidated Statement of Operations. 

Unless a rights offering or other similar offer is made to redeem at par and accepted by us, we intend to hold the balance 
of these investments through successful auctions at par, which we believe could take approximately 2.0 years. 

Determining the fair value of the auction-rate securities requires significant management judgment regarding projected 
future cash flows which will depend on many factors, including the quality of the underlying collateral, estimated time 
for  liquidity  including  potential  to  be  called  or  restructured,  underlying  final  maturity,  insurance  guaranty  and  market 
conditions, among others. To determine the fair value of the auction-rate securities at December 31, 2012 and December 
31,  2011,  we  used  a  discounted  cash  flow  model,  for  which  there  are  four  unobservable  inputs:  estimated  time-to-
liquidity, discount rate, credit quality of the issuer and expected interest receipts. A significant increase in the time-to-
liquidity or the discount rate inputs or a significant decrease in the credit quality of the issuer or the expected interest 
receipts inputs in isolation would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. 

39 

 
 
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  
  
 
 
 
The following are the values used in the discounted cash flow model: 

Time-to-Liquidity 
Expected Return (Based on the requisite treasury rate, 
plus a contractual penalty rate) 
Discount Rate (Based on the requisite LIBOR, the cost 
of debt and a liquidity risk premium) 

December 31, 2012

December 31, 2011

24 months 
1.8% 

24 months 
1.8% 

2.5% - 7.3%, depending on the 
credit-rating of the security 

3.1% - 7.9% depending on the 
credit-rating of the security 

From  December  31,  2011  to  December  31,  2012,  we  kept  the  time-to-liquidity  constant  at  2.0  years.  We  sold  $2.1 
million  in  auction-rate  securities  at  par  and  reversed  the  impairment  related  to  these  securities  in  the  amount  of  $0.2 
million. This reduced the overall impairment from $0.7 million at December 31, 2011 to $0.5 million at December 31, 
2012. 

Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $19.6 million primarily reflecting the 
$35.7 million cash dividend paid to common stockholders on December 28, 2012, partially offset by a combined $15.2 
million of cash received from the exercise of stock options and proceeds from stock sold through our Employee Stock 
Purchase Plan. Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $32.0 million primarily 
reflecting $38.5 million of stock repurchases, which was partially offset by a combined $6.5 million of proceeds from 
the exercise of stock options and proceeds from stock sold through our Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Net cash used in 
financing  activities  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2010  was  $14.0  million  primarily  reflecting  $31.5  million  in 
common stock repurchases, partially offset by a combined $16.2 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options 
and proceeds from stock sold through our Employee Stock Purchase Plan.  

On July 27, 2010, the Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program that authorized MPS to repurchase up to 
$50.0 million in the aggregate of its common stock between August 2, 2010 and December 31, 2011. In February 2011, 
the Board of Directors approved an authorization increase from $50.0 million to $70.0 million. The repurchase program 
is now complete and the following shares have been repurchased through the open market and subsequently retired: 

2011 
February ......................................................   
March ..........................................................   
April ............................................................   
May .............................................................   
June .............................................................   

Shares 
Repurchased   

817,500  $
75,000  $
917,200  $
657,800  $
18,000  $
2,485,500     

Average 
Price per 
Share

Value  
(in 
thousands)   
12,648   
1,062   
13,617   
10,843   
302   
38,472   

15.47   $ 
14.17   $ 
14.82   $ 
16.48   $ 
16.79   $ 
    $ 

2010 
August .........................................................   
November ....................................................   

Shares 
Repurchased   

Average 
Price per 
Share

983,189  $
916,600  $
1,899,789     

17.29   $ 
15.85   $ 
    $ 

Value  
(in 
thousands)   
16,998   
14,529   
31,527   

Although cash requirements will fluctuate based on the timing and extent of many factors such as those discussed above, 
we believe that cash generated from operations, together with the liquidity provided by existing cash balances and short-
term  investments,  will  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  our  liquidity  requirements  for  the  next  12 months.  For  further  details 
regarding our operating, investing and financing activities, see the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. 

In the future, in order to strengthen our financial position, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, or in the event we 
need to fund our growth in future financial periods, we may need to raise additional funds by any one or a combination 
of the following: issuing equity securities, issuing debt or convertible debt securities, incurring indebtedness secured by 
our assets, or selling certain product lines and/or portions of our business. There can be no guarantee that we will be able 
to raise additional funds on terms acceptable to us, or at all. 

40 

 
  
   
 
  
  
  
 
   
  
  
  
 
   
  
  
 
  
 
From time to time, we have engaged in discussions with third parties concerning potential acquisitions of product lines, 
technologies and businesses, and we continue to consider potential acquisition candidates. Any such transactions could 
involve the issuance of a significant number of new equity securities, debt, and/or cash consideration.  We may also be 
required  to  raise  additional  funds  to  complete  any  such  acquisition,  through  either  the  issuance  of  equity  and  debt 
securities  or  incurring  indebtedness  secured  by  our  assets.  If  we  raise  additional  funds  or  acquire  businesses  or 
technologies through the issuance of equity securities, our existing stockholders may experience significant dilution. 

Contractual Obligations 

In May 2012, we moved from our previous leased headquarters in San Jose, California to our current Company-owned 
headquarters also located in San Jose, California. 

We also lease our research and development and sales offices in the United States, Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea. 
Certain of our facility leases provide for periodic rent increases. 

In September 2004, we signed an agreement with the Chinese local authority to construct a facility in Chengdu, China. 
Pursuant  to  this  agreement,  we  agreed  to  contribute  capital  in  the  form  of  cash,  in-kind  assets,  and/or  intellectual 
property, of at least $5.0 million to our wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary as the registered capital for the subsidiary and 
exercised the option to purchase land use rights for the facility of approximately $0.2 million. Following the five-year 
lease term, we now have an option to acquire this facility in Chengdu for approximately $1.8 million which consist of 
total  construction  cost  incurred  minus  total  rent  paid  by  us  during  the  lease  term.  This  option  became  exercisable  in 
March 2011 and does not expire. We will likely exercise our purchase option and enter into a purchase agreement for 
this facility in the future. We constructed a 150,000 square foot research and development facility in Chengdu, China 
which was put into operation in October 2010. 

As of December 31, 2012, our total outstanding purchase commitments, primarily for wafers from our three foundries 
and assembly services, were $15.5 million. This compares to purchase commitments of $18.6 million as of December 
31, 2011. 

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations at December 31, 2012, and the effect such obligations are 
expected to have on our liquidity and cash flow over the next five years (in thousands). 

   Total 

2013

Payments by Period
2015
2014

Operating leases ...........................  $ 
Outstanding purchase 

1,165   $

912   $

206   $

commitments ...........................     
 $ 

15,542    
16,707   $

15,542    
16,454   $

-    
206   $

2016 

    Thereafter  
- 
2     $

-      
2     $

- 
- 

45    $

-      
45    $

Because of the uncertainty as to the timing of payments related to our liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits, we have 
excluded estimated obligations of $4.9 million from the table above. 

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements 

As of December 31, 2012, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4) of the Securities and 
Exchange Commission’s Regulation S-K. 

41 

 
 
 
 
 
  
   
  
  
  
 
  
   
   
   
    
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
ITEM 7A.    QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK 

Interest Rate Risk 

Our cash equivalents and investments are subject to market risk, primarily interest rate and credit risk. Our investments 
are managed by outside professional managers within investment guidelines set by us. Such guidelines include security 
type, credit quality and maturity and are intended to limit market risk by restricting our investments to high quality debt 
instruments with relatively short-term maturities. 

We do not use derivative financial instruments in our investment portfolio. Investments in debt securities are classified 
as available-for-sale or trading. For available-for-sale investments, no gains or losses are recognized by us in our results 
of operations due  to  changes  in  interest  rates  unless  such  securities  are  sold prior  to  maturity  or  are  determined  to  be 
other-than-temporarily  impaired.  Available-for-sale  investments  are  reported  at  fair  value  with  the  related  unrealized 
gains  or  losses  being  included  in  accumulated  other  comprehensive  income,  a  component  of  stockholders’  equity. 
Trading securities are reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses included in earnings. 

Fluctuations in interest rates of plus or minus 10% could impact our annual results of operations by approximately $0.1 
million. 

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk 

Our sales outside the United States are transacted in U.S. dollars. Accordingly, our sales are not generally impacted by 
foreign currency rate changes. In 2012, the primary functional currency of the Company’s offshore operations was the 
local  currency,  primarily  the  New  Taiwan  Dollar  and  the  Chinese  Yuan.  To  date,  fluctuations  in  foreign  currency 
exchange  rates  have  not  had  a  material  impact  on  our  results  of  operations.  However,  fluctuations  of  +/-  10%  on 
intercompany  transactions  of  $50.3  million  in  such  local  currencies  could  impact  our  annual  results  of  operations  by 
approximately $5.0 million. 

Value Change to Long-Term Investments 

As of December 31, 2012, all of our holdings in auction rate securities, which have a face value of $12.3 million, have 
failed to reset as a result of current market conditions. Should these auctions continue to fail and if the credit rating for 
these  securities  decline,  a  10%  decline  in  the  fair  value  could  impact  our  results  of  operations  by  approximately  $1.2 
million. 

42 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ITEM 8.     FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA 

MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

Contents 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm ....................................................................................
Consolidated Balance Sheets ...................................................................................................................................
Consolidated Statements of Operations ...................................................................................................................
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income ...............................................................................................
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity ...................................................................................................
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows ..................................................................................................................
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements ............................................................................................................

Page
44 
45 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM 

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of 
Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. 
San Jose, California 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. and subsidiaries (the 
"Company") as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive 
income, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012. These 
financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on 
these 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,  such  consolidated  financial  statements  present  fairly,  in  all  material  respects,  the  financial  position  of 
Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the results of their operations 
and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012, in conformity with accounting 
principles generally accepted in the United States of America. 

We  have  also  audited,  in  accordance  with  the  standards  of  the  Public  Company  Accounting  Oversight  Board  (United 
States),  the  Company's  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  as  of  December  31,  2012,  based  on  the  criteria 
established  in  Internal  Control  –  Integrated  Framework  issued  by  the  Committee  of  Sponsoring  Organizations  of  the 
Treadway Commission, and our report dated March 5, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal 
control over financial reporting. 

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP 

San Jose, California 
March 5, 2013 

44 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS 
(in thousands, except par value and share amounts) 

ASSETS 
Current assets: 

Cash and cash equivalents ....................................................................................   $
Short-term investments .........................................................................................    
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $20 in 2012 and $5 in 2011 ...............    
Inventories ............................................................................................................    
Deferred income tax assets, net – current .............................................................    
Prepaid expenses and other current assets ............................................................    
Total current assets ............................................................................................    
Property and equipment, net ........................................................................................    
Long-term investments ................................................................................................    
Deferred income tax assets, net - long-term .................................................................    
Other assets ..................................................................................................................    
Total assets ........................................................................................................   $

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities: 

Accounts payable ..................................................................................................   $
Accrued compensation and related benefits ..........................................................    
Accrued liabilities .................................................................................................    
Total current liabilities ......................................................................................    

Non-current income tax liabilities ................................................................................    
Total liabilities ......................................................................................................    

Commitments and contingencies (Note 9) 
Stockholders' equity: 

December 31,

2012 

2011

75,104    $
85,521      
19,383      
32,115      
1      
2,177      
214,301      
59,412      
11,755      
669      
1,025      
287,162    $

9,859    $
7,686      
5,915      
23,460      

5,408      
28,868      

96,371 
77,827 
15,097 
20,104 
421 
1,685 
211,505 
47,794 
13,675 
239 
654 
273,867 

8,904 
9,321 
7,845 
26,070 

4,920 
30,990 

Common stock, $0.001 par value; shares authorized: 150,000,000; shares issued 

and outstanding: 35,673,282 and 33,826,032 in 2012 and 2011, respectively ..    
Retained earnings ..................................................................................................    
Accumulated other comprehensive income ..........................................................    
Total stockholders’ equity .................................................................................    
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity...........................................................   $

194,079      
60,040      
4,175      
258,294      
287,162    $

159,336 
79,948 
3,593 
242,877 
273,867 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements 

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MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS 
(in thousands, except per share amounts) 

Year Ended December 31,
2011 

2010

2012

Revenue .....................................................................................................   $
Cost of revenue (1) ....................................................................................    

213,813   $
100,665     

196,519     $
94,925      

218,840 
97,383 

Gross profit .........................................................................................    

113,148     

101,594      

121,457 

Operating expenses: 

Research and development (2) ...............................................................    
Selling, general and administrative (3) ...................................................    
Litigation expense (benefit), net .............................................................    

48,796     
50,018     
(2,945)    

44,518      
40,280      
3,379      

44,372 
41,169 
5,418 

Total operating expenses ....................................................................    

95,869     

88,177      

90,959 

Income from operations .............................................................................    
Interest income and other, net ....................................................................    

17,279     
611     

13,417      
309      

30,498 
922 

Income before income taxes ......................................................................    
Income tax provision..................................................................................    

17,890     
2,134     

13,726      
425      

31,420 
1,857 

Net income .................................................................................................   $

15,756   $

13,301     $

29,563 

Basic net income per share ........................................................................   $
Diluted net income per share .....................................................................   $
Weighted average common shares outstanding: 

0.45   $
0.43   $

0.39     $
0.38     $

0.83 
0.78 

Basic .......................................................................................................    
Diluted ....................................................................................................    

34,871     
36,247     

34,050      
35,160      

35,830 
37,826 

(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...............................................   $
(2) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...............................................    
(3) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...............................................    
Total stock-based compensation expense ...........................................   $

510   $
6,922     
11,220     
18,652   $

312     $
5,909      
6,905      
13,126     $

393 
6,742 
9,675 
16,810 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements 

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MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 
(in thousands) 

Year Ended December 31,
2011 

2010

2012

Net income ........................................................................................................  $
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax: 

Auction-rate securities valuation reserve adjustment, net of $0 tax in 

15,756    $

13,301    $

29,563 

2012, 2011 and 2010 ..............................................................................   

140      

270     

Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities, net of $0 tax in 

2012, 2011 and 2010 ..............................................................................   

34      

(37)    

160 

104 

Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of $0 tax in 2012, 2011 

and 2010 .................................................................................................   

408      

1,381     

1,361 

Comprehensive income ..........................................................................  $

16,338    $

14,915    $

31,188 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements 

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MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY 
(in thousands, except share amounts) 

Common Stock

Shares

    Amount

    Retained    
    Earnings    

Accumulated 
Other 
Comprehensive    
Income 

Total 
Stockholders’ 
Equity

Balance as of January 1, 2010 ..................................    35,165,316   $
Net income .................................................................    
Auction rate securities valuation reserve adjustment ..    
Unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities ........    
Foreign currency translation .......................................    
Exercise of stock options and related tax benefit 

including net excess tax benefit of ($1,256) ...........    1,452,245    
Repurchase of common shares ...................................    (1,899,789)   
Shares purchased through employee stock purchase 

plan .........................................................................   
Stock-based compensation expense, net of forfeitures    
Compensation expense for non-employee stock 

114,387    

options ....................................................................    
Release of restricted stock upon vesting .....................   
230,874     
Balance as of December 31, 2010 .............................    35,063,033   $
Net income .................................................................    
Auction rate securities valuation reserve adjustment ..    
Unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities .......    
Foreign currency translation .......................................    
Exercise of stock options and related tax benefit 

including net excess tax benefit of ($27) ................   

685,417    
Repurchase of common shares ...................................    (2,485,500)   
Shares purchased through employee stock purchase 

plan .........................................................................   
Stock-based compensation expense, net of forfeitures    
Compensation expense for non-employee stock 

149,981    

options ....................................................................    
Release of restricted stock upon vesting .....................   
413,101    
Balance as of December 31, 2011 .............................    33,826,032   $
Net income .................................................................    
Auction rate securities valuation reserve adjustment ..    
Unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities ........    
Foreign currency translation .......................................    
Cash dividend .............................................................    
Exercise of stock options and related tax benefit 

175,518   $

37,085   $
29,563     

354    $

160     
104     
1,361     

15,597     
(31,527)    

1,885     
16,803     

(7)    

178,269   $

4,630     
(38,472)    

1,773     
13,123     

13     

159,336   $

66,647   $
13,301     

1,979    $

270     
(37)   
1,381     

79,948   $
15,756     

(35,664)    

3,593    $

140     
34     
408     

including net excess tax benefit of ($869) ..............    1,151,884    

14,232     

Shares purchased through employee stock purchase 

plan .........................................................................   
Stock-based compensation expense, net of forfeitures    
Compensation expense for non-employee stock 

151,770    

options ....................................................................    
Release of restricted stock upon vesting .....................   
543,596    
Balance as of December 31, 2012 .............................    35,673,282   $

1,852     
18,642     

17     

194,079   $

60,040   $

4,175    $

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements 

212,957 
29,563 
160 
104 
1,361 

15,597 
(31,527)

1,885 
16,803 

(7)
- 
246,895 
13,301 
270 
(37)
1,381 

4,630 
(38,472)

1,773 
13,123 

13 
- 
242,877 
15,756 
140 
34 
408 
(35,664)

14,232 

1,852 
18,642 

17 
- 
258,294 

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MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS 
(in thousands) 

Year Ended December 31,
2011 

2010

2012

Cash flows from operating activities: 
Net income .....................................................................................................................  $
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: 

15,756    $ 

13,301     $

29,563 

Depreciation and amortization ................................................................................   
Loss on disposal of property and equipment ...........................................................   
Amortization and realized gain on available-for-sale securities .............................   
Deferred income tax assets .....................................................................................   
Gain on auction-rate securities ...............................................................................   
Tax benefit from stock option transactions .............................................................   
Excess tax benefit from stock option transactions ..................................................   
Stock-based compensation ......................................................................................   
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: 

Accounts receivable ............................................................................................   
Inventories ..........................................................................................................   
Prepaid expenses and other current assets ..........................................................   
Accounts payable ................................................................................................   
Accrued and other long-term liabilities...............................................................   
Accrued income taxes payable and noncurrent tax liabilities .............................   
Accrued compensation and related benefits ........................................................   
Net cash provided by operating activities .......................................................   

9,332      
81      
254      
(8)     
(40)     
3,009      
(869)     
18,652      

(4,286)     
(12,004)     
(456)     
754      
(2,097)     
(1,533)     
(1,633)     
24,912      

8,732      
33      
376      
(403 )    
-      
1,958      
(27 )    
13,126      

3,250      
5,699      
673      
(957 )    
(438 )    
(2,127 )    
489      
43,685      

8,016 
1 
688 
(56)
- 
3,349 
(1,256)
16,810 

(2,826)
(6,184)
378 
1,155 
556 
(1,995)
295 
48,494 

Cash flows from investing activities: 

Property and equipment purchases .........................................................................   
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment .......................................................   
Purchases of short-term investments.......................................................................   
Proceeds from sale of short-term investments ........................................................   
Proceeds from sale of long-term investments .........................................................   
Changes in restricted assets ....................................................................................   
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities .............................................   

(21,059)     
13      
(143,094)     
135,183      
2,100      
20      
(26,837)     

(21,022 )    
-      
(78,250 )    
129,719      
5,775      
-      
36,222      

(22,779)
- 
(208,621)
197,243 
425 
(19)
(33,751)

Cash flows from financing activities: 

Proceeds from issuance of common stock ..............................................................   
Proceeds from employee stock purchase plan ........................................................   
Repurchase of common stock .................................................................................   
Dividend payment ...................................................................................................   
Excess tax benefits from stock option transactions .................................................   
Net cash used in financing activities ...................................................................   

13,390      
1,852      
-      
(35,664)     
869      
(19,553)     

4,697      
1,773      
(38,472 )    
-      
27      
(31,975 )    

Effect of change in exchange rates .................................................................................   
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents .....................................................   
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period .............................................................   
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period .......................................................................  $

211      
(21,267)     
96,371      
75,104    $ 

429      
48,361      
48,010      
96,371     $

14,339 
1,885 
(31,527)
- 
1,256 
(14,047)

597 
1,293 
46,717 
48,010 

Supplemental disclosures for cash flow information: 

Cash paid for taxes .................................................................................................  $

807    $ 

675     $

35 

Supplemental disclosures of non-cash investing and financing activities: 

Liability accrued for equipment purchases .............................................................  $
Reversal of temporary impairment of auction-rate securities .................................  $

1,728    $ 
(140)   $ 

1,483     $
(270 )   $

4,264 
(160)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements 

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MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

1.  Summary of Significant Accounting Policies 

Business — Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (“MPS” or “the Company”) was incorporated in the State of California on 
August  22,  1997.  On  November  17,  2004,  the  Company  was  reincorporated  in  the  State  of  Delaware.  MPS  designs, 
develops  and  markets  proprietary,  advanced  analog  and  mixed-signal  semiconductors.  The  Company  combines 
advanced  process  technology  with  its  highly  experienced  analog  designers  to  produce  high-performance  power 
management integrated circuits (ICs) for DC to DC converters, LED drivers, Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) 
backlight controllers, Class-D audio amplifiers, and other Linear ICs. MPS products are used extensively in computing 
and network communications products, LCD monitors and TVs, and a wide variety of consumer and portable electronics 
products.  MPS  contracts  with  world-class  manufacturing  organizations  to  deliver  top  quality,  ultra-compact,  high-
performance solutions through productive, cost-efficient channels. 

Basis of Presentation — The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. 
and  its  wholly  owned  subsidiaries.  All  significant  intercompany  accounts  and  transactions  have  been  eliminated  in 
consolidation. 

Foreign Currency  — The Company’s foreign subsidiaries operate primarily using their respective local currencies, and 
therefore, the local currency has been determined to be the functional currency for each foreign subsidiary. Accordingly, 
all assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are translated using exchange rates in effect at the end of 
the  period.  Revenue  and  costs  are  translated  using  average  exchange  rates  for  the  period.  The  resulting  translation 
adjustments are presented as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income in stockholders’ equity 
in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are reported in interest income and 
other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. 

Use of Estimates — The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted 
in  the  United  States  of  America  (“GAAP”)  requires  management  to  make  estimates  and  assumptions  that  affect  the 
reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial 
statements and reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from 
those estimates. 

Certain  Significant  Risks  and  Uncertainties  —  Financial  instruments  which  potentially  subject  the  Company  to 
concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments and 
accounts receivable. The Company’s cash consists of checking and savings accounts. The Company’s cash equivalents 
include  short-term,  highly  liquid  investments  purchased  with  remaining  maturities  at  the  date  of  purchase  of  three 
months or less. The Company’s short-term investments consist primarily of government agencies and treasuries and the 
Company’s  long-term  investments  consist  of  government-backed  student  loan  auction-rate  securities.  The  Company 
generally does not require its customers to provide collateral or other security to support accounts receivable. To manage 
credit  risk,  management  performs  ongoing  credit  evaluations  of  its  customers’  financial  condition.  The  Company 
requires cash in advance for certain customers in addition to ongoing credit evaluations for those where credit has been 
extended. 

The Company participates in the dynamic high technology industry and believes that changes in any of the following 
areas  could  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  the  Company’s  future  financial  position,  results  of  operations  or  cash 
flows:  advances  and  trends  in  new  technologies  and  industry  standards;  competitive  pressures  in  the  form  of  new 
products or price reductions on current products; changes in product mix; changes in the overall demand for products 
offered  by  the  Company;  changes  in  third-party  manufacturers;  changes  in  key  suppliers;  changes  in  certain  strategic 
relationships or customer relationships; litigation or claims against the Company based on intellectual property, patent, 
product,  regulatory  or  other  factors;  fluctuations  in  foreign  currency  exchange  rates;  risk  associated  with  changes  in 
domestic and international economic and/or political regulations; availability of necessary components or subassemblies; 
availability  of  foundry  capacity;  and  the  Company’s  ability  to  attract  and  retain  employees  necessary  to  support  its 
growth. 

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Fair Value of Financial Instruments — ASC 820-10 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures – Overall defines fair 
value,  establishes  a  framework  for  measuring  fair  value  and  requires  that  assets  and  liabilities  carried  at  fair  value  be 
classified and disclosed in one of three categories, as follows: 

    Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets; 
    Level 2: Significant other observable inputs; and 
    Level 3: Significant unobservable inputs. 

ASC 820-10-35-51 Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure – Overall – Subsequent Measurement – Determining Fair 
Value  When  the  Volume  and  Level  of  Activity  for  the  Asset  or  Liability  Have  Significantly  Decreased  and  Identifying 
Transactions That Are Not Orderly provides additional guidance for estimating fair value in accordance with ASC 820-
10 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures – Overall, when the volume and level of activity for the asset or liability 
have significantly decreased.  

The Company’s financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments. Cash 
equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair market value. Short-term and long-term investments are stated at 
their fair market value. 

At December 31, 2012, the face value of the Company’s holdings in auction rate securities is $12.3 million, all of which 
is classified as long-term available-for-sale investments. 

Investments in available-for-sale securities are recorded at fair value, and unrealized gains or losses (that are deemed to 
be temporary) are recognized through shareholders' equity, as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income 
in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and in Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. The Company records an 
impairment charge to earnings when an available-for-sale investment has experienced a decline in value that is deemed 
to be other-than-temporary. 

The  Company  used  the  guidelines  of  ASC  320  to  determine  whether  the  impairment  is  temporary  or  other-than 
temporary.  During  the  year  ended  December  31,  2012,  we  were  able  to  redeem  a  security  at  face  value  for  which  an 
other-than-temporary  impairment  (“OTTI”)  of  $40,000  had  previously  been  recorded  for  and  therefore,  recognized  a 
gain of $40,000 in interest income and other, net, in our Consolidated Statement of Operations. 

The valuation of the auction-rate securities is subject to fluctuations in the future, which will depend on many factors, 
including  the  quality  of  the  underlying  collateral,  estimated  time  to  liquidity  including  potential  to  be  called  or 
restructured, underlying final maturity, insurance guaranty and market conditions, among others. 

Inventories — Inventories are stated at the lower of the standard cost (which approximates actual cost on a first-in, first-
out basis) or current estimated market value.  The Company writes down inventory for obsolescence or lack of demand, 
based  on  assumptions  about  future  demand  and  market  conditions.  If actual  market  conditions  are less  favorable  than 
those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required. Conversely, if market conditions are 
more favorable, inventory may be sold that was previously reserved. The Company monitors manufacturing variances 
and revises standard costs if necessary. 

Property and Equipment — Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line 
method  over  the  estimated  useful  lives  of  the  assets,  generally  three  to  forty  years.  Leasehold  improvements  are 
amortized over the shorter of the estimated useful life or the lease period. The Chengdu building was placed in service in 
October 2010. In May 2012, the Company moved to the Company-owned headquarters located in San Jose, California. 
Buildings and building improvements have a depreciation life of up to 40 years. 

Long-Lived  Assets  —  The  Company  evaluates  long-lived  assets  for  impairment  whenever  events  or  changes  in 
circumstances  indicate  that  the  carrying  amount  of  an  asset  may  not  be  recoverable.  An  impairment  loss  would  be 
recognized when the sum of the undiscounted future net cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its 
eventual disposition is less than its carrying amount. Such impairment loss would be measured as the difference between 
the carrying amount of the asset and its fair value based on the present value of estimated future cash flows. 

Other Assets — Other assets consist primarily of intangible assets for the land use rights in Chengdu, purchased patents 
and long-term lease deposits. We amortize the land use rights over 50 years and the purchased patents up to five years. 

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Revenue Recognition — The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board 
(“FASB”)  –  Accounting  Standards  Codification  (“ASC”)  605-10-S25  Revenue  Recognition  –  Overall  –  Recognition. 
ASC 605-10-S25 requires that four basic criteria must be met before revenue can be recognized: (1) persuasive evidence 
of an arrangement exists; (2) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered; (3) the fee is fixed or determinable; 
and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. Determination of criteria (3) and (4) are based on management’s judgment 
regarding the fixed nature of the fee charged for products delivered and the collectability of those fees. The application 
of  these  criteria  has  resulted  in  the  Company  generally  recognizing  revenue  upon  shipment  (when  title  passes)  to 
customers.    

Approximately 91% of the Company’s distributor sales, including sales to the Company’s value-added resellers, for the 
year ended December 31, 2012 were made through distribution arrangements with third parties. These agreements do not 
include  any  special  payment  terms  (the  Company’s  normal  payment  terms  are  30-45  days  for  the  distributors),  price 
protection  or  exchange  rights.  Returns  are  limited  to  the  Company’s  standard  product  warranty.  Certain  of  the 
Company’s large distributors have contracts that include limited stock rotation rights that permit the  return of a small 
percentage of the previous six months’ purchases. 

Approximately 9% of the Company’s distributor sales for the year ended December 31, 2012 were made through small 
distributors primarily based on purchase orders.  These distributors also have limited or no stock rotation rights.   

The Company’s revenue consists primarily of sales of assembled and tested finished goods. The Company also sells die 
in wafer form to its customers and value-added resellers, and the Company receives royalty revenue from third parties 
and value-added resellers. 

The Company maintains a sales reserve for stock rotation rights, which is based on historical experience of actual stock 
rotation  returns  on  a  per  distributor  basis,  where  available,  and  information  related  to  products  in  the  distribution 
channel.  This  reserve  is  recorded  at  the  time  of  sale.  Historically,  these  returns  were  not  material  to  the  Company’s 
consolidated financial statements. 

The  Company  generally  recognizes  revenue  upon  shipment  of  products  to  the  distributor  for  the  following  reasons 
(based on ASC 605-15-25-1 Revenue Recognition – Products – Recognition – Sales of Products When Right of Return 
Exists): 

(1)  The Company’s price is fixed or determinable at the date of sale. The Company does not offer special 
payment  terms,  price  protection  or  price  adjustments  to  distributors  where  the  Company  recognizes
revenue upon shipment 

(2)  The Company’s distributors are obligated to pay the Company and this obligation is not contingent on 

the resale of the Company’s products 

(3)  The distributor’s obligation is unchanged in the event of theft or physical destruction or damage to the

products 

(4)  The  Company’s  distributors  have  stand-alone  economic  substance  apart  from  the  Company’s 

relationship 

(5)  The Company does not have any obligations for future performance to directly bring about the resale of

the Company’s products by the distributor 

(6)  The  amount  of  future  returns  can  be  reasonably  estimated.  The  Company  has  the  ability  and  the
information necessary to track inventory sold to and held at its distributors. The Company maintains a
history of returns and has the ability to estimate the stock rotation returns on a quarterly basis. 

If  the  Company  enters  into  arrangements  that  have  rights  of  return  that  are  not  estimable,  the  Company  recognizes 
revenue under such arrangements only after the distributor has sold its products to an end customer. 

The  terms  in  a  majority  of  the  Company’s  distribution  agreements  include  the  non-exclusive  right  to  sell  and  the 
agreement  to  use  best  efforts  to  promote  and  develop  a  market  for  the  Company’s  products  in  certain  regions  of  the 
world  and  the  ability  to  terminate  the  distribution  agreement  by  either  party  with  up  to  three  months’  notice.  The 
Company  provides  a  one  year  warranty  against  defects  in  materials  and  workmanship.  Under  this  warranty,  the 
Company will repair the goods, provide replacements at no charge or under certain circumstances, provide a refund to 
the customer for defective products. Estimated warranty returns and warranty costs are based on historical experience 
and are recorded at the time product revenue is recognized. 

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Two of the Company’s U.S. distributors have distribution agreements where revenue is recognized upon sale by these 
distributors to their end customers because these distributors have certain rights of return which management believes 
are not estimable. The deferred income balance from these two distributors for the year ended December 31, 2012 and 
2011 was $1.4 million and $0.9 million, respectively. 

Warranty  Reserves  — We  generally  provide  a  12-month  warranty  against  defects  in  materials  and  workmanship  and 
will  either  repair  the  goods  or  provide  replacement  products  at  no  charge  to  the  customer  for  defective  products.  We 
record estimated warranty costs by product, which are based on historical experience over the preceding 12 months, at 
the  time  we  recognize  product  revenue.  Reserve  requirements  are  recorded  in  the  period  of  sale  and  are  based  on  an 
assessment of the products sold with warranty and historical warranty costs incurred. Historically, the warranty expenses 
were not material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.  

Stock-Based Compensation — The Company accounts for stock-based compensation under the provisions of ASC 718-
10-30  Compensation  –  Stock  Compensation  –  Overall  –  Initial  Measurement.  This  standard  requires  the  Company  to 
measure the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant-date 
fair value of the award. The Company currently uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of 
its  share-based  payments.  The  Black-Scholes  option-pricing  model  is  based  on  a  number  of  assumptions,  including 
historical  volatility,  expected  life,  risk-free  interest  rate  and  expected  dividends.  The  fair  value  for  time-based  stock 
awards and stock awards that are contingent upon the achievement of financial performance metrics is based on the grant 
date share price. 

We  recognize  compensation  expense  equal  to  the  grant-date  fair  value  for  all  share-based  payment  awards  that  are 
expected to vest. This expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the entire award, 
unless the awards are subject to market or performance conditions, in which case we recognize compensation expense 
over  the  requisite  service  period  of  each  separate  vesting  tranche.  We  recognize  compensation  expense  for  our 
performance share units when it becomes probable that the performance criteria specified in the plan will be achieved. 
The amount of stock-based compensation that the Company recognizes is also based on an expected forfeiture rate. If 
there  is  a  difference  between  the  forfeiture  assumptions  used  in  determining  stock-based  compensation  costs  and  the 
actual  forfeitures  which  become  known  over  time,  we  may  change  the  forfeiture  rate,  which  could  have  a  significant 
impact on our stock-based compensation expense. 

Research and Development — Costs incurred in research and development are charged to operations as incurred. 

 Accounting  for  Income  Taxes  —ASC  740-10 Income  Taxes  –  Overall prescribes  a  recognition  threshold  and 
measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be 
taken in a tax return. This interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, 
accounting  in  interim  periods  and  disclosure.  In  accordance  with  ASC  740-10,  the  Company  recognizes  federal,  state 
and foreign current tax liabilities or assets based on our estimate of taxes payable or refundable in the current fiscal year 
by  tax  jurisdiction.  The  Company  also  recognizes  federal,  state  and  foreign  deferred  tax  assets  or  liabilities  for  its 
estimate of future tax effects attributable to temporary differences and carryforwards. The Company records a valuation 
allowance  to  reduce  any  deferred  tax  assets  by  the  amount  of  any  tax  benefits  that,  based  on  available  evidence  and 
judgment, are not expected to be realized. 

 The Company’s calculation of current and deferred tax assets and liabilities is based on certain estimates and judgments 
and involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax laws. The Company’s estimates of current and 
deferred tax assets and liabilities may change based, in part, on added certainty or finality or uncertainty to an anticipated 
outcome, changes in accounting or tax laws in the U.S., or foreign jurisdictions where the Company operates, or changes 
in other facts or circumstances. In addition, the Company recognizes liabilities for potential U.S. and foreign income tax 
for uncertain income tax positions taken on its tax returns if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained. If the 
Company determines that payment of these amounts is unnecessary or if the recorded tax liability is less than its current 
assessment, the Company may be required to recognize an income tax benefit or additional income tax expense in its 
financial statements in the period such determination is made. The Company has calculated its uncertain tax positions 
which  were  attributable  to  certain  estimates  and  judgments  primarily  related  to  transfer  pricing,  cost  sharing  and  its 
international tax structure exposure. 

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As  of  December  31,  2012  and 2011,  the  Company  had  a  valuation  allowance  of  $12.5  million  and  $14.6  million, 
respectively,  attributable  to  management’s  determination  that  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that most  of  the  deferred  tax 
assets in the United States will not be realized. Should it be determined that additional amounts of the net deferred tax 
asset  will  not  be  realized  in  the  future,  an  adjustment  to  increase  the  deferred  tax  asset  valuation  allowance  will  be 
charged to income in the period such determination is made. Likewise, in the event the Company were to determine that 
it is more likely than not that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of its net recorded 
amount, an adjustment to the valuation allowance for the deferred tax asset would increase income in the period such 
determination was made. 

As a result of the cost sharing arrangements  with the Company’s international subsidiaries (cost share arrangements), 
relatively  small  changes  in  costs  that  are  not  subject  to  sharing  under  the  cost  share  arrangements  can  significantly 
impact the overall profitability of the US entity.  Because of the US entity’s inconsistent earnings history and uncertainty 
of future earnings, the Company has determined that it is more likely than not that the US deferred tax benefits will not 
be realized. 

In November 2012, California taxpayers voted in favor of mandating the use of a single sales factor for California state 
apportionment,  effective  for  tax  years  beginning  on  or  after  January  1,  2012.  As  a  result  of  this  change  in  law,  the 
Company’s California deferred tax assets were revalued down.   As the Company has a valuation allowance against its 
U.S. deferred tax assets, this revaluation of its California deferred tax assets did not impact income tax expense. 

The Company incurred significant stock-based compensation expense, some of which related to incentive stock options 
for  which  no  corresponding  tax  benefit  will  be  recognized  unless  a  disqualifying  disposition  occurs.  Disqualifying 
dispositions  result  in  a  reduction  of  income  tax  expense  in  the  period  when  the  disqualifying  disposition  occurs.  Tax 
benefits  related  to  realized  tax  deductions  in  excess  of  previously  expensed  stock  compensation  are  recorded  as  an 
addition to paid-in-capital. 

Contingencies. The  Company  and  certain  of  its  subsidiaries  are  parties  to  actions  and  proceedings  incident  to  its 
business  in  the  ordinary  course  of  business,  including  litigation  regarding  the  Company’s  intellectual  property, 
challenges  to  the  enforceability  or  validity  of  its  intellectual  property  and  claims  that  its  products  infringe  on  the 
intellectual  property  rights  of  others.  The  pending  proceedings  involve  complex  questions  of  fact  and  law  and  will 
require  the  expenditure  of  significant  funds  and  the diversion of  other resources  to prosecute  and defend.  In  addition, 
from time to time, the Company becomes aware that it is subject to other contingent liabilities. When this occurs, the 
Company  will  evaluate  the  appropriate  accounting  for  the  potential  contingent  liabilities  using  ASC  450-20-25-2 
Contingencies  –  Loss  Contingencies  -  Recognition  to  determine  whether  a  contingent  liability  should  be  recorded.  In 
making this determination, management may, depending on the nature of the matter, consult with internal and external 
legal counsel and technical experts. Based on the facts and circumstances in each matter, the Company uses its judgment 
to  determine  whether  it  is  probable  that  a  contingent  loss  has  occurred  and  whether  the  amount  of  such  loss  can  be 
estimated.  If  the  Company  determines  a  loss  is  probable  and  estimable,  the  Company  records  a  contingent  loss  in 
accordance  with  ASC  450-20-25-2.  In  determining  the  amount  of  a  contingent  loss,  the  Company  takes  into  account 
advice received from experts for each specific matter regarding the status of legal proceedings, settlement negotiations 
(which may be ongoing), prior case history and other factors. Should the judgments and estimates made by management 
need to be adjusted as additional information becomes available, the Company may need to record additional contingent 
losses that could materially and adversely impact its results of operations. Alternatively, if the judgments and estimates 
made  by  management  are  adjusted,  for  example,  if  a  particular  contingent  loss  does  not  occur,  the  contingent  loss 
recorded would be reversed which could result in a favorable impact on the Company’s results of operations. 

Litigation  Expenses.  The  Company  expenses  litigation  costs  in  the  period  in  which  they  are  incurred.  Due  to  the 
uncertainties  inherent  in  litigation  proceedings,  the  Company  generally  recognizes  the  proceeds  resulting  from 
settlement of litigation or favorable judgments when the cash is received. The proceeds are recorded as a reduction in 
litigation expense to the extent that litigation costs were previously incurred in the related case. Proceeds in excess of 
cumulative  costs  incurred  for  a  case  is  recorded  to  interest  income  and  other,  net on  the  Consolidated  Statements  of 
Operations.  Litigation  expense  (benefit),  net  on  the  Consolidated  Statements  of  Operations  include  primarily  patent 
litigation and other contract-related matters. 

54 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Comprehensive Income— Comprehensive income represents the change in the Company’s net assets during the period 
from  non-owner  sources.  Accumulated  other  comprehensive  income  presented  in  the  Consolidated  Balance  Sheet  at 
December  31,  2012  consisted  primarily  of  $4.7  million  related  to  translation  gains,  partially  offset  by  $0.5  million 
related  to  the  impairment  of  the  Company’s  holdings  in  auction-rate  securities.  Accumulated  other  comprehensive 
income presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2011 consisted primarily of approximately $4.2 
million related to translation gains, partially offset by $0.6 million related to the impairment of the Company’s holdings 
in auction-rate securities. 

Recently Adopted and New Accounting Pronouncements 

In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 
No. 2013-02, Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. This ASU adds new 
disclosure  requirement  for  items  reclassified  out  of  accumulated  other  comprehensive  income  (“AOCI”).  The  ASU  is 
effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after December 15, 2012 and must be 
applied prospectively. The Company is evaluating the impact of the standard on its consolidated financial statements and 
related disclosures. 

In  June  2011,  the  FASB  issued  ASU  No.  2011-05  relating  to  Comprehensive  Income  (Topic  220)  –  Presentation  of 
Comprehensive  Income  (ASU  2011-05),  which  requires  an  entity  to  present  the  total  of  comprehensive  income,  the 
components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement 
of  comprehensive  income  or  in  two  separate  but  consecutive  statements.  The  ASU  is  effective  for  fiscal  years,  and 
interim periods within those years, beginning on or after December 15, 2011 and must be applied retrospectively. The 
Company adopted this standard effective January 1, 2012. 

In  May  2011,  the  FASB  issued  ASU  No.  2011-04,  Amendments  to  Achieve  Common  Fair  Value  Measurement  and 
Disclosure  Requirements  in  U.S.  GAAP  and  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards  (Topic  820)  –  Fair  Value 
Measurement (ASU 2011-04), to provide a consistent definition of fair value and ensure that the fair value measurement 
and  disclosure  requirements  are  similar  between  U.S.  GAAP  and  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards.  ASU 
2011-04  changes  certain  fair  value  measurement  principles  and  enhances  the  disclosure  requirements  particularly  for 
level 3 fair value measurements. The ASU is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning 
on  or  after  December  15,  2011  and  should  be  applied  prospectively.  The  Company  adopted  this  standard  effective 
January 1, 2012. 

2.  Fair Value Measurements 

The  following  is  a  schedule  of  the  Company’s  cash  and  cash  equivalents,  short-term  investments  and  long-term 
investments as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 (in thousands): 

Cash, cash equivalents and investments .....................................     
Cash in banks .......................................................................  $
Money market funds ............................................................   
Government agencies/ treasuries .........................................   
Auction-rate securities backed by student-loan notes ..........   
Total cash, cash equivalents and investments .............................  $

Reported as: 

Estimated Fair  
Market Value as of 
December 31, 

2012

2011 

59,145   $ 
15,959     
85,521     
11,755     
172,380   $ 

43,305 
51,066 
79,827 
13,675 
187,873 

December 31, 

2012

2011 

Cash and cash equivalents ...................................................  $
Short-term investments ........................................................   
Long-term investments ........................................................   
Total cash, cash equivalents and investments .............................  $

75,104   $ 
85,521     
11,755     
172,380   $ 

96,371 
77,827 
13,675 
187,873 

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The contractual maturities of the Company’s investments classified as available-for-sale as of December 31, 2012 and 
2011 is as follows (in thousands): 

Due in less than 1 year ................................................................  $
Due in 1 - 5 years ........................................................................   
Due in greater than 5 years .........................................................   
 $

52,880   $ 
32,641     
11,755     
97,276   $ 

45,133 
32,694 
13,675 
91,502 

December 31, 

2012

2011 

The  following  table  details  the  fair  value  measurements  as  of  December  31,  2012  and  2011  within  the  fair  value 
hierarchy of the financial assets that are required to be recorded at fair value (in thousands): 

Fair Value Measurements at  
December 31, 2012 Using 
Quoted 
Prices in 
Active 
Markets 
for 
Identical 
Assets

Significant 
Other 
Observable 
Inputs 
    Level 1     Level 2 
15,959    $ 
-      
-      
15,959    $ 

Significant 
Unobservable 
Inputs
     Level 3
-   $ 
85,521     
-     
85,521   $ 

- 
- 
11,755 
11,755 

Total

15,959   $
85,521    
11,755    
113,235   $

Fair Value Measurements at  
December 31, 2011 Using 
Quoted 
Prices in 
Active 
Markets 
for 
Identical 
Assets

Significant 
Other 
Observable 
Inputs 
    Level 1     Level 2 
51,066    $ 
-      
-      
51,066    $ 

Significant 
Unobservable 
Inputs
     Level 3
-   $ 
79,827     
-     
79,827   $ 

- 
- 
13,675 
13,675 

Total

51,066   $
79,827    
13,675    
144,568   $

Money market funds .................................................................  $
US treasuries and US government agency bonds ......................   
Long-term available-for-sale auction-rate securities .................   
 $

Money market funds .................................................................  $
US treasuries and US government agency bonds ......................   
Long-term available-for-sale auction-rate securities .................   
 $

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The  following  tables  summarize  unrealized  gains  and  losses  related  to  our  investments  in  marketable  securities 
designated as available-for-sale (in thousands): 

As of December 31, 2012 

Adjusted 
Cost

Unrealized 
Gains

Unrealized 
Losses

Total Fair 
Value 

Fair Value 
of 
Investments 
in 
Unrealized 
Loss 
Position  

Money market funds ............................................   $
US treasuries and US government agency bonds .    
Auction-rate securities backed by student-loan 

15,959  $
85,483 

notes .................................................................    
 $

12,245 
113,687  $

-    $
45     

-     
45    $

-  $ 
(7)     

15,959    $
85,521     

11,755     
(490)     
(497)   $  113,235    $

- 
14,121 

11,755 
25,876 

As of December 31, 2011 

Adjusted 
Cost

Unrealized 
Gains

Unrealized 
Losses

Total Fair 
Value 

Fair Value 
of 
Investments 
in 
Unrealized 
Loss 
Position  

Money market funds ............................................   $
US treasuries and US government agency bonds .    
Auction-rate securities backed by student-loan 

51,066  $
79,830 

notes .................................................................    
 $

14,305 
145,201  $

-    $
14     

-     
14    $

-  $ 
(17)    

51,066    $
79,827     

(630)    
13,675     
(647)  $  144,568    $

- 
25,281 

13,675 
38,956 

At December 31, 2012, fixed income available-for-sale securities included $85.5 million securities issued by government 
agencies and treasuries which are classified as short-term investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Company 
also had $16.0 million invested in money market funds. At December 31, 2012, there was $7,000 in unrealized losses 
from these investments. The impact of gross unrealized gains and losses was not material.  At December 31, 2012, the 
Company  also  had  $11.8  million  of  auction-rate  securities,  all  of  which  are  classified  as  long-term  available-for-sale 
investments. 

At December 31, 2011, fixed income available-for-sale securities included securities issued by government agencies and 
treasuries, $77.8 million of which are classified as short-term investments and $2.0 million which are classified as cash 
equivalents  on  the  Consolidated  Balance  Sheet.  The  Company  also  had  $51.1  million  invested  in  money  market 
funds.  At  December  31,  2011,  there  was  $17,000  in  unrealized  losses  from  these  investments.  The  impact  of  gross 
unrealized gains and losses was not material. At December 31, 2011, the Company also had $13.7 million of auction-rate 
securities, all of which are classified as long-term available-for-sale investments. 

Temporary  impairment  charges  are  recorded  in  accumulated  other  comprehensive  income  (loss)  within  stockholders’ 
equity  and  have  no  impact  on  net  income.  Other-than-temporary  impairment  exists  when  the  Company  either  has  the 
intent to sell the security, it will more likely than not be required to sell the security before anticipated recovery or it does 
not  expect  to  recover  the  entire  amortized  cost  basis  of  the  security.  Other-than-temporary  impairment  charges  are 
recorded in interest income and other, net in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. 

The Company's level 2 assets consist of U.S. treasuries and U.S. government agency bonds. These securities generally 
have market prices available from multiple sources, which are used as inputs into a distribution-curve based algorithm to 
determine fair value. 

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The Company’s level 3 assets consist of government-backed student loan auction-rate securities, with interest rates that 
reset through a Dutch auction every 7 to 35 days and which became illiquid in 2008. 

The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for the assets measured at fair value 
using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) (in thousands): 

Auction-Rate 
Securities 

Beginning balance at January 1, 2011 ..........................  $
Sales and settlement at par ............................................   
Unrealized gain .............................................................   

Ending balance at December 31, 2011 ..........................   
Sales and settlement at par ............................................   
Total realized and unrealized gains: 

Included in interest income and other, net .............   
Included in other comprehensive income ..............   

19,180  
(5,775) 
270  

13,675  
(2,100) 

40  
140  

Ending balance at December 31, 2012 ..........................  $

11,755  

During the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company sold $2.1 million and $5.8 million, respectively, in 
auction-rate securities at par, all of which were classified as long-term investments. 

The  Company’s  investment  portfolio  as  of  December  31,  2012  included  $11.8  million  in  government-backed  student 
loan  auction-rate  securities,  net  of  impairment  charges  of  $0.52  million;  of  which,  $0.49  million  was  temporary  and 
$0.03  million  was  recorded  as  other-than-temporary.  This  compares  to  an investment  balance  for  auction-rate 
securities as of December 31, 2011 of $13.7 million, net of impairment charges of $0.7 million; of which, $0.6 million 
was temporary and $0.1 million was recorded as other-than-temporary.     

The underlying maturities of these auction-rate securities are up to 35 years. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the 
portion of the impairment classified as temporary was based on the following analysis: 

1.  The  decline  in  the  fair  value  of  these  securities  is  not  largely  attributable  to  adverse  conditions  specifically

related to these securities or to specific conditions in an industry or in a geographic area; 

2.  Management  possesses  both  the  intent  and  ability  to  hold  these  securities  for  a  period  of  time  sufficient  to

allow for any anticipated recovery in fair value; 

3.  Management  believes  that  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that  the  Company  will  not  have  to  sell  these  securities

before recovery of its cost basis; 

4.  Except  for  the  credit  loss  of  $70,000  recognized  in  the  year  ended  December  31,  2009  for  the  Company’s
holdings in auction rate securities described below, the Company does not believe that there is any additional
credit  loss  associated  with  other  auction-rate  securities  because  the  Company  expects  to  recover  the  entire
amortized cost basis; 

5.  $6.3  million  of  auction-rate  securities were  downgraded  by  Moody’s  to  A3-Baa3  during  the  year  ended

December 31, 2009. There have been no further downgrades since; 

6.  All scheduled interest payments have been made pursuant to the reset terms and conditions; and 
7.  All  redemptions  of  auction-rate  securities  representing  68%  of  the  original  portfolio  purchased  by  the

Company in February 2008 have been at par. 

Based on the guidance of ASC 320-10-35 and ASC 320-10-50, the Company evaluated the potential credit loss of each 
of the auction-rate securities that are currently held by the Company. Based on such analysis, the Company determined 
that those securities that are not 100% FFELPS guaranteed are potentially subject to credit risks based on the extent to 
which the underlying debt is collateralized and the security-specific student-loan default rates. The Company’s portfolio 
includes  two  such  securities.  The  senior  parity  ratio  for  the  two  securities  is  approximately  106%.  If,  therefore,  the 
student-loan default rate and borrowing rate increases for these issuers, the remaining balance in these trusts may not be 
sufficient  to  cover  the  senior  debt.  The  Company  therefore  concluded  that  there  is  potential  credit  risk  for  these  two 
securities and as such, used the discounted cash flow model to determine the amount of credit loss to be recorded. In 
valuing the potential credit loss, the following parameters were used: 2.0 year expected term, cash flows based on the 
90-day  t-bill  rates  for  2.0  year  forwards  and  a  risk  premium  of  5.9%,  the  amount  of  interest  that  the  Company  was 
58 

 
 
  
  
 
  
  
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  
 
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
receiving on these securities when the market was last active. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company 
was  able  to  redeem  a  security  at  face  value  for  which  an  OTTI  of  $40,000  had  previously  been  recorded  for  and 
therefore, recognized a gain of $40,000 in interest income and other, net, in our Consolidated Statement of Operations. 

Unless  a  rights  offering  or  other  similar  offer  is  made  to  redeem  at  par  and  accepted  by  the  Company,  the  Company 
intends to hold the balance of these investments through successful auctions at par, which the Company believes could 
take approximately 2.0 years. 

Determining the fair value of the auction-rate securities requires significant management judgment regarding projected 
future cash flows which will depend on many factors, including the quality of the underlying collateral, estimated time 
for  liquidity  including  potential  to  be  called  or  restructured,  underlying  final  maturity,  insurance  guaranty  and  market 
conditions, among others. To determine the fair value of the auction-rate securities at December 31, 2012 and December 
31,  2011,  the  Company  used  a  discounted  cash  flow  model,  for  which  there  are  four  unobservable  inputs:  estimated 
time-to-liquidity, discount rate, credit quality of the issuer and expected interest receipts. A significant increase in the 
time-to liquidity or the discount rate inputs or a significant decrease in the credit quality of the issuer or the expected 
interest receipts inputs in isolation would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. 

The following are the values used in the discounted cash flow model: 

Time-to-Liquidity 
Expected Return (Based on the requisite treasury rate, 

24 months 
1.8% 

24 months 
1.8% 

plus a contractual penalty rate) 

Discount Rate (Based on the requisite LIBOR, the cost 

of debt and a liquidity risk premium) 

2.5% - 7.3%, depending on the 
credit-rating of the security 

3.1% - 7.9% depending on the 
credit-rating of the security 

December 31, 2012

December 31, 2011

If the auctions continue to fail, the liquidity of the Company’s investment portfolio may be negatively impacted and the 
value of its investment portfolio could decline.  

3. Inventories 

Inventories consist of the following (in thousands): 

December 31,

2012

2011

Work in progress .............................  $
Finished goods ................................   
Total inventories .............................  $

20,992   $
11,123    
32,115   $

11,596  
8,508  
20,104  

4.  Property and Equipment, net 

Property and equipment consist of the following (in thousands): 

December 31, 

2012

2011 

Computers, software and equipment ............................    $
Leasehold improvements ..............................................     
Vehicles ........................................................................     
Building ........................................................................     
Land ..............................................................................     
Furniture and fixtures ...................................................     
Total ...................................................................     
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization ........     
Property and equipment, net .........................................    $

65,937  $
2,053 
1,002 
28,319 
5,600 
2,518 
105,429 
(46,017)  
59,412  $

53,514   
3,281   
977   
21,632   
6,044   
1,403   
86,851   
(39,057 ) 
47,794   

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In May 2012, the Company moved from its previous leased headquarters in San Jose, California to its current Company-
owned headquarters also located in San Jose, California. The property consists of an approximately 106,262 square foot 
office  building  and  approximately  5.5  acres  of  land.  The  $11.0  million  purchase  price  for  the  property  was  allocated 
based on information provided by a third party valuation report, with $5.0 million attributable to the building and $6.0 
million attributable to the land. In 2012, the Company invested an additional $7.0 million in building improvements. The 
Company moved into its new headquarters and started to depreciate the building in May 2012. Buildings and building 
improvements have a depreciation life of up to 40 years. 

Depreciation expense for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $9.3 million, $8.7 million and $7.9 
million, respectively. 

5.   Accrued Liabilities 

Accrued liabilities consist of the following (in thousands): 

December 31, 

2012

2011 

Deferred revenue and customer prepayments ...   $
Stock rotation reserve ........................................    
Legal expenses and settlement costs .................    
Warranty ...........................................................    
Other .................................................................    
Total accrued liabilities .....................................   $

2,198   $
961    
402    
331    
2,023    
5,915   $

3,603  
1,086  
911  
561  
1,684  
7,845  

6.  Stockholders’ Equity 

The Company has two stock option plans and an employee stock purchase plan—the 1998 Stock Option Plan, the 2004 
Equity Incentive Plan (“2004 Plan”) and the 2004 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. The Company recognized stock-based 
compensation expenses for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, as follows (in thousands): 

Year ended December 31,
2011

2012

2010 

Non-Employee ........................  $
ESPP .......................................   
Restricted Stock ......................   
Stock Options ..........................   
 $

17   $
632    
12,468    
5,535    
18,652   $

13   $
538    
7,216    
5,369    
13,136   $

(7) 
609  
8,271  
7,937  
16,810  

The income tax benefit for stock-based compensation expenses was $0.2 million, $0.1 million and $0.3 million for the 
years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. 

Special Cash Dividend on Shares of Common Stock 

On December 11, 2012, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $1.00 per common share, 
which  was  paid  on  December  28,  2012  to  all  shareholders  of  record  as  of  the  close  of  business  on  December  21, 
2012.  This was the first cash dividend in the Company’s history. 

Any future dividends will be subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors. 

Stock Option Modification 

In  connection  with  the  payment  of  the  special  dividend  on  December  28,  2012,  the  Company’s  Board  of  Directors 
approved  a  modification  whereby  the  number  of  shares  of  each  option  outstanding  as  of  December  28,  2012  was 
increased by a ratio of 1.0471 and the exercise price was reduced by the ratio of 1.0471. Consequently, the Company 
granted an additional 171,484 shares from the 2004 Plan. 

60 

 
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
   
  
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
   
   
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
This  modification  was  permissible  pursuant  to  the  Company’s  2004  Plan  and  therefore,  resulted  in  an  incremental 
compensation  cost  of  $2.9  million,  of  which  $2.8  million  was  recognized  during  the  fourth  quarter  of  2012.  The 
remaining  $0.1  million  will  be  recognized  over  the  remaining  vesting  period  of  the  modified  stock  options.  The 
Company used the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions: expected term 
of 1.9 years, expected volatility of 41.0%, risk-free interest rate of 0.3% and no dividend yield. 

Restricted Stock Unit (“RSUs”) Modification 

On December 28, 2012, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the RSU Modification of unvested RSUs whereby 
for each unvested RSU or performance-based RSU (“PSU”) as of December 28, 2012, the holder will receive 1.0471 
shares  upon  vesting  of  the  original  awards  granted.  Consequently,  the  Company  granted  an  additional  73,805  shares 
from the 2004 Plan, based on 100% of the performance targets. An additional 26,851 PSUs will be released if the highest 
pre-determined performance targets are met. 

This modification was permissible pursuant to the Company’s 2004 Plan and therefore, would result in an incremental 
compensation cost of $1.5 million based on the assumption that approximately 100% of the PSUs granted will be vested, 
which will be recognized over the remaining vesting period of the awards through fourth quarter of 2016. An additional 
$0.5  million  of  stock-based compensation expense will  be  recorded  as a  result  of  this  modification  if  the highest pre-
determined performance targets are met.  See below for information regarding the vesting terms of the RSUs and PSUs. 

1998 Stock Option Plan   

Under  the  Company’s  1998  Stock Option Plan (the  1998  Plan),  the  Company  reserved 11,807,024  shares  of  common 
stock for issuance to the Company’s employees, directors and consultants. Options granted under the 1998 Plan have a 
maximum term of ten years and generally vest over four years at the rate of 25 percent one year from the date of grant 
and 1/48th monthly thereafter. On November 19, 2004, the effective date of the Company’s initial public offering, the 
1998 Plan was terminated for future grants and the remaining 1,392,750 shares available for grant were moved to the 
Company’s 2004 Equity Incentive Plan (the 2004 Plan). In addition, throughout the year, shares underlying options from 
the 1998 Plan that are cancelled (for example, upon termination of service) are transferred to the 2004 Plan based on the 
number of cancellations that occur throughout the year. 

2004 Equity Incentive Plan 

The  Company’s  Board  of  Directors  adopted  the  Company’s  2004  Equity  Incentive  Plan  in  March  2004,  and  the 
Company’s  stockholders  approved  it  in November  2004. Under  the 2004  Plan, options  granted  prior  to  July  13,  2006 
have a maximum term of ten years and options granted thereafter have a maximum term of seven years. New hire and 
refresh  grants  generally  vest  over  four  years  at  the  rate  of  50 percent  two  years  from  the  date  of  grant  and  1/16th 
quarterly  thereafter.  There  were  800,000  shares  initially  reserved  for  issuance  under  the  2004  Plan.  The  2004  Plan 
provides for annual increases in the number of shares available for issuance beginning on January 1, 2005 equal to the 
least of: 5% of the outstanding shares of common stock on the first day of the year, 2,400,000 shares, or a number of 
shares determined by the Board of Directors. 

The following is a summary of the 1998 Plan and 2004 Plan, which includes stock options, RSUs and PSUs: 

Available for grant as of January 1, 2012 .......................   
Additions to plan.............................................................   
Grants .............................................................................   
Performance awards adjustment .....................................   
Cancellations ..................................................................   
Available for grant as of December 31, 2012 .................   

4,291,737  
1,641,301  
(1,152,320) 
18,359  
158,167  
4,957,244  

The awards granted in 2012 include approximately 356,752 shares of PSUs based on 100% of the performance targets. 
The  performance  awards  adjustment  reflects  those  PSUs  for  which  the  performance  targets  will  not  be  met  based  on 
management’s probability assessment as of December 31, 2012. 

61 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
A summary of the status of the Company’s stock option plans is presented in the table below: 

Weighted 
Average 
Exercise 
Price

Stock 
Options    

Weighted 
Average 
Remaining 
Contractual 
Term 
(Years) 

Aggregate 
Intrinsic 
Value

Outstanding at January 1, 2010 (4,112,763 options exercisable 

at a weighted-average exercise price of $10.93 per share) ....     7,410,914    $

13.48      

5.04    $77,918,848 

Options granted (weighted-average fair value of $8.95 per 
share) ..............................................................................    

370,500   
Options exercised ...............................................................     (1,452,245)  
(494,051)  
Options forfeited and expired ............................................    

19.92      
9.87      
15.67      

Outstanding at December 31, 2010 (4,264,268 options 

exercisable at a weighted-average exercise price of $13.33 
per share) ...............................................................................     5,835,118    $

14.61      

4.30    $19,035,591 

Options granted (weighted-average fair value of $5.85 per 
share) ..............................................................................    
Options exercised ...............................................................    
Options forfeited and expired ............................................    

152,500   
(685,417)  
(438,962)  

13.96      
6.85      
18.66      

Outstanding at December 31, 2011 (4,202,786 options 

exercisable at a weighted-average exercise price of $15.05 
per share) ...............................................................................     4,863,239    $

Options granted (weighted-average fair value of $8.22 per 
share) ..............................................................................    

178,484 (1) 

Options exercised ...............................................................     (1,151,884)
(76,478)
Options forfeited and expired ............................................    
- 
Modification adjustment ....................................................    
Outstanding at December 31, 2012 ...........................................     3,813,361 
Options exercisable at December 31, 2012 and expected to 

become exercisable ................................................................     3,799,748 
Options vested and exercisable at December 31, 2012 .............     3,603,762 

 $

 $
 $

15.31      

3.44    $ 8,817,049 

15.63      
11.62      
20.90      
(0.74)     
15.62      

15.62      
15.59      

2.56    $25,379,573 

2.55    $25,288,257 
2.42    $24,105,872 

(1) Includes 171,484 options granted as a result of the Stock Option Modification as discussed above. 

The following summarizes information as of December 31, 2012 concerning outstanding and exercisable options: 

Range of Exercises Prices 

$0.76 -  $11.32 .........................   
$11.44 -  $12.43 .........................   
$12.52 -  $14.90 .........................   
$14.94 -  $14.97 .........................   
$15.03 -  $15.03 .........................   
$15.14 -  $16.41 .........................   
$16.51 -  $18.29 .........................   
$18.63 -  $20.30 .........................   
$20.41 -  $22.85 .........................   
$23.03 -  $24.84 .........................   

Options Outstanding
Weighted 
Average 
Remaining 
Contractual 
Life (Years)   

Weighted 
Average 
Exercise 
Price

     Options Exercisable

Number of 
Options 
Exercisable 
as of 
12/31/2012    

Weighted 
Average 
Exercise 
Price

1.81   $
2.32   $
3.00   $
2.17   $
2.82   $
2.22   $
2.25   $
3.15   $
2.86   $
2.76   $

8.52     
12.37     
14.17     
14.93     
15.03     
15.53     
17.68     
19.70     
21.85     
24.18     

522,609   $
382,792   $
386,542   $
81,635   $
585,480   $
359,242   $
373,249   $
410,922   $
393,194   $
108,097   $
       3,603,762     

8.41 
12.37 
14.25 
14.93 
15.03 
15.53 
17.72 
19.72 
21.87 
24.24 

Number of 
Options 
Outstanding 
as if 
12/31/2012    
546,691    
388,118    
450,417    
82,757    
586,548    
383,861    
392,703    
445,551    
422,592    
114,123    
3,813,361     

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Total intrinsic value of options exercised was $10.0 million, $5.8 million and $17.4 million, respectively, for the years 
ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010. The net cash proceeds from the exercise of stock options were $13.4 million, 
$4.7 million and $14.3 million, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010. At December 31, 
2012,  unamortized  compensation  expense  related  to  unvested  options  was  approximately  $1.6  million.  The  weighted 
average period over which compensation expense related to these unvested options will be recognized is approximately 
1.9 years. 

The  employee  stock-based  compensation  expense  recognized  under  ASC  718-10-30  Compensation  –  Stock 
Compensation – Overall – Initial Measurement, was determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Option 
pricing  models  require  the  input  of  subjective  assumptions  and  these  assumptions  can  vary  over  time.  The  Company 
used the following weighted-average assumptions to determine the fair value of the options awards granted, excluding 
stock option modification discussed above:  

2012

2011

2010 

Expected term (years) ......................   
Expected volatility ...........................   
Risk-free interest rate .......................   
Dividend yield .................................   

4.1     
53.4%  
0.6%  
-     

4.1     
52.9%  
1.1%  
-     

4.1   
55.9 %
1.8 %
-   

In  estimating  the  expected  term,  the  Company  considers  its  historical  stock  option  exercise  experience,  post  vesting 
cancellations  and  remaining  contractual  term  of  the  options  outstanding.  In  estimating  the  expected  volatility,  the 
Company  uses  its  own  historical  data  to  determine  its  estimated  expected  volatility.  The  Company  uses  the  U.S. 
Treasury yield for its risk-free interest rate and a dividend yield of zero as generally it does not issue dividends. The cash 
dividend paid in December 2012 was a special dividend and the Company currently does not expect to pay dividend in 
the future. The Company applies a forfeiture rate that is based on options that have been forfeited historically. 

Restricted Stock 

A  portion  of  the  Company’s  shares  of  common  stock  were  issued  under  restricted  stock  purchase  agreements.  A 
summary of our restricted stock awards is presented in the table below:   

Weighted 
Average 
Grant Date 
Fair Value 
Per Share     

Weighted 
Average 
Remaining 
Recognition 
Period 
(Years) 

Restricted 
Stock 
Awards 

Outstanding at January 1, 2010 ......................    
Awards released ......................................    
Outstanding at December 31, 2010 ................    
Outstanding at December 31, 2011 ................    
Outstanding at December 31, 2012 ................    

6,550    $
(6,550)   
-    $
-    $
-    $

16.62     
16.62      
-     
-     
-     

0.14  

-  
-  
-  

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A summary of the RSUs and PSUs is presented in the table below: 

Weighted
Average 
Grant 
Date Fair 
Value 
Per 
Share

Performance-
Based 
Restricted 
Stock Units  

Weighted 
Average 
Grant 
Date Fair 
Value 
Per 
Share  

Restricted 
Stock 
Units 

Total 

Weighted 
Average 
Grant 
Date Fair 
Value 
Per 
Share 

Weighted 
Average 
Remaining 
Recognition 
Period 
(Years)

Outstanding at  
   January 1, 2010 ....................     289,896   $
Awards granted ....................     518,240     
Awards released ..................     (158,499)    
(33,088)    
Awards forfeited ..................    

Outstanding at  
   December 31, 2010 ..............     616,549   $
Awards granted ....................     853,480     
Awards released ..................     (310,976)    
(76,622)    
Awards forfeited ..................    

Outstanding at  
   December 31, 2011 ..............    1,082,431   $

18.67   
19.50   
18.56   
18.38   

19.41   
14.40   
17.78   
18.39   

-  $
416,000   
(72,375)  
-   

-   
20.73   
20.73   
-   

289,896   $ 
934,240     
(230,874)    
(33,088)    

343,625  $
-   
(102,125)  
(24,375)  

20.73   
-   
20.73   
20.73   

960,174   $ 
853,480     
(413,101)    
(100,997)    

18.67   
20.05   
19.24   
18.38   

19.88   
14.40   
18.51   
18.95   

2.22

2.91

16.00   

217,125  $

20.73    1,299,556   $ 

16.87   

2.71

Awards modification (1) ......    
(76,500)    
Awards granted (2) ..............     617,084     
Performance awards  
   adjustment (3) ...................    
-     
Awards released ..................     (447,096)    
(77,356)    
Awards forfeited ..................    

15.69   
18.69   

-   
17.30   
16.61   

76,500   
356,752   

15.69   
18.38   

-     
973,836     

-   
18.57   

(18,359)  
(96,500)  
(4,333)  

19.18   
20.73   
19.07   

(18,359)    
(543,596)    
(81,689)    

19.18   
17.91   
16.74   

Outstanding at  
   December 31, 2012 ..............    1,098,563   $

(1)  See 2011 CEO awards below. 

16.96   

531,185  $

18.49  $1,629,748   $ 

17.46   

2.18

(2)  Includes a total of 73,805 RSUs and PSUs granted as a result of the RSU modification as discussed above. 

(3)  The performance awards adjustment reflects those PSUs for which the performance targets will not be met based on

management’s probability assessment as of December 31, 2012. 

The intrinsic value related to RSUs released for the years ended 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $10.5 million, $5.8 million 
and  $4.5  million,  respectively.  The  total  intrinsic  value  of  RSUs  outstanding  at  December  31,  2012,  2011  and  2010, 
under the current assumption related to vesting of PSUs granted in 2012, were $36.3 million, $19.6 million and $15.9 
million,  respectively.  At  December  31,  2012,  unamortized  compensation  expense  related  to  unvested  RSUs  was 
approximately $19.2 million with a weighted-average remaining recognition period of 2.2 years. However, if the highest 
pre-determined  performance  targets  related  to  the  PSUs  are  met,  unamortized  compensation  expense  will  increase  by 
approximately $9.1 million.  

2010 PSU Awards:  

On February 25, 2010, the Board granted 416,000 PSUs to the Company’s executive officers (“2010 Executive PSUs”). 
These performance units generally vest over four years, with a graded acceleration feature that allows all or a portion of 
these awards to be accelerated if certain performance conditions are satisfied. The number of shares to be accelerated is 
based  on  achieving  certain  performance  targets  as  set  forth  in  the  Company’s  annual  operating  plan  approved  by  the 
Board,  as  determined  by  the  Compensation  Committee  in  its  sole  discretion.  In  February  2013,  the  Compensation 
Committee determined that the pre-determined performance goals for the 2010 Executive PSUs was met and therefore 
accelerated the vesting in February 2013. 

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2011 CEO Awards: 

The  Company  granted  153,000  time-based  RSUs  to  its  CEO  on  February  8,  2011.  In  the  fourth  quarter  of  2011,  the 
Compensation Committee proposed modifying half of the time-based RSUs to PSUs and on February 7, 2012, the Board 
approved the performance goals based on the Company’s 2012 revenue (“2012 Modification”). The time-based RSUs 
that were not modified vest over two years on a quarterly basis from February 2011 to February 2013. The PSUs vest 
upon achievement of the pre-determined performance goals and the CEO’s continued employment through the date that 
the Compensation Committee approves the release of the shares. The maximum number of PSUs the CEO may receive 
is  100%  of  the  RSUs  originally  granted.  In  February  2013,  the  Compensation  Committee  determined  that  the  pre-
determined  performance  goals  for  the  2012  Modification  were  met  and  therefore  the  PSUs  were  released  in  February 
2013. 

2012 PSU Awards: 

On  February  14,  2012,  the  Board  granted  413,000  awards  to  the  Company’s  executive  officers.  50%  of  the  RSUs 
granted to Company’s executive officers will vest over two years on a quarterly basis (“Time-based RSUs”) and 50% of 
the units represents a target number of RSUs awarded upon achievement of certain  goals (“2012 Executive PSUs”) for 
the Company’s revenue in 2013. Half of these PSUs will vest if the pre-determined performance goals are met and the 
employee  is  employed  by  the  Company  when  the  Compensation  Committee  approves  the  release  of  the  shares.  The 
remainder  vests  over  the  following  two  years  on  a  quarterly  basis.  The  maximum  number  of  shares  an  executive 
employee may receive is 300% of the PSUs originally granted. The PSUs earned will be reduced by a maximum of 15% 
in the event that the Company’s total shareholder return (“TSR”), defined as the cumulative change in share price plus 
dividends, as compared to the Company’s compensation peer group, is below a specified percentile for calendar years 
2012 and 2013. 

On April 24, 2012, the Company granted 344,650 awards to its existing non-executive employees. These grants include 
219,317 time-based RSUs and 125,333 PSUs. The PSUs will be a target number of shares awarded upon achievement of 
a pre-determined revenue target for the Company as a whole, certain regions or product-line divisions in 2013 (“2012 
Non-Executive PSUs”). Half of these PSUs will vest if the pre-determined performance goals are met and the employee 
is  employed  by  the  Company  when  the  Compensation  Committee  approves  the  release  of  the  shares.  The  remainder 
vests over the following two years on a quarterly basis. The maximum  number of shares an employee  may receive is 
300% of the PSUs originally granted. 

Based on the Company’s revenue forecast as of December 31, 2012, the Company has determined that it is probable that 
it will be able to achieve the pre-determined performance goals such that approximately 100% of the PSUs granted will 
be  vested  for  the  2012  Executive  PSUs  and  the  2012  Non-Executive  PSUs.  Stock-based  compensation  for  the  PSUs 
expected to meet the pre-determined goals is determined based on grant date fair value adjusted for expected forfeiture 
rate and is being amortized over the requisite service period of each separate vesting tranche. 

2004 Employee Stock Purchase Plan 

Under  the  2004  Employee  Stock  Purchase  Plan  (the  Purchase  Plan),  eligible  employees  may  purchase  common  stock 
through  payroll  deductions.  Participants  may  not  purchase  more  than  2,000  shares  in  a  six-month  offering  period  or 
stock having a value greater than $25,000 in any calendar year as measured at the beginning of the offering period in 
accordance with the Internal Revenue Code and applicable Treasury Regulations. A total of 200,000 shares of common 
stock were reserved for issuance under the Purchase Plan.  The Purchase Plan provides for an automatic annual increase 
beginning  on  January  1,  2005  by  an  amount  equal  to  the  least  of  1,000,000  shares;  2%  of  the  outstanding  shares  of 
common stock on the first day of the year; or a number of shares as determined by the Board of Directors. For the years 
ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, 151,770 shares, 149,981 shares and 114,387 shares, respectively, were issued 
under the Purchase Plan. The following is a summary of the Purchase Plan and changes during the year ended December 
31, 2012: 

Available shares as of January 1, 2012 .............   
Additions to plan ...............................................   
Purchases ..........................................................   
Available shares as of December 31, 2012 .......   

3,693,210  
676,520  
(151,770) 
4,217,960  

65 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
The  Purchase  Plan  is  considered  compensatory  under  ASC  718-50-25-2  Compensation  –  Stock  Compensation  – 
Employee  Share  Purchase  Plans  –  Recognition,  and  is  accounted  for  in  accordance  with  ASC  718-50-30-2 
Compensation – Stock Compensation – Employee Share Purchase Plans – Initial Measurements – Look-Back Plans. The 
intrinsic value  for  stock  purchased  was $1.0  million, $0.3  million  and  $0.3  million  for  the  years ended December  31, 
2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The unamortized expense as of December 31, 2012 was $0.1 million, which will be 
recognized  over  0.1  years.  The  Black-Scholes  option  pricing  model  was  used  to  value  the  employee  stock  purchase 
rights. For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the following assumptions were used in the valuation of 
the stock purchase rights: 

2012

2011

2010 

Expected term (years) ....................  
Expected volatility .........................  
Risk-free interest rate ....................  
Dividend yield ...............................  

0.5     
45.8%  
0.1%  
-     

0.5     
39.2%  
0.1%  
-     

0.5  
39.5% 
0.2% 
-  

Cash proceeds from employee stock purchases for the year ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $1.9 million, 
$1.8 million and $1.9 million, respectively. 

7.   Net Income Per Share 

Basic net income per share excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number 
of  common  shares  outstanding  for  the  period.  Diluted  net  income  per  share  reflects  the  potential  dilution  that  would 
occur if outstanding securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock, 
and calculated using the treasury stock method.  For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and, 2010, the Company 
had  securities  outstanding,  which  could  potentially  dilute  basic  net  income  per  share  in  the  future,  but  were  excluded 
from  the  computation  of  diluted  net  income  per  share  in  the  periods  presented,  as  their  effect  would  have  been  anti-
dilutive. The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net income per share (in thousands, except 
per share amounts): 

Year Ended December 31,
2011 

2010

2012

Numerator: 

Net income .................................................................................................  $

15,756    $

13,301    $

29,563 

Denominator: 

Weighted average outstanding shares used to compute basic net income 

per share .................................................................................................   
Effect of dilutive securities ........................................................................   
Weighted average outstanding shares used to compute diluted net 

34,871      
1,376      

34,050     
1,110     

35,830 
1,996 

income per share .....................................................................................   

36,247      

35,160     

37,826 

Net income per share – basic ............................................................................  $
Net income per share – diluted ..........................................................................  $

0.45    $
0.43    $

0.39    $
0.38    $

0.83 
0.78 

For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, approximately 1.1 million, 4.9 million and 2.0 million common 
stock  equivalents,  respectively,  were  excluded  from  the  calculation  of  diluted  net  income  per  share  because  their 
inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. 

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8.  Income Taxes 

The components of income before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 are as follows 
(in thousands): 

Year ended December 31,
2011

2012

2010 

United States ...........................  $
International ............................   
Total ........................................  $

807   $
17,083    
17,890   $

(2,031)  $
15,757    
13,726   $

2,770  
28,650  
31,420  

Management’s intent is to indefinitely reinvest any undistributed earnings from its foreign subsidiaries. Accordingly no 
provision for  Federal  and  state  income  or  foreign  withholding taxes  have  been  provided  thereon,  nor  is  it  practical  to 
determine  the  amount  of  this  liability.  Upon  distribution  of  those  earnings  in  the  form  of  dividends  or  otherwise,  the 
Company  will  be  subject  to  United  States  income  taxes  and  potential  foreign  withholding  taxes.  Up  to  December  31, 
2012 the unremitted earnings of foreign subsidiaries is $110.0 million.  

The components of the income tax provision are as follows (in thousands): 

Year ended December 31,
2011

2012

2010 

Current: 

Federal ...................................  $
State .......................................   
Foreign...................................   

Deferred: 

Federal ...................................   
State .......................................   
Foreign...................................   
Valuation allowance ..................   
Income tax provision .................  $

840   $
3    
1,302    

1,610    
385    
(11)   
(1,995)   
2,134   $

447   $
(593)    
992    

1,369  
15  
534  

742    
994    
(421)   
(1,736)    
425   $

(1,415)  
(848) 
(61) 
2,263  
1,857  

The effective tax rate differs from the applicable U.S. statutory federal income tax rate as follows: 

Year ended December 31, 
2011 

2010

2012

U.S. statutory federal tax rate ..........................................................  
Research and development credits ..................................................  
Stock compensation .........................................................................  
Foreign income taxed at lower rates ................................................  
Change in valuation allowance on federal timing differences .........  
Litigation reserves & other ..............................................................  
Effective tax rate .............................................................................  

34.0%  
(3.6)    
0.1     
(28.4)    
7.0     
2.8     
11.9%  

34.0%    
(0.5)      
5.6       
(31.8)      
(6.1)       
1.9       
3.1%    

34.0%
(2.9) 
(0.7)  
(29.3) 
4.3  
0.5  
5.9%

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The components of deferred tax assets and liabilities consist of the following (in thousands): 

Deferred tax assets: 
Research tax credits .........................................   $
Stock compensation ........................................    
Other costs not currently deductible ................    
Depreciation and amortization ........................    
Total deferred tax assets ..................................    
Valuation allowance ........................................    
Net deferred tax assets .....................................   $

December 31,

2012

2011 

4,930    $
5,487     
2,424     
317     
13,158     
(12,488)   
670    $

5,162  
6,553  
2,767  
774  
15,256  
(14,596) 
660  

As  a  result  of  the  cost  sharing  arrangements with  the  Company’s  international  subsidiaries  (cost  share  arrangements), 
relatively  small  changes  in  costs  that  are  not  subject  to  sharing  under  the  cost  share  arrangements  can  significantly 
impact the overall profitability of the US entity. Because of the US entity’s inconsistent earnings history and uncertainty 
of future earnings, the Company has determined that it is more likely than not that the U.S. deferred tax benefits would 
not be realized. The Company will continue to evaluate if its facts and circumstances warrant a reversal of the valuation 
allowance against the US deferred tax benefits during fiscal year 2013.  

As  of  December  31,  2012  and 2011,  the  Company  had  a  valuation  allowance  of  $12.5million  and  $14.6  million, 
respectively,  attributable  to  management’s  determination  that  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that most  of  the  deferred  tax 
assets in the United States will not be realized. Should it be determined that additional amounts of the net deferred tax 
asset  will  not  be  realized  in  the  future,  an  adjustment  to  increase  the  deferred  tax  asset  valuation  allowance  will  be 
charged to income in the period such determination is made. Likewise, in the event the Company were to determine that 
it is more likely than not that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of its net recorded 
amount, an adjustment to the valuation allowance for the deferred tax asset would increase income in the period such 
determination was made. 

In November 2012, California taxpayers voted in favor of mandating the use of a single sales factor for California state 
apportionment,  effective  for  tax  years  beginning  on  or  after  January  1,  2012.  As  a  result  of  this  change  in  law,  the 
Company’s California deferred tax assets were revalued down. As the Company has a valuation allowance against its 
U.S. deferred tax assets, this revaluation of the Company’s California deferred tax assets does not have any income tax 
expense impact to its financial statements. 

During  2012,  the  Company  also  assessed  the  deductibility  of  restricted  stock  units  granted  to  its  executives  and 
determined that due to Section 162m limitation, some of these grants will result in limited benefits to the Company when 
vested.   As a result, we have reduced our U.S. deferred tax assets and valuation allowance. 

As  of  December  31,  2012,  the  federal  and  state  net  operating  loss  carryforwards  for  income  tax  purposes  were 
approximately $14.2 million and $30.3 million, respectively. The federal net operating loss carryforwards will begin to 
expire in 2027 and the State net operating loss carry forwards will expire beginning in 2018. $14.2 million of the federal 
net operating loss carry forwards and $25.3 million of the state operating loss carry forwards are related to excess tax 
benefits as a result of stock option exercises and therefore will be recorded in additional paid-in-capital in the period that 
they become realized. 

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had research tax credit carryforwards of $10.8 million for federal income tax 
purposes,  which  will  begin  to  expire  in  2022  and  $10.3million  for  state  income  tax  purposes,  which  can  be  carried 
forward  indefinitely.  $3.6  million  of  the  federal  research  tax  credit  and  $1.4  million  of  the  state  research  tax  credit 
carryovers  are  related  to  excess  tax  benefits  as  a  result  of  stock  option  exercises  and  therefore  will  be  recorded  in 
additional-paid-in-capital in the period that they become realized. 

In the event of a change in ownership, as defined under federal and state tax laws, the Company's net operating loss and 
tax credit carryforwards could be subject to annual limitations.  The annual limitations could result in the expiration of 
the net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards prior to utilization. 

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ASC 740-10 Income Taxes - Overall sets forth the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an entity’s 
financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attributes for financial statement disclosure 
of tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. Under ASC 740-10, the impact of an uncertain income tax 
position on the income tax return must be recognized at the largest amount that is more-likely-than-not to be sustained 
upon audit by the relevant taxing authority. An uncertain income tax position will not be recognized if it has less than a 
50% likelihood of being sustained. Additionally, ASC 740-10 provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest 
and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition. 

At December 31, 2012, the Company had $13.1 million of unrecognized tax benefits, $4.9 million of which would affect 
its effective tax rate if recognized after considering the valuation allowance. At December 31, 2011, the Company had 
$12.2 million of unrecognized tax benefits, $4.5 million of which would affect its effective tax rate if recognized after 
considering the valuation allowance. 

 A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in thousands): 

Balance at January 1, 2010 ......................................................   $
Gross increase for tax positions of prior year  ..................    
Gross increases for tax position of current year  ..............    
Reductions for prior year tax positions .............................    
Settlement  ........................................................................    
Reduction due to statutes expiring ...................................    
Balance at December 31, 2010 ................................................    
Gross increase for tax positions of prior year  ..................    
Gross increases for tax position of current year  ..............    
Reductions for prior year tax positions  ............................    
Settlement  ........................................................................    
Reduction due to statutes expiring ...................................    
Balance at December 31, 2011 ................................................    
Gross increase for tax positions of prior year  ..................    
Gross increases for tax position of current year  ..............    
Reductions for prior year tax positions  ............................    
Settlement  ........................................................................    
Reduction due to statutes expiring ...................................    
Balance at December 31, 2012 ................................................   $

9,006  
-  
983  
-  
(883) 
-  
9,106  
1,710  
1,388  
-  
-  
-  
12,204  
188  
689  
-  
-  
-  
13,081  

The Company recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to uncertain tax positions in its income tax provision. At 
December  31,  2012,  2011,  and  2010,  the  Company  has  approximately  $0.8  million,  $0.7  million  and  $0.6  million 
respectively, of accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions. 

Uncertain tax positions relate to the allocation of income and deductions among the Company’s global entities and to the 
determination of the research and development tax credit. The Company estimates that there will be no material changes 
in its uncertain tax positions in the next 12 months. 

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and various U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions. 
Generally, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, or non-U.S. income tax examinations by tax 
authorities  for  years  prior  to  2005  because  of  the  statute  of  limitations.  However,  because  the  Company  is  currently 
under an IRS audit for tax years ended December 31, 2005 through December 31, 2007, the statute of limitations for tax 
years ended December 31, 2005 through December 31, 2007 was extended to June 30, 2013. 

We are subject to examination of our income tax returns by the IRS and other tax authorities. Our U.S. Federal income 
tax returns for the years ended December 31, 2005 through December 31, 2007 are under examination by the IRS. In 
April  2011,  we  received  from  the  IRS  a  Notice  of  Proposed  Adjustment,  or  “NOPA”,  relating  to  a  cost-sharing 
agreement  entered  into  by  the  Company  and  its  international  subsidiaries  on  January  1,  2004.  In  the  NOPA,  the  IRS 
objected  to  the  Company’s  allocation  of  certain  litigation  expenses  between  the  Company  and  our  international 
subsidiaries and the amount of “buy-in payments” made by our international subsidiaries to the Company in connection 
with  the  cost-sharing  agreement,  and  proposed  to  increase  our  U.S.  taxable  income  according  to  a  few  alternative 
methodologies. The methodology resulting in the largest potential adjustment, if the IRS were to prevail on all matters in 
dispute,  would  result  in  potential  federal  and  state  income  tax  liabilities  of  up  to  $37.0  million,  plus  interest  and 
69 

 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
penalties, if any. We believe that the IRS's position in the NOPA is incorrect and that our tax returns for those years were 
correct  as  filed.  We  are  contesting  these  proposed  adjustments  vigorously.  In  February  2012,  we  received  a  revised 
NOPA from the IRS (Revised NOPA).  In this Revised NOPA, the IRS raised the same issues as in the NOPA issued in 
April  2011  but  under  a  different  methodology.  Under  the  Revised  NOPA,  the  largest  potential  federal  income 
tax adjustment,  if  the  IRS  were  to  prevail  on  all  matters  in  dispute,  has  decreased  to  $10.5  million,  plus  interest  and 
penalties, if any. We responded to the IRS Revised NOPA in May 2012, but have not yet received a response from the 
IRS. 

We have reviewed and responded to the above proposed adjustments. We regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse 
outcome resulting from such examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. As of December 
31, 2012, based on the technical merits of our tax return filing positions, we believe that it is more-likely-than-not that 
the benefit of such positions will be sustained upon the resolution of our audits resulting in no significant impact on our 
consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows. 

The French subsidiary of the Company is currently under audit for taxable years 2009 and 2010. The Company is in the 
process of responding to the questions raised by the tax authority. We do not believe the resolution of the audits will 
result  in  a  significant  impact  on  our  consolidated  financial  position,  results  of  operations  and  cash  flows.  Aside  from 
U.S. and France, there are no other income tax audits in process in any other material jurisdiction. 

On  January  2,  2013,  the  President  signed  into  law  The  American  Taxpayer  Relief  Act  of  2012.  Under  prior  law,  a 
taxpayer was entitled to a research tax credit for qualifying amounts paid or incurred on or before December 31, 2011. 
The 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act extends the research credit for two years to December 31, 2013.  The extension 
of the research credit is retroactive and includes amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2011.  As a result of the 
retroactive extension, we expect an increase to our federal R&D credits carryforwards of approximately $1.0 million for 
qualifying amounts incurred in 2012. The benefit will be recognized in the period of enactment, which is the first quarter 
of 2013.  However, due to our current valuation allowance position, we do not expect the federal R&D credit to provide 
a tax benefit. 

9.  Commitments and Contingencies 

 The following table summarizes the Company’s commitments as of December 31, 2012 (in thousands): 

   Total 

2013

Payments by Period
2015
2014

Operating leases ...........................  $ 
Outstanding purchase 

1,165   $

912   $

206   $

commitments ............................    
 $ 

15,542    
16,707   $

15,542    
16,454   $

-    
206   $

2016 

    Thereafter  
- 
2     $

-      
2     $

- 
- 

45    $

-      
45    $

Lease Obligations 

Until May, 2012, the Company leased its headquarters and sales offices in San Jose, California. The landlord of the San 
Jose facility exercised their right to terminate the lease, effective April 18, 2012. In May 2012, the Company moved to 
an owned facility also located in San Jose, California. 

In  September  2004,  the  Company  entered  into  a  five-year  lease  arrangement  for  its  manufacturing  facility  located  in 
Chengdu, China. Pursuant to this agreement, the Company contributed capital in the form of cash, in-kind assets, and/or 
intellectual  property,  of  at  least  $5.0  million  to  its  wholly-owned  Chinese  subsidiary  as  the  registered  capital  for  the 
subsidiary and exercised the option to purchase land use rights for the facility of approximately $0.2 million. Following 
the five-year lease term, the Company now has the option to acquire the facility for approximately $1.8 million which 
consists  of  total  construction  costs  minus  total  rent  paid  by  the  Company  during  the  lease  term.  This  option  became 
exercisable in March 2011 and does not expire. The Company will likely exercise its purchase option and enter into a 
purchase agreement for this facility in the future. 

The  Company  also  leases  sales  and  research  and  development  offices  in  the  United  States,  Japan,  China,  Taiwan  and 
Korea.  Certain  of  the  Company’s  facility  leases  provide  for periodic  rent  increases.  Rent  expense for  the  years  ended 
December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $1.6 million, $2.1 million and $1.8 million, respectively. 

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Warranty and Indemnification Provisions 

The Company generally provides a standard one-year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship and will 
either  repair  the  goods  or  provide  replacements  at  no  charge  to  the  customer  for  defective  units.  In  such  cases,  the 
Company accrues for the related costs at the time the decision to permit the return is made. Reserve requirements are 
recorded in the period of sale and are based on an assessment of the products sold with warranty and historical warranty 
costs incurred. 

The changes in warranty reserves during 2012, 2011 and 2010 are as follows (in thousands): 

Year Ended December 31, 
2011

2010 

2012

Balance at beginning of year .................................  $
Warranty provision for product sales ....................   
Settlements made during the period ......................   
Unused warranty provision....................................   
Balance at end of period ........................................  $

561   $
917    
(675)   
(472)   
331   $

764   $
870     
(626)    
(447)    
561   $

294  
801  
(107) 
(224) 
764  

The Company provides indemnification agreements to a supplier and certain direct or indirect customers. The Company 
agrees to reimburse these parties for any damages, costs and expenses incurred by them as a result of legal actions taken 
against  them  by  third  parties  for  infringing  upon  their  intellectual  property  rights  as  a  result  of  using  the  Company’s 
products and technologies. These indemnification provisions are varied in their scope and are subject to certain terms, 
conditions,  limitations  and  exclusions.  There  were  no  indemnification  costs  in  2012,  2011  and  2010.  These  costs  are 
charged to operations as incurred. The Company also provides for indemnification of its directors and officers. 

10.  Litigation 

The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are parties to actions and proceedings in the ordinary course of business, 
including  litigation  regarding  its  shareholders,  a  former  employee  and  its  intellectual  property,  challenges  to  the 
enforceability or validity of its intellectual property and claims that the Company’s products infringe on the intellectual 
property  rights  of  others.  These  proceedings  often  involve  complex  questions  of  fact  and  law  and  may  require  the 
expenditure  of  significant  funds  and  the  diversion  of  other  resources  to  prosecute  and  defend.  The  Company  defends 
itself vigorously against any such claims. 

O2 Micro 

On  May  3,  2012, the  United  States  District  Court  for  the  Northern  District  of  California  issued  an  order  finding  O2 
Micro International,  Ltd.  (“O2  Micro”) liable  for  approximately  $9.1  million  in attorneys’  fees  and non-taxable  costs, 
plus interest, in connection with the patent litigation that the Company won in 2010.  This award is in addition to the 
approximately  $0.3  million  in  taxable  costs  that  the  Court  had  earlier  ordered  O2  Micro  to  pay  to  the  Company  in 
connection with the same lawsuit. The Court then entered judgment for the Company. In October 2012, O2 Micro filed 
an appeal against this judgment.  

Silergy 

In  December  2011,  the  Company  entered  into  a  settlement  and  license  agreement  with  Silergy  Corp  and  Silergy 
Technologies for infringement of the Company’s patent whereby the Company will receive a total of $2 million which 
will be paid in equal installments of $0.3 million in each quarter of 2012 and the remainder will be paid in two equal 
installments  in  first  two  quarters  of  2013.  For  the  year  ended  December  31,  2012,  the  Company  received  payments 
totaling $1.2 million, which  were recorded  as  credits  to  litigation  expense  (benefit) in  the  Consolidated Statements of 
Operations. 

Linear 

On August 12, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an order affirming the judgment 
issued by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware finding Linear Technology Corporation (“Linear”) 
liable  for  approximately  $2.3  million  in  attorneys’  fees  and  non-taxable  costs,  plus  interest,  in  connection  with  the 

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litigation regarding a contract dispute that the Company won in 2011. During the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company 
received  a  payment  from  Linear  of  $2.3  million  plus  $0.2  million  reimbursement  of  additional  attorney  fees  in 
connection with the cost of defending the appeal, which was recorded as a credit to litigation expense (benefit) in the 
Consolidated Statements of Operations.  

11.  Employee Benefits Plan 

The Company sponsors a 401(k) savings and profit-sharing plan (“the Plan”) for all employees in the United States who 
meet certain eligibility requirements. Participants may contribute up to the amount allowable as a deduction for federal 
income tax purposes. The Company is not required to contribute and did not contribute to the Plan for the years ended 
December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010. 

12.  Major Customers 

The following table summarizes those customers with accounts receivable balances greater than 10% of the Company's 
total accounts receivable or with sales greater than 10% of the Company's total revenue: 

Customers 

A 
B 

* Represents less than 10%. 

Revenue
Year ended December 31,
2011

2010

2012

Accounts  
Receivable, Net

   As of December 31,
2011

2012 

32%  
*  

27%  
*  

21%    
*      

34%   
11%   

33%
*  

The Company corrected the 2011 and 2010 amounts reported in the table above from the amounts previously reported to 
disclose  a  group  of  entities  under  common  control  as  a  single  customer,  rather  than  as  separate  customers. Under  the 
corrected disclosures, Customer A is reported as representing 27% of the Company's total revenue in 2011 (rather than 
as two separate customers representing 17% and 10% of revenue as previously reported) and 21% of the Company's total 
revenue in 2010 (rather than 14% as previously reported). In addition, under the corrected disclosures, Customer A is 
reported as representing 33% of the Company's total accounts receivable as of December 31, 2011 (rather than 12% as 
previously  reported). These  corrections  had  no  impact  on  the  amounts  previously  reported  in  the  Company's 
consolidated balance sheet, consolidated statements of operations or consolidated statements of cash flows. 

13.  Segment Information 

As  defined  by  the  requirements  of  ASC  280-10-55,  Segment  Reporting  –  Overall  –  Implementation  Guidance  and 
Illustrations, the Company operates in one reportable segment that includes the design, development, marketing and sale 
of high-performance, mixed-signal analog semiconductors for the communications, computing, consumer and industrial 
markets.  The  Company’s  chief  operating  decision  maker  is  its  chief  executive  officer.  The  Company  does  not 
specifically allocate any of its resources to or measure the performance of, individual product families. 

The  Company  derived  a  substantial  majority  of  its  revenue  from  sales  to  customers  located  outside  North  America 
during 2012, 2011 and 2010, with geographic revenue based on the customers’ ship-to location. 

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The  following  is  a  summary  of  revenue  by  geographic  region  based  on  customer  ship-to  location  for  the  years  ended 
December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands): 

Country 

Year ended December 31, 
2011

2010 

2012

China .........................................  $ 124,278   $ 113,469   $ 105,233  
25,840  
Taiwan .......................................   
10,219  
South East Asia .........................   
20,416  
Europe .......................................   
33,761  
Korea .........................................   
14,255  
Japan ..........................................   
8,415  
USA ...........................................   
Other ..........................................   
701  
Total ..........................................  $ 213,813   $ 196,519   $ 218,840  

23,634    
14,789    
14,416    
14,183    
10,681    
4,422    
925    

27,477    
21,641    
16,201    
9,434    
8,516    
5,711    
555    

The following is a summary of net revenue by product family for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 (in 
thousands): 

Year ended December 31,

Product Family 
Revenue      2011*  
DC to DC Converters .............  $188,736    
88.3% $170,032   
11.7%   26,487   
Lighting Control Products ......     25,077    
Total .......................................  $213,813     100.0% $196,519   

  2012 

 2010*   
86.5% $190,286   
13.5%   28,554   
100.0% $218,840   

% of  

% of  
Revenue  

% of  
Revenue    
87.0%    
13.0%    
100.0%    

     Percent Change  
2011 to 
2010 
Change 

2012 to 
2011 
Change   

11.0%   
(5.3%)  
8.8%   

(10.6%)
(7.2%)
(10.2%)

* 

2011 and 2010 revenue associated with Audio Amplifiers has been included with DC to DC Converters to conform 
with current year presentation. 

The following is a summary of long-lived assets by geographic region, excluding restricted assets, as of December 31, 
2012 and 2011 (in thousands): 

December 31,

2012

2011

China ..........................................  $
United States ..............................   
Taiwan ........................................   
Japan ..........................................   
Other ..........................................   
TOTAL ...............................  $

37,071   $
23,163    
90    
57    
55    
60,436   $

32,566  
15,662  
98  
70  
51  
48,447  

14.  Valuation and Qualifying Accounts 

The Company had insignificant activity and balance in its accounts receivable allowances in 2012, 2011 and 2010.  

15. Stock Repurchase Program 

On July 27, 2010, the Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program that authorized MPS to repurchase up to 
$50.0 million in the aggregate of its common stock between August 2, 2010 and December 31, 2011. In February 2011, 
the Board of Directors approved an increase from $50.0 million to $70.0 million. From August 2010 through June 2011, 
the Company repurchased 4,385,289 shares for a total of $70.0 million. 

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The following shares have been repurchased through the open market and subsequently retired: 

2011 
February ......................................................   
March ..........................................................   
April ............................................................   
May .............................................................   
June .............................................................   

Shares 
Repurchased   

817,500  $
75,000  $
917,200  $
657,800  $
18,000  $
2,485,500     

Average 
Price per 
Share

Value  
(in 
thousands)   
12,648   
1,062   
13,617   
10,843   
302   
38,472   

15.47   $ 
14.17   $ 
14.82   $ 
16.48   $ 
16.79   $ 
    $ 

2010 
August .........................................................   
November ....................................................   

Average 
Price per 
Share

Value  
(in 
thousands)   
16,998   
14,529   
31,527   

17.29   $ 
15.85   $ 
    $ 

Shares 
Repurchased   

983,189  $
916,600  $
1,899,789     

March 31, 
2012

16.  Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited) 

Three months ended 
June 30, 
2012

September 

30, 2012     

December 
31, 2012  
48,214 
22,661 
25,553 

56,508     $
26,495      
30,013      

Revenue ............................................................................ 
Cost of revenue (1) ........................................................... 
Gross profit ................................................................ 

 $

50,484   $
24,074    
26,410    

58,607    $ 
27,435      
31,172      

Operating expenses: 

Research and development (2) ...................................... 
Selling, general and administrative (3) .......................... 
Litigation expense (benefit), net .................................... 

11,118    
11,966    
128    

12,468      
12,167      
(244)     

11,967      
11,955      
(229 )    

13,243 
13,930 
(2,600)

Total operating expenses ........................................... 

23,212    

24,391      

23,693      

24,573 

Income from operations .................................................... 
Interest income (expense) and other, net ........................... 

Income before income taxes ............................................. 
Income tax provision......................................................... 

Net income ........................................................................ 
 $
Basic net income per share ...............................................    $
 $
Diluted net income per share ............................................ 
Weighted average common shares outstanding: 

3,198    
106    

3,304    
309    

2,995   $
0.09    $
0.08   $

6,781      
359      

6,320      
156      

7,140      
548      

6,476      
555      

6,592    $ 
0.19    $ 
0.18    $ 

5,921     $
0.17     $
0.16     $

980 
(10)

970 
722 

248 
0.01 
0.01 

Basic .............................................................................. 
Diluted ........................................................................... 

34,105    
35,538    

34,665      
35,997      

35,145      
36,438      

35,556 
36,763 

(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...................... 
(2) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...................... 
(3) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...................... 
Total stock-based compensation expense .................. 

 $

 $

95   $
1,266    
1,954    
3,315   $

118    $ 
1,524      
2,187      
3,829    $ 

112     $
1,465      
2,605      
4,182     $

185 
2,667 
4,474 
7,326 

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Revenue ............................................................................ 
Cost of revenue (1) ........................................................... 
Gross profit ................................................................ 

 $

44,468   $
22,163    
22,305    

51,628    $ 
25,070      
26,558      

Operating expenses: 

March 31, 
2011

Three months ended 
June 30, 
2011

September 

30, 2011     

December 
31, 2011  
47,461 
22,544 
24,917 

52,962    $
25,148     
27,814     

Research and development (2) ...................................... 
Selling, general and administrative (3) .......................... 
Litigation expense ......................................................... 

10,086    
9,490    
813    

11,237      
10,343      
939      

11,792     
10,249     
722     

11,403 
10,198 
905 

Total operating expenses ........................................... 

20,389    

22,519      

22,763     

22,506 

Income from operations .................................................... 
Interest income and other, net ........................................... 

Income before income taxes ............................................. 
Income tax provision (benefit) .......................................... 

Net income ........................................................................ 
 $
Basic net income per share ...............................................    $
Diluted net income per share ............................................ 
 $
Weighted average common shares outstanding: 

1,916    
183    

2,099    
206    

1,893   $
0.05    $
0.05   $

4,039      
24      

5,051     
3     

4,063      
581      

5,054     
(419)    

3,482    $ 
0.10    $ 
0.10    $ 

5,473    $
0.16    $
0.16    $

2,411 
99 

2,510 
57 

2,453 
0.07 
0.07 

Basic .............................................................................. 
Diluted ........................................................................... 

35,024    
36,105    

33,846      
34,903      

33,594     
34,240     

33,759 
34,374 

(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...................... 
(2) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...................... 
(3) Includes stock-based compensation expense ...................... 
Total stock-based compensation expense .................. 

 $

 $

63   $
1,427    
1,497    
2,987   $

89    $ 
1,550      
2,036      
3,675    $ 

83    $
1,576     
1,715     
3,374    $

77 
1,356 
1,657 
3,090 

ITEM 9. 

CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND  
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE 

None 

ITEM 9A.   CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures 

Our  management,  with  the  participation  of  our  Chief  Executive  Officer  and  Chief  Financial  Officer,  evaluated  the 
effectiveness  of  our  disclosure  controls  and  procedures  pursuant  to  Rule  13a-15(e)  and  Rule  15d-15(e)  under  the 
Securities  Exchange  Act  of  1934  as  of  the  end  of  the  period  covered  by  this  Annual  Report  on  Form  10-K.   Our 
disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that material information relating to us, including our 
consolidated subsidiaries, required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange 
Act  of  1934  is  recorded,  processed,  summarized  and  reported  within  the  time  periods  specified  in  the  Securities  and 
Exchange Commission rules and forms. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management 
recognizes  that  any  controls  and  procedures,  no  matter  how  well  designed  and  operated,  can  provide  only  reasonable 
assurance of achieving the desired control objectives.  In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must 
reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the 
benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs. 

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Based on our evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls 
and procedures are effective at December 31, 2012 and provide reasonable assurance that information we are required to 
disclose  in  reports  that  we  file  or  submit  under  the  Exchange  Act  is  recorded,  processed,  summarized  and  reported 
within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms, and that such information is 
accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, 
as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. 

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting 

Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for establishing and 
maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) 
and  Rule  15d-(f).  Our  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  is  a  process  designed  to  provide  reasonable  assurance 
regarding  the  reliability  of  financial  reporting  and  the  preparation  of  our  financial  statements  for  external  purposes  in 
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). 

Our 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 our assets; (2) provide 
reasonable  assurance  that  transactions  are  recorded  to  permit  preparation  of  financial  statements  in  accordance  with 
generally  accepted  accounting  principles,  and  that  receipts  and  expenditures  of  the  company  are  made  only  in 
accordance  with  authorizations  of  our  management  and  directors;  and  (3) provide  reasonable  assurance  regarding 
prevention  or  timely  detection  of  unauthorized  acquisition,  use  or  disposition  of  our  assets  that  could  have  a  material 
effect on our financial statements. 

A deficiency in internal control over financial reporting exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow 
management  or  employees,  in  the  normal  course  of  performing  their  assigned  functions,  to  prevent  or  detect 
misstatements on a timely basis. A deficiency in design exists when (a) a control necessary to meet the control objective 
is missing or (b) an existing control is not properly designed so that, even if the control operates as designed, the control 
objective  would  not  be  met.  A  deficiency  in  operation  exists  when  a  properly  designed  control  does  not  operate  as 
designed, or when the person performing the control does not possess the necessary authority or competence to perform 
the control effectively. A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over 
financial  reporting  that  is  less  severe  than  a  material  weakness;  yet  important  enough  to  merit  attention  by  those 
responsible for oversight of the company’s financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of 
deficiencies,  in  internal  control  over  financial  reporting,  such  that  there  is  a  reasonable  possibility  that  a  material 
misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. 

Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, assessed the effectiveness of our 
internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012. In performing this assessment, management used the 
criteria  established  by  the  Committee  of  Sponsoring  Organizations  of  the  Treadway  Commission  (COSO)  in  Internal 
Control— Integrated Framework. Based upon this assessment, our management has concluded that, as of December 31, 
2012, our internal control over financial reporting was effective. 

Our  independent  registered  public  accounting  firm,  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP,  which  audited  the  consolidated  financial 
statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K, has issued an attestation report, included elsewhere herein, on 
the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.  

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Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls 

While  our  disclosure  controls  and  procedures  and  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  are  designed  to  provide 
reasonable  assurance  that  their  respective  objectives  will  be  met,  we  do  not  expect  that  our  disclosure  controls  and 
procedures or our internal control over financial reporting are or will be capable of preventing or detecting all errors and 
all  fraud.  Any  control  system,  no  matter  how  well  designed  and  operated,  can  provide  only  reasonable,  not  absolute, 
assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. 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. Further, because of the 
inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements 
due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the company have been 
detected.  These  inherent  limitations  include  the  realities  that  judgments  in  decision-making  can  be  faulty  and  that 
breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Controls can also be circumvented by the individual acts of 
some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system 
of controls is based in part on 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.  Projections  of  any 
evaluation of controls effectiveness to future periods are subject to risks. 

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 
31,  2012  that  have  materially  affected  or  are  reasonably  likely  to  materially  affect,  our  internal  control  over  financial 
reporting. 

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM 

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of 
Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. 
San Jose, California 

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. and subsidiaries (the 
"Company") as of December 31, 2012, based on the criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework 
issued  by  the  Committee  of  Sponsoring  Organizations  of  the  Treadway  Commission.  The  Company'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  Annual  Report  on  Internal 
Control  Over  Financial  Reporting.  Our  responsibility  is  to  express  an  opinion  on  the  Company'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, testing 
and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and 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  by,  or  under  the  supervision  of,  the 
company's principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by 
the  company's  board  of  directors,  management,  and  other  personnel  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 the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or 
improper  management  override  of  controls,  material  misstatements  due  to  error  or  fraud  may  not  be  prevented  or 
detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial 
reporting  to  future  periods  are  subject  to  the  risk  that  the  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, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of 
December  31,  2012,  based  on  the  criteria  established  in  Internal  Control  —  Integrated  Framework  issued  by  the 
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. 

We  have  also  audited,  in  accordance  with  the  standards  of  the  Public  Company  Accounting  Oversight  Board  (United 
States), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012, of the Company and our 
report dated March 5, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements. 

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP 

San Jose, California 
March 5, 2013 

ITEM 9B.   OTHER INFORMATION 

None 

78 

 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
PART III 

ITEM 10.    DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

Reference  is  made  to  the  information  regarding  directors  and  nominees,  code  of  ethics,  corporate  governance  matters 
and disclosure  relating  to  compliance  with  Section  16(a)  of  the  Securities  Exchange  Act  of 1934  appearing  under  the 
captions “Election of Directors” and “Compliance with Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” in 
our  Proxy  Statement  for  our  Annual  Meeting  of  Stockholders  (the  “2013  Annual  Meeting”),  which  information  is 
incorporated  in  this  Form  10-K  by  reference.  Information  regarding  executive  officers  is  set  forth  under  the  caption 
“Executive Officers of the Registrant” in Part I of this Form 10-K. 

ITEM 11.    EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION 

The information required by this item is set forth under “Executive Officer Compensation” in our Proxy Statement for 
the 2013 Annual Meeting, and is incorporated herein by reference. 

ITEM 12.  SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND  

RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS 

The information required by this item is set forth under the captions “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners 
and Management” and “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in our Proxy Statement for the 2013 Annual Meeting, 
and is incorporated herein by reference. 

ITEM 13.  CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR  

INDEPENDENCE 

The information required by this item is set forth under the captions “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” 
and  “Election  of  Directors”  in  our  Proxy  Statement  for  the  2013  Annual  Meeting,  and  is  incorporated  herein  by 
reference. 

ITEM 14.    PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES 

The information required by this item is set forth under the caption “Accounting Fees” in our Proxy Statement for the 
2013 Annual Meeting, and is incorporated herein by reference. 

79 

 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
ITEM 15.    EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES. 

PART IV 

(a) Documents filed as part of this report 

(1) All financial statements 

Index to Financial Statements 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 
Consolidated Balance Sheets 
Consolidated Statements of Operations 
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income 
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

(2) Schedules 

All  schedules  have  been  omitted  because  the  required  information  is  not  present  or  not  present  in  amounts 
sufficient  to  require  submission  of  the  schedules,  or  because  the  information  required  is  included  in  the  consolidated 
financial statements or notes thereto. 

(3) Exhibits 

Exhibit 
Number 

Description

3.1 (1) 

  Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. 

3.2 (2) 

  Amended and Restated Bylaws. 

10.1+ (3) 

  Registrant’s 1998 Stock Plan and form of option agreement. 

10.2+ (4) 

  Registrant’s Amended 2004 Equity Incentive Plan and form of option agreement. 

10.3+ (5) 

  Registrant’s 2004 Employee Stock Purchase Plan and form of subscription agreement. 

10.4+ (6) 

  Form of Directors’ and Officers’ Indemnification Agreement. 

10.5† (7) 

  Foundry  Agreement  between  the  Registrant  and  Advanced  Semiconductor  Manufacturing  Corp.  of
Shanghai, dated August 14, 2001. 

10.6 (8) 

  Office  Lease,  First  Amendment  to  Office  Lease,  and  Second  Amendment  to  Office  Lease  between  the
Registrant  and  Boccardo  Corporation,  dated  May  6,  2002,  October  30,  2003,  and  May  6,  2004,
respectively. 

10.7+ (9) 

  Employment Agreement with Michael Hsing and Amendment thereof. 

10.8+ (10) 

  Employment Agreement with Maurice Sciammas and Amendment thereof. 

10.9+ (11) 

  Employment Agreement with Jim Moyer. 

10.10+ (12)    Employment Agreement with Deming Xiao and Amendment thereof. 

10.11+ (13)    Employment Agreement with Paul Ueunten and Amendment thereof. 

80 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
 
   
     
   
     
   
     
10.12 (14) 

  Distribution Agreement with Asian Information Technology Inc. Ltd., dated March 1, 2004. 

10.13 (15) 

  Business Purchase Agreement with Uppertech Hong Kong Ltd., dated March 1, 2004. 

10.14† (16)    Investment and Cooperation Contract, dated August 19, 2004. 

10.15† (17)    Patent License Agreement, dated May 1, 2004. 

10.16† (18)    Settlement Agreement with Linear Technology Corporation. 

10.17+ (19)    Employment Agreement with C. Richard Neely, Jr. and Amendment thereof 

10.18 (20) 

  Settlement Agreement with Microsemi Corporation. 

10.19 (21) 

  Settlement Agreement with Micrel Corporation. 

10.20+ (22)    Employment Agreement with Adriana Chiocchi and Amendment thereof. 

10.21+ (23)    Form of Performance Unit Agreement. 

10.22 (24) 

  Sublease  Agreement  between  the  Registrant  and  FedEx  Freight  West,  Inc.  and  Brokaw  Interests  dated
June 13, 2006. 

10.23+ (25)    Letter Agreement with Victor Lee. 

10.24 (26) 

  Sublease Agreement between the Registrant and Anchor Bay Technologies for the property located at 983
University Avenue, Building A, Los Gatos, CA 95032 dated May 14, 2007. 

10.25+ (27)    Letter Agreement with Douglas McBurnie. 

10.26+ (28)    Letter Agreement with Karen A. Smith Bogart. 

10.27 (29) 

  Settlement Agreement with Taiwan Sumida Electronics. 

10.28+ (30)    Registrant’s Employee Bonus Plan, as amended effective March 6, 2008. 

10.29 (32) 

  Lease Agreement between the Registrant and Brokaw Interests, dated October 23, 2008 

10.30 (33) 

  Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement 

10.31+ (35)    Termination Agreement between the Company and Adriana Chiocchi, dated December 15, 2009 

10.32+ (34)    Letter Agreement with Jeff Zhou 

10.33+(36) 

  Employment Agreement with Meera P. Rao and Amendment thereof 

14.1 (31) 

  Code of Ethics. 

21.1 

23.1 

24.1 

31.1 

  Subsidiaries of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. 

  Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. 

  Power of Attorney (included on Signature page to this Form 10-K). 

  Certification  of  Chief  Executive  Officer  pursuant  to  Securities  Exchange  Act  Rules  13a-14(a)  and  15d-
14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

81 

 
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
 
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
 
 
31.2 

32.1* 

  Certification  of  Chief  Financial  Officer  pursuant  to  Securities  Exchange  Act  Rules  13a-14(a)  and  15d-
14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

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

101.INS** 

  XBRL Instance 

101.SCH**    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema 

101.CAL**    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation 

101.DEF** 

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition 

101.LAB**    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels 

101.PRE** 

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation 

+ 
† 

* 

** 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10) 

(11) 

(12) 

Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. 
Confidential  treatment  requested  for  portions  of  this  agreement,  which  portions  have  been  omitted  and  filed
separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
This exhibit shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or 
otherwise  subject  to  the  liabilities  of  that  Section,  nor  shall  it  be  deemed  incorporated  by  reference  in  any
filings under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, whether made before or after
the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation language in any filings. 
XBRL information is furnished and not filed or a part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of
sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, is deemed not filed for purposes of section 18 of 
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and otherwise is not subject to liability under these sections.
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Registrant’s Form S-1 Registration Statement (Registration No. 
333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 of the Registrant’s Form S-1 Registration Statement (Registration No. 
333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.1  of  the  Registrant’s  Form  S-1  Registration  Statement  (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.2  of  the  Registrant’s  Form  S-1  Registration  Statement  (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004 and
to  exhibits  9.01(c)(1)  and  (2)  to  the  Registrant’s  Current  Report  on  Form  8-K,  filed  with  the  Securities  and 
Exchange Commission on December 7, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.3  of  the  Registrant’s  Form  S-1  Registration  Statement  (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.4  of  the  Registrant’s  Form  S-1  Registration  Statement  (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.5  of  the  Registrant’s  Form  S-1  Registration  Statement  (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.6  of  the  Registrant’s  Form  S-1  Registration  Statement  (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.7  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2008 and Exhibit 10.1 of the Registrant’s current report on
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2008. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.8  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2008 and Exhibit 10.3 of the Registrant’s current report on
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2008. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.9  of  the  Registrant’s  Form  S-1  Registration  Statement  (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.10  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2008 and Exhibit 10.4 of the Registrant’s current report on
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2008. 

82 

 
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
  
 
(13) 

(14) 

(15) 

(16) 

(17) 

(18) 

(19) 

(20) 

(21) 

(22) 

(23) 

(24) 

(25) 

(26) 

(27) 

(28) 

(29) 

(30) 

(31) 

(32) 

(33) 

(34) 

(35) 

(36) 

Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.11  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2008 and Exhibit 10.6 of the Registrant’s current report on 
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2008. 
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 of the Registrant’s Form S-1 Registration Statement (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 of the Registrant’s Form S-1 Registration Statement (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 of the Registrant’s Form S-1 Registration Statement (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 of the Registrant’s Form S-1 Registration Statement (Registration 
No. 333-117327), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 18, 2004. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.1  of  the  Registrant’s  quarterly  report  on  Form  10-Q,  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13, 2006. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.17  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2008 and Exhibit 10.2 of the Registrant’s current report on
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2008. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.18  of  the  Registrant’s  annual  report  on  Form  10-K,  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2006. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.1  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on September 22, 2006. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.20  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2008 and Exhibit 10.5 of the Registrant’s current report on
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2008. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.1  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on November 1, 2006. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  99.1  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on June 16, 2006. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.1  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on September 14, 2006. 
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10 of the Registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities 
and Exchange Commission on May 17, 2007 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.1  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on May 25, 2007 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.2  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on May 25, 2007 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.5  of  the  Registrant’s  quarterly  report  on  Form  10-Q  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on August 1, 2007. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.31  of  the  Registrant’s  annual  report  on  Form  10-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2008. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  14.1  of  the  Registrant’s  annual  report  on  Form  10-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2007. 
Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10 of the Registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities 
and Exchange Commission on October 24, 2008. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.1  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 15, 2008. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.1  of  the  Registrant’s  current  report  on  Form  8-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 2, 2010. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.31  of  the  Registrant’s  annual  report  on  Form  10-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 16, 2010. 
Incorporated  by  reference  to  Exhibit  10.33  of  the  Registrant’s  annual  report  on  Form  10-K  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2011. 

83 

 
 
 
 
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has 

duly caused this Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. 

SIGNATURES 

MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 

By:  

/s/ MICHAEL R. HSING 
Michael R. Hsing 
President and Chief Executive Officer 

Date: March 5, 2013 

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes 
and appoints Michael R. Hsing and Meera P. Rao, and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and 
agents, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place, and stead, in any 
and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Report, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other 
documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact 
and  agents,  and  each  of  them,  full  power  and  authority  to do  and perform  each  and  every  act  and  thing  requisite  and 
necessary  to  be  done  in  connection  therewith,  as  fully  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  he  or  she  might  or  could  do  in 
person,  hereby  ratifying  and  confirming  that  all  said  attorneys-in-fact  and  agents,  or  any  of  his  or  her  substitute  or 
substituted, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below on March 

5, 2013 by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated: 

/S/ MICHAEL R. HSING 
MICHAEL R. HSING 

   President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director (Principal Executive Officer) 

/S/ MEERA P. RAO 
MEERA P. RAO 

   Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer and Duly  
   Authorized Officer) 

/S/ KAREN A. SMITH BOGART     Director 

KAREN A. SMITH BOGART 

/S/ HERBERT CHANG 
HERBERT CHANG 

   Director 

/S/ EUGEN ELMIGER 
EUGEN ELMIGER 

   Director 

/S/ VICTOR K. LEE 
VICTOR K. LEE 

   Director 

/S/ DOUGLAS MCBURNIE 
DOUGLAS MCBURNIE 

   Director 

/S/ JAMES C. MOYER 
JAMES C. MOYER 

   Director 

/S/ JEFF ZHOU 
JEFF ZHOU 

   Director 

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