微晶片科技 (MCHP) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to Microchip's Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2021 Financial Results Call. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 Microchip 2021 財年第四季度財務業績電話會議。提醒一下，今天的通話正在錄音中。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Microchip's Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Eric Bjornholt. Please go ahead, sir.

現在，我想將電話轉給 Microchip 的首席財務官 Eric Bjornholt 先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. During the course of this conference call, we will be making projections and other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the company. We wish to caution you that such statements are predictions and that actual results and events may differ materially. We refer you to our press release today as well as our recent filings with the SEC that identify important risk factors that may impact Microchip's business and results of operations.

謝謝，大家下午好。在本次電話會議期間，我們將對未來事件或公司未來的財務業績做出預測和其他前瞻性陳述。我們希望提醒您，此類陳述是預測，實際結果和事件可能存在重大差異。請參閱我們今天的新聞稿以及我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，這些文件確定了可能影響 Microchip 的業務和運營結果的重要風險因素。

In attendance with me today are Ganesh Moorthy, Microchip's President and CEO; and Steve Sanghi, Microchip's Executive Chairman. I will comment on our fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2021 financial performance. Ganesh will then give commentary on our results and discuss the current business environment as well as our guidance. And Steve will provide an update on our cash return strategy. We will then be available to respond to specific investor and analyst questions.

今天和我一起出席的有 Microchip 總裁兼首席執行官 Ganesh Moorthy；和 Microchip 的執行主席 Steve Sanghi。我將評論我們第四季度和整個 2021 財年的財務業績。 Ganesh 隨後將對我們的結果發表評論，並討論當前的商業環境以及我們的指導。史蒂夫將提供我們現金返還策略的最新信息。然後我們將可以回答具體的投資者和分析師問題。

We are including information in our press release and in this conference call on various GAAP and non-GAAP measures. We have posted a full GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation on the Investor Relations page of our website at www.microchip.com, which we believe you will find useful when comparing our GAAP and non-GAAP results. We have also posted a summary of our outstanding debt and our leverage metrics on our website.

我們在新聞稿和本次電話會議中包含了有關各種 GAAP 和非 GAAP 措施的信息。我們在我們網站 www.microchip.com 的投資者關係頁面上發布了完整的 GAAP 與非 GAAP 對賬，我們相信您在比較我們的 GAAP 和非 GAAP 結果時會發現有用。我們還在我們的網站上發布了未償債務和槓桿指標的摘要。

I will now go through some of the operating results, including net sales, gross margin and operating expenses. Other than net sales, I will be referring to these results on a non-GAAP basis, which is based on expenses prior to the effects of our acquisition activities, share-based compensation and certain other adjustments as described in our press release.

我現在將介紹一些經營業績，包括淨銷售額、毛利率和經營費用。除淨銷售額外，我將在非 GAAP 基礎上提及這些結果，這是基於我們的收購活動、基於股份的薪酬和我們新聞稿中所述的某些其他調整影響之前的費用。

Net sales in the March quarter were $1.467 billion, which were up 8.5% sequentially and above the midpoint of our quarterly guidance. We have posted a summary of our GAAP net sales by product line and geography as well as our total end market demand on our website for your reference.

3 月季度的淨銷售額為 14.67 億美元，環比增長 8.5%，高於我們季度指引的中點。我們已在我們的網站上發布了按產品線和地理位置劃分的 GAAP 淨銷售額摘要以及我們的終端市場總需求，供您參考。

On a non-GAAP basis, gross margins were a record at 64.1%. Operating expenses were at 23.4% and operating income was a record 40.7%. Non-GAAP net income was a record $521.4 million. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share was a record $1.85, $0.12 above the midpoint of our guidance.

按非美國通用會計準則計算，毛利率達到創紀錄的 64.1%。營業費用為 23.4%，營業收入為創紀錄的 40.7%。非 GAAP 淨收入達到創紀錄的 5.214 億美元。非 GAAP 每股攤薄收益達到創紀錄的 1.85 美元，比我們指引的中點高出 0.12 美元。

On a GAAP basis in the March quarter, gross margins were a record at 63.2%. Total operating expenses were $618.8 million and include acquisition intangible amortization of $232.4 million, special income of $7.2 million, $2.9 million of acquisition-related and other costs and share-based compensation of $47.2 million.

根據美國通用會計準則，3 月季度的毛利率達到創紀錄的 63.2%。總運營費用為 6.188 億美元，包括 2.324 億美元的收購無形攤銷、720 萬美元的特殊收入、290 萬美元的收購相關成本和其他成本以及 4720 萬美元的股權補償。

The GAAP net income was $116 million or $0.41 per diluted share and was adversely impacted by an $85.6 million loss on debt settlement associated with our convertible debt refinancing activities. Our March quarter GAAP tax expense was impacted by a variety of factors, notably the tax benefit recorded on the convertible debt exchange transactions occurring during the period.

GAAP 淨收入為 1.16 億美元或每股攤薄收益 0.41 美元，並受到與我們的可轉換債務再融資活動相關的 8560 萬美元債務結算損失的不利影響。我們 3 月季度的 GAAP 稅收支出受到多種因素的影響，特別是在此期間發生的可轉換債務交換交易中記錄的稅收優惠。

For fiscal year 2021, net sales were a record $5.438 billion. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margins were a record 62.8%. Operating expenses were 23.2% of sales and operating income was a record 39.6% of sales. Non-GAAP net income was a record $1.784 billion, and EPS was a record of $6.59 per diluted share.

2021 財年，淨銷售額達到創紀錄的 54.38 億美元。按非美國通用會計準則計算，毛利率達到創紀錄的 62.8%。營業費用佔銷售額的 23.2%，營業收入佔銷售額的 39.6%，創歷史新高。非 GAAP 淨收入達到創紀錄的 17.84 億美元，每股收益達到創紀錄的每股攤薄收益 6.59 美元。

On a GAAP basis, gross margins were a record 62.1%. Operating expenses were 43.7% of sales, and operating income was 18.4% of sales. Net income was $349.4 million and EPS was $1.29 per diluted share.

按 GAAP 計算，毛利率達到創紀錄的 62.1%。營業費用佔銷售額的43.7%，營業收入佔銷售額的18.4%。淨收入為 3.494 億美元，攤薄後每股收益為 1.29 美元。

Our non-GAAP cash tax rate was 1.8% in the March quarter and 4.1% for fiscal year 2021. The non-GAAP cash tax rate in the March quarter was lower than originally forecasted due to a variety of factors, including the receipt of a tax refund that had not been forecasted to be received until a later date. We expect our non-GAAP cash tax rate for fiscal '22 to be about 6%, exclusive of the transition tax, any potential tax associated with restructuring the Microsemi operations into the Microchip global structure and any tax audit settlements related to taxes accrued in prior fiscal years.

我們的 3 月季度非 GAAP 現金稅率為 1.8%，2021 財年為 4.1%。由於多種因素，包括收到預計要到稍後日期才能收到的退稅。我們預計 22 財年的非 GAAP 現金稅率約為 6%，不包括過渡稅、與將 Microsemi 業務重組為 Microchip 全球結構相關的任何潛在稅款以及與之前應計稅款相關的任何稅務審計結算會計年度。

Our inventory balance at March 31, 2021, was $665 million. We had 112 days of inventory at the end of the March quarter, which was down 8 days from the prior quarter's level. Inventory at our distributors at the end of the March quarter were at 22 days, which is a record low level and down from 26 days at the end of the prior quarter. We are ramping capacity in our internal and external factories so we can ship as much product as possible to support customer requirements.

截至 2021 年 3 月 31 日，我們的庫存餘額為 6.65 億美元。截至 3 月季度末，我們有 112 天的庫存，比上一季度的水平減少了 8 天。 3 月季度末我們經銷商的庫存為 22 天，創歷史新低，低於上一季度末的 26 天。我們正在提高內部和外部工廠的產能，以便我們可以運送盡可能多的產品來支持客戶的需求。

In the March quarter, we exchanged $359.2 million of our 2025, 2027 and 2037 convertible subordinated notes for cash and shares of our common stock. While these transactions did not impact the overall level of debt on our balance sheet, we believe that these convertible exchanges will benefit stockholders by significantly reducing share count dilution to the extent our stock price appreciates over time. The principal amount of convertible debt on our balance sheet at the end of fiscal year 2021 is $1.263 billion compared to $4.481 billion at the beginning of calendar year 2020, putting our overall capital structure in a much better long-term position.

在 3 月季度，我們將 2025、2027 和 2037 年可轉換次級票據中的 3.592 億美元換成了現金和普通股。雖然這些交易並未影響我們資產負債表上的整體債務水平，但我們相信，這些可轉換交易所將使股東受益，因為我們的股價會隨著時間的推移而大幅減少股權稀釋。 2021 財年末我們資產負債表上的可轉換債券本金為 12.63 億美元，而 2020 年初為 44.81 億美元，使我們的整體資本結構處於更好的長期狀況。

Our cash flow from operating activities was $449.2 million in the March quarter. As of March 31, our consolidated cash and total investment position was $282 million. We paid down $369.2 million of total debt in the March quarter. Over the last 11 full quarters since we closed the Microsemi acquisition, and incurred over $8 billion in debt to do so, we have paid down $3.61 billion of debt and continue to allocate substantially all of our excess cash beyond dividends to aggressively bring down this debt.

我們在 3 月季度的經營活動現金流為 4.492 億美元。截至 3 月 31 日，我們的綜合現金和總投資頭寸為 2.82 億美元。我們在 3 月季度償還了 3.692 億美元的總債務。自從我們完成對 Microsemi 的收購以來，在過去的 11 個完整季度中，我們為此承擔了超過 80 億美元的債務，我們已經償還了 36.1 億美元的債務，並繼續分配除股息以外的所有多餘現金，以積極降低債務.

We have accomplished this despite the adverse macro and market conditions during most of this period, which we feel is a testimony to the cash generation capabilities of our business as well as our ongoing operating discipline. We continue to expect our debt levels to reduce significantly over the next several years.

儘管在此期間的大部分時間宏觀和市場條件不利，但我們仍然實現了這一目標，我們認為這證明了我們業務的現金生成能力以及我們持續的經營紀律。我們繼續預計未來幾年我們的債務水平將大幅下降。

Our adjusted EBITDA in the March quarter was a record $652.3 million, and our trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA was also a record at $2.375 billion. Our net debt to adjusted EBITDA, excluding our very long-dated convertible debt that matures in 2037 and is more equity-like in nature, was 3.71 at March 31, 2021, down from 3.93 at December 31, 2020.

我們在 3 月季度調整後的 EBITDA 達到創紀錄的 6.523 億美元，而我們過去 12 個月的調整後 EBITDA 也達到創紀錄的 23.75 億美元。截至 2021 年 3 月 31 日，我們的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 之比為 3.71，低於 2020 年 12 月 31 日的 3.93。

Please note that the amount of the outstanding 2037 bonds were reduced by $156 million during the March quarter as part of our financing transaction. And without this transaction, our net debt-to-EBITDA would have been lower. Our dividend payment in the March quarter was $106.6 million.

請注意，作為我們融資交易的一部分，未償還的 2037 債券數額在 3 月季度減少了 1.56 億美元。如果沒有這筆交易，我們的淨債務對 EBITDA 的比率會更低。我們在 3 月季度支付的股息為 1.066 億美元。

Capital expenditures were $55.4 million in the March '21 quarter and $92.6 million for fiscal year 2021. Our fiscal year 2021 capital expenditures came in lower than originally planned due to longer equipment lead times and deliveries pushing out due to overall industry conditions.

2021 年 3 月季度的資本支出為 5540 萬美元，2021 財年的資本支出為 9260 萬美元。我們 2021 財年的資本支出低於原計劃，原因是設備交貨時間更長，並且交付時間因整體行業狀況而推遲。

Our capital expenditures for fiscal 2022 are expected to be between $225 million and $275 million. Our forecast for the June 2021 quarter's capital expenditures is between $70 million and $90 million. We continue to add capital equipment to maintain, grow and operate our internal manufacturing operations to support the growth of our business. We expect these capital investments will bring gross margin improvement to our business and give us increased control over our production during periods of industry-wide constraints. Depreciation expense in the March quarter was $40.2 million.

我們 2022 財年的資本支出預計在 2.25 億美元至 2.75 億美元之間。我們對 2021 年 6 月季度資本支出的預測在 7000 萬美元至 9000 萬美元之間。我們繼續增加資本設備來維持、發展和運營我們的內部製造業務，以支持我們業務的增長。我們預計這些資本投資將為我們的業務帶來毛利率改善，並讓我們在全行業受限期間加強對生產的控制。 3 月季度的折舊費用為 4020 萬美元。

I will now turn it over to Ganesh to give his comments on the performance of the business in the March quarter as well as our June quarter guidance. Ganesh?

我現在將把它交給 Ganesh，讓他對 3 月季度的業務表現以及我們 6 月季度的指導意見發表評論。像頭神？

Thank you, Eric, and good afternoon, everyone. Our March quarter results were strong by every key metric, closing out a tumultuous fiscal year on a very positive note, which was otherwise dominated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

謝謝埃里克，大家下午好。我們的 3 月季度業績在每個關鍵指標上都表現強勁，以非常積極的方式結束了動蕩的財政年度，否則該年度將受到 COVID-19 大流行的影響。

March quarter revenue was an all-time record at $1.467 billion, growing by 8.5% sequentially. Non-GAAP gross margins were another record at 64.1%, up 110 basis points from the December quarter as we benefited from improved factory utilization and product mix. Non-GAAP operating margin was also a record at 40.7%, the first time we have broken through the 40% mark. Our journey towards our long-term business model of 65% gross margin and 42% operating margin is off to a good start but still has a lot of hard work ahead of us to achieve.

3 月季度收入創歷史新高，達到 14.67 億美元，環比增長 8.5%。非 GAAP 毛利率再創歷史新高，達到 64.1%，較去年同期增長 110 個基點，這得益於工廠利用率和產品組合的改善。非美國通用會計準則營業利潤率也創下了 40.7% 的歷史新高，這是我們首次突破 40% 大關。我們實現 65% 毛利率和 42% 營業利潤率的長期商業模式的旅程開局良好，但我們仍有許多艱苦的工作要做。

Our consolidated non-GAAP EPS was above the high end of our guidance at a record $1.85. EBITDA was very strong and achieved another record at $652.3 million, continuing to demonstrate the robust profitability and cash generation capabilities of our business through the business cycles. The March quarter also marked 122nd consecutive quarter of non-GAAP profitability.

我們的綜合非 GAAP 每股收益高於我們指導的上限，達到創紀錄的 1.85 美元。 EBITDA 非常強勁，再創歷史新高，達到 6.523 億美元，繼續展示我們業務在整個商業周期中強勁的盈利能力和現金生成能力。 3 月季度也標誌著連續第 122 個季度實現非 GAAP 盈利。

I would like to take this occasion to thank all our stakeholders who enabled us to achieve these outstanding and record results in the March quarter and especially thank the worldwide Microchip team, whose tireless efforts not only delivered our strong financial results but also supported our customers to navigate a difficult environment and who work constructively with our supply chain partners to find creative solutions in a hyper constrained environment.

我想藉此機會感謝我們所有的利益相關者，是他們讓我們在 3 月這個季度取得了這些出色的創紀錄業績，尤其要感謝全球 Microchip 團隊，他們的不懈努力不僅為我們帶來了強勁的財務業績，而且還支持我們的客戶駕馭困難的環境，並與我們的供應鏈合作夥伴建設性地合作，以在高度受限的環境中找到創造性的解決方案。

Reflecting on our fiscal year 2021 results. We achieved a number of highlights and records in the last year. Revenue was a record $5.438 billion. Non-GAAP gross margin was a record at 62.8%. Non-GAAP operating margin was a record at 39.6%, and non-GAAP EPS was a record at $6.59.

反思我們 2021 財年的業績。過去一年，我們取得了多項亮點和記錄。收入達到創紀錄的 54.38 億美元。非 GAAP 毛利率創歷史新高，達到 62.8%。非美國通用會計準則營業利潤率為 39.6%，創歷史新高，非美國通用會計準則每股收益為 6.59 美元，創歷史新高。

All in all, the record March quarter results and the record March ending fiscal year 2021 results marks a seamless transition between Steve and I as we each embarked on our new roles to build the next phase of Microchip's long-term success. I'm truly fortunate to be the beneficiary of Steve's years of managing Microchip for the long term.

總而言之，創紀錄的 3 月季度業績和 2021 財年 3 月末的創紀錄業績標誌著史蒂夫和我之間的無縫過渡，因為我們每個人都開始了新的角色，以打造 Microchip 的下一階段的長期成功。我真的很幸運能夠成為 Steve 多年來長期管理 Microchip 的受益者。

Taking a look at our business. From a product line perspective, our microcontroller revenue was sequentially up 12.2% as compared to the December quarter and set new quarterly and fiscal year records. On a year-over-year basis, our March quarter microcontroller revenue was up 12.3%. Microcontrollers represented 55.6% of our revenue in the March quarter. Our analog revenue was sequentially up 11.3% as compared to the December quarter. Analog represented 28.3% of our revenue in the March quarter. Our revenue was sequentially down 6.4% for other as compared to the December quarter and represented 16.1% of our revenue in the March quarter.

看看我們的業務。從產品線的角度來看，我們的微控制器收入與 12 月季度相比環比增長 12.2%，並創下了新的季度和財年記錄。與去年同期相比，我們三月份季度的微控制器收入增長了 12.3%。微控制器占我們三月份季度收入的 55.6%。與 12 月季度相比，我們的模擬收入環比增長 11.3%。模擬業務占我們三月份季度收入的 28.3%。與 12 月季度相比，我們的其他收入環比下降 6.4%，佔 3 月季度收入的 16.1%。

Last month, Gartner released their microcontroller market share report for calendar year 2020. Gartner continues to have a large discrepancy versus our publicly reported microcontroller revenue to the tune of $428 million of revenue understatement for all of 2020, predominantly in the 32-bit microcontroller revenue category. Adjusting the Gartner number to use our actual microcontroller revenue, we are pleased to report that for microcontrollers overall, we remain in the #3 spot. However, in 2020, we substantially closed the gap between us and the 2 players ahead of us. We are now within striking distance of each of the 2 players who were just 3.6% ahead of us in revenue as we continue our relentless march towards the #1 spot.

上個月，Gartner 發布了 2020 日曆年的微控制器市場份額報告。Gartner 與我們公開報告的微控制器收入仍然存在很大差異，2020 年全年的收入少報了 4.28 億美元，主要是 32 位微控制器收入類別。調整 Gartner 數字以使用我們的實際微控制器收入，我們很高興地報告，對於整體微控制器，我們仍然排在第三位。然而，在 2020 年，我們大大縮小了我們與領先的 2 名選手之間的差距。隨著我們繼續朝著第一名的方向不懈前進，我們現在與收入僅領先我們 3.6% 的 2 名玩家中的每一個都在驚人的距離之內。

We gained market share in each of the 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit microcontroller markets. While our 8-bit and 16-bit microcontroller businesses continue to do well, our 32-bit microcontroller business was our fastest-growing microcontroller business. Our microcontroller portfolio and road map has never been stronger. We believe we have the new product momentum and customer engagement to continue to gain share in 2021 as we further build the best-performing microcontroller franchise in the industry.

我們在每個 8 位、16 位和 32 位微控制器市場都獲得了市場份額。雖然我們的 8 位和 16 位微控制器業務繼續表現良好，但我們的 32 位微控制器業務是我們增長最快的微控制器業務。我們的微控制器產品組合和路線圖從未如此強大。我們相信，隨著我們進一步打造業內表現最佳的微控制器特許經營權，我們擁有新產品的動力和客戶參與度，可以在 2021 年繼續獲得市場份額。

Taking a look at our business from a geographic perspective. Americas was up 0.8% sequentially. Europe was up 30.4% sequentially, stronger than what is normally the seasonally strongest quarter. Asia was up 5% sequentially in a quarter when business is normally down due to the Lunar New Year holidays.

從地理角度來看我們的業務。美洲連續上漲 0.8%。歐洲連續上漲 30.4%，強於通常的季節性最強季度。亞洲在一個季度連續增長 5%，而業務通常因農曆新年假期而下滑。

Taking a look at our business from an end market perspective. The automotive, industrial and consumer markets remain the strongest markets. The computing end market was strong, while the data center and communications end markets were flat to up a little. The aerospace and defense markets, which tend to be lumpy, was the only end market that was weak.

從終端市場的角度來看我們的業務。汽車、工業和消費市場仍然是最強勁的市場。計算端市場表現強勁，而數據中心和通信端市場則持平至小幅上漲。往往起伏不定的航空航天和國防市場是唯一疲軟的終端市場。

Business conditions remain exceptionally strong through the quarter with record bookings and backlog for product to be shipped over multiple quarters. Demand outpaced the capacity improvements we were able to implement, resulting in lead times continuing to extend out.

本季度的業務狀況依然異常強勁，多個季度發貨的產品預訂量和積壓量均創歷史新高。需求超過了我們能夠實施的產能改進，導致交貨時間繼續延長。

In my 40 years in the semiconductor industry, I cannot recall a time when the imbalance between the supply and demand has been more acute. In response, we launched our Preferred Supply Program, or PSP, to provide customers with supply priority beginning 6 months after their order in exchange for at least 12 months of noncancelable orders. Customer response to the program has exceeded our expectations with direct customers and distributors alike. About 44% of our backlog is now in the PSP category, although it is almost 100% of our backlog in some of the most constrained capacity corridors.

在我從事半導體行業的 40 年中，我想不起來有哪一次供需失衡比這更嚴重。作為回應，我們啟動了我們的首選供應計劃 (PSP)，以在客戶下訂單後 6 個月開始為客戶提供供應優先權，以換取至少 12 個月的不可取消訂單。客戶對該計劃的反應超出了我們對直接客戶和分銷商的預期。現在，我們大約 44% 的積壓訂單屬於 PSP 類別，儘管在一些容量最受限的走廊中，這幾乎是我們積壓訂單的 100%。

Additional PSP backlog continues to come in every week. This gives us a solid foundation to enable us to prudently acquire constrained raw materials, invest in expanding factory capacity and hire employees to support our factory ramps.

每週都會繼續收到額外的 PSP 積壓訂單。這為我們奠定了堅實的基礎，使我們能夠審慎地獲取受限的原材料、投資擴大工廠產能並僱用員工來支持我們的工廠擴建。

With the strong demand, we're experiencing constraints in all of our internal and external factories and their related manufacturing supply chains. We started ramping our internal factories in September as well as investing in capital additions to expand our internal capacity. We are making incremental capacity decisions for our internal factories where possible based on the strength of our backlog, especially our noncancelable PSP backlog, which is reflected in our fiscal year '22 capital forecast of $225 million to $275 million.

由於需求旺盛，我們所有的內部和外部工廠及其相關製造供應鏈都遇到了限制。我們從 9 月開始擴建內部工廠，並投資增資以擴大我們的內部產能。我們正在根據我們的積壓量，特別是我們不可取消的 PSP 積壓量，盡可能為我們的內部工廠做出增量產能決策，這反映在我們 22 財年 2.25 億美元至 2.75 億美元的資本預測中。

We also work closely with our supply chain partners who provide wafer foundry, assembly, test and materials to secure additional capacity wherever possible. Through the combination of internal and external capacity actions we have taken, we expect our overall capacity will continue to grow every quarter in calendar year 2021. While our capacity will continue to grow every quarter, we also believe that wafer fab as well as assembly and test constraints will persist through 2021 and quite likely into 2022.

我們還與提供晶圓代工、組裝、測試和材料的供應鏈合作夥伴密切合作，以盡可能確保額外產能。通過我們採取的內部和外部產能行動相結合，我們預計我們的整體產能將在 2021 日曆年每個季度繼續增長。雖然我們的產能每個季度都將繼續增長，但我們也相信晶圓廠以及組裝和測試限制將持續到 2021 年，很可能會持續到 2022 年。

Now let's get into the guidance for the June quarter. Our backlog for the June quarter is very strong. In addition, we have considerable backlog requested by customers in the June quarter that currently cannot be fulfilled until later quarters despite us growing capacity from the last quarter. This is because the entire semiconductor supply chain remains constrained.

現在讓我們進入 6 月季度的指導。我們 6 月季度的積壓訂單非常多。此外，我們在 6 月季度有大量客戶要求積壓訂單，儘管我們的產能比上一季度有所增長，但目前要到下個季度才能完成。這是因為整個半導體供應鏈仍然受到限制。

Taking all the factors we have discussed on the call today into consideration, we expect our net sales for the June quarter to be up between 3.5% and 7.5% sequentially. Our guidance range assumes continued operational constraints, some of which we will work through during the quarter and others that will carry over to be worked in future quarters.

考慮到我們今天在電話會議上討論的所有因素，我們預計 6 月季度的淨銷售額將環比增長 3.5% 至 7.5%。我們的指導範圍假設持續的運營限制，其中一些我們將在本季度解決，而另一些將在未來幾個季度解決。

For the June quarter, we expect our non-GAAP gross margin to be between 64.1% and 64.5% of sales. We expect non-GAAP operating expenses to be between 23.1% and 23.5% of sales. We expect non-GAAP operating profit percentage to be between 40.6% and 41.4% of sales. And we expect our non-GAAP earnings per share to be between $1.85 and $1.95.

對於 6 月季度，我們預計我們的非 GAAP 毛利率將在銷售額的 64.1% 至 64.5% 之間。我們預計非 GAAP 營業費用將佔銷售額的 23.1% 至 23.5% 之間。我們預計非 GAAP 營業利潤百分比將在銷售額的 40.6% 至 41.4% 之間。我們預計我們的非 GAAP 每股收益將在 1.85 美元至 1.95 美元之間。

Please keep in mind that our non-GAAP EPS forecast for the June quarter includes a 420 basis point higher tax rate assumption than the March quarter. We also expect to pay down another approximately $325 million of our debt in the June quarter.

請記住，我們對 6 月季度的非 GAAP 每股收益預測包括比 3 月季度高 420 個基點的稅率假設。我們還預計在 6 月季度再償還約 3.25 億美元的債務。

Given all the complications of accounting for our acquisitions, including amortization and intangibles, restructuring charges and inventory write-up on acquisitions, Microchip will continue to provide guidance and track its results on a non-GAAP basis, except for net sales, which will be on a GAAP basis. We believe that non-GAAP results provide more meaningful comparison to prior quarters, and we request that the analysts continue to report their non-GAAP estimates to first call.

考慮到我們收購會計的所有復雜性，包括攤銷和無形資產、重組費用和收購庫存增記，Microchip 將繼續提供指導並在非 GAAP 基礎上跟踪其結果，淨銷售額除外，這將是在公認會計原則的基礎上。我們認為，非 GAAP 業績與前幾個季度相比提供了更有意義的比較，我們要求分析師繼續報告他們的非 GAAP 估計以進行首次電話會議。

Finally, as we announced on our February conference call, based on the strong cash generation characteristics of our business in upcycles and downcycles, we have modified our capital allocation thought process to pivot to a cash return strategy, which has received very positive investor feedback.

最後，正如我們在 2 月份的電話會議上宣布的那樣，基於我們業務在上升週期和下降週期中強大的現金生成特徵，我們修改了我們的資本配置思維過程，轉向現金回報策略，這得到了非常積極的投資者反饋。

Steve will now provide more details on this strategy as well as the long-term thinking that informs our actions in this regard. Steve?

史蒂夫現在將提供有關該戰略的更多詳細信息以及為我們在這方面的行動提供信息的長期思考。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Ganesh, and good afternoon, everyone. Today, I would like to provide you further updates on our cash return strategy. But before I do that, I would like to say how I continue to be very proud of all employees of Microchip that have delivered a flawless quarter and making new records in many respects, namely record net sales, record non-GAAP gross margin percentage, record non-GAAP operating margin percentage and record EBITDA.

謝謝 Ganesh，大家下午好。今天，我想為您提供有關我們現金返還策略的進一步更新。但在我這樣做之前，我想說我如何繼續為 Microchip 的所有員工感到自豪，他們交付了一個完美的季度並在許多方面創造了新的記錄，即創紀錄的淨銷售額、創紀錄的非 GAAP 毛利率百分比、記錄非 GAAP 營業利潤率並記錄 EBITDA。

Now I will turn to updating you on the cash return strategy. We completed the March quarter with a net debt leverage ratio of 3.71, excluding the long-dated 2037 maturity converts that are more equity-like in nature. At the rate we are paying down debt, we expect to break a net debt leverage ratio of 3 within a year and continue to decrease from there. Around that time, we would also expect to achieve an investment-grade rating, but the exact timing will depend on the analysis of the rating agencies. At that time, we expect to begin distributing more of our substantial amount of free cash flow to our investors in the form of dividends and stock buybacks.

現在我將向您介紹現金返還策略的最新情況。我們以 3.71 的淨債務槓桿比率完成了 3 月季度，不包括性質更像股票的長期 2037 年到期轉換。按照我們償還債務的速度，我們預計將在一年內打破 3 的淨債務槓桿率，並從那裡繼續下降。屆時，我們也有望獲得投資級評級，但具體時間將取決於評級機構的分析。屆時，我們預計將開始以股息和股票回購的形式向投資者分配更多的大量自由現金流。

Regarding buybacks, through our various convertible debt exchanges, we have essentially bought a substantial amount of stock back from the future. This is because as the stock price rises and exceeds the conversion price of the debt, convertible debt dilutes the share count. Buying converts back prevents future dilution as the stock price rises.

關於回購，通過我們的各種可轉換債券交易所，我們基本上從未來回購了大量股票。這是因為隨著股價上漲並超過債務的轉換價格，可轉換債務會稀釋股票數量。回購可防止未來隨著股價上漲而被稀釋。

Our first convert buyback was in March of 2020 when Microchip's stock price was about $71. Since then, we have done 5 other buyback transactions at various stock prices. By doing these various buyback transactions, we have purchased a total of $3.884 billion in face value of our convertible bonds.

我們的第一次轉換回購是在 2020 年 3 月，當時 Microchip 的股價約為 71 美元。從那以後，我們以不同的股票價格進行了另外 5 次回購交易。通過這些不同的回購交易，我們購買了面值總計 38.84 億美元的可轉換債券。

For the transactions from March 2020 to December 2020, we issued a total of about 27.5 million shares of our common stock to the investors for in-the-money value of their bonds. If these bonds had remained outstanding until an assumed stock price of $160 per share, the dilution would have been about 36.4 million shares. Thus, our repurchases had the impact of creating a savings of about 8.9 million shares worth $1.424 billion savings to our investors at that assumed price of $160 per share.

在 2020 年 3 月至 2020 年 12 月的交易中，我們向投資者發行了總計約 2750 萬股普通股，以換取其債券的價內價值。如果這些債券在假定股價為每股 160 美元之前一直未償還，則攤薄量約為 3640 萬股。因此，我們的回購產生了節省約 890 萬股股票的影響，以每股 160 美元的假設價格為我們的投資者節省了 14.24 億美元。

This calculation does not include our February 2021 transaction, which was very recent and executed at $163.25 per share, so it is not yet accretive. While we have not done any open market stock buybacks in the last year, our convert transactions had the impact of a buyback of approximately 8.9 million shares or about 3% of our outstanding shares. We expect to start stock buybacks from the open market after we have achieved an investment-grade rating, which we expect within a year depending on the rating agencies.

此計算不包括我們 2021 年 2 月的交易，該交易是最近的，以每股 163.25 美元的價格執行，因此尚未增值。雖然去年我們沒有進行任何公開市場股票回購，但我們的轉換交易產生了回購約 890 萬股或約 3% 已發行股票的影響。我們預計在我們獲得投資級評級後開始從公開市場回購股票，我們預計這將在一年內完成，具體取決於評級機構。

Meanwhile, we did not want to wait for starting higher dividends until our leverage ratio reaches a given number. So we initiated a path to higher dividends in our February 2021 dividend announcement with a 5% dividend increase. We are continuing on this path as we announced today that the Board of Directors have approved a dividend increase of 5.9% sequentially to $0.413 per share up from $0.39 previously. We expect to continue to increase dividends quarterly as part of our cash return strategy.

同時，我們不想等到我們的槓桿率達到給定數字後才開始派發更高的股息。因此，我們在 2021 年 2 月的股息公告中開闢了一條通往更高股息的道路，股息增加了 5%。我們將繼續沿著這條道路前進，因為我們今天宣布董事會已批准將股息從之前的 0.39 美元連續增加 5.9% 至每股 0.413 美元。作為現金回報戰略的一部分，我們預計將繼續每季度增加股息。

With that, operator, will you please poll for questions?

有了這個，接線員，你能輪詢一下問題嗎？

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our first question from Mark Lipacis with Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們將從 Jefferies 的 Mark Lipacis 那裡回答我們的第一個問題。

Congratulations on the great execution. Steve, I had a question for you about the PSP program. On the surface, it seems like you instituted this program to help customers on a more tactical basis. But I wonder if you believe there are secular drivers that ultimately may have led you to a PSP kind of a program anyway. And do you think -- now that you have this program, do you think it becomes a more permanent part of your standard operating model going forward?

祝賀偉大的處決。史蒂夫，我有一個關於 PSP 程序的問題要問你。從表面上看，您制定此計劃似乎是為了在更具戰術性的基礎上幫助客戶。但我想知道你是否相信有世俗的驅動因素最終可能會導致你開發 PSP 之類的程序。你認為 - 既然你有了這個程序，你認為它會成為你未來標準運營模式中更永久的一部分嗎？

Well, going back to as we implemented the program and why we implemented the program, let's kind of revisit that history. The backlog was so strong and constraints were so widespread. As Ganesh mentioned, in his 40-year career and mine, 42 plus year careers, we have never seen this kind of shortage and constraints in the semiconductor industry.

好吧，回到我們實施該計劃的時間以及我們實施該計劃的原因，讓我們重溫一下那段歷史。積壓如此之多，限制如此廣泛。正如 Ganesh 所說，在他和我 42 年的職業生涯中，我們從未見過半導體行業存在這種短缺和限制。

So the question really became how do we take our key customers in various segments, not only automotive but industrial and communications and data centers and PCs and all, and allow them some mechanism where they can get preferred supply of parts and it's something in it for them and something in it for us. And the design of that program became this Preferred Supply Program in which we asked that if you could give us 12 months of noncancelable, nonreschedulable backlog, and there is a tremendous benefit to Microchip, we could buy supplies ahead, we could hire people, we could make capital investment, we could do all these things with the surety of a very, very large, solid, noncancelable, nonscheduleable backlog, that's a benefit to us.

因此，真正的問題變成了我們如何吸引各個領域的主要客戶，不僅是汽車領域，還有工業、通信、數據中心和 PC 等所有領域，並為他們提供某種機制，使他們能夠獲得首選的零件供應，這是其中的一些東西他們和其中的一些東西給我們。該計劃的設計變成了這個首選供應計劃，在該計劃中，我們要求如果你能給我們 12 個月的不可取消、不可重新安排的積壓訂單，這對 Microchip 有巨大的好處，我們可以提前購買供應，我們可以僱用人員，我們可以進行資本投資，我們可以在非常、非常大、可靠、不可取消、不可安排的積壓工作的情況下做所有這些事情，這對我們來說是一個好處。

And what the customer gets is after a 6-month period, and we did that 6-month period because we don't want to create a lot of churn in the first 6 months and there was more availability of capacity after 6 months, so at that point in time, we said anybody who gives PSP backlog, they will get the preferred supply. And if there is any shortage at that time, it will be spread among the non-PSP customers.

客戶得到的是 6 個月後的結果，我們之所以這樣做是因為我們不想在前 6 個月造成大量流失，並且 6 個月後有更多可用容量，所以那時，我們說任何提供 PSP 積壓訂單的人都會獲得優先供應。屆時如果有任何短缺，將在非PSP客戶中分攤。

So long answer, but that's really how the program came about, not knowing what the acceptance would be, and the results just have been absolutely tremendous. We have billions of dollars of PSP backlog, 44% of the total backlog. On some of the most constrained supply corridors, the PSP backlog is almost equal to 100% of capacity. So you can see the advantage where we could go ahead, make those investments or buy additional equipment.

這麼長的答案，但這確實是該計劃的產生方式，不知道接受程度如何，結果絕對是巨大的。我們有數十億美元的 PSP 積壓訂單，佔總積壓訂單的 44%。在一些最受限的供應走廊上，PSP 積壓幾乎等於 100% 的容量。因此，您可以看到我們可以繼續進行投資或購買額外設備的優勢。

Now leading then to your question. Could this become a permanent landscape? I think it will depend largely on the experience of our customers and Microchip together in the year as we progress. When the cycle ends on the other cycle, when there is a lot of capacity available, customers may not be willing to make a year-long commitment that is nonchangeable. So that's what the customers would be thinking, but the environments go -- come back and forth. So our intent would be to show the customers how well we serve them because they had PSP and what the benefits are if they continue with that program going forward.

現在導致你的問題。這能成為永久的風景嗎？我認為隨著我們的進步，這在很大程度上取決於我們的客戶和 Microchip 在這一年的共同經歷。當一個週期在另一個週期結束時，當有大量可用容量時，客戶可能不願意做出長達一年的不可更改的承諾。所以這就是客戶的想法，但環境是來來回回的。因此，我們的目的是向客戶展示我們為他們提供的服務有多好，因為他們擁有 PSP，以及如果他們繼續執行該計劃，將會有什麼好處。

And I think I'll let Ganesh comment on that. It's really going to be how we manage it going forward.

我想我會讓 Ganesh 對此發表評論。這真的將是我們如何管理它前進。

Yes. So my view is we're in the early innings of PSP. We've just launched it. It's a couple of months. It's going extremely well. I think we continue to make fine-tuning of the program. And it's too early to tell how long term it will be. I think for many, many customers, they've learned in this cycle that running low on inventory or low on backlog visibility can have extreme impact on their business. And so give it a few more months. Let's see how it looks.

是的。所以我的觀點是我們正處於 PSP 的早期階段。我們剛剛推出了它。這是一兩個月。它進行得非常順利。我認為我們會繼續對程序進行微調。現在說它會持續多久還為時過早。我認為對於很多很多客戶來說，他們在這個週期中了解到庫存不足或積壓可見性低會對他們的業務產生極端影響。所以再給它幾個月。讓我們看看它的樣子。

A lot of buzzwords, programs the industry develops. Some of them last for a short period of time, in a cycle or so, and some of them last a very long period of time. I think you're seeing the beginning of the end of the word JIT. The losses in the industry by our customers due to constraints are so large that they have lost more money than all the money they save for a decade on JIT. And that could be the long-term benefit where industry plans better rather than just-in-time, give me 50% more. Where does it come from? Lead times are very long.

很多流行語，行業開發的程序。有的持續時間很短，一個週期左右，有的持續時間很長。我認為您看到了 JIT 一詞結尾的開頭。我們的客戶由於限製而在行業中造成的損失是如此之大，以至於他們損失的錢比他們在 JIT 上節省了十年的錢還多。這可能是行業計劃更好而不是及時計劃的長期利益，給我多 50%。它從何而來？交貨時間很長。

We'll take our next question from Vivek Arya with Bank of America Securities.

我們將接受美國銀行證券公司 Vivek Arya 的下一個問題。

When investors look at this extreme level of supply-demand imbalance, that their reaction is that this will surely create a hard landing. And I'm curious to get your perspective, Ganesh or Steve, that will the situation be resolved in an orderly way? When does the industry get back to a more balanced environment? What is your visibility into inventory at your end customers? Just when do we get back to normal? And what does normal look like? Or is there a hard or soft landing that we have to go through?

當投資者看到這種極端的供需失衡時，他們的反應是這肯定會造成硬著陸。 Ganesh 或 Steve，我很想知道您的觀點，即情況會以有序的方式得到解決嗎？該行業何時才能恢復到更加平衡的環境？您對最終客戶庫存的可見性如何？我們什麼時候才能恢復正常？正常情況是什麼樣的？還是我們必須經歷硬著陸或軟著陸？

We do not have a line of sight for when things get to be normal. As I mentioned, the gap between demand and supply grew in the March quarter and continues to be quite large. But we have taken a number of steps to get ahead of when whatever change in the cycle will come to soften how that landing will take place. So we just discussed the PSP in quite a bit of detail. And that gives us 12 months of continuous noncancelable backlog, and that will enable us to spot and plan for whenever that change becomes apparent to us on longer-term backlog.

當事情變得正常時，我們沒有視線。正如我所提到的，需求與供應之間的差距在 3 月份的季度有所擴大，並且仍然很大。但是我們已經採取了一些步驟來提前應對周期中的任何變化何時會軟化著陸的方式。所以我們剛剛非常詳細地討論了 PSP。這給了我們 12 個月的連續不可取消積壓，這將使我們能夠在長期積壓中對我們來說變得明顯的變化時發現併計劃。

The capacity additions we're making. We're not trying to solve the entire gap all in 1 quarter. We're making measured steps every quarter and improvements over multiple quarters. And to the extent we see a change, we will taper off the build plans and capacity additions consistent with that.

我們正在增加的容量。我們並沒有試圖在 1 個季度內解決整個差距。我們每個季度都在採取措施，並在多個季度進行改進。就我們看到的變化而言，我們將逐漸減少與之一致的建設計劃和產能增加。

Third is if you look at where our inventory is and where you look at our channel inventories are, they're at historic lows from the channel perspective and pretty low for us as well. And that gives us time and ability to continue to replenish that inventory. It will help to minimize any underabsorption that might have happened otherwise. And it positions us well to capitalize on whatever the subsequent upcycle will be. There is going to be an upcycle to whatever next downcycle there's going to be. And when that happens, we actually push out capital requirements because we will have replenished some of that inventory.

第三，如果你看看我們的庫存和渠道庫存，從渠道的角度來看，它們處於歷史低位，對我們來說也很低。這讓我們有時間和能力繼續補充庫存。這將有助於最大限度地減少否則可能發生的任何吸收不足。它使我們能夠很好地利用隨後的上升週期。無論下一個下行週期是什麼，都會有一個上行週期。當這種情況發生時，我們實際上會推遲資本要求，因為我們將補充部分庫存。

And finally, on that, if and when there is that next hard landing or soft landing, for us, what we are doing is our bonus programs and other variable compensation programs, as you've seen in prior cycles, give us a fair amount of ability to mitigate which way our expenses go as we go through the cycles. And that flexibility in operating expenses is one more item that helps us in terms of getting to a soft landing.

最後，關於這一點，如果以及何時出現下一次硬著陸或軟著陸，對我們來說，我們正在做的是我們的獎金計劃和其他可變薪酬計劃，正如你在之前的周期中看到的那樣，給我們相當多的數額能夠在我們經歷週期時減輕我們的支出方式。運營費用的靈活性是幫助我們實現軟著陸的又一項目。

We'll hear next from Gary Mobley from Wells Fargo Securities.

接下來我們將聽取富國銀行證券公司的加里·莫布利 (Gary Mobley) 的講話。

Congrats on the strong finish to the year. What a difference a year makes. I wanted to ask about your target margin goal of 65% and 42% on gross and operating margin, respectively. It would seem to me that you're in the most optimal of conditions to see the achievement of those goals with respect to revenue mix and manufacturing utilization. And so my question to you is, is that target a best-case scenario? Or is it sustainable over the long term? And what revenue level are you looking for to achieve those targets?

祝賀今年的強勢收官。一年有什麼不同。我想問一下您的毛利率和營業利潤率目標分別為 65% 和 42%。在我看來，您處於最佳條件，可以看到這些目標在收入組合和製造利用率方面的實現。所以我的問題是，這個目標是最好的情況嗎？還是長期可持續？您希望實現這些目標的收入水平是多少？

We're making good progress towards that. We, obviously, from quarter-to-quarter, can make rapid progress and sometimes it will be a little slower beyond that. So I wouldn't take last quarter and apply that as how it's going to be every quarter going forward.

我們正朝著這個方向取得良好進展。顯然，我們每個季度都可以取得快速進展，但有時會比這慢一些。因此，我不會將上個季度應用為每個季度的發展情況。

We just introduced this new model in December. So it's not been that long. And we've made a good start here. Conditions are strong for where we're at. We're executing well in the many different areas. We outlined for investors as to how will we achieve the gross margins.

我們剛剛在 12 月推出了這個新模型。所以並沒有那麼久。我們在這裡有了一個良好的開端。我們所在的地方條件很好。我們在許多不同領域都表現良好。我們向投資者概述了我們將如何實現毛利率。

There are also other pressures. There are cost pressures in some of the materials and input costs as well that we're working through. And then the operating expenses, we continue to have investments we need to make so that the long-term growth and profitability of the business can be realized.

還有其他壓力。我們正在努力解決一些材料和投入成本方面的成本壓力。然後是運營費用，我們需要繼續進行投資，以便實現業務的長期增長和盈利能力。

So let's continue to have several more quarters as we go through this. But we feel good about these long-term targets, and we think we're working on the right things operationally as well as in our business units and our other operating expenses to get to the place where we have a combination of good balance between growth and profitability.

因此，在我們完成這個過程中，讓我們繼續有幾個季度。但我們對這些長期目標感覺良好，我們認為我們在運營以及我們的業務部門和我們的其他運營支出方面正在做正確的事情，以達到我們在增長之間取得良好平衡的地方和盈利能力。

We'll hear next from Harsh Kumar with Piper Sandler.

接下來我們將聽到 Piper Sandler 和 Harsh Kumar 的對話。

Steve, congratulations as well. Ganesh, congratulations on a strong quarter. I had a philosophical question. With this kind of a supply-demand environment, is seasonality out the door in the near to midterm? And then I have a follow-up.

史蒂夫，也恭喜你。 Ganesh，祝賀一個強勁的季度。我有一個哲學問題。在這種供需環境下，中短期內會出現季節性嗎？然後我有一個後續行動。

So seasonality has been hard for us for many quarters. There hasn't been a normal environment for quite a while. We went through trade and tariff, which was an overriding issue. Then we went through COVID, which was an overriding issue. We're now in this significant demand growth environment. Clearly, there is an underlying seasonality that has contribution, but these externalities are driving a much higher multiplier on that. So for the moment, we don't have clear bearings on seasonality other than directional statements as to where they will be.

因此，許多季度以來，季節性對我們來說一直很艱難。好久沒有正常的環境了。我們經歷了貿易和關稅，這是一個壓倒一切的問題。然後我們經歷了 COVID，這是一個最重要的問題。我們現在處於這種顯著的需求增長環境中。顯然，有一個潛在的季節性因素在起作用，但這些外部因素正在推動一個更高的乘數。所以目前，除了關於它們將在哪裡的方向性陳述之外，我們對季節性沒有明確的影響。

And Ganesh, one more for you. With the PFP program, you're seeing tremendous amount of success. Are you seeing that backlog in the PSP program mostly for the sole-sourced kind of items are the ones that are mostly very constrained? Is there also a risk that you may lose some of the customers that are not able to commit? Or is simply -- is supply simply that bad that there's no place for these guys to go?

還有 Ganesh，再給你一個。通過 PFP 計劃，您會看到巨大的成功。您是否看到 PSP 計劃中的積壓主要是針對單一來源的物品，這些物品大多非常受限？是否也存在失去一些無法承諾的客戶的風險？或者只是 - 供應是否太糟糕以至於這些人無處可去？

So pretty much just about everything we do is sole-sourced proprietary products. So we don't have a commodity product line that's a big piece of this thing. Some of our memory products may come the closest. And even there, we are often in very highly protected positions in those sockets as well.

因此，我們所做的幾乎所有事情都是獨家採購的專有產品。所以我們沒有一個商品產品線是這個東西的重要組成部分。我們的一些內存產品可能最接近。即使在那裡，我們也經常在這些插座中處於非常受保護的位置。

I think the short answer is exactly what you said. There is not another place people can go to, to get capacity today. In fact, there's a lot more coming to us, trying to find ways in which we can help support them as they flee some of the other suppliers who are not able to provide them capacity in today's environment.

我認為簡短的回答正是你所說的。人們今天沒有其他地方可以去獲得容量。事實上，有更多的人來找我們，試圖找到我們可以幫助支持他們的方法，因為他們逃離了一些其他供應商，這些供應商無法在當今的環境中為他們提供能力。

So Harsh, let me add a comment. PSP is not an absolute requirement. So a customer who does not have visibility into their own business and does not want to give us noncancelable 12 months backlog can just place normal orders over 12 months, and 90 days of those orders would be firm noncancelable. And after that, they can change it. The only difference is they would not be preferred. And if there was a strong demand among the PSP customers, then they could get allocated much more harshly.

如此苛刻，讓我添加評論。 PSP 不是絕對要求。因此，不了解自己業務並且不想給我們不可取消的 12 個月積壓訂單的客戶可以在 12 個月內下正常訂單，而這些訂單中的 90 天將是不可取消的。在那之後，他們可以改變它。唯一的區別是它們不是首選。如果 PSP 客戶有強烈的需求，那麼他們可能會得到更嚴厲的分配。

But that doesn't mean that they won't get any part and they should go -- really go with somebody else. If they go with somebody else, other people are similarly constrained and may not have a PSP program to really help them. So I think there is no reason for loss of business. We're actually gaining business in this environment, have people coming from other companies where they cannot get the support.

但這並不意味著他們不會得到任何部分，他們應該去——真的和其他人一起去。如果他們和其他人一起去，其他人也會受到類似的限制，並且可能沒有 PSP 程序來真正幫助他們。所以我認為沒有理由失去業務。我們實際上是在這種環境中獲得業務，有人來自其他公司，他們無法獲得支持。

We'll hear next from Chris Caso with Raymond James.

接下來我們將聽到克里斯·卡索和雷蒙德·詹姆斯的講話。

I've got a 2-part question on some of the capacity additions that you spoke of. First, if you could give us some sense of the timing of these capacity additions. We know you're growing CapEx all through the year, but there's some constraints in getting tools. So when does capacity become available to you?

關於您提到的一些容量增加，我有一個由兩部分組成的問題。首先，您是否可以讓我們了解這些產能增加的時間。我們知道您全年都在增加資本支出，但在獲取工具方面存在一些限制。那麼容量什麼時候可用？

And then secondly, if you are adding this capacity through the year and you're expecting to remain supply constrained with, I guess, some visibility from the PSP program, is there any reason why your revenue wouldn't just continue to grow sequentially as we go through the end of the calendar year?

其次，如果您全年都在增加這種產能，並且您希望供應受到限制，我想，PSP 計劃的一些可見性，是否有任何理由說明您的收入不會繼續按順序增長我們經歷了日曆年的年底？

So firstly, on the capacity additions, they are happening. There's not a single discrete event when it's happening. It's happening every month, every quarter. We have equipment on order. We have materials on order. We're hiring people. There's a number of activities that are all going in place to be able to do it. So it will be a more continuous process through the year.

因此，首先，在增加容量方面，它們正在發生。當它發生時，沒有一個單獨的離散事件。它每個月、每個季度都在發生。我們有訂購的設備。我們有訂購的材料。我們在招人。有許多活動都在進行中，以便能夠做到這一點。因此，這將是一個貫穿全年的更連續的過程。

Sometimes we get delays on equipment. Sometimes we are able to get the equipment on the time we have. So that's the way we see it for the rest of the year. And therefore, we are expecting that we will have capacity to be higher this quarter than the prior quarter, which should give us the ability to have continued growth as we go into the second half of this year.

有時我們會在設備上出現延誤。有時我們能夠準時拿到設備。這就是我們在今年餘下時間裡看到的方式。因此，我們預計本季度的產能將高於上一季度，這將使我們有能力在進入今年下半年時繼續增長。

We'll take our next question from Ambrish Srivastava from BMO.

我們將接受來自 BMO 的 Ambrish Srivastava 的下一個問題。

Steve, I had a question on -- a follow-up actually on the comments on capital allocation. So could you -- that's a pretty substantial increase on divi over the last couple of quarters. What's the right way to think until you get to the net leverage that you're targeting? And then longer term, what are your thoughts on divi versus buybacks? So any color or any thoughts you could share on that would be helpful.

史蒂夫，我有一個問題——實際上是關於資本配置評論的後續行動。你也可以——在過去幾個季度裡，divi 的增長相當可觀。在達到目標淨槓桿率之前，正確的思考方式是什麼？然後從長遠來看，您對 divi 與回購有何看法？因此，您可以分享的任何顏色或任何想法都會有所幫助。

And then I had a quick follow-up on PSP. Ganesh, how do you hedge for -- assuming that pricing is set earlier on when the customers are committing to this, how do you hedge for the cost side of it when cost goes up unplanned? So just help us understand that factor as well.

然後我對 PSP 進行了快速跟進。 Ganesh，你如何對沖——假設定價是在客戶承諾這一點的早期設定的，當成本意外上升時，你如何對沖它的成本方面？因此，也請幫助我們了解該因素。

So let me take the capital allocation part of that, and then Ganesh will take the pricing on the PSP backlog. So we have -- internally had discussions with the Board what happens now until we get investment-grade rating and what happens after as we bring the stock buyback into the mix. But we're not prepared to dollarize that for you well into the future regarding how much stock buyback and how much dividend and when does it start and all that.

因此，讓我考慮其中的資本分配部分，然後 Ganesh 將對 PSP 積壓定價。因此，我們在內部與董事會討論了在我們獲得投資級評級之前會發生什麼，以及在我們將股票回購納入組合後會發生什麼。但我們不准備在未來為你美元化，關於多少股票回購和多少股息以及它何時開始等等。

So I think it's directionally the Board is committed to continue to increase dividend every quarter. And then as we get to the investment-grade rating, then add the stock buyback into the mix. And what that mix would be could also change from time to time depending on market conditions and stock price and all that. So it's really not all figured out for the next 5 years. There have been some discussions, but I think we will continue to advise you every quarter as we make further decisions.

因此，我認為董事會致力於繼續每個季度增加股息是有方向的。然後當我們達到投資級評級時，再將股票回購加入組合。根據市場狀況和股票價格等因素，這種組合也會不時發生變化。所以在接下來的 5 年裡，這真的還沒有完全解決。已經進行了一些討論，但我認為我們會在每個季度繼續為您提供建議，因為我們會做出進一步的決定。

And Ambrish, on your PS...

還有 Ambrish，在你的 PS 上......

Yes. I wasn't thinking -- sorry.

是的。我沒想到——抱歉。

Sorry, go ahead.

對不起，繼續。

I wasn't thinking dollars. I was -- sorry, I wasn't thinking dollars, Steve. I was thinking more in terms of percent of free cash. But that's fine. We'll wait.

我沒想到美元。我是——抱歉，我沒想到美元，史蒂夫。我考慮的更多是自由現金的百分比。不過沒關係。我們會等。

So they're not willing to disclose well into the future what percentage of our free cash flow we will give it to the investors back. We would still -- when we get an investment-grade rating, we would still have a leverage on the books of about 3. And desire is to continue to decrease that leverage further. 3 is not a number where we want to stop and give 100% cash back. So the leverage will continue to go down. But the rate at which that leverage go down could change as we start to give more cash back.

因此，他們不願意在未來很長時間內披露我們將把多少百分比的自由現金流返還給投資者。我們仍然會——當我們獲得投資級評級時，我們的賬面槓桿仍然約為 3。我們希望繼續進一步降低杠桿。 3 不是我們想要停止並給予 100% 現金返還的數字。所以槓桿將繼續下降。但隨著我們開始返還更多現金，槓桿下降的速度可能會發生變化。

Ambrish, on your PSP question. PSP is a priority for capacity. It is not a guarantee of price. And we will not be just making price changes without good reasons. So if there are input costs that are unexpected that need to be passed on, PSP backlog can receive price changes at that point in time. We're not anticipating that it needs to. But nothing in PSP backlog precludes price adjustments if there are significant cost increases.

Ambrish，關於你的 PSP 問題。 PSP 優先考慮容量。它不是價格的保證。我們不會在沒有充分理由的情況下改變價格。因此，如果有需要轉嫁的意外投入成本，PSP backlog 可以在那個時間點接收價格變化。我們不認為它需要這樣做。但如果成本顯著增加，PSP 積壓訂單中的任何內容都不會排除價格調整。

(Operator Instructions) We'll hear next from Harlan Sur with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）接下來我們將聽到摩根大通的 Harlan Sur。

Congratulations on the strong results and execution. With the current backlog -- PSP backlog, it paints a pretty good picture for demand. And based on that and combine that with your current bookings trends, how far above your current supply capabilities is overall demand trending? Is it 20% higher? Is it 30% higher?

祝賀您取得了出色的成績和執行力。對於當前的積壓——PSP 積壓，它描繪了一幅非常好的需求圖。基於此並將其與您當前的預訂趨勢相結合，總體需求趨勢比您當前的供應能力高出多少？是不是高了20%？是不是高了30%？

And then given the strong demand trends, it seems like you and your distribution partners are building and buying products and immediately shipping them out. So given that and despite your capacity increases, do you guys anticipate your days of inventory and disti inventories declining again in the June quarter?

然後鑑於強勁的需求趨勢，您和您的分銷合作夥伴似乎正在構建和購買產品並立即將它們運出。因此，考慮到這一點，儘管你們的產能增加了，你們是否預計你們的庫存天數和分銷庫存在 6 月季度再次下降？

So firstly, to give you a sense of the -- what is our unsupported in a given quarter look like. I think a quarter ago, we had said, hey, we have 30% more that we could be shipping than what we are planning to ship. And that number has since grown to over 40% that we could be shipping. So that's what we meant earlier as in -- even as we add capacity, demand grows even faster. So there is a significant amount of unsupported demand into each quarter. And what happens is every quarter, we ship a little more, and we squeeze some of it out into subsequent quarters.

因此，首先，讓您了解 - 我們在給定季度中不受支持的情況是什麼樣的。我想一個季度前，我們說過，嘿，我們可以運送的貨物比我們計劃運送的多 30%。這個數字已經增長到我們可以運送的 40% 以上。這就是我們之前的意思——即使我們增加產能，需求也會增長得更快。因此，每個季度都有大量不受支持的需求。每個季度都會發生什麼，我們會多出一點，然後將其中的一些擠出到後續季度。

Was there a second part of the question?

這個問題有第二部分嗎？

Yes. He was asking about what our expectations were for distribution inventory.

是的。他問我們對分銷庫存的期望是什麼。

Go ahead, Eric.

來吧，埃里克。

That's a very difficult thing to forecast. It went down 4 days last quarter. Distribution inventory is at record lows. What we're shipping in, they're shipping out right away to meet their customers' demand. So I don't anticipate it going up, but I -- it's at very, very low historic levels. So I don't anticipate a large change.

這是一件很難預測的事情。上個季度下降了 4 天。分銷庫存處於歷史低點。我們運送的東西，他們會立即運送出去，以滿足客戶的需求。所以我預計它不會上升，但我 - 它處於非常非常低的歷史水平。所以我預計不會有很大的變化。

We'll take our next question from John Pitzer with Credit Suisse.

我們將接受瑞士信貸約翰皮策的下一個問題。

I've got a 2-part question that speaks to the supply-demand imbalance that both Steve and Ganesh, you've talked about. I'm just kind of curious. On the supply side, we've seen a significant amount of consolidation in the semi industry over the last decade. You guys have been a big driver of that. I'm wondering, Steve or Ganesh, if you can comment on how that's impacting both yours and the industry's ability to actually grow supply.

我有一個由兩部分組成的問題，涉及史蒂夫和加內甚，你已經談到的供需失衡。我只是有點好奇。在供應方面，我們在過去十年中看到了半導體行業的大量整合。你們是其中的重要推動者。我想知道，史蒂夫或加內甚，你是否可以評論一下這對你和行業實際增加供應的能力有何影響。

And then on the demand side, I'm just kind of curious. Typically, when demand -- when your demand is this strong, we're usually in an economy that's firing on all cylinders. And yet we're still -- have an economic backdrop which is probably best described as under potential. And so if we go into the back half of the year, Steve, when we start to see a macro recovery, is there a real risk that supply shortages actually accelerate even further? And why not get ahead of that with even more CapEx?

然後在需求方面，我只是有點好奇。通常，當需求——當你的需求如此強勁時，我們通常處於一個全速運轉的經濟體中。然而，我們仍然 - 擁有一個經濟背景，最好描述為潛力不足。因此，如果我們進入今年下半年，史蒂夫，當我們開始看到宏觀復甦時，是否存在供應短缺實際上進一步加速的真正風險？為什麼不通過更多的資本支出來領先呢？

So let me start on the supply side. If you look at our 8, 10 years of acquisitions that we have done and the consolidations from our perspective, the percentage of what we build, particularly from a fab standpoint, internal versus external, has changed. We used to have a higher percentage of it in our in-house fabs. We're now down to about 39% of it is in-house. The balance is down to the foundries.

因此，讓我從供應方面開始。如果你從我們的角度來看我們 8 年、10 年的收購和整合，你會發現我們建造的東西的百分比，特別是從晶圓廠的角度來看，內部與外部，已經發生了變化。我們過去在內部晶圓廠中使用的比例更高。我們現在已經下降到大約 39% 是內部的。平衡取決於鑄造廠。

We obviously have a higher degree of control and ability to influence in a shorter period of time, the foundry -- capacity that we built in-house than we do from a foundry standpoint. And so in that sense, that is something that has changed over this period of time. It has never been an issue until this cycle where the imbalance has been so large that the instantaneous response from foundry has been difficult.

我們顯然在更短的時間內有更高程度的控制和影響能力，鑄造廠——我們在內部建立的能力比我們從鑄造廠的角度來看的能力要強。因此，從這個意義上說，這在這段時間裡發生了變化。直到這個不平衡如此之大以至於鑄造廠的瞬時響應變得困難的周期之前，這從來都不是問題。

And a high percentage of what Microchip does through foundry is what foundry would consider to be the trailing edge of capacity they have. And that has also been not where all their investments have gone. They're making some, but the majority of the investments have been in leading edge, which is where not a lot of our capacity requirements are into.

Microchip 通過代工所做的很大一部分是代工廠認為是他們擁有的產能的後緣。這也不是他們所有投資的去向。他們正在做一些，但大部分投資都在前沿領域，而我們的產能需求並不多。

Packaging and testing. We've been able to do more in-house, and we've reported on the increases. We're now into the mid-50s as a percentage of our packaging that had been as low as in the high 30s and low 40s as a percentage. So there, as and when we can, we're going as fast as we can.

封裝和測試。我們已經能夠在內部做更多的事情，並且我們已經報告了增加的情況。我們現在進入了 50 年代中期，我們包裝的百分比一直低至 30 年代的高點和 40 年代的低點。因此，只要我們能做到，我們就會盡可能快地進行。

We are looking at our capital investments and what do we need to be doing and how -- and a bit of this is finding the right mix between stepping on the accelerator where we have high confidence, PSP backlog, for example, gives us high confidence, And being a little more thoughtful where we have risk of putting a lot of capital in place and then perhaps having under-absorbed capacity. And that's always a judgment call. We make that every month, every quarter with what should our capital posture be. And we could yet change and have increased capital posture as we go into the second half of this year if that demand imbalance continues and persists at the level that it is.

我們正在審視我們的資本投資以及我們需要做什麼以及如何做——其中一部分是在我們有信心的加速器之間找到正確的組合，例如，PSP 積壓給了我們很高的信心，並且在我們有風險投入大量資本然後可能吸收不足的能力的地方更加周到。這始終是一個判斷電話。我們每個月、每個季度都以我們的資本狀況應該如何來做到這一點。如果需求不平衡繼續並持續在目前的水平，我們可能會在進入今年下半年時改變並增加資本狀況。

Steve, you want to add some more?

史蒂夫，你想補充一些嗎？

Well, let me add to a little economic macro side of his question. So John, what happened last year was that the biggest destruction of demand really was on the service side, the hospitality, hotels, the airlines, travel, restaurants, golf courses. Basically, the service side of the industry got decimated last year because of social distancing and all that. The manufacturing side didn't do that bad. I mean there was really not a single quarter where our revenue even went down 10%. Most companies in the technology industry and manufacturing industry did reasonably well. Automotive was really bad for 1 quarter, but overall, not too bad.

好吧，讓我補充一下他的問題的經濟宏觀方面。所以約翰，去年發生的事情是，需求的最大破壞實際上是在服務方面，酒店、酒店、航空公司、旅遊、餐館、高爾夫球場。基本上，由於社會疏遠等原因，該行業的服務端在去年遭到重創。製造方面並沒有那麼糟糕。我的意思是，實際上沒有一個季度我們的收入下降了 10%。科技行業和製造業的大多數公司表現相當不錯。汽車業 1 季度確實很糟糕，但總體而言，還算不錯。

So now when you get to the recovery side of it, a fair amount of recovery is likely to take place on the service side, which got so decimated, restaurants and hotels and airlines and travel and vacationers and cruise lines and all that coming back. Now as they come back and people have more money in their pocket with more jobs, certainly some of that money will flow to the hardware, electronics and cars and other things where our product goes, and we will benefit from it. But the big part of the upcoming surge is really going to be on the service side.

所以現在當你談到它的恢復方面時，相當數量的恢復可能發生在服務方面，它被摧毀了，餐館、酒店、航空公司、旅遊、度假者和郵輪公司等等都回來了。現在，隨著他們回來，人們的口袋裡有了更多的錢，有了更多的工作，其中一些錢肯定會流向硬件、電子產品和汽車以及我們產品所處的其他領域，我們將從中受益。但即將到來的激增的很大一部分實際上是在服務方面。

Having said all that, I think demand is very strong now. And as you mentioned, when the economy picks up further steam with all these people coming back on the job, could it really even get more heated? The answer to that is it's definitely possible.

話雖如此，我認為現在的需求非常強勁。正如你提到的，當經濟進一步回升，所有這些人都重返工作崗位時，它真的會變得更熱嗎？答案是絕對有可能。

But the other part of your question was, why not add more capital now? Well, we can't get it. I mean we have so much capital on order and lead time is long. And some of the scheduled capital gets delayed by a month with a short notice because the supplier is also constrained. So it's not a question of what you can order. We're willing to order more. It's a question of what you can get. We can't get everything we want.

但你問題的另一部分是，為什麼不現在增加更多資本？好吧，我們無法得到它。我的意思是我們有很多訂單資本，而且交貨時間很長。由於供應商也受到限制，一些預定的資金會在短時間內被推遲一個月。所以這不是您可以訂購什麼的問題。我們願意訂購更多。這是你能得到什麼的問題。我們無法得到我們想要的一切。

We'll take our next question from Toshiya Hari with Goldman Sachs.

我們將與高盛一起接受 Toshiya Hari 的下一個問題。

Ganesh, you talked about higher utilization rates and better mix being positive for gross margins in the quarter. I'm curious what you saw from a pricing perspective in March relative to December. I was a little surprised how fast you were able to grow your microcontroller business and analog business on a sequential basis. So I'm guessing pricing played a role there. But if you can kind of speak to that, that would be super helpful.

Ganesh，你談到更高的利用率和更好的組合對本季度的毛利率有利。我很好奇你從 3 月份相對於 12 月份的定價角度看到了什麼。我有點驚訝你們能夠以多快的速度連續發展你們的微控制器業務和模擬業務。所以我猜價格在那裡發揮了作用。但是，如果您可以就此發表意見，那將非常有幫助。

And then separately, assuming you guys managed to execute on the CapEx that you have planned today for the year, where do you see your internal capacity exiting the fiscal year versus where it is today?

然後分別假設你們成功地執行了你們今天計劃的本年度資本支出，與今天相比，你們如何看待退出本財年的內部能力？

So first on the pricing front, we announced and we did raise prices in the March quarter. It wasn't in place for the entire quarter, but it was in place for a good amount of that quarter. And not all prices changed all at the same time. There are contractual requirements, different product lines and different things. So -- but prices go up.

因此，首先在定價方面，我們宣布並確實在三月季度提高了價格。它在整個季度都沒有到位，但在那個季度的大部分時間裡都到位了。並不是所有的價格都在同一時間發生變化。有合同要求，不同的產品線和不同的東西。所以 - 但價格上漲。

With that, we also had costs go up that we were trying to offset with these price increases. And we continue to have increases coming through in our supply chain. So we think the price increases contributed some but was really not the major part of what drove our growth in the March quarter.

因此，我們也有成本上升，我們試圖用這些價格上漲來抵消。我們的供應鏈繼續增加。因此，我們認為價格上漲貢獻了一些，但實際上並不是推動我們在 3 月季度增長的主要因素。

Do you want to take the second part, Eric?

埃里克，你想參加第二部分嗎？

So the second part was on our -- what our internal capacity can do in fiscal '22, which we're just entering. And I don't expect the fab mix to be much different. Last year, the year we just finished, we did 39% of our fab internally. I don't expect that mix to change. For fiscal '21, we did 53% of our assembly and 57% of our test in-house. Those percentages should go up as we're continuing to invest and then bring some more capacity internal. But I don't have a specific number by the end of the year. That's going to depend on what the demand environment is and how quickly we can respond with the CapEx.

所以第二部分是關於我們的 - 我們的內部能力在我們剛剛進入的 22 財年可以做什麼。而且我不希望晶圓廠組合有太大不同。去年，也就是我們剛剛結束的那一年，我們在內部完成了 39% 的晶圓廠。我不希望這種組合發生變化。對於 21 財年，我們在內部完成了 53% 的組裝和 57% 的測試。隨著我們繼續投資然後在內部帶來更多產能，這些百分比應該會上升。但到年底我還沒有具體數字。這將取決於需求環境是什麼以及我們對資本支出的反應速度有多快。

And some of the internal capacity takes time as it comes through, and it may have an ongoing impact as we go into the next fiscal year.

一些內部能力需要時間才能完成，並且在我們進入下一個財政年度時可能會產生持續的影響。

Yes. My question wasn't so much on the mix exiting the year. But again, assuming you guys do get all the tools that you're asking for and you manage to spend $250 million, how much higher could your internal capacity be in 12 months? Is it 10%, 20%? A rough ballpark number would be super helpful.

是的。我的問題不是關於今年的組合。但同樣，假設你們確實獲得了所需的所有工具，並且你們設法花費了 2.5 億美元，那麼你們的內部能力在 12 個月內會提高多少？是 10%、20% 嗎？一個粗略的大概數字會非常有幫助。

Yes. I don't think that's a number we're willing to disclose. As Ganesh says, it takes time for that capacity to come on board at different stages. Something in fab is going to take longer than it might in assembly or test, and we're obviously not giving revenue guidance outside of the current quarter. So...

是的。我不認為這是我們願意透露的數字。正如 Ganesh 所說，這種能力需要時間才能在不同階段發揮作用。晶圓廠中的某些東西將比組裝或測試中花費的時間更長，而且我們顯然不會在當前季度之外提供收入指導。所以...

There are too many corridors of capacity, both internally and externally, by process, by wafer size, by technology complexity. And somewhere, the capacity is being added, the other capacity is not being added. And to roll all that into just general number, our capacity goes up x percentage when we are not really sure from foundries what we can get, we know what we can do internally in terms of the capital we're adding, so I think that number is a complex one I'm not willing to share.

根據工藝、晶圓尺寸、技術複雜性，在內部和外部都有太多的產能走廊。在某個地方，正在添加容量，但沒有添加其他容量。把所有這些都歸結為一般數字，當我們不確定從鑄造廠能得到什麼時，我們的產能會增加 x 個百分點，我們知道我們在增加的資本方面可以在內部做些什麼，所以我認為數字是一個複雜的數字，我不願意分享。

We'll take our next question from Vijay Rakesh from Mizuho.

我們將從 Mizuho 的 Vijay Rakesh 那裡回答下一個問題。

So just briefly, I know you mentioned shortages. Could you give us an idea of where you're seeing -- which segment you're seeing the highest shortages? And where are things starting more kind of -- or getting to more normalized in terms of lead times?

所以簡單地說，我知道你提到了短缺。你能告訴我們你在哪裡看到的——你看到哪個部分最短缺嗎？事情是從哪裡開始的——或者在交貨時間方面變得更加規範化？

I think if you listen to the media, you would think that automotive is the only place where there are shortages. And I think clearly, they've been the most vocal. Shortages are in every single segment that are taking place to varying degrees. And we do not see any segment starting to come back to some form of equilibrium where it is. So there are shortages and growing imbalances in every market segment we're in.

我想如果你聽媒體的話，你會認為汽車是唯一短缺的地方。我清楚地認為，他們一直是最直言不諱的。每個細分市場都存在不同程度的短缺。而且我們沒有看到任何部分開始恢復到某種形式的平衡狀態。因此，我們所處的每個細分市場都存在短缺和日益嚴重的失衡。

Got it. And I know you mentioned very strong backlog orders as you look at the June quarter here. Wondering as you look into the back half in terms of Q3 -- calendar Q3 and out, do you think -- are you expecting a better-than-seasonal outlook given how strong demand is and the pretty strong sign-up on the PSP side as well?

知道了。我知道你在這裡看到 6 月季度時提到了非常強勁的積壓訂單。考慮到第三季度的後半部分 - 日曆第三季度和之後，你認為 - 考慮到需求的強勁程度和 PSP 方面相當強勁的註冊，你是否期待比季節性更好的前景還有嗎？

We talked earlier on about seasonality and all that. Right now, our revenue is not limited by the demand side of the equation. And often, seasonality speaks to where is the demand at and how does that come about. Our growth at this point is limited by how much can we manufacture and ship. And that's where all hands on deck are. So seasonality by itself is not as meaningful in the current environment.

我們之前討論過季節性等等。現在，我們的收入不受方程式需求方的限制。通常，季節性說明需求在哪里以及需求是如何產生的。我們在這一點上的增長受到我們製造和運輸量的限制。這就是所有人都在甲板上的地方。因此，季節性本身在當前環境下意義不大。

We'll take our next question from Craig Hettenbach from Morgan Stanley.

我們將從摩根士丹利的 Craig Hettenbach 那裡回答下一個問題。

I had a question on data center and comm. I mean that's been an area that's been consolidating for a number of quarters. Just want to get a sense of what you're seeing in that market and if there's any visibility as to how you think it will trend as we go through the year.

我有一個關於數據中心和通信的問題。我的意思是，這是一個已經整合了多個季度的領域。只是想了解一下您在該市場中看到的情況，以及您是否認為我們在這一年中的趨勢如何。

So we're not trying to provide guidance on how those are going to do by market segment as we go through the year. I think clearly, in the December quarter, we indicated to you that it seems to have bottomed out. That came to be the way the March quarter ended up, a slight bit of improvement from there. So we're quite optimistic about the data center segment, in particular, as we look into fiscal year '22. And then the communication sector has its own set of infrastructure rollouts that are taking place.

因此，我們不會試圖提供指導，說明我們在這一年中將如何按細分市場進行操作。我想清楚了，在 12 月這個季度，我們向您表明它似乎已經觸底。這就是 3 月季度結束的方式，從那里略有改善。因此，我們對數據中心領域非常樂觀，尤其是在我們展望 22 財年時。然後通信部門有自己的一套基礎設施正在推出。

But that's about as much as we're able to provide. We don't really track at the level of specificity with exact numbers. We have more of a directional statement, which is kind of what we've included in our conference call notes.

但這就是我們所能提供的。我們並沒有真正用確切的數字在特異性層面上進行跟踪。我們有更多的方向性聲明，這是我們在電話會議記錄中包含的內容。

We'll take our next question from Raji Gill with Needham & Company.

我們將接受 Needham & Company 的 Raji Gill 的下一個問題。

This is Denis here asking a question for Raji. I was wondering, could you just speak about as far as these component supply constraints go up, which end markets are currently maybe kind of doing the best in terms of having some inventory available? And also, what proportion of these constraints is kind of on the front end or the back end?

我是 Denis 在這裡向 Raji 提問。我想知道，就這些組件供應限制上升而言，您能否談談目前哪些終端市場在庫存方面做得最好？而且，這些約束在前端或後端的比例是多少？

So there is no -- as I said in the earlier question, there is no end market in which there is available supply that's any better or not. They're all constrained to varying degrees. And so there's nothing from an end market to -- as far as back end and front end, we have constraints in both internal and external factories, in the back end and in the front end, in the material supply chain. And depending on what exact combination, what capacity corridor you're in, there might be more constraints and maybe less constraint, but they're all constrained.

所以沒有 - 正如我在之前的問題中所說的那樣，沒有終端市場可以提供更好或更差的供應。都受到不同程度的製約。因此，從終端市場到後端和前端，我們在內部和外部工廠、後端和前端、材料供應鏈中都沒有任何限制。根據確切的組合，你所處的容量走廊，可能會有更多的限制，也可能更少的限制，但它們都是受限的。

We'll take our next question from David O'Connor from BNP Paribas.

我們將從法國巴黎銀行的 David O'Connor 那裡回答下一個問題。

Great. Maybe a follow-up on the just-in-time, Steve, that you mentioned earlier. What changes do you foresee in the level of inventories that the industry needs to hold? I mean who in the supply chain is going to be forced to carry more inventory if that's the case? And who is going to foot the bill for these higher inventories? If you could talk around that, how you see that, that would be great.

偉大的。史蒂夫，你之前提到的，也許是對即時制的後續行動。您預計該行業需要持有的庫存水平會發生哪些變化？我的意思是，如果是這樣的話，供應鏈中的誰將被迫攜帶更多庫存？誰將為這些更高的庫存買單？如果你能談論它，你是如何看待它的，那就太好了。

Let me take a shot at that, and Steve may want to add to this as well. So I think what inventory people need to carry is going to have to be determined by the ultimate end market equipment manufacturers, the OEMs. And I think it can be very different in different product lines, right? When you build an $80,000 car and you're constrained by $10 of semiconductor content, the decision you may arrive there could be different from when you're building $200 consumer product that you have.

讓我試一試，史蒂夫可能也想補充一下。所以我認為人們需要攜帶什麼庫存將必須由最終的終端市場設備製造商 OEM 來決定。而且我認為它在不同的產品線中可能會有很大的不同，對吧？當您製造一輛價值 80,000 美元的汽車並且受到 10 美元的半導體內容的限制時，您可能會做出與製造 200 美元的消費產品時不同的決定。

So each industry, depending on the value of the product they're creating, the profitability of that industry has to decide based on their experience what is the inventory level that they need to assure themselves of the value of the product that they're trying to ship. And those answers are going to be different. I think some got burned quite badly. I suspect they will be the ones that want to do the most here.

因此，每個行業，根據他們正在創造的產品的價值，該行業的盈利能力必鬚根據他們的經驗來決定他們需要多少庫存水平來確保他們正在嘗試的產品的價值航運。這些答案會有所不同。我認為有些人被燒得很厲害。我懷疑他們將是最想在這裡做的人。

But there is not a single answer that comes with it. And as far as who foots the bill, ultimately, the manufacturer -- the original equipment manufacturer will foot the bill and more than likely have to pass that on in terms of what they're building to their end customer to the extent that they can. But if the choice is to invest in inventory that is 2, 3 orders of magnitude less than the value of the product that they're creating, many of them will have to rethink that equation of what kind of just-in-time makes sense for them.

但是它沒有一個單一的答案。至於誰買單，最終，製造商 - 原始設備製造商將買單，並且很可能必須將他們正在建造的產品盡可能地轉嫁給最終客戶.但是，如果選擇投資於比他們正在創造的產品價值低 2、3 個數量級的庫存，他們中的許多人將不得不重新考慮什麼樣的準時制方程式才有意義為他們。

Steve, do you want to add to that?

史蒂夫，你想補充嗎？

I don't really have a whole lot to add. But I would say that if you look at some of the Japanese car manufacturers did much better this time around because they learned their lesson during the tsunami and when a lot of the renaissance and other factories were shut down due to earthquake and radiations and all that. So they learned from that time and built a structure where they were not as much relying on JIT and reach the current time with a level of inventory on the semiconductor parts, and they did a lot better.

我真的沒有太多要補充的。但我想說，如果你看看一些日本汽車製造商這次的表現要好得多，因為他們在海嘯中吸取了教訓，當時許多複興工廠和其他工廠因地震和輻射等原因關閉.所以他們從那個時候吸取教訓，建立了一個結構，在這個結構中，他們不太依賴 JIT，並且在半導體零件的庫存水平上達到了當前的水平，他們做得更好。

And that's really the lesson the U.S. and European auto manufacturers need to learn. And time would tell. When the cycle goes the other way, is it all lost and it's just the same standoff, we don't really know. But they have to start thinking that building semiconductors is different than getting a bent metal for doorknob or something.

這確實是美國和歐洲汽車製造商需要吸取的教訓。時間會證明一切。當循環往另一個方向發展時，是否一切都失去了，只是同樣的僵局，我們真的不知道。但他們必須開始思考，製造半導體不同於為門把手或其他東西製造彎曲的金屬。

Right now, we get some comments that are sometimes laughable. What's the big deal about the lead frame? Just bend the metal and make my parts. And it's just not that simple, building semiconductors. So I think a lot of learning needs to happen. And we don't directly ship the parts to the car manufacturers. We have the people in between like the Contis and Gentex and Aptivs and Hella and all these people. They're in between. So it's really -- so we have a buffer, but the car manufacturers really need to really take the bull by the horn and drive the process to get out of JIT. And I don't know whether they will. I don't know that.

現在，我們收到一些有時可笑的評論。引線框架有什麼大不了的？只需彎曲金屬並製作我的零件。製造半導體並不是那麼簡單。所以我認為需要進行大量學習。而且我們不會直接將零件運送給汽車製造商。我們有介於兩者之間的人，例如 Contis、Gentex、Aptivs 和 Hella，以及所有這些人。他們介於兩者之間。所以它真的 - 所以我們有一個緩衝區，但汽車製造商真的需要不畏艱險，推動流程擺脫 JIT。我不知道他們是否會。我不知道。

A positive step is many of the carmakers have been at the forefront of embracing the PSP program and requiring the Tier 1s to be participant. At least for the moment, you can see how we're trying to drive towards having a level of inventory that assures them they can build their very expensive -- or very highly valuable end products. How that will persist a year or 2 years from now, we don't know.

一個積極的步驟是，許多汽車製造商一直站在支持 PSP 計劃並要求一級供應商參與的最前沿。至少就目前而言，您可以看到我們如何努力提高庫存水平，以確保他們可以製造非常昂貴或非常有價值的最終產品。從現在起一年或兩年後，這種情況將如何持續，我們不知道。

We'll move on to our next question from Christopher Rolland from Susquehanna.

我們將繼續來自 Susquehanna 的 Christopher Rolland 的下一個問題。

It's a little bit more open-ended here. But Ganesh, you said in 40 years, you haven't seen such an imbalance between supply and demand as acute as this one. And Steve, you may want to chime in here as well. But can you guys talk about maybe something that was similar, the number 2 most acute time or number 3? And are there any analogies to this? And how did that eventually unwind where we had that match of supply and demand in DC something like that taking place here?

這裡更開放一些。但是 Ganesh，你說 40 年來，你從未見過像這次這樣嚴重的供需失衡。史蒂夫，你可能也想插話。但是你們能不能談談類似的事情，2 號最急性時間或 3 號？這有什麼類比嗎？在華盛頓特區供需匹配的情況下，這種情況最終是如何解決的呢？

All cycles eventually come to an end as the participants in the battlefield work on how they adjust to where the situation is. In prior cycles, the semiconductor companies put in the additional capacity in place and began to get closer in their self-interest to be able to grow. And the players in the market began to adjust with what they were building and how they were building.

所有循環最終都會結束，因為戰場上的參與者會研究如何適應形勢。在之前的周期中，半導體公司投入了額外的產能，並開始更接近自身利益以實現增長。市場上的參與者開始根據他們正在構建的內容和構建方式進行調整。

I would say in my time frame, probably the sharpest rebound was probably 2008, 2009. And again, we were extremely fortunate in that time because we did not shut down our factories and we kept things running and we grew our inventory. But not all people did that. And we know it did create dislocations as a result of doing that.

我想說的是，在我的時間範圍內，最劇烈的反彈可能是 2008 年、2009 年。再一次，我們在那個時候非常幸運，因為我們沒有關閉我們的工廠，我們保持運轉，我們增加了庫存。但並非所有人都這樣做。我們知道這樣做確實造成了錯位。

Steve, do you want to add to that?

史蒂夫，你想補充嗎？

Well, finishing your thought, in 2008, 2009, we didn't shut down our factory and continued to run the factories, although we had some rotating time off. And then we entered the upcycle with a very good amount of inventory position. And through that, we grew a lot and we did very well. We didn't repeat that this time because this time, we had a very, very substantial debt leverage, which was very high. And therefore, we didn't choose to really put the money into inventory and kept the factories running and all that.

好吧，說完你的想法，在2008年，2009年，我們沒有關閉我們的工廠並繼續運營工廠，儘管我們有一些輪休。然後我們進入了擁有大量庫存的上升週期。通過那個，我們成長了很多，我們做得很好。這次我們沒有重複，因為這次我們有非常非常高的債務槓桿。因此，我們沒有選擇真正把錢投入庫存並保持工廠運轉等等。

At that time, I recall, investor concern was what happens if your demand goes down 35%? Do you miss the covenant? So sometimes, your memories can be short, but this environment presented different challenges. So we were not able to repeat the experience of 2009 and did not reach this time with a high inventory internally. And we're trying to build it now but unsuccessful because we're shipping as we build.

我記得當時，投資者擔心的是如果您的需求下降 35% 會怎樣？你懷念盟約嗎？所以有時候，你的記憶可能很短暫，但這種環境帶來了不同的挑戰。所以我們沒能重蹈2009年的覆轍，也沒有達到這個內部庫存高的時候。我們現在正在嘗試構建它但沒有成功，因為我們在構建的同時進行運輸。

The other point I wanted to make is people use this word double ordering. We don't really get double ordering because our parts are all proprietary. You cannot buy from us and from another company for the same socket nor can 2 distributors ship the product into the same socket in the way we register and make it economically impossible for the nondesigning distributor to ship the part into that socket.

我想說的另一點是人們使用這個詞雙重排序。我們並沒有真正得到重複訂購，因為我們的零件都是專有的。您不能從我們這里和另一家公司購買同一個插座，也不能 2 個分銷商以我們註冊的方式將產品運送到同一個插座中，並使非設計分銷商在經濟上不可能將零件運送到該插座中。

So the only other remaining avenue is a customer orders a little more than what they need, which we never know and we cannot detect. If you want to call it double ordering, there could be some excess ordering by the customers we can't be sure of. But one thing we are sure of is there's no double fulfillment. We are in daily phone calls, escalation meetings with a number of customers, threatened line downs and actual lines down for many of the car manufacturers and others.

因此，剩下的唯一其他途徑是客戶訂購的數量比他們需要的多一點，這是我們永遠不知道也無法檢測到的。如果你想稱之為雙重訂購，我們無法確定客戶可能會進行一些額外訂購。但我們可以肯定的是，沒有雙重應驗。我們每天都在電話中，與許多客戶進行升級會議，威脅許多汽車製造商和其他人的線路中斷和實際線路中斷。

There is no double fulfillment. People are -- everybody is getting a fraction of what they need. So therefore, there is a fair amount of runway ahead. With such a large amount of demand, I think it's going to be the rest of the fiscal year. We're just trying to get our head above the water.

沒有雙重實現。人們——每個人都得到了他們需要的一小部分。因此，前方有相當多的跑道。有如此大量的需求，我認為這將是本財政年度的剩餘時間。我們只是想讓我們的頭浮出水面。

And unlike prior cycles, right, we have noncancelable windows that are significantly longer than we have had in other cycles. And that puts a little bit of -- a lot more responsibility on the customer to have orders that they need and not orders that they don't need.

與之前的周期不同，對，我們有不可取消的窗口，這些窗口比我們在其他週期中的時間長得多。這給客戶帶來了一點——更多的責任，讓客戶獲得他們需要的訂單，而不是他們不需要的訂單。

We'll take a follow-up question from John Pitzer from Credit Suisse.

我們將接受來自瑞士信貸的 John Pitzer 的後續問題。

Just, Eric, on the target model, I'm just kind of curious on the gross margin line. What's been really impressive is the incremental margins you guys have been able to put up over the last, call it, 6 to 8 quarters. I mean on quarters where you've had sequential growth, I think incremental gross margins have been right around that 80% mark. And so was there something unusual about the last kind of 6 to 8 quarters that drove such high incremental gross margins? And where should we think about that going forward?

只是，埃里克，關於目標模型，我只是對毛利率線有點好奇。真正令人印象深刻的是你們在過去 6 到 8 個季度中能夠增加的利潤。我的意思是，在連續增長的季度，我認為增量毛利率一直在 80% 左右。那麼，在過去的 6 到 8 個季度中，是否有什麼不尋常的因素推動瞭如此高的增量毛利率？我們應該在哪裡考慮未來的發展？

Well, I think there's a couple of things. In the more recent quarters, we had significant underutilization charges, which have now gone away, right? So those costs are now being capitalized to inventory. We're running the factories more full, so that's gone away. And then we had a large acquisition in Microsemi that we were integrating over that time frame, too, and finding ways to improve margins on the acquired business. Those are the 2 things that I would point to.

好吧，我認為有幾件事。在最近幾個季度，我們有大量未充分利用的費用，現在已經消失了，對吧？因此，這些成本現在被資本化到存貨中。我們正在使工廠更加滿負荷運轉，所以它已經消失了。然後我們在 Microsemi 進行了大規模收購，我們也在那個時間框架內進行了整合，並想方設法提高收購業務的利潤率。這些是我要指出的兩件事。

Steve or Ganesh, anything else?

Steve 或 Ganesh，還有其他嗎？

Well, the only other thing I would add is we continue to add value into many, many of our products through a combination of hardware and software, which makes them more valuable as improved the gross margins we have on those products. And as you then get to a weighted average of all these products and what are we doing to make them more valuable, it shows up in the aggregate gross margin.

好吧，我唯一要補充的另一件事是，我們繼續通過硬件和軟件的組合為我們的許多產品增加價值，這使得它們更有價值，因為我們在這些產品上的毛利率有所提高。然後，當您獲得所有這些產品的加權平均值以及我們正在做些什麼來使它們更有價值時，它就會顯示在總毛利率中。

And that does conclude today's question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Ganesh Moorthy for any additional or closing remarks.

這確實結束了今天的問答環節。我想將會議轉回給 Ganesh Moorthy 先生，聽取任何補充或結束語。

Okay. We want to thank everyone for taking the time to join us. We do have investor meetings that are coming up that we look forward to meeting and talking to more of you. But have a good afternoon. Thank you.

好的。我們要感謝大家花時間加入我們。我們確實有即將舉行的投資者會議，我們期待與更多的人會面和交談。但祝你下午愉快。謝謝。

Thank you. That does conclude today's conference. We do thank you all for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。我們非常感謝大家的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。