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Silicon Laboratories

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FY2003 Annual Report · Silicon Laboratories
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2003 Annual Report

Look inside. Look ahead. Look beyond.

©2004 Silicon Laboratories Inc.  
ISOmodem, ProSLIC, SiPHY, Aero, Silicon Laboratories Inc. and the Silicon Laboratories logo are trademarks of Silicon Laboratories Inc.
All other products or brand names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.

Silicon Laboratories Inc.

4635 Boston Lane
Austin, Texas 78735
512-416-8500

Silicon Laboratories Inc. is a global leader in the innovation of mixed-signal integrated circuit (IC) technology. The company applies its 
renowned design expertise to develop proprietary analog-intensive, mixed-signal IC solutions that are implemented in CMOS. These products 
offer significant advantages in performance, size, cost and power consumption over traditional solutions. Silicon Laboratories’ product portfolio 
includes  solutions  targeted  at  a  broad  range  of  markets  including  communications,  computing,  industrial,  consumer  and  automotive.  The 
company, founded in 1996, has over 300 patents issued or pending. Based in Austin, Texas, Silicon Laboratories’ common stock is traded 
on the NASDAQ® under the ticker symbol “SLAB.”

Corporate Directory

Directors

Nav Sooch 
Chairman, 
Silicon Laboratories 

Dan Artusi 
President and CEO, 
Silicon Laboratories 

Dave Welland 
Vice President, 
Silicon Laboratories 

William Bock 
CenterPoint Ventures, 
General Partner 

H. Berry Cash 
InterWest Partners, 
General Partner

R. Ted Enloe, III 
Optisoft Inc., 
President and CEO

Laurence G. Walker 
Individual Investor 

William Wood 
Silverton Partners,
General Partner 

Executive Officers

Corporate Information 

Dan Artusi
President and CEO

John McGovern
Chief Financial Officer 

Dave Bresemann
Vice President

Brad Fluke
Vice President

Gary Gay
Vice President 

Ed Healy
Vice President 

Jon Ivester
Vice President 

Jeff Scott
Vice President 

Dave Welland
Vice President 

Russ Brennan
Chief Financial Officer
(on leave) 

Stock listing: Common stock 
traded on NASDAQ®

Symbol: SLAB

Options: The Company’s 
options are traded on the 
Chicago Board Option Exchange 
and the American Stock Exchange.

Legal Counsel

Andrews Kurth LLP
111 Congress Avenue, Suite 1700
Austin, Texas 78701

Independent Auditors

Ernst & Young LLP
700 Lavaca Street, Suite 1400
Austin, Texas 78701

Transfer Agent 
and Registrar

American Stock Transfer 
& Trust Company
59 Maiden Lane
Plaza Level 
New York, New York 10038  
800-937-5449 

Fiscal Year Ended
January 3, 2004 

First Quarter 
Second Quarter  
Third Quarter 
Fourth Quarter 

Fiscal Year Ended 
December 28, 2002 

First Quarter 
Second Quarter  
Third Quarter 
Fourth Quarter 

        High                    Low

  $30.27  
 32.56  
      53.01  
 58.88  

$18.89 
 24.22 
 26.10 
 39.61  

        High                    Low

  $39.65  
 37.54  
 29.09  
 30.40  

$21.56 
 21.39 
 16.40 
 17.10  

Annual Meeting

Stock Data

As of February 24, 2004, there 
were 363 holders of record of 
our Company’s Common Stock.

The following tables set forth 
for the periods indicted, the 
record of high and low per-
share prices of the Company’s 
Common Stock as reported by 
the NASDAQ.

The Silicon Laboratories Inc. 
annual meeting will be held on 
Thursday, April 29, 2004, 
at 9:30 a.m. at the Lady Bird 
Johnson Wildflower Center, 
4801 La Crosse Avenue, 
Austin, Texas.

Investor Relations

For more information about 
Silicon Laboratories, or copies 
of our Annual Report on Form 
10-K, please visit our website at 
www.silabs.com, or contact:

Investor Relations
Silicon Laboratories Inc.
4635 Boston Lane
Austin, Texas 78735
512-464-9254
investor.relations@silabs.com

Design: Cartis Group, Austin, Texas

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
It’s been a great year.
And the best is yet to come.

Financial Highlights (in millions, except per share data)

Year 

Revenues 

2003 

2002  

2001 

2000 

1999

$325  

$182   

$74  

$103                   $47

Research and development  

Operating income (loss) 

48  

65  

32 
29  
31                     (51)  
21                    (46)  

19                       8

23                     15

14                      11
Net income (loss)  
Earnings (loss) per share – diluted                                        0.86                  0.41                 (0.99)                  0.29                 0.25 

45 

Non-GAAP financial measures:*

Adjusted operating income (loss) 

87 
30                     16
62                       26                    (1.2)                     21                     12
Adjusted net income (loss) 
Adjusted earnings (loss) per share – diluted                           1.18                    0.51                  (0.03)                 0.44                 0.28

36                      (7) 

Revenues (in millions)

Adjusted Net Income (in millions)*

$109.6

$82.9

$69.1

$63.8

100

80

60

40

20

$60.2

$51.8

$41.2

$28.8

$23.8

$15.1

$12.1

$10.6

25

20

15

10

5

$11.1

$9.2

$4.0

$1.7

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2003

2002

2003

2002

*  Excluding charges relating to amortization of goodwill, deferred stock compensation, write-off of in-process research and development, impairment of goodwill and other intangible

assets and the settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit. See Reconciliation Table of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures provided in Appendix I.

1

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Building the finest 
semiconductor company 
in the world.

Letter to the Shareholders

Silicon  Laboratories’  success  is  driven  by 
our  commitment  to  excellence  in  every 
facet  of  our  business.  The  strong  growth 
and  record  revenues  delivered  throughout 
2003  are  proof  that  we  remain  dedicat-
ed to this commitment. We ended the year 
with  our  eleventh  consecutive  quarter  of 
revenue  growth  and  our  highest  cash 
balance in the company’s history.

In  2003,  we  continued  to  focus  on 
three  main  areas  to  maximize  our  share-
holders’ investment: Profitability, Innovation 
and Diversification.

Profitability
Operating  profit  is  taken  very  seriously 
throughout  the  company  as  we  work  to 
achieve  industry-leading  top  line  growth  as 
well as world-class bottom line performance. 
By  delivering  on  this  goal  and  several 
others,  we  can  continue  to  invest  in  the 
company,  driving  long-term  sustainable 
growth.  Our  very  liquid  balance  sheet  is  a 
great  example;  at  year  end,  we  had  a 

record  cash  and  short-term  investments 
balance of $190 million.  

the 
With  explosive  growth  comes 
challenge  of  scaling  efficiently.  Since  we 
became  a  public  company  in  2000,  we 
have grown from $47 million to $325 million 
in  annual  revenues,  from  tens  to  thousands 
of  customers  and  from  148  employees  to 
486.  In  2003,  we  implemented  an  inte-
grated planning system that complements our 
business-to-business  strategy  and  more 
closely  links  Silicon  Laboratories  to  our 
suppliers,  distributors  and  customers.  As  our 
product portfolio broadens, these efficiencies 
allow us to leverage resources and improve 
our working capital management. 

Operational strength is a key underlying 
driver of profitability. New product ramps in 
2003  gave  us  an  opportunity  to  exercise 
our  third-party  manufacturing  strategy.  We 
continue  to  see  the  benefits  of  our  fabless 
model  as  we  strengthen  our  relationships 
with  world-class  partners.  Seventy  percent 
of  our  products  are  tested  and  shipped 

through third parties, improving cycle times 
and  reducing  costs.  The  efficiency  of  our 
supply  chain  allowed  us  to  ramp  our  ship-
ments to millions of units per week in 2003 
with minimal capital investment. 

Innovation
Our  customers  are  the  key  to  our  success. 
Innovative products that meet customer needs 
create  a  lasting  growth  engine,  and  the 
silicon  DAA  is  a  perfect  example.  It  was 
the  company’s  first  product  in  1998  and 
continues  to  be  the  PC  industry’s  choice 
for  soft  modems.  Five  years  into  volume 
production, we believe the DAA is still in the 
prime of its life cycle with year-over-year rev-
enue  growth  of  over  40  percent  in  2003. 
This  success  demonstrates  the  value  of  our 
strategic  new  product  planning  process, 
which identifies product development oppor-
tunities  that  offer  customers  a  unique  value 
proposition, create a significant IP advantage 
and target large potential markets. 

The Aero™ RF transceiver family is another

case  in  point.  The  Aero  transceiver  is 
the  industry’s  most  integrated  solution  for 
mobile  handsets  and  is  the  only  CMOS  RF 
transceiver  in  production  today.  In  only 
24 months, the Aero transceiver has captured 
over 20 percent of the GSM/GPRS mobile 
handset  market.  In  2003,  we  introduced 
the  latest  generation  of  the  Aero  transceiv-
er:  Aero  I  and  Aero  I+,  single  package  RF 
transceivers  that  implement  a  triple-band 
radio in only 1.2 square centimeters. 

Diversification
We expect our future growth to be driven by 
two  factors:  increased  dollar  content  in  our 
current  markets  and  penetration  of  applica-
tions in new markets. 

The latest generation of our ISOmodem® 
embedded  modems  has  opened  up  a 
variety of new opportunities. The very small 
size  and  minimal  bill-of-materials  make  the 
new  ISOmodem  embedded  modems  ideal 
for  basic  connectivity  in  applications  like 
personal  video  recorders,  where  customers 

like  TiVo™  are  taking  advantage  of  modem 
connectivity  to  download  program  guide 
information.  Our  advances  into  the  local 
loop  have  also  been  successful,  and  we 
expect the ProSLIC® and DSL AFE will benefit 
from the increasing  presence  of  broadband 
networks.  Our  optical  portfolio,  including 
high-speed  transceivers  and  precision  clock 
products, is poised for growth as the telecom 
market recovers.

In  the  fourth  quarter  of  2003,  we 
expanded our wireless portfolio to capitalize 
on  our  success  in  the  satellite  radio  market 
with  the  introduction  of  a  complete  satellite 
radio  tuner. Both  retailers and  car  manufac-
turers  have  embraced  satellite  radio,  which 
makes this market a volume opportunity over 
time, and offers us a foothold in the automo-
tive market.

Finally,  we  took  a  major  step  towards 
our  diversification  objective  through  the 
acquisition  of  Cygnal  Integrated  Products 
in  December  2003.  A  private  company 
based  in  Austin,  Cygnal  developed  a 

 complete  family  of  analog  intensive,  mixed-
signal 8-bit microcontrollers. The portfolio 
of over 50 general-purpose products will 
add  breadth  and  diversity  to  our  existing 
product  line  of  high-performance,  applica-
tion specific mixed-signal ICs. 

In  2003,  we  again  had  the  oppor-
tunity to validate Silicon Laboratories’ strategy, 
operations and financial model. As we look to 
2004, we expect our business to grow solidly 
as we continue to execute on our profitability, 
innovation and diversification strategies. 

I  believe  we  have  proven  that  Silicon 
Laboratories  is  capable  of  competing  with 
established semiconductor leaders and remains 
on  course  to  realize  our  goal  of  building  the 
finest semiconductor company in the world.

Dan Artusi
President and CEO

3

Aero I transceiver
Aero I transceiver
Aero I transceiver
Aero I transceiver

Silicon Laboratories’ family of Aero™ RF transceivers in CMOS lead the industry 
in integration and ease of use for mobile handsets and smart phones.

It began with an idea. 
The idea became an opportunity. 
Opportunity is everywhere.

In  2003,  we  found  further  evidence  that 
the  opportunity  for  mixed-signal  devices  is 
everywhere. Both existing and new products 
contributed  to  an  increasingly  diverse  reve-
nue and customer base. Today we describe 
our  business  with  two  categories,  both  of 
which  contributed  approximately  one-half 
of our 2003 revenues: broad-based mixed-
signal  products  and  mobile  handset 
products. This is the latest step in the evolu-
tion of our business from a single product, to 
several product lines, to a growing portfolio of 
solutions that address a broad set of markets.
We have many examples in our product 
portfolio that demonstrate how a good idea 
that  is  well  executed  creates  significant 
opportunity.  For  instance,  a  clever  idea  to 
improve the radio frequency (RF) front end of 

the cellular handset by designing a CMOS 
transceiver  has,  through  hard  work  and 
innovative design, led to a vibrant RF IC busi-
ness. We expanded our Aero RF transceiver 
volume customers from 11 to 34 during 2003. 
While Aero has taken off, the RF synthesizer, 
our entry into the mobile handset market, has 
proven its longevity as a general-purpose 
part for a variety of applications. Already 
in a large percentage of satellite radios, the 
RF synthesizer is also part of our new satel-
lite  tuner  introduced  in  2003.  Implemented 
in  CMOS,  the  new  tuner  reduces  board 
space by 60 percent, component count by 
70 percent and doubles Silicon Laboratories’ 
content in the satellite radio bill-of-materials. 
Clearly, innovation breeds opportunity. 

5

Change is constant.
New markets emerge.
The possibilities are endless.

The  evolution  of  legacy  communications 
networks to voice over Internet Protocol (IP) and 
broadband networks offers endless possibili-
ties  for  a  company  like  Silicon  Laboratories 
with experience creating highly reliable, cost 
effective and innovative telephony products. 
Our  broad-based  mixed-signal  solutions 
hit record revenue highs in 2003. We intro-
duced the latest generation of the ISOmodem 
family  in  2003,  which  incorporates  our  third 
generation  DAA.  The  market  for  analog 
connectivity  shows  no  signs  of  waning  as 
more  and  more  devices  are  attached  to
communications  networks  through  low-cost, 
reliable, analog connections. The ISOmodem 

embedded  modems  are  ideal  for  this 
expanding range of applications from point-
of-sale  terminals  to  gaming  consoles  that 
leverage  its  very  small  size  and  low  bill-of-
materials to enable information exchange at 
speeds from 2400 bps to 56 kbps.

The  beauty  of  mixed-signal  design  is 
that while it is incredibly difficult to master, 
innovations in mixed-signal have long life 
cycles and create endless possibilities across 
many markets. Our voice DAA, a derivative 
of  the  successful  silicon  DAA  family,  is 
gaining  acceptance  in  voice  applications 
like PBXs and VoIP hardware. The voice 
DAA  and  ProSLIC  subscriber  line  interface 

offer  a  very  compelling  combined  solution 
for voice over broadband customer premises 
equipment. We  expect  voice  over  IP  in  the 
local loop to ramp in 2004, and our solution 
is well suited for this new category of voice 
hardware. Our DSL modem analog front end 
began shipping in volume in the third quarter 
of 2003, which is a significant milestone that 
validates our strategy to focus on the difficult 
analog  component  of  the  DSL  chip  design. 
We  also  secured  our  first  design  win  for  a 
soft DSL implementation that is similar to the 
soft  modem  designs  that  revolutionized  the 
analog  modem  market,  again  opening  up 
exciting possibilities. 

DAA mobile daughter card

Silicon Laboratories’ third generation silicon DAAs are 
unmatched in size, feature set and global compatibility.

7

It’s good to be at the intersection of
billion dollar markets.

Silicon  Laboratories’  expertise  in  analog-
intensive mixed-signal CMOS design allows 
us  to  target  the  intersection  between  the 
high-performance  analog  and  digital  circuit 
markets.  The  need  for  increased  mixed-
signal  integration  uniquely  positions  us  to 
capitalize  on  this  enormous  opportunity, 
which  includes  very  large  markets  such 
as  communications,  computing,  consumer, 
industrial  and  automotive  electronics. 
According  to  industr y  sources,  these 
electronics  markets  will  represent  over 
$100  billion  in  semiconductor  revenues  in 
2004  and  present  vast  opportunities  for 
innovative mixed-signal IC solutions. 

Our  expansion  strategy  is  based  on 
a  fundamental  core  competency:  the 
innovative  design  of  high-performance, 
analog-intensive,  mixed-signal  ICs.  Every 
product  we  develop  reflects  our  unique 
CMOS  design  expertise,  including  the 
microcontroller  products  we  now  offer 
as  a  result  of  our  acquisition  of  Cygnal 
Integrated  Products  in  December  2003. 
These products provide a system on a chip 
that  incorporates  high-performance  analog 
within  an  8-bit,  8051  MCU  architecture, 
which  is  well  aligned  with  our  mixed-
signal concentration. 

Our unwavering commitment to develop 
the world’s leading mixed-signal technology, 
driven  by  clear  management  direction 
and  the  dedication  of  our  employees,  is 
allowing  us  to  build  a  more  diversified 
product portfolio that targets a fast growing 
market  opportunity.  We  believe  our  bold 
vision  for  the  future  and  our  continued 
commitment  to  the  company’s  key  goals  of 
profitability, innovation and diversification will 
sustain  Silicon  Laboratories’  position  as  the  
leader  in  analog-intensive  mixed-signal 
IC technology.

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

FORM 10-K/A 

AMENDMENT NO. 1 

(Mark One) 

(cid:59)  ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES  

         EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

        For the fiscal year ended 

January 3, 2004 

Or 

(cid:133)  TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES  

               EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

For the transition period from 

Commission file number: 

to  

SILICON LABORATORIES INC. 
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) 

Delaware 
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)  

74-2793174 

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 

4635 Boston Lane, Austin, Texas  
(Address of principal executive offices) 

78735 
(Zip Code) 

(512) 416-8500 
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) 

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report) 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None. 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: 
Common Stock, $0.0001 Par Value 

   Indicate  by  check  mark  whether  the  registrant  (1)  has  filed  all  reports  required  to  be  filed  by  Sections  13  or  15(d)  of  the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to 
file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.                         (cid:59) Yes  (cid:133) 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.   (cid:133) 

   Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2).   (cid:59) Yes (cid:133) No  

   The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the 
price at which the common equity was last sold as of the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second 
fiscal quarter  (June 27, 2003) was $812,751,192 (assuming, for this purpose, that only directors and officers are deemed 
affiliates). 

    There were 51,243,786 shares of the registrant's common stock issued and outstanding as of January 19, 2004. 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE 

    Portions of the Proxy Statement for the registrant’s 2004 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into 
Part II and Part III of this Form 10-K. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Explanatory Note  

   This Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Silicon Laboratories 
Inc. for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2004 is being filed solely for the purpose 
of correcting a typographical error that appears on page 8 of Item 1 of our Annual 
Report on Form 10-K filed on January 27, 2004 (the “Original Report”). For the year 
ended January 3, 2004, sales through independent sales representatives and 
distributors accounted for 77% of our sales, rather than 27% as reported in our 
Original Report. All other information in our Original Report remains unchanged. 
References herein to the Form 10-K refer to our Original Report, as amended by this 
Amendment No.1.  

SILICON LABORATORIES INC. 

FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

                                                                              Page 
                                                                              ---- 
PART I. 

   ITEM 1.  Business and Factors Affecting Our Future Operating Results         3 
   ITEM 2.  Properties                                                         25 
   ITEM 3.  Legal Proceedings                                                  25 
   ITEM 4.  Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders                26 

PART II. 

   ITEM 5.  Market for Registrant's Common Equity and Related Stockholder 
              Matters                                                          26 
   ITEM 6.  Selected Consolidated Financial Data                               27 
   ITEM 7.  Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition  
              and Results of Operations                                        28 
   ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk         37 
   ITEM 8.  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data                        38 
   ITEM 9.  Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting 
              and Financial Disclosure                                         38 
   ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures                                            38 

PART III. 

   ITEM 10. Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant                 38 
   ITEM 11. Executive Compensation                                             38 
   ITEM 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management     38 
   ITEM 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions                     38 
   ITEM 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services                             38 

PART IV. 

   ITEM 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules, and Reports 
              on Form 8-K                                                      39 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT 

EXCEPT FOR THE HISTORICAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, THE MATTERS 
DISCUSSED IN THIS REPORT ON FORM 10-K (AS WELL AS DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED HEREIN BY 
REFERENCE) MAY BE CONSIDERED “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.  SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 
INCLUDE DECLARATIONS REGARDING THE INTENT, BELIEF OR CURRENT EXPECTATIONS OF SILICON 
LABORATORIES AND ITS MANAGEMENT AND MAY BE SIGNIFIED BY THE WORDS “EXPECTS,” 
“ANTICIPATES,” “INTENDS,” “BELIEVES” OR SIMILAR LANGUAGE.  YOU ARE CAUTIONED THAT 
ANY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE NOT GUARANTEES OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE AND 
INVOLVE A NUMBER OF RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES.  ACTUAL RESULTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY 
FROM THOSE INDICATED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.  FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE 
OR CONTRIBUTE TO SUCH DIFFERENCES INCLUDE THOSE DISCUSSED UNDER “FACTORS AFFECTING 
OUR FUTURE OPERATING RESULTS” AND ELSEWHERE IN THIS REPORT.  SILICON LABORATORIES 
DISCLAIMS ANY INTENTION OR OBLIGATION TO UPDATE OR REVISE ANY FORWARD-LOOKING 
STATEMENTS, WHETHER AS A RESULT OF NEW INFORMATION, FUTURE EVENTS OR OTHERWISE. 

2

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PART I 

Item 1.  Business and Factors Affecting Our Future Operating Results 

GENERAL 

   Silicon Laboratories Inc. designs and develops proprietary, analog-intensive, 
mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) for a broad range of applications. Mixed-
signal ICs are electronic components that convert real-world analog signals, such as 
sound and radio waves, into digital signals that electronic products can process. 
Therefore, mixed-signal ICs are critical components in numerous applications, 
including mobile handsets, cable and satellite set-top boxes, personal computer 
modems, Voice over Internet Protocol on data networks, voice over digital subscriber 
line (DSL) modems, personal video recorders, telephone equipment and optical 
networking equipment.  With our acquisition of Cygnal Integrated Products, we now 
sell 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs), which are incorporated in a broad range of 
applications in a variety of industries, including automotive, communications, 
consumer, industrial, medical and power management.  Our world-class, mixed-signal 
design engineers use standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS, 
technology to create innovative ICs that can improve the performance and 
dramatically reduce the cost, size and system power requirements of devices that our 
customers sell to their end-user customers. Our expertise in analog-intensive, 
mixed-signal IC design in CMOS allows us to develop new and innovative products 
rapidly, which enables our customers to improve their time-to-market with end 
products that respond to their end customer demand.  

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND 

    In a January 2004 report, market research firm In-Stat projected that the analog 
IC market will grow by 29 percent to $36.4 billion in 2004. Recent growth in the 
market for ICs has been due to a number of factors, including the growth of Internet 
usage, development of new communications technologies, availability of improved 
communications services at lower costs, broad deployment of optical networks and 
remote access requirements for corporate networks. This demand has fueled tremendous 
growth in the number of electronic devices. For example, in mobile handset markets, 
the demand for wireless phones and other wireless devices, such as personal digital 
assistants, has grown steadily as digital wireless services have become increasingly 
popular and affordable. In other markets, demand has increased for a wide range of 
electronic products, including personal computers (PCs), cable and satellite set-top 
boxes, fax machines, credit card verification machines, automated teller machines, 
satellite radios and personal video recorders. Consumers increasingly demand higher 
capacity connections at their residences using cable modems or high speed DSL. Voice 
over Internet Protocol technology, which enables voice traffic over data networks is 
emerging as a viable alternative to traditional telephone networks.  The demand for 
greater and faster Internet access by households and businesses has increased the 
need to significantly upgrade the communications backbone to handle this traffic, 
increasing the need for smaller, faster and better performing optical networking 
systems that route this traffic.  In the 8-bit MCU and high performance analog 
market there is an increasing need for fully functional, analog intensive 
applications which are used in automotive, communications, consumer, industrial, 
medical and power management products. 

   Numerous devices require analog-intensive, mixed-signal circuits that provide 
analog-to-digital functionality. Traditional designs for electronic devices have 
used mixed-signal circuits built with numerous discrete analog and digital 
components. While these traditional designs provide the required functionality, they 
can be inefficient and inadequate for use in markets where size, cost, power 
consumption and performance are increasingly important product differentiators. In 
order to improve their competitive position, electronic device manufacturers need 
advanced mixed-signal ICs that reduce the number of discrete components and required 
board space to create smaller products with improved price/performance 
characteristics. Additionally, these manufacturers require programmable ICs that can 
be reconfigured to comply with numerous and constantly evolving international 
electronic standards without altering the fundamental design of a product. 

   Manufacturers of electronic devices face accelerating time-to-market demands and 
must adapt to evolving industry standards and new technologies.  Because analog-
intensive, mixed-signal IC design expertise is difficult to find, these 

3

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
manufacturers increasingly are turning to third parties to provide advanced mixed-
signal ICs. Designing the analog component of a mixed-signal IC involves great 
complexity and difficulty, because the performance of an analog IC depends on the 
creative analog expertise of engineers to optimize speed, power, amplitude and 
resolution within the constraints of standard manufacturing processes. The 
development of analog design expertise typically requires years of practical analog 
design experience under the guidance of a senior engineer, and engineers with the 
required level of skill and expertise are in short supply.   

   Many third-party IC providers lack sufficient analog expertise to develop 
compelling mixed-signal ICs. As a result, manufacturers of electronic devices are 
often faced with inadequate mixed-signal ICs and are challenged to find third-party 
providers that can supply them with mixed-signal ICs with greater functionality, 
smaller size and lower power requirements at a reduced cost and shorter time-to-
market. 

PRODUCTS 

   We provide analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs for use in a variety of electronic 
products in a broad range of applications including mobile handsets, PC modems, 
satellite set top boxes, automotive controls and sensors, personal video recorders, 
central office telephone equipment and optical networking equipment.  Our products 
integrate complex mixed-signal functions that are frequently performed by numerous 
discrete components in competitive products into single chips or chipsets. By doing 
so, we are able to create products that, compared to many competitive products:  

   - Require less board space; 

   - Reduce the use of external components; 

   - Can offer superior performance; 

   - Provide increased reliability; 

   - Reduce system power requirements; and 

   - Reduce costs.   

   We now group our products into two categories: mobile handset products or broad-
based mixed-signal products.  The mobile handset category includes the Aero™ 
Transceivers and, to the extent incorporated into handsets, the RF Synthesizers. The 
broad-based mixed-signal category includes our silicon DAA, ISOmodem®, ProSLIC®, DSL 
analog front end, clock chips, SiPHYTM, optical transceivers and clock & data recovery 
ICs (CDRs), general purpose RF Synthesizers for non-handset applications, as well as 
the Cygnal MCU products.  The following table summarizes the diverse product areas 
and applications for the various ICs that we have introduced to customers: 

PRODUCT AREAS and DESCRIPTION   

    APPLICATIONS 

MOBILE HANDSET PRODUCTS 

RF Synthesizer for GSM 

A radio frequency, or RF, synthesizer generates high 
frequency signals that are used in wireless 
communications systems to select a particular radio 
channel. We provide RF Synthesizers for the Global 
System for Mobile Communications (GSM)/General 
Packet Radio Services (GPRS) markets. GPRS brings 
wireless Internet access to GSM users through data 
transfer and signaling over GSM radio networks. Our 
synthesizers are well-suited to meet the increasing 
requirement for highly-integrated electronics that 
reduce component count and consume less power.  
Customers for our synthesizer products for mobile 
handsets are typically migrating to our Aero 
Transceiver family of products to utilize the higher 
levels of integration. 

- GSM/GPRS wireless phones  
- GSM/GPRS data communications  
  devices 

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 Aero Transceiver 

The Aero Transceiver family provides highly 
integrated transmit and receive radio functionality 
that is found between the antennae electronics and 
the digital baseband section of a GSM/GPRS mobile 
handset or wireless data communication device. The 
latest generation of the Aero Transceiver family, 
Aero I/I+ addresses dual, triple or quad band 
requirements, requires a smaller footprint than 
competing solutions in this form-factor sensitive 
market and supports wireless data transmission. 
The Aero Transceivers are designed using 100% 
standard CMOS process technology which enables an 
aggressive roadmap for cost reduction and 
integration.  

BROAD-BASED MIXED-SIGNAL PRODUCTS 

 Silicon Direct Access Arrangement (DAA) 

Our DAA provides the functionality of both a direct 
access arrangement and a codec. A direct access 
arrangement provides electrical isolation between a 
wireline device, such as a modem, and the telephone 
line to guard against power surges in the telephone 
line, while the codec provides analog-to-digital and 
digital-to-analog conversion. Traditional direct 
access arrangement implementations contain numerous 
discrete components to provide functionality 
comparable to that which we provide in a single 
chipset. This family of products includes offerings 
to support different computer interface standards. 
Some versions of this chipset are programmable for 
differing international telephone standards, which 
enables manufacturers to distribute their products 
globally without costly country-specific design 
modifications. 
 ISOmodem Embedded Modems 

- GSM/GPRS wireless phones 
- GSM/GPRS data communications 
  devices 
- Personal digital assistants 

- PCI desktop modems 
- Audio Modem Riser Cards 
- Mobile Daughter Cards 
- Notebook modems  
- Communication and Network   
  Riser (CNR) Cards 
- Modem on motherboard 
- Mini PCI cards 
- Fax machines 
- Handheld organizers 
- Set-top boxes 
- Video conferencing systems 
- PBXs 
- Voice recognition systems 
- Web telephony products 
- Multi-function printer cards 

The ISOmodem combines an analog modem with a silicon 
DAA, resulting in a complete modem implemented in a 
very small form factor. The ISOmodem products are 
designed for embedded modem applications, which are 
typically found outside of the personal computer 
area. The ISOmodem contains a programmable line 
interface that meets global telephone line 
requirements, allowing manufacturers to implement a 
single modem design world-wide. The ISOmodem family 
includes embedded modem solutions for speeds ranging 
from 2400 bps to 56Kbps, suitable for a wide range of 
applications. 

- Set-top boxes 
- Digital cable boxes 
- Credit card verification 
- Industrial monitoring 
- Postage meters 
- Security systems 
- Remote medical monitoring 
- Gaming consoles 
- Personal video recorders  
- Point of sale (POS)  
  terminals 

General Purpose RF Synthesizer 

A radio frequency, or RF, synthesizer generates high 
frequency signals that are used in wireless 
communications systems to select a particular radio 
channel. We provide general purpose RF Synthesizers 
for a variety of wireless communications devices, 
other than mobile handsets, including the industrial, 
science and medical (ISM) band applications.  Our 
synthesizers are well-suited to meet the increasing 
requirement for highly-integrated electronics that 
reduce component count and consume less power. 

 ProSLIC Subscriber Line Interface Circuits 

The ProSLIC provides the analog telephone interface 
on the source end of the telephone which generates 
dial tone, busy tone, caller ID and ring signal. 
Telephone source end electronics have historically 
been at the telephone company central office, but 
recently have been migrating to the customer premises 
for voice over broadband systems. Our ProSLIC product 
family has offerings for short-haul applications 
suitable for the customer premises as well as long-
haul applications suitable for the traditional 
telephone company central office. This family 
includes a dual ProSLIC that provides for higher port 
density and lower cost per phone line. The dual 
ProSLIC is in the early stages of customer adoption 
and is not yet being produced in volume. 

- Wireless local area    
  networks 
- Cordless phones 
- Wireless headsets 
- Wireless LAN (802.11b)    
  modems 

- Telephone switchboard systems 
- Cable telephony 
- Wireless local loop providing    
  remote access for a wireline    
  system  
- Voice over cable or digital  
  subscriber lines 
- Digital broadband to analog  
  telephone adapters 
- Wired long loop and central    
  office systems 

5

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
- Personal computer modems 
- External modems 
- Residential gateways 
- Network interface devices 

- Optical port cards for    
  SONET/SDH optical networking  
  equipment 
- Optical test equipment 
- High speed serial back plane  
  interfaces 

- Optical port cards for   
  SONET/SDH optical networking   
  equipment 
- Optical test equipment 

 DSL Analog Front End 

The DSL Analog Front End, or AFE, is designed to 
provide the connectivity functions for business or 
residential asymmetric digital subscriber line, or 
ADSL, connection at the user end in customer premises 
equipment. Such a connection addresses the business 
and residential demand for DSL broadband higher 
capacity connectivity as compared to traditional 
standard dial-up analog phone line transmission 
speeds. The DSL AFE supports several ADSL 
communication standards enabling various upload and 
download data rates.  When combined with our DAA 
products for analog phone line connectivity, our 
combined product offering provides a single modem 
design to address both the prevalent analog modem and 
the emerging ADSL services. The ability to dial up 
the analog phone line in order to provision the ADSL 
connection or run remote diagnostics can assist in 
the implementation and maintenance of this ADSL 
broadband connection.  

SiPHY TM Optical Physical Layer Transceivers 

We offer a family of high-speed physical layer ICs 
that meet the high-speed fiber Synchronous Optical 
Network (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy 
(SDH) specifications. As part of this family we 
offer transceivers that operate at a rate of 2.5 
Gbps (giga bits per second), a transmission speed 
commonly referred to as OC-48. The transceiver IC 
provides both the receive path deserialization and 
transmit path serialization as required by the 
SONET/SDH physical layer. We also offer a family of 
clock and data recovery chips to provide specific 
functions at multiple speeds up to the OC-48 rate. 
All of our physical layer products utilize our 
proprietary digital signal processing technology to 
reduce the device’s sensitivity to board-level noise 
and improve performance. This product is still in 
the early stages of customer adoption and has 
produced small amounts of revenue in certain product 
configurations. 

 Precision Clock Integrated Circuits 

This precision clock product family includes various 
products ranging from general purpose clock 
multiplier products up to high performance multi-
port, redundant, multiple frequency range clock 
multipliers and regenerators. SONET/SDH optical 
network systems require very high precision, low 
jitter, clock sources. Our knowledge gained in 
developing the physical layer transceiver 
subsections provided us the technology to offer 
these high performance clock products. 
Traditionally, these clock sources have been 
implemented using expensive, bulky modules, 
complicated discrete circuitry requiring numerous 
components, or hybrid IC/discrete solutions that 
offer limited functionality.  The frequency agility, 
performance, and integration offered by these 
devices are key design features for our customer 
base, especially as optical networking equipment 
transitions from OC-48 to higher speed OC-192 
(10Gbpps).  This product is still in the early 
stages of customer adoption and has produced modest 
amounts of revenue in certain product 
configurations. 

6

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Satellite Radio Products 

The Satellite Radio Tuner combines our RF 
Synthesizer with a highly integrated tuner for a 
complete satellite radio tuner chipset. By 
leveraging CMOS technology, our satellite radio 
tuner minimizes the use of external components such 
as external voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs), 
varactor diodes, and loop filters. The tuner 
provides strong system performance, meets stringent 
quality standards and fits into a very small 
footprint. 

- Consumer and automotive satellite  
  radios 

Microcontroller Products 

On December 10, 2003, we completed the acquisition 
of Cygnal, allowing us to offer a portfolio of 
mixed-signal, 8-bit microcontroller products.  Our 
C8051F family of microcontrollers integrate 
intelligent data capture in the form of high-
resolution data converters, a traditional MCU 
computing function, Flash memory and a highly 
programmable set of communication interfaces in a 
single system on a chip.  The combination of 
configurable high-performance analog, up to 100 MIPS 
8051 core and in-system field programmability 
provides the user with design flexibility, improved 
time-to-market, superior system performance and 
greater end product differentiation. These products 
are designed for use in a large variety of end-
markets, including the automotive, communications, 
consumer, industrial, medical and power management 
markets. 

- Industrial automation and    
  control 
- Automotive sensors and   
  controls 
- Medical instrumentation 
- Electronic test and  
  measurement equipment 
- Power management 
- Weigh scales 
- Optical line cards 
- Digital cameras 
- Computer peripherals 
- Wireless headsets 
- Magstripe readers 
- Gaming consoles 
- Electronic toys 

During fiscal year 2003, sales of our broad-based mixed-signal products and 
mobile handset products each accounted for approximately 50% of our revenues.  
During fiscal year 2002, sales of our broad-based mixed-signal products and mobile 
handset products accounted for 63% and 37% of our revenues, respectively.  During 
fiscal year 2001, sales of our broad-based mixed-signal products and mobile handset 
products accounted for 81% and 19% of our revenues, respectively. 

CUSTOMERS, SALES AND MARKETING 

   We market our products to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and other 
providers of applications in various markets through our direct sales staff, a 
network of independent sales representatives, and electronics distributors.  Direct 
and distributor customers buy on an individual purchase order basis, rather than 
pursuant to long-term agreements.  

   We consider our customer to be the end customer purchasing either directly from a 
distributor, a contract manufacturer or us.  An end customer purchasing through a 
contract manufacturer typically instructs such contract manufacturer to obtain our 
products and incorporate such products with other components for sale by such 
contract manufacturer to the end customer.  Although we actually sell the products 
to, and are paid by, the distributors and contract manufacturers, we refer to such 
end customer as our customer. 

   One of our distributors, Edom Technology, selling to multiple end customers in 
Asia, represented 12.9% of our fiscal 2003 revenues.  Distributors are not 
considered end customers, but rather serve as a sales channel to our end customers.  
No other distributor accounted for 10% or more of revenues for fiscal 2003. 

7

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   During fiscal 2003, our ten largest end customers accounted for 64% of our 
revenues.  We had one end customer, Samsung, which represented 21% of our revenues. 
No other single end customer accounted for more than 10% of our revenues. The 
following is a list of our largest end customers that purchased our products in 
fiscal 2003 for inclusion in products or devices offered to their customers:        

- Agere Systems 
- Broadcom 
- Conexant/PC-Tel    - Sagem 

  - Echostar
  - Hughes 

  - Texas Instruments 
  - Samsung 
  - Thomson 
  - Sendo 
  - Smart Link    - Wavecom 

   We maintain five sales offices in North America.  We provide European sales 
support through our subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and France. The Asia Pacific 
area is supported through our subsidiaries in Japan and Hong Kong, as well as sales 
offices in Korea, Taiwan and China. Our direct sales force includes regional sales 
managers in the field and area business managers at our headquarters to further 
support customer communications. Many of these managers have engineering degrees. We 
maintain a dedicated website for our field sales organization, which includes 
technical documentation, backlog information, order status, product availability and 
new product introduction information to support our communications with that 
organization. Additionally, we provide direct communication to all field sales 
personnel as part of a structured sales communications program. 

   We also utilize independent sales representatives and distributors to generate 
sales of our products. We have relationships with many independent sales 
representatives and distributors worldwide whom we have selected based on their 
understanding of the mixed-signal IC marketplace and their ability to provide 
effective field sales applications support for our products. For the year ended 
January 3, 2004, sales through these representatives and distributors accounted for 
77% of our sales. 

   Our marketing efforts are targeted at both identified industry leaders and 
emerging market participants. Direct marketing activities are supplemented by a 
focused marketing communications effort that seeks to raise awareness of the company 
and our products.  Our public relations efforts are focused on leading trade and 
business publications. Our external website is used to deliver corporate information 
and product information.  We also pursue targeted advertising in key trade 
publications and we have a cooperative marketing program that allows our 
distributors and representatives to promote our products to their local markets in 
conjunction with their own advertising activities.  Finally we maintain a presence 
at strategic trade shows and industry events. These activities, in combination with 
direct sales activities, help drive demand for our products. 

   Due to the complex and innovative nature of our ICs, we employ experienced 
applications engineers who work closely with customers to support the design-win 
process, and can significantly accelerate the customer's time required to bring a 
product to market. A design-win occurs when a customer has designed our ICs into its 
product architecture. A considerable amount of effort to assist the customer in 
incorporating our ICs into its products is typically required prior to any sale. In 
many cases, our innovative ICs require significantly different implementations than 
existing approaches and, therefore, successful implementations may require extensive 
communication with potential customers. The amount of time required to achieve a 
design-win can vary substantially depending on a customer's development cycle, which 
can be relatively short (such as three months) or very long (such as two years) 
based on a wide variety of customer factors. Due to this extensive design-win 
process, once a completed design architecture has been implemented and produced in 
high volumes, our customers are reluctant to significantly alter their designs. We 
believe this process, coupled with our intellectual property protection, promotes 
relatively longer product life cycles for our ICs and high barriers to entry for 
competitive products, even if such competing products are offered at lower prices. 
Finally, our close collaboration with our customers provides us with knowledge of 
derivative product ideas or completely new product line offerings that may not 
otherwise arise in other new product discussions. 

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

   Through our research and development efforts, we apply our experienced analog and 
mixed-signal engineering talent and expertise to create new ICs that integrate 
functions typically performed inefficiently by multiple discrete components. This 
integration generally results in lower costs, smaller die sizes, lower power demands 
and enhanced price/performance characteristics. We attempt to reuse successful 

8

 
 
 
  
                                                      
 
  
  
 
  
 
techniques for integration in new applications where similar benefits can be 
realized. We believe that reliable and precise analog and mixed-signal ICs can only 
be developed by teams of engineers that coordinate their efforts under the direction 
of senior engineers who have significant analog experience and are familiar with the 
intricacies of designing these ICs for commercial volume production. The development 
of test methodologies is a critical activity in releasing a new product for 
commercial success. We believe that we have attracted some of the best engineers in 
our industry. As of January 3, 2004, we had 188 employees involved in research and 
development. 

   Research and development expenses were $48.3 million, $32.0 million and $29.0 
million in fiscal 2003, 2002, and 2001, respectively. 

TECHNOLOGY 

   Our product development process facilitates the design of highly-innovative, 
analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs. Our senior engineers start the product 
development process by forming an understanding of our customers' products and then 
design alternatives with increased functionality and with decreasing power, size and 
cost requirements. Our engineers' deep knowledge of existing and emerging standards 
and performance requirements help us to assess the technical feasibility of a 
particular IC. We target areas where we can provide compelling product improvements. 
Once we have solved the primary challenges, our field engineers continue to work 
closely with our customers' design teams to maintain and develop an understanding of 
our customers' needs, allowing us to formulate derivative products and refined 
features. 

   In providing mixed-signal ICs for our customers, we believe our key competitive 
advantages are: 

   - analog CMOS design expertise; 

   - digital signal processing design expertise;  

   - microcontroller design expertise; and  

   - our broad understanding of systems technology and trends.  

   To fully capitalize on these advantages, we have assembled a world-class 
development team with exceptional analog and mixed-signal design expertise led by 
accomplished senior engineers. 

ANALOG CMOS DESIGN EXPERTISE 

   We believe that our most significant core competency is our world-class 
analog design capability. Additionally, we strive to design all of our ICs in 
CMOS processes. There are several modern process technologies for manufacturing 
semiconductors including CMOS, Bipolar, BiCMOS, silicon germanium and gallium 
arsenide. While it is significantly more difficult to design analog ICs in CMOS, 
CMOS provides multiple benefits versus existing alternatives, including 
significantly reduced cost, reduced technology risk and greater worldwide 
foundry capacity. CMOS is the most commonly used process technology for 
manufacturing digital ICs and as a result is most likely to be used for the 
manufacturing of ICs with finer line geometries, which enable smaller and faster 
ICs. By designing our ICs in CMOS, we enable our products to benefit from this 
trend towards finer line geometries, which allows us to integrate more digital 
functionality into our mixed-signal ICs. 

   Designing analog ICs is significantly more complicated than designing digital 
ICs. While advanced software tools exist to help automate digital IC design, there 
are far fewer tools for advanced analog IC design. In many cases, our analog circuit 
design efforts begin at the fundamental transistor level. We believe that we have a 
demonstrated ability to design the most difficult analog and RF circuits using 
standard CMOS technologies. For example, our DAA product family replaces bulky, 
discrete modem components, such as transformers, relays and opto-isolators, with 
highly integrated CMOS mixed-signal ICs. Similarly, bulky wireless phone components 
such as voltage controlled oscillators are replaced by our integrated CMOS frequency 
synthesizer products. Our design expertise in the technically challenging optical 
networking market has allowed us to reduce the number of supplemental components 

9

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
used in our customers’ products while providing lower levels of noise in the circuit 
operation.  This is a key technical consideration in high speed optical networks. 

DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING DESIGN EXPERTISE 

   We consider the partitioning of a circuit's functionality to be a proprietary and 
creative design technique. Our digital signal processing design expertise maximizes 
the price/performance characteristics of both the analog and digital functions and 
allows our ICs to work in an optimized manner to accomplish particular tasks. 
Generally, we surround core analog circuitry with digital CMOS transistors, which 
allows our ICs to perform the required analog functions with increased digital 
capabilities. For example, our ProSLIC product is designed to function more 
efficiently than traditional products for the source end of the telephone line, 
which involve a two chip combination requiring more board space and numerous 
external components. The ProSLIC product is partitioned by combining a core analog 
design that provides analog-to-digital conversion and digital-to-analog conversion 
with optimized digital signal processing functions such as data compression, data 
expansion, filtering and tone generation. In this manner, we can isolate the higher 
voltage required to ring a telephone in low-cost, off-chip high voltage transistors 
or a small, complementary high voltage chip, thereby enabling us to fulfill the 
remaining core functions with a single CMOS chip. As a further example, our SiPHY 
Optical Physical Layer Transceivers utilize an architecturally advanced phase locked 
loop circuit based principally on digital signal processing. By performing a 
significant portion of this function in the digital domain in a monolithic chip, the 
circuit has been able to satisfy the demanding specifications of the optical network 
SONET standard using inexpensive CMOS transistors. 

MICROCONTROLLER DESIGN EXPERTISE 

   As a result of the acquisition of Cygnal Integrated Products, we now have the 
required engineering talent and circuit integration methodologies to combine 
precision analog, high-speed digital, Flash memory and in-system programmability 
into a single, monolithic CMOS integrated circuit. A microcontroller product is 
designed to capture an external analog signal, convert it to a digital signal, 
compute digital functions on the stream of data and then communicate the results 
through a standard digital interface. The ability to develop standard products with 
the broadest possible customer application base while being cost efficient with the 
silicon area of the monolithic CMOS integrated circuit requires a keen sense of 
customer value and engineering capabilities. Additionally, to manage the wide 
variety of signals on a monolithic piece of silicon including electrical noise, 
harmonics and other electronic distortions requires a fundamental knowledge of 
devices physics and accumulated design expertise.  

UNDERSTANDING OF SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY AND TRENDS 

   Our focused expertise in mixed-signal ICs is the result of the breadth of 
engineering talent we have assembled with experience working in analog-intensive 
CMOS design for a wide variety of applications. This expertise, which we consider a 
competitive advantage, is the foundation of our in-depth understanding of the 
technology and trends that impact electronic systems and markets. Our expertise 
includes single line plain old telephone service (POTS), packet-based network 
interfaces and high speed SONET-based optical networks. We have also expanded our 
knowledge base into wireless technologies.  Our microcontroller applications broaden 
our knowledge base as we participate in these diverse markets.  Our understanding of 
the role of analog/digital interfaces within electronic systems and the key domestic 
and international telecommunications standards that must be supported are particular 
areas of our expertise. 

MANUFACTURING 

   As a fabless IC manufacturer, we conduct IC design and development in our 
facilities in the United States and electronically transfer our proprietary IC 
designs to third-party semiconductor fabricators who process silicon wafers to 
produce the ICs that we design. Our IC designs use industry-standard 
CMOS manufacturing process technology to achieve a level of performance normally 
associated with more expensive special-purpose IC fabrication technology. We believe 
the use of CMOS technology facilitates the rapid production of our ICs within a 
lower cost framework. Our IC production employs submicron process geometries which 
are readily available from leading foundry suppliers worldwide, thus ensuring the 
availability of manufacturing capacity over our products' life cycles. We 

10

 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
currently rely principally on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to 
manufacture substantially all of our semiconductor wafers. We believe that our 
fabless manufacturing model significantly reduces our capital requirements and 
allows us to focus our resources on design, development and marketing of our ICs. 

   Once the silicon wafers have been produced, they are shipped directly to our 
third-party assembly subcontractors. The assembled ICs are then forwarded for 
final testing, either to our facilities in Austin, Texas or to our third-party test 
subcontractors, prior to shipping to our customers. We have increasingly utilized 
offshore third-party test subcontractors, typically in Asia where the parts are 
assembled and where the products are frequently delivered to our customers.  During 
the fourth quarter of 2003, more than two-thirds of our units produced in volume 
were tested by offshore third-party test subcontractors.  We expect this trend 
toward utilization of offshore third-party test subcontractors to continue in fiscal 
2004.  

BACKLOG 

   As of January 3, 2004, our backlog was approximately $86.1 million, compared to 
approximately $46.0 million as of December 28, 2002.  We include in backlog accepted 
product purchase orders from customers and worldwide distributor stocking orders. We 
only include orders with an expected shipping date from us within six months.  
Product orders in our backlog are subject to changes in delivery schedules or 
cancellation at the option of the purchaser typically without penalty. Our backlog 
may fluctuate significantly depending upon customer order patterns which may, in 
turn, vary considerably based on rapidly changing business circumstances. Backlog 
from distributors are not recognized as our revenues until the products are sold by 
the distributors. Additionally, our arrangements with distributors typically provide 
for price protection and stock rotation activities. Accordingly, we do not believe 
that our backlog at any time is necessarily representative of actual sales for any 
succeeding period. 

COMPETITION 

   The markets for semiconductors generally, and for analog and mixed-signal 
ICs in particular, are intensely competitive. We believe the principal 
competitive factors in our industry are: 

- Product size; 
- Level of integration; 
- Product capabilities; 
- Reliability; 
- Price; 
- Performance; 

- Intellectual property; 
- Customer support; 
- Reputation; and 
- Ability to rapidly introduce 
  new products to market. 

   We believe that we are competitive with respect to these factors, particularly 
because our ICs typically are smaller in size, are highly integrated, achieve high 
performance specifications at lower price points than competitive products and are 
manufactured in standard CMOS which generally enables us to supply them on a 
relatively rapid basis to customers to meet their product introduction schedules. 
However, disadvantages we face include our relatively short operating history in 
certain of our markets and the need for customers to redesign their products and 
modify their software to implement our ICs in their products. 

   We anticipate that the market for our products will continually evolve and 
will be subject to rapid technological change. In addition, as we target and 
supply products to numerous markets and applications, we face competition from a 
relatively large number of competitors. Across our product offerings, we compete 
with Agere Systems, Atmel, AMCC, Analog Devices, Broadcom, Conexant, Cypress, ESS, 
Fujitsu, Hitachi, Infineon Technologies, Legerity, Maxim Integrated Products, 
Microchip, Motorola, National Semiconductor, Philips, RF Micro Devices, Semtech, 
Skyworks Solutions, Texas Instruments, Vitesse Semiconductor, and others. We expect 
to face competition in the future from our current competitors, other manufacturers 
and designers of semiconductors, and innovative start-up semiconductor design 
companies. Our competitors may also offer bundled chipset kit arrangements offering 
a more complete product, which may negatively impact our competitive position 
despite the technical merits or advantages of our products. In addition, our 
customers could develop products or technologies internally that would replace their 
need for our products and would become a source of competition. As the markets for 
electronic products grow, we also may face competition from traditional electronic 

11

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                             
  
 
device companies. These companies may enter the mixed-signal semiconductor market by 
introducing their own products, including components within their products that 
would eliminate the need for our ICs, or by entering into strategic relationships 
with or acquiring other existing IC providers. 

   Many of our competitors and potential competitors have longer operating 
histories, greater name recognition, access to larger customer bases, complementary 
product offerings, and significantly greater financial, sales and marketing, 
manufacturing, distribution, technical and other resources than us. Current and 
potential competitors have established or may establish financial and strategic 
relationships between themselves or with our existing or potential customers, 
resellers or other third parties. Accordingly, it is possible that new competitors 
or alliances among competitors could emerge and rapidly acquire significant market 
share. 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

   Our future success depends in part upon our proprietary technology. We seek 
to protect our technology through a combination of patents, copyrights, trade 
secrets, trademarks and confidentiality procedures. As of January 3, 2004, we 
had more than 300 issued or pending United States patents in the IC field. We also 
frequently file for patent protection in a variety of international jurisdictions 
with respect to the proprietary technology covered by our U.S. patents and patent 
applications. There can be no assurance that patents will ever be issued with 
respect to these applications. Furthermore, it is possible that any patents held by 
us may be invalidated, circumvented, challenged or licensed to others. In addition, 
there can be no assurance that such patents will provide us with competitive 
advantages or adequately safeguard our proprietary rights. The patents and patent 
applications described above will expire at various times in the distant future. 

   In addition, we claim copyright protection for proprietary documentation used in 
our products. We have filed for registration, or are in the process of filing for 
registration, of the visual image of each IC that we have manufactured in commercial 
quantities with the United States Copyright Office. We have registered the "Silicon 
Laboratories" logo and a variety of other product and product family names as 
trademarks in the United States and selected foreign jurisdictions. All other 
trademarks, service marks or trade names appearing in this report are the property 
of their respective owners. We also attempt to protect our trade secrets and other 
proprietary information through agreements with our customers, suppliers, employees 
and consultants, and through other customary security measures. We intend to protect 
our rights vigorously, but there can be no assurance that our efforts will be 
successful. In addition, the laws of other countries in which our products are sold 
may not protect our products and intellectual property rights to the same extent as 
the laws of the United States. 

   While our ability to effectively compete depends in large part on our ability to 
protect our intellectual property, we believe that our technical expertise and 
ability to introduce new products in a timely manner will be an important factor in 
maintaining our competitive position. 

   Many participants in the semiconductor and electronics industries have a 
significant number of patents and have frequently demonstrated a readiness to 
commence litigation based on allegations of patent and other intellectual property 
infringement. From time to time, third parties may assert infringement claims 
against us. We may not prevail in any such litigation or may not be able to license 
any valid and infringed patents from third parties on commercially reasonable terms, 
if at all. Litigation, regardless of the outcome, is likely to result in substantial 
cost and diversion of our resources, including our management's time. Any such 
litigation could materially adversely affect us. For further information regarding 
patent litigation, please see “Part I, Item 3. Legal Proceedings.”  

   Our licenses include industry standard licenses with our vendors, such as wafer 
fabrication tool libraries, third party core libraries, computer-aided design 
applications and business software applications. 

EMPLOYEES 

   As of January 3, 2004, we employed 486 people, including 115 in manufacturing, 
188 in research and development, 102 in marketing, 48 in sales and 33 in 
administration. Our success depends on the continued service of our key technical 

12

 
 
 
  
  
  
  
     
  
 
 
  
 
and senior management personnel and on our ability to continue to attract, retain 
and motivate highly skilled analog and mixed-signal engineers. The competition for 
such personnel is intense. We have never had a work stoppage and none of our 
employees are represented by a labor organization. We consider our employee 
relations to be good.  

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION 

   Federal, state and local regulations impose various environmental controls on the 
storage, use, discharge and disposal of certain chemicals and gases used in the 
semiconductor industry.  Our compliance with these laws and regulations has not had 
a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. 

FACTORS AFFECTING OUR FUTURE OPERATING RESULTS 

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS 

WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR HISTORICAL GROWTH AND MAY EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT 
PERIOD-TO-PERIOD FLUCTUATIONS IN OUR REVENUES AND OPERATING RESULTS, WHICH MAY 
RESULT IN VOLATILITY IN OUR STOCK PRICE 

   Although we have experienced revenue growth in our eleven most recent quarterly 
periods, we may not be able to sustain this growth.  We may also experience 
significant period-to-period fluctuations in our revenues and operating results in 
the future due to a number of factors, and any such variations may cause our stock 
price to fluctuate.  It is likely that in some future period our revenues or 
operating results will be below the expectations of public market analysts or 
investors.  If this occurs, our stock price may drop, perhaps significantly. 

   A number of factors, in addition to those cited in other risk factors applicable 
to our business, may contribute to fluctuations in our revenues and operating 
results, including:  

   - the timing and volume of orders received from our customers;  

   - the rate of acceptance of our products by our customers, including the 

  acceptance of new products we may develop for integration in the products     
  manufactured by such customers, which we refer to as "design wins";  

   - the time lag between “design wins” and production orders;  

   - the demand for, and life cycles of, the products incorporating our ICs;  

   - the rate of adoption of mixed-signal ICs in the markets we target;  

- deferrals of customer orders in anticipation of new products or product  
  enhancements from us or our competitors or other providers of ICs;  

   - changes in product mix;  

- the average selling prices for our products could drop suddenly due to  

     competitive offerings or competitive predatory pricing;  

- impairment charges related to inventory, equipment or other long-lived assets; 

- significant legal costs to defend our intellectual property rights or respond  
  to claims against us; and 

- the rate at which new markets emerge for products we are currently developing  
  or for which our design expertise can be utilized to develop products for these  
  new markets.  

   The markets for mobile handsets, personal computers, satellite television set-top 
boxes and voice over DSL applications are characterized by rapid fluctuations in 
demand and seasonality that result in corresponding fluctuations in the demand for 
our products that are incorporated in such devices.  Additionally, the rate of 
technology acceptance by our customers results in fluctuating demand for our 
products as customers are reluctant to incorporate a new IC into their products 
until the new IC has achieved market acceptance.  Once a new IC achieves market 

13

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
acceptance, demand for the new IC can quickly accelerate to a point and then level 
off such that rapid historical growth in sales of a product should not be viewed as 
indicative of continued future growth.  In addition, demand can quickly decline for 
a product when a new IC product is introduced and receives market acceptance.  For 
example, transceivers that provide some of the functionality provided by our RF 
Synthesizers have been introduced to market by us and our competitors.  The 
introduction of these competing transceivers, including our Aero Transceiver, has 
resulted in a rapid decline in our sales of RF Synthesizers.  Due to the various 
factors mentioned above, the results of any prior quarterly or annual periods should 
not be relied upon as an indication of our future operating performance.  

WE DEPEND ON A LIMITED NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF OUR 
REVENUES, AND THE LOSS OF, OR A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ORDERS FROM, ANY KEY 
CUSTOMER COULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE OUR REVENUES 

   The loss of any of our key customers, or a significant reduction in sales to any 
one of them, would significantly reduce our revenues and adversely affect our 
business.  During the fiscal year ended January 3, 2004, our ten largest customers 
accounted for 64% of our revenues.  We had one customer, Samsung, which represented 
21% of our revenues.  No other single customer accounted for more than 10% of our 
revenues during the fiscal year ended January 3, 2004.  Most of the markets for our 
products are dominated by a small number of potential customers.  Therefore, our 
operating results in the foreseeable future will continue to depend on our ability 
to sell to these dominant customers, as well as the ability of these customers to 
sell products that incorporate our IC products.  In the future, these customers may  
decide not to purchase our ICs at all, purchase fewer ICs than they did in the past 
or alter their purchasing patterns, particularly because:  

   - we do not have any material long-term purchase arrangements with these or any  
     of our other customers;  

   - substantially all of our sales to date have been made on a purchase order  
     basis, which permits our customers to cancel, change or delay product purchase  
     commitments with little or no notice to us and without penalty;   

- some of our customers may have efforts underway to actively diversify their    
  vendor base which could reduce purchases of our ICs; and  

- some of our customers have developed or acquired products that compete directly   
  with products these customers purchase from us, which could affect our   
  customers’ purchasing decisions in the future.  

While we have been the sole supplier of the direct access arrangement, or DAA, 

ICs used in many of our customers’ soft modem DAA products and have also been a 
substantial supplier of synthesizers and transceivers to Samsung and other major GSM 
handset manufacturers, our customers regularly evaluate alternative sources of 
supply in order to diversify their supplier base, which would increase their 
negotiating leverage with us and protect their ability to secure these components.  
We believe that any expansion of our customers’ supplier bases could have an adverse 
effect on the prices we are able to charge and volume of product that we are able to 
supply to our customers, which would negatively affect our revenues and operating 
results. 

WE ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS RELATING TO PRODUCT CONCENTRATION AND LACK OF REVENUE 
DIVERSIFICATION 

   We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from a limited number of 
products, and we expect these products to continue to account for a large percentage 
of our revenues in the near term.  Continued market acceptance of these products, is 
therefore, critical to our future success.  In addition, substantially all of our 
products that we have sold include technology related to one or more of our issued 
U.S. patents.  If these patents are found to be invalid or unenforceable, our 
competitors could introduce competitive products that could reduce both the volume 
and price per unit of our products.  Our business, operating results, financial 
condition and cash flows could therefore be adversely affected by: 

- a decline in demand for any of our more significant products, including our 
  Aero Transceiver, RF Synthesizer, DAA, ISOmodem or ProSLIC; 

14

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
- failure of our products to achieve continued market acceptance; 

- an improved version of our products being offered by a competitor; 

- technological change that we are unable to address with our products; and 

- a failure to release new products or enhanced versions of our existing products    
  on a timely basis  and/or the failure of these products to achieve market  
  acceptance. 

   We are particularly dependent on sales of our mobile handset products, which 
constituted 50% of our total revenues in fiscal 2003 and 37% of our total revenues 
in fiscal 2002.  In particular, one mobile handset product, our Aero Transceiver, 
represented approximately 40% of our total revenues in fiscal 2003.  If the market 
for the Aero Transceiver or the market for GSM mobile handsets in which these 
products are incorporated deteriorates, our operating results would be materially 
and adversely affected. 

IF WE ARE UNABLE TO DEVELOP NEW AND ENHANCED PRODUCTS THAT ACHIEVE MARKET ACCEPTANCE 
IN A TIMELY MANNER, OUR OPERATING RESULTS AND COMPETITIVE POSITION COULD BE HARMED 

   Our future success will depend on our ability to reduce our dependence on a few 
products by developing new ICs and product enhancements that achieve market 
acceptance in a timely and cost-effective manner.  The development of mixed-signal 
ICs is highly complex, and we occasionally have experienced delays in completing the 
development and introduction of new products and product enhancements.  Successful 
product development and market acceptance of our products depend on a number of 
factors, including: 

   - changing requirements of customers;  

   - accurate prediction of market requirements;  

   - timely completion and introduction of new designs;  

   - timely qualification and certification of our ICs for use in our customers'  
     products;  

- commercial acceptance and volume production of the products into which our ICs  
  will be incorporated;  

   - availability of foundry, assembly and test capacity;  

   - achievement of high manufacturing yields;  

   - quality, price, performance, power use and size of our products;  

- availability, quality, price and performance of competing products and  
  technologies;  

   - our customer service and support capabilities and responsiveness;  

   - successful development of our relationships with existing and potential  
     customers; 

   - changes in technology, industry standards or end-user preferences; and 

- cooperation of software partners and semiconductor partners to support our  
  chips within a system.  

   We cannot provide any assurance that products which we recently have developed or 
may develop in the future will achieve market acceptance.  We have introduced to 
market or are in development of many ICs.  If our ICs fail to achieve market 
acceptance, or if we fail to develop new products that achieve market acceptance, 
our growth prospects, operating results and competitive position could be adversely 
affected.  

OUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON A LIMITED NUMBER OF NEW 
TECHNOLOGIES AND PRODUCTS, AND ANY DELAY IN THE DEVELOPMENT, OR ABANDONMENT, OF 

15

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THESE TECHNOLOGIES OR PRODUCTS BY INDUSTRY PARTICIPANTS, OR THEIR FAILURE TO ACHIEVE 
MARKET ACCEPTANCE, COULD COMPROMISE OUR COMPETITIVE POSITION 

   Our ICs are used as components in electronic devices in various markets.  As a 
result, we have devoted and expect to continue to devote a large amount of resources 
to develop products based on new and emerging technologies and standards that will 
be commercially introduced in the future.  Research and development expense for the 
fiscal year ended January 3, 2004 was $48.3 million, or 14.8% of revenues.  A number 
of large companies are actively involved in the development of these new 
technologies and standards.  Should any of these companies delay or abandon their 
efforts to develop commercially available products based on new technologies and 
standards, our research and development efforts with respect to these technologies 
and standards likely would have no appreciable value.  In addition, if we do not 
correctly anticipate new technologies and standards, or if the products that we 
develop based on these new technologies and standards fail to achieve market 
acceptance, our competitors may be better able to address market demand than we 
would.  Furthermore, if markets for these new technologies and standards develop 
later than we anticipate, or do not develop at all, demand for our products that are 
currently in development would suffer, resulting in lower sales of these products 
than we currently anticipate.  For example, we have introduced to market the Aero 
Transceiver product for use in wireless phones operating on the GSM standard.  We 
cannot be certain that this standard will not change, thereby making our products 
unsuitable or impractical.  Our MCU products are based on an 8-bit processor 
architecture. Should customers decide they need a higher performance 16-bit 
processor, then our products would be unsuitable and we would not realize sales from 
that opportunity. 

OUR INABILITY TO MANAGE GROWTH COULD MATERIALLY AND ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS 

   In recent periods, we have significantly increased the scope of our operations 
and expanded our workforce from 279 employees at the end of fiscal 2001 to 486 
employees at the end of fiscal 2003.  In December 2003, we added 60 employees with 
the acquisition of Cygnal.  This growth has placed, and any future growth of our 
operations will continue to place, a significant strain on our management personnel, 
systems and resources.  We anticipate that we will need to implement a variety of 
new and upgraded operational and financial systems, information technology 
infrastructure, procedures and controls, including the improvement of our accounting 
and other internal management systems to manage this growth and comply with 
regulatory guidelines.  We also expect that we will need to continue to expand, 
train, manage and motivate our workforce.  All of these endeavors will require 
substantial management effort, and we anticipate that we will require additional 
management personnel and internal processes to manage these efforts and to plan for 
the succession from time to time of certain persons who have been key management and 
technical personnel.  If we are unable to effectively manage our expanding global 
operations, our business could be materially and adversely affected. 

WE RELY ON THIRD PARTIES TO MANUFACTURE, ASSEMBLE AND TEST OUR PRODUCTS AND THE 
FAILURE TO SUCCESSFULLY MANAGE OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR MANUFACTURERS AND 
SUBCONTRACTORS WOULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT OUR ABILITY TO SELL OUR PRODUCTS 

   We do not have our own wafer fab manufacturing facilities.  Therefore, we rely 
principally on one third-party vendor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. 
(TSMC), to manufacture the ICs we design.  We also currently rely principally on two 
offshore third-party assembly subcontractors, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering 
(ASE) and Amkor Technology, to assemble and package the silicon chips provided by 
the wafers for use in final products.  Additionally, we rely on these offshore 
subcontractors for a significant portion of the testing requirements of our products 
prior to shipping.  Although we also maintain testing facilities in Austin, Texas, 
we have increasingly utilized offshore third-party test subcontractors, typically in 
Asia, where the parts are assembled and where the products are more frequently 
delivered to our customers.  We expect this trend toward utilization of offshore 
third-party test subcontractors to continue. 

   There are significant risks associated with relying on these third-party 
foundries and subcontractors, including:  

   - failure by us, our customers or their end customers to qualify a selected  
     supplier;  

   - capacity shortages during periods of high demand; 

16

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   - potential insolvency of the third-party subcontractors;  

   - reduced control over delivery schedules and quality;  

   - limited warranties on wafers or products supplied to us;   

   - potential increases in prices; 

- increased need for international-based supply, logistics and financial   
  management; 

- their inability to supply or support new or changing packaging technologies;    
  and 

- low test yields. 

   We have supply contracts with our third-party vendors which obligate the vendor 
to perform services and supply products to us for a specific period, in specific 
quantities, and at specific prices.  We are not obligated to any fixed fee or 
minimum purchase obligations.  In the event that these vendors failed to meet our 
demand for whatever reason, we believe that other semiconductor foundries or 
assembly or test subcontractors could adequately address our needs.  However, we 
expect that it would take up to twelve months to transition performance of these 
services from our current providers to new providers.  Such a transition may also 
require a qualification process by our customers or their end customers.  We 
generally place orders for products with our foundry approximately three months 
prior to the anticipated delivery date, with order volumes based on our forecasts of 
demand from our customers.  Accordingly, if we do not accurately forecast demand for 
our products, we may be unable to obtain adequate foundry or assembly capacity from 
our third-party foundry and assembly subcontractors to meet our customers' delivery 
requirements, or we may accumulate excess inventories.  On occasion, we have been 
unable to adequately respond to unexpected increases in customer purchase orders, 
and, therefore, were unable to benefit from this incremental demand.  Beyond our 
current forecast, our third-party foundry or assembly or test subcontractors 
typically do not provide guarantees to us that adequate capacity will be available 
to us within the time required to meet additional demand for our products.  

   Since our inception, substantially all of the silicon wafers for the products 
that we have shipped were manufactured either by TSMC or its affiliates.  Our 
customers typically complete their own qualification process.  If we fail to 
properly balance customer demand across the existing semiconductor fabrication 
facilities that we utilize or are required by our foundry partners to increase, or 
otherwise change the number of fab lines that we utilize for our production, we 
might not be able to fulfill demand for our products and may need to divert our 
engineering resources away from new product development initiatives to support the 
fab line transition, which would adversely affect our operating results.  
Additionally, a resulting write-off of unusable or excess inventories would 
contribute to a decline in earnings.  

WE HAVE INCREASED OUR INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANTLY AND PLAN TO CONTINUE 
SUCH EFFORTS, WHICH SUBJECTS US TO ADDITIONAL BUSINESS RISKS INCLUDING INCREASED 
LOGISTICAL AND FINANCIAL COMPLEXITY, POLITICAL INSTABILITY AND CURRENCY FLUCTUATIONS 

   We recently established additional international subsidiaries and have opened 
additional offices in international markets to expand our international activities 
in Europe and the Pacific Rim region.  The percentage of our revenues to customers 
located outside of the United States was 80% in fiscal 2003, 79% in fiscal 2002 and 
66% in fiscal 2001.  We may not be able to maintain or increase international market 
demand for our products.  Our international operations are subject to a number of 
risks, including: 

   - increased complexity and costs of managing international operations;  

   - protectionist laws and business practices that favor local competition in some  
     countries;  

   - multiple, conflicting and changing laws, regulations and tax schemes;  

   - longer sales cycles;  

17

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   - greater difficulty in accounts receivable collection and longer collection  
     periods; 

   - high levels of distributor inventory subject to rights of return to us;  

- political and economic instability; and 

- greater difficulty in hiring qualified technical sales and applications     
  engineers.  

   To date, all of our sales to international customers and purchases of components 
from international suppliers have been denominated in U.S. dollars.  As a result, an 
increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies could make 
our products more expensive for our international customers to purchase, thus 
rendering our products less competitive. 

MOST OF OUR CURRENT MANUFACTURERS, ASSEMBLERS, TEST SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND CUSTOMERS 
ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE SAME GEOGRAPHIC REGION, WHICH INCREASES THE RISK THAT A 
NATURAL DISASTER, EPIDEMIC, LABOR STRIKE, WAR OR POLITICAL UNREST COULD DISRUPT OUR 
OPERATIONS OR SALES 

   Most of our current semiconductor wafer manufacturer’s foundries and one of our 
assembly and test subcontractor’s sites are primarily located in the same region 
within Taiwan and our other assembly and test subcontractors are located in the 
Pacific Rim region.  In addition, many of our customers, particularly mobile handset 
manufacturers, are located in the Pacific Rim region.  The risk of earthquakes in 
Taiwan and the Pacific Rim region is significant due to the proximity of major 
earthquake fault lines in the area.  We are not currently covered by insurance 
against business disruption caused by earthquakes as such insurance is not currently 
available on terms that we believe are commercially reasonable.  Earthquakes, fire, 
flooding, lack of water or other natural disasters in Taiwan or the Pacific Rim 
region, or an epidemic, political unrest, war, labor strikes or work stoppages in 
countries where our semiconductor manufacturer, assemblers and test subcontractors 
are located, likely would result in the disruption of our foundry, assembly or test 
capacity.  There can be no assurance that such alternate capacity could be obtained 
on favorable terms, if at all.  

   A natural disaster, epidemic, labor strike, war or political unrest where our 
customers’ facilities are located would likely reduce our sales to such customers.  
For example, Samsung, our largest customer, is based in South Korea and represented 
21% of our revenues in fiscal 2003.  North Korea’s recent decision to withdraw from 
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and related geopolitical maneuverings have 
created unrest.  Such unrest could create economic uncertainty or instability, could 
escalate to war or otherwise adversely affect South Korea and our South Korean 
customers and reduce our sales to such customers, which would materially and 
adversely affect our operating results.  In addition, a significant portion of the 
assembly and testing of our mobile handset products occurs in South Korea.  Any 
disruption resulting from these events could also cause significant delays in 
shipments of our products until we are able to shift our manufacturing, assembling 
or testing from the affected subcontractor to another third-party vendor. 

THE SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING PROCESS IS HIGHLY COMPLEX AND, FROM TIME TO TIME, 
MANUFACTURING YIELDS MAY FALL BELOW OUR EXPECTATIONS, WHICH COULD RESULT IN OUR 
INABILITY TO SATISFY DEMAND FOR OUR PRODUCTS IN A TIMELY MANNER 

   The manufacture of our products is a highly complex and technologically demanding 
process.  This is particularly the case when multiple chips are packaged in a multi-
chip module, such as the Aero I/I+ Transceiver.  Although we work closely with our 
foundries to minimize the likelihood of reduced manufacturing yields, our foundries 
from time to time have experienced lower than anticipated manufacturing yields.  
Changes in manufacturing processes or the inadvertent use of defective or 
contaminated materials by our foundries could result in lower than anticipated 
manufacturing yields or unacceptable performance deficiencies.  If our foundries 
fail to deliver fabricated silicon wafers of satisfactory quality in a timely 
manner, we will be unable to meet our customers' demand for our products in a timely 
manner, which would adversely affect our operating results and damage our customer 
relationships.  

18

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
OUR PRODUCTS ARE COMPLEX AND MAY REQUIRE MODIFICATIONS TO RESOLVE UNDETECTED ERRORS 
WHICH COULD LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN OUR COSTS OR A REDUCTION IN OUR REVENUES 

   Our products are complex and may contain errors when first introduced or as new 
versions are released.  We rely primarily on our in-house testing personnel to 
design test operations and procedures to detect any errors prior to delivery of our 
products to our customers.  Because our products are manufactured by third parties, 
should problems occur in the operation or performance of our ICs, we may experience 
delays in meeting key introduction dates or scheduled delivery dates to our 
customers.  These errors also could cause us to incur significant re-engineering 
costs, divert the attention of our engineering personnel from our product 
development efforts and cause significant customer relations and business reputation 
problems.   

WE DEPEND ON OUR KEY PERSONNEL TO MANAGE OUR BUSINESS EFFECTIVELY IN A RAPIDLY 
CHANGING MARKET, AND IF WE ARE UNABLE TO RETAIN OUR CURRENT PERSONNEL AND HIRE 
ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL, OUR ABILITY TO DEVELOP AND SUCCESSFULLY MARKET OUR PRODUCTS 
COULD BE HARMED 

   We believe our future success will depend in large part upon our ability to 
attract and retain highly skilled managerial, engineering, sales and marketing 
personnel.  We believe that our future success will be dependent on retaining the 
services of our key personnel, developing their successors and certain internal 
processes to reduce our reliance on specific individuals, and on properly managing 
the transition of key roles when they occur.  For example, at the beginning of 
fiscal 2004, Navdeep Sooch, our co-founder and chairman of the board, transitioned 
out of his role as CEO and Daniel Artusi, our Chief Operating Officer and President, 
assumed the role of CEO.  There is currently a shortage of qualified personnel with 
significant experience in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing and 
sales of analog and mixed-signal ICs.  In particular, there is a shortage of 
engineers who are familiar with the intricacies of the design and manufacturability 
of analog elements, and competition for such personnel is intense.  Our key 
technical personnel represent a significant asset and serve as the primary source 
for our technological and product innovations.  We may not be successful in 
attracting and retaining sufficient numbers of technical personnel to support our 
anticipated growth.  The loss of any of our key employees or the inability to 
attract or retain qualified personnel both in the United States and internationally, 
including engineers and sales and marketing personnel, could delay the development 
and introduction of, and negatively impact our ability to sell, our products. 

ANY ACQUISITIONS WE MAKE COULD DISRUPT OUR BUSINESS AND HARM OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION 

   On December 10, 2003, we acquired Cygnal.  As part of our growth and product 
diversification strategy, we will continue to evaluate opportunities to acquire 
other businesses, intellectual property or technologies that would complement our 
current offerings, expand the breadth of our markets or enhance our technical 
capabilities.  The Cygnal acquisition and other acquisitions that we may potentially 
make in the future entail a number of risks that could materially and adversely 
affect our business and operating results, including:  

   - problems integrating the acquired operations, technologies or products with our  
     existing business and products;  

   - diversion of management's time and attention from our core business;  

   - need for financial resources above our planned investment levels; 

   - difficulties in retaining business relationships with suppliers and customers  
     of the acquired company;  

   - risks associated with entering markets in which we lack prior experience;  

- potential loss of key employees of the acquired company; and 

   - potential impairment of related goodwill and intangible assets. 

   In connection with the Cygnal acquisition, we are obligated to issue up to 
1,290,963 shares of our common stock based upon the achievement of Cygnal product 
revenue milestones, which could distract our management and employees and lead to 
disputes with former Cygnal stockholders.  Future acquisitions also could cause us 

19

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
to incur debt or contingent liabilities or cause us to issue equity securities that 
could negatively impact the ownership percentages of existing shareholders.  

WE MAY BE UNABLE TO PROTECT OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, WHICH WOULD NEGATIVELY AFFECT 
OUR ABILITY TO COMPETE 

   Our  products  rely  on  our  proprietary  technology,  and  we  expect  that  future 
technological  advances  made  by  us  will  be  critical  to  sustain  market  acceptance  of 
our  products.    Therefore,  we  believe  that  the  protection  of  our  intellectual 
property rights is and will continue to be important to the success of our business.  
We  rely  on  a  combination  of  patent,  copyright,  trademark  and  trade  secret  laws  and 
restrictions  on  disclosure  to  protect  our  intellectual  property  rights.    We  also 
enter  into  confidentiality  or  license  agreements  with  our  employees,  consultants, 
intellectual  property  providers  and  business  partners,  and  control  access  to  and 
distribution of our documentation and other proprietary information.  Despite these 
efforts,  unauthorized  parties  may  attempt  to  copy  or  otherwise  obtain  and  use  our 
proprietary technology.  Monitoring unauthorized use of our technology is difficult, 
and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use 
of our technology, particularly in foreign countries where the laws may not protect 
our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States.  We cannot be certain that 
patents will be issued as a result of our pending applications nor can we be certain 
that  any  issued  patents  would  protect  or  benefit  us  or  give  us  adequate  protection 
from  competing  products.    For  example,  issued  patents  may  be  circumvented  or 
challenged  and  declared  invalid  or  unenforceable.    We  also  cannot  be  certain  that 
others will not develop effective competing technologies on their own.  

SIGNIFICANT LITIGATION OVER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN OUR INDUSTRY MAY CAUSE US TO 
BECOME INVOLVED IN COSTLY AND LENGTHY LITIGATION WHICH COULD SERIOUSLY HARM OUR 
BUSINESS 

   In recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States 
involving patents and other intellectual property rights.  From time to time, we 
receive letters from various industry participants alleging infringement of patents, 
trademarks or misappropriation of trade secrets or from customers requesting 
indemnification for claims brought against them by third parties.  The exploratory 
nature of these inquiries has become relatively common in the semiconductor 
industry.  We typically respond when appropriate and as advised by legal counsel.  
We have been involved in litigation to protect our intellectual property rights in 
the past and may become involved in such litigation again in the future.  For 
example, in April 2003, we paid $17 million to settle patent infringement claims 
brought against us by TDK Semiconductor Corporation.  In January 2004, Digcom 
commenced a lawsuit against us and several other major companies in the GSM/GPRS 
wireless market for alleged past infringement of one of their expired patents.  In 
the future, we may become involved in additional litigation to defend allegations of 
infringement asserted by others, both directly and indirectly as a result of certain 
industry-standard indemnities we may offer to our customers.  Legal proceedings 
could subject us to significant liability for damages or invalidate our proprietary 
rights.  Legal proceedings initiated by us to protect our intellectual property 
rights could also result in counterclaims or countersuits against us.  Any 
litigation, regardless of its outcome, would likely be time-consuming and expensive 
to resolve and would divert our management's time and attention.  Most intellectual 
property litigation also could force us to take specific actions, including:  

   - cease selling products that use the challenged intellectual property;  

- obtain from the owner of the infringed intellectual property a right to a 
  license to sell or use the relevant technology, which license may not be  
  available on reasonable terms, or at all;   

   - redesign those products that use infringing intellectual property; or 

   - pursue legal remedies with third parties to enforce our  
     indemnification rights, which may not adequately protect our interests. 

FAILURE TO MANAGE OUR DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL RELATIONSHIPS COULD IMPEDE OUR FUTURE 
GROWTH  

   The future growth of our business will depend in part on our ability to manage 
our relationships with current and future distributors and sales representatives, 
develop additional channels for the distribution and sale of our products and manage 

20

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
these relationships.  As we execute our indirect sales strategy, we will need to 
manage the potential conflicts that may arise with our direct sales efforts.  For 
example, conflicts with a distributor may arise when a customer begins purchasing 
directly from us rather than through the distributor.  The inability to successfully 
execute or manage a multi-channel sales strategy could impede our future growth. 

WE COULD SEEK TO RAISE ADDITIONAL CAPITAL IN THE FUTURE THROUGH THE ISSUANCE OF 
EQUITY OR DEBT SECURITIES, BUT ADDITIONAL CAPITAL MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE ON TERMS 
A

CCEPTABLE TO US, OR AT ALL  

   We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments will be 
sufficient to meet our working capital needs, capital expenditures, investment 
requirements and commitments for at least the next 12 months.  However, it is 
possible that we may need to raise additional funds to finance our activities or to 
facilitate acquisitions of other businesses, products or technologies.  We believe 
we could raise these funds, if needed, by selling equity or debt securities to the 
public or to selected investors.  In addition, even though we may not need 
additional funds, we may still elect to sell additional equity or debt securities or 
obtain credit facilities for other reasons.  However, we may not be able to obtain 
additional funds on favorable terms, or at all.  If we decide to raise additional 
funds by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership percentages of 
existing shareholders would be reduced. 

OUR CUSTOMERS REQUIRE OUR PRODUCTS TO UNDERGO A LENGTHY AND EXPENSIVE QUALIFICATION 
PROCESS WITHOUT ANY ASSURANCE OF PRODUCT SALES 

   Prior to purchasing our products, our customers require that our products undergo 
an extensive qualification process, which involves testing of the products in the 
customer's system as well as rigorous reliability testing.  This qualification 
process may continue for six months or longer.  However, qualification of a product 
by a customer does not ensure any sales of the product to that customer.  Even after 
successful qualification and sales of a product to a customer, a subsequent revision 
to the IC, changes in its manufacturing process or the selection of a new supplier 
by us may require a new qualification process, which may result in delays and in us 
holding excess or obsolete inventory.  After our products are qualified, it can take 
an additional six months or more before the customer commences volume production of 
components or devices that incorporate our products.  Despite these uncertainties, 
we devote substantial resources, including design, engineering, sales, marketing and 
management efforts, toward qualifying our products with customers in anticipation of 
sales.  If we are unsuccessful or delayed in qualifying any of our products with a 
customer, such failure or delay would preclude or delay sales of such product to the 
customer, which may impede our growth and cause our business to suffer.  

WE DEPEND ON OUR CUSTOMERS TO SUPPORT OUR PRODUCTS, AND SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS OFFER 
COMPETING PRODUCTS 

   Our products are currently used by our customers to produce modems, telephony 
equipment, mobile handsets, optical networking equipment and a broad range of other 
devices.  We rely on our customers to provide hardware, software, intellectual 
property indemnification and other technical support for the products supplied by 
our customers.  If our customers do not provide the required functionality or if our 
customers do not provide satisfactory support for their products, the demand for 
these devices that incorporate our products may diminish or we may otherwise be 
materially adversely affected.  Any reduction in the demand for these devices would 
significantly reduce our revenues.  

   In certain products such as the DAA, some of our customers (including Conexant 
and Smart Link) offer their own competitive products.  These customers may find it 
advantageous to support their own offerings in the marketplace in lieu of promoting 
our products. 

WE ARE SUBJECT TO INCREASED INVENTORY RISKS AND COSTS BECAUSE WE BUILD OUR PRODUCTS 
BASED ON FORECASTS PROVIDED BY CUSTOMERS BEFORE RECEIVING PURCHASE ORDERS FOR THE 
PRODUCTS 

   In order to ensure availability of our products for some of our largest 
customers, we start the manufacturing of our products in advance of receiving 
purchase orders based on forecasts provided by these customers.  However, these 
forecasts do not represent binding purchase commitments and we do not recognize 
sales for these products until they are shipped to the customer.  As a result, we 

21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
incur inventory and manufacturing costs in advance of anticipated sales.  Because 
demand for our products may not materialize, manufacturing based on forecasts 
subjects us to increased risks of high inventory carrying costs and increased 
obsolescence and may increase our operating costs.  These inventory risks are 
exacerbated when our customers purchase indirectly through contract manufacturers 
because this causes us to have less visibility regarding the accumulated levels of 
inventory for such customers. 

WE ARE SUBJECT TO CREDIT RISKS RELATED TO OUR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, ESPECIALLY WHEN 
OVERSEAS CUSTOMERS PURCHASE OUR PRODUCTS 

   We do not generally obtain letters of credit or other security for payment from 
customers, distributors or contract manufacturers.  Accordingly, we are not 
protected against accounts receivable default or bankruptcy by these entities.  If 
we are unable to collect our accounts receivable, our operating results could be 
materially harmed.  We continue to monitor the credit worthiness and payment 
practice of each of our customers, distributors and contract manufacturers, and to 
date have not had any significant write-offs of receivable balances from them. 

WE ARE A RELATIVELY SMALL COMPANY WITH LIMITED RESOURCES COMPARED TO SOME OF OUR 
CURRENT AND POTENTIAL COMPETITORS AND WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COMPETE EFFECTIVELY AND 
INCREASE MARKET SHARE 

   Some of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, 
significantly greater resources and name recognition and a larger base of customers 
than we have.  As a result, these competitors may have greater credibility with our 
existing and potential customers.  They also may be able to adopt more aggressive 
pricing policies and devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale 
of their products than we can to ours.  In addition, some of our current and 
potential competitors have already established supplier or joint development 
relationships with the decision makers at our current or potential customers.  These 
competitors may be able to leverage their existing relationships to discourage their 
customers from purchasing products from us or persuade them to replace our products 
with their products.  Our competitors may also offer bundled chipset kit 
arrangements offering a more complete product despite the technical merits or 
advantages of our products.  These competitors may elect not to support our products 
which could complicate our sales efforts.  These and other competitive pressures may 
prevent us from competing successfully against current or future competitors, and 
may materially harm our business.  Competition could decrease our prices, reduce our 
sales, lower our gross profits or decrease our market share. 

OUR STOCK PRICE MAY BE VOLATILE 

   The market price of our common stock has been volatile in the past and may be 
volatile in the future.  The market price of our common stock may be significantly 
affected by the following factors: 

   - actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results; 

   - changes in financial estimates by securities analysts or our failure to perform  
     in line with such estimates; 

   - changes in market valuations of other technology companies, particularly  
     semiconductor companies; 

   - announcements by us or our competitors of significant technical innovations,  
     acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments; 

   - introduction of technologies or product enhancements that reduce the need for  
     our products; 

   - the loss of one or more key original equipment manufacturers (OEM) customers; 

   - dilution from the issuance of our stock in connection with acquisitions; and 

   - departures of key personnel. 

   The stock market has experienced extreme volatility that often has been unrelated 
to the performance of particular companies.  These market fluctuations may cause our 
stock price to fall regardless of our performance. 

22

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      
 
 
 
PROVISIONS IN OUR CHARTER DOCUMENTS AND DELAWARE LAW COULD PREVENT, DELAY OR IMPEDE 
A CHANGE IN CONTROL OF US AND MAY REDUCE THE MARKET PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK 

   Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could have the effect 
of discouraging, delaying or preventing a merger or acquisition that a stockholder  
may consider favorable.  For example, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws 
provide for: 

   - the division of our board of directors into three classes to be elected on a 

staggered basis, one class each year; 

   - the ability of our board of directors to issue shares of our preferred stock in 

one or more series without further authorization of our stockholders; 

   - a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent; 

   - elimination of the right of stockholders to call a special meeting of 

stockholders;  

   - a requirement that stockholders provide advance notice of any stockholder 

nominations of directors or any proposal of new business to be considered at 
any meeting of stockholders; and 

   - a requirement that a supermajority vote be obtained to amend or repeal certain 

provisions of our certificate of incorporation. 

   We also are subject to the anti-takeover laws of Delaware which may discourage, 
delay or prevent someone from acquiring or merging with us, which may adversely 
affect the market price of our common stock. 

THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR DSL ANALOG FRONT END (AFE) AND MODEM RELATED PRODUCTS MAY BE 
ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY SEVERE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS THAT MAY REQUIRE 
MODIFICATIONS, WHICH COULD LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN OUR COSTS OR A REDUCTION IN OUR 
REVENUES 

   Although our DSL AFE and modem related products are compliant with published 
specifications, these established specifications might not adequately address all 
conditions that must be satisfied in order to operate in harsh environments.  This 
includes environments where there are wide variations in electrical quality, 
telephone line quality, static electricity and operating temperatures or that may be 
affected by lightning or improper handling by customers and end users.  These 
environmental factors may result in unanticipated returns of our products.  Any 
necessary modifications could cause us to incur significant re-engineering costs, 
divert the attention of our engineering personnel from our product development 
efforts and cause significant customer relations and business reputation problems. 

RISKS RELATED TO OUR INDUSTRY 

COMPETITION WITHIN THE NUMEROUS MARKETS WE TARGET MAY REDUCE SALES OF OUR PRODUCTS 
AND REDUCE MARKET SHARE 

   The markets for semiconductors in general, and for mixed-signal ICs in 
particular, are intensely competitive.  We expect that the market for our products 
will continually evolve and will be subject to rapid technological change.  In 
addition, as we target and supply products to numerous markets and applications, we 
face competition from a relatively large number of competitors.  Across all of our 
product areas, we compete with Agere Systems, Atmel, AMCC, Analog Devices, Broadcom, 
Conexant, Cypress, ESS, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Infineon Technologies, Legerity, Maxim 
Integrated Products, Microchip, Motorola, National Semiconductor, Philips, RF Micro 
Devices, Semtech, Skyworks Solutions Inc., Texas Instruments, Vitesse Semiconductor 
and others.  We expect to face competition in the future from our current 
competitors, other manufacturers and designers of semiconductors, and start-up 
semiconductor design companies.  Some of our customers, such as Agere Systems, 
Broadcom, Intel, Motorola, Samsung and Texas Instruments, are also large, 
established semiconductor suppliers.  Our sales to and support of these customers 
may enable them to become a source of competition to us, despite our efforts to 
protect our intellectual property rights.  As the markets for communications 
products grow, we also may face competition from traditional communications device 
companies.  These companies may enter the mixed-signal semiconductor market by 

23

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
introducing their own ICs or by entering into strategic relationships with or 
acquiring other existing providers of semiconductor products. 

   In addition, large companies may restructure their operations to create separate 
companies or may acquire new businesses that are focused on providing the types of 
products we produce or acquire our customers.  For example, in May 2003, Conexant 
acquired PC-Tel’s modem business.  In the future, Conexant may seek to supplant our 
silicon DAA products that have historically been incorporated in PC-Tel’s products 
with Conexant’s own competing DAA product.  As an additional example, in October 
2003, Motorola announced it would separate its semiconductor operations into a 
publicly traded company focused on communications and integrated electronic systems.  
Also, in November 2003, Conexant and GlobespanVirata announced a plan to merge that 
will focus the combined company on all broadband applications. 

THE AVERAGE SELLING PRICES OF OUR PRODUCTS COULD DECREASE RAPIDLY WHICH MAY 
NEGATIVELY IMPACT OUR REVENUES AND GROSS PROFITS 

   We may experience substantial period-to-period fluctuations in future operating 
results due to the erosion of our average selling prices.  We have reduced the 
average unit price of our products in anticipation of future competitive pricing 
pressures, new product introductions by us or our competitors and other factors.  
The highly competitive GSM handset market is extremely cost sensitive due to the 
potentially very high volumes and stringent expectations placed on consumer 
electronics component suppliers for aggressive and sustained price reductions which 
do result in declining average selling prices.  We expect that these factors will 
create downward pressure on our average selling prices and gross profit percentages.  
If we are unable to offset any such reductions in our average selling prices by 
increasing our sales volumes and corresponding production cost reductions, our gross 
profits and revenues will suffer.  To maintain our gross profit percentage, we will 
need to develop and introduce new products and product enhancements on a timely 
basis and continually reduce our costs.  Our failure to do so would cause our 
revenues and gross profit percentage to decline.  

WE ARE SUBJECT TO THE CYCLICAL NATURE OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY, WHICH HAS BEEN 
SUBJECT TO SIGNIFICANT DOWNTURNS 

   The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and is characterized by constant 
and rapid technological change, rapid product obsolescence and price erosion, 
evolving standards, short product life cycles and wide fluctuations in product 
supply and demand.  The industry has experienced significant downturns, often 
connected with, or in anticipation of, maturing product cycles of both semiconductor 
companies' and their customers' products and declines in general economic 
conditions.  These downturns have been characterized by diminished product demand, 
production overcapacity, high inventory levels and accelerated erosion of average 
selling prices.  Specific areas of the communications markets have contributed to 
the overall decline and volatility of the semiconductor industry in the recent past.  
For example, in fiscal 2001, the semiconductor industry suffered a downturn due to 
reductions in the actual unit sales of personal computers and wireless phones as 
compared to previous robust forecasts.  Additionally, changing and competing 
technical standards in airwave interfaces such as GSM and Code Division Multiple 
Access (CDMA) for mobile handsets, migration to higher speed communication protocols 
in the optical space and the return to prominence of the traditional regional Bell 
operating companies compared to the competitive local exchange companies all 
contributed to the volatility in the communications area of the semiconductor 
industry.  This downturn resulted in a material adverse effect on our business and 
operating results in fiscal 2001.   

   Due to the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, an upturn in business 
could result in increased competition for access to third-party foundry, assembly 
and test capacity.  We are dependent on the availability of such capacity to 
manufacture, assemble and test our ICs.  None of our third-party foundry, assembly 
or test subcontractors have provided assurances that adequate capacity will be 
available to us.  

OUR PRODUCTS MUST CONFORM TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED BY END USERS 
IN OUR MARKETS 

   Generally, our products comprise only a part of a device.  All components of such 
devices must uniformly comply with industry standards in order to operate 
efficiently together.  We depend on companies that provide other components of the 

24

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
devices to support prevailing industry standards.  Many of these companies are 
significantly larger and more influential in affecting industry standards than we 
are.  Some industry standards may not be widely adopted or implemented uniformly, 
and competing standards may emerge that may be preferred by our customers or end 
users.  If larger companies do not support the same industry standards that we do, 
or if competing standards emerge, market acceptance of our products could be 
adversely affected which would harm our business.  

   Products for communications applications are based on industry standards that are 
continually evolving.  For example, GSM mobile handsets now commonly use the GPRS 
specification for enabling data communications.  Certain suppliers are now offering 
mobile handsets utilizing the Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) 
protocol to support higher data communication rates on GSM networks.  Our ability to 
compete in the future will depend on our ability to identify and ensure compliance 
with these evolving industry standards.  The emergence of new industry standards 
could render our products incompatible with products developed by other suppliers.  
As a result, we could be required to invest significant time and effort and to incur 
significant expense to redesign our products to ensure compliance with relevant 
standards.  If our products are not in compliance with prevailing industry standards 
for a significant period of time, we could miss opportunities to achieve crucial 
design wins.  We may not be successful in developing or using new technologies or in 
developing new products or product enhancements that achieve market acceptance.  Our 
pursuit of necessary technological advances may require substantial time and 
expense. 

AVAILABLE INFORMATION 

   Our Internet website address is http://www.silabs.com.  Our annual report on Form 
10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to 
those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available through the investor relations page of 
our internet website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file 
such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  
Our Internet website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are 
not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. 

Item 2.  Properties 

   Our primary facilities, housing test operations, sales and marketing, research 
and development, and administration, are located in Austin, Texas.  These facilities 
consist of approximately 124,000 square feet of leased floor space with lease terms 
expiring at various dates through December 2007. In addition to these properties, we 
lease approximately 5,600 square feet in Nashua, New Hampshire for engineering 
activities and various other smaller locations throughout the United States, 
England, France, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan and China for sales, marketing, 
design and manufacturing support activities. 

   We believe that these facilities are suitable and adequate to meet our current 
operating needs. 

Item 3.  Legal Proceedings 

Patent Infringement Litigation     

   On January 14, 2004, Digcom, Inc., commenced a lawsuit in the United States 
District Court for the Southern District of California against us and other major 
companies in the GSM/GPRS wireless market for alleged infringement of Digcom’s U.S. 
Patent No. 4,567,602, which was issued on January 28, 1986 and expired on June 13, 
2003.  Digcom’s complaint asserts that we and the other major companies have 
infringed their ‘602 patent by manufacturing, using and selling products and 
equipment for operation in GSM/GPRS wireless networks, including our Aero/Aero+ GSM 
Transceiver Chipsets as a whole and the Si4200 and Si4201 Chips individually.  We do 
not believe that an injunction can be sought since the alleged patent has expired.  
Accordingly, we do not expect any impact on the sale of our products as a result of 
this lawsuit.  We are currently investigating Digcom’s allegations, and intend to 
respond with appropriate defenses.  Due to the early stage of this litigation, we 
cannot estimate the outcome of this matter or the resulting financial impact to us, 
if any. 

25

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Securities Litigation  

   On December 6, 2001, a class action complaint for violations of U.S. federal 
securities laws was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern 
District of New York against us, four officers individually and the three investment 
banking firms who served as representatives of the underwriters in connection with 
our initial public offering of common stock which became effective on March 23, 
2000.  On April 19, 2002, a Consolidated Amended Complaint, which is now the 
operative complaint, was filed in the same court.  The complaint alleges that the 
registration statement and prospectus for our initial public offering did not 
disclose that (1) the underwriters solicited and received additional, excessive and 
undisclosed commissions from certain investors, and (2) the underwriters had agreed 
to allocate shares of the offering in exchange for a commitment from the customers 
to purchase additional shares in the aftermarket at pre-determined higher prices.  
The action seeks damages in an unspecified amount and is being coordinated with 
approximately 300 other nearly identical actions filed against other companies.  On 
July 15, 2002, we moved to dismiss all claims against us and the individual 
defendants.  A court order dated October 9, 2002 dismissed without prejudice 
numerous individual defendants, including the four officers of our company who had 
been named individually.  On February 19, 2003, the Court denied the motion to 
dismiss the complaint against us.  We have approved a Memorandum of Understanding 
("MOU") and related agreements which set forth the terms of a proposed settlement 
between the plaintiff class and us and the vast majority of the other approximately 
300 issuer defendants.  It is anticipated that any potential financial obligation of 
us to plaintiffs due pursuant to the terms of the MOU and related agreements would 
be covered by existing insurance.  Therefore, we do not expect that the proposed 
settlement would involve any payment by us.  The MOU and related agreements are 
subject to a number of contingencies, including the negotiation of a settlement 
agreement and approval by the Court.  We cannot be certain as to whether or when a 
settlement will occur or be finalized and are unable at this time to determine 
whether the outcome of the litigation will have a material impact on our results of 
operations or financial condition in any future period. 

   We are not currently involved in any other material legal proceedings. 

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

   None. 

PART II 

Item 5.  Market for the Registrant's Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters 

   Our common stock has been quoted on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol 
"SLAB" since our initial public offering on March 23, 2000.  The table below shows 
the high and low per-share sales prices of our common stock for the periods  
indicated, as reported by the Nasdaq National Market.  As of January 3, 2004, the 
end of our 2003 fiscal year, there were 424 holders of record of our common stock.  

Fiscal Year Ended December 28, 2002 
  First Quarter 
  Second Quarter 
  Third Quarter 
  Fourth Quarter 

Fiscal Year Ended January 3, 2004 
  First Quarter 
  Second Quarter 
  Third Quarter 
  Fourth Quarter 

HIGH 

LOW 

$39.65 
 37.54 
 29.09 
 30.40 

$30.27 
 32.56 
 53.01 
 58.88 

$21.56 
 21.39 
 16.40 
 17.10 

$18.89 
 24.22 
 26.10 
 39.61 

   We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock and we 
do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.  We currently expect 
to retain any future earnings to fund the operation and expansion of our business.  

   On December 10, 2003, we issued 1,190,034 shares of our common stock in exchange 
for the outstanding capital stock of Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc.  The issuance 
of our common stock in connection with the acquisition of Cygnal was deemed exempt 

26

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
from registration under Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 in reliance upon 
Section 3(a)(10) thereof, pursuant to a fairness hearing conducted by the California 
Department of Corporations. 

   Our registration statement (Registration No. 333-94853) under the Securities Act 
of 1933, as amended, relating to our initial public offering of our common stock 
became effective on March 23, 2000.  A total of 3,680,000 shares of common stock 
were registered.  We sold a total of 3,200,000 shares of our common stock and 
selling stockholders sold a total of 480,000 shares to an underwriting syndicate.  
The managing underwriters were Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Lehman Brothers 
Inc., and Salomon Smith Barney Inc.  The offering commenced and was completed on 
March 24, 2000, at a price to the public of $31.00 per share.  The initial public 
offering resulted in net proceeds to us of $90.6 million, after deducting 
underwriting commissions of $6.9 million and offering expenses of $1.6 million.  We 
used $15 million of the proceeds as part of the consideration paid in the 
acquisition of Krypton Isolation, Inc. on August 9, 2000.  Another $4.3 million was 
used to pay off equipment loans provided by Imperial Bank.  We used another $1.0 
million of the proceeds as part of the consideration paid in the acquisition of SNR 
Semiconductor Incorporated (SNR) on October 2, 2000.  In December 2002, we prepaid 
$2.4 million in satisfaction of our remaining debt and lease obligations to three 
equipment financing institutions.  In December 2003, we paid $0.9 million in direct 
acquisition costs for professional and legal fees related to the acquisition of 
Cygnal.  As of January 3, 2004, the remaining proceeds were invested in short-term, 
investment-grade, interest bearing instruments. 

   The information under the caption “Equity Compensation Plan Information” 
appearing in the Proxy Statement, is incorporated herein by reference. 

Item 6.  Selected Consolidated Financial Data 

   The selected consolidated balance sheet data as of fiscal year ended 2003 and 
2002 and the selected consolidated statements of operations data for fiscal 2003, 
2002 and 2001 have been derived from audited consolidated financial statements 
included in this Form 10-K. The selected consolidated balance sheet data as of 
fiscal year ended 2001, 2000 and 1999 and the selected consolidated statements of 
operations data for fiscal 2000 and 1999 have been derived from audited consolidated 
financial statements not included in this Form 10-K.  You should read this selected  
consolidated financial data in conjunction with "Management's Discussion and  
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," our consolidated  
financial statements and the notes to those statements included in this Form 10-K. 

27

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS DATA 

Fiscal Year 

2003 

2002 

2001 

2000 

1999 

(in thousands, except per share data) 

Revenues 
Cost of revenues 

$325,305 
 162,173 

$182,016 
  79,939 

$ 74,065 
  31,930 

  $103,103 
    35,601 

$46,911 
 15,770 

Gross profit   
Operating expenses: 
  Research and development 
  Selling, general and  
    administrative 
  Write off of in-process  
    research & development 
  Goodwill amortization 
  Impairment of goodwill and   
    other intangible assets 
  Amortization of deferred  
    stock compensation 
Operating expenses 
Operating income (loss)  
Other income (expenses): 
  Interest income 
  Interest expense 
  Other income (expense) 
Income (loss) before income  
  taxes 
Provision (benefit) for income  
  taxes 
Net income (loss) 
Net income (loss) per share: 
  Basic 
  Diluted 
Weighted-average common shares   
  outstanding:  
  Basic 
  Diluted 

 163,132 

 102,077 

  42,135 

    67,502 

 31,141 

  48,296 

  32,001 

  28,978 

    19,419 

  8,297 

  42,836 

  33,877 

  20,056 

    17,648 

  7,207 

   1,600 
      -- 

      -- 
      -- 

      -- 
   4,187 

       394 
     3,307 

     -- 
     -- 

      -- 

      37 

  34,885 

       -- 

     -- 

   4,986 
  97,718 
  65,414 

   1,368 
     (49) 
    (537) 

   5,173 
  71,088 
  30,989 

   1,582 
    (617) 
    (647) 

   5,276 
  93,382 
 (51,247) 

   3,624 
    (751) 
      (2) 

     3,761 
    44,529 
    22,973 

     3,964 
    (1,162) 
        74 

    976 
 16,480 
 14,661 

    402 
   (699) 
     -- 

  66,196 

  31,307 

 (48,376) 

    25,849 

 14,364 

  21,480 
 $44,716 

  10,590 
 $20,717 

  (2,803) 
$(45,573) 

    11,832 
  $ 14,017 

  3,324 
$11,040 

 $   .92 
 $   .86 

   $   .44 
   $   .41 

  $   (.99) 
  $   (.99) 

    $    .37 
    $    .29 

  $   .73 
  $   .25 

  48,850 
  52,288 

    47,419 
    50,811 

    45,914 
    45,914 

      38,326 
      48,788 

 15,152 
 43,657 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA: 

January 3, 
2004 

December 28, 
2002 

December 29, 
2001 

December 30, 
2000 

January 1, 
2000 

  Cash, cash equivalents and   
    short-term  investments 
  Working capital 
  Total assets 
  Long-term obligations 
  Redeemable convertible  
    preferred stock 
  Total stockholders' equity 

$190,313 
 202,712 
 378,095 
   9,962 

      -- 
 287,205 

$115,166 
 122,354 
 197,065 
     949 

      -- 
 155,722 

$101,248 
 106,556 
 145,021 
   3,817 

      -- 
 125,407 

  $ 96,438 
   103,347 
   184,840 
     5,125 

        -- 
   162,951 

$14,706 
 14,281 
 41,958 
  6,223 

 12,750 
  8,003 

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

   THE FOLLOWING DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF 
OPERATIONS SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 
AND RELATED NOTES THERETO INCLUDED ELSEWHERE IN THIS REPORT ON FORM 10-K.  THIS 
DISCUSSION CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.  PLEASE SEE THE “CAUTIONARY 
STATEMENT” ABOVE AND “FACTORS AFFECTING OUR FUTURE OPERATING RESULTS” UNDER ITEM 1 
FOR A DISCUSSION OF THE UNCERTAINTIES, RISKS AND ASSUMPTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE 
STATEMENTS.  OUR FISCAL YEAR-END FINANCIAL REPORTING PERIODS ARE A 52- OR 53- WEEK 
YEAR ENDING ON THE SATURDAY CLOSEST TO DECEMBER 31ST.  FISCAL 2003 HAD 53 WEEKS WITH 
THE EXTRA WEEK OCCURRING IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF THE YEAR AND ENDED ON JANUARY 3, 
2004.  FISCAL 2002 HAD 52 WEEKS AND ENDED ON DECEMBER 28, 2002.  FISCAL 2001 HAD 52 
WEEKS AND ENDED ON DECEMBER 29, 2001.  

OVERVIEW 

   We design and develop proprietary, analog-intensive, mixed-signal integrated 
circuits (ICs) for a broad range of applications.  Our innovative ICs can 
dramatically reduce the cost, size and system power requirements of the products 
that our customers sell to consumers.  We currently offer ICs that can be 
incorporated into communications devices, such as wireless phones and modems, as  

28

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
well as cable and satellite set-top boxes, residential communication gateways for 
cable or digital subscriber line (DSL), satellite radios and optical network 
equipment.  With our recent acquisition of Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc. we offer 
a family of 8-bit MCUs for use in a broad array of applications such as industrial 
automation and control, automotive sensors and controls, medical instrumentation, 
and electronic test and measurement equipment. Our customers during fiscal 2003 
included Agere Systems, Broadcom, Conexant/PC-TEL, Echostar, Hughes Network Systems, 
Sagem, Samsung, Sendo, Smart Link, Texas Instruments, Thomson and Wavecom. 

   Our company was founded in 1996.  Our business has grown rapidly since our 
inception, as reflected by our employee headcount, which increased to 486 at the end 
of fiscal 2003, from 364 employees at the end of fiscal 2002 and 279 employees at 
the end of fiscal 2001.  As a "fabless" semiconductor company, we rely on third-
party semiconductor fabricators in Asia, and to a lesser extent the United States, 
to manufacture the silicon wafers that reflect our IC designs.  Each wafer contains 
numerous die, which are cut from the wafer to create a chip for an IC.  We also rely 
on third-parties in Asia to assemble, package, and, in the majority of cases, test 
these die and ship these units to our customers.  We plan to increase the amount of 
testing performed by such third parties, which we anticipate will facilitate faster 
delivery of products to our customers (particularly those located in Asia), shorter 
production cycle times, lower inventory requirements, lower costs and increased 
flexibility of test capacity.  We have implemented supply chain management software 
which we believe will improve our ability to scale our operations, reduce our 
inventory requirements and improve the quality of our shipment scheduling 
commitments with our customers through improved efficiency. 

   Our product set has expanded to a broad portfolio targeting the mobile handset 
and broad-based mixed-signal applications.  Our expertise in analog-intensive, high-
performance, mixed signal ICs enables us to develop highly differentiated solutions 
that address large markets.  For example, our silicon DAA product family is 
optimized for the PC modem market; our ISOmodem family of embedded modems has been 
widely adopted by satellite set-top box manufacturers; and our Aero™ Global System 
for Mobile Communications (GSM)/General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) transceiver 
family is being shipped in mobile handsets worldwide.  We continue to introduce next 
generation ICs with added functionality and further integration.  In fiscal 2003, we 
expanded our Aero Transceiver family with the launch of Aero I/I+, a single package 
GSM/GPRS transceiver, and we introduced a new ISOmodem product family that 
integrates our third generation silicon DAA.  Through our recently acquired MCU 
business and our internal development efforts, we further diversified our product 
portfolio.  We plan to continue to diversify our product portfolio by introducing 
products that increase the amount of content we provide for existing applications 
and by introducing ICs for markets we do not currently address, thereby expanding 
our total available market opportunity. 

   During fiscal 2003 and 2002, one customer, Samsung, represented 21% and 16% of 
our revenues, respectively.  No other single end customer accounted for more than 
10% of our revenues in either of these years.  In addition to direct sales to 
customers, some of our end customers purchase products indirectly from us through 
distributors and contract manufacturers.  An end customer purchasing through a 
contract manufacturer typically instructs such contract manufacturer to obtain our 
products and incorporate such products with other components for sale by such 
contract manufacturer to the end customer.  Although we actually sell the products 
to, and are paid by, the distributors and contract manufacturers, we refer to such 
end customer as our customer.  There was one distributor, Edom Technology, which 
accounted for 13% of our total revenues during fiscal 2003.  Two of our 
distributors, Uniquest and Edom Technology, represented 20% and 16% of our fiscal 
2002 revenues, respectively.  No other distributor accounted for more than 10% of 
our revenues in fiscal years 2003 or 2002. 

   The percentage of our revenues derived from customers located outside of the 
United States was 80% in fiscal 2003, 79% in fiscal 2002 and 66% in fiscal 2001.  
This percentage increase in the two most recent years reflects our product and 
customer diversification, as many of our mobile handset, and increasingly, broad-
based mixed signal customers manufacture and design their products in the Pacific 
Rim region.  All of our revenues to date have been denominated in U.S. dollars.  We 
believe that a majority of our revenues will continue to be derived from customers 
outside of the United States as our products receive acceptance in international 
markets.  

29

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
   The sales cycle for the test and evaluation of our ICs can range from one month 
to 12 months or more.  An additional three to six months or more may be required 
before a customer ships a significant volume of devices that incorporate our ICs.  
Due to this lengthy sales cycle, we may experience a significant delay between 
incurring expenses for research and development and selling, general and 
administrative efforts, and the generation of corresponding sales, if any.  
Consequently, if sales in any quarter do not occur when expected, expenses and 
inventory levels could be disproportionately high, and our operating results for 
that quarter and, potentially, future quarters would be adversely affected.  
Moreover, the amount of time between initial research and development and 
commercialization of a product, if ever, can be substantially longer than the sales 
cycle for the product.  Accordingly, if we incur substantial research and 
development costs without developing a commercially successful product, our 
operating results, as well as our growth prospects, could be adversely affected. 

   Rapid changes in our markets and across our product areas make it difficult for 
us to estimate the impact of seasonal factors on our business.  Because many of our 
ICs are designed for use in consumer products such as personal computers (PCs) and 
wireless telephones, we expect that the demand for our products will be subject to 
seasonal demand resulting in increased sales in the third and fourth quarters of 
each year when customers place orders to meet holiday demand.  

   We now group our products into two categories, mobile handset products or broad-
based mixed-signal products.   Mobile handset products include the Aero Transceivers 
and, to the extent incorporated into handsets, the RF Synthesizers. Broad-based 
mixed-signal products include our silicon DAA, ISOmodem, ProSLIC, satellite tuner, 
DSL analog front end, clock chips, optical transceivers and CDRs, general purpose RF 
Synthesizers for non-handset applications, as well as the Cygnal MCU products.  
Comparison of prior year financial results also have been revised to reflect this 
change in product grouping.   

   The following describes the line items set forth in our consolidated statements 
of operations:  

   REVENUES.  Revenues are generated principally by sales of our ICs.  We recognize 
revenue when all of the following criteria are met: 1) there is persuasive evidence 
that an arrangement exists, 2) delivery of goods has occurred, 3) the sales price is 
fixed or determinable, and 4) collectibility is reasonably assured.  Generally, we 
recognize revenue from product sales direct to customers and contract manufacturers 
upon shipment. Certain of our sales are made to distributors under agreements 
allowing certain rights of return and price protection on products unsold by 
distributors. Accordingly, We defer the revenue and gross profit on such sales until 
the distributors sell the product to the end customer.  Our products typically carry 
a one-year replacement warranty.  Replacements have been insignificant to date.  Our 
revenues are subject to variation from period to period due to the volume of 
shipments made within a period and the prices we charge for our products.  The vast 
majority of our revenues were negotiated at prices that reflect a discount from the 
list prices for our products.  These discounts are made for a variety of reasons, 
including to establish a relationship with a new customer, as an incentive for 
customers to purchase products in larger volumes, to provide profit margin to our 
distributors who resell our products or in response to competition.  In addition, as 
a product matures, we expect that the average selling price for such product will 
decline due to the greater availability of competing products.  Our ability to 
increase revenues in the future is dependent on increased demand for our established 
products and our ability to ship larger volumes of those products in response to 
such demand, as well as our ability to develop or acquire new products and 
subsequently achieve customer acceptance of newly introduced products. 

   COST OF REVENUES.  Cost of revenues includes the cost of purchasing finished 
silicon wafers processed by independent foundries; costs associated with assembly, 
test and shipping of those products; costs of personnel and equipment associated 
with manufacturing support, logistics and quality assurance; costs of software 
royalties and amortization of purchased software, other intellectual property 
license costs, and certain acquired intangible assets; an allocated portion of our 
occupancy costs; allocable depreciation of testing equipment and leasehold 
improvements; impairment charges related to certain manufacturing equipment held for 
sale or abandoned; and a portion of the settlement costs associated with the TDK 
Semiconductor Corporation (TDK) patent infringement lawsuit.  Generally, we 
depreciate equipment over four years on a straight line basis and leasehold 
improvements over the shorter of the estimated useful life or the applicable lease 

30

 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
term.  Recently introduced products tend to have higher cost of revenues per unit 
due to initially low production volumes required by our customers and higher costs 
associated with new package variations.  Generally, as production volumes for a 
product increase, unit production costs tend to decrease as our yields improve and 
our semiconductor fabricators, assemblers and test operations achieve greater 
economies of scale for that product.  Additionally, the cost of wafer procurement 
and assembly and test services, which are significant components of cost of goods 
sold, vary cyclically with overall demand for semiconductors and our suppliers’ 
available capacity of such products and services. 

   RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.  Research and development expense consists primarily of 
compensation and related costs of employees engaged in research and development 
activities, new product mask, wafer and packaging costs, external consulting and 
services costs, amortization of purchased software, equipment tooling, amortization 
of acquired intangible assets, as well as an allocated portion of our occupancy 
costs for such operations.  We generally depreciate our research and development 
equipment over four years and amortize our purchased software from computer-aided 
design tool vendors over three to four years.  Development activities include the 
design of new products, refinement of existing products and design of test 
methodologies to ensure compliance with required specifications. 

   SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE.  Selling, general and administrative expense 
consists primarily of personnel-related expenses, related allocable portion of our 
occupancy costs, sales commissions to independent sales representatives, 
professional fees, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, patent litigation 
legal fees, other promotional and marketing expenses, and reserves for bad debt.  
Write-offs of uncollectible accounts have been insignificant to date. 

   WRITE OFF OF IN-PROCESS RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT.  Write off of in-process research 
& development reflects the write off of in-process research and development costs 
which we acquired in connection with our acquisition of Cygnal Integrated Products, 
Inc. (Cygnal) in fiscal 2003 and Krypton Isolation, Inc. (Krypton) in fiscal 2000. 

   GOODWILL AMORTIZATION.  We adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 
(SFAS) No. 142, GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS, at the beginning of fiscal 
2002 and accordingly ceased amortization of goodwill.  Goodwill amortization through 
December 2001 includes the amortization of goodwill purchased in connection with our 
acquisitions of Krypton in August 2000 and SNR in October 2000. Goodwill was 
amortized over four to five years using the straight line method. 

   IMPAIRMENT OF GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS.  Impairment of goodwill and 
other intangible assets reflects the charge to write-down that portion of the 
carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets that was in excess of its 
fair market value. 

   AMORTIZATION OF DEFERRED STOCK COMPENSATION.  In connection with the grant of 
stock options and direct issuances of stock to our employees, we record deferred 
stock compensation, representing, for accounting purposes, the difference between 
the exercise price of option grants, or the issuance price of direct issuances of 
stock, as the case may be, and the fair value of our common stock at the time of 
such grants or issuances.  The deferred stock compensation is amortized over the 
vesting period of the applicable options or shares, generally five to eight years.  
The amortization of deferred stock compensation is recorded as an operating expense. 

   INTEREST INCOME.  Interest income reflects interest earned on average cash, cash 
equivalents and investment balances.  We may from time to time elect to invest in 
tax-advantaged short-term investments yielding lower nominal interest proceeds. 

   INTEREST EXPENSE.  Interest expense consists of interest on our long-term debt, 
capital leases and other long-term obligations. 

   OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE).  Other income (expense) reflects our share of income and 
losses related to our equity investment in ASIC Design Services, Inc. (ADS) and the 
gain on the disposal of fixed assets. 

   PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES.  We accrue a provision for federal and state income 
tax at the applicable statutory rates adjusted for non-deductible expenses, research 
and development tax credits and interest income from tax-advantaged short-term 
investments. 

31

 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS 

COMPARISON OF FISCAL 2003 TO FISCAL 2002 

   REVENUES.  Revenues in fiscal 2003 were $325.3 million, an increase of $143.3 
million, or 78.7%, from revenues of $182.0 million in fiscal 2002. The increase was 
primarily attributable to significant growth in the volume of sales for our Aero 
Transceiver used in GSM mobile handsets and ISOmodem products used in satellite set 
top boxes, primarily reflecting gains in market share and an increase in the overall 
market size.  We also continued to see significant growth in the sales of our DAA 
products, primarily reflecting an increase in the overall market demand for these 
products and strength in mobile notebook computer modems.  During fiscal 2003, we 
experienced normal decreases in the average selling prices for certain products.  
However, these price decreases were offset by the significant increases in sales 
volumes for our products and the introduction of higher priced next generation 
products and product extensions.  As a product becomes more mature, we expect it to 
experience additional decreases in average selling prices in the future.  Our 
revenue will be dependent on our ability to increase sales volumes and introduce 
higher priced next generation products and product extensions. 

   GROSS PROFIT.  Gross profit in fiscal 2003 was $163.1 million, or 50.1% of 
revenues, an increase of $61.0 million, or 59.8%, as compared with gross profit of 
$102.1 million, or 56.1% of revenues, in fiscal 2002. The increase in gross profit 
dollars was primarily due to the substantial increase in sales volume. The decrease 
in gross margin percentage was primarily due to (1) a $15.3 million charge 
associated with a patent litigation settlement in fiscal 2003; (2) a greater portion 
of our sales being comprised of our lower margin mobile handset products; and (3) a 
$0.8 million impairment charge associated with test equipment held for sale.  We 
expect to experience continued declines in the average selling prices of our mobile 
handset products.  This downward pressure on gross profit as a percentage of 
revenues may be offset to the extent we are able to introduce higher margin new 
products and continue to gain market share with our broad-based mixed-signal ICs. 

   RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.  Research and development expense in fiscal 2003 was 
$48.3 million, or 14.8% of revenues, which reflected an increase of $16.3 million, 
or 50.9%, as compared with research and development expense of $32.0 million, or 
17.6% of revenues, in fiscal 2002. The increase in the dollar amount of research and 
development expense was principally due to increased staffing and associated costs 
to pursue new product development opportunities, and continue to develop new testing 
methodologies for newly introduced and existing products.  As a percentage of 
revenues, research and development expense decreased due to the substantial increase 
in revenues in fiscal 2003. We expect that research and development expense will 
increase in absolute dollars in future periods as we continue to increase our 
staffing and associated costs to pursue additional new product development 
opportunities, and may fluctuate as a percentage of revenues due to changes in sales 
volume and the timing of certain expensive items related to new product development 
initiatives, such as engineering mask and wafer costs.  

   SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE.  Selling, general and administrative expense 
in fiscal 2003 was $42.8 million, or 13.2% of revenues, which reflected an increase 
of $8.9 million, or 26.4%, as compared to selling, general and administrative 
expense of $33.9 million or 18.6% of revenues, in fiscal 2002. The increase in the 
dollar amount of selling, general and administrative expense was principally 
attributable to increased staffing and associated costs, sales commissions 
associated with our higher revenues and the conversion of our largest customer 
account, Samsung, from a non-commission bearing distributor account to a commission 
bearing direct account, and employee bonuses resulting from increased earnings. This 
increase was partially offset by lower patent litigation-related legal costs 
following settlement of the TDK litigation. We expect that selling, general and 
administrative expense will increase in absolute dollars in future periods as we 
expand our sales channels, marketing efforts and administrative infrastructure. In 
addition, we expect selling, general and administrative expense to fluctuate as a 
percentage of revenues because of (1) potential significant variability in our 
future sales volumes; (2) the likelihood that indirect sales distribution channels, 
which typically entail the payment of commissions, will account for a larger portion 
of our revenues in future periods and, therefore, increase our selling, general and 
administrative expense relative to a direct sales force performing at satisfactory 
levels of productivity; (3) fluctuating usage of advertising to promote our products 
and, in particular, our newly introduced products; and (4) fluctuating legal costs 
related to litigation and intellectual property matters. 

32

 
 
 
  
 
 
   WRITE OFF OF IN-PROCESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.  We wrote off $1.6 million of 
in-process research and development in fiscal 2003 related to our acquisition of 
Cygnal.  We did not have any write-offs in fiscal 2002. 

   IMPAIRMENT OF GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS.  We did not recognize any 
impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets during fiscal 2003. During fiscal 
2002, we wrote off $37 thousand, which represented the remaining goodwill related to 
the fiscal 2000 acquisition of Krypton.  

   AMORTIZATION OF DEFERRED STOCK COMPENSATION.  We recorded deferred stock 
compensation for the difference between the exercise price of option grants or the 
issuance price of direct issuances of stock, as the case may be, and the deemed fair 
value of our common stock at the time of such grants or issuances. We are amortizing 
this amount over the vesting periods of the applicable options or issuances, which 
resulted in amortization expense of $5.0 million in fiscal 2003, as compared to $5.2 
million in fiscal 2002.  In fiscal 2004, we expect our amortization expense to 
remain at approximately this same level.  

   INTEREST INCOME.  Interest income in fiscal 2003 was $1.4 million, as compared to 
$1.6 million in fiscal 2002. The decrease was generally due to lower interest rates 
on cash and short-term investments balances during the current year and our 
transition to tax-exempt investments which bear even lower interest rates. 

   INTEREST EXPENSE.  Interest expense in fiscal 2003 was $49 thousand as compared 
to $0.6 million in fiscal 2002. The decrease in interest expense was primarily due 
to lower debt, lease and other long-term payable balances during the recent period. 
We expect our interest expense to remain at a modest level in fiscal 2004. 

   OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE).  Other expense in fiscal 2003 was $0.5 million as 
compared to $0.6 million in fiscal 2002, which primarily reflects our share of the 
losses in our investment in ADS.   

   PROVISION (BENEFIT) FOR INCOME TAXES.  Our tax provision rate, excluding the 
impact of the amortization of deferred stock compensation, the write off of in-
process research and development and impairment of goodwill and other intangibles, 
was 30% in fiscal 2003 as compared to the 29% rate in fiscal 2002. This increase was 
due in part to the fact that our tax-advantaged interest income as a percentage of 
pre-tax income was lower in fiscal 2003 than it was in fiscal 2002. For fiscal 2003, 
our tax provision reflects a deduction for the amount of employee income 
attributable to employee stock-based awards that relates to the amortization of 
deferred stock compensation. In prior years such deductions were recorded as an 
increase to additional paid-in capital. The impact of not reflecting these 
deductions in the tax provision (benefit) in prior years is not material.  The tax 
provision rate differs from the statutory rate due to the impact of research and 
development tax credits, state taxes, tax-advantaged interest income and other 
permanent items.  

COMPARISON OF FISCAL 2002 TO FISCAL 2001 

   REVENUES.  Revenues in fiscal 2002 were $182.0 million, an increase of $107.9 
million, or 146%, from revenues of $74.1 million in fiscal 2001. The increase was 
primarily attributable to significant growth in the volume of sales for our mobile 
handset products, reflecting a growing number of customers adopting these products 
into their offerings.  We also continued to see significant growth in the sales of 
our broad-based mixed-signal ICs, particularly the ISOmodem and DAA, reflecting 
increasing demand by existing customers for these products.  During fiscal 2002, we 
experienced normal decreases in the average selling prices for certain products.  
However, these price decreases were offset by the significant increases in sales 
volumes for our products and the introduction of higher priced next generation 
products and product extensions. 

   GROSS PROFIT.  Gross profit in fiscal 2002 was $102.1 million, or 56.1% of 
revenues, an increase of $59.9 million, or 142%, as compared with gross profit of 
$42.1 million, or 56.8% of revenues, in fiscal 2001. The increase in gross profit 
dollars was primarily due to the substantial increase in sales volume. The decrease 
in gross margin percentage was primarily due to a greater portion of our sales being 
comprised of our lower margin mobile handset products which have lower average 
selling prices and higher material costs than our other products.  The gross margin 

33

 
 
 
 
 
      
  
 
percentage in fiscal year 2002 was also negatively impacted by start up costs 
associated with the rapid production ramp of our Aero Transceiver product. 

   RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.  Research and development expense in fiscal 2002 was 
$32.0 million, or 17.6% of revenues, which reflected an increase of $3.0 million, or 
10.4%, as compared with research and development expense of $29.0 million, or 39.1% 
of revenues, in fiscal 2001. The increase in the dollar amount of research and 
development expense was principally due to increased staffing and associated costs 
to pursue new product development opportunities, and continue to develop new testing 
methodologies for newly introduced and existing products.  As a percentage of 
revenues, research and development expense decreased significantly due to the 
substantial increase in revenues in fiscal 2002.  

   SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE.  Selling, general and administrative expense 
in fiscal 2002 was $33.9 million, or 18.6% of revenues, which reflected an increase 
of $13.8 million, or 68.9%, as compared to selling, general and administrative 
expense of $20.0 million or 27.0% of revenues, in fiscal 2001. The increase in the 
dollar amount of selling, general and administrative expense was principally 
attributable to increased staffing and associated costs, legal fees incurred during 
patent litigation, sales commissions associated with our higher revenues and 
employee bonuses resulting from increased earnings.  

   GOODWILL AMORTIZATION.  We did not incur goodwill amortization in fiscal 2002 due 
to the adoption of SFAS No. 142. Goodwill amortization in fiscal 2001 was $4.2 
million. In fiscal 2001, we wrote off the majority of our goodwill balances after 
determining that they were permanently impaired. 

   IMPAIRMENT OF GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS.  During fiscal 2001, we 
performed an assessment of the carrying value of our long-lived assets recorded in 
connection with our acquisitions of Krypton and SNR. As a result of this assessment, 
we concluded that the value of these assets had become permanently impaired and 
recorded charges of $33.3 million to write off related goodwill and $1.6 million to 
reduce the carrying value of related intangible assets to their fair value. During 
fiscal 2002, we determined that the remaining goodwill of $37,000 related to Krypton 
was impaired and wrote off the balance. There were no other impairments of goodwill 
and other intangible assets in fiscal 2002.  

   AMORTIZATION OF DEFERRED STOCK COMPENSATION.  We recorded deferred stock 
compensation for the difference between the exercise price of option grants or the 
issuance price of direct issuances of stock, as the case may be, and the deemed fair 
value of our common stock at the time of such grants or issuances. We are amortizing 
this amount over the vesting periods of the applicable options or issuances, which 
resulted in amortization expense of $5.2 million in fiscal 2002, as compared to $5.3 
million in fiscal 2001.   

   INTEREST INCOME.  Interest income in fiscal 2002 was $1.6 million, as compared to 
$3.6 million in fiscal 2001. The decrease was generally due to lower interest rates 
on cash and short-term investments balances during the current year and our 
transition to tax-exempt investments which bear even lower interest rates. 

   INTEREST EXPENSE.  Interest expense in fiscal 2002 was $0.6 million as compared 
to $0.8 million in fiscal 2001. The decrease in interest expense was primarily due 
to lower debt and lease payable balances during the recent period. In December 2002. 
we prepaid $2.4 million in satisfaction of our remaining debt and lease obligations 
to three equipment financing institutions.  

   OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE).  Other expense in fiscal 2002 was $0.6 million, which 
primarily reflects our share of the losses in our investment in ADS.  We did not 
have any equity investments, and therefore no corresponding losses, in fiscal 2001. 

   PROVISION (BENEFIT) FOR INCOME TAXES.  Our effective tax provision rate, 
excluding the impact of goodwill amortization, impairment of goodwill and other 
intangible assets, and deferred stock compensation amortization, was 29.0% in fiscal 
2002, as compared to our effective tax benefit rate of 69.6% in fiscal 2001. Such 
fiscal 2002 effective tax provision rate reflects our tax benefits from our 
estimated research and development tax credit, tax-exempt interest income, and other 
deductions. The effective tax benefit in fiscal 2001 was attributable to our pre-tax 
loss as well as tax benefits from our estimated research and development tax credit, 
tax-exempt interest income and other deductions.  

34

 
 
 
 
    
 
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES 

   Our principal sources of liquidity as of January 3, 2004 consisted of $190.3 
million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.  Our short-term 
investments consist primarily of obligations of municipalities and agencies of the 
U.S. government that have initial maturities of less than one year.   

   In August 2003, we terminated our bank credit facility for a revolving line of 
credit for borrowings and letters of credit.  At January 3, 2004, a letter of credit 
for $0.4 million related to a building lease was outstanding under a letter of 
credit agreement with our bank. 

   Net cash provided by operating activities was $71.9 million during the fiscal 
year ended January 3, 2004, compared to $39.0 million during the fiscal year ended 
December 28, 2002.  The increase was principally due to revenues generated by a 
higher volume of sales over a relatively fixed cost structure.  This increase was 
partially offset by a $15.3 million cash payment relating to the settlement of 
patent litigation with TDK.  Operating cash flows during the fiscal year ended 
January 3, 2004 reflect our net income of $44.7 million, as adjusted for non-cash 
adjustments (depreciation, amortization, write-off of in-process research and 
development, equity investment losses, and tax benefits associated with the exercise 
of stock options) of $34.5 million, and a net decrease in the components of our 
working capital of $7.3 million.   

   Net cash used in investing activities was $11.2 million during the fiscal year 
ended January 3, 2004, compared to net cash used of $46.3 million during the fiscal 
year ended December 28, 2002.  The decrease was principally due to an increase in 
net maturities of short-term investments of $2.0 million, net cash acquired of $5.4 
million related to the purchase of Cygnal, and a decrease of $18.6 million in 
purchases of fixed assets and other assets.   

   We anticipate capital expenditures of approximately $20.0 million for fiscal 
2004.  Additionally, as part of our growth strategy, we expect to evaluate 
opportunities to invest in or acquire other businesses, intellectual property or 
technologies that would complement or expand our current offerings, expand the 
breadth of our markets or enhance our technical capabilities. 

   Net cash provided by financing activities was $16.7 million during the fiscal 
year ended January 3, 2004, compared to net cash used of $1.1 million during the 
fiscal year ended December 28, 2002.  The increase in cash flows from financing 
activities during the fiscal year ended January 3, 2004 was principally due to 
proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options and purchases under our 
employee stock purchase plan. 

   In our day-to-day business activities, we incur certain commitments to make 
future payments under contracts such as purchase orders, leases and other long-term 
contracts.  Maturities under these contracts are set forth in the following table as 
of January 3, 2004, in thousands: 

                                  Payments due by period 

Operating lease  
  obligations 
Purchase    
  obligations 
Other long-term  
  obligations 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

  Thereafter 

$ 2,544 

$2,719 

$2,384 

$1,451 

 $316 

   $393 

 83,477 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

   -- 

     -- 

     -- 

 6,644 

 1,945 

 1,229 

  144 

     -- 

   Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including the rate 
of sales growth, market acceptance of our products, the timing and extent of 
research and development projects, and the expansion of our sales and marketing 
activities.  We believe our existing cash and investment balances are sufficient to 
meet our capital requirements through at least the next 12 months, although we could 
be required, or could elect, to seek additional funding prior to that time.  We may 
enter into acquisitions or strategic arrangements in the future which also could 
require us to seek additional equity or debt financing. 

35

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
   
   
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
   
   
 
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
 
 
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES 

   The preparation of financial statements and accompanying notes in conformity with 
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires that we make 
estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported.  Changes in facts and 
circumstances could have a significant impact on the resulting estimated amounts 
included in the financial statements.  We believe the following critical accounting 
policies affect our more complex judgments and estimates.  We also have other 
policies that we consider to be key accounting policies, such as our policies for 
revenue recognition, including the deferral of revenues and gross profit on sales to 
distributors; however, these policies do not meet the definition of critical 
accounting estimates because they do not generally require us to make estimates or 
judgments that are difficult or subjective. 

   Allowance for doubtful accounts – We evaluate the collectibility of our accounts 
receivable based on a combination of factors.  In circumstances where we are aware 
of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations to us, we 
record a specific allowance to reduce the net receivable to the amount we reasonably 
believe will be collected.  For all other customers, we recognize allowances for 
doubtful accounts based on a variety of factors including the length of time the 
receivables are past their contractual due date, the current business environment, 
and our historical experience.  If the financial condition of our customers were to 
deteriorate or if economic conditions worsened, additional allowances may be 
required in the future.  Accounts receivable write-offs to date have been minimal. 

   Inventory Valuation - We assess the recoverability of inventories through an on-
going review of inventory levels in relation to sales history, backlog and 
forecasts, product marketing plans and product life cycles.  To address the 
difficult, subjective and complex area of judgment in determining appropriate 
inventory valuation in a consistent manner, we apply a set of methods, assumptions 
and estimates to arrive at the net inventory amount by completing the following: 
First, we identify any inventory that has been previously reserved in prior periods.  
This inventory remains reserved until sold, destroyed or otherwise disposed of.  
Second, we examine the inventory line items that may have some form of obsolescence 
due to non-conformance with electrical and mechanical standards as identified by our 
quality assurance personnel and provide reserves.  Third, the remaining inventory 
not otherwise identified to be reserved is compared to an assessment of product 
history and forecasted demand, typically over the last six months and next six 
months, or actual firm backlog on hand.  However, microcontroller product history 
and forecasted demand is typically measured over the last twelve months and next 
twelve months, respectively, due to the breadth of customers and markets served and 
longer product life cycles.  Finally, the result of this methodology is compared 
against the product life cycle and competitive situations in the marketplace driving 
the outlook for the consumption of the inventory and the appropriateness of the 
resulting inventory levels.  Demand for our products may fluctuate significantly 
over time, and actual demand and market conditions may be more or less favorable 
than those that we project.  In the event that actual demand is lower or market 
conditions are worse than originally projected, additional inventory write-downs may 
be required.  

   Impairment of long-lived assets – We review long-lived assets which are held and 
used, including fixed assets and purchased intangible assets, for impairment 
whenever changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets 
may not be recoverable and record an impairment charge if necessary.  Such 
evaluations compare the carrying amount of an asset to future undiscounted net cash 
flows expected to be generated by the asset and are significantly impacted by 
estimates of future prices and volumes for our products, capital needs, economic 
trends and other factors which are inherently difficult to forecast.  Occasionally, 
we may hold certain assets for sale.  In those cases, the assets are reclassified on 
our balance sheet from long-term to current, and the carrying value of such assets 
are reviewed and adjusted each period thereafter to the fair value less expected 
cost to sell. 

   We also review the carrying values of goodwill and other intangible assets with 
indefinite lives annually for possible impairment. The goodwill impairment test is a 
two-step process. The first step of the impairment analysis compares our fair value 
for such assets to our net book value. In determining fair value, the accounting 
guidance allows for the use of several valuation methodologies, although it states 
quoted market prices are the best evidence of fair value. The second step of the 

36

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
analysis compares the implied fair value of our goodwill to its carrying amount. If 
the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, we recognize an 
impairment loss equal to that excess amount. We test our goodwill for impairment 
annually as of the first day of our fourth fiscal quarter and in interim periods if 
certain events occur indicating that the carrying value of goodwill may be impaired. 

   Income Taxes – We are required to estimate income taxes in each of the 
jurisdictions in which we operate.  This process involves estimating the actual 
current tax liability together with assessing temporary differences in recognition 
of income (loss) for tax and accounting purposes.  These differences result in 
deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included in our consolidated balance 
sheet.  We must then assess the likelihood that the deferred tax assets will be 
recovered from future taxable income (loss) and, to the extent we believe that 
recovery is not likely, we must establish a valuation allowance against the deferred 
tax asset.  Further, we operate within multiple taxing jurisdictions and are subject 
to audit in these jurisdictions.  These audits can involve complex issues, which may 
require an extended period of time to resolve and could result in additional 
assessments of income tax.  In our opinion, adequate provisions for income taxes 
have been made for all periods. 

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS 

   In  January 2003,  the  FASB  issued  FASB  Interpretation  No. 46  (FIN  46), 
CONSOLIDATION OF VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES,  AN INTERPRETATION OF ARB NO. 51,  which 
addresses consolidation by business enterprises of variable interest entities (VIEs) 
either:  (1) that  do  not  have  sufficient  equity  investment  at  risk  to  permit  the 
entity  to  finance  its  activities  without  additional  subordinated  financial  support, 
or  (2) in  which  the  equity  investors  lack  an  essential  characteristic  of  a 
controlling  financial  interest.  In  December 2003,  the  FASB  completed  deliberations 
of proposed modifications to FIN  46 (Revised Interpretations) resulting in multiple 
effective  dates  based  on  the  nature  as  well  as  the  creation  date  of  the  VIE.  VIEs 
created  after  January 31,  2003,  but  prior  to  January 1,  2004,  may  be  accounted  for 
either based on the original interpretation or the Revised Interpretations. However, 
the  Revised  Interpretations  must  be  applied  no  later  than  the  first  quarter  of 
fiscal year 2004. VIEs created after January 1, 2004 must be accounted for under the 
Revised  Interpretations.    There  has  been  no  material  impact  to  our  financial 
statements  from  potential  VIEs  entered  into  after  January  31,  2003  and  we  do  not 
expect  there  to  be  a  material  impact  to  our  financial  statements  from  the  adoption 
of the deferred provisions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004. 

   In May 2003, the FASB issued SFAS No. 150, ACCOUNTING FOR CERTAIN FINANCIAL 
INSTRUMENTS WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTH LIABILITIES AND EQUITY.  SFAS 150 
establishes standards on the classification and measurement of certain financial 
instruments with characteristics of both liabilities and equity.  The provisions of 
SFAS 150 are effective for financial instruments entered into or modified after May 
31, 2003 and to all other instruments that exist as of the beginning of the first 
interim financial reporting period beginning after June 15, 2003.  The adoption of 
SFAS 150 did not have a material impact on our results of operations or financial 
position. 

   In December 2003, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 104, REVENUE 
RECOGNITION (SAB No. 104), which codifies, revises and rescinds certain sections of 
SAB No. 101, REVENUE RECOGNITION, in order to make this interpretive guidance 
consistent with current authoritative accounting and auditing guidance and SEC rules 
and regulations. The changes noted in SAB No. 104 did not have a material effect on 
our consolidated results of operations, consolidated financial position or 
consolidated cash flows.  

Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 

   All of our investments are entered into for other than trading purposes.  Our 
interest income is sensitive to changes in the general level of U.S. interest rates, 
particularly since the majority of our investments are in short-term instruments.  
Based on our investment holdings as of January 3, 2004, an immediate 1 percentage 
point decline in the yield for such instruments would decrease our annual interest 
income by $1.9 million.  We believe that our investment policy is conservative, both 
in terms of the average maturity of our investments and the credit quality of the 
investments we hold. 

37

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 8.  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 

   The Financial Statements and supplementary data required by this item are 
included in Part IV, Item 15 of this Form 10-K and are presented beginning on page 
F-1. 

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

   None. 

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 

   We have performed an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation 
of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial 
Officer (CFO), of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as 
defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange 
Act).  Based on that evaluation, our management, including our CEO and CFO, 
concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of January 
3, 2004 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports 
filed or submitted by us under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized 
and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.  There 
have been no significant changes in our internal controls or other factors that 
could significantly affect our internal controls subsequent to January 3, 2004.    

PART III 

   Certain information required by Part III is omitted from this report because we 
intend to file a definitive Proxy Statement pursuant to Regulation 14A (the “Proxy 
Statement”) no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this 
report, and certain information to be included therein is incorporated herein by 
reference. 

Item 10.  Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant 

   The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the Proxy 
Statement under the sections captioned “Proposal 1 -- Election of Directors”, 
“Executive Compensation” and “Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934.” 

Item 11.  Executive Compensation 

   The information under the caption "Executive Compensation," appearing in the 
Proxy Statement, is incorporated herein by reference. 

Item 12.  Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management  

   The information under the caption "Ownership of Securities" and “Equity 
Compensation Plan Information” appearing in the Proxy Statement, is incorporated 
herein by reference. 

Item 13.  Certain Relationships and Related Transactions 

   The information under the caption "Certain Transactions," appearing in 
the Proxy Statement, is incorporated herein by reference. 

Item 14.  Principal Accountant Fees and Services  

   The information related to audit fees and services appearing in the Proxy 
Statement, is incorporated herein by reference. 

38

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PART IV 

Item 15.  Exhibits, Financial Statements, Schedules, and Reports on Form 8-K 

(a)  1.   Financial Statements 

                          SILICON LABORATORIES INC. 
                   INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

          Report of Independent Auditors              

          Consolidated balance sheets at January 3, 2004 and December 28,  
          2002 

          Consolidated statements of operations for the fiscal years ended 
          January 3, 2004, December 28, 2002, and December 29, 2001       

          Consolidated statements of changes in stockholders' equity for the  
          fiscal years ended January 3, 2004, December 28, 2002, and  
          December 29, 2001 

          Consolidated statements of cash flows for the fiscal years ended  
          January 3, 2004, December 28, 2002, and December 29, 2001 

          Notes to consolidated financial statements  

PAGE 
F-1

F-2

F-3

F-4

F-5

F-6

     2.   Schedules 

All schedules have been omitted since the information required by the 

schedule is not applicable, or is not present in amounts sufficient to 
require submission of the schedule, or because the information required is 
included in the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto. 

     3.   Exhibits 

      The exhibits listed on the accompanying index to exhibits immediately    
   following the financial statements are filed as part of, or hereby  
   incorporated by reference into, this Form 10-K. 

(b)   Reports on Form 8-K. 

      During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003, we filed the following Current 
Reports on Form 8-K: 

       We filed a Form 8-K/A on October 3, 2003 (Item 2 and 7)     
    providing the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, dated September 25,   
    2003, by and among Silicon Laboratories Inc., Homestead Enterprises,  
    Inc., and Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc. 

       We filed a Form 8-K on October 20, 2003 (Item 7 and 12) providing   
    the press release describing our results of operations for 
    the fiscal quarter ended September 27, 2003.  

       We filed a Form 8-K/A on November 14, 2003 (Item 2 and 7)     
    providing the financial statements and pro forma financial   
    information of Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc., which was required due  

    to our plan to acquire all of Cygnal’s outstanding capital stock. 

       We filed a Form 8-K on December 11, 2003 (Item 5) announcing   
    the completion of the acquisition of Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc.,  
    pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization dated September 25,  
    2003. 

39

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
    
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(c)   Exhibits 

      Exhibit 
      Number 

   2.1*    Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, dated September 25, 2003, by  
             and among Silicon Laboratories Inc., Homestead Enterprises, Inc.,  

    and Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc. (filed as Exhibit 2.1 to the    
    Form 8-K filed October 3, 2003). 

  3.1*    Form of Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of    
    Silicon Laboratories Inc. filed as Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s   
    Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Securities and Exchange  
    Commission File No. 333-94853 (the “IPO Registration Statement”)). 

3.2*    Second Amended and Restated Bylaws of Silicon Laboratories Inc.   
          (filed as Exhibit 3.2 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form  

    10-K for the year ended January 3, 2004). 

 4.1*    Specimen certificate for shares of common stock filed as Exhibit  

    4.1 to the IPO Registration Statement. 

10.1*    Form of Indemnification Agreement between Silicon Laboratories Inc.  

    and each of its directors and executive officers (filed as Exhibit  
    10.1 to the IPO Registration Statement). 

10.2*    Silicon Laboratories Inc. 2000 Stock Incentive Plan (filed as    
           Exhibit 99.1 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form  
           S-8 (Securities and Exchange Commission File No. 333-60794) filed  
           on May 11, 2001). 

       10.3*    Silicon Laboratories Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan (filed as  

           Exhibit 10.3 to the IPO Registration Statement). 

       10.4*    Lease Agreement dated June 26, 1998 by and between Silicon  

    Laboratories Inc. and S.W. Austin Office Building Ltd. (filed as  
    Exhibit 10.5 to the IPO Registration Statement). 

10.5*    Lease Agreement dated October 27, 1999 by and between Silicon  

    Laboratories Inc. and Stratus 7000 West Joint Venture (filed as  
    Exhibit 10.6 to the IPO Registration Statement). 

       10.6*    Lease Agreement dated June 29, 2000 by and between Silicon  

    Laboratories Inc. and Stratus 7000 West Joint Venture. (filed as  
    Exhibit 10.19 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q 
    for the quarter ended July 1, 2000). 

10.7*    Silicon Laboratories Inc. 2004 Bonus Plan (filed as Exhibit 10.7 to  

    the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended  
    January 3, 2004). 

 21*    Subsidiaries of the Registrant (filed as Exhibit 21 to the  

    Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended  
    January 3, 2004). 

       23.1 

  Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors. 

       31.1 
                  by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

  Certification of the Principal Executive Officer, as required  

       31.2 
                  by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

  Certification of the Principal Accounting Officer, as required  

 32.1     Certification as required by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act  
            of 2002. 

      *  Incorporated herein by reference to the indicated filing.

40

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                   SIGNATURES 

   Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf 
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Austin, Texas, on January 28, 
2004.   

                                                       SILICON LABORATORIES INC. 

                                                       By:   /s/ Daniel A. Artusi 
                                                              Daniel A. Artusi 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE 
OFFICER AND PRESIDENT 

   Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report 
has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in 
the capacities and on the dates indicated:         

NAME 

TITLE 

DATE 

/s/ Navdeep S. Sooch 
Navdeep S. Sooch 

  Chairman of the Board 

  January 28, 2004 

/s/ Daniel A. Artusi 
Daniel A. Artusi 

     President and Director 
     (principal executive officer) 

  January 28, 2004 

Chief Executive Officer,    

/s/ John W. McGovern 
John W. McGovern 

/s/ David R. Welland 
David R. Welland 

  Vice President and Chief 
     Financial Officer 
     (principal financial and 

   accounting officer) 

  January 28, 2004 

  Vice President and Director 

  January 28, 2004 

/s/ William G. Bock 
William G. Bock 

  Director 

/s/ H. Berry Cash 
H. Berry Cash 

  Director 

/s/ Robert Ted Enloe, III    Director 

Robert Ted Enloe, III 

/s/ Laurence G. Walker 
Laurence G. Walker 

  Director 

/s/ William P. Wood 
William P. Wood 

  Director 

  January 28, 2004 

  January 28, 2004 

  January 28, 2004 

  January 28, 2004 

  January 28, 2004 

41

 
 
 
 
 
  
        
                                                                
  
                                      
 
           
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
                         REPORT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS 

The Board of Directors 
Silicon Laboratories Inc. 

   We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Silicon 
Laboratories Inc. as of January 3, 2004 and December 28, 2002, and the related 
consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for 
each of the three fiscal years in the period ended January 3, 2004. 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 auditing standards generally 
accepted in the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform 
the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements 
are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, 
evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An 
audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant 
estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial 
statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis 
for our opinion. 

   In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, 
in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Silicon 
Laboratories Inc. at January 3, 2004 and December 28, 2002, and the consolidated 
results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three fiscal years in 
the period ended January 3, 2004, in conformity with accounting principles generally 
accepted in the United States. 

Austin, Texas 
January 22, 2004 

/s/ ERNST & YOUNG LLP 

F-1 

 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Silicon Laboratories Inc. 
Consolidated Balance Sheets 
(in thousands, except per share data) 

JANUARY 3, 
2004 

DECEMBER 28, 
2002 

Current assets: 

ASSETS 

Cash and cash equivalents 
Short-term investments 
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for    
  doubtful accounts of $1,079 at January 3, 
  2004 and $945 at December 28, 2002 
Inventories 
Deferred income taxes 
Prepaid expenses and other 

Total current assets 
Property, equipment and software, net 
Goodwill 
Other intangible assets, net 
Other assets, net 

   $151,359 
     38,954 

   $ 73,950 
     41,216 

     47,879 
     34,064 
      5,784 
      5,600 

    283,640 
     34,376 
     38,613 
     14,744 
      6,722 

     27,501 
     13,319 
      4,921 
      1,841 

    162,748 
     29,781 
         98 
        352 
      4,086 

Total assets 

   $378,095    

   $197,065  

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY  

Current liabilities: 
   $ 45,488    
Accounts payable 
Accrued expenses 
     11,251 
Deferred income on shipments to distributors       11,526 
     12,663 
Income taxes payable 

   $ 13,272  
      8,505 
     10,147 
    8,470 

     40,394 
        949 
     41,343 

     80,928 
      9,962 
     90,890 

Total current liabilities 
Long-term obligations 
Total liabilities 

Commitments and contingencies 

Stockholders' equity: 
  Common stock--$.0001 par value; 250,000  
    shares authorized; 51,237 and 48,904 
    shares issued and outstanding at  
    January 3, 2004 and December 28, 2002,  
    respectively 

Additional paid-in capital 
Stockholder notes receivable 
Deferred stock compensation 
Retained earnings (deficit) 

Total stockholders' equity 

          5 
    256,792 
         -- 
     (9,257)   
     39,665 

          5 
      174,088  
       (228) 
    (13,092) 
     (5,051) 

    287,205 

    155,722 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity 

   $378,095 

   $197,065 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements. 

F-2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                (in thousands, except per share data) 

Silicon Laboratories Inc. 
Consolidated Statements of Operations 

Revenues 
Cost of revenues 

Gross profit 
Operating expenses: 

YEAR ENDED 

JANUARY 3, 
2004 

DECEMBER 28,
2002 

DECEMBER 29, 
2001 

  $325,305 
   162,173 

  $182,016 
    79,939 

    $ 74,065 
      31,930 

   163,132 

   102,077 

      42,135 

Research and development 
    48,296  
Selling, general and administrative      42,836 
Write off of in-process research &   
  development 
Goodwill amortization 
Impairment of goodwill and other  
  intangible assets 
Amortization of deferred stock  
  compensation 
Operating expenses 

     1,600 
        --  

        -- 

     4,986 

    97,718 

    32,001  
    33,877 

      28,978  
    20,056 

        -- 
        --  

          -- 
       4,187 

        37 

      34,885 

     5,173 

       5,276 

    71,088 

    93,382 

Operating income (loss) 

Other income (expense): 

Interest income 
Interest expense 
Other income (expense), net 

    65,414 

    30,989 

   (51,247)   

     1,368 
       (49) 
      (537) 

     1,582 
      (617) 
      (647) 

       3,624 
        (751)   
          (2)   

Income (loss) before income taxes 
    66,196 
Provision (benefit) for income taxes      21,480 

    31,307 
    10,590 

     (48,376)   
      (2,803)   

Net income (loss) 
Net income (loss) per share: 

Basic 
Diluted 

Weighted-average common shares  
  outstanding: 

Basic 
Diluted 

  $ 44,716 

  $ 20,717 

    $(45,573)   

    $ 0.92 
    $ 0.86 

    $ 0.44 
    $ 0.41 

      $(0.99)   
      $(0.99)   

    48,850 
    52,288 

    47,419 
    50,811 

      45,914 
      45,914 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements. 

F-3 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Silicon Laboratories Inc. 
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity 
(in thousands) 

         Common Stock 
Number 
Of 
Shares 
48,117 

Par 
Value 
$5 

Additional 
Paid-In 
Capital 
$165,404 

Stockholder 
Notes 
Receivable 
$(1,202) 

Deferred 
Stock 
Compensation 
$(21,061) 

Retained 
Earnings 
(Deficit) 
$19,805 

Total 
Stockholders’ 
Equity 
 $162,951 

Balance as of December 30, 2000 

 Exercises of stock options and 
   warrants 
 Income tax benefit from   
   employee stock-based awards 
 Repurchase and cancellation of 
   unvested shares 
 Repayment of stockholder notes 
   receivable 
 Employee Stock Purchase Plan 
 Deferred stock compensation 
 Amortization of deferred stock 
   compensation 
 Net loss 

469 

-- 

(14)   

-- 
68 
-- 

-- 
-- 

Balance as of December 29, 2001 

48,640 

 Exercises of stock options 
 Income tax benefit from   
   employee stock-based awards 
 Repurchase and cancellation of 
   unvested shares 
 Repayment of stockholder notes 
   receivable 
 Employee Stock Purchase Plan 
 Deferred stock compensation 
 Amortization of deferred stock 
   compensation 
 Net income 

238 

    -- 

   (51)   

    -- 
77 
    -- 

    -- 
    -- 

Balance as of December 28, 2002 

48,904 

 Exercises of stock options 
 Income tax benefit from   
   employee stock-based awards 
 Repurchase and cancellation of 
   unvested shares 
 Repayment of stockholder notes 
   receivable 
 Employee Stock Purchase Plan 
 Deferred stock compensation 
 Amortization of deferred stock 
   compensation 
 Purchase acquisition 
 Net income 

1,063 

    -- 

    (5)   

    -- 
85 
    -- 

    -- 
1,190 
    -- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 
-- 
-- 

-- 
-- 

5 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 
-- 
  -- 

-- 
-- 

5 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 
-- 
  -- 

-- 

-- 

587 

662 

     -- 

      -- 

     -- 

      587 

     -- 

      -- 

     -- 

      662 

     (24)

     24 

      -- 

     -- 

       -- 

-- 
1,120 
2,818 

-- 
-- 

    384 
     -- 
     -- 

     -- 
     -- 

      -- 
      -- 
  (2,818) 

   5,276 
      -- 

     -- 
     -- 
     -- 

     -- 
(45,573) 

      384 
    1,120 
       -- 

    5,276 
  (45,573) 

170,567 

   (794) 

 (18,603) 

(25,768) 

  125,407  

1,483 

     -- 

      -- 

     -- 

    1,483 

1,170 

     -- 

      -- 

     -- 

    1,170 

     (98)

     -- 

      -- 

     -- 

      (98) 

     -- 
1,304 
    (338)

     -- 
     -- 

    566 
     -- 
     -- 

     -- 
     -- 

      -- 
      -- 
     338 

   5,173 
      -- 

     -- 
     -- 
     -- 

     -- 
 20,717 

      566 
    1,304 
       -- 

    5,173 
   20,717 

174,088 

   (228) 

 (13,092) 

 (5,051) 

  155,722 

14,739 

     -- 

    -- 

     -- 

   14,739 

6,969 

     (21)

     -- 
1,793 
   1,151 

     -- 
58,073 
     -- 

   -- 

   -- 

  228 
   -- 
   -- 

   -- 

   -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 
    -- 
  (1,151) 

  4,986 

   -- 

   -- 

   -- 
   -- 
   -- 

   -- 

     -- 

 44,716 

    6,969 

      (21) 

      228 
    1,793 
       -- 

    4,986 
   58,073 
   44,716 

Balance as of January 3, 2004 

51,237 

  $5 

$256,792 

    $-- 

$(9,257) 

$39,665 

 $287,205 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements. 

F-4 

 
 
 
 
           
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Silicon Laboratories Inc. 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 

                                  (in thousands) 

OPERATING ACTIVITIES 
Net income (loss) 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash 

  provided by operating activities: 

  Depreciation and amortization of property, equipment 
    and software 
  Impairment of property, equipment and software 
  Write off of in-process research & development 
  Amortization of goodwill, other intangible assets and 
    other assets 
  Impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets 
  Amortization of deferred stock compensation 
  Amortization of note/lease end-of-term interest 
    payments 
  Equity investment loss 
  Income tax benefit from employee stock-based awards 
  Changes in operating assets and liabilities: 
    Accounts receivable 
    Inventories 
    Prepaid expenses and other 
    Income tax receivable 
    Other assets 
    Accounts payable 
    Accrued expenses 
    Deferred income on shipments to distributors 
    Deferred income taxes 
    Income taxes payable 

Net cash provided by operating activities  
INVESTING ACTIVITIES 

Purchases of short-term investments 
Maturities of short-term investments 
Purchases of property, equipment and software 
Purchases of other assets 
Net cash acquired in connection with acquisition of  
  business 

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 
FINANCING ACTIVITIES 

Payments on long-term debt 
Payments on capital leases 
Proceeds from repayment of stockholder notes 
Proceeds from Employee Stock Purchase Plan 
Repurchase and cancellation of common stock 
Net proceeds from exercises of stock options 
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION: 
Interest paid 
Income taxes paid (received), net 

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF NON-CASH ACTIVITY: 
Accrued software licenses and maintenance 
Stock issued for acquisition of business 

YEAR ENDED 

JANUARY 3, 
2004 

DECEMBER 28, 
2002 

DECEMBER 29, 
2001 

 $ 44,716  

 $ 20,717  

 $(45,573)  

   15,427 
    1,087 
    1,600 

   11,755 
       -- 
       -- 

    7,968 
       -- 
       -- 

    3,742 
       -- 
    4,986 

      445 
       37 
    5,173 

    4,608 
   34,885 
    5,276 

       -- 
      663 
    6,969 

      214 
      662 
    1,170 

      322 
       -- 
      662 

  (19,543) 
  (19,201) 
   (1,030) 
       -- 
      (18) 
   24,681 
    1,916 
    1,188 
      505 
    4,194 

  (16,958) 
   (8,098) 
   (1,099) 
    2,086 
       20 
    6,273 
    4,501 
    7,285 
   (3,614) 
    8,470 

    3,072 
    1,998 
      839 
   (2,086) 
       71 
     (979) 
    1,491 
      222 
     (152) 
     (912) 

   71,882 

   39,039 

   11,712 

  (80,871) 
   82,854 
  (11,438) 
   (7,124) 

  (77,062) 
   54,993 
  (21,498) 
   (2,719) 

  (59,210) 
   84,138 
   (5,400) 
     (821) 

    5,367 

       -- 

       -- 

  (11,212) 

  (46,286) 

   18,707 

       -- 
       -- 
      228 
    1,793 
      (21) 
   14,739 
   16,739 
   77,409 
   73,950 
 $151,359  

   (3,940) 
     (464) 
      566 
    1,304 
      (98) 
    1,483 
   (1,149) 
   (8,396) 
   82,346 
  $73,950  

   (1,535) 
     (531) 
      384 
    1,120 
       -- 
      587 
       25 
   30,444 
   51,902 
  $82,346  

  $    49 
  $10,326  

  $   319 
  $ 3,248      $(1,104)   

  $   424 

  $ 9,514 
  $58,074 

  $    -- 
  $    -- 

  $    -- 
  $    -- 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements. 

F-5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
   
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Silicon Laboratories Inc. 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 
January 3, 2004 

1. ORGANIZATION 

   Silicon Laboratories Inc. (the Company), a Delaware corporation, develops and 
markets mixed-signal analog intensive integrated circuits (ICs) for a broad range of 
applications for global markets. Within the semiconductor industry, the Company is 
known as a "fabless" company meaning that the ICs are manufactured by third-party 
semiconductor companies.  

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

BASIS OF PRESENTATION 

   The Company prepares financial statements on a 52-53 week year that ends on the 
Saturday closest to December 31. Fiscal year 2003 ended January 3, 2004, fiscal year 
2002 ended on December 28 and fiscal year 2001 ended on December 29. Fiscal year 
2003 had 53 weeks and fiscal years 2002 and 2001 each had 52 weeks. The extra week 
in fiscal 2003 occurred in the fourth quarter of the year. 

PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSLATION 

   The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the 
Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries.  All significant intercompany balances 
and transactions have been eliminated. The functional currency of the Company's 
foreign subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar; accordingly, all translation gains and 
losses resulting from transactions denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars 
are included in net income (loss). 

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 

   Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash deposits and investments with a 
maturity of ninety days or less when purchased. 

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS 

   The Company’s short-term investments have original maturities greater than ninety 
days and less than one year and have been classified as available-for-sale 
securities in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Statement 
of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 115, ACCOUNTING FOR CERTAIN INVESTMENTS 
IN DEBT AND EQUITY SECURITIES.  The carrying value of all available-for-sale 
securities approximates their fair value due to their short-term nature.  Short-term 
investments at January 3, 2004 and December 28, 2002 consist of the following (in 
thousands): 

Municipal Securities 
Auction Rate Securities 

Carrying Value 

 January 3,

2004 

December 28, 
2002 

 $38,954     $33,237     
      -- 
  $38,954     $41,216     

    7,979 

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS 

   The Company's financial instruments consist principally of cash and cash 
equivalents, short-term investments, receivables and accounts payable. The Company 
believes all of these financial instruments are recorded at amounts that approximate 
their current market values. 

F-6

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) 

INVENTORIES 

   Inventories are stated at the lower of cost, determined using the first-in, 
first-out method, or market. Inventories consist of the following (in thousands): 

Work in progress 
Finished goods 

 January 3, 
2004 

December 28,
2002 

 $17,702 
  16,362 
  $34,064 

  $ 7,291 
    6,028 
  $13,319 

PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SOFTWARE 

   Property, equipment, and software are stated at cost, net of accumulated 
depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are computed using the 
straight-line method over the useful lives of the assets (generally three to five 
years). Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the contractual lease period or 
their useful life, whichever is shorter. Property, equipment and software consist of 
the following (in thousands): 

Equipment 
Computers and purchased software 
Furniture and fixtures 
Leasehold improvements 

Accumulated depreciation 

LONG-LIVED ASSETS 

January 3,
2004 

December 28,
2002 

   $33,261     $38,970 
    23,855      10,249 
     1,551       1,079 
     3,837       3,032 
    62,504      53,330 
   (28,128)    (23,549) 
   $34,376     $29,781 

   The Company evaluates its long-lived assets in accordance with FASB SFAS No. 144, 
ACCOUNTING FOR THE IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS.  Long-lived assets “held and 
used” by the Company are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in 
circumstances indicate that their net book value may not be recoverable.  When such 
factors and circumstances exist, the Company compares the projected undiscounted 
future cash flows associated with the related asset or group of assets over their 
estimated useful lives, against their respective carrying amounts.  Impairment, if 
any, is based on the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value of those 
assets and is recorded in the period in which the determination was made.  Long-
lived assets held for sale by the Company are adjusted to fair value less cost to 
sell in the period the “held for sale” criteria are met and reclassified to a 
current asset.  The fair value less cost to sell amount is evaluated each period to 
determine if it has changed.  Changes are recognized as gains or losses in the 
period in which they occur. 

   During fiscal 2003, the Company was in final negotiations to sell certain test 
equipment capitalized in fixed assets with a net book value of approximately $2.4 
million.  As a result of this negotiation, the Company determined that the equipment 
was impaired and recorded a $0.8 million charge to cost of goods sold to write the 
assets down to their expected sales price.  These assets were reclassified to 
prepaid expenses and other.  The Company expects the sale of such assets to be 
completed by the end of their first fiscal quarter of 2004. 

   Carrying values of goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives are 
reviewed annually by the Company for possible impairment in accordance with SFAS No. 
142, GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS, which was adopted on December 30,2001. 
The goodwill impairment test is a two-step process. The first step of the impairment 
analysis compares our fair value to our net book value. In determining fair value, 
SFAS No. 142 allows for the use of several valuation methodologies, although it 
states quoted market prices are the best evidence of fair value. Step two of the 
analysis compares the implied fair value of goodwill to its carrying amount. If the  

F-7

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) 

carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, an impairment loss is 
recognized equal to that excess. The Company tests goodwill for impairment annually 
as of the first day of our fourth fiscal quarter and in interim periods if certain 
events occur indicating that the carrying value of goodwill may be impaired. 

EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS 

   Where the Company has investments in affiliated companies in which it has the 
ability to exercise significant influence over operating and financial policies, but 
not control, these investments are accounted for using the equity method. When 
special conditions warrant, for example when the Company is the sole funding source 
for an affiliated company and the affiliated company has not generated sufficient 
cash flows to sustain its operations, the Company determines equity income 
measurement by using the Hypothetical Liquidation at Book Value (HLBV) method.  The  
HLBV method is a balance-sheet oriented approach to equity method accounting and is 
calculated as the amount that the Company would receive if the affiliated company 
were to liquidate all of its assets at recorded amounts and distribute the cash to 
creditors and investors in accordance with their respective liquidation preferences. 

   The Company records investment income (loss) under the caption other income 
(expense) in its consolidated statement of operations. 

USE OF ESTIMATES  

   The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting 
principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make 
estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial 
statements and accompanying notes. Among the significant estimates affecting the 
financial statements are those related to inventories, accounts receivables, long-
lived assets, goodwill and income taxes. Actual results could differ from those 
estimates, and such differences could be material to the financial statements. 

RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES 

   Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant 
concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, 
short-term investments and accounts receivable. The Company places its cash, cash 
equivalents and short-term investments primarily in market rate accounts. The 
Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers' financial condition 
and generally requires no collateral from its customers. The Company provides an 
allowance for doubtful accounts receivable based upon the expected collectibility of 
such receivables. The following table summarizes the changes in the allowance for 
doubtful accounts receivable (in thousands):  

Balance at December 30, 2000 
Additions (reductions) charged to costs and expenses 
Write-off of uncollectible accounts 

Balance at December 29, 2001 
Additions charged to costs and expenses 
Write-off of uncollectible accounts 

Balance at December 28, 2002 
Balance acquired from Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc. purchase 
Additions charged to costs and expenses 
Write-off of uncollectible accounts 

Balance at January 3, 2004 

$  758   
  (229) 
   (39) 

   490 
   455 
    -- 

   945 
    39 
   117 
   (22) 

$1,079 

   A significant portion of the Company's products is fabricated by Taiwan 
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). The inability of TSMC to deliver wafers to 
the company on a timely basis could impact the production of the Company's products 
for a substantial period of time, which could have a material adverse effect on the 
Company's business, financial condition and results of operations. 

F-8

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
                                           
 
                                           
 
                                           
 
 
  
 
 
 
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) 

   During fiscal 2003, one of our distributors, Edom Technology, accounted for 12.9% 
of our revenues.  During fiscal 2002, two of our distributors, Uniquest and Edom 
Technology, represented 20% and 16% of our revenues, respectively.  During fiscal 
2001, no distributor accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues. 

      In addition to direct sales to customers, some of our end customers purchase 
products indirectly from us through distributors and contract manufacturers.  An end 
customer purchasing through a contract manufacturer typically instructs such 
contract manufacturer to obtain our products and incorporate such products with 
other components for sale by such contract manufacturer to the end customer.  
Although we actually sell the products to, and are paid by, the distributors and 
contract manufacturers, we refer to such end customer as our customer.  The  
following is a detail of the Company’s end customers that accounted for greater than 
10% of revenue in the respective fiscal years:  

January 3, 
2004 

       21% 
        * 
        * 

Year Ended 
December 28, 
2002 

December 29, 
2001 

         16% 
          * 
          * 

        12% 
        15 
        13  

Samsung 
PC-Tel 
Agere Systems 

* Revenue % is less than 10%. 

REVENUE RECOGNITION 

   The Company recognizes revenue when all of the following criteria are met: 1) 
there is persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists, 2) delivery of goods has 
occurred, 3) the sales price is fixed or determinable, and 4) collectibility is 
reasonably assured.  Revenue from product sales direct to customers and contract 
manufacturers is generally recognized upon shipment. Certain of the Company's sales 
are made to distributors under agreements allowing certain rights of return and 
price protection on products unsold by distributors. Accordingly, the Company defers 
revenue and gross profit on such sales until the distributors sell the product to 
the end customer. 

ADVERTISING 

   Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expenses were $0.8 
million, $0.5 million and $0.5 million in the fiscal years ended January 3, 2004, 
December 28, 2002 and December 29, 2001, respectively. 

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION 

   FASB SFAS No. 123, ACCOUNTING FOR STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION, prescribes accounting 
and reporting standards for all stock-based compensation plans, including employee 
stock options. As allowed by SFAS No. 123, the Company has elected to continue to 
account for its employee stock-based compensation using the intrinsic value method 
in accordance with Accounting Principles Board (APB) Opinion No. 25, ACCOUNTING FOR 
STOCK ISSUED TO EMPLOYEES. The Company’s basis for electing accounting treatment 
under APB Opinion No. 25 is principally due to the satisfactory incorporation of the 
dilutive effect of these shares in the reported earnings per share calculation and 
the presence of pro forma supplemental disclosure of the estimated fair value 
methodology prescribed by SFAS No. 123 and SFAS No. 148, ACCOUNTING FOR STOCK-BASED 
COMPENSATION – TRANSITION AND DISCLOSURE. 

F-9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
             
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)  

   The following table illustrates the effect on net income (loss) and earnings per 
share if the Company had applied the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 
123 (in thousands, except per share data): 

Net income (loss) - as reported 
Total stock-based compensation cost, net   
  of related tax effects included in the  
  determination of net income as  
  reported 
The stock-based employee compensation  
  cost, net of related tax effects, that  
  would have been included in the  
  determination of net income if the fair  
  value based method had been applied to  
  all awards 
Pro forma net income (loss) 

Earnings per share 
  Basic - as reported 
  Basic - pro forma 

  Diluted - as reported 
  Diluted - pro forma 

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) 

Year Ended 

January 3, 
2004 

  December 28, 

  December 29, 

2002 

2001 

  $ 44,716 

    $ 20,717 

    $(45,573) 

     3,345  

       5,173 

       5,276 

   (23,027) 
  $ 25,034 

     (25,137) 
    $    753 

     (18,482) 
    $(58,779) 

     $0.92 
     $0.51 

       $0.44 
       $0.02 

      $(0.99) 
      $(1.28) 

     $0.86 
     $0.49 

       $0.41 
       $0.02 

      $(0.99) 
      $(1.28) 

   SFAS No. 130, REPORTING COMPREHENSIVE INCOME establishes standards for reporting 
and display of comprehensive income and its components in the financial statements. 
There were no material differences between net income (loss) and comprehensive 
income (loss) during any of the periods presented. 

INCOME TAXES 

   The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with SFAS No. 109, ACCOUNTING 
FOR INCOME TAXES. This statement requires the use of the liability method whereby  

deferred tax asset and liability account balances are determined based on 
differences between financial reporting and the tax bases of assets and liabilities 
and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when 
the differences are expected to reverse. 

SEGMENT REPORTING 

   The Company has one operating segment, mixed-signal analog intensive integrated 
circuits (ICs), consisting of eleven product lines.  The Company’s chief operating 
decision maker is considered to be the Chief Executive Officer and President.  The 
chief operating decision maker allocates resources and assesses performance of the 
business and other activities at the operating segment level.   

   Approximately $260.2 million, $144.7 million and $48.7 million of the Company's 
revenues were from export sales for the fiscal years ended January 3, 2004, December 
28, 2002 and December 29, 2001, respectively. The operations and assets of the 
Company’s wholly owned foreign subsidiaries were immaterial in all periods 
p

resented. 

RECLASSIFICATIONS 

   Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year financial statements to 
conform with current year presentation.    

F-10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
 
   
   
 
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)  

EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE 

   The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net income 
(loss) per share (in thousands, except per share data): 

Year Ended 

January 3, 
 2004 

December 28, 
 2002 

 December 29,

 2001 

Net income (loss) 

Basic: 

  $44,716 

  $20,717 

  $(45,573) 

   Weighted-average shares of common stock  
     outstanding 
   Weighted-average shares of common stock  
     subject to repurchase 
   Shares used in computing basic net  
     income (loss) per share 

   49,484 

   48,780 

    48,431 

     (634) 

   (1,361)      (2,517) 

   48,850 

   47,419 

    45,914 

Effect of dilutive securities: 

   Weighted-average shares of common stock  
     subject to repurchase 
   Stock options 

   Shares used in computing diluted net  
     income (loss) per share 

      511 

    2,927 

    1,130 

        -- 

    2,262 

        -- 

   52,288 

   50,811 

   45,914 

Basic net income (loss) per share 

Diluted net income (loss) per share 

    $0.92 

    $0.86 

    $0.44 

    $(0.99) 

    $0.41 

    $(0.99) 

   Approximately 971,000, 2,156,000 and 4,199,000 weighted-average dilutive 
potential shares of common stock have been excluded from the diluted net income 
(loss) per share calculation for the years ended January 3, 2004, December 28, 2002 
and December 29, 2001, respectively, as the exercise price of the underlying stock 
options exceeded the average market price of the stock during the respective 
periods. 

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS 

   In January 2003, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation No. 46 (FIN 46), 
CONSOLIDATION OF VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES, AN INTERPRETATION OF ARB NO. 51, which 
addresses consolidation by business enterprises of variable interest entities (VIEs) 
either: (1) that do not have sufficient equity investment at risk to permit the 
entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support, 
or (2) in which the equity investors lack an essential characteristic of a 
controlling financial interest. In December 2003, the FASB completed deliberations 
of proposed modifications to FIN 46 (Revised Interpretations) resulting in multiple 
effective dates based on the nature as well as the creation date of the VIE. VIEs 
created after January 31, 2003, but prior to January 1, 2004, may be accounted for 
either based on the original interpretation or the Revised Interpretations. However, 
the Revised Interpretations must be applied no later than the first quarter of 
fiscal year 2004. VIEs created after January 1, 2004 must be accounted for under the 
Revised Interpretations.  There has been no material impact to the Company’s 
financial statements from potential VIEs entered into after January 31, 2003 and 
there is no expected impact from the adoption of the deferred provisions in the 
first quarter of fiscal year 2004. 

   In May 2003, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 
No. 150, ACCOUNTING FOR CERTAIN FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTH 
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY.  SFAS 150 establishes standards on the classification and 
measurement of certain financial instruments with characteristics of both 
liabilities and equity.  The provisions of SFAS 150 are effective for financial 
instruments entered into or modified after May 31, 2003 and to all other instruments 
that exist as of the beginning of the first interim financial reporting period  

F-11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)  

beginning after June 15, 2003.  The adoption of SFAS 150 did not have a material 
impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.  

   In December 2003, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 104, REVENUE 
RECOGNITION (SAB No. 104), which codifies, revises and rescinds certain sections of 
SAB No. 101, REVENUE RECOGNITION, in order to make this interpretive guidance 
consistent with current authoritative accounting and auditing guidance and SEC rules 
and regulations. The changes noted in SAB No. 104 did not have a material effect on 
the Company's consolidated results of operations, consolidated financial position or 
consolidated cash flows.  

3. ACQUISITION OF CYGNAL INTEGRATED PRODUCTS, INC. 

   On December 10, 2003, the Company completed its acquisition of Cygnal Integrated 
Products, Inc., a Delaware corporation (Cygnal) pursuant to the Agreement and Plan 
of Reorganization whereby the Company acquired all of the outstanding capital stock 
of Cygnal for initial consideration of $59.2 million, consisting of 1,190,034 shares 
of Silicon Laboratories’ common stock valued at $58.1 million, and direct 
acquisition costs estimated at $1.1 million.  The direct acquisition costs consist 
primarily of legal, investment banking, accounting, and appraisal fees to be 
incurred by the two companies that are directly related to the merger.  In addition, 
Silicon Laboratories is obligated to potentially issue up to an additional 1,290,963 
shares of common stock to shareholders of Cygnal based on the achievement of certain 
revenue milestones during the twelve-month earn out period commencing on April 4, 
2004 and ending on April 2, 2005.  The additional shares will become issuable as 
follows: (1) up to 297,915 shares on a pro rata basis for every dollar of Cygnal 
product revenues during the earn out period in excess of $10.0 million up to $15.0 
million; plus (2) up to 496,524 shares on a pro rata basis for every dollar of 
Cygnal product revenues during the earn out period in excess of $15.0 million up to 
$20.0 million; plus (3) up to 496,524 shares on a pro rata basis for every dollar of 
Cygnal product revenues during the earn out period in excess of $20.0 million up to 
$24.0 million.  The distribution of the additional shares may occur at either or 
both an interim date occurring six months after the beginning of the earn out period 
and/or upon completion of the earn out period.  The number of additional shares 
issuable at the interim date would be equal to 40% of the shares that would be 
issuable at the end of the earn out period if the revenues for the full earn out 
period were equal to twice the revenues through the interim date.  

   In accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 99-12 DETERMINATION OF 
THE MEASUREMENT DATE FOR THE MARKET PRICE OF ACQUIRER SECURITIES ISSUED IN A 
PURCHASE BUSINESS COMBINATION, the Company has used $48.80 per share (representing 
the average of the closing prices of Silicon Laboratories common stock for the three 
days before and after the merger agreement date of September 25, 2003) to value the 
initial consideration to be paid to Cygnal shareholders.  The value of any 
additional consideration to be issued upon achievement of the revenue milestones 
will be determined based on the then current value of the stock issued, and will be 
recorded as additional purchase price which will change the amount of the purchase 
price allocable to goodwill.  

F-12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. ACQUISITION OF CYGNAL INTEGRATED PRODUCTS, INC. (CONTINUED)  

   The acquisition of Cygnal was accounted for as a purchase business combination.  
The purchase price was allocated to the estimated fair value of assets acquired and 
liabilities assumed based on independent appraisals and management estimates as 
follows (in thousands): 

Intangibles: 

Amortization

Period 

Core and developed product technology 

 $     9,250  

9 years

Internal use software 

Non-compete agreements 

Customer relationships 

Goodwill 

Net fair value of tangible assets  
   acquired and liabilities assumed 

Net deferred tax liabilities assumed 

Liability for facility exit costs 

In-process research and development 

Total purchase price 

       1,300  

4 - 7 years

         305  

1 - 4 years

       2,100  

6 years

      38,515   

      51,470   

       9,029   

      (2,245)  

        (643)  

       1,600   

 $    59,211   

   Since the acquisition was accounted for using the purchase method, the results of 
operations of Cygnal have been included with those of the Company subsequent to the 
acquisition date, December 10, 2003. 

   The following presents the unaudited pro forma combined results of operations of 
the Company with Cygnal, after giving effect to certain pro forma adjustments 
(amortization of acquired intangibles and deferred stock compensation, accrued 
retention bonuses and income tax benefit), as if Cygnal had been acquired as of the 
beginning of the respective fiscal years.  The unaudited pro forma financial 
information for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2004 gives effect to the merger as 
if it had occurred at the beginning of the period presented, and combines the 
audited historical statements of operations of the Company for the fiscal year ended 
January 3, 2004 and the unaudited historical statement of operations of Cygnal for 
the year ended December 31, 2003.  The unaudited pro forma financial information for 
the fiscal year ended December 28, 2002 gives effect to the merger as if it had 
occurred at the beginning of the period presented, and combines the audited 
historical statements of operations of the Company for the fiscal year ended 
December 28, 2002 and the audited historical statement of operations of Cygnal for 
the year ended December 31, 2002 (in thousands, except per share data):   

Revenues 
Net Income 
Diluted net income per share 

Fiscal Year Ended 
January 3, 2004 
   $331,997 
     39,098 
      $0.73 

Fiscal Year Ended 
December 28, 2002 
    $187,214 
      14,483 
       $0.28 

   The pro forma information is presented for illustrative purposes only and is not 
necessarily indicative of the operating results or financial position that would 
have occurred if the merger and the acquisition had been consummated as of the dates 
indicated, nor is it necessarily indicative of future operating results or financial 
position.   

   Approximately $1.6 million of the Cygnal purchase price was allocated to in-
process research and development based upon an independent third-party appraisal and 
expensed upon the closing of the transaction.  The pro forma results do not include 
the impact of this write-off as it does not have a continuing impact on the 
operations of the Company.  Further, the unaudited pro forma combined financial 
information does not include the realization of potential cost savings from 
operating efficiencies, synergies or other restructurings that may result from the 
merger. 

   None of the goodwill is deductible for tax purposes.  

F-13

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS 

   The  following  information  details  the  gross  carrying  amount  and  accumulated 
amortization of other intangible assets (in thousands):  

January 3, 2004 

  December 28, 2002  

Amortization  

Period 

Gross  Accumulated   
Amount  Amortization   

Gross  Accumulated
Amount  Amortization

Amortized intangible assets: 

  Core & developed technology 

  Customer relationships 

  Internal use software 

  Patents 

  Non-compete agreements 

9 years 

6 years 

4-7 years 

4-7 years 

1-4 years 

$9,250 

($56)      $ --  

2,100 

1,300 

2,310 

305 

(19)        --  

(13)        --  

(427)       470  

(5)        --  

$--

--

--

(118)

--

$15,265 

($521)      $470  

($118)

Unamortized intangible assets:   
  Goodwill 

$38,613 

$0      $ 98  

$0 

   During fiscal 2001, the Company performed an assessment of the carrying value of 
the Company’s long-lived assets recorded in connection with the Company’s 
acquisitions of Krypton and SNR. This assessment was performed pursuant to Statement 
of FASB SFAS No. 121, ACCOUNTING FOR THE IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS AND FOR  
LONG-LIVED ASSETS TO BE DISPOSED OF. The Company performed this assessment because 
it became aware of the following factors and circumstances: 

- 

- 

- 

The revenue streams associated with those assets had decreased significantly 
since their acquisition and the Company did not expect to have any significant or 
identifiable future cash flows related to those assets; 
The Company determined that further development or alternative uses of the 
acquired technologies were remote; and 
The Krypton office was closed in August of 2001 and the related workforce had 
since either ceased to work for the Company or been reassigned to new projects 
which were unrelated to the projects on which they previously worked. 

   The Company compared the carrying value for those assets that had separately 
identifiable cash flows to the projected undiscounted future cash flows to be 
derived from those assets over their remaining estimated useful lives. The Company 
placed no value on those assets that did not have separately identifiable cash flows 
as the factors normally judged to constitute future value, such as the expectation 
of future business, revenues and/or cash flows, the expectation of ongoing 
development of new products, the good name and reputation of the acquired company, 
etc. appeared to be absent.   

   As a result of this assessment, the Company concluded that the value of those 
assets had become permanently impaired and recorded charges for $33.3 million and 
$37,000 to write-down related goodwill in fiscal 2001 and 2002, respectively, and 
$1.6 million to reduce the carrying value of related intangible assets to their fair 
value in fiscal 2001. 

   Amortization  expense  related  to  other  intangible  assets  for  fiscal  years  2003, 
2002,  and  2001  was  $0.4 million,  $0.1 million,  and  $4.6 million,  respectively.  The 
following  table  details  the  estimated  aggregate  amortization  expense  for  other 
intangible assets for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years (in thousands): 

For fiscal year 2004 
For fiscal year 2005 
For fiscal year 2006 
For fiscal year 2007 
For fiscal year 2008 

F-14

$2,069 
2,063 
2,010 
1,941 
1,799 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY  

COMMON STOCK 

   The Company had 51,237,410 shares of common stock outstanding as of January 3, 
2004. Of these shares, 473,637 shares were unvested and subject to rights of 
repurchase that lapse according to a time based vesting schedule. 

   As of January 3, 2004, the Company had reserved shares of common stock for future 
issuance as follows: 

13,230,564 
Employee Stock Option Plans 
Employee Stock Purchase Plan 
 1,117,863 
Contingent consideration (Note 3)   1,290,963 
15,639,390 
Total shares reserved 

   The shares issuable under the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan and Employee Stock 
Purchase Plan automatically increase on the first stock market trading day of each 
calendar year.  During fiscal 2003, the shares increased as follows: 

January 2, 2003 
January 2, 2004 

Number of shares 

2000 Stock 
Incentive Plan 

Employee Stock 
Purchase Plan 

    2,445,187 
    2,561,870 
    5,007,057 

      244,519 
      250,000 
      494,519 

EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN 

   The Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the Purchase Plan) was adopted by the Company’s 
board of directors on January 5, 2000.  Eligible employees may purchase a limited 
number of shares of the Company’s common stock at 85% of the market value at semi-
annual intervals.  As of January 3, 2004, a total of 1,378,306 shares of the 
Company’s common stock were authorized for issuance under the Purchase Plan.  There 
were 85,661 and 77,460 shares issued under the Purchase Plan in fiscal 2003 and 
fiscal 2002, respectively. 

STOCK OPTION/STOCK ISSUANCE PLANS 

   In fiscal 2000, the Company’s board of directors and stockholders approved the 
2000 Stock Incentive Plan (the 2000 Plan).  The 2000 Plan contains programs for (i) 
the discretionary granting of stock options to employees, non-employee board members 
and consultants for the purchase of shares of the Company’s common stock, (ii) the 
discretionary issuance of common stock directly to employees (direct issuance 
shares), (iii) the granting of special below-market stock options to executive 
officers and other highly compensated employees of the Company for which the 
exercise price can be paid using payroll deductions and (iv) the automatic issuance 
of stock options to non-employee board members. Upon the Company’s initial public 
offering, the 2000 Plan incorporated all stock options and direct issuance shares 
outstanding under the 1997 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan (the 1997 Plan). Under 
the 1997 Plan, employees, members of the Company’s board of directors and 
independent advisors were granted stock options or were issued direct issuance 
shares as a direct purchase or as a bonus for services rendered to the Company. In 
connection with the acquisition of Krypton in fiscal 2000, the Company assumed 
outstanding options for 90,449 shares of the Company’s common stock.  

   The 2000 Plan and the 1997 Plan contain similar terms.  The direct issuance 
shares and the stock options contain vesting provisions ranging from four to eight 
years. If permitted by the Company, stock options can be exercised immediately and, 
similar to the direct issuance shares, are subject to repurchase rights which 
generally lapse in accordance with the vesting schedule.  The repurchase rights 
provide that upon certain defined events, the Company can repurchase unvested shares 
at the price paid per share. The term of each stock option is no more than ten years 
from the date of grant. At January 3, 2004, 20,463,217 shares were authorized for 
issuance under the 2000 Plan.  No further options or direct issuances may be granted 
under the 1997 Plan. 

F-15

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
5. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (CONTINUED) 

   The following table summarizes information about deferred stock compensation and 
amortization of deferred stock compensation: 

January 3, 
2004 

Year Ended 
December 28, 
2002 

  December 29, 

2001 

Stock options or direct  
  issuance shares 
Deferred stock compensation  
  Recorded 
Amortization of deferred  
  stock compensation 

     40,000 

          -- 

    160,000 

 $1,752,000 

          -- 

 $3,294,000 

 $4,986,000 

  $5,173,000 

 $5,276,000 

   The deferred stock compensation represents the difference between the exercise 
price of the options or the purchase price of the direct issuance shares, and the 
market price on the date of grant.  The deferred stock compensation is amortized 
over the vesting periods of the related options or shares using the straight-line 
method. 

   During fiscal 1999 and 1998, the Company made full recourse loans to employees of 
$1,267,500 and $147,500, respectively, in connection with the employees' purchase of 
shares through exercises of options. These full recourse notes were secured by the 
shares of stock, were interest bearing at rates ranging from 1.8% to 5.9%, had terms 
of five years, and were to be repaid upon the sale of the underlying shares of 
stock. The Company has collected principal payments on these notes for $228,000, 
$566,000, and $384,000 in fiscal years 2003, 2002 and 2001, respectively. The 
remaining balance of shareholder notes as of January 3, 2004 is zero. No loans were 
issued during fiscal 2003, 2002 or 2001. 

   A summary of the Company's stock option and direct issuance activity and related 
information follows:        

Outstanding 
Options 
Shares 
Available 
And Direct 
Issuances 
For Grant 
   4,081,415 
Balance at December 30, 2000     850,224 
 2,462,349 
Additional shares reserved 
          -- 
(3,110,300)     3,110,300 
Granted 
        -- 
Exercised 
Cancelled 
   175,599 
Repurchase and cancellation  
  of unvested shares 

          -- 

    13,667 

    (370,641)   
    (175,599)   

Exercise 
Prices 

Weighted-
Average 
Exercise 
Price 
  $0.00 - $74.75      $18.26 
        -- 
             -- 
     16.46 
0.00 – 34.97 
      1.58 
0.00 – 15.44 
     21.51 
0.28 – 66.00 

0.05 –  2.00 

    1.76 

   6,645,475 
Balance at December 29, 2001     391,539 
 2,432,003 
Additional shares reserved 
          -- 
(2,136,850)     2,136,850 
Granted 
         0 
Exercised 
Cancelled 
   194,224 
Repurchase and cancellation  
  of unvested shares 

          -- 

    50,041 

    (237,567)   
    (194,224)   

   0.00 - 74.75 
             -- 
  18.33 – 37.90 
0.00 - 31.00 
2.00 - 66.00 

     18.26 
        -- 
     24.11 
      6.28 
     26.46 

1.25 -  5.00 

    1.90 

   8,350,534 
Balance at December 28, 2002     930,957 
 5,007,057 
Additional shares reserved 
          -- 
(2,090,550)     2,090,550 
Granted 
         0 
Exercised 
   387,452 
Cancelled 
Repurchase and cancellation  
  of unvested shares 

          -- 

     5,234 

  (1,063,218)   
    (387,452)   

   0.00 - 74.75 
             -- 
   0.00 – 52.18 
0.00 – 38.50 
0.00 – 62.50 

     19.91 
        -- 
     35.46 
     13.87 
     30.92 

0.00 - 10.00 

    4.08 

Balance at January 3, 2004 

 4,240,150 

   8,990,414 

  $0.00 – $74.75      $23.77 

F-16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
  
    
   
  
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (CONTINUED) 

   In addition, the following table summarizes information about stock options 
that     

 were outstanding and exercisable at January 3, 2004. 

Range of 

Number of 
Options 

Exercise Prices    
$ 0.00 - $15.00    1,499,822   
 15.10 -  15.44    1,654,982   
 16.00 -  24.04    1,426,923   
 24.06 -  26.63    1,353,337   
 26.76 -  38.50    2,023,750   
 43.81 -  66.00    1,029,600   
 74.75 -  74.75        2,000   
$ 0.00 - $74.75    8,990,414   

Outstanding 

Weighted- 
Average 
Remaining 
Contractual 

Life in Years   

5.41  
7.55  
8.20  
8.60  
8.30  
8.25  
6.27  
7.70 

Exercisable 

Number of 
Options 
  1,351,636   
    682,356   
    293,755   
     54,900   
    431,657   
    289,307   
      1,500   
  3,105,111   

Weighted- 
Average 
Exercise 
Price 
$3.04 
 15.22 
 20.69 
 25.52 
 31.50 
 53.94 
 74.75 
$16.74 

Weighted- 
Average 

Exercise Price   

$ 3.93 
 15.21 
 20.89 
 24.84 
 33.56 
 49.63 
 74.75 
$23.77 

   Pro forma information regarding net income (loss) is required by SFAS No. 123, 
and has been determined as if the Company had accounted for its stock-based awards 
to employees under the fair value method of that Statement. The fair value of  
these stock-based awards was estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes 
option pricing model with the following assumptions: 

January 3, 
2004 

  December 28, 

  December 29, 

2002 

2001 

Year Ended 

Employee Stock Option Plans: 
  Expected stock price volatility 
  Risk-free interest rate 
  Expected life (in years) 
  Dividend yield 

       70% 
      2.9% 

       85% 
      3.9% 

       85% 
      4.6% 

   5.2          

   4.9               5.1        

       -- 

       -- 

       -- 

Employee Stock Purchase Plan: 
  Expected stock price volatility 
  Risk-free interest rate 
  Expected life (in months) 
  Dividend yield 

       77% 
      1.1% 
       16 
       -- 

       85% 
      3.2% 
       16 
       -- 

       85% 
      3.5% 
       14 
       -- 

   The weighted-average exercise price and fair value for options granted and direct 
issuance shares during fiscal 2003 is as follows: 

Number of 
Options/Shares 

Weighted-
Average 
Exercise Price 

Weighted-
Average Fair 
Value 

Exercise price equal to price  
  of stock on date of grant 
Exercise price less than price  
  of stock on date of grant 

  2,050,550 

     $36.15 

     $22.19 

     40,000 

     $   -- 

     $43.81 

   The weighted-average fair value for purchase rights granted under the Purchase 
Plan for fiscal 2003 was $13.21. 

   For purposes of pro forma disclosure, the estimated fair value of the Company’s 
stock-based awards to employees is amortized to expense over the vesting period of 
the underlying instruments. The Company's pro forma information is as follows (in 
thousands, except per share data): 

Pro forma net income (loss) 
Pro forma basic net income (loss)  
  per share 
Pro forma diluted net income (loss)    
  per share 

Year Ended 

January 3, 
2004 
  $25,034 

  December 28, 

  December 29, 

2002 
       $753 

2001 

 $(58,779) 

    $0.51 

      $0.02 

     $(1.28) 

    $0.49 

      $0.02 

     $(1.28) 

   Option valuation models require the input of highly subjective assumptions, 
including the expected stock price volatility. Because changes in the subjective 
assumptions can materially affect the fair value estimate, in the opinion of 
management, the existing models do not necessarily provide a reliable single measure 
of the fair value of the Company's stock-based awards to employees. 

F-17

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
   
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
        
 
 
 
         
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES 

   The Company leases its facilities under operating lease agreements that expire at 
various dates through 2007.  Some of these arrangements contain renewal options, and 
require the Company to pay taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. 

   Rent expense under operating leases was $2,528,000, $2,002,000 and $1,724,000 for 
fiscal 2003, 2002 and 2001, respectively.   

   The minimum annual future rentals under the terms of these leases at 
January 3, 2004 are as follows (in thousands):    

FISCAL YEAR 
2004 
2005 
2006 
2007 
2008 
Thereafter 
Total minimum lease payments 
Minimum Sublease Rental Income 
Total net minimum lease payments 

$2,558 
 2,719 
 2,384 
 1,451 
   316 
   393 
 9,821 
   (14) 
 9,807 

   On December 6, 2001, a class action complaint for violations of U.S. federal 
securities laws was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern 
District of New York against the Company, four officers individually and the three 
investment banking firms who served as representatives of the underwriters in 
connection with the Company’s initial public offering of common stock which became 
effective on March 23, 2000.  On April 19, 2002, a Consolidated Amended Complaint, 
which is now the operative complaint, was filed in the same court.  The complaint 
alleges that the registration statement and prospectus for the Company’s initial 
public offering did not disclose that (1) the underwriters solicited and received 
additional, excessive and undisclosed commissions from certain investors, and (2) 
the underwriters had agreed to allocate shares of the offering in exchange for a 
commitment from the customers to purchase additional shares in the aftermarket at 
pre-determined higher prices.  The action seeks damages in an unspecified amount and  
is being coordinated with approximately 300 other nearly identical actions filed 
against other companies.  On July 15, 2002, the Company moved to dismiss all claims 
against the Company and the individual defendants.  A court order dated October 9, 
2002 dismissed without prejudice numerous individual defendants, including the four 
officers of our company who had been named individually.  On February 19, 2003, the 
Court denied the motion to dismiss the complaint against the Company.  The Company 
has approved a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") and related agreements which set 
forth the terms of a proposed settlement between the plaintiff class and the Company 
and the vast majority of the other approximately 300 issuer defendants.  It is 
anticipated that any potential financial obligation of the Company to plaintiffs due 
pursuant to the terms of the MOU and related agreements would be covered by existing 
insurance.  Therefore, the Company does not expect that the proposed settlement 
would involve any payment by the Company.  The MOU and related agreements are 
subject to a number of contingencies, including the negotiation of a settlement 
agreement and approval by the Court.  The Company cannot be certain as to whether or 
when a settlement will occur or be finalized and is unable at this time to determine 
whether the outcome of the litigation will have a material impact on its results of 
operations or financial condition in any future period. 

  On January 14, 2004, Digcom, Inc., commenced a lawsuit in the United States 
District Court for the Southern District of California against the Company and other 
major companies in the GSM/GPRS wireless market, for alleged infringement of 
Digcom’s U.S. Patent No. 4,567,602, which was issued on January 28, 1986 and expired 
on June 13, 2003.  Digcom’s complaint asserts that the Company and the other major 
companies have infringed their ‘602 patent by manufacturing, using and selling 
products and equipment for operation in GSM/GPRS wireless networks, including the 
Company’s Aero/Aero+ GSM Transceiver Chipsets as a whole and the Si4200 and Si4201 
Chips individually.  The Company does not believe that an injunction can be sought 
since the alleged patent has expired.  Accordingly, the Company does not expect any 
impact on the sale of its products as a result of this lawsuit. 

F-18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
            
 
 
 
 
 
6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (CONTINUED) 

  The Company is currently investigating Digcom’s allegations, and will respond with 
appropriate defenses.  Due to the early stage of this litigation, the Company cannot 
estimate the outcome of this matter or resulting financial impact, if any. 

   The Company is involved in various other legal proceedings that have arisen in 
the normal course of business.  While the ultimate results of these matters cannot 
be predicted with certainty, management does not expect them to have a material 
adverse effect on the consolidated financial position or results of operations. 

7. INCOME TAXES 

   As of January 3, 2004, the Company had federal net operating loss and research and 
development credit of approximately $25,867,000 and $532,000 respectively, as a result of 
the Cygnal acquisition.  These carryforwards expire in fiscal years 2019 through 2023.  
The Company also had state research and development credit carryforwards of approximately 
$1,634,000 which do not expire. 

   The Tax Reform Act of 1986 imposes substantial restrictions on the utilization of net 
operating losses and tax credit carryforwards in the event of an "ownership change" of a 
corporation. Federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $26,054,000 and 
tax credit carryforwards of $532,000 at December 10, 2003 were incurred by Cygnal prior 
to being acquired by us and will be subject to an annual utilization limit of $3.3 
million. The annual limit may result in the expiration of net operating losses and tax 
credits before utilization. 

   Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the 
carrying values of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the values 
used for income tax purposes. Upon the acquisition of Cygnal on December 10, 2003, the 
company recorded a net deferred tax liability of approximately $2,245,000 due to 
differences between book and tax basis of acquired assets and assumed liabilities. 
Significant components of the Company's deferred taxes as of January 3, 2004 and December 
28, 2002 are as follows (in thousands): 

Deferred tax liabilities: 
  Acquired intangibles 
  Depreciable assets 
  Prepaid expenses 

January 3, 
2004 

December 28, 
2002 

 $ 4,625 
   3,752 
     927 
   9,304 

    $   -- 
     1,597 
       486 
     2,083 

Deferred tax assets: 
  Net operating loss carryforward     9,561 
  Research and development tax  
    credit carryforward 
  Reserves and allowances 
  Deferred income on shipments 
     to distributors 
   4,008 
   1,620 
  Accrued liabilities & other 
                                     18,930 
  Less: Valuation allowance 

   2,166 
   1,575 

  Net deferred taxes 

  (8,062) 
  10,868 
 $ 1,564 

         -- 

        671 
      1,164 

      3,653 
        808 
      6,296 
         -- 
      6,296 
     $4,213 

      The Company has established a valuation allowance due to uncertainties regarding 
the realization of deferred tax assets related to net operating loss carryforwards 
acquired in connection with the Cygnal purchase. The subsequent recognition of these 
acquired deferred tax asset items will reduce goodwill. 

F-19 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) 

   Significant components of the provision (benefit) for income taxes attributable to 
continuing operations are as follows (in thousands): 

January 3, 
2004 

  December 28, 

  December 29, 

2002 

2001 

Current: 
 $19,255 
  Federal  
  State  
     550 
  Total Current     19,805 
Deferred: 
  Federal 
   1,629 
      46 
  State 
  Total Deferred     1,675 
                   $21,480 

   $13,811 
       396 
    14,207 

   $(1,436) 
      (215) 
    (1,651) 

    (3,517) 
      (100) 
    (3,617) 
   $10,590 

    (1,031) 
      (121) 
    (1,152) 
   $(2,803) 

   The Company's provision (benefit) for income taxes differs from the expected tax 
expense (benefit) amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate to 
income (loss) before income taxes as a result of the following: 

Pre-tax book income (loss) at statutory rate 
State taxes, net of federal benefit 
Research and development tax credits 
Non-deductible intangible amortization and  
  impairment charges 
Other 

  December 28, 

  December 29, 

January 3, 
2004 

   35.0% 
    1.0 
   (3.6) 

2002 
     35.0% 
      1.1 
     (3.6) 

     -- 
     -- 
   32.4% 

     -- 
      1.3 
     33.8% 

2001 

    (35.0)% 
     (0.2) 
     (1.0) 

   27.1 
      3.3 
     (5.8)% 

   Employee-based stock awards granted under the 2000 Plan may result in 
compensation which is includable in the taxable income of the employee and 
deductible by the Company for federal and state income tax purposes. Such 
compensation results from increases in the fair market value of the Company’s common 
stock subsequent to the date of grant and from stock awards granted at prices below 
market value.  In accordance with APB No. 25, such compensation is not recognized as 
an expense for financial accounting purposes. Prior to fiscal 2003, the related tax 
benefits were recorded as an increase to additional paid-in capital. In fiscal 2003, 
the employee income from stock-based awards that relates to the amortization of 
deferred stock compensation was recorded as a reduction to the tax provision, with 
the remaining amount recorded as an increase in additional paid in capital. The 
impact of not reflecting the deductions in the tax provision (benefit) in prior 
years is not material. 

   Substantially all of the Company's operating income was generated from domestic 
operations during fiscal 2002 and 2003. Undistributed earnings of the Company's foreign 
subsidiaries are considered to be permanently reinvested and, accordingly, no provision 
for U.S. federal and/or state income taxes has been provided thereon. 

   The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has selected the Company's 1999, 2000, and 2001 
federal income tax returns for examination. Management believes that the results of the 
examination will not materially affect the financial position or results of operations of 
the Company. 

8. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN 

   The Company maintains a defined contribution or 401(k) Plan for its qualified 
U.S. employees. Participants may contribute a percentage of their compensation on a 
pre-tax basis, subject to a maximum annual contribution imposed by the Internal 
Revenue Code.  The Company may make discretionary matching contributions as well as 
discretionary profit-sharing contributions to the 401(k) Plan. The Company's 
contributions to the 401(k) Plan vest over four years at a rate of 25% per year. The 
Company contributed $424,000, $320,000 and $269,000 to the 401(k) Plan during fiscal 
2003, 2002 and 2001, respectively. 

F-20 

 
 
 
 
          
 
 
   
   
 
   
   
 
        
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) 

 The fourth quarter of fiscal 2003 had fourteen weeks.  All other quarterly periods    
 reported here had thirteen weeks.  Quarterly financial information for fiscal 2003 and  
 2002 (in thousands of dollars except per share amounts): 

Revenues 
Cost of revenues 
Gross profit 
Operating expenses: 
  Research and 
    development  
  Selling, general   
    & administrative 
  Write off of in- 
    process research 
    and  
    development 
  Impairment of   
    goodwill and   
    other intangible  
    assets 
  Amortization of    
    deferred stock  
    compensation 
Operating expenses 
Operating income  
  (loss) 
Other income    
  (expense): 
  Interest income 
  Interest expense 
  Other income  
    (expense) 
Income (loss) before  
  income taxes 
Provision for income  
  taxes 

Fiscal 2003 

Fourth 
Quarter 

$109,559 
  50,267 
  59,292 

Third 
Quarter 

$82,907 
 38,061 
 44,846 

Second 
Quarter 

$69,086 
 30,267 
 38,819 

First 
Quarter 

$63,753 
 43,578* 
 20,175 

Fourth 
Quarter 

$60,196 
 25,794 
 34,402 

Fiscal 2002 

Third 
Quarter 
$51,786 
 22,747 
 29,039 

Second 
Quarter 

   $41,185 
 19,304 
 21,881 

First 
Quarter 

  $28,849 

 12,094 
 16,755 

  14,864 

 12,267 

 11,635 

  9,530 

  8,364 

  7,379 

  8,211 

  8,047 

  12,611 

 10,688 

  9,539 

  9,998 

 10,249 

  8,653 

  8,299 

  6,676 

   1,600 

     -- 

     -- 

     -- 

     -- 

     -- 

     -- 

     -- 

      -- 

     -- 

     -- 

     -- 

     37 

     -- 

     -- 

     -- 

   1,301 
  30,376 

  1,196 
 24,151 

  1,223 
 22,397 

  1,266 
 20,794 

  1,267 
 19,917 

  1,293 
 17,325 

  1,308 
 17,818 

  1,305 
 16,028 

  28,916 

 20,695 

 16,422 

   (619) 

 14,485 

 11,714 

  4,063 

    727 

     435 
     (49) 

    281 
     -- 

    308 
     -- 

    344 
     -- 

    406 
   (168) 

    351 
   (150) 

    367 
   (148) 

    458 
   (151) 

     170 

     75 

   (119) 

   (663) 

   (352) 

   (286) 

     (9) 

     -- 

  29,472 

 21,051 

 16,611 

   (938) 

 14,371 

 11,629 

  4,273 

  1,034 

   8,549 

  7,119 

  5,707 

    105 

  4,547 

  3,747 

  1,618 

    678 

Net income (loss) 

$ 20,923 

$13,932 

$10,904 

$(1,043) 

 $9,824 

 $7,882 

 $2,655 

 $  356 

Net income (loss)  
  per share: 
  Basic 
  Diluted 
Weighted-average  
  common shares   
  outstanding:  
  Basic 
  Diluted 

$   .42 
$   .39 

$   .28 
$   .26 

$   .22 
$   .21 

$  (.02) 
$  (.02) 

$   .20 
$   .19 

$   .17 
$   .16 

$   .06 
$   .05 

$   .01 
$   .01 

 49,711 
 53,969 

 48,939 
 52,816 

 48,480 
 51,392 

 48,215 
 48,215 

 47,956 
 50,542 

 47,703 
 50,519 

 47,482 
 50,901 

 47,129 
 51,283 

 * Includes a $15.3 million charge for patent infringement litigation settlement 

AS OF A PERCENTAGE OF REVENUES 

Revenues 
Cost of revenues 
Gross profit 
Operating expenses: 
  Research and 
    development  
  Selling, general   
    & administrative 
  Write off of in- 
    process  
    research and  
    development 
  Impairment of   
    goodwill and   
    other intangible  
    assets 
  Amortization of    
    deferred stock  
    compensation 
Operating expenses 
Operating income  
  (loss) 
Other income    
  (expense): 
  Interest income 
  Interest expense 
  Other income  
    (expense) 
Income (loss) before  
  income taxes 
Provision for income  
  taxes 

Fiscal 2003 

Fiscal 2002 

Fourth 
Quarter 
 100.0% 
  45.9 
  54.1 

Third 
Quarter 

 100.0% 
  45.9 
  54.1 

  13.6 

  14.8 

  11.5 

  12.9 

Second 
Quarter 

 100.0% 
  43.8 
  56.2 

  16.8 

  13.8 

First 
Quarter 

 100.0% 
  68.4 
  31.6 

  14.9 

  15.7 

Fourth 
Quarter 

 100.0% 
  42.9 
  57.1 

  13.9 

  17.0 

Third 
Quarter 

 100.0% 
  43.9 
  56.1 

  14.2 

  16.7 

Second 
Quarter 

 100.0% 
  46.9 
  53.1 

  19.9 

  20.2 

First 
Quarter 
 100.0% 
  41.9 
  58.1 

  27.9 

  23.1 

   1.5 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

   0.1 

    -- 

    -- 

    -- 

   1.2 
  27.8 

   1.4 
  29.1 

   1.8 
  32.4 

   2.0 
  32.6 

   2.1 
  33.1 

  26.3 

  25.0 

  23.8 

  (1.0) 

  24.0 

   2.5 
  33.4 

  22.7 

   0.4 
    -- 

   0.3 
    -- 

   0.5 
    -- 

   0.6 
    -- 

   0.7 
  (0.3) 

   0.7 
  (0.3) 

   0.2 

   0.1 

  (0.2) 

  (1.0) 

  (0.5) 

  (0.7) 

  26.9 

  25.4 

   7.8 

   8.6 

  24.1 

   8.3 

  (1.4) 

  23.9 

   0.2 

   7.6 

  22.4 

   7.2 

   3.2 
  43.3 

   9.8 

   0.9 
  (0.4) 

    -- 

  10.3 

   3.9 

   4.5 
  55.5 

   2.6 

   1.5 
  (0.5) 

    -- 

   3.6 

   2.4 

Net income (loss) 

  19.1% 

  16.8% 

  15.8% 

  (1.6)% 

  16.3% 

  15.2% 

   6.4% 

   1.2% 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                        
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Supplementary Financial Information  
to the Annual Report 

Appendix I.  Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP 
Financial Measures 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Appendix I:  SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) 

The  non-GAAP  financial  measurements  are  not  intended  to  replace  the  presentation  of  Silicon 
Laboratories’  GAAP  financial  results.  These  measurements  merely  provide  supplemental 
information to assist investors in analyzing Silicon Laboratories’ financial position and results of 
operations; however, these measures are not an alternative to GAAP and may be different from 
non-GAAP  measures  used  by  other  companies.    We  are  providing  this  information  because  it 
may enable investors to perform meaningful comparisons of operating results, and more clearly 
highlight the results of core ongoing operations. 

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (in thousands, except per share data) 

Revenues

Operating income (loss)

Adjustments:

Settlement of patent infringement lawsuit
Write off of in-process research & development
Impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets
Amortization of deferred stock compensation

Adjustments

Adjusted operating income
Adjusted operating margin

Net income (loss)

Tax-effected adjustments:

Fiscal 2003

Fourth
Quarter
$109,559

Third
Quarter
$82,907

Second
Quarter
$69,086

First
Quarter
$63,753

Fiscal 2002

Fourth
Quarter
$60,196

Third
Quarter

$51,786

Second
Quarter
$41,185

First
Quarter
$28,849

$28,916

$20,695

$16,422

($619)

$14,485

$11,714

$4,063

$727

--
1,600
--
1,301
2,901

--
--
--
1,196
1,196

--
--
--
1,223
1,223

15,260
--
--
1,266
16,526

--
--
37
1,267
1,304

--
--
--
1,293
1,293

--
--
--
1,308
1,308

--
--
--
1,305
1,305

$31,817
29.0%

$21,891
26.4%

$17,645
25.5%

$15,907
25.0%

$15,789
26.2%

$13,007
25.1%

$5,371
13.0%

$2,032
7.0%

$20,923

$13,932

$10,904

($1,043)

$9,824

$7,882

$2,655

$356

Settlement of patent infringement lawsuit
Write off of in-process research & development
Impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets
Amortization of deferred stock compensation

Tax-effected adjustments

Adjusted net income

--
1,600
--
1,301
2,901

--
--
--
1,196
1,196

--
--
--
1,223
1,223

10,377
--
--
1,266
11,643

--
--
37
1,267
1,304

--
--
--
1,293
1,293

--
--
--
1,308
1,308

--
--
--
1,305
1,305

$23,824

$15,128

$12,127

$10,600

$11,128

$9,175

$3,963

$1,661

Operating income (loss)

Adjustments:

Settlement of patent infringement lawsuit
Write off of in-process research & development
Goodwill amortization
Impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets
Amortization of deferred stock compensation

Adjustments

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

Fiscal Year

$65,414

$30,989

($51,247)

$22,973

$14,661

15,260
1,600
--
--
4,986
21,846

--
--
--
37
5,173
5,210

--
--
4,187
34,885
5,276
44,348

--
394
3,307
--
3,761
7,462

--
--
--
--
976
976

Adjusted operating income (loss)

$87,260

$36,199

($6,899)

$30,435

$15,637

Net income (loss)

Tax-effected adjustments:

Settlement of patent infringement lawsuit
Write off of in-process research & development
Goodwill amortization
Impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets
Amortization of deferred stock compensation

Tax-effected adjustments

Adjusted net income (loss)

$44,716

$20,717

($45,573)

$14,017

$11,040

10,377
1,600
--
--
4,986
16,963

--
--
--
37
5,173
5,210

--
--
4,187
34,885
5,276
44,348

--
394
3,307
--
3,761
7,462

--
--
--
--
976
976

$61,679

$25,927

($1,225)

$21,479

$12,016

Shares used in computing adjusted earnings (loss) per share

52,288

50,811

45,914

48,788

43,657

Adjusted earnings (loss) per share

$1.18

$0.51

($0.03)

$0.44

$0.28

 
 
 
 
 
           
         
         
       
         
           
         
         
           
         
         
       
         
           
         
         
         
         
         
       
         
         
         
         
         
       
         
         
         
       
       
       
    
 
 
 
Silicon Laboratories Inc. is a global leader in the innovation of mixed-signal integrated circuit (IC) technology. The company applies its 
renowned design expertise to develop proprietary analog-intensive, mixed-signal IC solutions that are implemented in CMOS. These products 
offer significant advantages in performance, size, cost and power consumption over traditional solutions. Silicon Laboratories’ product portfolio 
includes  solutions  targeted  at  a  broad  range  of  markets  including  communications,  computing,  industrial,  consumer  and  automotive.  The 
company, founded in 1996, has over 300 patents issued or pending. Based in Austin, Texas, Silicon Laboratories’ common stock is traded 
on the NASDAQ® under the ticker symbol “SLAB.”

Corporate Directory

Directors

Nav Sooch 
Chairman, 
Silicon Laboratories 

Dan Artusi 
President and CEO, 
Silicon Laboratories 

Dave Welland 
Vice President, 
Silicon Laboratories 

William Bock 
CenterPoint Ventures, 
General Partner 

H. Berry Cash 
InterWest Partners, 
General Partner

R. Ted Enloe, III 
Optisoft Inc., 
President and CEO

Laurence G. Walker 
Individual Investor 

William Wood 
Silverton Partners,
General Partner 

Executive Officers

Corporate Information 

Dan Artusi
President and CEO

John McGovern
Chief Financial Officer 

Dave Bresemann
Vice President

Brad Fluke
Vice President

Gary Gay
Vice President 

Ed Healy
Vice President 

Jon Ivester
Vice President 

Jeff Scott
Vice President 

Dave Welland
Vice President 

Russ Brennan
Chief Financial Officer
(on leave) 

Stock listing: Common stock 
traded on NASDAQ®

Symbol: SLAB

Options: The Company’s 
options are traded on the 
Chicago Board Option Exchange 
and the American Stock Exchange.

Legal Counsel

Andrews Kurth LLP
111 Congress Avenue, Suite 1700
Austin, Texas 78701

Independent Auditors

Ernst & Young LLP
700 Lavaca Street, Suite 1400
Austin, Texas 78701

Transfer Agent 
and Registrar

American Stock Transfer 
& Trust Company
59 Maiden Lane
Plaza Level 
New York, New York 10038  
800-937-5449 

Fiscal Year Ended
January 3, 2004 

First Quarter 
Second Quarter  
Third Quarter 
Fourth Quarter 

Fiscal Year Ended 
December 28, 2002 

First Quarter 
Second Quarter  
Third Quarter 
Fourth Quarter 

        High                    Low

  $30.27  
 32.56  
      53.01  
 58.88  

$18.89 
 24.22 
 26.10 
 39.61  

        High                    Low

  $39.65  
 37.54  
 29.09  
 30.40  

$21.56 
 21.39 
 16.40 
 17.10  

Annual Meeting

Stock Data

As of February 24, 2004, there 
were 363 holders of record of 
our Company’s Common Stock.

The following tables set forth 
for the periods indicted, the 
record of high and low per-
share prices of the Company’s 
Common Stock as reported by 
the NASDAQ.

The Silicon Laboratories Inc. 
annual meeting will be held on 
Thursday, April 29, 2004, 
at 9:30 a.m. at the Lady Bird 
Johnson Wildflower Center, 
4801 La Crosse Avenue, 
Austin, Texas.

Investor Relations

For more information about 
Silicon Laboratories, or copies 
of our Annual Report on Form 
10-K, please visit our website at 
www.silabs.com, or contact:

Investor Relations
Silicon Laboratories Inc.
4635 Boston Lane
Austin, Texas 78735
512-464-9254
investor.relations@silabs.com

Design: Cartis Group, Austin, Texas

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
www.silabs.com

2003 Annual Report

Look inside. Look ahead. Look beyond.

©2004 Silicon Laboratories Inc.  
ISOmodem, ProSLIC, SiPHY, Aero, Silicon Laboratories Inc. and the Silicon Laboratories logo are trademarks of Silicon Laboratories Inc.
All other products or brand names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.

Silicon Laboratories Inc.

4635 Boston Lane
Austin, Texas 78735
512-416-8500