q308-10q.htm

 

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

FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
 
x
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended May 29, 2008

OR


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

For the transition period from              to

Commission file number 1-10658

Micron Technology, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
75-1618004
(State or other jurisdiction of
(IRS Employer
incorporation or organization)
Identification No.)
   
8000 S. Federal Way, Boise, Idaho
83716-9632
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
   
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code
(208) 368-4000


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes x  No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.  See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.  (Check one):

Large Accelerated Filer x
Accelerated Filer o
Non-Accelerated Filer o
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
Smaller Reporting Company o


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

The number of outstanding shares of the registrant’s common stock as of June 30, 2008 was 761,040,324.


 
 

 

PART I.  FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in millions except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

   
Quarter ended
   
Nine months ended
 
   
May 29,
2008
   
May 31,
2007
   
May 29,
2008
   
May 31,
2007
 
                         
                         
Net sales
  $ 1,498     $ 1,294     $ 4,392     $ 4,251  
Cost of goods sold
    1,450       1,188       4,382       3,346  
Gross margin
    48       106       10       905  
                                 
Selling, general and administrative
    116       134       348       467  
Research and development
    170       195       513       621  
Goodwill impairment
    --       --       463       --  
Restructure
    8       --       29       --  
Other operating (income) expense, net
    (21 )     (28 )     (86 )     (64 )
Operating loss
    (225 )     (195 )     (1,257 )     (119 )
                                 
Interest income
    15       29       68       105  
Interest expense
    (21 )     (12 )     (62 )     (17 )
Other non-operating income (expense), net
    --       1       (7 )     9  
Loss before taxes and noncontrolling interests
    (231 )     (177 )     (1,258 )     (22 )
                                 
Income tax (provision)
    (13 )     (9 )     (16 )     (24 )
Noncontrolling interests in net (income) loss
    8       (39 )     (1 )     (116 )
Net loss
  $ (236 )   $ (225 )   $ (1,275 )   $ (162 )
                                 
Loss per share:
                               
Basic
  $ (0.30 )   $ (0.29 )   $ (1.65 )   $ (0.21 )
Diluted
    (0.30 )     (0.29 )     (1.65 )     (0.21 )
                                 
Number of shares used in per share calculations:
                               
Basic
    772.8       769.9       772.4       768.5  
Diluted
    772.8       769.9       772.4       768.5  
                                 












See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

1

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in millions except par value and share amounts)
(Unaudited)

As of
 
May 29,
2008
   
August 30,
2007
 
             
Assets
           
Cash and equivalents
  $ 1,474     $ 2,192  
Short-term investments
    110       424  
Receivables
    995       994  
Inventories
    1,453       1,532  
Prepaid expenses
    67       67  
Deferred income taxes
    30       25  
Total current assets
    4,129       5,234  
Intangible assets, net
    375       401  
Property, plant and equipment, net
    8,721       8,279  
Deferred income taxes
    72       65  
Goodwill
    58       515  
Other assets
    261       324  
Total assets
  $ 13,616     $ 14,818  
                 
Liabilities and shareholders’ equity
               
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
  $ 1,374     $ 1,385  
Deferred income
    80       84  
Equipment purchase contracts
    68       134  
Current portion of long-term debt
    262       423  
Total current liabilities
    1,784       2,026  
Long-term debt
    2,159       1,987  
Deferred income taxes
    11       25  
Other liabilities
    343       421  
Total liabilities
    4,297       4,459  
                 
Commitments and contingencies
               
                 
Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries
    2,811       2,607  
                 
Common stock, $0.10 par value, authorized 3 billion shares, issued and outstanding 761.0 million and 757.9 million shares, respectively
     76        76  
Additional capital
    6,558       6,519  
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)
    (112 )     1,164  
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
    (14 )     (7 )
Total shareholders’ equity
    6,508       7,752  
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
  $ 13,616     $ 14,818  












See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
 
2

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in millions)
(Unaudited)
Nine months ended
 
May 29,
2008
   
May 31,
2007
 
             
Cash flows from operating activities
           
Net loss
  $ (1,275 )   $ (162 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:
               
Depreciation and amortization
    1,528       1,244  
Goodwill impairment
    463       --  
Provision to write-down inventories to estimated market values
    77       --  
Stock-based compensation
    40       30  
Noncash restructure charges
    7       --  
Gains from disposition of equipment, net of write-downs
    (70 )     (25 )
Change in operating assets and liabilities:
               
Decrease in receivables
    11       158  
(Increase) decrease in inventories
    2       (487 )
(Decrease) in accounts payable and accrued expenses
    (48 )     (56 )
Deferred income taxes
    (3 )     (2 )
Other
    43       93  
Net cash provided by operating activities
    775       793  
                 
Cash flows from investing activities
               
Expenditures for property, plant and equipment
    (1,809 )     (2,851 )
Purchases of available-for-sale securities
    (259 )     (1,227 )
Acquisition of noncontrolling interest in TECH
    --       (73 )
Proceeds from maturities of available-for-sale securities
    529       2,088  
Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment
    175       49  
Proceeds from sales of available-for-sale securities
    24       531  
Decrease in restricted cash
    --       14  
Other
    51       (44 )
Net cash used for investing activities
    (1,289 )     (1,513 )
                 
Cash flows from financing activities
               
Proceeds from debt
    507       1,300  
Cash received from noncontrolling interests
    295       974  
Proceeds from equipment sale-leaseback transactions
    92       358  
Proceeds from issuance of common stock
    4       55  
Repayments of debt
    (653 )     (159 )
Payments on equipment purchase contracts
    (348 )     (393 )
Distributions to noncontrolling interests
    (92 )     --  
Debt issuance costs
    (9 )     (27 )
Cash paid for capped call transactions
    --       (151 )
Other
    --       (1 )
Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities
    (204 )     1,956  
                 
Net increase (decrease) in cash and equivalents
    (718 )     1,236  
Cash and equivalents at beginning of period
    2,192       1,431  
Cash and equivalents at end of period
  $ 1,474     $ 2,667  
                 
Supplemental disclosures
               
Income taxes paid, net
  $ (24 )   $ (33 )
Interest paid, net of amounts capitalized
    (59 )     (13 )
Noncash investing and financing activities:
               
Equipment acquisitions on contracts payable and capital leases
    404       802  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
 
3

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All tabular amounts in millions except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of presentation:  Micron Technology, Inc. and its subsidiaries (hereinafter referred to collectively as the “Company”) manufacture and market DRAM, NAND Flash memory, CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components.  The Company has two segments, Memory and Imaging.  The Memory segment’s primary products are DRAM and NAND Flash and the Imaging segment’s primary product is CMOS image sensors.  The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and include the accounts of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries.  In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company and its consolidated results of operations and cash flows.

The Company’s fiscal year is the 52 or 53-week period ending on the Thursday closest to August 31.  The Company’s third quarters of fiscal 2008 and 2007 ended on May 29, 2008 and May 31, 2007, respectively.  The Company’s fiscal 2007 ended on August 30, 2007.  All period references are to the Company’s fiscal periods unless otherwise indicated.  These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 30, 2007.

Recently issued accounting standards:  In May 2008, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 162, “The Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.”  SFAS No. 162 identifies the sources of accounting principles and the framework for selecting the principles used in the preparation of financial statements that are presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.  SFAS No. 162 becomes effective 60 days following the SEC’s approval of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board amendments to AU Section 411, “The Meaning of Present Fairly in Conformity With Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.”  The Company does not expect that the adoption of SFAS No. 162 will have a material impact on its financial statements.

In May 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position (“FSP”) No. APB 14-1, “Accounting for Convertible Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash upon Conversion (Including Partial Cash Settlement).”  FSP No. APB 14-1 requires that issuers of convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash upon conversion separately account for the liability and equity components in a manner that will reflect the entity’s nonconvertible debt borrowing rate when interest cost is recognized in subsequent periods.  The Company is required to adopt FSP No. APB 14-1 retrospectively, effective at the beginning of 2010.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of FSP No. APB 14-1 will have on its financial statements.

In April 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 142-3, “Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets.”  FSP No. FAS 142-3 amends the factors that should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.”  The Company is required to adopt FSP No. FAS 142-3 effective at the beginning of 2010.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of FSP No. FAS 142-3 will have on its financial statements.

In March 2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 161, “Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities – an amendment of FASB Statement No. 133.”  SFAS No. 161 requires qualitative disclosures about objectives and strategies for using derivatives, quantitative disclosures about fair value amounts of and gains and losses on derivative instruments, and disclosures about credit-risk-related contingent features in derivative agreements.  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 161 effective for the second quarter of 2009.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of SFAS No. 161 will have on its financial statements.

In December 2007, the FASB ratified Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue No. 07-1, “Accounting for Collaborative Arrangements,” which defines collaborative arrangements and establishes reporting and disclosure requirements for transactions between participants in a collaborative arrangement and between participants in the arrangements and third parties.  The Company is required to adopt EITF No. 07-1 effective at the beginning of 2010.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of EITF No. 07-1 will have on its financial statements.

4

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), “Business Combinations(“SFAS No. 141(R)”), which establishes the principles and requirements for how an acquirer in a business combination (1) recognizes and measures in its financial statements the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any noncontrolling interests in the acquiree, (2) recognizes and measures the goodwill acquired in the business combination or a gain from a bargain purchase, and (3) determines what information to disclose.  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 141(R) effective at the beginning of 2010.  The impact of the adoption of SFAS No. 141(R) will depend on the nature and extent of business combinations occurring on or after the beginning of 2010.

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements – an amendment of ARB No. 51.”  SFAS No. 160 requires that (1) noncontrolling interests be reported as a separate component of equity, (2) net income attributable to the parent and to the non-controlling interest be separately identified in the income statement, (3) changes in a parent’s ownership interest while the parent retains its controlling interest be accounted for as equity transactions, and (4) any retained noncontrolling equity investment upon the deconsolidation of a subsidiary be initially measured at fair value.  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 160 effective at the beginning of 2010.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of SFAS No. 160 will have on its financial statements.

In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, “The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities – Including an amendment of FASB Statement No. 115.”  Under SFAS No. 159, the Company may elect to measure many financial instruments and certain other items at fair value on an instrument by instrument basis, subject to certain restrictions.  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 159 effective at the beginning of 2009.  The impact of the adoption of SFAS No. 159 on the Company’s financial statements will depend on the extent to which the Company elects to measure eligible items at fair value.

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements.”  SFAS No. 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles and expands disclosures about fair value measurements.  SFAS No. 157 applies under other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements.  In February 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 157-1, “Application of FASB Statement No. 157 to FASB Statement No. 13 and Other Accounting Pronouncements That Address Fair Value Measurements for Purposes of Lease Classification or Measurement under Statement 13,” which amends SFAS No. 157 to exclude accounting pronouncements that address fair value measurements for purposes of lease classification or measurement under SFAS No. 13.  In February 2008, the FASB also issued FSP No. FAS 157-2, “Effective Date of FASB Statement No. 157,” which delays the effective date of SFAS No. 157 until the beginning of 2010 for all non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities, except for items that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis (at least annually).  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 157 for financial assets and liabilities effective at the beginning of 2009.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of SFAS No. 157 will have on its financial statements.

In June 2006, the FASB issued Interpretation No. 48 (“FIN 48”), “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes – an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109.”  FIN 48 contains a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions accounted for in accordance with SFAS No. 109.  The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any.  The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount which is more than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.  The Company adopted FIN 48 on August 31, 2007.  The adoption of FIN 48 did not have a significant impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.  The Company did not change its policy of recognizing accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within the income tax provision with the adoption of FIN 48.  (See “Income Taxes” note.)

In February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments.”  SFAS No. 155 permits fair value remeasurement for any hybrid financial instrument that contains an embedded derivative that otherwise would require bifurcation.  The Company adopted SFAS No. 155 as of the beginning of 2008.  The adoption of SFAS No. 155 did not have a significant impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial condition.

5

 
Supplemental Balance Sheet Information

 
Receivables
 
May 29,
2008
   
August 30,
2007
 
             
Trade receivables
  $ 749     $ 739  
Taxes other than income
    44       44  
Other
    203       215  
Allowance for doubtful accounts
    (1 )     (4 )
    $ 995     $ 994  

As of May 29, 2008 and August 30, 2007, other receivables included $77 million and $108 million, respectively, due from Intel Corporation primarily for amounts related to NAND Flash product design and process development activities.  Other receivables as of May 29, 2008 and August 30, 2007 also included $77 million and $83 million, respectively, due from settlement of litigation.  As of May 29, 2008, other receivables also included $8 million due from Nanya Technology Corporation related to licensing of intellectual property in connection with the MeiYa DRAM Joint Venture.  (See “Joint Ventures – MeiYa DRAM Joint Venture with Nanya Technology Corporation” note.)

Other noncurrent assets as of May 29, 2008 and August 30, 2007 included receivables of $37 million and $110 million, respectively, due from settlement of litigation.

 
Inventories
 
May 29,
2008
   
August 30,
2007
 
             
Finished goods
  $ 439     $ 517  
Work in process
    825       772  
Raw materials and supplies
    189       243  
    $ 1,453     $ 1,532  

The Company’s results of operations for the second and first quarters of 2008 and fourth quarter of 2007 included charges of $15 million, $62 million and $20 million, respectively, to write down the carrying value of work in process and finished goods inventories of memory products (both DRAM and NAND Flash) to their estimated market values.

Intangible Assets
                       
                         
   
May 29, 2008
   
August 30, 2007
 
   
Gross
Amount
   
Accumulated
Amortization
   
Gross
Amount
   
Accumulated
Amortization
 
                         
Product and process technology
  $ 570     $ (307 )   $ 544     $ (271 )
Customer relationships
    127       (31 )     127       (19 )
Other
    29       (13 )     29       (9 )
    $ 726     $ (351 )   $ 700     $ (299 )

During the first nine months of 2008 and 2007, the Company capitalized $33 million and $76 million, respectively, for product and process technology with weighted-average useful lives of 10 years and 9 years, respectively.

Amortization expense for intangible assets was $20 million and $60 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, and $19 million and $55 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2007, respectively.  Annual amortization expense for intangible assets held as of May 29, 2008 is estimated to be $80 million for 2008, $71 million for 2009, $60 million for 2010, $55 million for 2011 and $46 million for 2012.

 
6

 


 
Property, Plant and Equipment
 
May 29,
2008
   
August 30,
2007
 
             
Land
  $ 99     $ 107  
Buildings
    3,778       3,636  
Equipment
    13,176       12,379  
Construction in progress
    590       209  
Software
    282       267  
      17,925       16,598  
Accumulated depreciation
    (9,204 )     (8,319 )
    $ 8,721     $ 8,279  

Depreciation expense was $493 million and $1,467 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, and $426 million and $1,208 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2007, respectively.

Goodwill
   

As of August 30, 2007, the Company had goodwill related to its Memory segment of $463 million.  During the second quarter of 2008, the Company wrote off all of the segment’s goodwill based on the results of the Company’s test for impairment.  As of May 29, 2008 and August 30, 2007, the Company had goodwill related to its Imaging segment of $58 million and $52 million, respectively.  The $6 million increase in goodwill for the Imaging segment during the first nine months of 2008 was due to additional contingent payments made in connection with the Company’s acquisition of the CMOS image sensor business of Avago Technologies Limited.  The Company’s assessment of goodwill impairment in the second quarter of 2008 indicated that the fair value of the Imaging segment exceeded its carrying value and therefore goodwill in the segment was not impaired.

SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” requires that goodwill be tested for impairment at a reporting unit level.  The Company has determined that its reporting units are its Memory and Imaging segments based on its organizational structure and the financial information that is provided to and reviewed by management.  The Company tests goodwill for impairment annually and whenever events or circumstances make it more likely than not that an impairment may have occurred.  Goodwill is tested for impairment using a two-step process.  In the first step, the fair value of a reporting unit is compared to its carrying value.  If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to a reporting unit, goodwill is considered not impaired and no further testing is required.  If the carrying value of the net assets assigned to a reporting unit exceeds the fair value of a reporting unit, the second step of the impairment test is performed in order to determine the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill.  Determining the implied fair value of goodwill requires valuation of a reporting unit’s tangible and intangible assets and liabilities in a manner similar to the allocation of purchase price in a business combination.  If the carrying value of a reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, goodwill is deemed impaired and is written down to the extent of the difference.

In the first and second quarters of 2008, the Company experienced a sustained, significant decline in its stock price.  As a result of the decline in stock prices, the Company’s market capitalization fell significantly below the recorded value of its consolidated net assets for most of the second quarter of 2008.  The reduced market capitalization reflected, in part, the Memory segment’s lower average selling prices and expected continued weakness in pricing for the Company’s memory products.  Accordingly, in the second quarter of 2008, the Company performed an assessment of goodwill for impairment.

Based on the results of the Company’s assessment of goodwill for impairment, it was determined that the carrying value of the Memory segment exceeded its estimated fair value.  Therefore, the Company performed a preliminary second step of the impairment test to determine the implied fair value of goodwill.  Specifically, the Company allocated the estimated fair value of the Memory segment as determined in the first step to recognized and unrecognized net assets, including allocations to intangible assets such as intellectual property, customer relationships and brand and trade names.  The result of the preliminary analysis indicated that there would be no remaining implied value attributable to goodwill in the Memory segment and accordingly, the Company wrote off all $463 million of goodwill associated with its Memory segment as of February 28, 2008.  In the third quarter of 2008, the Company finalized the second step of the impairment analysis and the results confirmed that there was no implied value attributable to goodwill in the Memory segment as of February 28, 2008.

7

In the first step of the impairment analysis, the Company performed extensive valuation analyses utilizing both income and market approaches to determine the fair value of its reporting units.  Under the income approach, the Company determined the fair value based on estimated future cash flows discounted by an estimated weighted-average cost of capital, which reflects the overall level of inherent risk of a reporting unit and the rate of return an outside investor would expect to earn.  Estimated future cash flows were based on our internal projection models, industry projections and other assumptions deemed reasonable by management.  Under the market-based approach, the Company derived the fair value of its reporting units based on revenue and earnings multiples of comparable publicly-traded peer companies.  In the second step of the impairment analysis, the Company determined the implied fair value of goodwill for the Memory segment by allocating the fair value of the segment to all of its assets and liabilities in accordance with SFAS No. 141, “Business Combinations,” as if the segment had been acquired in a business combination and the price paid to acquire it was the fair value.

 
Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses
 
May 29,
2008
   
August 30,
2007
 
             
Accounts payable
  $ 814     $ 856  
Salaries, wages and benefits
    227       247  
Customer advances
    167       85  
Income and other taxes
    35       33  
Interest payable
    19       19  
Other
    112       145  
    $ 1,374     $ 1,385  

As of May 29, 2008 and August 30, 2007, customer advances included $167 million and $83 million, respectively, for the Company’s obligation to provide certain NAND Flash memory products to Apple Computer, Inc. (“Apple”) until December 31, 2010 pursuant to a prepaid NAND Flash supply agreement.  As of May 29, 2008 and August 30, 2007, other accounts payable and accrued expenses included $12 million and $17 million, respectively, for amounts due to Intel for NAND Flash product design and process development and licensing fees pursuant to a product designs development agreement.

As of May 29, 2008 and August 30, 2007, other noncurrent liabilities included $83 million and $167 million, respectively, pursuant to the supply agreement with Apple.

 
Debt
 
May 29,
2008
   
August 30,
2007
 
             
Convertible senior notes payable, interest rate of 1.875%, due June 2014
  $ 1,300     $ 1,300  
Capital lease obligations payable in monthly installments through August 2021, weighted-average imputed interest rate of 6.6%
     678        666  
Notes payable in periodic installments through July 2015, weighted-average interest rate of 4.2% and 4.5%, respectively
    373       374  
Convertible subordinated notes payable, interest rate of 5.6%, due April 2010
    70       70  
      2,421       2,410  
Less current portion
    (262 )     (423 )
    $ 2,159     $ 1,987  

As of May 29, 2008, notes payable and capital lease obligations above included $113 million, denominated in Japanese yen, at a weighted-average interest rate of 1.6%, and $51 million, denominated in Singapore dollars, at a weighted-average interest rate of 6.0%.

During the third quarter of 2008, the Company received $44 million in proceeds from sales-leaseback transactions and in connection with these transactions, recorded capital lease obligations aggregating $43 million with a weighted-average imputed interest rate of 6.1%, payable in periodic installments through May 2012.  During the first nine months of 2008, the Company received $92 million in proceeds from sales-leaseback transactions and in connection with these transactions, recorded capital lease obligations aggregating $91 million with a weighted-average imputed interest rate of 6.7%, payable in periodic installments through May 2012.


 
8

 

During the second quarter of 2008, the Company’s joint venture subsidiary, TECH Semiconductor Singapore Pte. Ltd., (“TECH”) borrowed $240 million against a credit facility at Singapore Interbank Offered Rate ("SIBOR") plus 2.5%.  On March 31, 2008, TECH entered into a new credit facility that enabling TECH to borrow up to $600 million at SIBOR plus 2.5%.  The facility is available for drawdown through December 31, 2008.  During the third quarter of 2008, TECH drew $270 million under the new credit facility and retired the previous credit facility by paying off the $240 million outstanding.  The new credit facility is collateralized by substantially all of the assets of TECH (approximately $1,526 million as of May 29, 2008) and contains certain covenants that, among other requirements, establish certain liquidity, debt service coverage and leverage ratios, and restrict TECH’s ability to incur indebtedness, create liens and acquire or dispose of assets.  Payments under the new facility are due in approximately equal installments over 13 quarters commencing in May 2009.  Beginning March 2009, TECH will be required to maintain $30 million in restricted cash and this restricted cash requirement will increase to $60 million in September 2009.  The Company has guaranteed approximately 73% of the outstanding amount of the facility, with the Company’s obligation increasing to 100% of the outstanding amount of the facility upon the occurrence of certain conditions.

Contingencies

The Company has accrued a liability and charged operations for the estimated costs of adjudication or settlement of various asserted and unasserted claims existing as of the balance sheet date, including those described below.  The Company is currently a party to other legal actions arising out of the normal course of business, none of which is expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.

In the normal course of business, the Company is a party to a variety of agreements pursuant to which it may be obligated to indemnify the other party.  It is not possible to predict the maximum potential amount of future payments under these types of agreements due to the conditional nature of the Company’s obligations and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement.  Historically, payments made by the Company under these types of agreements have not had a material effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.

The Company is involved in the following patent, antitrust, securities and Lexar matters.

Patent Matters:  As is typical in the semiconductor and other high technology industries, from time to time, others have asserted, and may in the future assert, that the Company’s products or manufacturing processes infringe their intellectual property rights.  In this regard, the Company is engaged in litigation with Rambus, Inc. (“Rambus”) relating to certain of Rambus’ patents and certain of the Company’s claims and defenses.  Lawsuits between Rambus and the Company are pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Germany, France, and Italy.  The Company also is engaged in patent litigation with Mosaid Technologies, Inc. (“Mosaid”) in both the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.  Among other things, the above lawsuits pertain to certain of the Company’s SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RLDRAM and image sensor products, which account for a significant portion of net sales.

The Company is unable to predict the outcome of assertions of infringement made against the Company and therefore cannot estimate the range of possible loss.  A court determination that the Company’s products or manufacturing processes infringe the intellectual property rights of others could result in significant liability and/or require the Company to make material changes to its products and/or manufacturing processes.  Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.

Antitrust Matters:  On June 17, 2002, the Company received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) into possible antitrust violations in the “Dynamic Random Access Memory” or “DRAM” industry.  The Company has cooperated fully and actively with the DOJ in its investigation.  The Company has cooperated pursuant to the terms of the DOJ’s Corporate Leniency Policy, which provides that in exchange for the Company’s full, continuing and complete cooperation in the pending investigation, the Company will not be subject to prosecution, fines or other penalties from the DOJ.


 
9

 

Subsequent to the commencement of the DOJ DRAM investigation, at least sixty-eight purported class action lawsuits have been filed against the Company and other DRAM suppliers in various federal and state courts in the United States and in Puerto Rico on behalf of indirect purchasers alleging price-fixing in violation of federal and state antitrust laws, violations of state unfair competition law, and/or unjust enrichment relating to the sale and pricing of DRAM products during the period from April 1999 through at least June 2002.  The complaints seek treble damages sustained by purported class members in addition to restitution, costs and attorneys’ fees.  A number of these cases have been removed to federal court and transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for consolidated proceedings.   On January 29, 2008, the Northern District of California court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ second amended consolidated complaint.  Plaintiffs subsequently filed a motion seeking certification for interlocutory appeal of the decision.  On February 27, 2008, plaintiffs filed a third amended complaint.  On June 26, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit accepted plaintiffs’ interlocutory appeal.

In addition, various states, through their Attorneys General, have filed suit against the Company and other DRAM manufacturers.  On July 14, 2006, and on September 8, 2006 in an amended complaint, the following Attorneys General filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California:  Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Three states, Ohio, New Hampshire, and Texas, subsequently voluntarily dismissed their claims.  The remaining states filed a third amended complaint on October 1, 2007.  Alaska, Delaware, and Vermont subsequently voluntarily dismissed their claims.  The amended complaint alleges, among other things, violations of the Sherman Act, Cartwright Act, and certain other states’ consumer protection and antitrust laws and seeks damages, and injunctive and other relief.  Additionally, on July 13, 2006, the State of New York filed a similar suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  That case was subsequently transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for pre-trial purposes.  The State of New York filed an amended complaint on October 1, 2007.

Three purported class action DRAM lawsuits also have been filed in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia, Canada, on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers, alleging violations of the Canadian Competition Act.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the cases filed in the United States.  In May and June 2008 respectively, plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was denied in the British Columbia and Quebec cases.  In the British Columbia case, plaintiffs have filed an appeal of that decision.

In February and March 2007, All American Semiconductor, Inc., Jaco Electronics, Inc., and the DRAM Claims Liquidation Trust each filed suit against the Company and other DRAM suppliers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California after opting-out of a direct purchaser class action suit that was settled.  The complaints allege, among other things, violations of federal and state antitrust and competition laws in the DRAM industry, and seek damages, injunctive relief, and other remedies.

On October 11, 2006, the Company received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the DOJ into possible antitrust violations in the “Static Random Access Memory” or “SRAM” industry.  The Company believes that it is not a target of the investigation and is cooperating with the DOJ in its investigation of the SRAM industry.

Subsequent to the commencement of the DOJ SRAM investigation, at least eighty purported class action lawsuits have been filed against the Company and other SRAM suppliers in various federal courts on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers alleging price-fixing in violation of federal and state antitrust laws, violations of state unfair competition law, and/or unjust enrichment relating to the sale and pricing of SRAM products during the period from January 1998 through December 2005.  The complaints seek treble monetary damages sustained by purported class members, in addition to restitution, costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Three purported class action SRAM lawsuits also have been filed in Canada, on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers, alleging violations of the Canadian Competition Act.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the SRAM cases filed in the United States.


 
10

 

In September 2007, a number of memory suppliers confirmed that they had received grand jury subpoenas from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the DOJ into possible antitrust violations in the "Flash" industry.  The Company has not received a subpoena and believes that it is not a target of the investigation.

At least thirty-four purported class action lawsuits were filed against the Company and other suppliers of Flash memory products in various federal and state courts on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers alleging price-fixing in violation of federal and state antitrust laws, violations of state unfair competition law, and/or unjust enrichment relating to the sale and pricing of Flash memory products during the period from January 1, 1999 through the date the various cases were filed.  The complaints seek treble monetary damages sustained by purported class members, in addition to restitution, costs, and attorneys’ fees.  On February 8, 2008, the plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint that did not name the Company as a defendant.

Three purported class action Flash lawsuits also have been filed in Canada, on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers, alleging violations of the Canadian Competition Act.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the Flash cases filed in the United States.

On May 5, 2004, Rambus filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California (San Francisco County) against the Company and other DRAM suppliers.  The complaint alleges various causes of action under California state law including conspiracy to restrict output and fix prices on Rambus DRAM (“RDRAM”) and unfair competition.  The complaint seeks treble damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and a permanent injunction enjoining the defendants from the conduct alleged in the complaint.

The Company is unable to predict the outcome of these lawsuits and investigations and therefore cannot estimate the range of possible loss.  The final resolution of these alleged violations of antitrust laws could result in significant liability and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.

Securities Matters:  On February 24, 2006, a putative class action complaint was filed against the Company and certain of its officers in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho alleging claims under Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.  Four substantially similar complaints subsequently were filed in the same Court.  The cases purport to be brought on behalf of a class of purchasers of the Company’s stock during the period February 24, 2001 to February 13, 2003.  The five lawsuits have been consolidated and a consolidated amended class action complaint was filed on July 24, 2006.  The complaint generally alleges violations of federal securities laws based on, among other things, claimed misstatements or omissions regarding alleged illegal price-fixing conduct.  The complaint seeks unspecified damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses.  On December 19, 2007, the Court issued an order certifying the class but reducing the class period to purchasers of the Company’s stock during the period from February 24, 2001 to September 18, 2002.

In addition, on March 23, 2006, a shareholder derivative action was filed in the Fourth District Court for the State of Idaho (Ada County), allegedly on behalf of and for the benefit of the Company, against certain of the Company’s current and former officers and directors.  The Company also was named as a nominal defendant.  An amended complaint was filed on August 23, 2006 and subsequently dismissed by the Court.  Another amended complaint was filed on September 6, 2007.  The amended complaint is based on the same allegations of fact as in the securities class actions filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho and alleges breach of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, unjust enrichment, and insider trading.  The amended complaint seeks unspecified damages, restitution, disgorgement of profits, equitable and injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses.  The amended complaint is derivative in nature and does not seek monetary damages from the Company.  However, the Company may be required, throughout the pendency of the action, to advance payment of legal fees and costs incurred by the defendants.  On January 25, 2008, the Court granted the Company’s motion to dismiss the second amended complaint without leave to amend.  On March 10, 2008, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the Idaho Court of Appeals.

The Company is unable to predict the outcome of these cases and therefore cannot estimate the range of possible loss.  A court determination in any of these actions against the Company could result in significant liability and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.


 
11

 

Lexar Matters:  In March 2006, following the Company’s announcement of a definitive agreement to acquire Lexar Media, Inc. (“Lexar”) in a stock-for-stock merger, four purported class action complaints were filed in the Superior Court for the State of California (Alameda County) on behalf of shareholders of Lexar against Lexar and its directors.  Two of the complaints also named the Company as a defendant.  The complaints alleged that the defendants breached, or aided and abetted the breach of, fiduciary duties owed to Lexar shareholders by, among other things, engaging in self-dealing, failing to engage in efforts to obtain the highest price reasonably available, and failing to properly value Lexar in connection with a merger transaction between Lexar and the Company.  The plaintiffs sought, among other things, injunctive relief preventing, or an order of rescission reversing, the merger, compensatory damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs.  On May 19, 2006, the plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to block the merger.  On May 31, 2006, the Court denied the motion.  An amended consolidated complaint was filed on October 10, 2006.  On June 14, 2007, the Court granted Lexar's and the Company's motions to dismiss the amended complaint but allowed plaintiffs leave to file a further amended complaint.  On November 16, 2007, the Court granted Lexar’s and the Company’s renewed motion to dismiss the case as to all parties with prejudice.  On December 18, 2007, the Court entered an order holding that the plaintiffs had waived any right to appeal the final judgment.


Stock Warrants

In 2001, the Company received $480 million from the issuance of warrants to purchase 29.1 million shares of the Company’s common stock.  The warrants entitled the holders to exercise their warrants and purchase shares of common stock for $56.00 per share at any time through May 15, 2008.  The warrants expired on May 15, 2008.


Equity Plans

As of May 29, 2008, the Company had an aggregate of 201.8 million shares of its common stock reserved for issuance under its various equity plans, of which 126.3 million shares were subject to outstanding stock awards and 75.5 million shares were available for future grants.  Awards are subject to terms and conditions as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors.

Stock Options:  The Company granted 0.4 million and 6.9 million stock options during the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, with weighted-average grant-date fair values per share of $2.67 and $2.54, respectively.  The Company granted 0.2 million and 8.0 million stock options during the third quarter and first nine months of 2007, respectively, with weighted-average grant-date fair values per share of $4.20 and $4.88, respectively.

The fair value of each option award is estimated as of the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option valuation model.  The Black-Scholes model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options which have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable and requires the input of subjective assumptions, including the expected stock price volatility and estimated option life.  The expected volatilities utilized by the Company are based on implied volatilities from traded options on the Company’s stock and on historical volatility.  The risk-free rates utilized by the Company are based on the U.S. Treasury yield in effect at the time of the grant.  No dividends have been assumed in the Company’s estimated option values.  Assumptions used in the Black-Scholes model are presented below:
   
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May 31,
2007
 
                         
Average expected life in years
    4.25       4.25       4.25       4.25  
Expected volatility
    45%-48 %     34%-37 %     37%-48 %     34%-42 %
Weighted-average volatility
    48 %     36 %     46 %     39 %
Weighted-average risk-free interest rate
    2.5 %     4.6 %     2.9 %     4.7 %


 
12

 

Restricted Stock:  The Company awards restricted stock and restricted stock units (collectively, “Restricted Awards”) under its equity plans.  During the third quarter of 2008, the Company granted 0.6 million and 0.1 million shares of service-based and performance-based Restricted Awards, respectively.  During the first nine months of 2008 and 2007, the Company granted 4.2 million and 2.7 million shares, respectively, of service-based Restricted Awards, and 1.4 million and 0.9 million shares, respectively, of performance-based Restricted Awards.  The weighted-average grant-date fair values per share were $7.56 and $8.42 for Restricted Awards granted during the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, and $15.07 for Restricted Awards granted during the first nine months of 2007.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense:  Total compensation costs for the Company’s equity plans were as follows:

   
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May 29,
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May 31,
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May 31,
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Stock-based compensation expense by caption:
                       
Cost of goods sold
  $ 4     $ 3     $ 11     $ 8  
Selling, general and administrative
    6       4       18       14  
Research and development
    4       3       11       8  
    $ 14     $ 10     $ 40     $ 30  
                                 
Stock-based compensation expense by type of award:
                               
Stock options
  $ 7     $ 7     $ 19     $ 18  
Restricted stock
    7       3       21       12  
    $ 14     $ 10     $ 40     $ 30  

Stock-based compensation expense of $3 million was capitalized and remained in inventory at May 29, 2008.  As of May 29, 2008, $120 million of total unrecognized compensation costs related to non-vested awards was expected to be recognized through the third quarter of 2012, resulting in a weighted-average period of 1.3 years.  Stock-based compensation expense in the above presentation does not reflect any significant income taxes, which is consistent with the Company’s treatment of income or loss from its U.S. operations.  (See “Income Taxes” note.)


Restructure

In an effort to increase its competitiveness and efficiency, in the fourth quarter of 2007 the Company began pursuing a number of initiatives to reduce costs across its operations.  These initiatives included workforce reductions in certain areas of the Company as its business was realigned.  Additional initiatives included establishing certain operations closer in location to the Company’s global customers and evaluating functions more efficiently performed through partnerships or other outside relationships.  In addition, the Company continues to focus on reducing overhead costs to meet or exceed industry benchmarks.

In the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, the Company recorded charges of $8 million and $29 million, respectively, primarily within its Memory segment, for employee severance and related costs, a write-down of certain facilities to their fair values, and relocation and retention bonuses.  Since the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2007, the Company has incurred $48 million due to the restructuring initiatives.  As of May 29, 2008 and August 30, 2007, $8 million and $5 million, respectively, of the restructure costs remained unpaid and were included in accounts payable and accrued expenses.



 
13

 

Other Operating (Income) Expense, Net

Other operating (income) expense for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 included gains of $13 million and $70 million, respectively, on disposals of semiconductor equipment.  Other operating (income) expense for the first nine months of 2008 included a gain of $38 million for receipts from the U.S. government in connection with anti-dumping tariffs and losses of $33 million from changes in currency exchange rates.  Other operating (income) expense for the third quarter of 2007 included $15 million from gains on disposals of semiconductor equipment and $7 million in grants received in connection with the Company’s operations in China.  Other operating income for the first nine months of 2007 included $25 million from gains on disposals of semiconductor equipment, a gain of $30 million from the sale of certain intellectual property to Toshiba Corporation and $7 million in grants received in connection with the Company’s operations in China.


Income Taxes

Income taxes for 2008 and 2007 primarily reflect taxes on the Company’s non-U.S. operations and U.S. alternative minimum tax.  The Company has a valuation allowance for its net deferred tax asset associated with its U.S. operations.  The benefit for taxes on U.S. operations in 2008 and 2007 was substantially offset by changes in the valuation allowance.

Effective at the beginning of the first quarter of 2008, the Company adopted the provisions of FIN 48.  In connection with the adoption of FIN 48, the Company increased its liability and decreased retained earnings by $1 million for net unrecognized tax benefits at August 31, 2007.  As of August 31, 2007, the Company had $16 million of unrecognized income tax benefits, of which $15 million, if recognized, would affect the Company’s effective tax rate.  In the first nine months of 2008, unrecognized tax benefits decreased by $15 million primarily due to the expiration of certain foreign statutes of limitations.  The Company does not expect to recognize any significant additional previously unrecognized tax benefits through the third quarter of 2009.  As of May 29, 2008 and August 31, 2007, accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions were de minimis.

The Company and its subsidiaries file income tax returns with the United States federal government, various U.S. states and various foreign jurisdictions throughout the world.  The Company’s U.S. federal and state tax returns remain open to examination for 2005 through 2007 and 2004 through 2007, respectively.  In addition, tax years open to examination in multiple foreign taxing jurisdictions range from 1999 to 2007.  The Company is currently undergoing audits in the U.K. for 2004.


Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share is computed based on the weighted-average number of common shares and stock rights outstanding.  Diluted earnings per share is computed based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding plus the dilutive effects of stock options, warrants and convertible notes.  Potential common shares that would increase earnings per share amounts or decrease loss per share amounts are antidilutive and are therefore excluded from earnings per share calculations.  Antidilutive potential common shares that could dilute basic earnings per share in the future were 223.8 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, and 257.1 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2007.

   
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2008
   
May 31,
2007
   
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May 31,
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Net loss available to common shareholders
  $ (236 )   $ (225 )   $ (1,275 )   $ (162 )
                                 
Weighted-average common shares outstanding
    772.8       769.9       772.4       768.5  
                                 
Loss per share:
                               
Basic
  $ (0.30 )   $ (0.29 )   $ (1.65 )   $ (0.21 )
Diluted
    (0.30 )     (0.29 )     (1.65 )     (0.21 )

14

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

 Comprehensive loss for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 was ($244) million and ($1,282) million, respectively, and included ($8) million and ($7) million net of tax, respectively, of unrealized losses on investments. Comprehensive loss for the third quarter and first nine months of 2007 was ($225) million and ($163) million, respectively, and included de minimis amounts of unrealized gains and losses on investments.


Acquisition of Avago Technologies Limited Image Sensor Business

On December 11, 2006, the Company acquired the CMOS image sensor business of Avago Technologies Limited (“Avago”) for an initial cash payment of $53 million and additional contingent consideration at the date of acquisition of up to $17 million if certain milestones were met through calendar 2008.  As of May 29, 2008, the Company had paid $10 million of additional contingent consideration, which was recorded as an increase in goodwill subsequent to the acquisition date.  The Company recorded total assets of $64 million (including intangible assets of $17 million and goodwill of $46 million) and total liabilities of $1 million.  The Company’s results of operations subsequent to the acquisition date include the CMOS image sensor business acquired from Avago as part of the Company’s Imaging segment.  Mercedes Johnson, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, was the Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Avago at the time of the transaction.  Ms. Johnson recused herself from all deliberations of the Company’s Board of Directors concerning this transaction.


Joint Ventures

NAND Flash Joint Ventures with Intel (“IM Flash”):  The Company has formed two joint ventures with Intel Corporation (“Intel”) to manufacture NAND Flash memory products for the exclusive benefit of the partners:  IM Flash Technologies, LLC and IM Flash Singapore LLP.  As of May 29, 2008, the Company owned 51% and Intel owned 49% of IM Flash.  The financial results of IM Flash are included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company.  The partners share the output of IM Flash generally in proportion to their ownership in IM Flash.  IM Flash sells products to the joint venture partners at long-term negotiated prices approximating cost.  IM Flash sales to Intel were $280 million and $744 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, and $160 million and $327 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2007, respectively, and $497 million for 2007.

IM Flash manufactures NAND Flash memory products based on NAND Flash designs developed by the Company and Intel and licensed to the Company.  Product design and other research and development (“R&D”) costs for NAND Flash are generally shared equally between the Company and Intel.  As a result of reimbursements received from Intel under a NAND Flash R&D cost-sharing arrangement, the Company’s R&D expenses were reduced by $34 million and $116 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, and $­43 million and $173 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2007, respectively.

All amounts pertaining to Intel’s interests in IM Flash are reported as noncontrolling interest.  Intel contributed to IM Flash $11 million and $203 million (net of $92 million of distributions to Intel in the third quarter of 2008) in the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, and $319 million and $966 million for the third quarter and first nine months of 2007, respectively.  IM Flash’s cash and marketable investment securities ($293 million as of May 29, 2008) are not anticipated to be made available to finance the Company’s other operations.  The creditors of IM Flash have recourse only to the assets of IM Flash and do not have recourse to any other assets of the Company.

TECH Semiconductor Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“TECH”):  Since 1998, the Company has participated in TECH, a semiconductor memory manufacturing joint venture in Singapore among the Company, Canon Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Company.  As of May 29, 2008, the Company owned an approximate 73% interest in TECH.  TECH’s cash and marketable investment securities ($146 million as of May 29, 2008) are not anticipated to be made available to finance the Company’s other operations.  On March 31, 2008, TECH entered into a $600 million credit facility, which is guaranteed, in part, by the Company.  (See “Debt” note.)


 
15

 

On March 30, 2007, the Company exercised its option and acquired all of the shares of TECH common stock held by the Singapore Economic Development Board for approximately $290 million, which included a note payable for $216 million.  This note was fully paid in December 2007.  As a result of the acquisition, the Company’s ownership interest in TECH increased from 43% to 73%.

MeiYa DRAM Joint Venture with Nanya Technology Corporation (“Nanya”):  On June 8, 2008, the Company and Nanya formed a joint venture corporation ("MeiYa") that will manufacture stack DRAM products and sell such products exclusively to the Company and Nanya.  The Company and Nanya each contributed approximately $40 million in cash to MeiYa and each owns 50% of MeiYa.  The Company and Nanya have each committed to contribute an additional $510 million prior to December 31, 2009.  MeiYa leases a fabrication facility from Nanya and, after upgrading the facility to process 300mm DRAM wafers, will begin manufacturing stack DRAM products.  The Company and Nanya will purchase all of the output of MeiYa generally in proportion to their ownership in MeiYa pursuant to the terms of a pricing arrangement.  Under the pricing arrangement, the Company’s price for products purchased from MeiYa is based on a margin sharing formula.  The Company has determined that MeiYa is a variable interest entity as defined in FIN 46(R), “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities – an interpretation of ARB No. 51,” and that the Company is not the primary beneficiary of MeiYa.  The Company accounts for its interest in MeiYa under the equity method.
 
In the third quarter of 2008, the Company transferred and licensed certain intellectual property related to the manufacture of stack DRAM products to Nanya and licensed certain intellectual property from Nanya.  In addition, the Company began transferring technology to MeiYa in the third quarter of 2008.  The Company and Nanya also jointly develop process technology and designs for manufacturing stack DRAM products with each party bearing its own development costs until such time that the development costs exceed a specified amount, following which such costs would be shared.  The Company will receive an aggregate of $232 million from Nanya and MeiYa through 2010 for licensing and technology transfer fees, of which the Company realized $8 million of revenue in the third quarter of 2008.  The Company will also receive royalties, from Nanya for stack DRAM products manufactured by Nanya.

Segment Information

The Company’s segments are Memory and Imaging.  The Memory segment’s primary products are DRAM and NAND Flash memory and the Imaging segment’s primary product is CMOS image sensors.  Segment information reported below is consistent with how it is reviewed and evaluated by the Company’s chief operating decision makers and is based on the nature of the Company’s operations and products offered to customers.  The Company does not identify or report depreciation and amortization, capital expenditures or assets by segment.

   
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Net sales:
                       
Memory
  $ 1,327     $ 1,156     $ 3,917     $ 3,713  
Imaging
    171       138       475       538  
Total consolidated net sales
  $ 1,498     $ 1,294     $ 4,392     $ 4,251  
                                 
Operating income (loss):
                               
Memory
  $ (228 )   $ (178 )   $ (1,230 )   $ (142 )
Imaging
    3       (17 )     (27 )     23  
Total consolidated operating loss
  $ (225 )   $ (195 )   $ (1,257 )   $ (119 )


 
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Item 2.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion contains trend information and other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements such as those made in “Overview” regarding cost sharing of stack DRAM development costs with Nanya and  future plans for the Aptina Imaging business; in “Net Sales” regarding increases in NAND Flash memory production; in “Gross Margin” regarding future charges for inventory write-downs; in “Restructure” regarding future actions; in “Recently Issued Accounting Standards” regarding the adoption of new accounting standards; in “Stock-based Compensation” regarding future stock-based compensation costs; and in “Liquidity and Capital Resources” regarding capital spending in 2008 and 2009, future net contributions to IM Flash and future contributions to MeiYa.  The Company’s actual results could differ materially from the Company’s historical results and those discussed in the forward-looking statements.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, those identified in “PART II.  OTHER INFORMATION – Item 1A.  Risk Factors.”  This discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes and with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 30, 2007.  All period references are to the Company’s fiscal periods unless otherwise indicated.  The Company’s fiscal year is the 52 or 53-week period ending on the Thursday closest to August 31.  All production data reflects production of the Company and its consolidated joint ventures.


Overview

The Company is a global manufacturer of semiconductor devices, principally semiconductor memory products (including DRAM and NAND Flash) and CMOS image sensors.  The Company operates in two segments:  Memory and Imaging.  Its products are used in a broad range of electronic applications including personal computers, workstations, network servers, mobile phones and other consumer applications including Flash memory cards, USB storage devices, digital still cameras, MP3/4 players and in automotive applications.  The Company markets its products through its internal sales force, independent sales representatives and distributors primarily to original equipment manufacturers and retailers located around the world.  The Company’s success is largely dependent on the market acceptance of a diversified portfolio of semiconductor memory products, efficient utilization of the Company’s manufacturing infrastructure, successful ongoing development of advanced process technologies and generation of sufficient return on research and development investments.

The Company is focused on improving its competitiveness by developing new products, advancing its technology and reducing costs.  In addition, the Company increased its manufacturing capacity in 2008 and 2007 by ramping NAND Flash production at two 300mm wafer fabrication facilities and converting another facility to 300mm DRAM wafer fabrication.  To reduce costs, the Company implemented restructure initiatives aimed at reducing manufacturing and overhead costs through outsourcing, relocation of operations and workforce reductions.  In recent years, the Company has strategically entered into the NAND Flash memory and specialty DRAM markets.  The Company is able to leverage its existing product and process technology and semiconductor memory manufacturing expertise in these markets.
 
MeiYa DRAM Joint Venture with Nanya Technology Corporation (“Nanya”):  On June 8, 2008, the Company and Nanya formed a joint venture corporation ("MeiYa") that will manufacture stack DRAM products and sell such products exclusively to the Company and Nanya.  The Company and Nanya each contributed approximately $40 million in cash to MeiYa and each owns 50% of MeiYa.  The Company and Nanya have each committed to contribute an additional $510 million prior to December 31, 2009.  MeiYa leases a fabrication facility from Nanya and, after upgrading the facility to process 300mm DRAM wafers, will begin manufacturing stack DRAM products.  The Company and Nanya will purchase all of the output of MeiYa generally in proportion to their ownership in MeiYa pursuant to the terms of a pricing arrangement.  Under the pricing arrangement, the Company’s price for products purchased from MeiYa is based on a margin sharing formula.  The Company accounts for its interest in MeiYa under the equity method.

 
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In the third quarter of 2008, the Company transferred and licensed certain intellectual property related to the manufacture of stack DRAM products to Nanya and licensed certain intellectual property from Nanya.  In addition, the Company began transferring technology to MeiYa in the third quarter of 2008.  The Company and Nanya also jointly develop process technology and designs for manufacturing stack DRAM products with each party bearing its own development costs until such time that the development costs exceed a specified amount, following which such costs would be shared.  The Company will receive an aggregate of $232 million from Nanya and MeiYa through 2010 for licensing and technology transfer fees, of which the Company realized $8 million of revenue in the third quarter of 2008.  The Company will also receive royalties, from Nanya for stack DRAM products manufactured by Nanya.
Aptina Imaging Business:  The Company is engaged in ongoing negotiations with private investors regarding the separation of its CMOS image sensor business, operating under the name "Aptina," to a newly created independent entity in which it would retain a significant minority ownership interest. It is expected that the Company would enter into a supply agreement in connection with the transaction pursuant to which it would continue to manufacture products for the business. The Company currently anticipates concluding the transaction before the end of its fiscal year end.

Goodwill Impairment:  In the second quarter of 2008, the Company performed an assessment of impairment of goodwill.  As a result of this assessment, the Company recorded a noncash impairment charge of $463 million to the goodwill recorded in its Memory segment.  (See “Item 1. Financial Statements – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Supplemental Balance Sheet Information – Goodwill.”)

Inventory Write-Downs: The Company’s results of operations for second and first quarters of 2008 and fourth quarter of 2007 included charges of $15 million, $62 million and $20 million, respectively, to write down the carrying value of work in process and finished goods inventories of memory products (both DRAM and NAND Flash) to their estimated market values.


Results of Operations

   
Third Quarter
     
Second Quarter
     
Nine Months
   
   
2008
   
% of net sales
     
2007
   
% of net sales
     
2008
   
% of net sales
     
2008
   
% of net sales
     
2007
   
% of net sales
   
   
(amounts in millions and as a percent of net sales)
   
Net sales:
                                                                     
Memory
  $ 1,327       89   %   $ 1,156       89   %   $ 1,224       90   %   $ 3,917       89   %   $ 3,713       87   %
Imaging
    171       11   %     138       11   %     135       10   %     475       11   %     538       13   %
    $ 1,498       100   %   $ 1,294       100   %   $ 1,359       100   %   $ 4,392       100   %   $ 4,251       100   %
                                                                                           
Gross margin:
                                                                                         
Memory
  $ (11 )     (1 ) %   $ 68       6   %   $ (76 )     (6 ) %   $ (126 )     (3 ) %   $ 710       19   %
Imaging
    59       35   %     38       28   %     33       24   %     136       29   %     195       36   %
    $ 48       3   %   $ 106       8   %   $ (43 )     (3 ) %   $ 10       0   %   $ 905       21   %
                                                                                           
SG&A
  $ 116       8   %   $ 134       10   %   $ 120       9   %   $ 348       8   %   $ 467       11   %
R&D
    170       11   %     195       15   %     180       13   %     513       12   %     621       15   %
Goodwill impairment
    --       --         --       --         463       34   %     463       11   %     --       --    
Restructure
    8       1   %     --       --         8       1   %     29       1   %     --       --    
Other operating (income) expense, net
    (21 )     (1 ) %     (28 )     (2 ) %     (42 )     (3 ) %     (86 )     (2 ) %     (64 )     (2 ) %
Net loss
    (236 )     (16 ) %     (225 )     (17 ) %     (777 )     (57 ) %     (1,275 )     (29 ) %     (162 )     (4 ) %



 
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Net Sales

Total net sales for the third quarter of 2008 increased 10% as compared to the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to an 8% increase in Memory sales and a 27% increase in Imaging sales.  Memory sales for the third quarter of 2008 reflect significant increases in gigabits sold partially offset by significant declines in per gigabit average selling prices as compared to the second quarter of 2008.  Memory sales were approximately 90% of total net sales for the third and second quarters of 2008 and the third quarter of 2007.  The increase in Imaging sales for the third quarter of 2008 as compared to the second quarter of 2008 was primarily due to higher unit sales.  Total net sales for the third quarter of 2008 increased 16% as compared to the third quarter of 2007 primarily due to a 15% increase in Memory sales and a 24% increase in Imaging sales.  Total net sales for the first nine months of 2008 increased 3% as compared to the first nine months of 2007 primarily due to a 5% increase in Memory sales partially offset by a 12% decrease in Imaging sales.

Memory:  Memory sales for the third quarter of 2008 increased 8% from the second quarter of 2008 as sales of NAND Flash products increased by approximately 10% and sales of DRAM products increased by approximately 5%.

Sales of NAND Flash products for the third quarter of 2008 increased from the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to an increase of approximately 40% in gigabits sold as a result of production increases partially offset by a decline of approximately 20% in average selling prices per gigabit.  Gigabit production of NAND Flash products increased approximately 55% for the third quarter of 2008 as compared to the second quarter of 2008, primarily due to the continued ramp of NAND Flash products at the Company’s 300mm fabrication facilities and transitions to higher density, advanced geometry devices.  Sales of NAND Flash products represented approximately 35% of the Company’s total net sales for the third and second quarters of 2008 and approximately 25% for the third quarter of 2007.  The Company expects that its gigabit production of NAND Flash products will continue to increase significantly in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Sales of DRAM products for the third quarter of 2008 increased from the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to an increase of approximately 10% in gigabit sales partially offset by a decline of approximately 5% in average selling prices principally due to a slight shift in product mix to DDR2 DRAM products.  Gigabit production of DRAM products increased approximately 15% for the third quarter of 2008 as compared to the second quarter of 2008, primarily due to production efficiencies from improvements in product and process technologies, including TECH’s conversion to 300mm wafer fabrication.  Sales of DDR2 and DDR3 DRAM products were approximately 30% of the Company’s total net sales in the third quarter and second quarter of 2008 and approximately 35% for the third quarter of 2007.

Memory sales for the third quarter of 2008 increased 15% from the third quarter of 2007 as an increase of approximately 60% in sales of NAND Flash products was partially offset by a decrease of approximately 5% in sales of DRAM products.  Memory sales for the first nine months of 2008 increased 5% as compared to the first nine months of 2007 primarily due to an increase of approximately 75% in sales of NAND Flash products partially offset by a decrease of approximately 15% in sales of DRAM products.  Sales of NAND Flash products for the third quarter of 2008 and first nine months of 2008 increased from the corresponding periods of 2007 primarily due to significant increases in gigabits sold partially offset by declines of approximately 70% in average selling prices for both periods.  The significant increases in gigabit sales of NAND Flash products were primarily due to increased production as a result of the continued ramp of NAND Flash products at the Company’s 300mm fabrication facilities and transitions to higher density, advanced geometry devices.  The decrease in sales of DRAM products for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 from the corresponding periods of 2007 was primarily the result of declines in average selling prices of approximately 45% and 55% respectively, mitigated by increases in gigabits sold of approximately 70% and 90%, respectively.  Gigabit production of DRAM products increased approximately 70% and 80% for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 as compared to the corresponding periods of 2007, primarily due to production efficiencies from improvements in product and process technologies.

Imaging:  Imaging sales for the third quarter of 2008 increased 27% from the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to higher unit sales, particularly for products with 5-megapixel resolution.  Imaging sales for the third quarter of 2008 increased by 24% from the third quarter of 2007 primarily due to increased units sales of products with 2-megapixel or higher resolution,  partially offset by declines in average selling prices and reduced sales of lower resolution products.  Imaging sales for the first nine months of 2008 decreased by 12% as compared to the first nine months of 2007 primarily due to significant declines in average selling prices and decreases in unit sales of products with 1-megapixel or lower resolution, mitigated by increases in units sales of products with 2-megapixel or higher resolution.  Imaging sales were approximately 10% of the Company’s total net sales for the third and second quarters of 2008 and third quarter of 2007.


 
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Gross Margin

The Company’s overall gross margin percentage improved to 3% for the third quarter of 2008 from negative 3% for the second quarter of 2008 due to improvements in the gross margin percentages for Memory and Imaging.  The Company’s overall gross margin percentage was 8% for the third quarter of 2007.  The Company’s overall gross margin percentage declined from 21% for the first nine months of 2007 to breakeven for the first nine months of 2008. The declines in gross margin for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 from the corresponding periods of 2007 primarily reflect decreases in the gross margin percentage for Memory.

Memory:  The Company’s gross margin percentage for Memory products for the third quarter of 2008 improved to negative 1% from negative 6% for the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to an improvement in the margin for DRAM products and to a lesser extent an improvement in the margin for NAND Flash products.  Gross margins for DRAM and NAND Flash products for the third quarter of 2008 benefited from cost reductions but were adversely affected by declines in average selling prices.

The gross margin percentage for DRAM products for the third quarter of 2008 improved from the second quarter of 2008, primarily due to a reduction of approximately 15% in costs per gigabit offset by the decline of approximately 5% in average selling prices.  The Company achieved cost reductions for DRAM products through transitions to higher-density, advanced-geometry devices.

The Company’s gross margin percentage on NAND Flash products for the third quarter of 2008 improved slightly from the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to a reduction of approximately 25% in costs per gigabit, partially offset by the decline of approximately 20% in average selling prices.  Cost reductions in the third quarter of 2008 reflect lower manufacturing costs and lower costs of NAND Flash products purchased for sale under the Company’s Lexar brand.  The Company achieved manufacturing cost reductions for NAND Flash products primarily through increased production of higher-density, advanced-geometry devices at the Company’s 300mm fabrication facilities.  Sales of NAND Flash products include sales from IM Flash to Intel at long-term negotiated prices approximating cost.  IM Flash sales to Intel were $280 million for the third quarter of 2008, $241 million for the second quarter of 2008, $160 million for the third quarter of 2007, $744 million for the first nine months of 2008, $327 million for the first nine months of 2007 and $497 million for 2007.

For the second and first quarters of 2008 and fourth quarter of 2007, the Company’s gross margins for Memory were impacted by inventory write-downs of $15 million, $62 million and $20 million, respectively, as a result of the significant decreases in average selling prices for both DRAM and NAND Flash products.  The Company did not write-down inventories in the third quarter of 2008 based on estimated selling prices.  In future periods the Company would record additional inventory write-downs if estimated average selling prices of products held in finished goods and work in process inventories at a quarter-end date are below the manufacturing cost of these products.

The Company’s gross margin percentage for Memory products declined to negative 1% for the third quarter of 2008 from 6% for the third quarter of 2007 and to negative 3% for the first nine months of 2008 from 19% for the first nine months of 2007, primarily due lower gross margins on sales of DRAM products and a shift in product mix to NAND Flash products, which realized significantly lower gross margins than DRAM products.  Declines in gross margins on sales of DRAM products for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 as compared to the corresponding periods of 2008 were primarily due to the reductions in average selling prices mitigated by per gigabit cost reductions of approximately 40% for both periods.  Gross margins on NAND Flash products for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 improved slightly as compared to the corresponding periods of 2007 despite the significant declines in average selling prices due to per gigabit cost reductions of approximately 70% for both periods.

In the third quarter of 2008, the Company’s TECH Semiconductor Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“TECH”) joint venture accounted for approximately 12% of the Company’s total wafer production.  TECH primarily produced DDR and DDR2 products in the first nine months of 2008 and 2007.  Since TECH utilizes the Company’s product designs and process technology and has a similar manufacturing cost structure, the gross margin on sales of TECH products approximates gross margins on sales of similar products manufactured by the Company’s wholly-owned operations.  (See “Item 1. Financial Statements – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Joint Ventures – TECH Semiconductor Singapore Pte. Ltd.”)


 
20

 

Imaging:  The Company’s gross margin percentage for Imaging for the third quarter of 2008 improved to 35% from 24% for the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to cost reductions and a shift in product mix to higher resolution products, which realized better gross margins.  The Company’s gross margin for Imaging products for the third quarter of 2008 improved to 35% from 28% for third quarter of 2007, primarily due to a shift to higher resolution products with better margins and cost reductions partially offset by declines in average selling prices.  The Company’s gross margin for Imaging products decreased to 29% for the first nine months of 2008 from 36% for the first nine months of 2007, primarily due to declines in average selling prices mitigated by cost reductions and a shift to higher resolution products.

Selling, General and Administrative

Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses for the third quarter of 2008 decreased 3% from the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to lower legal expenses.  SG&A expenses for the third quarter of 2008 decreased 13% from the third quarter of 2007 primarily due to lower payroll expenses and other costs as a result of the Company’s restructure initiatives.  SG&A expenses for the first nine months of 2008 decreased 25% from the first nine months of 2007 primarily due to lower legal expenses and lower payroll expenses and other costs as a result of the Company’s restructure initiatives.  In the first quarter of 2007, the Company recorded a $31 million charge to SG&A as a result of the settlement of certain antitrust class action (direct purchaser) lawsuits.  Future SG&A expense is expected to vary, potentially significantly, depending on, among other things, the number of legal matters that are resolved relatively early in their life-cycle and the number of matters that progress to trial.

For the Company’s Memory segment, SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales were 7% for the third quarter of 2008, 8% for the second quarter of 2008, 10% for the third quarter of 2007, 8% for the first nine months of 2008 and 11% for the first nine months of 2007.  For the Imaging segment, SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales were 11% for the third quarter of 2008, 13% for the second quarter of 2008, 10% for the third quarter of 2007, 11% for the first nine months of 2008 and 12% for the first nine months of 2007.

Research and Development

Research and development (“R&D”) expenses vary primarily with the number of development wafers processed, the cost of advanced equipment dedicated to new product and process development, and personnel costs.  Because of the lead times necessary to manufacture its products, the Company typically begins to process wafers before completion of performance and reliability testing.  The Company deems development of a product complete once the product has been thoroughly reviewed and tested for performance and reliability.  R&D expenses can vary significantly depending on the timing of product qualification as costs incurred in production prior to qualification are charged to R&D.

R&D expenses for the third quarter of 2008 decreased 6% from the second quarter of 2008 primarily due to decreases in development wafers processed.  R&D expenses for the third quarter of 2008 decreased 13% from the third quarter of 2007, primarily due to decreases in development wafers processed and lower payroll costs as a result of the Company’s restructure initiatives.  R&D expenses for the first nine months of 2008 decreased 17% from the first nine months of 2007, primarily due to decreases in development wafers processed and lower payroll costs.  As a result of reimbursements received from Intel Corporation under a NAND Flash R&D cost-sharing arrangement, R&D expenses were reduced by $34 million for the third quarter of 2008, $29 million for the second quarter of 2008, $43 million for the third quarter of 2007, $116 million for the first nine months of 2008 and $173 million for the first nine months of 2007.

For the Company’s Memory segment, R&D expenses as a percentage of sales were 10% for the third quarter of 2008, 12% for the second quarter of 2008, 13% for the third quarter of 2007, 10% for the first nine months of 2008 and 14% for the first nine months of 2007.  For the Imaging segment, R&D expenses as a percentage of sales were 20% for the third quarter of 2008, 27% for the second quarter of 2008, 31% for the third quarter of 2007, 23% for the first nine months of 2008 and 22% for the first nine months of 2007.

The Company’s process technology R&D efforts are focused primarily on development of successively smaller line-width process technologies which are designed to facilitate the Company’s transition to next-generation memory products and CMOS image sensors.  Additional process technology R&D efforts focus on advanced computing and mobile memory architectures and new manufacturing materials.  Product design and development efforts are concentrated on the Company’s 1 Gb and 2 Gb DDR2 and DDR3 products as well as high density and mobile NAND Flash memory (including multi-level cell technology), CMOS image sensors and specialty memory products.


 
21

 

Goodwill Impairment

In the second quarter of 2008, the Company performed an assessment of impairment for goodwill.  In the first and second quarters of 2008, the Company experienced a sustained, significant decline in its stock price.  As a result of the decline in stock price, the Company’s market capitalization fell significantly below the recorded value of its consolidated net assets for most of the second quarter of 2008.  The reduced market capitalization reflected, in part, the Memory segment’s lower average selling prices and expected continued weakness in pricing for the Company’s Memory products.

Based on the results of the Company’s assessment of goodwill for impairment, it was determined that the carrying value of the Memory segment exceeded its estimated fair value.  Therefore, the Company performed a preliminary second step of the impairment test to determine the implied fair value of goodwill.  Specifically, the Company allocated the estimated fair value of the Memory segment as determined in the first step to recognized and unrecognized net assets, including allocations to intangible assets such as intellectual property, customer relationships and brand and trade names.  The result of the preliminary analysis indicated that there would be no remaining implied value attributable to goodwill in the Memory segment and accordingly, the Company wrote off all $463 million of goodwill associated with its Memory segment as of February 28, 2008. In the third quarter of 2008, the Company finalized the second step of the impairment analysis and the results confirmed that there was no implied value attributable to goodwill in the Memory segment as of February 28, 2008.  The Company’s assessment of goodwill impairment indicated that as of February 28, 2008, the fair value of the Imaging segment exceeded its carrying value and therefore goodwill in the segment was not impaired.  (See “Item 1. Financial Statements – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Supplemental Balance Sheet Information – Goodwill.”)

Restructure

In an effort to increase its competitiveness and efficiency, in the fourth quarter of 2007, the Company began pursuing a number of initiatives to reduce costs across its operations.  These initiatives included workforce reductions in certain areas of the Company as its business was realigned.  Additional initiatives included establishing certain operations closer in location to the Company’s global customers and evaluating functions more efficiently performed through partnerships or other outside relationships.  In addition, the Company continues to focus on reducing overhead costs to meet or exceed industry benchmarks.

In the third quarter, second quarter and first nine months of 2008, the Company recorded charges of $8 million, $8 million and $29 million, respectively, primarily within its Memory segment, for employee severance and related costs, a write-down of certain facilities to their fair values, and relocation and retention bonuses.  Since the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2007, the Company has incurred $48 million due to the restructuring initiatives.

Other Operating (Income) Expense, Net

Other operating (income) expense for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 included gains of $13 million and $70 million, respectively, on disposals of semiconductor equipment.  Other operating (income) expense for the first nine months of 2008 included a gain of $38 million for receipts from the U.S. government in connection with anti-dumping tariffs and losses of $33 million from changes in currency exchange rates.  Other operating (income) expense for the second quarter of 2008 included gains of $47 million on disposals of semiconductor equipment and losses of $6 million from changes in currency exchange rates.  Other operating (income) expense for the third quarter of 2007 included $15 million from gains on disposals of semiconductor equipment and $7 million in grants received in connection with the Company’s operations in China.  Other operating income for the first nine months of 2007 included $25 million from gains on disposals of semiconductor equipment, a gain of $30 million from the sale of certain intellectual property to Toshiba Corporation and $7 million in grants received in connection with the Company’s operations in China.

Income Taxes

Income taxes for 2008 and 2007 primarily reflect taxes on the Company’s non-U.S. operations and U.S. alternative minimum tax.  The Company has a valuation allowance for its net deferred tax asset associated with its U.S. operations.  The benefit for taxes on U.S. operations in 2008 and 2007 was substantially offset by changes in the valuation allowance.  Due to certain foreign statutes of limitations, which expired on December 31, 2007, the Company recognized approximately $15 million of previously unrecognized tax benefits in the second quarter of 2008.


 
22

 

Noncontrolling Interests in Net (Income) Loss

Noncontrolling interests for 2008 and 2007 primarily reflects the share of income or losses of the Company’s TECH joint venture attributable to the noncontrolling interests in TECH.  On March 30, 2007, the Company acquired all of the shares of TECH common stock held by the Singapore Economic Development Board, which had the effect of reducing the noncontrolling interests in TECH as of that date from 57% to 27%.  (See “Item 1. Financial Statements – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Joint Ventures – TECH Semiconductor Singapore Pte. Ltd.”)

Stock-Based Compensation

Total compensation cost for the Company’s equity plans for the third quarter of 2008, the second quarter of 2008, and third quarter of 2007 was $14 million, $13 million and $10 million, respectively.  Total compensation cost for the Company’s equity plans for the first nine months of 2008 and 2007, was $40 million and $30 million, respectively.  As of May 29, 2008, $3 million of stock-based compensation expense was capitalized and remained in inventory.  As of May 29, 2008, $120 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested awards was expected to be recognized through the third quarter of 2012.  In 2005, the Company accelerated the vesting of substantially all of its unvested stock options then outstanding which reduced stock compensation recognized in subsequent periods.


Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company’s liquidity is highly dependent on average selling prices for its products and the timing of capital expenditures, both of which can vary significantly from period to period.  As of May 29, 2008, the Company had cash and equivalents and short-term investments totaling $1.6 billion compared to $2.6 billion as of August 30, 2007.  The balance as of May 29, 2008, included an aggregate of $439 million held at, and anticipated to be used in the near term by, IM Flash and TECH and are not anticipated to be made available to finance the Company’s other operations.

Operating Activities:  The Company generated $775 million of cash from operating activities in the first nine months of 2008, which primarily reflects the Company’s $1,275 million of net loss adjusted by $1,528 million for noncash depreciation and amortization expense and a $463 million noncash goodwill write-down.

Investing Activities:  Net cash used by investing activities was $1,289 million in the first nine months of 2008, which included cash expenditures for property, plant and equipment of $1,809 million partially offset by the net effect of purchases, sales and maturities of investment securities of $294 million and $175 million in proceeds from sales of equipment.  A significant portion of the capital expenditures relate to the ramp of IM Flash facilities and 300mm conversion of manufacturing operations at TECH.  The Company believes that to develop new product and process technologies, support future growth, achieve operating efficiencies and maintain product quality, it must continue to invest in manufacturing technologies, facilities and capital equipment and research and development.  The Company estimates capital spending to approximate between $2.5 billion to $3.0 billion for 2008, primarily for expenditures on 300mm fabrication facilities.  The Company expects 2009 capital spending to approximate $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion, of which approximately $300 million is expected to be funded by contributions by joint venture partners.  As of May 29, 2008, the Company had commitments of approximately $950 million for the acquisition of property, plant and equipment, nearly all of which are expected to be paid within one year.

Financing Activities:  Net cash used for financing activities was $204 million in the first nine months of 2008, which primarily reflects an aggregate of $1,001 million in debt payments and payments on equipment purchase contracts partially offset by $507 million in proceeds from borrowings and $203 million in cash contributions received (net of distributions paid) from joint venture partners.


 
23

 

During the second quarter of 2008, the Company’s TECH subsidiary borrowed $240 million against a credit facility at Singapore Interbank Offered Rate ("SIBOR") plus 2.5%.  On March 31, 2008, TECH entered into a new credit facility enabling it to borrow up to $600 million at SIBOR plus 2.5%.  The facility is available for drawdown through December 31, 2008.  During the third quarter of 2008, TECH drew $270 million under the new credit facility and retired the previous credit facility by paying off the $240 million outstanding.  The new credit facility is collateralized by substantially all of the assets of TECH (approximately $1,526 million as of May 29, 2008) and contains certain covenants that, among other requirements, establish certain liquidity, debt service coverage and leverage ratios, and restrict TECH’s ability to incur indebtedness, create liens and acquire or dispose of assets.  Payments under the new facility are due in approximately equal installments over 13 quarters commencing in May 2009.  Beginning March 2009, TECH will be required to maintain $30 million in restricted cash and this restricted cash requirement will increase to $60 million in September 2009.  The Company has guaranteed approximately 73% of the outstanding amount of the facility, with the Company’s obligation increasing to 100% of the outstanding amount of the facility upon the occurrence of certain conditions.  As a condition to granting the guarantee, the Company has a second position priority interest in all of the assets of TECH behind the lenders. (See “Item 1. Financial Statements – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Supplemental Balance Sheet Information – Debt.”)

Access to capital markets has historically been important to the Company.  Depending on market conditions, the Company may issue registered or unregistered securities to raise capital to fund a portion of its operations.

Joint Ventures:  As of May 29, 2008, IM Flash had $293 million of cash and marketable investment securities.  The Company plans to make cash contributions to IM Flash, net of distributions received, of approximately $350 million through the end of 2009, with similar contributions to be made by Intel.  Timing of these contributions, however, is subject to market conditions and approval of the partners.  The Company anticipates additional investments as appropriate to support the growth of IM Flash’s operations.  (See “Item 1. Financial Statements – Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Joint Ventures – NAND Flash Joint Ventures with Intel.”)

On June 8, 2008, the Company and Nanya formed a joint venture corporation ("MeiYa") that will manufacture stack DRAM products and sell such products exclusively to the Company and Nanya.  The Company and Nanya each contributed $40 million in cash to MeiYa at the closing of the joint venture transaction and have each committed to contribute an additional $510 million on or prior to December 31, 2009.  (See “Overview – MeiYa DRAM Joint Venture with Nanya Technology Corporation.”)

Contractual Obligations:  As of May 29, 2008, contractual obligations for notes payable, capital lease obligations and operating leases were as follows:

   
Total
   
Remainder of 2008
   
2009
   
2010
   
2011
   
2012
   
2013 and
thereafter
 
(amounts in millions)
 
Notes payable (including interest)
  $ 1,938     $ 15     $ 143     $ 376     $ 29     $ 24     $ 1,351  
Capital lease obligations
    795       53       209       142       255       40       96  
Operating leases
    98       5       17       14       13       11       38  


Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In May 2008, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 162, “The Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.”  SFAS No. 162 identifies the sources of accounting principles and the framework for selecting the principles used in the preparation of financial statements that are presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.  SFAS No. 162 becomes effective 60 days following the SEC’s approval of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board amendments to AU Section 411, “The Meaning of Present Fairly in Conformity With Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.”  The Company does not expect that the adoption of SFAS No. 162 will have a material impact on its financial statements.


 
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In May 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position (“FSP”) No. APB 14-1, “Accounting for Convertible Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash upon Conversion (Including Partial Cash Settlement).”  FSP No. APB 14-1 requires that issuers of convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash upon conversion separately account for the liability and equity components in a manner that will reflect the entity’s nonconvertible debt borrowing rate when interest cost is recognized in subsequent periods.  The Company is required to adopt FSP No. APB 14-1 retrospectively, effective at the beginning of 2010.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of FSP No. APB 14-1 will have on its financial statements.

In April 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 142-3, “Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets.”  FSP No. FAS 142-3 amends the factors that should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.”  The Company is required to adopt FSP No. FAS 142-3 effective at the beginning of 2010.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of FSP No. FAS 142-3 will have on its financial statements.

In March 2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 161, “Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities – an amendment of FASB Statement No. 133.”  SFAS No. 161 requires qualitative disclosures about objectives and strategies for using derivatives, quantitative disclosures about fair value amounts of and gains and losses on derivative instruments, and disclosures about credit-risk-related contingent features in derivative agreements.  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 161 effective for the second quarter of 2009.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of SFAS No. 161 will have on its financial statements.

In December 2007, the FASB ratified Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue No. 07-1, “Accounting for Collaborative Arrangements,” which defines collaborative arrangements and establishes reporting and disclosure requirements for transactions between participants in a collaborative arrangement and between participants in the arrangements and third parties.  The Company is required to adopt EITF No. 07-1 effective at the beginning of 2010.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of EITF No. 07-1 will have on its financial statements.

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), “Business Combinations(“SFAS No. 141(R)”), which establishes the principles and requirements for how an acquirer in a business combination (1) recognizes and measures in its financial statements the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any noncontrolling interests in the acquiree, (2) recognizes and measures the goodwill acquired in the business combination or a gain from a bargain purchase, and (3) determines what information to disclose.  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 141(R) effective at the beginning of 2010.  The impact of the adoption of SFAS No. 141(R) will depend on the nature and extent of business combinations occurring on or after the beginning of 2010.

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements – an amendment of ARB No. 51.”  SFAS No. 160 requires that (1) noncontrolling interests be reported as a separate component of equity, (2) net income attributable to the parent and to the non-controlling interest be separately identified in the income statement, (3) changes in a parent’s ownership interest while the parent retains its controlling interest be accounted for as equity transactions, and (4) any retained noncontrolling equity investment upon the deconsolidation of a subsidiary be initially measured at fair value.  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 160 effective at the beginning of 2010.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of SFAS No. 160 will have on its financial statements.

In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, “The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities – Including an amendment of FASB Statement No. 115.”  Under SFAS No. 159, the Company may elect to measure many financial instruments and certain other items at fair value on an instrument by instrument basis, subject to certain restrictions.  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 159 effective at the beginning of 2009.  The impact of the adoption of SFAS No. 159 on the Company’s financial statements will depend on the extent to which the Company elects to measure eligible items at fair value.


 
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In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements.”  SFAS No. 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles and expands disclosures about fair value measurements.  SFAS No. 157 applies under other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements.  In February 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 157-1, “Application of FASB Statement No. 157 to FASB Statement No. 13 and Other Accounting Pronouncements That Address Fair Value Measurements for Purposes of Lease Classification or Measurement under Statement 13,” which amends SFAS No. 157 to exclude accounting pronouncements that address fair value measurements for purposes of lease classification or measurement under SFAS No. 13.  In February 2008, the FASB also issued FSP No. FAS 157-2, “Effective Date of FASB Statement No. 157,” which delays the effective date of SFAS No. 157 until the beginning of 2010 for all non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities, except for items that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis (at least annually).  The Company is required to adopt SFAS No. 157 for financial assets and liabilities effective at the beginning of 2009.  The Company is evaluating the impact that the adoption of SFAS No. 157 will have on its financial statements.

In June 2006, the FASB issued Interpretation No. 48 (“FIN 48”), “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes – an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109.”  FIN 48 contains a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions accounted for in accordance with SFAS No. 109.  The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any.  The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount which is more than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.  The Company adopted FIN 48 on August 31, 2007.  The adoption of FIN 48 did not have a significant impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.  The Company did not change its policy of recognizing accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within the income tax provision with the adoption of FIN 48.  (See “Income Taxes” note.)

In February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments.”  SFAS No. 155 permits fair value remeasurement for any hybrid financial instrument that contains an embedded derivative that otherwise would require bifurcation.  The Company adopted SFAS No. 155 as of the beginning of 2008.  The adoption of SFAS No. 155 did not have a significant impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial condition.


Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosures.  Estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, forecasted future events and various other assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable under the circumstances.  Estimates and judgments may vary under different assumptions or conditions.  The Company evaluates its estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis.  Management believes the accounting policies below are critical in the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations and requires management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments.

Acquisitions and consolidations:  Determination and the allocation of the purchase price of acquired operations significantly influences the period in which costs are recognized.  Accounting for acquisitions and consolidations requires the Company to estimate the fair value of the individual assets and liabilities acquired as well as various forms of consideration given, which involves a number of judgments, assumptions and estimates that could materially affect the amount and timing of costs recognized.  The Company typically obtains independent third party valuation studies to assist in determining fair values, including assistance in determining future cash flows, appropriate discount rates and comparable market values.

Contingencies:  The Company is subject to the possibility of losses from various contingencies.  Considerable judgment is necessary to estimate the probability and amount of any loss from such contingencies.  An accrual is made when it is probable that a liability has been incurred or an asset has been impaired and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated.  The Company accrues a liability and charges operations for the estimated costs of adjudication or settlement of asserted and unasserted claims existing as of the balance sheet date.


 
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Goodwill and intangible assets:  In the second quarter of 2008, the Company recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $463 million.  The Company tests goodwill for impairment annually and whenever events or circumstances make it more likely than not that an impairment may have occurred, such as a significant adverse change in the business climate (including declines in selling prices for products) or a decision to sell or dispose of a reporting unit.  Goodwill is tested for impairment using a two-step process.  In the first step, the fair value of each reporting unit is compared to the carrying value of the net assets assigned to the unit.  If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill is considered not impaired.  If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, then the second step of the impairment test must be performed in order to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill.  Determining the implied fair value of goodwill requires valuation of all of the Company’s tangible and intangible asset and liabilities.  If the carrying value of a reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, then the Company would record an impairment loss equal to the difference.

Determining when to test for impairment, the Company’s reporting units, the fair value of a reporting unit and the fair value of assets and liabilities within a reporting unit, requires judgment and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions include revenue growth rates and operating margins used to calculate projected future cash flows, risk-adjusted discount rates, future economic and market conditions and determination of appropriate market comparables.  The Company bases fair value estimates on assumptions it believes to be reasonable but that are unpredictable and inherently uncertain.  Actual future results may differ from those estimates.  In addition, judgments and assumptions are required to allocate assets and liabilities to reporting units.

The Company tests other identified intangible assets with definite useful lives and subject to amortization when events and circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable by comparing the carrying amount to the sum of undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset.  The Company tests intangible assets with indefinite lives annually for impairment using a fair value method such as discounted cash flows.  Estimating fair values involves significant assumptions, especially regarding future sales prices, sales volumes, costs and discount rates.

Income taxes:  The Company is required to estimate its provision for income taxes and amounts ultimately payable or recoverable in numerous tax jurisdictions around the world.  Estimates involve interpretations of regulations and are inherently complex.  Resolution of income tax treatments in individual jurisdictions may not be known for many years after completion of any fiscal year.  The Company is also required to evaluate the realizability of its deferred tax assets on an ongoing basis in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires the assessment of the Company’s performance and other relevant factors when determining the need for a valuation allowance with respect to these deferred tax assets.  Realization of deferred tax assets is dependent on the Company’s ability to generate future taxable income.  The Company adopted FIN 48 effective at the beginning of 2008.

Inventories:  Inventories are stated at the lower of average cost or market value.  Cost includes labor, material and overhead costs, including product and process technology costs.  Determining market value of inventories involves numerous judgments, including projecting average selling prices and sales volumes for future periods and costs to complete products in work in process inventories.  To project average selling prices and sales volumes, the Company reviews recent sales volumes, existing customer orders, current contract prices, industry analysis of supply and demand, seasonal factors, general economic trends and other information.  When these analyses reflect estimated market values below the Company’s manufacturing costs, the Company records a charge to cost of goods sold in advance of when the inventory is actually sold.  Differences in forecasted average selling prices used in calculating lower of cost or market adjustments can result in significant changes in the estimated net realizable value of product inventories and accordingly the amount of write-down recorded.  For example, a 5% variance in the estimated selling prices would have changed the estimated fair value of the Company’s semiconductor memory inventory by approximately $90 million at May 29, 2008.  Due to the volatile nature of the semiconductor memory industry, actual selling prices and volumes often vary significantly from projected prices and volumes and, as a result, the timing of when product costs are charged to operations can vary significantly.

U.S. GAAP provides for products to be grouped into categories in order to compare costs to market values.  The amount of any inventory write-down can vary significantly depending on the determination of inventory categories.  The Company’s inventories have been categorized as Memory products or Imaging products.  The major characteristics the Company considers in determining inventory categories are product type and markets.


 
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Product and process technology: Costs incurred to acquire product and process technology or to patent technology developed by the Company are capitalized and amortized on a straight-line basis over periods currently ranging up to 10 years.  The Company capitalizes a portion of costs incurred based on its analysis of historical and projected patents issued as a percent of patents filed.  Capitalized product and process technology costs are amortized over the shorter of (i) the estimated useful life of the technology, (ii) the patent term or (iii) the term of the technology agreement.

Research and development:  Costs related to the conceptual formulation and design of products and processes are expensed as research and development when incurred.  Determining when product development is complete requires judgment by the Company.  The Company deems development of a product complete once the product has been thoroughly reviewed and tested for performance and reliability.

Stock-based compensation:  Under the provisions of SFAS No. 123(R), stock-based compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on the fair-value of the award and is recognized as expense ratably over the requisite service period of the award.  For stock based compensation awards with graded vesting that were granted after 2005, the Company recognizes compensation expense using the straight-line amortization method.  For performance-based stock awards, the expense recognized is dependent on the probability of the performance measure being achieved.  The Company utilizes forecasts of future performance to assess these probabilities and this assessment requires considerable judgment.

Determining the appropriate fair-value model and calculating the fair value of stock-based awards at the grant date requires considerable judgment, including estimating stock price volatility, expected option life and forfeiture rates.  The Company develops its estimates based on historical data and market information which can change significantly over time.  A small change in the estimates used can result in a relatively large change in the estimated valuation.  The Company uses the Black-Scholes option valuation model to value employee stock awards.  The Company estimates stock price volatility based on an average of its historical volatility and the implied volatility derived from traded options on the Company’s stock.



 
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Item 3.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Interest Rate Risk

As of May 29, 2008, $2,084 million of the Company’s $2,421 million of debt was at fixed interest rates.  As a result, the fair value of the debt fluctuates based on changes in market interest rates.  The estimated fair market value of the Company’s debt was $2,185 million as of May 29, 2008 and was $2,411 million as of August 30, 2007.  The Company estimates that as of May 29, 2008, a 1% decrease in market interest rates would change the fair value of the fixed-rate debt by approximately $80 million.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

The information in this section should be read in conjunction with the information related to changes in the exchange rates of foreign currency in “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”  Changes in foreign currency exchange rates could materially adversely affect the Company’s results of operations or financial condition.

The functional currency for substantially all of the Company’s operations is the U.S. dollar.  The Company held aggregate cash and other assets in foreign currencies valued at U.S. $489 million as of May 29, 2008 and U.S. $448 million as of August 30, 2007.  The Company also had aggregate foreign currency liabilities valued at U.S. $657 million as of May 29, 2008 and U.S. $979 million as of August 30, 2007.  Significant components of the Company’s assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies were as follows (in U.S. dollar equivalents):

   
May 29, 2008
   
August 30, 2007
 
   
Singapore Dollars
   
Yen
   
Euro
   
Singapore Dollars
   
Yen
   
Euro
 
                                     
Cash and equivalents
  $ 110     $ 151     $ 21     $ 58     $ 180     $ 11  
Net deferred tax assets
    --       85       2       --       76       2  
Debt
    (51 )     (113 )     (5 )     (258 )     (165 )     (5 )
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
    (141 )     (116 )     (89 )     (116 )     (168 )     (137 )

The Company estimates that, based on its assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar as of May 29, 2008, a 1% change in the exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar would result in foreign currency gains or losses of approximately U.S. $1 million for the euro and the Singapore dollar.


Item 4.  Controls and Procedures

An evaluation was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) as of the end of the period covered by this report.  Based upon that evaluation, the principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that those disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to allow timely decision regarding disclosure.

During the quarterly period covered by this report, there were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.



 
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PART II.  OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1.  Legal Proceedings

Patent Matters

On August 28, 2000, the Company filed a complaint against Rambus, Inc. (“Rambus”) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware seeking monetary damages and declaratory and injunctive relief.  Among other things, the Company’s complaint (as amended) alleges violation of federal antitrust laws, breach of contract, fraud, deceptive trade practices, and negligent misrepresentation.  The complaint also seeks a declaratory judgment (a) that certain Rambus patents are not infringed by the Company, are invalid, and/or are unenforceable, (b) that the Company has an implied license to those patents, and (c) that Rambus is estopped from enforcing those patents against the Company.  On February 15, 2001, Rambus filed an answer and counterclaim in Delaware denying that the Company is entitled to relief, alleging infringement of the eight Rambus patents named in the Company’s declaratory judgment claim, and seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.  In the Delaware action, the Company subsequently added claims and defenses based on Rambus’s alleged spoliation of evidence and litigation misconduct.  The spoliation and litigation misconduct claims and defenses were heard in a bench trial before Judge Robinson in October 2007.  Post-trial briefing is underway for this phase of the litigation.

A number of other suits involving Rambus are currently pending in Europe alleging that certain of the Company’s SDRAM and DDR SDRAM products infringe various of Rambus’ country counterparts to its European patent 525 068, including: on September 1, 2000, Rambus filed suit against Micron Semiconductor (Deutschland) GmbH in the District Court of Mannheim, Germany; on September 22, 2000, Rambus filed a complaint against the Company and Reptronic (a distributor of the Company’s products) in the Court of First Instance of Paris, France; on September 29, 2000, the Company filed suit against Rambus in the Civil Court of Milan, Italy, alleging invalidity and non-infringement.  In addition, on December 29, 2000, the Company filed suit against Rambus in the Civil Court of Avezzano, Italy, alleging invalidity and non-infringement of the Italian counterpart to European patent 1 004 956.  Additionally, on August 14, 2001, Rambus filed suit against Micron Semiconductor (Deutschland) GmbH in the District Court of Mannheim, Germany alleging that certain of the Company’s DDR SDRAM products infringe Rambus’ country counterparts to its European patent 1 022 642.  In the European suits against the Company, Rambus is seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.  Subsequent to the filing of the various European suits, the European Patent Office (the “EPO”) declared Rambus’ 525 068 and 1 004 956 European patents invalid and revoked the patents.  The declaration of invalidity with respect to the '068 patent was upheld on appeal.  The original claims of the '956 patent also were declared invalid on appeal, but the EPO ultimately granted a Rambus request to amend the claims by adding a number of limitations.

On January 13, 2006, Rambus filed a lawsuit against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging infringement of eighteen Rambus patents.  On June 2, 2006, the Company filed an answer and counterclaim against Rambus alleging among other things, antitrust and fraud claims.  The Northern District of California Court subsequently consolidated the antitrust and fraud claims and certain equitable defenses of the Company and other parties against Rambus in a jury trial that began on January 29, 2008.  On March 26, 2008, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Rambus on the Company’s antitrust and fraud claims.

On July 24, 2006, the Company filed a declaratory judgment action against Mosaid Technologies, Inc. (“Mosaid”) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking, among other things, a court determination that fourteen Mosaid patents are invalid, not enforceable, and/or not infringed.  On July 25, 2006, Mosaid filed a lawsuit against the Company and others in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging infringement of nine Mosaid patents.  On August 31, 2006, Mosaid filed an amended complaint adding two additional Mosaid patents.  On October 23, 2006, the California Court dismissed the Company’s declaratory judgment suit based on lack of jurisdiction.  The Company appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  On February 29, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an order reversing the dismissal of the Company’s declaratory judgment action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and remanding the suit to that Court.

Among other things, the above lawsuits pertain to certain of the Company’s SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RLDRAM and image sensor products, which account for a significant portion of the Company’s net sales.


 
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The Company is unable to predict the outcome of these suits.  A court determination that the Company’s products or manufacturing processes infringe the product or process intellectual property rights of others could result in significant liability and/or require the Company to make material changes to its products and/or manufacturing processes.  Any of the foregoing results could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.

Antitrust Matters

On June 17, 2002, the Company received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) into possible antitrust violations in the “Dynamic Random Access Memory” or “DRAM” industry.  The Company has cooperated fully and actively with the DOJ in its investigation.  The Company has cooperated pursuant to the terms of the DOJ’s Corporate Leniency Policy, which provides that in exchange for our full, continuing and complete cooperation in the pending investigation, the Company will not be subject to prosecution, fines or other penalties from the DOJ.

Subsequent to the commencement of the DOJ investigation, a number of purported class action lawsuits have been filed against the Company and other DRAM suppliers.  Four cases have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asserting claims on behalf of a purported class of individuals and entities that indirectly purchased DRAM and/or products containing DRAM from various DRAM suppliers during the time period from April 1, 1999 through at least June 30, 2002.  The complaints allege price fixing in violation of federal antitrust laws and various state antitrust and unfair competition laws and seek treble monetary damages, restitution, costs, interest and attorneys’ fees.  In addition, at least sixty-four cases have been filed in various state courts asserting claims on behalf of a purported class of indirect purchasers of DRAM.  Cases have been filed in the following states:  Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia, and also in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  The complaints purport to be on behalf of a class of individuals and entities that indirectly purchased DRAM and/or products containing DRAM in the respective jurisdictions during various time periods ranging from April 1999 through at least June 2002.  The complaints allege violations of the various jurisdictions’ antitrust, consumer protection and/or unfair competition laws relating to the sale and pricing of DRAM products and seek treble monetary damages, restitution, costs, interest and attorneys’ fees.  A number of these cases have been removed to federal court and transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco) for consolidated proceedings.  On January 29, 2008, the Northern District of California Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s second amended consolidated complaint.  Plaintiffs subsequently filed a motion seeking certification for interlocutory appeal of the decision.  On February 27, 2008, plaintiffs filed a third amended complaint.  On June 26, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit accepted plaintiffs’ interlocutory appeal.

Additionally, three cases have been filed in the following Canadian courts:  Superior Court, District of Montreal, Province of Quebec; Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Ontario; and Supreme Court of British Columbia, Vancouver Registry, British Columbia.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the cases filed in the United States.  In May and June 2008 respectively, plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was denied in the British Columbia and Quebec cases.  In the British Columbia case, plaintiffs have filed an appeal of that decision.

In addition, various states, through their Attorneys General, have filed suit against the Company and other DRAM manufacturers.  On July 14, 2006, and on September 8, 2006 in an amended complaint, the following Attorneys General filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California:  Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Three states, Ohio, New Hampshire, and Texas, subsequently voluntarily dismissed their claims.  The remaining states filed a third amended complaint on October 1, 2007.  Alaska, Delaware, and Vermont subsequently voluntarily dismissed their claims.  The amended complaint alleges, among other things, violations of the Sherman Act, Cartwright Act, and certain other states’ consumer protection and antitrust laws and seeks damages, and injunctive and other relief.  Additionally, on July 13, 2006, the State of New York filed a similar suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  That case was subsequently transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for pre-trial purposes.  The State of New York filed an amended complaint on October 1, 2007.

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On February 28, 2007, February 28, 2007 and March 8, 2007, cases were filed against the Company and other manufacturers of DRAM in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by All American Semiconductor, Inc., Jaco Electronics, Inc. and DRAM Claims Liquidation Trust, respectively, that opted-out of a direct purchaser class action suit that was settled.  The complaints allege, among other things, violations of federal and state antitrust and competition laws in the DRAM industry, and seek damages, injunctive relief, and other remedies.

On October 11, 2006, the Company received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the DOJ into possible antitrust violations in the “Static Random Access Memory” or “SRAM” industry.  The Company believes that it is not a target of the investigation and is cooperating with the DOJ in its investigation of the SRAM industry.

Subsequent to the issuance of subpoenas to the SRAM industry, a number of purported class action lawsuits have been filed against the Company and other SRAM suppliers.  Six cases have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asserting claims on behalf of a purported class of individuals and entities that purchased SRAM directly from various SRAM suppliers during the period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2005.  Additionally, at least seventy-four cases have been filed in various U.S. District Courts asserting claims on behalf of a purported class of individuals and entities that indirectly purchased SRAM and/or products containing SRAM from various SRAM suppliers during the time period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2005.  The complaints allege price fixing in violation of federal antitrust laws and state antitrust and unfair competition laws and seek treble monetary damages, restitution, costs, interest and attorneys’ fees.

Three purported class action SRAM lawsuits also have been filed in Canada, on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers, alleging violations of the Canadian Competition Act.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the SRAM cases filed in the United States.

In September 2007, a number of memory suppliers confirmed that they had received grand jury subpoenas from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the DOJ into possible antitrust violations in the "Flash" industry.  The Company has not received a subpoena and believes that is not a target of the investigation.

At least thirty-four purported class action lawsuits have been filed against the Company and other suppliers of Flash memory products in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and other federal district courts.  These cases assert claims on behalf of a purported class of individuals and entities that purchased Flash memory directly or indirectly from various Flash memory suppliers during the period from January 1, 1999 through the date the various cases were filed.  The complaints generally allege price fixing in violation of federal antitrust laws and various state antitrust and unfair competition laws and seek monetary damages, restitution, costs, interest, and attorneys’ fees.  On February 8, 2008, the plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint that did not name the Company as a defendant.

Three purported class action Flash lawsuits also have been filed in Canada, on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers, alleging violations of the Canadian Competition Act.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the Flash cases filed in the United States.

On May 5, 2004, Rambus filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California (San Francisco County) against the Company and other DRAM suppliers.  The complaint alleges various causes of action under California state law including a conspiracy to restrict output and fix prices on Rambus DRAM (“RDRAM”) and unfair competition.  The complaint seeks treble damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and a permanent injunction enjoining the defendants from the conduct alleged in the complaints.

The Company is unable to predict the outcome of these lawsuits and investigations.  The final resolution of these alleged violations of antitrust laws could result in significant liability and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.


 
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Securities Matters

On February 24, 2006, a putative class action complaint was filed against the Company and certain of its officers in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho alleging claims under Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.  Four substantially similar complaints subsequently were filed in the same Court.  The cases purport to be brought on behalf of a class of purchasers of the Company’s stock during the period February 24, 2001 to February 13, 2003.  The five lawsuits have been consolidated and a consolidated amended class action complaint was filed on July 24, 2006.  The complaint generally alleges violations of federal securities laws based on, among other things, claimed misstatements or omissions regarding alleged illegal price-fixing conduct or the Company’s operations and financial results.  The complaint seeks unspecified damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses.  On December 19, 2007, the Court issued an order certifying the class but reducing the class period to purchasers of the Company’s stock during the period from February 24, 2001 to September 18, 2002.

In addition, on March 23, 2006 a shareholder derivative action was filed in the Fourth District Court for the State of Idaho (Ada County), allegedly on behalf of and for the benefit of the Company, against certain of the Company’s current and former officers and directors.  The Company also was named as a nominal defendant.  An amended complaint was filed on August 23, 2006 and was subsequently dismissed by the Court.  Another amended complaint was filed on September 6, 2007.  The amended complaint is based on the same allegations of fact as in the securities class actions filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho and alleges breach of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, unjust enrichment, and insider trading.  The amended complaint seeks unspecified damages, restitution, disgorgement of profits, equitable and injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses.  The amended complaint is derivative in nature and does not seek monetary damages from the Company.  However, the Company may be required, throughout the pendency of the action, to advance payment of legal fees and costs incurred by the defendants.  On January 25, 2008, the Court granted the Company’s motion to dismiss the second amended complaint without leave to amend.  On March 10, 2008, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the Idaho Court of Appeals.

The Company is unable to predict the outcome of these cases.  A court determination in any of these actions against the Company could result in significant liability and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.

Lexar Matters

In March 2006, following the Company’s announcement of a definitive agreement to acquire Lexar Media, Inc. (“Lexar”) in a stock-for-stock merger, four purported class action complaints were filed in the Superior Court for the State of California (Alameda County) on behalf of shareholders of Lexar against Lexar and its directors.  Two of the complaints also named the Company as a defendant.  The complaints alleged that the defendants breached, or aided and abetted the breach of, fiduciary duties owed to Lexar shareholders by, among other things, engaging in self-dealing, failing to engage in efforts to obtain the highest price reasonably available, and failing to properly value Lexar in connection with a merger transaction between Lexar and the Company.  The plaintiffs sought, among other things, injunctive relief preventing, or an order of rescission reversing, the merger, compensatory damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs.  On May 19, 2006, the plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to block the merger.  On May 31, 2006, the Court denied the motion.  An amended consolidated complaint was filed on October 10, 2006.  On June 14, 2007, the Court granted Lexar's and the Company's motions to dismiss the amended complaint but allowed plaintiffs leave to file a further amended complaint.  On November 16, 2007, the Court granted Lexar’s and the Company’s renewed motion to dismiss the case as to all parties with prejudice.  On December 18, 2007, the Court entered an order holding that the plaintiffs had waived any right to appeal the final judgment.

(See “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”)



 
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Item 1A.  Risk Factors

In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere in this Form 10-Q, the following are important factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company.

We have experienced dramatic declines in average selling prices for our semiconductor memory products which have adversely affected our business.

For the third quarter of 2008 average selling prices of DRAM products and NAND Flash products decreased approximately 5% and 20%, respectively, as compared to the second quarter of 2008.  For the first nine months of 2008 average selling prices of DRAM products and NAND Flash products decreased approximately 55% and 70%, respectively, as compared to the first nine months of 2007.  For 2007, average selling prices of DRAM products and NAND Flash products decreased 23% and 56%, respectively, as compared to 2006.  In other recent years, we also have experienced significant annual decreases in per gigabit average selling prices for our memory products including: 34% in 2006, 24% in 2005, 17% in 2003, 53% in 2002 and 60% in 2001.  At times, average selling prices for our memory products have been below our costs.  We recorded inventory write-downs of $15 million in the second quarter of 2008, $62 million in the first quarter of 2008 and $20 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 as a result of significant decreases in average selling prices for our semiconductor memory products.  If the estimated market values of products held in finished goods and work in process inventories at a quarter end date are below the manufacturing cost of these products, we recognize charges to cost of goods sold to write down the carrying value of our inventories to market value.  Future charges for inventory write-downs could be significantly larger than the amount recorded in the first and second quarters of 2008.  If average selling prices for our memory products remain depressed or decrease faster than we can decrease per gigabit costs, as they recently have, our business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

We may be unable to reduce our per gigabit manufacturing costs at the rate average selling prices decline.

Our gross margins are dependent upon continuing decreases in per gigabit manufacturing costs achieved through improvements in our manufacturing processes, including reducing the die size of our existing products.  In future periods, we may be unable to reduce our per unit manufacturing costs at sufficient levels to increase gross margins due to factors, including, but not limited to, strategic product diversification decisions affecting product mix, the increasing complexity of manufacturing processes, changes in process technologies or products that inherently may require relatively larger die sizes.  Per unit manufacturing costs may also be affected by the relatively smaller production quantities and shorter product lifecycles of certain specialty memory products.

The semiconductor memory industry is highly competitive.

We face intense competition in the semiconductor memory market from a number of companies, including Elpida Memory, Inc.; Hynix Semiconductor Inc.; Qimonda AG ADS; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; SanDisk Corporation; Toshiba Corporation and from emerging companies in Taiwan and China, who have significantly expanded the scale of their operations.  Some of our competitors are large corporations or conglomerates that may have greater resources to withstand downturns in the semiconductor markets in which we compete, invest in technology and capitalize on growth opportunities.

Our competitors seek to increase silicon capacity, improve yields, reduce die size and minimize mask levels in their product designs.  The transitions to smaller line-width process technologies and 300mm wafers in the industry have resulted in significant increases in the worldwide supply of semiconductor memory and will likely lead to future increases.  Increases in worldwide supply of semiconductor memory also result from semiconductor memory fab capacity expansions, either by way of new facilities, increased capacity utilization or reallocation of other semiconductor production to semiconductor memory production.  We and several of our competitors have significantly increased production in recent periods through construction of new facilities or expansion of existing facilities.  Increases in worldwide supply of semiconductor memory, if not accompanied with commensurate increases in demand, would lead to further declines in average selling prices for our products and would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.


 
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Our plans to significantly increase our NAND Flash memory production and sales have numerous risks.

We plan to increase our NAND Flash production and sales in future periods.  As part of this plan, we have formed manufacturing joint ventures with Intel and made substantial investments in capital expenditures for equipment, new facilities and research and development.  Our plans also require significant investments in capital expenditures and research and development.  We currently estimate our capital spending to approximate between $2.5 and $3.0 billion for 2008 and to be between $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion for 2009, with a significant portion of the expenditures being made to support our NAND operations.  These investments involve numerous risks.  In addition, we are required to devote a significant portion of our existing semiconductor manufacturing capacity to the production of NAND Flash instead of the Company's other products.  We are also a party to a contract with Apple Inc. to provide NAND Flash products for an extended period of time at contractually determined prices.  We currently have a relatively small share of the world-wide market for NAND Flash.

Our NAND Flash strategy involves numerous risks, and may include the following:

·  
competing against companies with greater scale and potentially greater resources;

·  
increasing our exposure to changes in average selling prices for NAND Flash;

·  
difficulties in establishing new production operations at multiple locations;

·  
increasing capital expenditures to increase production capacity and modify existing processes to produce NAND Flash;

·  
raising funds or increasing debt to finance future investments;

·  
diverting management’s attention from DRAM operations;

·  
managing larger operations and facilities and employees in separate geographic areas; and

·  
hiring and retaining key employees.

Our NAND Flash strategy may not be successful and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our joint ventures and strategic partnerships involve numerous risks.
 
We have entered into partnering arrangements to manufacture products and develop new manufacturing process technologies and products.  These arrangements include our IM Flash NAND flash joint ventures with Intel, our MeiYa DRAM joint venture with Nanya, and our TECH DRAM joint venture.  These strategic partnerships and joint ventures are subject to various risks that could adversely affect the value of our investments and our results of operations.  These risks include the following:

·  
our interests could diverge from our partners in the future or we may not be able to agree with partners on the amount, timing or nature of further investments in our joint venture;

·  
the terms of our arrangements may turn out to be unfavorable;

·  
cash flows may be inadequate to fund increased capital requirements;

·  
we may experience difficulties in transferring technology to joint ventures;

·  
we may experience difficulties and delays in ramping production from joint ventures; and

·  
political or economic instability may occur in the countries where our joint ventures and/or partners are located.

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If our joint ventures and strategic partnerships are unsuccessful our business, results of operations or financial condition may be adversely affected.

We may be unable to generate sufficient cash flows or obtain access to external financing necessary to fund our operations and make adequate capital investments.

Our cash flows from operations depend primarily on the volume of semiconductor memory sold, average selling prices and per unit manufacturing costs.  To develop new product and process technologies, support future growth, achieve operating efficiencies and maintain product quality, we must make significant capital investments in manufacturing technology, facilities and capital equipment, research and development, and product and process technology.  We currently estimate our capital spending to approximate between $2.5 and $3.0 billion for 2008 and to be between $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion for 2009, with a significant portion of the expenditures being made to support our NAND operations.  Cash and investments of IM Flash and TECH are generally not available to finance our other operations.  In addition to cash provided by operations, we have from time to time utilized external sources of financing.  Access to capital markets has historically been very important to us.  Depending on market conditions, we may issue registered or unregistered securities to raise capital to fund a portion of our operations.  There can be no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flows to fund our operations; make adequate capital investments to remain competitive in terms of technology developments and cost efficiency; or access capital markets on acceptable terms.  Our inability to do the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

New product development may be unsuccessful.

We are developing new products that complement our traditional memory products or leverage their underlying design or process technology.  We have made significant investments in product and process technologies and anticipate expending significant resources for new semiconductor product development over the next several years.  The process to develop NAND Flash, Imaging and certain specialty memory products requires us to demonstrate advanced functionality and performance, many times well in advance of a planned ramp of production, in order to secure design wins with our customers.  There can be no assurance that our product development efforts will be successful, that we will be able to cost-effectively manufacture these new products, that we will be able to successfully market these products or that margins generated from sales of these products will recover costs of development efforts.

The future success of our Imaging business will be dependent on continued market acceptance of our products and the development, introduction and marketing of new Imaging products.

We face competition in the image sensor market from a number of suppliers of CMOS image sensors including MagnaChip Semiconductor Ltd.; OmniVision Technologies, Inc.; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd; Sony Corporation; STMicroelectronics NV; Toshiba Corporation and from a number of suppliers of CCD image sensors including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation and Sony Corporation.  In recent periods, a number of new companies have entered the CMOS image sensor market.  Competitors include many large domestic and international companies that have greater presence in key markets, better access to certain customer bases, greater name recognition and more established strategic and financial relationships than the Company.

In 2007, our Imaging net sales and gross margins decreased and we faced increased competition.  There can be no assurance that we will be able to grow or maintain our market share or gross margins for Imaging products in the future.  The success of our Imaging business will depend on a number of factors, including:

·  
development of products that maintain a technological advantage over the products of our competitors;

·  
accurate prediction of market requirements and evolving standards, including pixel resolution, output interface standards, power requirements, optical lens size, input standards and other requirements;

·  
timely completion and introduction of new Imaging products that satisfy customer requirements;

·  
timely achievement of design wins with prospective customers, as manufacturers may be reluctant to change their source of components due to the significant costs, time, effort and risk associated with qualifying a new supplier; and

·  
efficient, cost-effective manufacturing as we transition to new products and higher volumes.

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Our efforts to restructure our Imaging business may be unsuccessful.

We are exploring business model alternatives for our Imaging business including partnering arrangements.  To the extent we form a partnering arrangement, the resulting business model may not be successful and the Imaging operations revenues and margins could be adversely affected.  We may incur significant costs to convert Imaging operations to a new business structure and operations could be disrupted.  If our efforts to restructure the Imaging business are unsuccessful, our business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

We expect to make future acquisitions and alliances, which involve numerous risks.

Acquisitions and the formation of alliances such as joint ventures and other partnering arrangements, involve numerous risks including the following:

·  
difficulties in integrating the operations, technologies and products of acquired or newly formed entities;

·  
increasing capital expenditures to upgrade and maintain facilities;

·  
increasing debt to finance any acquisition or formation of a new business;

·  
difficulties in protecting our intellectual property as we enter into a greater number of licensing arrangements;

·  
diverting management’s attention from normal daily operations;

·  
managing larger or more complex operations and facilities and employees in separate geographic areas, and

·  
hiring and retaining key employees.

Acquisitions of, or alliances with, high-technology companies are inherently risky, and any future transactions may not be successful and may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We may incur additional restructure charges or not realize the expected benefits of new initiatives to reduce costs across our operations.

In 2008 we pursued a number of initiatives to reduce costs across our operations. These initiatives include workforce reductions in certain areas as we realigned our business.  Additional initiatives included establishing certain operations closer in location to our global customers and evaluating functions more efficiently performed through partnerships or other outside relationships.  In addition, we continue to focus on reducing our overhead costs to meet or exceed industry benchmarks.  In the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, we recorded charges of $8 million and $29 million, respectively, primarily to the Memory segment, for employee severance and related costs, a write-down of certain facilities to their fair values, and relocation and retention bonuses.  We may not realize the expected benefits of these new initiatives.  As a result of these initiatives, we expect to incur restructuring or other infrequent charges and we may experience disruptions in our operations, loss of key personnel and difficulties in delivering products timely.

Our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards may be limited.

We have significant net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards.  We have provided significant valuation allowances against the tax benefit of such losses as well as certain tax credit carryforwards.  Utilization of these net operating losses and credit carryforwards is dependent upon us achieving sustained profitability.  As a consequence of prior business acquisitions, utilization of the tax benefits for some of the tax carryforwards is subject to limitations imposed by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code and some portion or all of these carryforwards may not be available to offset any future taxable income.  The determination of the limitations is complex and requires significant judgment and analysis of past transactions.

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Changes in foreign currency exchange rates could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and are reported in U.S. dollars.  Across our multi-national operations, there are transactions and balances denominated in other currencies, primarily the euro, yen and Singapore dollar.  We recorded a net loss of $33 million from changes in currency exchange rates for the first nine months of 2008.  We estimate that, based on its assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar as of May 29, 2008, a 1% change in the exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar would result in foreign currency gains or losses of approximately U.S. $1 million for the euro and Singapore dollar.  In the event that the U.S. dollar weakens significantly compared to the Singapore dollar, euro or yen, our results of operations or financial condition will be adversely affected.

An adverse determination that our products or manufacturing processes infringe the intellectual property rights of others could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

As is typical in the semiconductor and other high technology industries, from time to time, others have asserted, and may in the future assert, that our products or manufacturing processes infringe their intellectual property rights.  In this regard, we are engaged in litigation with Rambus, Inc. ("Rambus") relating to certain of Rambus' patents and certain of our claims and defenses.  On August 28, 2000, we filed a complaint (subsequently amended) against Rambus in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware seeking monetary damages and declaratory and injunctive relief.  Among other things, our amended complaint alleges violation of federal antitrust laws, breach of contract, fraud, deceptive trade practices, and negligent misrepresentation.  The complaint also seeks a declaratory judgment (a) that certain Rambus patents are not infringed by us, are invalid, and/or are unenforceable, (b) that we have an implied license to those patents, and (c) that Rambus is estopped from enforcing those patents against us.  On February 15, 2001, Rambus filed an answer and counterclaim in Delaware denying that we are entitled to relief, alleging infringement of the eight Rambus patents named in our declaratory judgment claim, and seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.  In the Delaware action, we subsequently added claims and defenses based on Rambus’s alleged spoliation of evidence and litigation misconduct.  The spoliation and litigation misconduct claims and defenses were heard in a bench trial before Judge Robinson in October 2007.  Post-trial briefing is underway for this phase of the litigation.

A number of other suits involving Rambus are currently pending in Europe alleging that certain of our SDRAM and DDR SDRAM products infringe various of Rambus' country counterparts to its European patent 525 068, including: on September 1, 2000, Rambus filed suit against Micron Semiconductor (Deutschland) GmbH in the District Court of Mannheim, Germany; on September 22, 2000, Rambus filed a complaint against us and Reptronic (a distributor of our products) in the Court of First Instance of Paris, France; and on September 29, 2000, we filed suit against Rambus in the Civil Court of Milan, Italy, alleging invalidity and non-infringement.  In addition, on December 29, 2000, we filed suit against Rambus in the Civil Court of Avezzano, Italy, alleging invalidity and non-infringement of the Italian counterpart to European patent 1 004 956.  Additionally, on August 14, 2001, Rambus filed suit against Micron Semiconductor (Deutschland) GmbH in the District Court of Mannheim, Germany alleging that certain of our DDR SDRAM products infringe Rambus' country counterparts to its European patent 1 022 642.  In the European suits against us, Rambus is seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.  Subsequent to the filing of the various European suits, the European Patent Office (the “EPO”) declared Rambus' 525 068 and 1 004 956 European patents invalid and revoked the patents.  The declaration of invalidity with respect to the ‘068 patent has been upheld on appeal.  The original claims of the '956 patent also were declared invalid on appeal, but the EPO ultimately granted a Rambus request to amend the claims by adding a number of limitations.

On January 13, 2006, Rambus filed a lawsuit against us in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging infringement of eighteen Rambus patents.  On June 2, 2006, we filed an answer and counterclaim against Rambus alleging amongst other thins, antitrust and fraud claims.  The Northern District of California Court subsequently consolidated the antitrust and fraud claims and certain equitable defenses of ours and other parties against Rambus in a jury trial that began on January 29, 2008.  On March 26, 2008, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Rambus on our antitrust and fraud claims.  We are also engaged in litigation with Mosaid Technologies, Inc. ("Mosaid").  On July 24, 2006, we filed a declaratory judgment action against Mosaid in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking, among other things, a court determination that fourteen Mosaid patents are invalid, not enforceable, and/or not infringed.  On July 25, 2006, Mosaid filed a lawsuit against us and others in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging infringement of nine Mosaid patents.  On August 31, 2006, Mosaid filed an amended complaint adding two additional Mosaid patents.  On October 23, 2006, the California Court dismissed our declaratory judgment suit based on lack of jurisdiction.  We appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  On February 29, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an order reversing the dismissal of our
 
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declaratory judgment action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and remanding the suit to that Court.

Among other things, the above lawsuits pertain to certain of our SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RLDRAM, and image sensor products, which account for a significant portion of our net sales.

A court determination that our products or manufacturing processes infringe the intellectual property rights of others could result in significant liability and/or require us to make material changes to our products and/or manufacturing processes.  We are unable to predict the outcome of assertions of infringement made against us.  Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We have a number of patent and intellectual property license agreements.  Some of these license agreements require us to make one time or periodic payments.  We may need to obtain additional patent licenses or renew existing license agreements in the future.  We are unable to predict whether these license agreements can be obtained or renewed on acceptable terms.

Allegations of anticompetitive conduct.

On June 17, 2002, we received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the "DOJ") into possible antitrust violations in the "Dynamic Random Access Memory" or "DRAM" industry.  We have cooperated fully and actively with the DOJ in its investigation of the DRAM industry.  We have cooperated pursuant to the terms of the DOJ's Corporate Leniency Policy, which provides that in exchange for our full, continuing and complete cooperation in the pending investigation, we will not be subject to prosecution, fines or other penalties from the DOJ.

Subsequent to the commencement of the DOJ investigation, a number of purported class action lawsuits have been filed against us and other DRAM suppliers.  Four cases have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asserting claims on behalf of a purported class of individuals and entities that indirectly purchased DRAM and/or products containing DRAM from various DRAM suppliers during the time period from April 1, 1999 through at least June 30, 2002.  The complaints allege price fixing in violation of federal antitrust laws and various state antitrust and unfair competition laws and seek treble monetary damages, restitution, costs, interest and attorneys' fees.  In addition, at least sixty-four cases have been filed in various state and federal courts (five of which have been dismissed) asserting claims on behalf of a purported class of indirect purchasers of DRAM.  Cases have been filed in the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia, and also in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  The complaints purport to be on behalf of individuals and entities that indirectly purchased DRAM and/or products containing DRAM in the respective jurisdictions during various time periods ranging from April 1999 through at least June 2002.  The complaints allege violations of various jurisdictions' antitrust, consumer protection and/or unfair competition laws relating to the sale and pricing of DRAM products and seek treble monetary damages, restitution, costs, interest and attorneys' fees.  A number of these cases have been removed to federal court and transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco) for consolidated proceedings.  On January 29, 2008, the Northern District of California Court granted in part and denied in part our motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s second amended consolidated complaint.  Plaintiffs have filed a motion seeking certification for interlocutory appeal of this decision and on February 27, 2008, filed a third amended complaint.

Additionally, three cases have been filed in the following Canadian courts: Superior Court, District of Montreal, Province of Quebec; Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Ontario; and Supreme Court of British Columbia, Vancouver Registry, British Columbia.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the cases filed in the United States.  In May and June 2008 respectively, plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was denied in the British Columbia and Quebec cases.  In the British Columbia case, plaintiffs have filed an appeal of that decision.

In addition, various states, through their Attorneys General, have filed suit against us and other DRAM manufacturers.  On July 14, 2006, and on September 8, 2006 in an amended complaint, the following Attorneys General filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,
 
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Wisconsin and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  The amended complaint alleges, among other things, violations of the Sherman Act, Cartwright Act, and certain other states' consumer protection and antitrust laws and seeks damages, and injunctive and other relief.  Additionally, on July 13, 2006, the State of New York filed a similar suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  That case was subsequently transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for pre-trial purposes.  Six states, Alaska, Delaware, Ohio, New Hampshire, Texas, and Vermont, subsequently have withdrawn from the complaint.

In February and March 2007, All American Semiconductor, Inc., Jaco Electronics, Inc., and the DRAM Claims Liquidation Trust each filed suit against the Company and other DRAM suppliers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California after opting-out of a direct purchaser class action suit that was settled.  The complaints allege, among other things, violations of federal and state antitrust and competition laws in the DRAM industry, and seek damages, injunctive relief, and other remedies.

On October 11, 2006, we received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the DOJ into possible antitrust violations in the "Static Random Access Memory" or "SRAM" industry.  We believe that we are not a target of the investigation and we are cooperating with the DOJ in its investigation of the SRAM industry.

Subsequent to the issuance of subpoenas to the SRAM industry, a number of purported class action lawsuits have been filed against us and other SRAM suppliers.  Six cases have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asserting claims on behalf of a purported class of individuals and entities that purchased SRAM directly from various SRAM suppliers during the period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2005.  Additionally, at least seventy-four cases have been filed in various U.S. District Courts asserting claims on behalf of a purported class of individuals and entities that indirectly purchased SRAM and/or products containing SRAM from various SRAM suppliers during the time period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2005.  The complaints allege price fixing in violation of federal antitrust laws and state antitrust and unfair competition laws and seek treble monetary damages, restitution, costs, interest and attorneys' fees.

Three purported class action SRAM lawsuits also have been filed in Canada, on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers, alleging violations of the Canadian Competition Act.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the SRAM cases filed in the United States.

In September 2007, a number of memory suppliers confirmed that they had received grand jury subpoenas from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking information regarding an investigation by the DOJ into possible antitrust violations in the "Flash" industry.  We have not received a subpoena and believe that we are not a target of the investigation.

At least thirty-four purported class action lawsuits have been filed against the Company and other suppliers of Flash memory products in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and other federal district courts.  These cases assert claims on behalf of a purported class of individuals and entities that purchased Flash memory directly or indirectly from various Flash memory suppliers during the period from January 1, 1999 through the date the various cases were filed.  The complaints generally allege price fixing in violation of federal antitrust laws and various state antitrust and unfair competition laws and seek monetary damages, restitution, costs, interest, and attorneys' fees.  On February 8, 2008, the plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint on February 8, 2008 that did not name us as a defendant.

Three purported class action Flash lawsuits also have been filed in Canada, on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers, alleging violations of the Canadian Competition Act.  The substantive allegations in these cases are similar to those asserted in the Flash cases filed in the United States.

On May 5, 2004, Rambus filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California (San Francisco County) against us and other DRAM suppliers.  The complaint alleges various causes of action under California state law including conspiracy to restrict output and fix prices on Rambus DRAM ("RDRAM"), and unfair competition.  The complaint seeks treble damages, punitive damages, attorneys' fees, costs, and a permanent injunction enjoining the defendants from the conduct alleged in the complaints.

We are unable to predict the outcome of these lawsuits and investigations.  The final resolution of these alleged violations of antitrust laws could result in significant liability and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

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Allegations of violations of securities laws.

On February 24, 2006, a putative class action complaint was filed against us and certain of our officers in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho alleging claims under Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.  Four substantially similar complaints subsequently were filed in the same Court.  The cases purport to be brought on behalf of a class of purchasers of our stock during the period February 24, 2001 to February 13, 2003.  The five lawsuits have been consolidated and a consolidated amended class action complaint was filed on July 24, 2006.  The complaint generally alleges violations of federal securities laws based on, among other things, claimed misstatements or omissions regarding alleged illegal price-fixing conduct.  The complaint seeks unspecified damages, interest, attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses.  On December 19, 2007, the Court issued an order certifying the class but reducing the class period to purchasers of our stock during the period from February 24, 2001 to September 18, 2002.

In addition, on March 23, 2006 a shareholder derivative action was filed in the Fourth District Court for the State of Idaho (Ada County), allegedly on behalf of and for our benefit, against certain of our current and former officers and directors.  We were also named as a nominal defendant.  An amended complaint was filed on August 23, 2006 and was subsequently dismissed by the Court.  Another amended complaint was filed on September 6, 2007.  The amended complaint is based on the same allegations of fact as in the securities class actions filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho and alleges breach of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, unjust enrichment, and insider trading.  The amended complaint seeks unspecified damages, restitution, disgorgement of profits, equitable and injunctive relief, attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses.  The amended complaint is derivative in nature and does not seek monetary damages from us.  However, we may be required, throughout the pendency of the action, to advance payment of legal fees and costs incurred by the defendants.  On January 25, 2008, the Court granted our motion to dismiss seconded amended complaint without leave to amend.  On March 10, 2008, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the Idaho Court of Appeals.

We are unable to predict the outcome of these cases.  A court determination in any of the class actions against us could result in significant liability and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Economic conditions may harm our business.

Economic and business conditions, including a downturn in the semiconductor memory industry or the overall economy could adversely affect our business.  Adverse conditions may affect consumer demand for devices that incorporate our products such as mobile phones, personal computers, Flash memory cards and USB devices.  Reduced demand for our products could result in market oversupply and significant decreases in our selling prices.  As a result, our business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

We face risks associated with our international sales and operations that could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Sales to customers outside the United States approximated 72% of our consolidated net sales for the third quarter of 2008.  In addition, we have manufacturing operations in China, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico and Singapore.  Our international sales and operations are subject to a variety of risks, including:

·  
currency exchange rate fluctuations;

·  
export and import duties, changes to import and export regulations, and restrictions on the transfer of funds;

·  
political and economic instability;

·  
problems with the transportation or delivery of our products;

·  
issues arising from cultural or language differences and labor unrest;
 
·  
longer payment cycles and greater difficulty in collecting accounts receivable, and

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·  
compliance with trade and other laws in a variety of jurisdictions.

These factors may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

If our manufacturing process is disrupted, our business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

We manufacture products using highly complex processes that require technologically advanced equipment and continuous modification to improve yields and performance.  Difficulties in the manufacturing process or the effects from a shift in product mix can reduce yields or disrupt production and may increase our per gigabit manufacturing costs.  Additionally, our control over operations at our IM Flash, TECH and MP Mask joint ventures may be limited by our agreements with our partners.  From time to time, we have experienced minor disruptions in our manufacturing process as a result of power outages, improperly functioning equipment and equipment failures.  If production at a fabrication facility is disrupted for any reason, manufacturing yields may be adversely affected or we may be unable to meet our customers' requirements and they may purchase products from other suppliers.  This could result in a significant increase in manufacturing costs or loss of revenues or damage to customer relationships, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Disruptions in our supply of raw materials could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our operations require raw materials that meet exacting standards.  We generally have multiple sources of supply for our raw materials.  However, only a limited number of suppliers are capable of delivering certain raw materials that meet our standards.  Various factors could reduce the availability of raw materials such as silicon wafers, photomasks, chemicals, gases, lead frames and molding compound.

Shortages may occur from time to time in the future.  In addition, disruptions in transportation lines could delay our receipt of raw materials.  Lead times for the supply of raw materials have been extended in the past.  If our supply of raw materials is disrupted or our lead times extended, our business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Products that fail to meet specifications, are defective or that are otherwise incompatible with end uses could impose significant costs on us.

Products that do not meet specifications or that contain, or are perceived by our customers to contain, defects or that are otherwise incompatible with end uses could impose significant costs on us or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Because the design and production process for semiconductor memory is highly complex, it is possible that we may produce products that do not comply with customer specifications, contain defects or are otherwise incompatible with end uses.  If, despite design review, quality control and product qualification procedures, problems with nonconforming, defective or incompatible products occur after we have shipped such products, we could be adversely affected in several ways, including the following:

·  
we may replace product or otherwise compensate customers for costs incurred or damages caused by defective or incompatible product, and

·  
we may encounter adverse publicity, which could cause a decrease in sales of our products.

 
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Item 2.  Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

During the third quarter of 2008, the Company acquired, as payment of withholding taxes in connection with the vesting of restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards, 5,709 shares of its common stock at an average price per share of $6.85.  In the third quarter of 2008, the Company retired the 5,709 shares acquired in the third quarter of 2008.

Period
 
(a) Total number of shares purchased
   
(b) Average price paid per share
   
(c) Total number of shares (or units) purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs
   
(d) Maximum number (or approximate dollar value) of shares (or units) that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs
 
                         
February 29, 2008 – April 3, 2008
    2,770     $ 5.61       N/A       N/A  
April 4, 2008 – May 1, 2008
    369       6.76       N/A       N/A  
May 2, 2008 – May 29, 2008
    2,570       8.20       N/A       N/A  
      5,709       6.85                  



 
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Item 6.  Exhibits

 
Exhibit
   
 
Number
 
Description of Exhibit
       
 
3.1
 
Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (1)
 
3.2
 
Bylaws of the Registrant, as amended (2)
 
10.51
 
Master Agreement, dated as of April 21, 2008, by and between Nanya Technology Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc.*
 
10.52
 
Joint Venture Agreement, dated as of April 21, 2008, by and between Micron Semiconductor B.V. and Nanya Technology Corporation*
 
10.53
 
Supply Agreement, dated as of June 6, 2008, by and among Micron Technology, Inc., Nanya Technology Corporation and MeiYa Technology Corporation*
 
10.54
 
Joint Development Program Agreement, dated as of April 21, 2008, by and between Nanya Technology Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc.*
 
10.55
 
Technology Transfer and License Agreement for 68-50nm Process Nodes, dated as of April 21, 2008, by and between Micron Technology, Inc. and Nanya Technology Corporation*
 
10.56
 
Technology Transfer and License Agreement, dated as of April 21, 2008, by and between Micron Technology, Inc. and Nanya Technology Corporation*
 
10.57
 
Technology Transfer Agreement for 68-50nm Process Nodes, dated as of May 13, 2008, by and between Micron Technology, Inc. and MeiYa Corporation*
 
10.58
 
Technology Transfer Agreement, dated as of May 13, 2008, by and among Nanya Technology Corporation, Micron Technology, Inc. and MeiYa Technology Corporation*
 
10.59
 
Services Agreement, dated as of June 6, 2008, by and between Nanya Technology Corporation and MeiYa Technology Corporation
 
10.60
 
Micron Guaranty Agreement, dated April 21, 2008, by and between Nanya Technology Corporation and Micron Semiconductor B.V.
 
10.61
 
TECH Facility Agreement, dated March 31, 2008, among TECH Semiconductor Singapore Pte. Ltd. and ABN Amro Bank N.V., Citibank, N.A., Singapore Branch, Citigroup Global Markets Singapore Pte Ltd., DBS Bank Ltd and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited, as Original Mandated Lead Arrangers
 
10.62
 
Guarantee, dated March 31, 2008, by Micron Technology, Inc. as Guarantor in favor of ABN Amro Bank N.V., Singapore Branch acting as Security Trustee
 
31.1
 
Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of Chief Executive Officer
 
31.2
 
Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of Chief Financial Officer
 
32.1
 
Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350
 
32.2
 
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350

(1)
Incorporated by reference to Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2001
(2)
Incorporated by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 5, 2006
*
Portions of this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.



 
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SIGNATURES


Pursuant to the requirements 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.


 
Micron Technology, Inc.                                                                 
 
(Registrant)
   
   
Date:  July 8, 2008
/s/ Ronald C. Foster                                                                
 
Ronald C. Foster
Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
 
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