NETGEAR® Reports First Quarter 2021 Results

NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR), a global networking company that delivers innovative networking and Internet connected products to consumers and businesses, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 28, 2021.

• First quarter 2021 net revenue of $317.9 million, an increase of 38.3% from the comparable prior year quarter.
• First quarter 2021 GAAP operating income of $31.3 million, or 9.9% of net revenue, as compared to operating income of $0.7 million, or 0.3% of net revenue, in the comparable prior year quarter.
  • First quarter 2021 non-GAAP operating income of $42.3 million, a record for the company, or 13.3% of net revenue, as compared to $8.2 million, or 3.6% of net revenue, in the comparable prior year quarter.
• First quarter 2021 GAAP net income per diluted share of $0.72, as compared to net loss per diluted share of $0.14 in the comparable prior year quarter.
  • First quarter 2021 non-GAAP net income per diluted share of $0.99, as compared to $0.21 in the comparable prior year quarter.

The accompanying schedules provide a reconciliation of financial measures computed on a GAAP basis to financial measures computed on a non-GAAP basis.

Patrick Lo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NETGEAR, commented, “With both businesses performing well, Q1 marks a strong beginning to the year for us. The NETGEAR team again navigated the ongoing challenges in the supply chain to deliver strong revenue growth. Our revenue came in at $317.9 million for year over year growth of 38.3%, and we delivered record non-GAAP operating profit of $42.3 million, a non-GAAP operating margin of 13.3%. The higher than anticipated demand for SMB products propelled us over the high end of our topline guidance range. Non-GAAP operating margin significantly exceeded expectations, buoyed by a higher mix of SMB and higher margin e-commerce revenue as well as lower air freight expense.”

Mr. Lo continued, “Our outstanding first quarter was powered by strong demand across both of our businesses. Our SMB business benefited from the reopening of economies worldwide, notching strong sequential growth of 8.5% and year over year growth of 17.9%. Our CHP business again saw strong growth year on year, led by the premium segment, and we continue to hold a leading market share position in this fast growing, highly lucrative segment. This allowed us to gain share globally, and most notably we saw our US market share in consumer WiFi climb two points in the first quarter. All of this has translated into continued success in our efforts to grow our recurring subscription services business, as we added 44,000 subscribers, exiting the quarter with 481,000, and keeping us on track to reach our goal of 650,000 subscribers by the end of the year.”

Bryan Murray, Chief Financial Officer of NETGEAR, added, “We had another solid quarter of cash flow, generating $13.7 million in cash from operations in the first quarter, while with strong operational execution, we were also able to make further progress replenishing our inventory, all while using less air freight than originally expected. Preserving strong liquidity and generating cash remain paramount as the pandemic continues into 2021.”

Business Outlook

Mr. Murray continued, “While we expect supply constraints to ease, our second quarter net revenue is expected to be in the range of $305 million to $320 million. Our GAAP operating margin for the second quarter is expected to be in the range of 6.5% to 7.5%, and non-GAAP operating margin is expected to be in the range of 9.0% to 10.0%. Given continuing challenges in moving freight for global supply chains, we have seen the costs for sea freight increase meaningfully. Also, as we enter the second quarter with a healthier inventory position in the channel, we expect to selectively participate in promotional activities planned by some key channel partners, which will steer us towards further share gains. Our GAAP tax rate is expected to be approximately 27%, and our non-GAAP tax rate is expected to be 24.5% for the second quarter of 2021. While we are confident in our ability to provide guidance at this time, we do so with the caveat that, while conditions are improving, considerable uncertainty remains in the market due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, should unforeseen events occur, in particular challenges related to transportation delays into any of our regional distribution centers, our actual results could differ from the foregoing guidance.”

A reconciliation between the Business Outlook on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis is provided in the following table:

		Three months ending
		June 27, 2021
		Operating Margin Rate				Tax Rate
GAAP		6.5% - 7.5%				27.0%
Estimated adjustments for1:
Amortization of intangibles		0.1%				-
Stock-based compensation expense		2.2%				-
Restructuring and other charges		0.2%				-
Non-GAAP tax adjustments		-				(2.5)%
Non-GAAP		9.0% - 10.0%				24.5%

1 Business outlook does not include estimates for any currently unknown income and expense items which, by their nature, could arise late in a quarter, including: litigation reserves, net; acquisition-related charges; impairment charges; restructuring and other charges and discrete tax benefits or detriments that cannot be forecasted (e.g., windfalls or shortfalls from equity awards or items related to the resolution of uncertain tax positions). New material income and expense items such as these could have a significant effect on our guidance and future GAAP results.

Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details

NETGEAR will review the first quarter results and discuss management's expectations for the second quarter of 2021 today, Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT). The toll free dial-in number for the live audio call is (844) 709-2008. The international dial-in number for the live audio call is (647) 253-8663. The conference ID for the call is 2708348. A live webcast of the conference call will be available on NETGEAR's Investor Relations website at http://investor.netgear.com. A replay of the call will be available via the web at http://investor.netgear.com.

About NETGEAR, Inc.

For more than 25 years, NETGEAR® (NASDAQ: NTGR) has been the innovative leader in connecting the world to the internet with advanced networking technologies for homes, businesses and service providers around the world. As staying connected has become more important than ever, NETGEAR delivers award-winning network solutions for remote work, distance learning, ultra high def streaming, online game play and more. To enable people to collaborate and connect to a world of information and entertainment, NETGEAR is dedicated to providing a range of connected solutions. From ultra-premium Orbi Mesh WiFi systems and high performance Nighthawk routers, to high-speed cable modems and 5G mobile wireless products to cloud-based subscription services for network management and security, to smart networking products and Video over Ethernet for Pro AV applications, NETGEAR keeps you connected. NETGEAR is headquartered in San Jose, California. Learn more on the NETGEAR Investor Page or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and the NETGEAR blog at NETGEAR.com.

© 2021 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR and the NETGEAR logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. and its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. NETGEAR shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. All rights reserved.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “expect,” “believe,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “estimate,” “project,” “outlook,” “forecast” or other similar words are used to identify such forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements represent NETGEAR, Inc.’s expectations or beliefs concerning future events based on information available at the time such statements were made and include statements regarding: NETGEAR’s future operating performance and financial condition, including expectations regarding continued profitability and cash generation; expectations regarding continuing market demand for the Company’s products and the Company’s ability to innovate and respond to this demand; the timing, distribution, sales momentum and market acceptance of recent and anticipated new product introductions that position the Company for growth and market share gain; expectations regarding the easing of supply constraints; expectations regarding the ability to participate in promotional activities leading to further market share gains; expectations regarding expected tax rates; and expectations regarding NETGEAR's paid subscriber base growth. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the following: uncertainty surrounding the duration and impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, including with respect to the Company’s supply chain and potential disruptions in the Company’s transportation network, including with respect to the Company’s distribution centers; future demand for the Company's products may be lower than anticipated; the Company may be unsuccessful, or experience delays, in manufacturing and distributing its new and existing products; consumers may choose not to adopt the Company's new product offerings or adopt competing products; the Company may be unable to continue to grow its number of registered users, its number of registered app users and/or its paid subscriber base; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; the Company may fail to manage costs, including the cost of air freight and ocean freight and the cost of developing new products and manufacturing and distribution of its existing offerings; the Company may fail to successfully continue to effect operating expense savings; changes in the level of NETGEAR's cash resources and the Company's planned usage of such resources, including potential repurchases of the Company’s common stock; changes in the Company's stock price and developments in the business that could increase the Company's cash needs; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and the actions and financial health of the Company's customers, including the Company’s ability to collect receivables as they become due. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in such forward-looking statements. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 16, 2021. Given these circumstances, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Information:

To supplement our unaudited selected financial data presented on a basis consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), we disclose certain non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain charges, including non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP research and development, non-GAAP sales and marketing, non-GAAP general and administrative, non-GAAP other operating expenses, net, non-GAAP total operating expenses, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP other income (expense), net, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share. These supplemental measures exclude adjustments for amortization of intangibles, stock-based compensation expense, change in fair value of contingent consideration, restructuring and other charges, litigation reserves, net, gain/loss on investments, net, and adjust for effects related to non-GAAP tax adjustments. These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with or an alternative for GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. We believe that these non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with our results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP and that these measures should only be used to evaluate our results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measures. We compensate for the limitations of non-GAAP financial measures by relying upon GAAP results to gain a complete picture of our performance.

In calculating non-GAAP financial measures, we exclude certain items to facilitate a review of the comparability of our operating performance on a period-to-period basis because such items are not, in our view, related to our ongoing operational performance. We use non-GAAP measures to evaluate the operating performance of our business, for comparison with forecasts and strategic plans, and for benchmarking performance externally against competitors. In addition, management’s incentive compensation is determined using certain non-GAAP measures. Since we find these measures to be useful, we believe that investors benefit from seeing results “through the eyes” of management in addition to seeing GAAP results. We believe that these non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with our GAAP financials, provide useful information to investors by offering:

• the ability to make more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of our on-going operating results;
• the ability to better identify trends in our underlying business and perform related trend analyses;
• a better understanding of how management plans and measures our underlying business; and
• an easier way to compare our operating results against analyst financial models and operating results of competitors that supplement their GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures.

The foll