美光科技 (MU) 2016 Q3 法說會逐字稿

At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Micron Technology's third quarter 2016 financial release conference call.

在此，我謹代表美光科技公司歡迎各位參加2016年第三季財務業績發布電話會議。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, Ivan Donaldson. Sir, you may begin your conference.

現在我很高興把發言權交給你們的主持人伊凡唐納森。先生，您可以開始會議了。

Thank you, Karen, and welcome to Micron Technology's third quarter 2016 financial release conference call. On the call with me today are Mark Durcan, CEO and Director, and Ernie Maddock, Chief Financial Officer. This conference call including audio and slides is also being webcast from our Investor Relations website at investors. Micron.com.

謝謝凱倫，歡迎參加美光科技2016年第三季財務報告電話會議。今天和我一起通話的是執行長兼董事馬克·杜爾坎，以及財務長厄尼·馬多克。本次電話會議（包括音訊和幻燈片）也將在我們的投資者關係網站上進行網路直播，網址為 investors。Micron.com。

In addition, our website contains the earnings press release filed a short while ago and supplemental information including quarterly operational and financial metrics and guidance, GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations, slides used during today's conference call and a convertible debt and cap call dilution table. Today's call will be approximately 60 minutes in length. A webcast replay will be available on our website for one year. We encourage you to monitor our website at Micron.com throughout the quarter for the most current information on the Company including information on the various financial conferences that we will be attending. You can also follow us on Twitter @MicronTech.

此外，我們的網站還包含不久前發布的盈利新聞稿和補充信息，包括季度運營和財務指標及指導、GAAP 與非 GAAP 的調節表、今天電話會議中使用的幻燈片以及可轉換債券和資本期權稀釋表。今天的電話會議大約需要60分鐘。網路直播回放將在我們的網站上保留一年。我們鼓勵您在本季度密切關注我們的網站 Micron.com，以獲取有關公司的最新信息，包括我們將參加的各種金融會議的信息。您也可以在 Twitter 上關注我們 @MicronTech。

As a reminder, the matters we will be discussing today include forward-looking statements based on the environment as we currently see it. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from statements made today. We refer you to the documents the Company filed with the SEC, specifically our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q for a complete discussion of these important risk factors and other risks that may affect our future results.

再次提醒大家，我們今天討論的事項包括基於我們目前所見環境的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與今天所作的陳述有重大差異。有關這些重要風險因素以及可能影響我們未來業績的其他風險的完整討論，請參閱公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，特別是我們最新的 10-K 表格和 10-Q 表格。

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. We are under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after today's date to conform these statements to actual results. I'll now turn the call over to Mark.

儘管我們認為前瞻性聲明中反映的預期是合理的，但我們無法保證未來的結果、活動水準、績效或成就。我們沒有義務在今天之後更新任何前瞻性聲明，以使這些聲明與實際結果相符。現在我將把電話交給馬克。

Thanks, Ivan. For fiscal Q3 2016, Micron posted total revenue of $2.9 billion, with gross margin of 17%, a non-GAAP net loss of $79 million and a non-GAAP loss of $0.08 per share, all within our guided range. Operating cash flow was $389 million. Top line results were primarily impacted by continued weakness in the PC segment and the mobile qualifications we discussed last quarter. With recent data points indicating some improvement in channel pricing, an expectation of finalizing our mobile qualifications and continued progress on our technology and operational milestones, we remain confident about our opportunities.

謝謝你，伊凡。2016 財年第三季度，美光科技總營收為 29 億美元，毛利率為 17%，非 GAAP 淨虧損為 7,900 萬美元，非 GAAP 每股虧損為 0.08 美元，皆在我們預期的範圍內。經營活動現金流為3.89億美元。營收主要受到個人電腦業務持續疲軟以及我們上個季度討論過的行動業務資質問題的影響。鑑於最近的數據顯示通路定價有所改善，預計我們將完成行動認證，並且在技術和營運里程碑方面持續取得進展，我們對我們的機會仍然充滿信心。

Today, I'd like to provide a brief overview of our progress in each of the businesses and Ernie will cover other business unit performance details. In our compute and networking business unit, we returned to revenue growth despite pricing pressure in the client segment. This was driven by the ongoing ramp of our 20-nanometer products, which exceeded 25-nanometer shipments on a bit basis for the first time. We enjoy continued 20-nanometer qualifications across all CNB market segments lead by our 8-gigabit DDR4 product in enterprise, cloud and client.

今天，我將簡要概述我們在各個業務領域的進展情況，Ernie 將介紹其他業務部門的業績細節。在我們的計算和網路業務部門，儘管客戶市場面臨價格壓力，但我們仍恢復了收入成長。這是由於我們的 20 奈米產品持續成長所致，其比特級出貨量首次超過了 25 奈米產品。我們持續在所有 CNB 市場領域獲得 20 奈米認證，其中以企業、雲端和客戶端的 8 千兆 DDR4 產品為首。

In May, NVIDIA launched the world's fastest consumer graphics card designed with Micron's GDDR5X. We are excited about the prospects for this high performance memory product. In enterprise and cloud, we saw initial customer announcements based on our NVDIMM product offering with high performance persistent memory.

今年5月，NVIDIA推出了全球最快的消費級顯示卡，該顯示卡採用了美光公司的GDDR5X記憶體。我們對這款高效能記憶體產品的前景感到非常興奮。在企業和雲端領域，我們看到了基於我們高效能持久記憶體的 NVDIMM 產品系列的初步客戶公告。

Turning to our mobile business unit, our results continue to be impacted by the timing of product qualifications as we transition customers to 20-nanometer versions of LPDDR4. We have successfully concluded some of the delayed qualifications that we discussed last quarter and we anticipate finalizing the remainder during fiscal Q4. We are ramping the output of these products throughout the quarter and into fiscal Q1 2017. We anticipate continued demand growth in mobile market in the fourth quarter in terms of both NAND and LPDRAM.

再來看我們的行動業務部門，由於我們正在將客戶過渡到 20 奈米版本的 LPDDR4，產品認證的時間安排繼續影響著我們的業績。我們已經成功完成了上個季度討論過的一些延期資格認證工作，預計將在第四財季完成剩餘部分的認證工作。我們將在本季以及 2017 財年第一季逐步提高這些產品的產量。我們預計第四季度行動市場對 NAND 和 LPDRAM 的需求將持續成長。

In our embedded business unit, the automotive segment delivered record revenue driven by volume increases in DDR3 and increasing density mix in the e.MMC. Design activity remains strong with recent qualifications of automotive consumer and connected home applications. In the consumer MCP business, we saw some recovery that we expect to continue into fiscal Q4, aligning with seasonal demand.

在我們的嵌入式業務部門，汽車業務部門實現了創紀錄的收入，這主要得益於DDR3銷量的成長和e.MMC密度組合的增加。設計活動依然強勁，近期在汽車消費電子和智慧家庭應用領域獲得了認證。在消費品 MCP 業務方面，我們看到了一些復甦跡象，預計這種復甦勢頭將持續到第四財季，與季節性需求相符。

Finally, our storage business unit is in the midst of refreshing its SSD portfolio with a higher capacity 3D NAND memory technology. We also introduced Micron Accelerated Solutions, which are enabled by our enterprise SSDs and advanced DRAM, integrating compute and storage to improve efficiency and performance in a variety of storage applications. And we announced our new 110 SATA client SSDs leveraging triple level cell 3D NAND for class-leading performance and power efficiency.

最後，我們的儲存業務部門正在利用更高容量的 3D NAND 儲存技術更新其 SSD 產品組合。我們也推出了美光加速解決方案，該方案利用我們的企業級固態硬碟和先進的DRAM，將運算和儲存整合在一起，以提高各種儲存應用的效率和效能。我們發布了全新的 110 SATA 用戶端 SSD，採用三層單元 3D NAND 技術，實現了領先業界的效能和能源效率。

To summarize, our leading edge technology deployment continues to progress throughout manufacturing for both DRAM and NAND and we are on track with our bit growth and cost reduction targets. We believe the combination of new products with more efficient manufacturing on advanced nodes will drive improvement in our competitive position in the rest of 2016 and beyond.

總而言之，我們在DRAM和NAND製造領域的領先技術部署持續推進，我們在實現比特成長和成本降低目標方面也取得了進展。我們相信，新產品與先進節點上更有效率的製造流程相結合，將推動我們在 2016 年剩餘時間及以後提升競爭力。

Turning to the memory industry more generally, we believe that the DRAM industry supply growth will be in the low to mid-20% range in 2016, which is consistent with our prior commentary. If wafer output declines in the latter half of the year as some parties have forecast, we would expect to exit the year on a slower run rate and 2017 bit supply growth could be in the mid to high teens. This compares to our long-term bit demand forecast in the low to mid 20% range. The significant improvements we're seeing in channel pricing are not currently impacting other segments and as a result, we continue to take a conservative view of the market environment.

更廣泛地來看記憶體產業，我們認為 2016 年 DRAM 產業的供應成長將在 20% 左右，這與我們先前的評論一致。如果晶圓產量如某些方面預測的那樣在今年下半年下降，我們預計今年年底的產量增長將放緩，2017 年的晶圓供應量增長率可能在 15% 到 10% 之間。這與我們對長期比特需求的預測（20% 到 20% 左右）相比有所下降。我們看到通路定價方面出現了顯著改善，但這些改善目前並未對其他細分市場產生影響，因此，我們繼續對市場環境持保守態度。

For NAND, we estimate 2016 industry bit supply growth in the mid-30% to low 40% range, with a similar range in 2017 as early 3D conversions create some temporary supply constraints. Over the last several quarters, we've experienced strong demand coupled with aggressive pricing as suppliers have been driving to increase penetration rates and densities. Similar to DRAM, the current channel pricing environment appears to be improving but is not yet significantly impacted across other segments. Our long-term bit demand forecast is in the low 40% range as lower costs and higher performance 3D NAND solutions enter the market.

對於 NAND，我們估計 2016 年產業位元供應成長在 30% 到 40% 之間，2017 年的成長範圍也與之類似，因為早期的 3D 轉換會造成一些暫時的供應限制。在過去的幾個季度裡，由於供應商一直在努力提高滲透率和密度，我們經歷了強勁的需求和激烈的價格競爭。與 DRAM 類似，目前的通路定價環境似乎正在改善，但尚未對其他細分市場產生顯著影響。隨著成本更低、效能更高的 3D NAND 解決方案進入市場，我們的長期位元需求預測在 40% 左右。

From an operations perspective, Micron remains focused on a few key priorities. For DRAM, we successfully achieved our targeted 20-nanometer crossover during fiscal Q3, and also enabled our 1x node in manufacturing. We expect to ramp 1x-nanometer DRAM in volume starting in 2017.

從營運角度來看，美光仍然專注於幾個關鍵優先事項。對於 DRAM，我們在第三財季成功實現了 20 奈米製程的目標，並且實現了 1x 過程的製造。我們預計從 2017 年開始量產 1x 奈米 DRAM。

We are still forecasting Micron's FY16 and FY17 DRAM bit growth in the 20% to 30% range, which is likely above the market. We achieved 22% bit growth in fiscal Q3, and expect even stronger bit growth in Q4. In light of current market conditions, we have no plans to add DRAM wafer capacity. As noted above, we are migrating to advanced technology nodes in order to achieve cost reductions and adjust higher density designs for mobile, cloud and enterprise segments.

我們仍預測美光2016財年和2017財年的DRAM位成長將在20%至30%之間，這可能高於市場平均。我們在第三財季實現了 22% 的比特成長，預計第四財季的比特成長將更加強勁。鑑於目前的市場狀況，我們沒有增加DRAM晶圓產能的計畫。如上所述，我們正在向先進技術節點遷移，以實現成本降低，並調整更高密度的設計，以適應行動、雲端和企業領域。

For NAND, we continue to make great progress on our Gen-1 3D NAND and are reaching maturity yields ahead of expectations. We still expect to achieve 3D bit crossover by this fall, which will allow us to take advantage of the cost benefits that this technology provides. Our second generation 3D product is also on track with initial production this quarter. Equally exciting is that we expect TLC to be the majority of our 3D bit output within the next few quarters.

對於 NAND，我們在第一代 3D NAND 方面繼續取得巨大進展，成熟良率提前達到預期。我們仍然預計在今年秋季實現 3D 位元交叉，這將使我們能夠利用這項技術帶來的成本優勢。我們的第二代3D產品也進展順利，將於本季開始投產。同樣令人興奮的是，我們預計在接下來的幾個季度裡，TLC 將成為我們 3D 位元輸出的大部分。

In aggregate, we are forecasting Micron's FY16 and FY17 NAND bit growth in the 30% to 40% range. We expect to be somewhat below the market in 2016, and somewhat above the market in 2017. TLC enabled 3D NAND technology is a big step forward and a significant driver relative to the progress we expect to make in our NAND business.

整體而言，我們預測美光2016財年和2017財年的NAND快閃記憶體位成長將在30%至40%之間。我們預計 2016 年的業績將略低於市場平均水平，2017 年的業績將略高於市場平均水平。TLC 支援的 3D NAND 技術是一項巨大的進步，也是我們 NAND 業務取得預期進展的重要驅動力。

This technology progress must be complemented by enabling product solutions for key storage and mobile segments. We've outlined our storage product road map, which includes our recently announced client SSDs, followed by cloud drives later this year and enterprise solutions early next year. We're also evaluating a number of mobile product opportunities for 3D NAND in 2017. Relative to 3D XPoint, we're working with market enablers across a number of market segments and continue to believe this innovative technology will be a strong contributor to Micron's future success with revenue in 2017 and beyond.

這項技術進步必須輔以關鍵儲存和行動領域的相應​​產品解決方案。我們已經制定了儲存產品路線圖，其中包括我們最近發布的客戶端 SSD，隨後將在今年稍後推出雲端硬碟，並在明年初推出企業解決方案。我們也正在評估 2017 年 3D NAND 在行動產品領域的一些應用機會。就 3D XPoint 而言，我們正在與多個細分市場的市場推動者合作，並繼續相信這項創新技術將為美光在 2017 年及以後的收入成長做出重大貢獻。

Micron has a committed focus on the deployment of advanced technology to drive manufacturing efficiency and enable innovative new products for our customers. While we haven't finalized our FY17 business plan, we are approaching that plan with prudence and conservatism and carefully reviewing our capital investments and projected operating cash flows to ensure the appropriate balance. Now, I'd like to turn it over to Ernie.

美光致力於部署先進技術，以提高生產效率，並為我們的客戶提供創新產品。雖然我們尚未最終確定 2017 財年業務計劃，但我們正在以謹慎和保守的態度對待該計劃，並仔細審查我們的資本投資和預計的經營現金流，以確保適當的平衡。現在，我想把麥克風交給厄尼。

Thanks, Mark. I'll start off by sharing technology and business unit details and circle back to the overall Company results for the quarter, followed by the guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter.

謝謝你，馬克。我將首先分享技術和業務部門的詳細信息，然後再回顧本季度公司的整體業績，最後給出第四財季的業績指引。

DRAM represented 60% of our total revenue with the following segmentation. Mobile was in the mid-20% range, the PC segment represented about 25%, the server business was in the low 20% range, and specialty DRAM, which includes networking, graphics, auto and other embedded technologies, was in the high 20% range.

DRAM 占我們總收入的 60%，具體細分如下。行動裝置佔比在 20% 左右，個人電腦佔比約為 25%，伺服器業務佔比在 20% 左右，而包括網路、圖形、汽車和其他嵌入式技術在內的專用 DRAM 佔比在 20% 左右。

In our non-volatile memory business, trade revenue represented 31% of total revenue with the following segmentation. Consumer, which includes memory cards, USB and components, represented about 55%. Mobile and SSDs each represented approximately 13% and as a reminder, eMCPs are accounted for in the mobile segment. The automotive, industrial multi-market and other embedded applications were in the high teens percent range.

在我們的非揮發性記憶體業務中，貿易收入佔總收入的 31%，具體細分如下。消費品（包括記憶卡、USB 和組件）約佔 55%。行動裝置和固態硬碟各佔約 13%，需要提醒的是，eMCP 已計入行動裝置部分。汽車、工業多市場和其他嵌入式應用領域的佔比均在 10% 以上。

Moving on, I'll share a brief operational summary of each of our business units. Micron's compute and networking business unit posted fiscal Q3 revenue of $1.09 billion, up 4% from the previous quarter, primarily driven by our 20-nanometer shipment growth across all segments and partially offset by lower average selling prices. Our non-GAAP operating loss was $63 million or 6% of revenue.

接下來，我將簡要介紹我們各個業務部門的營運情況。美光科技的運算和網路業務部門公佈第三財季營收為 10.9 億美元，比上一季成長 4%，主要得益於所有業務板塊 20 奈米製程的出貨量成長，但部分被平均售價下降所抵銷。我們的非GAAP營業虧損為6,300萬美元，佔營收的6%。

In the enterprise segment, demand for our 20-nanometer 32-gigabit DDR4 RDIMM was driven by the launch of Intel's latest server platform. We also saw solid growth in the cloud segment with continued transition to DDR4. In graphics, we saw strong growth driven by our GDDR5 and GDDR5X products and are approaching a seasonally strong period for graphics applications including virtual reality and expect good performance from this segment for the next quarter.

在企業領域，英特爾最新伺服器平台的推出推動了對我們 20 奈米 32 千兆 DDR4 RDIMM 的需求。隨著向 DDR4 的持續過渡，我們也看到了雲端領域的穩健成長。在圖形領域，我們的 GDDR5 和 GDDR5X 產品實現了強勁增長，並且即將迎來包括虛擬實境在內的圖形應用的季節性旺季，預計該領域在下一季度將取得良好業績。

In networking, our business was somewhat flat, however we made significant progress enabling our 20-nanometer products and also announced our eUSB 3.0 solution. Finally, within the client segment, we continued enablement and volume ramp of our 20-nanometer 4-gigabit DDR3 and 8-gigabit DDR4 solution to all major OEMs.

在網路領域，我們的業務發展較為平緩，但我們在實現 20 奈米產品方面取得了重大進展，並發布了 eUSB 3.0 解決方案。最後，在客戶領域，我們繼續向所有主要 OEM 廠商推廣和量產我們的 20 奈米 4 千兆位元 DDR3 和 8 千兆位元 DDR4 解決方案。

In Micron's mobile business unit, we posted fiscal Q3 revenue of $561 million, up 12% from the prior quarter as we continued to ramp 20-nanometer LPDDR3 and LPDDR4. While the low density eMCP market is still under pressure, a move to higher density designs in FQ4 and early FY17, should help stabilize and improve this segment.

在美光行動業務部門，我們公佈了第三財季營收為 5.61 億美元，比上一季成長 12%，因為我們繼續擴大 20 奈米 LPDDR3 和 LPDDR4 的產能。雖然低密度 eMCP 市場仍面臨壓力，但第四財季和 2017 財年初向更高密度設計的轉變應該有助於穩定和改善這一細分市場。

Our non-GAAP operating loss was $17 million or 3% of revenue. We have successfully concluded some of the delayed qualifications that we discussed last quarter and we anticipate finalizing the remainder during fiscal Q4. This work will allow us to more fully ramp our 20-nanometer mobile products in fiscal Q4 and into next year. Both LPDRAM and NAND content continue to increase in mobile devices, which when combined with even modest unit growth will result in very solid bit consumption.

我們的非GAAP營業虧損為1,700萬美元，佔營收的3%。我們已經成功完成了上個季度討論過的一些延期資格認證工作，預計將在第四財季完成剩餘部分的認證工作。這項工作將使我們能夠在第四財季及明年更全面地推進我們的 20 奈米行動產品的生產。行動裝置中的 LPDRAM 和 NAND 含量都在持續增加，即使裝置出貨量成長幅度不大，也會導致比特消耗量非常可觀。

In our embedded business, we posted fiscal Q3 revenue of $487 million, up 6% from the previous quarter, with a non-GAAP operating income of $107 million, or 22% of revenue. The results were primarily driven by continued strength in the automotive and consumer segments offset by softness in the industrial multi-market segment.

在我們的嵌入式業務中，我們公佈了第三財季的營收為 4.87 億美元，比上一季成長了 6%，非 GAAP 營業收入為 1.07 億美元，佔營收的 22%。業績主要得益於汽車和消費品行業的持續強勁增長，但工業多市場行業的疲軟抵消了部分增長。

In our automotive segment, we achieved record revenue increasing 6% quarter-over-quarter and 10% year on year. We continue to see increasing demand in both DRAM and eMMC applications that include infotainment, instrument cluster and advanced driver assist systems and continue to see strong demand from our EMEA customers, which is more recently complemented by growth in Korea and demand recovery in North America. Our portfolio of leading edge solutions is enabling major 2018 platform automotive design wins.

在汽車業務領域，我們實現了創紀錄的收入，季增 6%，年增 10%。我們持續看到 DRAM 和 eMMC 應用（包括資訊娛樂系統、儀錶板和高級駕駛輔助系統）的需求不斷增長，並且持續看到來自 EMEA 客戶強勁的需求，最近韓國的增長和北美需求的復甦也對此起到了補充作用。我們一系列領先的解決方案助力我們在 2018 年贏得了多項重要的汽車平台設計專案。

Our industrial multi-market business declined 9% quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to global market softness in the manufacturing infrastructure segment. However, we continue to see healthy demand for our NOR and NAND-based MCPs used in machine to machine wireless communication modules.

我們的工業多市場業務季減 9%，主要原因是全球製造業基礎設施領域的市場疲軟。然而，我們仍然看到市場對用於機器間無線通訊模組的基於 NOR 和 NAND 的 MCP 有良好的需求。

Our consumer and connected home revenue was up 3% quarter-over-quarter with some softness in the set top box business offset by strong demand for NAND and LPDRAM MCPs to support action camera and home automation applications. As we enter into a seasonally strong period, we expect demand to continue to grow. Customers are also beginning to design in and ramp our 20-nanometer DDR4 products into set top box applications.

我們的消費者和智慧家庭收入環比增長 3%，機上盒業務略顯疲軟，但對 NAND 和 LPDRAM MCP 的強勁需求抵消了這一疲軟，這些 MCP 用於支持運動相機和家庭自動化應用。隨著季節性旺季的到來，我們預計需求將持續成長。客戶也開始將我們的 20 奈米 DDR4 產品融入機上盒應用中，並逐步推廣使用。

Micron storage business unit posted fiscal Q3 revenue of $719 million, down 20% from the previous quarter with a non-GAAP operating loss of $62 million or 9% of revenue. As we transition to lower cost 3D NAND products, we continue to optimize our product mix.

美光儲存業務部門公佈的第三財季營收為 7.19 億美元，較上一季下降 20%，非 GAAP 營業虧損為 6,200 萬美元，佔營收的 9%。隨著我們向成本更低的 3D NAND 產品過渡，我們將繼續優化我們的產品組合。

In client and consumer SSD, consecutive quarter bits sold were down 20% as we reduced production of planar NAND-based SSDs while ramping volume production of 3D NAND-based SATA and PCIe client and consumer SSDs. These new products will enable the Company to enhance its competitive position.

在客戶端和消費級 SSD 領域，由於我們減少了基於平面 NAND 的 SSD 的產量，同時提高了基於 3D NAND 的 SATA 和 PCIe 客戶端和消費級 SSD 的量產，連續季度的銷量下降了 20%。這些新產品將使公司能夠提升其競爭地位。

In the Enterprise and data center SSD segments, consecutive quarter bits sold were down 10%. As we have previously noted, our 3D NAND solutions will improve our product portfolio in this segment enabling us to participate more significantly in this important growth business for the Company.

在企業和資料中心 SSD 領域，連續季度的銷售量下降了 10%。正如我們之前提到的，我們的 3D NAND 解決方案將改善我們在該領域的產品組合，使我們能夠更顯著地參與公司這一重要的成長業務中。

Now looking at the Company overall, as Mark noted earlier, revenue for the third quarter was $2.9 billion, which was near the midpoint of our guided range and roughly flat compared to the prior quarter. Fairly significant increases in volume shipments for DRAM were offset by decreases in selling prices, while trade NAND shipments declined as we are in the middle of a significant conversion from planar to 3D NAND.

現在來看看公司整體情況，正如馬克之前提到的，第三季的營收為 29 億美元，接近我們預期範圍的中點，與上一季相比基本持平。DRAM 出貨量大幅成長，但售價下降，而 NAND 的貿易出貨量下降，因為我們正處於從平面 NAND 向 3D NAND 重大轉型的過程中。

Gross margin for the quarter was 17%, within our guided range. The non-GAAP net loss for the third quarter was $79 million, or $0.08 per share, slightly better than the midpoint of our guided range. As a reminder, Micron includes both amortization of acquisition intangibles and stock compensation expense in our non-GAAP results. Taken together, these two items represent $0.05 per share for the recently completed quarter.

本季毛利率為17%，符合預期範圍。第三季非GAAP淨虧損為7,900萬美元，即每股虧損0.08美元，略優於我們預期範圍的中點。需要提醒的是，美光公司在非GAAP績效中同時包含了收購無形資產攤銷和股票補償費用。合計，這兩項加起來，在最近結束的季度中，每股收益為 0.05 美元。

Now, let's look at results by product line. DRAM revenue increased 9% compared to the second quarter, as a result of a 22% increase in bit shipments partially offset by lower selling prices. As the result of our 20-nanometer ramp and ongoing mobile qualification timeline, DRAM finished goods inventory increased during the quarter. DRAM gross margins for the third quarter decreased approximately 2 percentage points to 18% as decreases in ASPs outpaced significant cost reductions.

現在，讓我們按產品線來看一下結果。DRAM 營收較第二季成長 9%，主要得益於比特出貨量成長 22%，但部分被售價下降所抵銷。由於我們的 20 奈米產能爬坡和持續的行動認證時間表，本季 DRAM 成品庫存增加。由於平均售價下降幅度超過了成本大幅降低的幅度，第三季DRAM毛利率下降了約2個百分點，至18%。

Our nonvolatile trade revenue decreased 15% compared to the second quarter, reflecting a 10% decrease in bit shipments combined with a 6% decrease in ASPs. Gross margin decreased a couple of percentage points to 17% as ASP reductions outpaced cost per bit reductions.

與第二季相比，我們的非波動性貿易收入下降了 15%，反映出比特出貨量下降了 10%，平均售價下降了 6%。由於平均售價下降速度超過了每個位元成本下降速度，毛利率下降了幾個百分點，至 17%。

Non-GAAP operating expenses for the quarter came in at $523 million, below our guided range due to the reversal of accrued costs for variable compensation plans, which were suspended in the third quarter. The Company generated operating cash flow of $389 million, and we ended the quarter with cash and marketable investments of approximately $5.7 billion. Expenditures for PP&E during the quarter were $1.7 billion, and we continue to expect our FY16 capital expenditures to be in the range of $5 billion to $5.5 billion net of partner contributions.

本季非GAAP營運支出為5.23億美元，低於我們預期範圍，原因是第三季暫停的可變薪酬計畫的應計成本被沖回。公司經營活動產生的現金流為 3.89 億美元，截至本季末，公司持有的現金和有價投資約為 57 億美元。本季固定資產支出為 17 億美元，我們繼續預期 2016 財年資本支出（扣除合夥人出資後）將在 50 億美元至 55 億美元之間。

During the quarter, we received approximately $2 billion from the issuance of secured notes and an additional $114 million in equipment financing. Also, we resolved a long outstanding tax matter, which resulted in a $52 million benefit to the tax line. This benefit was offset by the write-off of a related $30 million receivable that was reflected as non-operating expense. In the third quarter, we also acquired Photronics' interest in our captive mask operations for $93 million, resulting in 100% ownership of the mask operations.

本季度，我們透過發行擔保票據獲得了約 20 億美元，並透過設備融資獲得了 1.14 億美元。此外，我們也解決了一個長期懸而未決的稅務問題，為稅務部門帶來了 5,200 萬美元的收益。這項收益被一筆相關的 3,000 萬美元應收帳款的註銷所抵消，該應收帳款被計入非經營性支出。第三季度，我們也以 9,300 萬美元收購了 Photronics 在我們自有光掩模業務中的股份，從而實現了對光掩模業務 100% 的所有權。

Moving on to our guidance for the fourth quarter, on a non-GAAP basis we expect the following; consolidated revenue in the range of $2.9 billion to $3.2 billion, gross margin in the range of 15.5% to 18%, operating expenses between $580 million and $630 million, and operating loss ranging between $135 million and $55 million, and an EPS loss ranging between $0.24 and $0.16 per share based on 1.036 billion diluted shares. Operationally, we are on track to achieve the bit growth and cost per bit reduction that we have previously shared as we continue to ramp our 20-nanometer DRAM and 3D NAND production.

接下來是我們對第四季度的業績指引，按非GAAP準則計算，我們預計：合併收入在29億美元至32億美元之間，毛利率在15.5%至18%之間，運營支出在5.8億美元至6.3億美元之間，運營虧損在1.35億美元至5500萬美元之間，每股虧損在0.24美元至0.16美元之間（基於10.36億股稀釋股份）。在營運方面，隨著我們不斷提高 20 奈米 DRAM 和 3D NAND 的生產能力，我們正按計劃實現先前公佈的比特增長和每比特成本降低目標。

In recognition of the current business environment and the need to accelerate focus on the Company's key priorities, we plan to implement a cost saving program, which we expect will save the Company approximately $80 million per quarter in FY17. The savings will result from a combination of our more focused set of projects and programs, the permanent closure of a material number of open headcount requisition and a workforce reduction in certain areas of the business, as well as other non-headcount related spending reductions.

鑑於當前的商業環境以及加快公司重點工作步伐的必要性，我們計劃實施一項成本節約計劃，預計該計劃將在 2017 財年每季為公司節省約 8000 萬美元。節省的資金將來自我們更集中的項目和計劃、永久關閉大量未決的人員編制申請、在業務的某些領域裁員，以及其他與人員編制無關的支出削減。

About half of these savings will appear in the gross margin line of the Company, while the remainder will be reflected in operating expenses. These savings are baseline against our previously planned 2017 fiscal spend levels. We expect to take reserves approximating $70 million for the cost of this program, the majority of which will occur in fiscal Q4, with the remainder in the early part of FY17. As we complete our FY17 planning process, we are mindful of the need to effectively balance period spending, CapEx and free cash flow and we continue to explore other opportunities to improve the Company's financial performance.

這些節省的金額中約有一半將計入公司的毛利率，其餘部分將計入營運費用。這些節省額是相對於我們先前規劃的 2017 財年支出水準的基準值。我們預計將為該計劃的成本提列約 7,000 萬美元的儲備金，其中大部分將在第四財季支付，其餘部分將在 2017 財年初支付。在完成 2017 財年規劃流程之際，我們意識到需要有效平衡期間支出、資本支出和自由現金流，並將繼續探索其他機會來改善公司的財務表現。

Finally at this time, we don't have any new information to share relative to Inotera. As we stated in our press release, the transaction will not be closing in mid-July, and we expect to provide an update during the latter part of the calendar year. With that, I'll turn it back to Mark.

最後，目前我們沒有任何關於Inotera的新資訊可以分享。正如我們在新聞稿中所述，該交易不會在 7 月中旬完成，我們預計將在今年下半年提供最新消息。這樣，我就把麥克風交還給馬克了。

Thank you, Ernie. To summarize, we continue to navigate challenging market conditions, but remain confident in the long-term health of the industry and the Company's strategy to improve our relative competitive position. The decision to implement cost reduction initiatives is always difficult and is never made without thoughtful consideration about the short-term and the long-term impacts.

謝謝你，厄尼。總而言之，我們仍在應對充滿挑戰的市場環境，但對產業的長期健康發展以及公司提升相對競爭地位的策略仍然充滿信心。實施成本削減措施的決定總是很困難的，而且在做出決定之前，都必須經過深思熟慮，權衡短期和長期影響。

However, to ensure that we can continue to place emphasis on our most important Company priorities, we believe the steps Ernie outlined are prudent and will help deliver the best long-term results for the Company. I'd like to take a moment to thank our customers, partners, shareholders and team members for their continued support. Operator, we're now ready for Q&A.

然而，為了確保我們能夠繼續將重點放在公司最重要的優先事項上，我們認為厄尼概述的措施是審慎的，並將有助於為公司帶來最佳的長期業績。我想藉此機會感謝我們的客戶、合作夥伴、股東和團隊成員一直以來的支持。操作員，我們現在可以進入問答環節了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Our first question comes from the line of Vijay Rakesh from Mizuho.

我們的第一個問題來自瑞穗銀行的Vijay Rakesh。

Yes, hello, guys. Just a couple of questions here on the DRAM side. Obviously, a good bit growth there. But what's the mix of 20-nanometer that is shipping now and how do you see that as you progress through the August quarter? Do you see further cost reductions there? Thanks. I have one follow-up.

是的，大家好。關於DRAM方面，我還有幾個問題。顯然，那裡增長了不少。但是目前出貨的 20 奈米製程產品組合是什麼樣的呢？隨著 8 月季度的推進，您如何看待這一趨勢？您認為這方面還能進一步降低成本嗎？謝謝。我還有一個後續問題。

20-nanometer is a majority of the bits that we are shipping now and when we talked in our prepared remarks about strong bit growth above Q3 levels, you saw what the relative growth was in Q3 and you can assume that it will be a little bit north of that as we look at fiscal Q4.

20 奈米是我們現在出貨的大部分晶片，當我們在準備好的發言稿中談到比第三季度水平更高的強勁增長時，你們已經看到了第三季度的相對增長情況，你們可以假設，當我們展望第四財季時，增長幅度會略高於第三季度。

Got it. And on the 3D NAND, on the NAND side obviously, looks like bit growth was a little light obviously because of the transition. What's your mix of 3D NAND that you're shipping now and when do you see the transition and the bit growth start to open up for you on the NAND side?

知道了。而就 3D NAND 而言，顯然在 NAND 方面，由於過渡的原因，位元增長似乎有點慢。你們目前出貨的 3D NAND 產品組合是什麼？你們預計 NAND 晶片何時才能迎來轉型和位元成長的機會？

It's a low double digits today. As we commented, as we get into the back half of the calendar year, we expect a crossover. So that's coming pretty soon. So it's a pretty significant ramp from here over the next couple of quarters.

今天氣溫只有兩位數左右。正如我們之前所說，隨著下半年的到來，我們預計會出現交叉現象。所以很快就要發生了。因此，未來幾季將出現相當大的成長。

Got it, and obviously, you guys are giving the point estimate to me on the gross margin now which is great. As you look at your mix, the 20-nanometer cost coming down and 3D NAND TLC starting to ship, any thoughts on where you see those margins start to bottom out? Thanks.

明白了，顯然，你們現在給了我毛利率的估計值，這太好了。考慮到 20 奈米製程成本的下降以及 3D NAND TLC 開始出貨，您認為這些利潤率會在何時觸底？謝謝。

You know, we typically don't comment on margins because of the function of our pricing environment that's moving around on us every day. And so really, what we have said is that the cost curves that we articulated in our Analyst Day are still legitimate. As you can imagine, when we do 3D crossover and NAND in the fall, that's when you can expect to see the accelerated cost reductions begin to occur there. And on the DRAM side with the bit growth that we delivered in fiscal Q3, as well as what we're forecasting for fiscal Q4, you can get some idea of what the cost reductions would be there.

你知道，我們通常不會對利潤率發表評論，因為我們的定價環境每天都在變化。所以，我們實際上所說的是，我們在分析師日中闡述的成本曲線仍然是合理的。您可以想像，當我們在秋季推出 3D 交叉技術和 NAND 時，您就可以看到成本加速下降的趨勢開始出現。在 DRAM 方面，根據我們在第三財季實現的比特成長，以及我們對第四財季的預測，您可以大致了解成本降低的幅度。

Great, thanks a lot.

太好了，非常感謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of John Pitzer from Credit Suisse.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的約翰‧皮策。

Good afternoon, guys. Thanks for letting me ask a question. Ernie, maybe a follow on to that margin question, and I appreciate that margins are a function of pricing which is hard to predict. But you've got a lot of elements moving in the right direction. Revenue is growing sequentially into the fiscal fourth quarter. You've got 20-nanometer mix. You've got more mobile. NAND is starting to turn your way. And yet, you've got gross margins that are likely going to be down sequentially.

下午好，各位。謝謝允許我提問。Ernie，也許可以接著剛才的利潤率問題問一下，我知道利潤率是定價的函數，而定價很難預測。但很多因素都在朝著正確的方向發展。財年第四季營收季增。你得到了 20 奈米的混合物。你的行動裝置更多了。NAND快閃記憶體正在向你傾斜。然而，毛利率很可能會較上季下降。

Can you help me understand just some of the factors around mix that are in play? And the narrative that we were hoping for is that this quarter, the May quarter, and the August quarter, would start to show some tangible evidence of you closing the relative cost gap to some of your peers. And just given the gross margin guidance, it looks like that's not happening and I'm trying to figure out why.

您能幫我理解一下影響混音的一些因素嗎？我們希望看到的是，本季（5 月季度）和 8 月季度能夠開始顯示出一些切實的證據，證明你們正在縮小與一些同行之間的相對成本差距。但根據毛利率預期來看，這種情況似乎不會發生，我正在努力弄清楚原因。

Maybe John, I can take that one instead of Ernie. Again, on the pricing environment as you noted, we're seeing -- there's obviously encouraging things going on in the channel. Before we start baking that into any sort of guidance we would give, we want to actually see that as it moves through other end market segments and out in the contract pricing et cetera. So really this is a question about the tailwinds we have and I think you did a nice job articulating for us.

或許約翰，我可以代替厄尼去。再次強調，正如您所指出的，在定價環境方面，我們看到——管道中顯然出現了一些令人鼓舞的情況。在我們把這一點納入任何指導方針之前，我們希望實際觀察它在其他終端市場領域以及合約定價等方面的進展。所以，這實際上是一個關於我們所處有利情況的問題，我認為你很好地闡述了這一點。

I think we've done a good job on the 20-nanometer ramp and we'll continue to see some improvement for that as we move through the next quarter. And we articulated pretty strong bit growth moving forward in both DRAM and in particular, maybe a couple of quarters out in NAND as we really see that transition kick in and the 3D TLC part of that transition kick in. So we've got a lot of good tailwinds. We also articulated we're making a lot of good progress on qualifying and resegmenting those more advanced technology nodes in the right market segments.

我認為我們在 20 奈米製程的推進方面做得不錯，隨著下一季的到來，我們將繼續看到這方面的改進。我們已經明確表示，DRAM 和 NAND 的位元成長將在未來幾季內非常強勁，尤其是在 NAND 領域，因為我們真正看到了這種轉變開始，以及這種轉變中的 3D TLC 部分開始發揮作用。所以我們有很多有利的順風。我們也明確表示，我們在對更先進的技術節點進行鑑定和重新細分，使其進入正確的市場領域方面，取得了巨大的進展。

And we do believe that you'll see progress relative to our competition in terms of how our margins move. We never know exactly what they are going to do and it's tough for us to predict what their results are going to look like given the pricing environment.

我們相信，在利潤率方面，您將會看到我們相對於競爭對手取得進步。我們永遠無法確切知道他們會做什麼，考慮到當前的定價環境，我們也很難預測他們的結果會是什麼樣子。

That's helpful, Mark. I appreciate it. And then, Ernie, maybe as my follow-on just on the OpEx guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter. A little bit higher than we thought. Can you help us understand, are there some period expenses that are coming in?

那很有幫助，馬克。謝謝。然後，Ernie，也許我可以就第四財季的營運支出指引提出一些後續問題。比我們預想的略高一些。您能否幫我們了解一下，是否存在一些定期支出？

And then as you talk about the restructuring and the cost savings, given that you have that cost gap and you have a lot of initiatives on your plate for investing, how do we get comfortable that you're taking costs out of the right areas and yet still investing in areas you need to invest?

然後，當您談到重組和成本節約時，考慮到您存在成本缺口，並且您有很多投資計劃需要實施，我們如何才能確信您正在從正確的領域削減成本，同時仍然在您需要投資的領域進行投資？

Sure. So to the first part of your question, there are some very significant prequal expenses that we expect to incur in Q4 that are influencing the guidance that we provided for the quarter's OpEx. And then relative to the cost reduction, the only comfort perhaps I would offer you, which I hope is very strong comfort, is that we actually think very carefully about what we're doing here.

當然。所以對於您問題的第一部分，我們預計在第四季度會產生一些非常重要的資格預審費用，這些費用會影響我們對該季度營運支出的指導。至於降低成本方面，我唯一能帶給你們的安慰（我希望這能讓你們感到非常欣慰）是，我們確實非常認真地思考了我們在這裡所做的事情。

And the decisions that we made with respect to the cost savings program were deliberated very thoughtfully debated and at the end, we believe we're at the right balance to both help improve the financial performance of the Company, while at the same time, not jeopardizing any of the Company's potential in terms of revenue opportunities.

我們對成本節約計畫所做的決定是經過深思熟慮和反覆討論的，最終我們認為我們找到了合適的平衡點，既能幫助提高公司的財務業績，又不會損害公司在收入機會方面的任何潛力。

John, maybe I can add one point there just so everyone on the call is clear. I know you are. The pre-production R&D costs Ernie is referencing are really associated with a lot of new products in qual with the technology nodes that are now ramped. And some of those are costs that flow through the R&D now as opposed to directly on the cost flow and inventory.

約翰，或許我可以補充一點，讓電話會議中的每個人都能明白。我知道你是。Ernie 所指的生產前研發成本實際上與許多採用目前正在量產的技術節點的新產品的品質有關。其中一些成本現在透過研發環節來分攤，而不是直接計入成本流和庫存。

Perfect. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.

完美的。謝謝各位。謝謝。

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Romit Shah from Nomura Securities.

謝謝。下一個問題來自野村證券的羅米特·沙阿。

Yes, thanks. Mark, you mentioned that channel pricing has improved. At what point would you start to see that show up in contract and in some of your other businesses? Because it looks like just based on the guidance for August that you're not expecting the overall pricing environment to (technical difficulties).

好的，謝謝。馬克，你提到通路定價有所改善。你覺得什麼時候才能在合約和其他業務中看到這種現象？因為僅從 8 月的指導來看，您似乎並不預期整體定價環境會（技術困難）。

Well you know, it's a very dynamic environment. So again, we want to make sure we're giving you what we believe is realistic guidance and guidance that is achievable and we're going to have to see what plays out in the markets overtime. When spot pricing starts moving, that's a great indicator of where the markets might go. But what has to happen obviously, is there has to be enough liquidity in the market that it can carry through into larger volume orders associated with contract market and inventory has to burn off. And we're seeing good indications of those types of things, but we need to make sure the pudding is fully baked before we serve it.

你知道，這是一個瞬息萬變的環境。所以，我們再次強調，我們希望確保我們給予您的指導是我們認為切合實際的、可實現的，我們還需要觀察市場隨著時間的推移會如何發展。現貨價格開始波動時，這往往是市場走向的一個好指標。但顯然，市場必須有足夠的流動性，才能促成與合約市場相關的大量訂單，庫存也必須消耗掉。我們看到了一些好跡象，但我們需要確保布丁完全烤熟後再上桌。

Okay, that's helpful. And then just on the prequal expenses that are boosting OpEx this quarter, is that more one-time in nature or do you expect expenses to remain elevated through the course of the year as you ramp these new products?

好的，這很有幫助。那麼，關於本季推高營運支出的資格預審費用，這些費用是一次性的，還是隨著新產品的推廣，預計今年的費用將保持在高位？

Well certainly, they will occur as there is a concentration of new products. So you shouldn't expect that they are going to occur each quarter. I would tell you that in Q4, they are particularly high relative to what we've seen over the recent history as a reflection of what Mark said.

當然，隨著新產品的集中上市，這種情況肯定會發生。所以你不應該指望它們每季都會發生。我想說的是，正如馬克所說，第四季的數據相對於我們近期的歷史數據而言，尤其高。

But it is likely that sometime during the course of 2017, you're also going to see these occur as we release new products. But again, we see a particularly high concentration in FY16 Q4.

但隨著我們發布新產品，很可能在 2017 年的某個時候，您也會看到這種情況發生。但我們再次看到，2016 財年第四季的集中度特別高。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Tim Arcuri from Cowen and Co.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 Cowen and Co. 的 Tim Arcuri。

Thanks a lot. I guess I had two questions. First of all, the NAND bits are really moving around a lot, obviously given the planar to the 3D move. So maybe you can hold our hand a little bit, A, on the 3D transition, because it does look like there's been some issues in the 3D transition looking at the bits. And maybe also talk about what the bit outlook is for August in NAND to just give us some comfort that you're getting through this transition.

多謝。我想問兩個問題。首先，NAND 位元確實在頻繁移動，這是因為從平面到 3D 的移動。所以，A，也許你可以在 3D 過渡方面稍微指導我們一下，因為從這些片段來看，3D 過渡似乎確實存在一些問題。或許還可以談談 8 月 NAND 快閃記憶體的市場前景，讓我們安心一些，知道你們正在順利度過這個過渡期。

So Tim, relative to -- I'll take the second part of your question first and then we'll circle back around to the first. The stake in the ground is that we've said a few things, which were actually we reiterated today that would be in the opposite direction of thinking there were problems with our 3D NAND transition. We're seeing mature yields occurring at rates that are slightly faster than we anticipated. We had originally probably six months ago, talked about bit crossover for 3D at the end of the year.

所以提姆，關於你問題的第二部分——我先回答第二部分，然後再回到第一部分。事實是，我們已經說過一些話，而且今天我們再次重申了這些話，這些話與認為我們的 3D NAND 過渡存在問題的想法正好相反。我們看到成熟收益的出現速度略快於我們的預期。大概六個月前，我們曾討論過年底實現 3D 的位交叉。

Today, we've reiterated again that that was going to occur in the fall. So a pull forward of a couple of months. And so, we're not going to give you bit guidance for the August quarter, but we do think that these data points will hopefully give you comfort that in fact the transition really is occurring slightly more rapidly than we have expected it to occur.

今天，我們再次重申，這件事將在秋季發生。所以時間提早了幾個月。因此，我們不會就八月份的季度業績給出任何指導，但我們認為這些數據點有望讓您放心，事實上，轉型速度確實比我們預期的要快一些。

The thing I would add to that Tim is keep in mind we've also talked about the fact that we want to deliver more of our NAND bits in actual solutions to the customer. And as we do that, there's a natural tendency to stretch out the supply chain in aggregate and some lengthening of the total manufacturing cycle time as we move through that transition. Part of this I think is also reflective of the fact that we're making some fairly significant progress relative to getting these bits into the types of end products that we want to deliver the customer.

Tim，我想補充一點，我們也討論過，我們希望將更多 NAND 快閃記憶體位元應用於實際解決方案中，交付給客戶。隨著我們不斷推進轉型，供應鏈整體自然會延長，整個製造週期也會隨之延長。我認為這部分也反映出，我們在將這些部件整合到我們想要交付給客戶的最終產品類型方面取得了相當大的進展。

I think one final point that may be also contributing to the overall impression is we do see planar bits coming down fairly significantly as we move away from the planar SSD markets that we have sold into in the past. So there are many dynamics at play here relative to what comes out as an aggregate bit number.

我認為最後一點也可能影響了整體印象，那就是隨著我們逐漸遠離過去銷售過的平面 SSD 市場，我們看到平面 SSD 的比特率正在大幅下降。因此，與最終得到的聚合位元數相比，這裡有許多動態因素在起作用。

Got it. And then just as the follow-up to that. Ernie, you talked at the Analyst Day, I think you said that $800 million of the CapEx this year would be for fab shell spending. So that net of the partner contribution you'd be in the $4 billion to $4.5 billion range. So sorry -- net of the partner contribution and also net of the fab shell spend, you'd be in the $4 billion to $4.5 billion range.

知道了。然後，作為後續。厄尼，當你在分析師日上發言時，我想你說過今年 8 億美元的資本支出將用於晶圓廠外殼建設。因此，扣除合作夥伴的出資後，淨額將在 40 億美元至 45 億美元之間。非常抱歉——扣除合作夥伴的投入以及工廠外殼的支出後，總成本將在 40 億至 45 億美元之間。

So I'm just wondering as you look to next year and I'm not asking for guidance, but I'm just wondering how you think about the maintenance CapEx level of the Company given some of these initiatives you have in DRAM and also in 3D NAND? How do you think about how to balance that? Thanks.

所以，我只是想問，在展望明年的時候，我不是想尋求指導，只是想知道，考慮到你們在DRAM和3D NAND方面的一些舉措，你們如何看待公司的維護性資本支出水準？你覺得應該如何平衡這兩面？謝謝。

Well, you really asked two different questions right? How do we balance and obviously the balance has to come in as we think about the aggregate business of the Company and the cash flow that we plan to generate and a number of other factors.

其實你問的是兩個不同的問題，對吧？我們如何平衡？顯然，在考慮公司的整體業務、我們計劃產生的現金流量以及其他一些因素時，必須考慮這種平衡。

As we look at maintenance CapEx, we said that we were normalized in that low $4 billion range ex-Inotera, and we wouldn't move away from that in a very substantial way as we're thinking about things today. Bearing in mind that we're still in the midst of a ramp of 3D in the Singapore fab, so it isn't exactly a normalized environment for us. Even taking out the shell, we're still outfitting that shell with productive capacity.

當我們審視維護資本支出時，我們說過，不包括 Inotera 在內的正常支出範圍是 40 億美元左右，而就我們目前的想法而言，我們不會大幅偏離這個範圍。考慮到我們新加坡工廠的 3D 列印技術仍在快速發展中，所以這對我們來說並不是一個完全正常的生產環境。即使去掉外殼，我們仍然在為這個外殼配備生產能力。

Got it. Okay. Thank you so much.

知道了。好的。太感謝了。

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of David Wong from Wells Fargo.

謝謝。下一個問題來自富國銀行的 David Wong。

Thank you very much. For the second generation 3D NAND, when you hit crossover in the fall for 3D NAND, will this all be on second generation technology or will it be first generation? And what's the difference in layer count between first and second generation, please?

非常感謝。對於第二代 3D NAND，當 3D NAND 在秋季迎來轉折點時，這些產品是全部採用第二代技術，還是全部採用第一代技術？請問第一代和第二代產品的層數有什麼不同？

So David, it will be primarily -- a significant majority of that, in fact almost all of it, will still be gen one. Gen two, we start to see significant output in the second calendar quarter into the summer of 2017. And we haven't said what the layer count does, but we've indicated that it's roughly a 30% cost reduction moving from gen one to gen two and that it's roughly double the bits.

所以大衛，主要部分——事實上，絕大多數，幾乎全部——仍然會是第一代。第二代產品，我們在 2017 年夏季的第二季開始看到顯著的產量。我們還沒有說明層數有什麼作用，但我們已經指出，從第一代到第二代，成本大約降低了 30%，比特數大約翻了一番。

Great, thanks.

太好了，謝謝。

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Chris Hemmelgarn from Barclays.

謝謝。下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的克里斯·赫梅爾加恩。

Thanks very much for taking the question. I guess first of all, building on David's question. As you're seeing 3D ramp across the industry, how do you view your competitive positioning? At your Analyst Day, you laid out some beliefs that you were going to have cost leadership. Is that holding as you're seeing the competition ramp?

非常感謝您回答這個問題。首先，我想接著大衛的問題繼續討論。隨著 3D 技術在整個產業中迅速普及，您如何看待自身的競爭地位？在分析師日上，你闡述了一些關於你將採取成本領先策略的信念。你覺得這種局面能持續下去嗎？你看到競爭對手正在步步緊迫？

This is Mark. Yes, absolutely. We are very happy with the way the ramp is going. We're very happy with the technology was delivering and its ability to scale going forward. We think it's the best solution in the industry for almost every end market application.

這是馬克。是的，絕對的。我們對坡道的施工進度非常滿意。我們對這項技術的表現及其未來的擴展能力感到非常滿意。我們認為，對於幾乎所有終端市場應用而言，它都是業界最佳解決方案。

Okay, and I guess to the harder question. What needs to happen for you guys to get back to sustained profitability? I applaud the restructuring efforts, but I look at the savings you've announced and that falls short of the losses you put up the last two quarters and what you guided to the next quarter. Are you confident these changes are going to be enough to get you back to profitability next year?

好的，接下來我想回答一個更難的問題。你們需要做些什麼才能恢復持續獲利？我讚賞重組努力，但我看了你們宣布的節省金額，發現這遠不足以彌補你們過去兩個季度的虧損以及你們對下一季的預期虧損。您是否有信心這些改變足以讓您明年恢復獲利？

Well, we think we're doing all the right things and we think we're making a lot of good progress on our relative competitive position on technology, the products are all coming along nicely now and the qualifications are progressing well. So there's always the wild card around ASPs, but we think we are making very significant progress and we think we'll see that every quarter as we move forward, you'll be able to measure us versus our competition. And hopefully confirm that we're doing all the right things. Exactly when that results in profitability, we can't tell you, but we think it's coming.

我們認為我們所做的一切都是正確的，我們在技術方面的相對競爭力也取得了很大的進步，產品進展順利，資格認證也進展良好。因此，平均售價始終存在不確定性，但我們認為我們正在取得非常顯著的進步，我們認為隨著我們不斷前進，每個季度您都將能夠衡量我們與競爭對手的差距。希望這能證實我們所做的一切都是正確的。至於何時才能獲利，我們無法確切告知，但我們認為獲利指日可待。

Thanks, much.

非常感謝。

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Kevin Cassidy from Stifel.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Kevin Cassidy。

Thanks for taking my question. On the mobile side, as you start getting more qualification on the LP DDR3 and DDR4, are you expecting that -- I guess what percentage of your revenue will be those products versus EMCP and what is it today?

謝謝您回答我的問題。在行動端方面，隨著LP DDR3和DDR4的認證越來越多，您預計—我猜這些產品將佔您收入的百分比，與EMCP相比，目前的比例是多少？

Let me see if I can find those numbers. I don't have them right in front of me. For the mobile DRAM portfolio generally, EMCP probably represents --

我看看能不能找到這些數字。我手邊沒有它們。就行動DRAM產品組合而言，EMCP可能代表著—

Well, I'll jump in real quick Mark. So the way we break it out Kevin, is mobile DRAM discrete is reported in our DRAM business and that's about mid-20% of our total DRAM. Our EMCPs are reported in our NAND reporting segment and we said mobile was in the mid-teens percent of the NAND business, low to mid-teens.

好的，馬克，我這就插一句。凱文，我們是這樣細分的：行動 DRAM 分立元件計入我們的 DRAM 業務，約占我們 DRAM 總業務的 20% 左右。我們的EMCP數據已在NAND報告部分中公佈，我們曾表示行動業務佔NAND業務的15%左右，也就是15%到15%之間。

Okay, maybe as you ship more of the LP DDR3 and 4s, are you expecting that your average selling price would increase?

好的，隨著LP DDR3和DDR4的出貨量增加，您是否預期平均售價會上漲？

Again, it's really challenging to give you a forecast of what's going to happen with the pricing environment. But in terms of aggregate revenues, we would expect it as we move through these qualifications that you're going to see the mobile business maintain or slightly improve in terms of a percentage of its overall revenue to the business.

再次強調，預測價格環境的走向真的非常具有挑戰性。但就總收入而言，我們預計隨著這些資格的逐步落實，行動業務在其總收入中所佔的百分比將保持穩定或略有提高。

And as we noted in our comments, as we see EMCP market moving to higher density, we think that will be a starting point for an improvement in that aggregate market, which has been weak actually in the last couple of quarters. And that's a quarter or so off as we roll into calendar 2017.

正如我們在評論中提到的，隨著EMCP市場向更高密度發展，我們認為這將是該整體市場改善的起點，而該整體市場在過去幾季實際上一直疲軟。而到了 2017 年，這個時間點還有大約四分之一的時間。

Okay, great. Thank you.

好的，太好了。謝謝。

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of CJ Muse from Evercore ISI.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 CJ Muse。

Good afternoon. Thank you for taking my question. First question on the mobility qualification side. How much is the uncertainty around timing there, whether it's the month of August or September/October, impacting your gross margin guide? And then as part of that, how should we think about the incremental gross margins as you start selling down your inventory going forward once we do get the qualified?

午安.感謝您回答我的問題。關於流動性資格方面的第一個問題。時間上的不確定性，無論是8月份或9月/10月，會對您的毛利率預期產生多大影響？那麼，作為其中的一部分，一旦我們獲得合格的庫存，隨著您開始逐步減少庫存，我們應該如何考慮增量毛利率呢？

So CJ, this is Ernie. We're pretty clear on the qualification timeline. There is more uncertainty around the timing of shipments because at the end of the day, that is going to be a function of each of those customers current inventory dynamics with respect to the inventories they have on hand, their success in the marketplace and how they want to position their inventory.

CJ，這位是厄尼。我們對資格賽時間表非常清楚。發貨時間存在更多不確定性，因為歸根結底，這取決於每個客戶當前的庫存動態，包括他們手頭上的庫存量、他們在市場上的成功情況以及他們希望如何定位他們的庫存。

And in addition to that, we are going to have as we already talked about, significant quarter on quarter growth in production. Some of which is directed toward that mobile market because we believe that it's fairly strong.

除此之外，正如我們之前討論過的，我們的產量也將實現顯著的季度環比成長。其中一部分是針對行動市場，因為我們認為行動市場相當強勁。

So mobile in general, has a better gross margin profile than the aggregate business. So as that product flows through, although there will be some early pressure as a result of that inventory having been built at a time when costs weren't fully baked as the result of the volume ramp, eventually it will flow through into the margin profile of the Company.

因此，整體而言，行動業務的毛利率狀況優於整體業務。因此，隨著產品的流通，雖然由於庫存是在產量激增導致成本尚未完全計入時建立的，初期會有一些壓力，但最終它會反映到公司的利潤率中。

Okay, that's helpful. And I guess as a follow-up, when you think about your 3D NAND cost structure, curious how you would compare that today versus the price leader in planar NAND and when you think you'll crossover? Is that gen one when you're fully ramped at high volume or is that more gen two in the summertime next year?

好的，這很有幫助。我想接著問一個後續問題，當您考慮您的 3D NAND 成本結構時，我很想知道您如何將其與目前平面 NAND 的價格領先者進行比較，以及您認為何時會實現價格交叉？那是第一代產品在高產量下的全面投入生產，還是明年夏天第二代產品即將推出的產品？

Yes, I think that it's probably most closely timed to an increase in our TLC mix, which is probably a couple of quarters out. And then we'll get a second surge in calendar Q2 and Q3 of next year as the gen two kicks in a significant way. But again, we think we'll be -- we think we'll be the leader as we fully implement gen two and TLC.

是的，我認為這很可能與我們TLC組合的增加時間最為接近，而TLC組合的增加可能還要幾個季度才會發生。然後，隨著第二代產品大規模上市，明年第二季和第三季我們將迎來第二波銷售高峰。但是，我們再次認為，隨著第二代技術和TLC的全面實施，我們將成為領導者。

Great. Thanks, Mark.

偉大的。謝謝你，馬克。

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Joe Moore from Morgan Stanley.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的喬·摩爾。

Hello, thank you. I just wanted to clarify when you talk about Q4 DRAM bit growth being better than Q3, that's sequential bit growth north of 20%. And I guess that then implies when you look at revenue not growing very much that ASPs are down similarly. I know you don't want to give a pricing forecast, but I just want to make sure I understand. I'm finding it hard to get to your revenue number with my pricing assumptions.

您好，謝謝。我只是想澄清一下，當你提到第四季度 DRAM 位元成長優於第三季時，是指順序位成長超過 20%。我想這意味著，如果收入成長不明顯，那麼平均售價也同樣會下降。我知道您不想給出價格預測，但我只是想確保我理解正確。根據我的定價假設，我很難達到您的營收目標。

So the first part of your assumption process Joe, is correct. And again, we're not going to comment on ASPs.

所以喬，你假設過程的第一部分是正確的。再次聲明，我們不會對ASP發表評論。

Okay, and then separately, can you talk about how the Inotera, the new pricing agreement factors into this? Is that a positive or a negative at this point relative to the old pricing agreement? And maybe if you could compare that versus a wholly-owned situation if that deal in fact moves through? Just any context you can give us around that dynamic?

好的，那麼另外，您能否談談Inotera這項新的定價協議是如何影響到這一切的？相對於先前的價格協議，這在目前來說是好事還是壞事？如果這筆交易最終達成，或許你可以將其與全資擁有的情況進行比較？您能提供一些關於這種動態的背景資訊嗎？

Sure, so in the current pricing environment, what we've contemplated as we look forward to Q4, it's pretty much a wash to be honest with you. Either way, the results to Micron would be roughly the same.

當然，在目前的定價環境下，展望第四季度，我們一直在思考，坦白說，結果基本上持平。無論哪種方式，對美光公司來說結果都大致相同。

Got it. Okay, thank you.

知道了。好的，謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Harlan Sur from JPMorgan.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的哈蘭‧蘇爾。

Hello, guys. Thanks for taking my question. I'm still a little bit unclear as to the gross margin decline or the slight gross margin decline in the August quarter, given that we've seen some stabilization in DRAM and NAND prices starting in the month of June. Your 20-nanometer mix and your 3D NAND mix is moving higher, so would assume that your blended costs are coming down nicely.

大家好。謝謝您回答我的問題。鑑於從 6 月開始，DRAM 和 NAND 的價格已經趨於穩定，我對 8 月季度毛利率下降或略微下降的情況仍然有些不清楚。您的 20 奈米製程和 3D NAND 製程的比例都在上升，因此可以推測您的混合成本正在穩步下降。

You mentioned other parts of the market that may not be participating on the pricing stabilization that we're seeing in the PC market, but if I look at the end market demand parameters, data center, networking fundamentals seem to be improving into the second half. Embedded fundamentals seem to be seasonally up. Can you guys just articulate what segments are still showing aggressive pricing declines?

您提到了市場的其他部分可能沒有參與到我們在 PC 市場看到的定價穩定中，但如果我看一下終端市場需求參數，資料中心和網路的基本面似乎在下半年有所改善。嵌入式基本面似乎呈現季節性上升趨勢。你們能具體說說哪些細分市場的價格仍在大幅下降嗎？

Yes, so let me try to characterize that a little bit for you. So it is important to recognize that these data points are really happening in realtime and as we look at how we actually entered this quarter, we were actually starting the quarter below the average of the prior quarter and we're now seeing some upward trends that are causing everyone to have the enthusiasm that we're talking about. But it is important to understand that what we've been reading about in the last two weeks has A, not impacted the entirety of the quarter and B, hasn't reflected itself yet as we look at forward pricing. And as Mark mentioned a couple times, we really are wanting to provide prudent guidance in the context of an environment moving around very significantly.

是的，那我試著為你稍微描述一下。因此，重要的是要認識到這些數據點確實是即時發生的，當我們回顧本季初的情況時，我們實際上低於上一季的平均水平，而現在我們看到了一些上升趨勢，這讓每個人都充滿了我們所說的熱情。但要注意的是，過去兩週我們所了解到的情況，A，並沒有影響到整個季度；B，在我們展望未來定價時，還沒有反映出來。正如馬克多次提到的那樣，我們確實希望在環境發生巨大變化的情況下提供謹慎的指導。

The other point I would make is it is absolutely true that we are seeing strong bit growth and cost reductions on the DRAM side. Remember that we said the majority of the NAND cost reductions occur as we achieve that bit crossover, which is later in the fall of this year. So we are getting quarter on quarter cost reductions in NAND, but I think you might be perhaps pulling towards that bit crossover comment into the full quarter that we're coming up on and that's just not going to be the case.

我還要指出的另一點是，DRAM 方面確實出現了強勁的比特成長和成本下降。請記住，我們說過，NAND 成本的大部分降低將發生在我們實現比特交叉的時候，也就是今年秋季晚些時候。所以，NAND 的成本每個季度都在下降，但我認為你可能把之前提到的價格上漲趨勢帶到了即將到來的整個季度，但事實並非如此。

Okay, appreciate the insights there. Maybe more of a product question for me next. If we include two in ones, SSD and embedded NAND attach rates and notebook PCs are at or slightly above 50% now and continuing to climb. I think you guys had a target of having your 3D NAND base client SSD in the market in calendar Q3. Maybe if you can give us an update there?

好的，感謝您的見解。接下來我可能想問一些產品方面的問題。如果將二合一固態硬碟 (SSD) 和嵌入式 NAND 快閃記憶體的安裝率也考慮在內，筆記型電腦的安裝率目前已達到或略高於 50%，並且持續成長。我認為你們的目標是在第三季將基於 3D NAND 的客戶端 SSD 推向市場。您能否提供我們那邊的最新情況？

And I think you guys also had a target to have your 3D NAND-based SATA solution, your high capacity drives for hyper scale guys, starting in calendar Q4. If you could give us an update there as well? Thanks.

而我認為你們的目標也是在第四季度推出基於 3D NAND 的 SATA 解決方案，也就是針對超大規模用戶的大容量硬碟。您能否也提供我們那邊的最新情況？謝謝。

Well, they are both in the market and we're just going to have to see what the demand looks like. But so far, we like the reaction we're seeing.

嗯，它們都已進入市場，我們只需要看看市場需求如何。但就目前來看，我們對目前的迴響感到滿意。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Rajvindra Gill from Needham & Company.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 Needham & Company 的 Rajvindra Gill。

Yes, thanks for taking my question. On the whole 3D NAND conversion, I just wanted to get a better understanding of in your estimation, what would be more cost effective, the 3D on 32 layer versus the 20-nanometer that's currently on 2D NAND?

是的，謝謝您回答我的問題。關於整個 3D NAND 轉換，我只是想更了解一下，在您看來，哪種方式更具成本效益，是 32 層 3D 製程還是目前 2D NAND 的 20 奈米製程？

Definitely the 3D 32 layers is cost advantaged relative to 20-nanometer. Even 16-nanometer planar NAND. And we believe that as we move through time, the market is going to appreciate incremental value in 3D NAND business as well.

3D 32層結構相對於20奈米結構具有明顯的成本優勢。甚至包括 16 奈米平面 NAND。我們相信，隨著時間的推移，市場也會逐漸認識到 3D NAND 業務的增量價值。

But can you give us an idea in terms of if your 3D NAND is actually fitted for some of the applications will be available for applications such as mobile or embedded or car?

但是，您能否簡要說明一下，您的 3D NAND 是否適用於某些應用，例如行動裝置、嵌入式系統或汽車應用？

We have a full product portfolio coming for 3D NAND that will address. And I think I mentioned this in my commentary, we have 3D NAND products for consumer, client, data center and enterprise as well as evaluating mobile applications on a go-forward basis.

我們即將推出完整的 3D NAND 產品組合，以解決這些問題。我想我在評論中提到過，我們有面向消費者、客戶端、資料中心和企業的 3D NAND 產品，並且正在評估行動應用的未來發展。

Okay and just last question on the mobile DRAM qualification issues. What specifically can you talk about? Has there been quality issues with respect to your mobile DRAM, which is preventing you from getting qualified at certain customers and as a result losing market share to Samsung and --?

好的，最後一個問題，關於行動DRAM認證問題。具體來說，您能談談哪些方面？貴公司的行動DRAM是否有品質問題，導致貴公司無法獲得某些客戶的認證，導致市場佔有率被三星等公司蠶食？

You know, I think we've gone through a very significant transition here. In some cases from 30-nanometer to 20-nanometer. In some cases from 25-nanometer to 20-nanometer. And from a timing perspective, in some cases we were later with a particular either density or IO or interface that the customers wanting.

你知道，我認為我們已經經歷了非常重要的轉變。在某些情況下，尺寸從 30 奈米到 20 奈米不等。有些情況下，尺寸從 25 奈米到 20 奈米不等。從時間安排的角度來看，在某些情況下，我們在特定密度、IO 或介面方面比客戶要求的要晚一些。

So it's just a matter of working through that process and qualifying those products in the various fabs that we're ramping. So I don't think there's anything untoward or unusual in that process. It's just a matter of a fairly significant ramp across two high volume fabs and taking the time to qualify a full suite of products across all those technologies.

所以，現在的問題只是要按部就班地完成這個過程，並在我們正在擴建的各個工廠中對這些產品進行認證。所以我認為這個過程並沒有什麼不妥或不尋常之處。這只是需要在兩個大批量晶圓廠進行相當大的產能爬坡，並花時間對所有這些技術的完整產品系列進行驗證的問題。

And if I can squeeze one more. In terms of competitively as it relates to your other major competitor moving to a smaller process node, and you guys perhaps perpetually playing catch up in terms of the profit node transition. What are some of the lessons you think you guys have understood from the 20-nanometer transition and trying to rectify that when you go to the other process node transition? Just in general, any comments there would be helpful. Thank you very much.

如果我能再擠出一個就好了。就競爭而言，當你的另一個主要競爭對手轉向較小的流程節點時，你們可能在利潤節點轉型方面一直處於追趕狀態。從 20 奈米製程過渡到其他製程節點過渡的過程中，你們吸取了哪些經驗教訓？你們打算如何修正這些經驗教訓？總的來說，任何評論都會很有幫助。非常感謝。

So certainly, we think 3D NAND has gone very well for that. For us, that has been really a model where we take technology we've developed in fab four and move it into a consistent equipment set and a historically Micron environment where the equipment all matches and things go very well.

所以，我們認為 3D NAND 在這方面發展得非常順利。對我們來說，這確實是一種模式，我們將我們在第四工廠開發的技術轉移到一套一致的設備以及美光公司歷史上的環境中，在那裡所有設備都匹配，一切都進行得非常順利。

What we experienced in 20-nanometer, is we're matching a disparate set of equipment given the Elpida acquisition. So we have got one tool set in Hiroshima, on tool set in the MMT fab in Taichung, and a separate tool set in the Inotera fab. And that's just more complicated.

我們在 20 奈米製程中遇到的情況是，由於 Elpida 的收購，我們需要匹配一套不同的設備。所以我們在廣島有一套工具，在台中 MMT 工廠有一套工具，在 Inotera 工廠還有一套獨立的工具。這就更複雜了。

And every time we make this transition, we get more and more of those tools aligned and we feel like actually we're in pretty good shape now. And as we move to the 1x node beyond that, it's going to be a lot more seamless and a lot easier to execute on a go-forward basis. So we think we're the leader in 3D and we think we're getting closer in DRAM and 1x is coming along now running at a preproduction levels in both Hiroshima and Taichung.

每次進行這種轉變，我們都會不斷調整這些工具，感覺現在的情況其實相當不錯。隨著我們向 1x 節點邁進，未來的執行將會更加順暢、更容易。所以我們認為我們在 3D 領域處於領先地位，我們認為我們在 DRAM 領域也越來越接近目標，1x 技術現在正在廣島和台中兩地進行預生產。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Mehdi Hosseini from SIG.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 SIG 的 Mehdi Hosseini。

Yes, thanks for taking my question. Mark, just looking at your NAND gross margin. It's been below corporate average since mid-2013, and you have all of these new product qualifications coming up.

是的，謝謝您回答我的問題。馬克，我剛看了下你的NAND快閃毛利率。自 2013 年年中以來，該指標一直低於公司平均水平，而且接下來還有所有這些新產品認證工作要做。

I'm just wondering is there strategic alternative here to make a more dramatic or to take a more dramatic action? Because there's been more than two years that NAND has been underperforming compared to the corporate average. And in case these product qualifications don't go well, is there an alternative strategy here? And I have a follow-up.

我只是想知道，這裡是否有更戲劇性的策略或更戲劇性的行動？因為NAND快閃記憶體的效能已經連續兩年多低於企業平均。如果這些產品認證不順利，是否有其他替代方案？我還有一個後續問題。

We're always open to looking at lots of different ways to optimize the business for the shareholders. Having said that, we like our NAND position. We like the technology, the early feedback from the customers is they like what we're doing. They like not only the 3D technology, but the product portfolio. And we think we're making progress. So we are encouraged with the progress we've been making.

我們始終樂於探索各種不同的方法來優化業務，從而為股東創造利益。話雖如此，我們對目前的NAND策略感到滿意。我們喜歡這項技術，從客戶的早期回饋來看，他們也喜歡我們正在做的事情。他們不僅喜歡3D技術，也喜歡產品組合。我們認為我們正在取得進展。因此，我們對目前所取得的進展感到鼓舞。

Yes, we have admitted for 18 months now that we completely missed the boat on planar TLC. We think we've taken significant steps to remedy that on a go-forward basis and we intend to do so. So we're going to play it out and as we do that, we'll look at lots of different strategic options for the DRAM business just like we do for the NAND business. Just like we do for the DRAM business and 3D cost point and all of the other interesting new technologies we're developing.

是的，我們已經承認18個月以來，我們在平面TLC方面完全錯過了最佳時機。我們認為我們已經採取了重要措施來糾正這個問題，並且我們打算繼續這樣做。所以我們將逐步推進，在此過程中，我們將像對待 NAND 業務一樣，研究 DRAM 業務的許多不同策略選擇。就像我們對 DRAM 業務、3D 成本點以及我們正在開發的所有其他有趣的新技術所做的那樣。

Any way you could share with us qualitatively or big picture what those options are?

您能否以定性或概括的方式向我們介紹這些選項？

Well I think we'll just keep those to ourselves, Mehdi. But I think the main point I would want to make is we think it's important to have a diversified set of products or technologies to support memory system solutions for our customers. We think we're in a strong position there.

我覺得我們還是把這些事藏在心裡吧，邁赫迪。但我認為我想強調的重點是，我們認為擁有多樣化的產品或技術來支援我們客戶的記憶體系統解決方案非常重要。我們認為我們在那裡處於有利地位。

We like the growth profile associated with non-volatile memory business generally and that includes not only NAND, not only the 3D XPoint business that we're currently developing, but also other advanced storage class memories we're working in. And we'll look at lots of different ways of optimizing the value in all those different technologies. And we may find different solutions and different segments, but we're always looking for those opportunities to create value-added partnerships or new relationships.

我們看好非揮發性記憶體業務的整體成長前景，這不僅包括 NAND，不僅包括我們目前正在開發的 3D XPoint 業務，還包括我們正在研究的其他高級儲存級記憶體。我們將研究多種不同的方法來優化所有這些不同技術的價值。我們可能會找到不同的解決方案和不同的細分市場，但我們始終在尋找創造增值合作夥伴關係或建立新關係的機會。

Got it and then quickly for Ernie, how should we think about working capital inventory and accounts receivable? It seems like, at least on an inventory side, it may not come down significantly until February quarter. Is that a fair assumption or not?

明白了，那麼請盡快回答 Ernie 的問題，我們該如何看待營運資金存貨和應收帳款？看起來，至少從庫存方面來看，庫存量可能要到二月的季度才會大幅下降。這種假設合理嗎？

I think that it's reasonable to think about inventories being within a pretty narrow band for a couple of quarters. I think that's a reasonable thing to think about. And obviously, we pay a lot of attention to working capital and intend to do so on a going forward basis. And my statement about inventories was on a dollar basis, so obviously bits are going to move around as costs move around.

我認為，庫存水準在幾個季度內保持在一個相當窄的範圍內是合理的。我認為這是一個值得考慮的問題。顯然，我們非常重視營運資金，並且打算在未來繼續這樣做。我之前關於庫存的說明是以美元為單位的，所以很顯然，隨著成本的變化，庫存也會隨之變化。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Operator, I think we have time for one more question.

接線員，我想我們還有時間再回答一個問題。

Certainly, our final question for today comes from the line of Tristan Gerra from Baird.

當然，我們今天的最後一個問題來自 Baird 公司的 Tristan Gerra。

Hello, good afternoon. You've mentioned on the call today that the 3D NAND cost structure is laying to the TLC mix and you've mentioned a two quarter out timeframe for that mix ramp. Is that even on with the fiscal Q4 target in terms of cost improvement in your NAND difference that you provided last quarter? Or is there a little bit of a change in terms of where you expect an inflection point in your cost structure and NAND flash?

您好，下午好。您在今天的電話會議上提到，3D NAND 的成本結構將取決於 TLC 的組合，而您提到該組合的逐步適應需要兩個季度的時間。你們上個季度給出的關於NAND快閃記憶體差異成本改善的第四財季目標是否仍然有效？或者，您預計成本結構和 NAND 快閃記憶體的拐點會出現一些變化嗎？

No, there's no change. I think that we're pretty consistent. The fiscal Q1 is our crossover, is aligned with our crossover in the fall that we talked about today, which is a little earlier than we had originally talked about. The 3D crossover comes a little bit later and that drives a surge in the cost improvement but not necessary to drive the improvements that we've outlined relative to our guidance.

不，沒有任何變化。我認為我們一直都挺穩定的。財政年度第一季是我們業績的轉捩點，與我們今天討論的秋季業績轉捩點一致，比我們最初討論的時間要早。3D 技術的出現稍晚一些，這推動了成本的大幅降低，但對於我們概述的相對於指導方針的改進而言，並非必要條件。

Okay, and then just as a quick follow-up, any steps that you can talk about that you're taking to accelerate the node migration at Elpida?

好的，那麼最後再問一個問題，您能否談談為了加速 Elpida 的節點遷移，您正在採取哪些措施？

The migration of DRAM from 20-nanometer to 1x?

DRAM 從 20 奈米向 1x 製程的遷移？

That's right, yes.

沒錯，是的。

We're not completely done with 20-nanometer there yet, but as I mentioned a minute ago, we have 1x running there. It's where we've been doing our pilot line activity and we've transitioned or we've transferred then that technology into the Taichung fab and they are progressing with that. We wouldn't expect to see volume starts in either LPO or Taichung until later this year.

我們還沒有完全完成 20 奈米工藝，但正如我剛才提到的，我們已經實現了 1x 的運行。我們一直在那裡進行試點生產線活動，然後我們將這項技術轉移或轉移到了台中工廠，他們正在推進這項工作。我們預計今年稍晚之前，LPO 和台中兩地都不會開始批量生產。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Thank you and our next question comes from the line of -- I'm sorry, that does conclude our conference for today. And we thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝，我們的下一個問題來自——抱歉，我們今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。

Thank you, everyone.

謝謝大家。