• NetApp Cloud Data Services annualized recurring revenue of approximately $61 million, an increase of 189% year-over-year
• Consolidated GAAP gross margin of 66.0%, non-GAAP gross margin of 67.2%
• $365 million returned to shareholders, representing 131% of free cash flow

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2019-- NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today reported financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, which ended on July 26, 2019.

“I am clearly disappointed with our Q1 top line results but remain confident in our strategy and the fundamentals of our business model. The gross margin and cost structure improvements we’ve made provide support for our free cash flow generation and enable us to navigate the ongoing macroeconomic headwinds while making the strategic moves that position us well to return to growth,” said George Kurian, chief executive officer. “We consistently receive positive feedback from our customers and partners on the value of our Data Fabric strategy and the strong performance of our best teams demonstrates our ability to capitalize on this strength.”

First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Results

• Net Revenues:$1.24 billion, compared to $1.47 billion* in the first quarter of fiscal 2019
• Net Income: GAAP net income of $103 million, compared to GAAP net incomeof $283 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019; non-GAAP net income¹ of $157 million, compared to non-GAAP net income of $281 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019
• Earnings per Share: GAAP net income per share² of $0.42 compared to GAAP net income per share of $1.05 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019; non-GAAP net income per share of $0.65, compared to non-GAAP net income per share of $1.04 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019
• Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments:$3.5 billion at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2020
• Cash from Operations: $310 million, compared to $326 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019
• Share Repurchase and Dividend: Returned $365 million to shareholders through share repurchases and cash dividends

*Net revenues in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 included $90 million from enterprise software license agreements which did not repeat in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020.

Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Outlook

The Company provided the following financial guidance for the second quarter of fiscal year 2020:

Full Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Outlook

The Company updated the following financial guidance for the full fiscal year 2020:

Dividend

The next cash dividend of $0.48 per share will be paid on October 23, 2019, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on October 4, 2019.

First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2020 Business Highlights

Spearheading Innovation

• NetApp presented a bold vision for a hybrid multicloud world, with a range of new and updated offerings: NetApp™ Kubernetes Service on NetApp HCI, Cloud Volumes on NetApp HCI, a beta release of Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud Platform, Cloud Volumes ONTAP™ for Google Cloud Platform, Fabric Orchestrator, new pay-per-use offerings for Cloud Consumption for NetApp HCI and Cloud Volumes Service On-Premises, NetApp Cloud Insights as a “freemium” offering, and NetApp Professional Services for the Data Fabric.
• NetApp released the NetApp AFF C190 system, a simple, smart, and secure all-flash storage solution that enables channel partners to expand their market share by helping smaller organizations modernize their IT infrastructure.
• The NetApp Cloud Tiering service is generally available now on AWS and Azure. With this service, customers can leverage the benefits of cloud economics while making space available on high-performance NetApp AFF and FAS solid-state drive systems.
• NetApp announced a new update to its growing data management software series, NetApp ONTAP 9.6. The Company also announced the new midrange, end-to-end-NVMe NetApp AFF A320 all-flash storage system and an expanded portfolio of services to help businesses maximize the value of their data and drive efficiency.

Expanding Partnerships

• NetApp completed support for Cloud Volumes across public clouds and hybrid environments with Cloud Volumes ONTAP for Google Cloud Platform and with the general availability of Azure NetApp Files.

• NetApp announced NetApp HCI for Private Cloud with Red Hat at the Red Hat Summit, offering a modern, open-source-based, true cloud solution that works in conjunction with the Red Hat OpenStack Platform.

Earning Prestigious Awards

• NetApp continues to grow its reputation as a data authority, receiving the AIconics award for Corporate Innovation in AI and earning the AI Breakthrough award for the Best AI Solution for Big Data.

Webcast and Conference Call Information

NetApp will host a conference call to discuss these results today at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time. To access the live webcast of this event, go to the NetApp Investor Relations website at investors.netapp.com. In addition, this press release, historical supplemental data tables, and other information related to the call will be posted on the Investor Relations website. An audio replay will be available on the website after 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time today.

About NetApp

NetApp is the data authority for hybrid cloud. We provide a full range of hybrid cloud data services that simplify management of applications and data across cloud and on-premises environments to accelerate digital transformation. Together with our partners, we empower global organizations to unleash the full potential of their data to expand customer touchpoints, foster greater innovation, and optimize their operations. For more information, visit www.netapp.com. #DataDriven

“Safe Harbor” Statement Under U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, all of the statements made under the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Outlook and the Full Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Outlook sections, statements about our free cash flow generation, our ability to navigate the ongoing macroeconomic headwinds, and our ability to capitalize on our Data Fabric strategy. All of these forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty. Actual results may differ materially from these statements for a variety of reasons, including, without limitation, general global political, macroeconomic and market conditions, changes in U.S. government spending, revenue seasonality and matters specific to our business, such as our ability to expand our total available market and grow our portfolio of products, customer demand for and acceptance of our products and services, our ability to successfully execute new business models, our ability to successfully execute on our Data Fabric strategy to generate profitable growth and stockholder return and our ability to manage our gross profit margins. These and other equally important factors are described in reports and documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the factors described under the section titled “Risk Factors” in our most recently submitted annual report on Form 10-K. We disclaim any obligation to update information contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

NetApp and the NetApp logo and the marks listed at http://www.netapp.com/TM are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Footnotes

¹Non-GAAP net income excludes, when applicable, (a) amortization of intangible assets, (b) stock-based compensation expenses, (c) litigation settlements, (d) acquisition-related expenses, (e) restructuring charges, (f) asset impairments, (g) gains/losses on the sale or derecognition of assets, and (h) our GAAP tax provision, but includes a non-GAAP tax provision based upon our projected annual non-GAAP effective tax rate for the first three quarters of the fiscal year and an actual non-GAAP tax provision for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. NetApp makes additional adjustments to the non-GAAP tax provision for certain tax matters as described below. A detailed reconciliation of our non-GAAP to GAAP results can be found at http://investors.netapp.com. NetApp’s management uses these non-GAAP measures in making operating decisions because it believes the measurements provide meaningful supplemental information regarding NetApp’s ongoing operational performance.

²GAAP net income per share and non-GAAP net income per share are calculated using the diluted number of shares.

NetApp Usage of Non-GAAP Financial Information

To supplement NetApp’s condensed consolidated financial statement information presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), NetApp provides investors with certain non-GAAP measures, including, but not limited to, historical non-GAAP operating results, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP effective tax rate and free cash flow, and historical and projected non-GAAP earnings per diluted share.

NetApp believes that the presentation of non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP effective tax rates, and non-GAAP earnings per share data, when shown in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures, provides useful information to investors and management regarding financial and business trends relating to its financial condition and results of operations. NetApp believes that the presentation of free cash flow, which it defines as the net cash provided by operating activities less cash used to acquire property and equipment, to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors because it reflects cash that can be used to, among other things, invest in its business, make strategic acquisitions, repurchase common stock, and pay dividends on its common stock. As free cash flow is not a measure of liquidity calculated in accordance with GAAP, free cash flow should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the analysis provided in the statement of cash flows.

NetApp’s management uses these non-GAAP measures in making operating decisions because it believes the measurements provide meaningful supplemental information regarding NetApp’s ongoing operational performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are used to: (1) measure company performance against historical results, (2) facilitate comparisons to our competitors’ operating results and (3) allow greater transparency with respect to information used by management in financial and operational decision making.

NetApp excludes the following items from its non-GAAP measures when applicable:

A. Amortization of intangible assets.NetApp records amortization of intangible assets that were acquired in connection with its business combinations. The amortization of intangible assets varies depending on the level of acquisition activity. Management finds it useful to exclude these charges to assess the appropriate level of various operating expenses to assist in budgeting, planning and forecasting future periods and in measuring operational performance.

B. Stock-based compensation expenses.NetApp excludes stock-based compensation expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because they are non-cash expenses. While management views stock-based compensation as a key element of our employee retention and long-term incentives, we do not view it as an expense to be used in evaluating operational performance in any given period.

C. Litigation settlements. NetApp may periodically incur charges or benefits related to litigation settlements. NetApp excludes these charges and benefits, when significant, because it does not believe they are reflective of ongoing business and operating results.

D. Acquisition-related expenses.NetApp excludes acquisition-related expenses, including (a) due diligence, legal and other one-time integration charges and (b) write down of assets acquired that NetApp does not intend to use in its ongoing business, from its non-GAAP measures, primarily because they are not related to our ongoing business or cost base and, therefore, cannot be relied upon for future planning and forecasting.

E. Restructuring charges. These charges consist of restructuring charges that are incurred based on the particular facts and circumstances of restructuring decisions, including employment and contractual settlement terms, and other related charges, and can vary in size and frequency. We therefore exclude them in our assessment of operational performance.

F. Asset impairments. These are non-cash charges to write down assets when there is an indication that the asset has become impaired. Management finds it useful to exclude these non-cash charges due to the unpredictability of these events in its assessment of operational performance.

G. Gains/losses on the sale or derecognition of assets. These are gains/losses from the sale of our properties and other transactions in which we transfer control of assets to a third party. Management believes that these transactions do not reflect the results of our underlying, on-going business and, therefore, cannot be relied upon for future planning or forecasting.

H. Income tax adjustments. NetApp’s non-GAAP tax provision is based upon a projected annual non-GAAP effective tax rate for the first three quarters of the fiscal year and an actual non-GAAP tax provision for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. The non-GAAP tax provision also excludes, when applicable, (a) tax charges or benefits in the current period that relate to one or more prior fiscal periods that are a result of events such as changes in tax legislation, authoritative guidance, income tax audit settlements and/or court decisions, (b) tax charges or benefits that are attributable to unusual or non-recurring book and/or tax accounting method changes, (c) tax charges that are a result of a non-routine foreign cash repatriation, (d) tax charges or benefits that are a result of infrequent restructuring of the Company’s tax structure, (e) tax charges or benefits that are a result of a change in valuation allowance, and (f) tax charges resulting from the integration of intellectual properties from acquisitions. Management believes that the use of non-GAAP tax provisions provides a more meaningful measure of the Company’s operational performance.

These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative for, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-GAAP measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. NetApp believes that non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with the Company’s results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP and that these measures should only be used to evaluate the Company’s results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures. NetApp management compensates for these limitations by analyzing current and projected results on a GAAP basis as well as a non-GAAP basis. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The non-GAAP financial measures are meant to supplement, and be viewed in conjunction with, GAAP financial measures.

Some items may not add or recalculate due to rounding.