InterDigital Inc (IDCC) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，謝謝你的支持。歡迎來到 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker for today, Richard Lloyd. Please go ahead. The floor is yours.

我現在想把會議交給今天的發言人理查德·勞埃德 (Richard Lloyd)。請繼續。地板是你的。

Good morning to everyone, and welcome to InterDigital's Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. I am Richard Lloyd, Communications Director. And with me in today's call are Liren Chen, our President and CEO; and Rich Brezski, our CFO.

大家早上好，歡迎來到 InterDigital 的 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。我是公關總監理查德·勞埃德 (Richard Lloyd)。和我一起參加今天電話會議的還有我們的總裁兼首席執行官陳立人；和我們的首席財務官 Rich Brezski。

Consistent with last quarter's call, we will offer some highlights about the quarter and the company and then open the call up for questions.

與上一季度的電話會議一致，我們將提供有關本季度和公司的一些亮點，然後開始徵集問題。

Before we begin our remarks, I need to remind you that in this call, we will make forward-looking statements regarding our current beliefs, plans and expectations which are not guarantees of future performance and are made only as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from results and events contemplated by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those described in the Risk Factors sections of our 2022 annual report on Form 10-K and in our other SEC filings.

在我們開始發表評論之前，我需要提醒您，在本次電話會議中，我們將就我們當前的信念、計劃和期望做出前瞻性陳述，這些陳述並不是對未來業績的保證，並且僅在本次電話會議之日作出。前瞻性陳述受到風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果和事件與此類前瞻性陳述預期的結果和事件存在重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括我們 2022 年 10-K 表年度報告的風險因素部分和我們其他提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中描述的風險和不確定性。

In addition, today's presentation may contain references to non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in our financial metrics tracker, which is available on the Investor Relations section of our website.

此外，今天的演示文稿可能包含對非 GAAP 財務指標的引用。這些非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比的 GAAP 財務指標的對賬包含在我們的財務指標追踪器中，可在我們網站的投資者關係部分獲取。

With that taken care of, I will turn the call over to Liren.

處理好之後，我會把電話轉給立人。

Thank you, Richard, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today.

謝謝你，理查德，大家早上好。感謝您今天加入我們。

2022 was an excellent year for InterDigital with continued success in our core smartphone licensing program and record-setting performance in our CE and IoT, including Auto licensing programs. We increased recurring revenue to a record level, significantly increased our net income year-over-year, and we believe put the company in its strongest position ever to deliver future business growth.

2022 年對 InterDigital 來說是出色的一年，我們的核心智能手機許可計劃繼續取得成功，我們的 CE 和物聯網（包括汽車許可計劃）的表現創下紀錄。我們將經常性收入增加到創紀錄的水平，淨收入同比大幅增加，我們相信這將使公司處於有史以來最強大的位置，以實現未來的業務增長。

I will first discuss our fourth quarter performance, then I will provide some more highlights in our key achievement in 2022 and some thoughts on our positioning in 2023 and beyond.

我將首先討論我們第四季度的業績，然後我將提供更多關於我們 2022 年主要成就的亮點以及我們對 2023 年及以後定位的一些想法。

In the fourth quarter, despite of ongoing macroeconomic headwinds, we continue to execute exceptionally well in our goals across the business. Revenue for the fourth quarter was up to $117 million, a 5% increase year-over-year, while net income jumped by 48% year-over-year to $32 million, thanks to new licensing deals and continuing disciplined management of operating expenses. We once again demonstrated our strength in our smartphone core with a binding arbitration agreement with Samsung for a new license. We grew our revenue from consumer electronic licenses by renewing our deals with Panasonic and announcing a new deal with LG, and shortly after the year-end, we announced a large expansion of our share buyback program.

在第四季度，儘管宏觀經濟逆風持續，但我們在整個業務中繼續出色地執行我們的目標。第四季度收入高達 1.17 億美元，同比增長 5%，而淨收入同比增長 48% 至 3200 萬美元，這要歸功於新的許可交易和對運營費用的持續嚴格管理。通過與三星就新許可達成具有約束力的仲裁協議，我們再次展示了我們在智能手機核心領域的實力。我們通過續簽與松下的交易並宣布與 LG 達成新協議，增加了來自消費電子許可的收入，並且在年底後不久，我們宣布大幅擴大我們的股票回購計劃。

Our Samsung arbitration, as we have previously disclosed, both parties have agreed that the new license will start January 1 of 2023. We will continue to negotiate for a period of time before letting the arbitrator decide on issues we cannot agree on. This is a binding process for both parties that will lead to a new license, and we estimate the whole process will conclude around the middle of 2024. Rich will cover the topic of revenue recognition in his section.

我們的三星仲裁，正如我們之前透露的那樣，雙方已經同意新的許可將從 2023 年 1 月 1 日開始。我們將繼續談判一段時間，然後讓仲裁員決定我們無法達成一致的問題。這是一個對雙方都具有約束力的過程，將導致獲得新的許可，我們估計整個過程將在 2024 年年中左右結束。Rich 將在他的部分介紹收入確認的主題。

I want to remind everyone that Samsung has been licensed to our patents for more than 1/4 of a century, and their commitment to another deal reflects how foundational our industry remains to the mobile industry. Together with the renewal of our Apple deal in the third quarter, our agreement with Samsung is further evidence of our position as 1 of the leading innovators and a top license source in the smartphone industry. I'm pleased that Samsung has recognized the quality of innovation, and our relationship with them will continue.

我想提醒大家，三星獲得我們專利許可的時間已超過 1/4 個世紀，他們對另一項交易的承諾反映了我們的行業對移動行業的基礎性。連同我們在第三季度續簽 Apple 交易，我們與三星的協議進一步證明了我們作為智能手機行業領先創新者之一和頂級許可來源的地位。我很高興三星認可了創新的品質，我們與他們的關係將繼續下去。

In the fourth quarter, we also built our increasing momentum for licensing in the spaces of CE and IoT, including Auto. Our agreement with LG include both televisions and PCs and licensing LG to our patents related to HEVC and VVC, the latest video compression technologies, where we believe we are a world leader and where we see further licensing opportunities.

在第四季度，我們還在 CE 和物聯網（包括汽車）領域建立了日益增長的許可勢頭。我們與 LG 的協議包括電視和個人電腦，並向 LG 授權我們與 HEVC 和 VVC 相關的專利，這是最新的視頻壓縮技術，我們相信我們在這方面處於世界領先地位，並且我們看到了更多的許可機會。

Like Samsung, Panasonic is a long-term licensee and our new agreements with the company, along with our new deals with LG, underlines the growth strength of our CE licensing program.

與三星一樣，松下是長期被許可人，我們與該公司的新協議以及我們與 LG 的新協議都強調了我們 CE 許可計劃的增長實力。

Coming into 2022, we knew it was going to be a pivotal year for our company. We are thrilled that as a company, we have risen to the challenges. With continued headline smartphone agreement led by a new Apple deal with an incredible strong 12 months for our licensing program outside the smartphone space. We not only welcome LG as a new HEVC and VVC licensee, but also entered into a multiyear license with Amazon, covering a wide range of Amazon's consumer electronic devices and their InterDigital's patents. We also saw considerable growth in the automobile market through our licensing partner, with more than 80% of the connected cars currently licensed to our 3G/4G portfolio.

進入 2022 年，我們知道這將是我們公司的關鍵一年。我們很高興作為一家公司，我們已經迎接挑戰。隨著我們在智能手機領域之外的許可計劃以令人難以置信的強勁 12 個月的新 Apple 交易為首的持續標題智能手機協議。我們不僅歡迎 LG 作為新的 HEVC 和 VVC 被許可人，而且還與亞馬遜簽訂了一項多年期許可，涵蓋亞馬遜的各種消費電子設備及其 InterDigital 的專利。通過我們的許可合作夥伴，我們還看到了汽車市場的顯著增長，目前超過 80% 的聯網汽車已獲得我們 3G/4G 產品組合的許可。

Annual revenue from CE and IoT, including Auto, reached more than $100 million for the first time, with recurring revenue increased 63% year-over-year. That helped push total revenue to $458 million for the year, an increase of 8% from 2021, including almost $404 million recurring revenue, a record setting level, up by 15% year-over-year. This continues our recent trend of delivering consistent increases to our top line.

消費電子和物聯網（包括汽車）的年收入首次超過 1 億美元，經常性收入同比增長 63%。這幫助推動全年總收入達到 4.58 億美元，比 2021 年增長 8%，其中包括近 4.04 億美元的經常性收入，創下歷史新高，同比增長 15%。這延續了我們最近的趨勢，即我們的收入持續增長。

As I mentioned in our last call, our recent licensing successes mean that we have signed more than 20 new agreements and renewals with an aggregate contract value of over $1.5 billion since early 2021. This gives us an incredible strong platform for which to drive further growth and continue to invest in our innovation footprint. At our heart, we are innovation business. I'm extremely excited by the role that we are playing in the evolution of technology in cellular, video, AI and beyond, technology that only become more central to consumers and businesses around the world. The emphasis we place on innovation is clear in the pipeline of new inventions with our new -- with our number of invention disclosures increasing by more than 40% in 2022. Last year, we also made a key hire to our executive team with the appointment of Dr. Rajesh Pankaj as our new Chief Technology Officer. Since he joined, Rajesh has hit the ground running, and his expertise and leadership are proving invaluable as we play a key role in the development of next-generation connected ecosystems.

正如我在上次電話會議中提到的，我們最近取得的許可成功意味著自 2021 年初以來我們已經簽署了 20 多項新協議和續約協議，合同總價值超過 15 億美元。這為我們提供了一個令人難以置信的強大平台來推動進一步增長並繼續投資於我們的創新足跡。我們的核心是創新業務。我對我們在蜂窩、視頻、人工智能等技術發展中所扮演的角色感到非常興奮，這些技術只會對全球消費者和企業變得更加重要。我們對創新的重視在新發明的管道中顯而易見——到 2022 年，我們的發明披露數量增加了 40% 以上。去年，我們還通過任命對我們的執行團隊進行了重要招聘Rajesh Pankaj 博士擔任我們的新任首席技術官。自加入以來，Rajesh 已經開始運作，事實證明，他的專業知識和領導能力非常寶貴，因為我們在下一代互聯生態系統的發展中發揮著關鍵作用。

Shortly after quarter end, we received further validation of our position as well towards leading innovators, as we were included for the second consecutive year in LexisNexis Innovation Momentum, The Global 100 Report. This report recognized not only our impact on innovation today, but also the likely impact of our innovation in the longer term.

季度結束後不久，我們的地位以及領先創新者的地位得到進一步驗證，因為我們連續第二年被列入 LexisNexis 創新動力全球 100 強報告。這份報告不僅承認了我們今天對創新的影響，還承認了我們創新在長期內可能產生的影響。

On the litigation front, we have recently win 3 decisions since the start of the year from courts in U.K. in our dispute with Lenovo. On each decision, our patent was held to be valid and essential to various cellular standards and infringed by Lenovo. We are very pleased with these results. These decisions serve as further confirmation of the quality of our patenting innovations that many of the leading device manufacturers have chosen to license. We are still waiting for the U.K. court's decision in FRAND licensing trial, and we remain confident in the strength of our case.

在訴訟方面，自年初以來，我們最近在與聯想的糾紛中贏得了英國法院的 3 項裁決。在每項決定中，我們的專利均被認定為有效且對各種蜂窩標準至關重要，並被聯想侵犯。我們對這些結果感到非常滿意。這些決定進一步證實了我們專利創新的質量，許多領先的設備製造商已選擇授權這些創新。我們仍在等待英國法院對 FRAND 許可審判的裁決，我們對我們案件的實力仍然充滿信心。

So as we celebrate our 50th year as a leader in developing connected technologies, I'm delighted that 2022 was 1 of the most productive and successful years in our history. Looking ahead in 2023 and beyond, we believe we are well positioned to deliver additional smartphone deals, increased revenue in consumer electronics, close new agreements in the high-growth IoT, including Auto sectors, and make progress on new licensing opportunities in services. From our innovation pipeline to our business momentums to our financial strength, we believe the company is the strongest position it has ever been in and we are perfectly placed to continue to deliver our compelling growth story.

因此，在我們慶祝我們作為開發互聯技術的領導者成立 50 週年之際，我很高興 2022 年是我們歷史上最富有成效和最成功的一年。展望 2023 年及以後，我們相信我們有能力提供更多智能手機交易，增加消費電子產品的收入，在包括汽車行業在內的高增長物聯網領域達成新協議，並在服務領域的新許可機會方面取得進展。從我們的創新渠道到我們的業務發展勢頭再到我們的財務實力，我們相信公司處於有史以來最強大的地位，我們完全有能力繼續實現我們引人入勝的增長故事。

And with that, I hand you over to Rich to talk through our numbers in more detail.

有了這個，我把你交給 Rich 來更詳細地討論我們的數字。

Thanks, Liren.

謝謝，立人。

Our strong execution throughout 2022 delivered excellent financial results, but more importantly, puts us in what we believe is the strongest position the company has ever been in. Our final results for Q4 came in above our preliminary estimates, which we published last month. The improvement was driven by favorable order reports we received in the intervening period as well as a slightly lower effective tax rate for the year. Building on Liren's comments, I'll highlight a few noteworthy items from our full year 2022 results.

我們在整個 2022 年的強大執行力帶來了出色的財務業績，但更重要的是，這使我們處於我們認為公司有史以來最強大的位置。我們第四季度的最終業績高於我們上個月發布的初步估計。改善的原因是我們在此期間收到的有利訂單報告以及今年的有效稅率略低。基於立人的評論，我將重點介紹我們 2022 年全年業績中的一些值得注意的項目。

In 2022, we reported over $400 million of recurring revenue, a record for InterDigital. In fact, including the fourth quarter of 2021, we have now reported recurring revenue in excess of $100 million in 4 of our last 5 quarters. For our entire history prior to that period, we only had 2 such quarters. Our 2022 revenue included $104 million of CE, IoT, including Auto revenue. This is more than 4x our CE and IoT, including Auto revenue, from 2020 and demonstrates our ability to grow revenue by capitalizing on the value our fundamental horizontal technologies bring to markets other than smartphones.

2022 年，我們報告的經常性收入超過 4 億美元，創下了 InterDigital 的記錄。事實上，包括 2021 年第四季度在內，我們在過去 5 個季度中有 4 個季度的經常性收入超過 1 億美元。在那段時間之前的整個歷史中，我們只有 2 個這樣的季度。我們 2022 年的收入包括 1.04 億美元的消費電子、物聯網，包括汽車收入。從 2020 年開始，這是我們的消費電子和物聯網（包括汽車）收入的 4 倍多，這表明我們有能力通過利用我們的基本水平技術為智能手機以外的市場帶來的價值來增加收入。

After initiating proactive cost management measures in 2021, we realized the related benefits in 2022. Our operating expenses decreased by $47 million year-over-year, including a $25 million reduction in restructuring charges. Our 2022 adjusted EBITDA was $254 million, or $8.35 per share, and our adjusted EBITDA margin was a healthy 56%, a 7-point improvement from 49% in 2021.

在 2021 年採取積極的成本管理措施後，我們在 2022 年實現了相關收益。我們的運營費用同比減少了 4700 萬美元，其中重組費用減少了 2500 萬美元。我們 2022 年調整後的 EBITDA 為 2.54 億美元，即每股 8.35 美元，我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 56%，比 2021 年的 49% 提高了 7 個百分點。

We ended the year with a $1.2 billion cash balance and $600 million of net cash. In 2022, we returned over $115 million to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, and we currently have authorization to repurchase another $400 million.

我們以 12 億美元的現金餘額和 6 億美元的淨現金結束了這一年。 2022 年，我們通過股息和股票回購向股東返還了超過 1.15 億美元，目前我們有權回購另外 4 億美元。

With all that we accomplished in 2022, the most important thing is that we have laid a strong foundation for future growth. With Apple renewed through 2029 and Samsung in binding arbitration, our first quarter guidance includes revenue from both accounts. In the case of Samsung, we are recording revenue at a conservative level, consistent with the revenue we have recognized from our patent license agreement that just expired on December 31, 2022. This conservatism is consistent with generally accepted accounting principles and reflects the fact that the binding arbitration with Samsung will define a patent license agreement that is effective beginning January 1, 2023. We believe it is likely that the arbitration award will exceed the conservative revenue we are recognizing and require a catch-up at that time. As a reminder, we expect to receive the arbitration award around mid-2024.

就我們在 2022 年取得的成就而言，最重要的是我們為未來的增長奠定了堅實的基礎。由於 Apple 續約至 2029 年，而 Samsung 進行有約束力的仲裁，我們的第一季度指引包括來自這兩個賬戶的收入。就三星而言，我們以保守的水平記錄收入，這與我們從 2022 年 12 月 31 日剛剛到期的專利許可協議中確認的收入一致。這種保守主義符合公認的會計原則，並反映了以下事實：與三星的具有約束力的仲裁將定義一項自 2023 年 1 月 1 日起生效的專利許可協議。我們認為仲裁裁決很可能會超過我們確認的保守收入，屆時需要追趕。提醒一下，我們預計將在 2024 年年中左右收到仲裁裁決。

Moving on to cash. Our year-end cash balance was driven by $345 million of free cash flow in Q4, as we collected more than $400 million of customer receipts in the quarter. A significant portion of this relates to a large, upfront payments associated with the patent license agreement signed earlier in 2022.

繼續現金。我們的年終現金餘額受到第四季度 3.45 億美元自由現金流的推動，因為我們在本季度收到了超過 4 億美元的客戶收據。其中很大一部分涉及與 2022 年初簽署的專利許可協議相關的大筆預付款。

The strong free cash flow has a very real impact on our year-end balance sheet. With Apple signed and Samsung in arbitration, we are well positioned to continue our company's strong history of returning cash to our shareholders. As a result, we increased our share repurchase authorization to a total of $400 million and subsequently launched a $200 million modified Dutch tender. Since we announced our first dividend in December 2010, we have returned nearly $1.4 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. In that time, we've reduced our outstanding share count for more than 45 million to fewer than 30 million shares. At current prices, our $400 million authorization would further reduce our share count below 25 million shares. With lots of opportunity to drive our cash flow even higher, capital allocation, and specifically returning cash to shareholders, will continue to be among the foremost topics for the management team and our Board.

強勁的自由現金流對我們的年終資產負債表產生了非常實際的影響。隨著蘋果簽署和三星仲裁，我們有能力繼續我們公司向股東返還現金的良好歷史。因此，我們將股票回購授權增加到總額 4 億美元，隨後啟動了 2 億美元的修改後的荷蘭招標。自 2010 年 12 月宣布首次派息以來，我們已通過回購和派息向股東返還近 14 億美元。在那段時間裡，我們已將超過 4500 萬股的流通股數量減少到不到 3000 萬股。按照目前的價格，我們的 4 億美元授權將進一步減少我們的股票數量，低於 2500 萬股。有很多機會可以提高我們的現金流，資本配置，特別是向股東返還現金，將繼續成為管理團隊和董事會的首要議題之一。

With that, I'll turn it back to Richard.

有了這個，我會把它轉回給理查德。

Thank you, Rich and Liren.

謝謝你，Rich 和 Liren。

Operator, you can now open the call for questions.

接線員，您現在可以打開問題電話。

(Operator Instructions) First question is going to come from Scott Searle of ROTH.

（操作員說明）第一個問題將來自 ROTH 的 Scott Searle。

Nice job on the quarter.

本季度幹得好。

Liren, I'm not sure if I missed it, and Rich. But did you give an update in terms of the Dutch -- modified Dutch auction process in terms of where we are?

麗人，我不確定我是否錯過了，還有里奇。但是，您是否就我們所處的位置提供了荷蘭式修改後的荷蘭式拍賣流程的最新信息？

And then on the Samsung arbitration, you're including a component for that. I thought you said something related to past performance. But it looks like if I kind of back into the recurring guidance that you're taking a conservative view, maybe down about by 1/3 kind of take the midpoint of the range of where prior Samsung contribution had been. Is that in the right ballpark, and am I thinking about it the right way and why? I know you're approaching from a conservative standpoint, but is there any particular reason that you're settling on that number?

然後在三星仲裁中，你為此添加了一個組件。我以為你說了一些與過去表現有關的事情。但看起來如果我有點回到你持保守觀點的反復出現的指導，可能會下降大約 1/3，取三星先前貢獻範圍的中點。這是否在正確的範圍內，我是否以正確的方式思考它，為什麼？我知道您是從保守的角度出發的，但是您確定這個數字有什麼特別的原因嗎？

Yes.

是的。

So Scott, first on the Dutch tender, the most recent update there was we updated the price range a little over a week ago but maintained the original time frame.

所以斯科特，首先是荷蘭招標，最近的更新是我們在一周多前更新了價格範圍，但保持了原來的時間框架。

With respect to Samsung, my comments there were that we're recognizing revenue at a level consistent with the agreement that just expired December of last year. So when you look at our -- if you're looking at Q4 revenue on a recurring basis, for instance, and then fast forward to Q1, you'll note in the 10-K, we always describe both current year expirations and upcoming expirations. So there is about $15 million related to agreements that expired at the end of '22 that we haven't yet renewed.

關於三星，我當時的評論是，我們確認的收入水平與去年 12 月剛剛到期的協議一致。因此，當您查看我們的 - 例如，如果您經常查看第四季度的收入，然後快進到第一季度，您會在 10-K 中註意到，我們總是描述當年到期和即將到來的過期。因此，大約有 1500 萬美元與我們尚未續籤的 22 年底到期的協議有關。

Of course, the big news for '22 in terms of expirations was Apple and Samsung, and you're clear on where that is so.

當然，就到期而言，'22 的大新聞是蘋果和三星，你很清楚它在哪裡。

Got you.

明白了

But just to clarify, Rich, though. So are you assuming in the guidance of recurring revenue of $94 million to $98 million, $19-plus million from Samsung? Or is there a number lesser than that?

但只是為了澄清，Rich，不過。那麼，您是否假設三星的經常性收入為 9400 萬至 9800 萬美元，超過 19 億美元？或者有比這更少的數字嗎？

Yes. It's a little consistent with what we recognized up through December '22.

是的。這與我們在 2022 年 12 月之前認識到的情況有點一致。

Got you. Okay.

明白了好的。

And then Liren, you indicated you thought you look into 2023 that you're comfortable that you're continuing to progress with more progress on the smartphone front. Specifically, I guess that leaves kind of a couple of OEMs out there.

然後立人，你表示你認為你認為你會展望 2023 年，你對你在智能手機方面繼續取得更多進展感到滿意。具體來說，我想這會留下一些原始設備製造商。

Lenovo, who you're actively engaged with, I'm not sure what the time line is if there's an updated time line related to the FRAND litigation. And then as it relates to Oppo and Vivo as the 2 other big outstanding parties, how is the dialogue and active engagement going on this front, particularly given the geopolitical environment out there? Is that impacting it at all? And then I have 1 last question.

與您積極接觸的聯想，如果有與 FRAND 訴訟相關的更新時間表，我不確定時間表是什麼。然後，關於 Oppo 和 Vivo 作為另外兩個傑出的大方，在這方面的對話和積極參與如何進行，特別是考慮到那裡的地緣政治環境？這對它有影響嗎？然後我有最後一個問題。

Yes. Scott, this is Liren.

是的。斯科特，這是立人。

So on the Lenovo, as I updated in my prepared script here, we have recently got 3 very good patent wins. We are still waiting for the brand decision. That hearing finished last year, early last year.

所以在聯想上，正如我在這裡更新我準備好的腳本一樣，我們最近獲得了 3 項非常好的專利。我們仍在等待品牌決定。該聽證會於去年年初結束。

So Oppo and Vivo, as you are aware from our prior calls, we will -- we are in litigation with them, which we filed a series of patent cases against them in December of 2021, and some of the cases are close to going to trial. And in the meantime, we are maintaining active ongoing negotiation with them, and so is the case for Vivo.

所以 Oppo 和 Vivo，正如你從我們之前的電話中了解到的那樣，我們將 - 我們正在與他們進行訴訟，我們在 2021 年 12 月針對他們提起了一系列專利訴訟，其中一些案件即將結束審判。與此同時，我們正在與他們保持積極的持續談判，Vivo 也是如此。

Regarding your comments on geopolitical situation between U.S. and China, we are obviously very closely watching the situation and -- but it's always worthwhile. Thinking through the main licensees, we are trying to sign up for, they're global players. And almost all of them, as the 1 we are talking about here has significant sales outside China. Our technology is global, our licensing program is global. Frankly, on the rare occasions when we have to enforce our patent rights, it's also a global enforcement campaign. So that's consistent with our approach.

關於你對中美地緣政治局勢的評論，我們顯然正在密切關注局勢——但這總是值得的。通過主要的被許可人思考，我們正在嘗試註冊，他們是全球參與者。幾乎所有這些，就像我們在這裡談論的 1，在中國以外的地區都有很大的銷量。我們的技術是全球性的，我們的許可計劃也是全球性的。坦率地說，在極少數情況下我們必須執行我們的專利權，這也是一場全球執法運動。所以這與我們的方法一致。

Got you.

明白了

And lastly, if I could. On the services front, you indicated an opportunity for there. I think video fits into that category. I'm wondering if there are any updates on that front in terms of how you're thinking, how the market is developing?

最後，如果可以的話。在服務方面，您指出了那裡的機會。我認為視頻屬於這一類。我想知道就您的想法、市場發展情況而言，在這方面是否有任何更新？

And you also mentioned Amazon now as a customer as well. Is that device specific, the relationship with Amazon? Or is that something that's going on from a video and services standpoint?

你還提到亞馬遜現在也是客戶。該設備是否特定，與亞馬遜的關係？還是從視頻和服務的角度來看正在發生的事情？

Yes, we are, as a company, very, very positive on the opportunity about video. If you look at the overall macro trend for how consumers, how companies are using online services, cloud-driven services for entertainment, productivity, remote learning, and there's many, many use cases that are driven by connectivity as well as video use case. So we are very excited about the opportunity. It's -- I think it's very clear that our foundational innovation are being used and the service providers are benefiting from our technology, so we are working very actively on this space. And -- but as we commented before, launching a new licensing program, frankly, new different vertical, takes time to develop the revenue, and we will put a lot of effort to keep on growing that opportunity. .

是的，作為一家公司，我們對視頻的機會非常非常積極。如果你看看消費者如何使用在線服務、雲驅動服務進行娛樂、生產力、遠程學習的整體宏觀趨勢，就會發現有很多很多用例是由連接和視頻用例驅動的。所以我們對這個機會感到非常興奮。這是 - 我認為很明顯我們的基礎創新正在被使用，服務提供商正在從我們的技術中受益，所以我們在這個領域非常積極地工作。而且——但正如我們之前評論的那樣，坦率地說，啟動一個新的許可計劃，新的不同的垂直領域，需要時間來增加收入，我們將付出很多努力來繼續增加這個機會。 .

Regarding the Amazon deal, as I commented in my prepared remarks, the Amazon deal is covering a wide range of consumer electronic devices, so the service is further opportunity.

關於亞馬遜交易，正如我在準備好的評論中評論的那樣，亞馬遜交易涵蓋了廣泛的消費電子設備，因此該服務是進一步的機會。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question is coming from Jonathan Eisenson of Bank of America.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的喬納森艾森森。

Great job this quarter.

本季度表現出色。

Just 1 question for me. Handset recurring revenues were down on a year-over-year basis in 4Q. Just curious if you could just talk to that?

我只有 1 個問題。第四季度手機經常性收入同比下降。只是好奇你是否可以和它談談？

Yes. So Jonathan, we talked about -- on our renewal with Apple, that was an increase when you look at it compared to the last deal. We did have some elevated revenue recognition in the final year of that Apple agreement, so that was a contributing factor.

是的。所以喬納森，我們談到了——關於我們與 Apple 的續約，與上一筆交易相比，這是一個增長。在 Apple 協議的最後一年，我們確實獲得了一些更高的收入確認，因此這是一個促成因素。

Got it. Okay.

知道了。好的。

And then on recurring revenues, on the guidance for 1Q, I know it was asked about already, but I just kind of wanted to double click on it. So it's expected to decline roughly 3% year-over-year, and I understand the Samsung contribution is relatively conservative. But are there any other drivers, and kind of how we should think about that in terms of just recurring revenues in general being down on a year-over-year basis in 1Q?

然後關於經常性收入，關於 1Q 的指導，我知道已經有人問過了，但我只是想雙擊它。因此預計同比下降約 3%，我知道三星的貢獻相對保守。但是否還有其他驅動因素，以及我們應該如何考慮第一季度一般性經常性收入同比下降的情況？

Yes. So I'll kind of fall back on the comment I made before that, and again, you'll see this in the 10-K. When we talk about expirations, there's about $15 million related to agreements that expired -- that we recognized in '22, for which those agreements expired by the end of '22. So that's a driver when you look Q4 versus Q1 of '23. So of course, there's a lot of opportunity for new licenses as well as to renew those.

是的。所以我會回到我之前發表的評論，再一次，你會在 10-K 中看到這一點。當我們談論到期時，大約有 1500 萬美元與到期的協議有關——我們在 22 年認識到這一點，這些協議在 22 年底到期。因此，當您查看 23 年第四季度與第一季度時，這是一個驅動因素。因此，當然，有很多機會獲得新許可證以及更新許可證。

Got it. Okay.

知道了。好的。

And then my last question is actually on the pre-announcement ahead of this quarter. Just curious on kind of what the drivers were there and what you saw kind of develop throughout the quarter, if that was from new agreements reached or just better terms that -- than were expected previously?

然後我的最後一個問題實際上是關於本季度之前的預先公告。只是好奇那裡的驅動因素是什麼，以及你在整個季度看到了什麼發展，如果這是來自達成的新協議或只是更好的條款 - 比之前預期的？

Yes. So what happened -- if I understand your question, Jonathan, you're referring to how did the final results come in relative to the preliminary results that we issued the end of January. And the favorable difference is driven by royalty reports that we received in the intervening period. So although it's a smaller portion of our total revenue, there is roughly 10% that is based on variable. And therefore, the revenue recognition ultimately is decided by what the report says, how much they owe us for the quarter. Prior to, if we don't have those reports, we have to estimate that. And it just so happens, the timing for the Q4 reports, a lot of them came in that intervening period.

是的。那麼發生了什麼——喬納森，如果我理解你的問題，你指的是最終結果與我們 1 月底發布的初步結果相比如何。有利的差異是由我們在此期間收到的版稅報告驅動的。因此，儘管它占我們總收入的一小部分，但大約有 10% 是基於變量的。因此，收入確認最終取決於報告的內容，即他們本季度欠我們多少。在此之前，如果我們沒有這些報告，我們就必須對其進行估計。碰巧的是，第四季度報告的發佈時間，其中很多報告都是在這段時間發布的。

Got it. Okay.

知道了。好的。

And then my last question. I know this is also asked about, but there's no further update on the Dutch auction beyond the recent increase in price range, correct?

然後是我的最後一個問題。我知道也有人問過這個問題，但是除了最近的價格範圍上漲之外，荷蘭拍賣沒有進一步的更新，對嗎？

That's correct.

這是正確的。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is coming from Anja Soderstrom of Sidoti.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Sidoti 的 Anja Soderstrom。

A lot of them have been addressed already, but I thought I would triple click into this first quarter recurring revenue guidance. I understand it's due to the Samsung negotiations, but is that -- that's mainly for the handhelds, right, or the smartphone? And the consumer electronics, we should see pretty steady performance in?

其中很多已經得到解決，但我想我會點擊三次進入第一季度的經常性收入指導。我知道這是由於三星的談判，但主要是針對手持設備，對吧，還是智能手機？而消費電子，我們應該看到相當穩定的表現嗎？

Yes. So the revenue, when I talk about recognizing revenue for Samsung while we're in this arbitration, that -- what we're saying is that we're in an arbitration that's going to result in an agreement. That agreement becomes effective January 1, 2023, so we're estimating at a conservative level that we keep it consistent with the agreement that just expired.

是的。所以收入，當我談到在我們進行仲裁時確認三星的收入時，那 - 我們所說的是我們正在進行一項將達成協議的仲裁。該協議將於 2023 年 1 月 1 日生效，因此我們保守估計，我們將其與剛剛到期的協議保持一致。

As far as the decline, Q4 to Q1 guidance, that's driven by an expiration of 5 agreements and $15 million as we disclosed in the Q. But we didn't break out beyond that smartphone versus CE IoT/Auto. We'll obviously provide more details as we move forward in time.

至於下降，第四季度到第一季度的指導，這是由於我們在 Q 中披露的 5 份協議和 1500 萬美元的到期所致。但我們並沒有突破智能手機與 CE IoT/Auto 的對比。隨著時間的推移，我們顯然會提供更多細節。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question is coming from Alessandra Vecchi of William Blair.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 William Blair 的 Alessandra Vecchi。

Congratulations on the quarter.

祝賀這個季度。

One housekeeping for me just in terms of how to think of litigation expense. You talked about the 5 licenses that expired in 2022. It looks like you have a larger chunk potentially expiring in 2023. According to the case, it seems like it's $55 million. How do we think about potential litigation around those, coupled with Samsung arbitration impacting litigation expense in the year?

就如何考慮訴訟費用而言，對我來說是一項內務管理。你談到了 2022 年到期的 5 個許可證。看起來你有更大的一塊可能在 2023 年到期。根據案例，它似乎是 5500 萬美元。我們如何看待圍繞這些的潛在訴訟，再加上三星仲裁對今年訴訟費用的影響？

Let me take the first half of the question, and then I'll let Rich comment on some of the expense side here.

讓我回答問題的前半部分，然後讓里奇在這裡評論一些費用方面的問題。

So on the $55 million that you are referring to, the largest 1 is Huawei, as we disclosed. We are currently in active negotiations with Huawei as well as another brand, which is called Honor, that was a spin-off from Huawei from the last time we have negotiated contracts. So we are negotiating with both of them.

因此，正如我們披露的那樣，在您所指的 5500 萬美元中，最大的 1 是華為。我們目前正在與華為以及另一個品牌 Honor 進行積極談判，這是我們上次談判合同時從華為分拆出來的品牌。因此，我們正在與他們雙方進行談判。

It's difficult for me to comment on, frankly, going forward, what the litigation will look like. But what I want to emphasize on is we, as a company, always prefer to conclude license agreements or bilateral negotiations, and most of the time we do. So on the rare occasion we have to enforce either through litigation or binding arbitration, we make those decisions very carefully.

坦率地說，我很難評論未來的訴訟會是什麼樣子。但我想強調的是，作為一家公司，我們總是更願意達成許可協議或雙邊談判，而且大多數時候我們都是這樣做的。因此，在極少數情況下，我們必須通過訴訟或具有約束力的仲裁來強制執行，我們會非常謹慎地做出這些決定。

Yes. I'll just add to a perspective.

是的。我只是補充一個觀點。

While the number is $15 million as you go from '22 to '23, the same number for the same set of those that were scheduled to expire in '22 as we came into the year was closer to $200 million, right? So because Apple and Samsung were either renewed through a license agreement or through the arbitration agreement with Samsung, they're at least at a conservative level included in our Q1 guidance.

雖然從 22 年到 23 年這個數字是 1500 萬美元，但隨著我們進入這一年，計劃在 22 年到期的同一套產品的相同數字接近 2 億美元，對吧？因此，由於蘋果和三星要么通過許可協議續簽，要么通過與三星的仲裁協議續簽，它們至少處於我們第一季度指南中的保守水平。

Okay.

好的。

And then, Rich, just actually 1 follow-up on the OpEx. It looks like you changed some of the categorization buckets a little bit. Can you shed a little light on kind of what's changed now in the research and portfolio development, and with licensing broken out?

然後，Rich，實際上只是對 OpEx 進行了 1 次跟進。看起來您稍微更改了一些分類桶。您能否說明一下現在在研究和產品組合開發以及許可中斷方面發生了什麼變化？

Sure, I'd be happy to.

當然，我很樂意。

Yes, it's -- we're always looking at what we can do better in making sure that we're evolving our disclosures and presentations as the company evolves. You saw that in Q3 when we changed our description of revenue. For a long time, we had -- it was more important to break out fixed fee versus variable. But as I alluded to earlier, we've been at 10% give or take on the variable side. And it became more important as CE and IoT, including Auto, was growing to break out those line items.

是的，它是——我們一直在尋找我們可以做得更好的地方，以確保我們隨著公司的發展而改進我們的披露和演示。你在第三季度看到了這一點，當時我們改變了對收入的描述。很長一段時間以來，我們 - 打破固定費用與可變費用更為重要。但正如我之前提到的，我們一直在 10% 的變量方面給予或接受。隨著 CE 和物聯網（包括汽車）的增長以打破這些行項目，它變得更加重要。

So along the same vein, when we look at the operating expenses and think about the business, we think about the investment in research, in the horizontal technologies that we invest and innovate in, and how closely that ties to protecting our rights associated with them. Whereas the act of monetizing, licensing, enforcing, et cetera, is probably -- they're all related. They're all connected, but we thought that this was a better presentation that reflects the direct link between the research and the portfolio development.

因此，沿著同樣的思路，當我們查看運營費用並考慮業務時，我們會考慮對研究的投資，對我們投資和創新的橫向技術的投資，以及與保護我們相關權利的緊密聯繫.而貨幣化、許可、執行等行為可能——它們都是相關的。它們都是相互關聯的，但我們認為這是一個更好的演示，它反映了研究和投資組合開發之間的直接聯繫。

Thank you. This concludes today's Q&A session. I would like to turn the call over to Richard for closing remarks.

謝謝。今天的問答環節到此結束。我想將電話轉給理查德以作結束語。

Thank you, operator.

謝謝你，運營商。

I will just hand it on to Liren for closing remarks.

我將把它交給立人作結束語。

Thank you, Richard.

謝謝你，理查德。

Before we close, I'd like to thank all our employees for their dedication and contributions to InterDigital, as well as our many partners and licensees, and thank you all for attending the call today. I look forward to connecting with many of you in the coming months.

在我們結束之前，我要感謝我們所有員工對 InterDigital 的奉獻和貢獻，以及我們的眾多合作夥伴和被許可人，並感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。我期待著在接下來的幾個月裡與你們中的許多人建立聯繫。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for joining us, and enjoy the rest of your day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家加入我們，祝您度過餘下的一天。