美光科技 (MU) 2016 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon. My name is Abigail, and I will be your conference facilitator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Micron Technology's fourth quarter 2016 financial release conference call.

午安.我叫阿比蓋爾，今天我將擔任你們的會議主持人。在此，我謹代表美光科技公司歡迎各位參加2016年第四季財務業績發布電話會議。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

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

謝謝。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, and welcome to Micron Technology's fourth quarter and FY16 financial release conference call. On the call today with me 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，歡迎參加美光科技第四季及2016財政年度財務報告電話會議。今天和我一起參加電話會議的有執行長兼董事馬克·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 capped call dilution table.

此外，我們的網站還包含不久前發布的盈利新聞稿，以及補充信息，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，以及可轉換債券和上限期權稀釋表。

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.

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 uncertainty that may cause actual results to differ materially from statements made today. We refer you to the documents the Company files 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, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We are under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after today's call 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的電話會議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。

Thank you, Ivan. For FY16 Q4, Micron posted total revenue of $3.2 billion, with gross margin of 18%, and a non-GAAP net loss of $56 million or $0.05 per share. Both revenue and gross margin were at the high end of the guidance range, and together generated earnings per share that exceeded guidance. Operating cash flow was $896 million.

謝謝你，伊凡。2016 財年第四季，美光科技總營收為 32 億美元，毛利率為 18%，非 GAAP 淨虧損為 5,600 萬美元，即每股虧損 0.05 美元。營收和毛利率都達到預期範圍的高端，合計每股盈餘也超過了預期。經營活動現金流為 8.96 億美元。

On the last call, we reported that -- while we were seeing signs of improvement in selected markets, we were uncertain of the extent and duration of the improvements. During the quarter, we continued to see market conditions improve, driven by both supply and demand fundamentals. Industry inventory appears lean, and the current market outlook for both NAND and DRAM continues to be positive. Currently prices are increasing in a number of segments, stabilizing in others, and we are seeing fewer segments showing residual declines. This environment framed our thinking in the guidance that Ernie will provide a little later on.

上次電話會議上，我們報告說——雖然我們看到部分市場出現了改善跡象，但我們不確定改善的程度和持續時間。本季度，在供需基本面的雙重推動下，市場狀況持續改善。產業庫存似乎較為緊張，目前NAND和DRAM的市場前景依然樂觀。目前，有些領域的價格正在上漲，有些領域的價格則趨於穩定，而出現價格持續下跌的領域則越來越少。這種環境影響了我們的思考方式，稍後 Ernie 將對此進行指導。

We made significant progress on a number of key initiatives in the quarter, including the completion of the mobile product qualifications that we have been discussing, and our early 1X nanometer DRAM deployment. We are also seeing benefits of the 3D NAND yield ramp, which generated stronger than expected NAND bit growth in the quarter. I'm going to provide a high level overview of each of the business units, and Ernie will follow with more details on each business' financial performance.

本季我們在多項關鍵舉措上取得了重大進展，包括完成了我們一直在討論的行動產品認證，以及我們早期的 1X 奈米 DRAM 部署。我們也看到了 3D NAND 良率提升帶來的好處，這使得本季 NAND 位元成長超出了預期。我將對每個業務部門進行概述，Ernie 隨後將詳細介紹每個業務部門的財務表現。

In our compute and networking business unit, we experienced accelerating revenue growth in the face of moderating pricing environment. Revenue growth was driven by continued increases of 20-nanometer shipments, as well as a significant transition to DDR4 in the cloud and client segments, where shipments exceeded DDR3 for the first time. We saw ongoing strength in graphics, driven by our GDDR5 and 5X products which supported NVIDIA's introduction of the 5X based Titan X, the highest performance consumer graphics card in the market. In the enterprise segment, Micron was recognized at the Flash Memory Summit as the innovation leader in non-volatile DIMMs, an important solution for high performance servers.

在我們的運算和網路業務部門，儘管價格環境趨於溫和，但我們的收入成長卻加速了。營收成長主要得益於 20 奈米製程出貨量的持續成長，以及雲端和客戶領域向 DDR4 的重大轉型，其中 DDR4 的出貨量首次超過了 DDR3。我們看到圖形業務持續強勁成長，這得益於我們的 GDDR5 和 5X 產品，它們為 NVIDIA 推出基於 5X 的 Titan X 提供了支持，Titan X 是市場上性能最高的消費級顯示卡。在企業級領域，美光在快閃記憶體峰會上被公認為非揮發性 DIMM 的創新領導者，這是高效能伺服器的重要解決方案。

Turning to our mobile business unit. China is becoming a more significant growth driver in mobile devices. Most of these devices are differentiated by large amounts of memory, including up to 6 gigabytes of low power DRAM. Additionally, the top of the line Apple and Samsung models now ship with 256 gigabytes of NAND, and we see mid range Chinese handsets heading in the same direction in order to compete. Although there is a moderating pace of smartphone unit growth, significant content increases of both NAND and DRAM will generate strong overall bit growth.

接下來我們來看看行動業務部門。中國正在成為行動裝置領域越來越重要的成長引擎。這些設備的主要區別在於其擁有大量的內存，包括高達 6 GB 的低功耗 DRAM。此外，蘋果和三星的高階機型現在都配備了 256 GB 的 NAND 閃存，我們看到中國中階手機為了參與競爭，也朝著同樣的方向發展。儘管智慧型手機出貨量的成長速度有所放緩，但 NAND 和 DRAM 的大量增加將帶來強勁的整體比特成長。

During the quarter, we introduced four new mid to high density mobile 3D NAND products with positive reviews from the press and from our customer base. Mobile DRAM and eMCP price declines moderated in the quarter with more recent signs of stabilization and increases. Revenue growth in our embedded business unit has been driven by a record automotive business, and increased performance in the consumer and connected home segments, as well as a strengthening industrial multi-market business during the quarter.

本季度，我們推出了四款新的中高密度行動 3D NAND 產品，並獲得了媒體和客戶群的正面評價。本季行動DRAM和eMCP價格跌幅有所放緩，近期出現了穩定上漲的跡象。本季度，嵌入式業務部門的營收成長得益於創紀錄的汽車業務、消費者和智慧家居領域的業績提升，以及工業多市場業務的增強。

We have maintained our leadership position in automotive to strong customer support and the introduction of new products that meet the fast-growing memory content requirements for infotainment, ADAS and instrument cluster applications. High temperature DRAM and automotive grade NAND products are enabling a strong design win pipeline.

我們憑藉強大的客戶支援以及推出滿足資訊娛樂、ADAS 和儀表板應用快速增長的儲存容量需求的新產品，保持了在汽車領域的領先地位。高溫DRAM和車規級NAND產品正在打造強大的中標管道。

The introduction of several new industrial solutions has positioned us to grow our share within IMM, and retain our high market share in machine-to-machine communication modules as the industry migrates from 2G to 4G and LTE. We have also been successful in achieving strong market share positions in consumer applications from action cameras and home automation to high volume markets including digital TV and set-top boxes.

推出多項新的工業解決方案，使我們得以在IMM領域擴大市場份額，並在業界從2G向4G和LTE過渡的過程中，保持機器對機器通訊模組領域的高市場份額。我們在消費應用領域也取得了強大的市場份額，從運動相機和家庭自動化到數位電視和機上盒等大批量市場。

Finally our storage business unit is continuing to transition it's product line to our leading edge 3D NAND technology. We've seen positive response from customers this quarter related to our refreshed SSD portfolio, which offers a breadth of solutions to meet diverse application requirements. We're finalizing qualification with eight major OEMs on our 1100 client drive, and are engaging with cloud customers on future designs.

最後，我們的儲存業務部門正在繼續將其產品線過渡到我們領先的 3D NAND 技術。本季度，客戶對我們更新後的 SSD 產品組合給予了積極的回饋，該產品組合提供了廣泛的解決方案，以滿足各種應用需求。我們正在與八家主要 OEM 廠商完成 1100 用戶端硬碟的認證，並正在與雲端客戶探討未來的設計。

In the enterprise, we're seeing companies begin to retrofit HDD infrastructure with SAS SSDs as they modernize existing investments. Our customers in demanding sectors like financial services and energy are moving storage closer to the server. We've seen significant interest in our PCIe, NVMe drives in these applications due to their ability to deliver very consistent high performance. We are actively expanding TLC 3D NAND across our cloud and enterprise portfolio, and expect to introduce our first TLC 3D SATA drive for these markets later this year, followed by a server-focused version early next year. We expect to see positive supply and demand dynamics in the SSD market for 2017.

在企業中，我們看到一些公司開始對現有的 HDD 基礎設施進行改造，用 SAS SSD 來升級現有投資。我們在金融服務和能源等高要求行業的客戶正在將儲存設備移至更靠近伺服器的位置。由於我們的 PCIe 和 NVMe 硬碟能夠提供非常穩定的高效能，因此在這些應用中，我們看到了人們對它們的濃厚興趣。我們正在積極地將 TLC 3D NAND 擴展到我們的雲端和企業產品組合中，預計將於今年稍後為這些市場推出我們的第一款 TLC 3D SATA 硬碟，隨後在明年年初推出以伺服器為導向的版本。我們預期2017年固態硬碟市場將呈現正向的供需動態。

Turning to the memory industry more generally, we've seen further evidence that DRAM wafer output is declining as a result of lost throughput related to the 20-nanometer and 1X nanometer conversions. Absent some replacement of these wafers, we could see industry supply growth as low as mid-teens in 2017. If some of the lost wafer output is replaced, industry supply growth could be in the high teens percent range. This compares to our long-term bit demand growth forecast in the low to mid 20% range.

從更廣泛的記憶體產業來看，我們已經看到進一步的證據表明，由於與 20 奈米和 1X 奈米轉換相關的吞吐量損失，DRAM 晶圓產量正在下降。如果這些晶圓沒有得到一些替代，我們可能會看到 2017 年行業供應增長僅為 15% 左右。如果部分損失的晶圓產量得到彌補，產業供應成長可能達到百分之十幾。這與我們對長期比特需求成長的預測（20% 到 20% 左右）相比有所下降。

For NAND, we estimate 2017 industry bit growth in the high 30% to low 40% range, which is in line with 2016. This compares to our long-term bit demand growth forecast in the low to mid 40% range. Despite significant investments in 3D conversions across the industry, we believe that 2017 supply growth will be relatively balanced with demand, given the disruption in the fab output related to these conversions.

對於 NAND，我們估計 2017 年產業比特成長率在 30% 到 40% 之間，與 2016 年的情況一致。這與我們對長期比特需求成長的預測（40%左右）相比有所下降。儘管整個產業對 3D 轉換進行了大量投資，但考慮到這些轉換對晶圓廠產量造成的干擾，我們認為 2017 年的供應成長將與需求保持相對平衡。

For our operational priorities for FY17, or our operational priorities for FY17, continue to be targeted at ramping advanced technologies with an added focus on building out a more robust product portfolio, in particular for non-volatile memory products. For DRAM, we begin the 1X nanometer ramp, and expect to have meaningful output by the middle of 2017. At our Winter Analyst day, we shared two year bit growth targets for DRAM, and we are on track to meet these targets. We were slightly below the range in FY17, and expect to be above the range in FY17.

對於我們 2017 財年的營運重點，或者說我們 2017 財年的營運重點，仍然是加速推進先進技術，並更加重視建構更強大的產品組合，特別是針對非揮發性記憶體產品。對於 DRAM，我們開始推進 1X 奈米製程的量產，預計到 2017 年年中將有實質的產量。在我們的冬季分析師日上，我們分享了 DRAM 未來兩年的比特成長目標，我們正朝著實現這些目標穩步前進。我們在 2017 財年略低於預期範圍，預計在 2018 財年將高於預期範圍。

All of the DRAM bit growth will come from technology transitions, and we currently have no plans to add wafer capacity. We expect our FY17 DRAM costs per bit to decline 20% to 25%, as a result of completing the 20-nanometer migration, and initiating the 1X nanometer conversion. Our cash costs per bit declines will be meaningfully higher than this range.

DRAM 位元容量的所有成長都將來自技術轉型，我們目前沒有增加晶圓產能的計畫。由於完成了 20 奈米的遷移並啟動了 1X 奈米的轉換，我們預計 2017 財年每位元 DRAM 成本將下降 20% 至 25%。我們的每比特現金成本下降幅度將遠高於這個範圍。

For NAND, we will continue to focus on ramping our Gen 1 3D as well as TLC. As we updated at our last Analyst meeting, 3D bit output will exceed 2D output in the current quarter, ahead of our initial target. We will also be working on deploying second-generation 64-layer 3D technology.

對於 NAND，我們將繼續專注於提高第一代 3D 和 TLC 的產能。正如我們在上次分析師會議上更新的那樣，本季 3D 位元產量將超過 2D 產量，提前實現我們最初的目標。我們也將致力於部署第二代 64 層 3D 技術。

Similar to DRAM, our 2016 NAND bit growth came in below the two year CAGR shared at our Analyst event, and we therefore expect 2017 to be above that range. We are forecasting our FY17 NAND cost per bit to decline 20% to 25%, as a result of the 3D and TLC conversions. This cost per bit includes the impact of our planned build-out of SSDs, eMCPs, and Managed NAND solutions, all of which carry additional bill of materials costs but will also enable a richer ASP mix. On a like-for-like basis, cost per bit will decline more substantially.

與 DRAM 類似，我們 2016 年 NAND 位元成長低於我們在分析師會議上分享的兩年複合年增長率，因此我們預計 2017 年將高於該範圍。由於 3D 和 TLC 轉換，我們預測 2017 財年 NAND 每位元成本將下降 20% 至 25%。每位元成本包括我們計劃建立 SSD、eMCP 和託管 NAND 解決方案的影響，所有這些都會增加物料清單成本，但也會實現更豐富的 ASP 組合。在同等條件下，每比特成本將大幅下降。

Relative to 3D Xpoint technology, we are working with market enablers on adoption of our QuantX solutions, and continue to believe this innovative technology will be an important contributor to Micron's future success, with initial revenue later in 2017. Now I'd like to turn the mic over to Ernie.

針對 3D Xpoint 技術，我們正在與市場推動者合作，推廣我們的 QuantX 解決方案，並繼續相信這項創新技術將成為美光未來成功的重要貢獻者，預計將於 2017 年稍後實現初步收入。現在我想把麥克風交給厄尼。

Thank you, Mark. We had a solid end to our fiscal year, as our continued focus on execution, coupled with a more favorable business environment resulted in improved financial performance. I'll begin my comments today with some technology and business unit details, followed by an overview of the Company's results for the quarter, and guidance for our first quarter of FY17.

謝謝你，馬克。本財年以穩健的業績收官，我們持續專注於執行，加上更有利的商業環境，最終實現了財務績效的提升。今天我將先介紹一些技術和業務部門的細節，然後概述公司本季的業績，並展望 2017 財年第一季的業績。

DRAM represented 60% of our total revenue with the following segmentation. Mobile represented about 25%, similar to the prior quarter. The PC segment was in the upper 20% range, up slightly from the prior quarter. The server business was in the high teens percent range, down from the prior quarter. And specialty DRAM which includes networking, graphics, auto, and other embedded technologies was in the low 30% range, up from the prior quarter and primarily driven by an increase in graphics which represented more than 10% for the quarter.

DRAM 占我們總收入的 60%，具體細分如下。行動端佔比約為 25%，與上一季基本持平。PC業務佔比在20%以上，較上一季略有成長。伺服器業務成長率在10%以上，較上一季下降。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 30% 左右，比上一季度有所增長，主要得益於圖形領域的增長，該領域在本季度佔比超過 10%。

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 50%, down slightly from the prior quarter. Mobile was in the high teens percent range, up from 13% in the prior quarter, as we began to see the impact of our completed customer quals. As a reminder, eMCPs are primarily in the mobile segment. SSDs represented 13% similar to last quarter, and the automotive, industrial multi-market and other embedded applications were in the high teens percent range, similar to prior quarter.

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 50%，比上一季略有下降。行動端佔比達到十幾個百分點，高於上一季的 13%，因為我們開始看到已完成的客戶資格審查的影響。需要提醒的是，eMCP 主要應用於行動領域。SSD 佔 13%，與上一季相近；汽車、工業多市場和其他嵌入式應用佔比接近 10%，與上一季相近。

Turning to performance by business unit. The compute and networking business unit delivered fiscal Q4 revenue of $1.25 billion, up 14% sequentially primarily driven by 20-nanometer shipment growth, accompanied by strengthening demand, and a moderating pricing environment across all segments. The non-GAAP operating loss was $7 million or less than 1% of revenue.

接下來，我們來看看各業務部門的表現。計算和網路業務部門第四財季營收達 12.5 億美元，季增 14%，主要得益於 20 奈米製程出貨量的成長，以及各細分市場需求的增強和價格環境的趨於溫和。非GAAP營業虧損為700萬美元，不到收入的1%。

In the enterprise segment, conversions to DDR4 are now largely complete, and we are focused on enabling our solutions for the next-generation server platform. We are seeing continued interest in both higher density RDIMMs and LRDIMMs, as well as NVDIMM solutions. The cloud component of the enterprise segment is growing quickly, driven by continued growth in density across both DDR3 and DDR4 solutions.

在企業領域，向 DDR4 的轉換現在基本上已經完成，我們正專注於為下一代伺服器平台提供解決方案。我們看到，人們對高密度 RDIMM 和 LRDIMM 以及 NVDIMM 解決方案的興趣持續增長。受 DDR3 和 DDR4 解決方案密度持續成長的推動，企業級雲端組件正在快速成長。

In graphics, we saw growth well above typical seasonality, driven by our GDDR5 and GDDR5X products. There are additional G5X based product announcements from NVIDIA in both the graphics and workstation segments during the quarter. In networking, we enjoyed double-digit revenue growth, with strength across all regions, and growing interest in applying the high bandwidth capabilities of GDDR5 and GDDR5X to the networking segment. Finally, within the client segment, we saw market demand which exceeded our expectations, as well as a continued transition to DDR4 which for the first time represented a majority of client shipments.

在圖形領域，我們的成長遠超典型的季節性水平，這主要得益於我們的 GDDR5 和 GDDR5X 產品。本季度，NVIDIA 在圖形和工作站領域也將發布更多基於 G5X 的產品。在網路領域，我們實現了兩位數的收入成長，所有地區都表現強勁，人們對將 GDDR5 和 GDDR5X 的高頻寬能力應用於網路領域的興趣日益濃厚。最後，在客戶領域，我們看到市場需求超出了我們的預期，並且持續向 DDR4 過渡，DDR4 首次佔客戶出貨量的多數。

The mobile business unit delivered fiscal Q4 revenue of $671 million, up 20% sequentially driven by a strong quarter in our eMCP products. The non-GAAP operating loss was $45 million or 7% of revenue, and was partially impacted by the consumption of higher cost early production inventory accumulated over the last two quarters. We saw significant growth in the recently qualified higher density MCPs, and as smartphone OEMs are positioning their products based on higher memory density specifications, which is helping to accelerate adoption of smartphones with richer memory content.

行動業務部門第四財季營收達 6.71 億美元，季增 20%，主要得益於 eMCP 產品在本季的強勁表現。非GAAP營業虧損為4,500萬美元，佔營收的7%，部分原因是消耗了過去兩季累積的較高成本的早期生產庫存。我們看到，最近獲得認證的高密度MCP數量顯著增長，智慧型手機OEM廠商也根據更高的內存密度規格來定位其產品，這有助於加速採用內存容量更大的智慧型手機的普及。

The embedded business unit delivered fiscal Q4 revenue of $513 million, up 5% sequentially. Non-GAAP operating income was $133 million or 26% of revenue. The results were primarily driven by record automotive and increasing consumer business, combined with some recovery in our industrial multi-market business.

嵌入式業務部門第四財季營收達 5.13 億美元，季增 5%。非GAAP營業收入為1.33億美元，佔營收的26%。業績主要得益於汽車業務創紀錄的成長和消費業務的成長，以及工業多市場業務的某種程度的復甦。

The automotive business delivered solid results with revenue up 6% sequentially, driven by strong and increasing demand for both DRAM and eMMC solutions for infotainment, instrument cluster, and advanced driver systems applications. European, Korean and Japanese customers continue to fuel this growth, and our portfolio of leading edge automotive grade solutions is continuing to enable platform design wins. The industrial and multi-market business increased [16]% sequentially, primarily driven by the ramp of our NAND solutions into the Japanese amusement market. In addition, we continue to see strong demand for our NOR and NAND-based MCPs used in machine-to-machine wireless communication modules.

汽車業務取得了穩健的業績，收入環比增長 6%，這主要得益於市場對用於資訊娛樂、儀錶板和高級駕駛系統應用的 DRAM 和 eMMC 解決方案的強勁且不斷增長的需求。歐洲、韓國和日本的客戶持續推動這項成長，我們領先的汽車級解決方案組合也持續助力平台設計專案的成功。工業和多市場業務環比成長 [16]%，主要得益於我們的 NAND 解決方案在日本娛樂市場的推廣。此外，我們持續看到市場對用於機器對機器無線通訊模組的基於 NOR 和 NAND 的 MCP 有強勁的需求。

Consumer and connected home revenue was up 7% sequentially, with solid demand for MCPs used in action cameras and home automation applications. We continue to see this demand pattern continue in the current fiscal quarter which typically sees strong seasonal demand. Our 20-nanometer DDR4 products continue to ramp into set-top boxes and IMM applications.

消費者和智慧家庭收入環比增長 7%，其中用於運動相機和家庭自動化應用的 MCP 需求強勁。我們看到這種需求模式在本財季仍在持續，而本財季通常也會出現強勁的季節性需求。我們的 20 奈米 DDR4 產品正不斷擴大在機上盒和 IMM 應用領域的應用。

The storage business delivered fiscal Q4 revenue of $758 million, up 5% sequentially. The non-GAAP operating loss was $69 million or 9% of revenue.

儲存業務第四財季營收達 7.58 億美元，季增 5%。非GAAP營業虧損為6,900萬美元，佔營收的9%。

During the quarter, we entered production and OEM qualification of TLC 3D NAND based SSDs in the client and consumer segments, providing customers with a refreshed 3D-based portfolio of storage products that span the demand spectrum in these markets. In the enterprise SSD segments, consecutive quarter bits sold were up 45% based on higher sales of our planar MLC-based cloud drive. We are deploying 3D TLC across the enterprise and cloud portfolio, with several product launches over the next two quarters.

本季度，我們面向客戶端和消費市場推出了基​​於 TLC 3D NAND 的 SSD 的生產和 OEM 認證，為客戶提供了全新的 3D 儲存產品組合，涵蓋了這些市場的各種需求。在企業級 SSD 領域，由於我們基於平面 MLC 的雲盤銷量較高，連續季度的銷量成長了 45%。我們將在企業和雲端產品組合中部署 3D TLC，並在接下來的兩個季度推出多款產品。

Moving on to overall Company results. Revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter was $3.2 billion at the top end of our guided range, and up 11% sequentially. Fairly significant increases in volume shipments for DRAM were offset by moderating ASP declines, while trade NAND shipments increased as a result of early success of our 3D ramp, and we experienced generally stable ASPs. Gross margin for the quarter was 18%, also at the top end of our guided range.

接下來來看看公司整體業績。第四財季營收為 32 億美元，達到我們預期範圍的上限，季增 11%。DRAM 出貨量大幅成長，但平均售價下降幅度有所減緩；而由於 3D 產能爬坡初期取得成功，NAND 貿易出貨量增加，平均售價整體維持穩定。本季毛利率為 18%，也處於我們預期範圍的上限。

The non-GAAP net loss for the quarter was $56 million or $0.05 per share, significantly better than our guidance. For the full fiscal year, we achieved non-GAAP profitability, despite our technology transition and memory market pricing pressure, achieving non-GAAP net income of $66 million or $0.06 per share. As a reminder, Micron included both amortization of acquisition-related intangibles and stock compensation expense in our fiscal Q4 non-GAAP results. Taken together, these two items represent $0.04 a share in the fourth fiscal quarter, and $0.20 per share for the full FY16.

本季非GAAP淨虧損為5,600萬美元，即每股虧損0.05美元，遠優於我們的預期。儘管面臨技術轉型和記憶體市場價格壓力，我們仍實現了整個財政年度的非GAAP獲利，非GAAP淨收入為6,600萬美元，即每股0.06美元。需要提醒的是，美光公司在第四財季的非GAAP業績中同時計入了與收購相關的無形資產攤銷和股票補償費用。合計，這兩項在第四財季每股收益為 0.04 美元，2016 財年全年每股收益為 0.20 美元。

Turning to results by product line. DRAM revenue increased 13% compared to the prior quarter, as a result of a 20% increase in bit shipments, partially offset by a 6% decrease in ASPs. DRAM gross margins for the fourth quarter increased 2 percentage points to 20%, primarily driven by strong cost reductions as a result of the continued 20-nanometer ramp. Our non-volatile trade revenue increased 12% compared to the prior quarter, reflecting a 13% increase in bit shipments, partially offset by a 1% decrease in ASPs.

按產品線查看結果。DRAM 營收較上一季成長 13%，這主要得益於比特出貨量成長 20%，但部分被平均售價下降 6% 所抵銷。第四季 DRAM 毛利率成長 2 個百分點至 20%，主要得益於 20 奈米製程持續推進帶來的成本大幅下降。與上一季相比，我們的非波動性貿易收入增加了 12%，這反映出比特出貨量增加了 13%，但部分被 ASP 下降 1% 所抵銷。

Gross margin decreased a couple of percentage points to 16%, as costs per bit was up related to the 3D ramp, and build-out of higher cost storage and mobile solutions to support future growth. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the quarter were $559 million. This was below our guidance primarily due to continued expense control and the timing of pre-qualification expenses for the fourth quarter, some of which will now occur in fiscal Q1. The Company generated operating cash flow of $896 million, which included a strong quarter for collection activity, and we ended the quarter with cash and marketable investments of approximately $4.8 billion. In the fourth fiscal quarter, capital expenditures net of partner contributions were approximately $1.7 billion.

由於 3D 斜坡導致每位元成本上升，以及為支援未來成長而建立成本更高的儲存和行動解決方案，毛利率下降了幾個百分點，至 16%。本季非GAAP營運費用為5.59億美元。這低於我們的預期，主要是由於持續的費用控制以及第四季度資格預審費用的安排，其中一些費用現在將在第一財季發生。公司經營活動產生的現金流為 8.96 億美元，其中包括強勁的收款活動，截至本季末，公司持有的現金和有價投資約為 48 億美元。第四財季，扣除合夥人出資後的資本支出淨額約 17 億美元。

Before we move on to our guidance for the upcoming quarter, I wanted to share some changes to our reporting. The first of these changes relates to the depreciation schedule for our DRAM capital equipment. Previously, this equipment had been depreciated over five years, however, given the longer intervals between technology transitions, we've changed the depreciable life of our DRAM capital equipment from five years to seven years. This change will reduce depreciation by approximately $100 million per quarter on a going forward basis.

在公佈下一季業績預期之前，我想先分享一下我們報告方式的一些變化。這些變化中的第一個與我們的DRAM資本設備的折舊計劃有關。以前，這套設備的折舊年限是五年，但是，考慮到技術更迭的間隔時間越來越長，我們將DRAM資本設備的折舊年限從五年延長至七年。這項調整將使未來的每季折舊額減少約 1 億美元。

The depreciation schedule for NAND-related equipment remains unchanged. Additionally, and to be consistent with the majority of semiconductor companies who report non-GAAP results, Micron will exclude stock-based compensation and the amortization of acquisition-related intangibles from our non-GAAP reporting. These expenses on average are approximately $50 million per quarter.

NAND相關設備的折舊計畫維持不變。此外，為了與大多數報告非GAAP績效的半導體公司保持一致，美光將從我們的非GAAP報告中排除股票選擇權費用和與收購相關的無形資產攤銷。這些支出平均每季約為 5000 萬美元。

Moving on now to our guidance for the first fiscal quarter, which we developed in the context of the market environment that Mark described earlier, on a non-GAAP basis we expect the following. Consolidated revenue in the range of $3.55 billion to $3.85 billion, gross margin in the range of 23% to 25.5%, operating expenses between $600 million and $650 million, due to the resumption of variable compensation expense, and the higher pre-qual expenses that we spoke of earlier. Taken together, these items represent a sequential increase of approximately $80 million, of which $25 million resulted from the timing of pre-qual between fiscal Q4 and fiscal Q1. Operating income in the range of $245 million to $330 million, and EPS ranging between $0.13 and $0.21 per share based on [1.046 billion] diluted shares.

接下來，我們根據馬克先前描述的市場環境，對第一財季的業績做出預測。依照非GAAP準則，我們預期業績如下。合併收入預計在 35.5 億美元至 38.5 億美元之間，毛利率預計在 23% 至 25.5% 之間，營運費用預計在 6 億美元至 6.5 億美元之間，這是由於恢復了可變薪酬支出以及我們之前提到的較高的資格預審費用所致。綜合來看，這些項目代表著環比增長約 8000 萬美元，其中 2500 萬美元是由於第四財季和第一財季之間資格預審的時間安排造成的。營業收入預計在 2.45 億美元至 3.3 億美元之間，每股收益預計在 0.13 美元至 0.21 美元之間（基於 10.46 億股稀釋股份）。

Relative to our capital spending plans for FY17 as we shared last month, we expect to spend between $4.8 billion and $5.2 billion net of partner contributions. Between 40% and 50% of the total will be allocated to DRAM, between 30% and 40% to non-volatile memory, and between 15% and 25% to technology and product enablement. Consistent with our public comments, this level of CapEx allows us to appropriately fund our technology investments, while achieving neutral to positive free cash flow generation in FY17.

相對於我們上個月公佈的 2017 財年資本支出計劃，我們預計扣除合夥人出資後，淨支出將在 48 億美元至 52 億美元之間。總金額的 40% 至 50% 將分配給 DRAM，30% 至 40% 將分配給非揮發性記憶體，15% 至 25% 將分配給技術和產品賦能。與我們的公開聲明一致，此資本支出水準使我們能夠為科技投資提供適當的資金，同時在 2017 財年實現中性至正的自由現金流。

Operationally, we are on track to deliver the bit growth and cost per bit reduction targets that we previously shared, as we complete the 20-nanometer DRAM conversion, reach crossover of first-generation 3D NAND this quarter, and commence the ramp of 1X nanometer DRAM and second-generation 3D NAND in 2017. For FY17 specifically, we expect DRAM and NAND cost per bit reductions between 20% and 25%.

在營運方面，我們正按計畫實現先前公佈的位元成長和每位元成本降低目標，我們將完成 20 奈米 DRAM 轉換，在本季度實現第一代 3D NAND 的過渡，並在 2017 年開始 1X 奈米 DRAM 和第二代 3D NAND 的量產。具體到 2017 財年，我們預計 DRAM 和 NAND 的每位元成本將降低 20% 至 25%。

Finally, relative to the Inotera transaction, Micron and Inotera have concluded that sufficient progress has been made in Inotera addressing the issues that caused the delay in closing. An Inotera Board meeting has been scheduled for October 11, and the Directors of Inotera are expected to set a Share Swap record date at that meeting. We anticipate that the Share Swap record date will be set for the first half of December of 2016. With that, I'll turn it back to Mark.

最後，關於Inotera交易，美光和Inotera一致認為，Inotera在解決導致交易延遲的問題方面已經取得了足夠的進展。Inotera 董事會會議定於 10 月 11 日舉行，預計 Inotera 董事將在本次會議上確定股份互換登記日。我們預計股份互換登記日將定於 2016 年 12 月上半月。這樣，我就把麥克風交還給馬克了。

Thank you, Ernie. To summarize, we faced challenging market conditions in FY16, in addition to going through a transition period for our technology migrations. Despite these headwinds, we ended the year with positive non-GAAP EPS. Compared to prior cycles, this represents a material improvement in our performance, and further reinforces our belief in structural industry improvements.

謝謝你，厄尼。總而言之，我們在 2016 財年面臨充滿挑戰的市場環境，此外，我們還經歷了技術遷移的過渡期。儘管面臨這些不利因素，我們最終還是實現了正的非GAAP每股盈餘。與先前的周期相比，這代表著我們業績的實質提升，並進一步增強了我們對結構產業進步的信心。

We are now experiencing a more positive and improving environment, and Micron is committed to making even further improvements in our relative performance, with enhanced growth and cost reductions, and expanded capability to deliver value-added products to enable our customers. Okay, operator, we are now ready to begin Q&A.

我們現在正處於一個更積極和不斷改善的環境中，美光致力於進一步提高我們的相對業績，增強成長並降低成本，擴大能力以提供增值產品，從而幫助我們的客戶。好的，接線生，我們現在可以開始問答環節了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Our first question comes from C.J. Muse with Evercore.

我們的第一個問題來自 Evercore 公司的 C.J. Muse。

Yes, good afternoon. Thank you for taking my question. First question, Ernie, for you on the pricing front. I know you don't want to go into specific details, but curious as you think about November, what you're embedding in terms of changes to mix, and perhaps any flow through of lower margin inventory, and any other kind of factors that we should be thinking about as it relates to DRAM ASPs?

是的，下午好。感謝您回答我的問題。厄尼，第一個問題是關於價格方面的。我知道您不想透露具體細節，但我很好奇，您在考慮 11 月份的計劃時，在產品組合方面做了哪些調整，低利潤庫存是否會受到影響，以及與 DRAM 平均售價相關的其他因素有哪些？

This is Mark. Maybe I'll take that one, C.J. Certainly relative to the sell-through of inventory, there is an impact there, given some of the inventory we've built up over the last couple of quarters relative to the qualifications we mentioned. Relative to market assumptions, we're not going to get into the detail as always of the embedded margin, because we don't want to forecast the ASPs for you. But I think that it's fair to say that we are seeing early signs of significant price movements. And as we've done in the past, we want to wait before we get ahead of ourselves in predicting what may come as we move further out into the quarter. But I do think that that the trend is positive, and the bias is positive.

這是馬克。也許我會接受這個，C.J.。當然，考慮到我們過去幾季累積的一些庫存與我們之前提到的條件相比，庫存週轉率肯定會受到影響。相對於市場假設，我們不會像往常一樣深入探討內含利潤率的細節，因為我們不想替您預測平均售價。但我認為，我們可以說，我們已經看到了價格大幅波動的早期跡象。就像我們過去所做的那樣，我們希望在預測本季後期可能發生的事情之前，先等等。但我認為趨勢是正面的，而且這種傾向也是正面的。

Mark, that's very helpful. As my follow-up, how do you think about channel inventory today? And this is another DRAM question. And then, as part of that, how do you expect customers to act as you look into 2017, in an environment where bit supply is sub 20%, and demand presumably higher than that? How do you expect changes in behavior there? Thank you.

馬克，這很有幫助。我的後續問題是，您如何看待當今的通路庫存？這是另一個關於DRAM的問題。那麼，展望 2017 年，在比特供應量低於 20%，而需求量可能高於 20% 的環境下，您認為客戶會如何行動？你認為那裡的行為會有哪些改變？謝謝。

Yes. Well, certainly, if we think about inventory in the marketplace, certainly channel inventory I think is very, very tight, maybe one to two weeks, or less than a week. At the major customers, we have less precision relative to that. But I'd say it's certainly down, and there's a sense of urgency at the large OEM customers as well. In some cases, we may be looking at allocation of certain products in certain markets. And certainly, the customers are beginning to ask for longer term price commitments, which is in my mind always a good thing. And we'll look at those on a case by case basis, and potentially take customers up on that where appropriate, but obviously always keeping the long-term interest of the shareholders in mind.

是的。當然，如果我們考慮市場上的庫存，尤其是通路庫存，我認為庫存非常非常緊張，可能只有一到兩週，甚至不到一周。對於主要客戶，我們的精度相對較低。但我認為它肯定有所下降，而且大型 OEM 客戶也感受到了一種緊迫感。在某些情況下，我們可能需要考慮某些產品在特定市場的分配。當然，客戶也開始要求更長期的價格承諾，在我看來，這始終是件好事。我們會逐案審查這些情況，並在適當的時候考慮客戶的訴求，但顯然始終要牢記股東的長期利益。

Very helpful. Thank you.

很有幫助。謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Romit Shah with Nomura.

謝謝。下一個問題來自野村證券的羅米特·沙阿。

Yes, I just want to come back to the guidance, because it's something that people are trying to gauge, given that last quarter, at least relative to how you originally guided, you guys came in a lot better. And I know at the time that there was a lot of moving pieces, and you guys wanted to give yourself cushion. So could you talk a little bit about visibility? And at least on the pricing front, if we could get a sense just directionally, how you're thinking about ASPs in the November period? And then I have a follow-up.

是的，我只想再談談業績指引，因為大家都在試圖評估這一點，畢竟上個季度，至少相對於你們最初的指引而言，你們的表現要好得多。我知道當時有很多變數，你們想留一些空間給自己。那麼，您能談談可見性嗎？至少在定價方面，如果我們能了解一下大致方向，您對 11 月的平均售價 (ASP) 有什麼想法？然後我還有一個後續問題。

Sure. This is Ernie. So I think it's important to acknowledge, that although we beat our EPS guidance, we actually were well in the ranges of both our revenue and our gross margin guidance. And so we did think about the opportunity that was ahead of ourselves as we were giving the guidance for last quarter, and we've done the same thing in essence this quarter as well. So I think you can look at the range of our guidance, and it generally contemplates the outcomes that we see. And obviously, if things continue on a strong and favorable momentum, it's reasonable to think that you'd end up at the upper end of both pieces of the range, which would generate a result similar to this quarter.

當然。這是厄尼。所以我認為有必要指出，雖然我們的每股盈餘超過了預期，但實際上我們的營收和毛利率都遠低於預期。因此，我們在發佈上一季度業績指引時，確實考慮到了擺在我們面前的機遇，而本季度我們基本上也做了同樣的事情。所以我認為你可以看看我們的指導範圍，它通常會考慮到我們所看到的結果。顯然，如果情況繼續保持強勁有利的勢頭，那麼最終結果很可能達到這兩個區間的上限，從而產生與本季類似的結果。

And I think consistent with Mark's prior comments, we are continuing to see positive momentum. I do think it's important to understand that that momentum has existed and has started to strengthen. And so, as a result of its actual impact in our fiscal quarter, with part of it already completed and we're in negotiations for others, I think that the trap we want to avoid is presuming that whatever the latest pricing news is gets retroactively applied across the entire quarter, because that's certainly not the environment that we're living in. But I do think that we were pretty thoughtful about the revenue range. And obviously we're going to work hard and try to do as well as we can. But we put a lot of thought behind the numbers we've just shared with you.

我認為，正如馬克之前所說，我們正持續看到積極的發展勢頭。我認為重要的是要明白，這種勢頭一直存在，並且已經開始增強。因此，鑑於它對我們本財季的實際影響，其中一部分已經完成，我們正在就其他部分進行談判，我認為我們想要避免的陷阱是假設最新的定價消息會追溯適用於整個季度，因為這肯定不是我們所處的環境。但我認為我們對收入範圍的考慮相當周全。當然，我們會努力工作，爭取做到最好。但我們對剛才與大家分享的數字進行了深思熟慮。

Yes, that's helpful. And then Mark, I have a strategic question for you which is, you talk about one of the priorities being to just ramp advanced products in non-volatile memory. But at the same time, implicit in the FY17 free cash flow guidance is that you, at least the way I'm interpreting it, is that you'll continue to burn cash in NAND. And so my question is, at what point do you consider a partnership to lessen the period expense and the CapEx burden associated with running this business?

是的，這很有幫助。馬克，我有一個策略性的問題要問你，你提到優先事項之一是加快非揮發性記憶體先進產品的開發。但同時，2017 財年自由現金流指引中隱含的意思是，至少在我看來，你們將繼續在 NAND 上燒錢。所以我的問題是，您會在什麼情況下考慮建立合作夥伴關係，以減輕經營這項業務相關的期間費用和資本支出負擔？

Yes, we're always looking for ways to improve our relative competitive position, and we've used partnerships and strategic relationships extensively in the past. We'll continue to evaluate that, and again, always with the long term in mind. We're -- there's an embedded assumption in there that there are lots of opportunities out there today, and I think I would not try to dissuade you of that view of life. I would just caution you that we're going to be pretty careful and deliberate about making sure we take a long-term view relative to the relationships and the partnerships we engage in. And that we're doing something that really drives a long-term strategic benefit for the Company, as opposed to a short-term fix of more supply in the marketplace.

是的，我們一直在尋找提升自身相對競爭力的方法，過去也廣泛運用了合作夥伴關係和策略關係。我們將繼續對此進行評估，並且始終著眼於長遠發展。這裡面隱含著一個假設，那就是如今有很多機會，我想我不會試圖改變你對生活的看法。我只想提醒各位，我們會非常謹慎和深思熟慮地對待我們所建立的各種關係和夥伴關係，確保我們採取長遠的眼光。而且，我們正在做的事情能夠真正為公司帶來長期的策略利益，而不是僅僅透過增加市場上的供應量來尋求短期解決方案。

Helpful, thank you.

很有幫助，謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Mark Delaney with Goldman Sachs.

謝謝。下一個問題來自高盛的馬克·德萊尼。

Yes. Good afternoon, and thanks very much for taking the questions. First question is, I was hoping you could update us on the Inotera transaction, and if that were to close, if you could help us understand the potential accretion or dilution from that transaction? And then related to it, to what extent is Inotera closing already embedded in any of the financial guidance that you gave for FY17?

是的。下午好，非常感謝您回答這些問題。第一個問題是，我希望您能向我們介紹 Inotera 交易的最新情況，如果交易完成，您能否幫助我們了解該交易可能帶來的增值或稀釋？另外，與您相關的是，您在 2017 財年給予的財務指導中，有多少已經包含了 Inotera 的關閉？

So as we had in our prepared remarks, we do expect the transaction to close at this point in -- some time in the middle of December. We did contemplate that timing in our guidance, so it doesn't really have a dramatic impact on our FQ1 guide at all. And certainly the transaction will continue to be accretive to gross margins. It will continue, and continues to be accretive to free cash flow. And essentially, the EPS accretion is really dependent on how we choose to finance that last $1 billion component, which we don't have to make a decision on until about 30 days or so prior to closing. So as we said before, we have the option of using equity, or a convert, or cash, or a combination of those. And so, the specific EPS accretion will really be dependent upon what we finally decide for those things.

正如我們在事先準備好的演講稿中所述，我們預計該交易將於 12 月中旬完成。我們在指導意見中確實考慮到了這個時間節點，因此它對我們的第一季指導意見並不會造成任何重大影響。可以肯定的是，這筆交易將繼續提升毛利率。它將繼續發展，並持續增加自由現金流。從本質上講，每股盈餘的成長實際上取決於我們如何選擇為最後 10 億美元的部分融資，而我們直到交易完成前大約 30 天左右才需要對此做出決定。正如我們之前所說，我們可以選擇使用股權、可轉換債券、現金或這三者的組合。因此，具體的每股盈餘成長實際上將取決於我們最終對這些事情所做的決定。

That's helpful. And then a clarification on your comment that Micron will be above the CAGR that it provided for DRAM and [N] bit growth in FY17. I just want to clarify, you would expect to be above the high end of your guidance for both DRAM and NAND? So I think it was over 30% in DRAM for FY17, and over 40% in NAND for FY17?

那很有幫助。然後，關於您提到的美光將超過其在 2017 財年 DRAM 和 [N] 位增長所設定的複合年增長率 (CAGR) 的評論，需要澄清一下。我想確認一下，您預期DRAM和NAND的容量都會高於您指導值的上限嗎？所以我認為2017財年DRAM的佔比超過30%，NAND的佔比超過40%？

Well, what we said Mark was that we had given these two year CAGRs and we were slightly below for both NAND and DRAM in FY16, so it's reasonable to think it would be slightly above the range that we provided in FY17. So that we, over the two year CAGR fulfill the commitment that we made around those bit growth CAGRs. So yes, that's a reasonable thing to assume.

嗯，我們之前跟馬克說的是，我們給了這兩年的複合年增長率，而我們在 2016 財年對 NAND 和 DRAM 的預測都略低於預期，所以有理由認為 2017 財年的預測會略高於我們給出的範圍。這樣，我們就能在未來兩年內實現我們圍繞這些成長目標所做的承諾。所以，是的，這是一個合理的假設。

That's very helpful. Thank you.

那很有幫助。謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Timothy Arcuri with Cowen.

謝謝。下一個問題來自 Cowen 公司的 Timothy Arcuri。

Thank you, I had two. Ernie, I'm still a little confused on the guidance. If I try to adjust for the changes in the reporting, it sounds like you're excluding about $150 million per quarter now. So on an apples-to-apples basis, the guidance is actually like $0.13 or something like that lower than what the headline number is, or more like $0.04 at the mid point. Am I not thinking about that right?

謝謝，我有兩個。厄尼，我對指導還是有點困惑。如果我嘗試根據報告方式的變化進行調整，聽起來你們現在每季要排除大約 1.5 億美元。因此，如果以同等條件比較，實際的預期比官方公佈的數字低了大約 0.13 美元，或者說，中間值大約低了 0.04 美元。我沒想到這一點嗎？

Yes, that's a reasonable way to think about it, sure, Tim.

是的，這確實是一個合理的思考方式，提姆。

Okay. And then that leads me to the question about OpEx, because it seems like some of that is related to OpEx. If you add the stock comp back and you assume that it's mostly OpEx, you're guiding to like $650 million to $700 million. But it sounds like maybe $80 million of that is really one-time in nature. So maybe the baseline is more like $600 million going into next quarter? Is that -- or sorry, going into the fiscal Q2? Is that the right run rate headed into the January quarter?

好的。然後這就引出了關於營運支出 (OpEx) 的問題，因為其中一些似乎與營運支出有關。如果把股票補償加回去，並且假設這主要是營運支出，那麼預計支出將達到 6.5 億美元至 7 億美元。但聽起來其中可能有 8000 萬美元是一次性支出。所以，或許下一季的基準線更接近 6 億美元？是指──或者抱歉，是指進入第二財季嗎？這是進入一月份季度的合理運行速度嗎？

So let me try to frame that for you a little bit. We had a couple things that are impacting this quarter's OpEx. The first was, that about $25 million give or take of pre-qual expenses that had planned to spend in FQ4 are appearing in FQ1. And then secondly, we have -- we had, even prior to this rollover, the highest point of pre-qual expenses for the entire fiscal year was actually occurring in Q1, plus we have the resumption of variable compensation, given the new pricing environment. And so, what we've try to frame for folks is sequentially, between the variable comp being reinstated, as well as the pre-qual expenses, that's a sequential increase of about $80 million from FQ4 to FQ1. So that predominantly explains the change to the OpEx.

讓我試著為你解釋一下。有幾件事影響了本季的營運支出。第一個問題是，原計劃在第四財季支出的約 2,500 萬美元預審費用出現在了第一財季。其次，即使在此次調整之前，整個財政年度的預審費用最高點實際上也出現在第一季度，此外，鑑於新的定價環境，我們恢復了浮動薪酬。因此，我們試圖向大家解釋的是，隨著可變薪酬的恢復以及資格預審費用的增加，從第四財季到第一財季，總支出將增加約 8000 萬美元。所以這主要解釋了營運支出的變化。

And it certainly, we're hopeful that the variable compensation piece continues, because we're hopeful that the business environment is favorable. And we would expect pre-qual expenses to moderate, such that we should be in that range of $600 million plus or minus, so we'd probably mid point around $600 million a few quarters -- maybe a couple quarters higher, a couple quarters a little bit lower, under the new framework for recording OpEx. So those numbers would still exclude stock-based comp. But you would expect to see a pretty meaningful moderation of OpEx, as we go forward throughout the year as a result of this pre-qual situation being resolved from the rollover.

當然，我們希望浮動薪酬制度能夠持續下去，因為我們希望商業環境能夠保持良好動能。我們預計資格預審費用將有所緩和，因此我們應該在 6 億美元左右，上下浮動，所以根據新的營運支出記錄框架，我們可能會在幾個季度內將中點值定在 6 億美元左右——也許會高出幾個季度，或者低出幾個季度。所以這些數字仍然不包括股票選擇權激勵。但隨著資格預審問題的解決，營運支出預計今年內將出現相當大的緩和。

Our next question comes from Ian Ing with MKM Partners.

下一個問題來自 MKM Partners 的 Ian Ing。

Yes, thank you. Congrats on the guidance. DRAM question here. You've got favorable contract pricing. You didn't quite get the bit output acceleration in Q4. Just wanted to understand that a bit. And are there any shortages in terms of meeting customer demand at this point?

是的，謝謝。感謝您提供的指導。這裡有個關於DRAM的問題。你們的合約價格很優惠。第四季你並沒有完全實現位元輸出加速。我只是想稍微了解一下。目前在滿足客戶需求方面是否有任何短缺？

I think part of the explanation of Q4 bit growth being slightly below, I think what we previously talked about was in fact that as we watched the market evolve, we made some choices around where we would like that output to be. And the result is that our Q1, fiscal Q1 bit output would -- is now going to be higher than what we had expected it to be. So obviously, that did play into our thinking as we saw the market evolve.

我認為第四季度比特成長略低於預期，部分原因是，正如我們之前討論過的，隨著市場的發展，我們對希望產量達到的目標做出了一些選擇。結果是，我們第一季（即第一財季）的比特產出將－現在將高於我們先前的預期。很顯然，在觀察市場發展的過程中，這一點確實影響了我們的思考。

Relative to specific shortages, I'm not aware of any. I don't know, Mark, if you are, but certainly, all of our customers are being very attentive to making sure that their supply needs are taken care of, and we are seeing certain segments and certain customers where the possibility of allocation is present.

就具體短缺情況而言，我目前還沒有發現任何短缺。馬克，我不知道你是否也這麼認為，但我們所有的客戶都非常關注如何滿足他們的供應需求，而且我們看到某些細分市場和某些客戶存在分配的可能性。

Yes, I don't think we want to call those out today on this call, but there's certainly that risk.

是的，我認為我們今天不想在這次電話會議上點名批評這些，但確實存在這種風險。

Yes.

是的。

Okay. Thanks. And for my follow-up here, server as a percent of DRAM, that is down sequentially, and August is -- what's happening here, perhaps enterprise is offsetting the cloud. And shouldn't this be a pretty attractive market to serve? I think, pricing in server typically attracts PCs, with a little bit of lag?

好的。謝謝。至於我的後續問題，伺服器佔 DRAM 的百分比正在逐週下降，8 月的情況是——這裡發生了什麼？或許企業正在抵銷雲端運算的影響。這不是一個極具吸引力的市場嗎？我認為，伺服器的定價通常會吸引那些使用PC，但存在一些延遲的用戶？

Yes, I think it will reaccelerate relatively quickly. It has been a little bit more of a lumpy business here over the last year or so, but we like the trends there.

是的，我認為它會相對迅速地再次加速成長。過去一年左右，這裡的業務發展略有起伏，但我們看好這裡的發展趨勢。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Rajvindra Gill with Needham & Company.

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

Yes. Thanks, and congrats on good execution. Just a question on the inventory increase on a year-over-year basis, relative to the revenue increase year-over-year based on your guidance. So it seems like the -- it seems like that the inventory is increasing at a faster clip than revenue, so just wanted to get a sense in terms of any concerns you see there? (multiple speakers)

是的。謝謝，恭喜你們出色地完成了任務。我有一個關於庫存同比增長率的問題，相對於您根據上年同期收入同比增長率的情況。所以看起來——庫存成長速度似乎比收入成長速度更快，所以我想了解一下您對此有何擔憂？（多位發言者）

Sure -- I'm sorry, go ahead.

當然可以——不好意思，請便。

So with inventory outgrowing revenue on a year-over-year basis?

所以庫存成長速度超過了收入成長速度，而且這種成長速度是逐年遞減的嗎？

Yes, I think you have a couple things. First, as we talked about in the last quarter or so, as we are ramping on the new technologies, and predominantly because of these delayed mobile quals, we had some inventory built up that is now flowing through. However, we absolutely still continue to get more and more output from the factory, and it's going to be a couple quarters before that inventory actually starts to decline. But we have a very clear view of an ability to decrease inventory meaningfully over the course of FY17.

是的，我覺得你有些想法。首先，正如我們在上個季度左右討論的那樣，隨著我們加大對新技術的投入，並且主要是由於這些延遲的移動認證，我們積累了一些庫存，現在這些庫存正在流通。然而，我們工廠的產量仍在持續成長，庫存真正開始下降還需要幾個季度的時間。但我們非常清楚地看到，在 2017 財年期間，我們有能力大幅降低庫存。

I'd also remind you that we are also building supply chains for SSDs and MCPs, which take longer in terms of their aggregate end-to-end cycle time than selling components. So we have that effect as well. That will cap out here in the next quarter or so, and then you'll see a normalization and a flow through of that as well. So we're not -- we're cognizant of the inventory position. We like to think that we anticipated that, and shared that with you. And we're equally confident that the inventory will decline nearly every quarter in FY17.

我還要提醒您，我們也在為 SSD 和 MCP 建立供應鏈，從整體到末端的週期時間來看，它們的耗時比銷售組件要長。所以我們也遇到了同樣的問題。這種情況將在接下來的一個季度左右達到頂峰，然後你會看到市場趨於正常化並逐漸恢復正常。所以我們並非——我們清楚庫存狀況。我們認為我們預料到了這一點，並且已經與您分享過了。我們同樣有信心，2017 財年庫存幾乎每季都會下降。

Yes, to be honest, we feel pretty good about where we sit, given the trends in the marketplace as well, and we don't feel quite as much urgency as we might under different market conditions.

是的，老實說，考慮到市場趨勢，我們對目前的處境感覺相當不錯，而且我們不像在其他市場情況下那樣感到緊迫。

Okay. That was helpful. And just a last question for me on the cash flow. Obviously, you can't talk a little bit about FY17. But if you take your CapEx guidance and your depreciation add back, it does seem like it would still be difficult to generate a meaningful free cash flow next year, assuming a fairly big ramp, and gross margins and revenue -- gross margins maybe, continue to increase above and beyond what you're guiding for November. So I just wanted to get a sense of how you're looking at free cash flow, and the Inotera agreement, how much free cash flow does that add to the Company, if we were to add that back on?

好的。那很有幫助。關於現金流，我還有一個問題。顯然，你不能只談論 2017 財年的情況。但是，如果將你的資本支出指導和折舊加項考慮在內，假設產能大幅增長，毛利率和收入（毛利率可能）繼續增長超過你對 11 月份的指導，那麼明年產生有意義的自由現金流似乎仍然很困難。所以我想了解一下您是如何看待自由現金流的，以及如果將 Inotera 協議重新納入考量，該協議能為公司增加多少自由現金流？

On average, the Inotera transaction is going to add somewhere between [$300 million] and $600 million of cash flow on a free cash flow basis. But I'd really stress that that's an average amount which would be the free cash flow net of the incremental depreciation -- I'm sorry, the incremental CapEx. But I think that the best way I could guide your thinking there is that we have prepared pretty conservative plan, and we have a free cash flow neutral position in the context of that conservative plan.

平均而言，Inotera 交易將以自由現金流計算增加 3 億美元至 6 億美元的現金流。但我真的要強調，這是一個平均金額，就是扣除新增折舊後的自由現金流——抱歉，是新增資本支出後的自由現金流。但我認為，我能引導你思考的最好方式是，我們已經制定了一個相當保守的計劃，並且在這個保守的計劃框架下，我們的自由現金流保持中性。

Obviously, Q4 is a little bit stronger. It's fair to say that Q1 was a little bit stronger, as we look at it now versus our conservative plan. And so we would expect to be able to accumulate cash over the course of 2017, if in fact this current market environment continues. Any time we use words like significant, it gets hard to determine what's significant to you or significant to me, but trust me every dollar is significant to us. And so we're being very careful and monitoring that very carefully.

顯然，第四季表現稍好。公平地說，從我們現在的觀察來看，第一季的表現比我們保守的計畫要好一些。因此，如果目前的市場環境持續下去，我們預計在 2017 年能夠累積現金。每當我們使用「重要」這樣的字眼時，就很難確定對你來說什麼是重要的，或者對我來說什麼是重要的，但請相信我，每一分錢對我們來說都很重要。因此，我們正在非常謹慎地密切關注此事。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Harlan Sur with JPMorgan.

謝謝。下一個問題來自摩根大通的哈蘭‧蘇爾。

Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. NAND cost per bit was actually up slightly in Q4. Was most of this mix related? Maybe you could just tell us what cost per bit declines were on a like-for-like basis? And should we anticipate an acceleration of cost per bit starting here in the first quarter, especially I think as you mentioned you'd get 3D bit crossover over 2D? But it seems like to me, as gross margins for NAND should be inflecting up here in Q1, but I'm just trying to get a sense for that?

午安.謝謝您回答我的問題。第四季NAND快閃記憶體每比特成本實際上略有上升。這些混合物大部分是相關的嗎？或許您可以告訴我們，在同等條件下，每次位元損耗的成本是多少？我們是否應該預期從第一季開始，每比特成本會加速上升？尤其是我認為正如你所提到的，3D 位元成本將會超過 2D 位元成本？但我覺得，NAND快閃記憶體的毛利率應該會在第一季有所上升，但我只是想了解這方面的情況？

Yes, a lot of moving pieces, Harlan. I think just to get to the crux of your question, yes, you should anticipate cost per bit, start coming down nicely with the 3D ramp, as we start flushing those wafers through the back end, and out in the marketplace. Costs are coming down nicely this quarter, and [see] a continued road map ahead for that, as we move through the year.

是的，牽涉的因素很多，哈蘭。我認為，為了回​​答你的問題，是的，你應該預料到每比特成本會隨著 3D 斜坡的推進而逐漸下降，因為我們開始將這些晶圓從後端沖壓到市場上。本季成本下降勢頭良好，我們將在今年繼續推進成本下降的計劃。

Yes, and we provided a cost per bit reduction forecast for the year to you, and I think everything Mark said is absolutely true. And counter balancing that just a bit is the supply chain build up that I talked about, because as MCPs and those SSDs have a higher COGS component theoretically, they are also generating more margin. But if we're only looking at the cost perspective, that will have a tendency to dampen the cost per bit reduction because the mix is changing.

是的，我們向您提供了今年的每比特成本降低預測，我認為馬克所說的一切都完全正確。而我之前提到的供應鏈建設在一定程度上抵消了這一點，因為雖然 MCP 和 SSD 的 COGS 組件理論上更高，但它們也產生了更高的利潤。但如果只從成本角度來看，由於組合方式發生了變化，這將往往會抑制每位元成本的降低。

Great. Thanks for the insights there. And then, on the 1X DRAM ramp that you highlighted in your slides, when does that ramp actually commence? Is it end of this year, beginning of next calendar year? And you've mentioned also that you'd expect significant output by middle of next year, maybe you can just be more specific on when you expect bit crossover 1X versus 20-nanometer? Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝你的見解。還有，您在投影片中重點提到的 1X DRAM 加速階段，這個加速階段究竟何時開始？是今年年底，還是明年年初？您還提到預計明年年中將有顯著的產量，您能否更具體地說明您預計何時實現 1X 和 20 奈米技術的比特交叉？謝謝。

Yes, so we have actually wafers in manufacturing fabs in both Hiroshima and Taiwan that are yielding. The output today is insignificant. We'll continue to run at engineering pilot line lots. And by the time we get to the middle of next year, you should see it be significant in terms of our overall output. I think probably going to wait another quarter before we give you a little bit more precision on what the -- when the bit crossover might be.

是的，我們目前在廣島和台灣的晶圓製造廠都有晶圓正在生產，而且良率很高。今天的產量微不足道。我們將繼續在工程試驗生產線上進行試驗。到明年年中，你應該會看到它對我們的整體產量產生顯著影響。我認為可能還要再等一個季度，才能更精確地告訴大家──也就是何時會出現這種轉變。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Steven Fox with Cross Research.

謝謝。下一個問題來自 Cross Research 的 Steven Fox。

Thanks. Good afternoon. Just two questions for me. Just following on that prior question regarding NAND cost per bit and all of the mix issues, can you just take that one step forward and talk about maybe how the storage business unit starts to recover in terms of profitability? Is there a path to turning profitable this fiscal year? And then secondly, could you just talk about seasonality this year maybe versus last year in terms of what kind of unit shipments you're seeing versus content shipments from some of your core markets, and whether it's stronger or weaker than a year ago? Thanks.

謝謝。午安.我只有兩個問題。接上文關於 NAND 每位元成本和所有組合問題的問題，您能否更進一步，談談儲存業務部門在獲利能力方面是如何開始復甦的？本財年能否獲利？其次，您能否談談今年的季節性情況，例如與去年相比，您核心市場的產品出貨量和內容出貨量有何不同，以及是比去年更強還是更弱？謝謝。

Sure. So let me address the question about the storage business. We are certainly hopeful that we can exit the year at least with a profitable note for the storage business. I think it's dependent on a few things. Obviously, we're in the middle of a very significant portfolio change-out, and we have to execute on those. So far, our record has been good with respect to the client and consumer segments. But we have some big product launches, with respect to both data center and enterprise coming up here toward the end of this calendar year and in early calendar 2017. And those would be really pivotal to us in completing that transition. I think that again, track record has been good. The SSDs have been well reviewed, and we're very optimistic that our subsequent product launches will be equally successful.

當然。那麼，讓我來回答關於倉儲業務的問題。我們當然希望今年至少能實現倉儲業務的獲利。我認為這取決於幾個因素。顯然，我們正處於一個非常重要的投資組合調整之中，我們必須執行這些調整。到目前為止，我們在客戶和消費者群體方面都取得了良好的成績。但是，在今年年底和 2017 年初，我們將推出一些針對資料中心和企業級產品的大型產品。這些對我們完成這項轉型至關重要。我認為，從過往業績來看，表現一直不錯。SSD產品獲得了良好的評價，我們非常樂觀地認為，我們後續推出的產品也將同樣取得成功。

I also think it's important to keep in mind that we also are seeing benefit of 3D in the memory -- or I'm sorry, in the mobile business unit as well. We saw that -- we had the mobile percentage of our NAND business this quarter move from the low teens essentially to the high teens, as a result of more and more quals there, and the increasing importance of the MCP portfolio. So we are seeing benefit of that, really across multiple business units.

我認為同樣重要的是要記住，我們在記憶體領域——或者更準確地說，是在行動業務部門——也看到了 3D 技術帶來的好處。我們看到，由於越來越多的合格產品上市，以及 MCP 產品組合的重要性日益增加，本季度我們 NAND 業務的行動端佔比從十幾個百分點基本增長到了十幾個百分點。因此，我們看到了這樣做的好處，而這種好處確實惠及多個業務部門。

Let me just add to that on the seasonality question. Q4 obviously, typically is a very strong quarter for NAND. Hard to know for sure, but our sense is that the demand picture probably has more staying power than just the typical seasonality that you would see, given the strong growth in the end applications.

關於季節性問題，我再補充一點。顯然，第四季通常是NAND快閃記憶體表現非常強勁的季度。雖然很難確定，但鑑於終端應用領域的強勁成長，我們的感覺是，這種需求前景可能比典型的季節性需求更具持久性。

Thanks very much.

非常感謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Kevin Cassidy with Stifel.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 公司的 Kevin Cassidy。

Thank you for taking my question. Your guidance for first quarter is a significant increase over fourth quarter. Can you give us a ranking of the end markets or the end products that are driving the increase?

感謝您回答我的問題。您對第一季的預期較第四季大幅提高。能否提供一下推動成長的終端市場或終端產品的排名？

Yes, I'll take that. So obviously, as has been the case, the specialty markets, the embedded markets, whether it's automotive, industrial, medical probably top of the list. Within the computing and networking segment, graphics has been quite strong. Server probably next, and then followed up with mobile and client.

是的，我要了。顯然，正如以往的情況一樣，專業市場、嵌入式市場，無論是汽車、工業或醫療領域，都可能名列前茅。在電腦和網路領域，圖形技術一直發展得相當強勁。伺服器端可能是下一個目標，然後是行動端和客戶端。

Okay. And are you seeing a significant increase with 3D NAND versus the planar NAND?

好的。您是否發現 3D NAND 相較於平面 NAND 有顯著的效能提升？

In terms of demand?

就需求而言？

Gross (multiple speakers). Sorry, no, gross margin (multiple speakers).

粗魯（多人發言）。抱歉，不是毛利率（多位發言人）。

But that -- it's a very quickly moving dynamic right now. So yes, we're seeing that happen real-time as we sell through the early production and move more and more of the products into the TLC format.

但是，目前情勢變化非常迅速。是的，隨著早期產品的銷售，我們正在即時看到這種情況發生，並將越來越多的產品轉移到 TLC 格式。

And certainly more of that opportunity is ahead of us than it is behind us, given that we're just going to hit bit crossover for 3D in this quarter. And as Mark said, we're continuing to transition which adds costs because it suppresses output. But with more significant bit growth ahead, we would expect the cost reduction opportunity to accelerate a little bit here throughout FY17.

而且，考慮到我們本季即將迎來 3D 技術的比特交叉，未來我們面臨的機會肯定比過去多得多。正如馬克所說，我們正在繼續轉型，這會增加成本，因為它會抑制產量。但隨著未來更大的成長，我們預計在 2017 財年，成本降低的機會將會加速。

Okay, great. Congratulations on the good results.

好的，太好了。恭喜取得好成績。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from John Pitzer with Credit Suisse.

謝謝。下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的約翰‧皮策。

Yes, good afternoon, guys. Thanks for letting me ask a question. I want to go back to the cost side of the equation, guys. Just given the change in the depreciation schedule for the November quarter, I would have thought your ability to get gross margin to the high 20% range, especially in this pricing environment, would have been fairly easy.

是的，下午好，各位。謝謝允許我提問。各位，我想回到成本方面來討論。考慮到 11 月季度折舊計劃的變化，我認為你們在當前的定價環境下，將毛利率提高到 20% 以上應該相當容易。

So I'm just curious as to what the offsets are in the November quarter. Is this all about the quals on mobile? And if it is, what do you estimate that to be a hit to gross margins, and when might that be done? And then, Ernie, I know you gave full year cost targets on a per bit basis. Did you give them for the fiscal first quarter? If you did, I missed them.

所以我很好奇11月季度的抵銷金額是多少。這一切都與行動端的資格賽有關嗎？如果屬實，您估計這將對毛利率造成多大影響？何時會實施？還有，厄尼，我知道你給了一個按比特計算的全年成本目標。你們是在第一財季發放的嗎？如果你有的話，那我錯過了。

I think, John, actually it's really a little bit more about the lag that you typically see as pricing starts to turn around in some of these things. Yes, there is an inventory effect relative to some of these products that we built up in inventory that were early production on either 20-nanometer or 3D NAND, et cetera. As we sell-through, that's a little bit of a headwind until that's flushed out.

約翰，我認為，實際上這更多的是關於價格開始回落時通常出現的滯後現象。是的，對於我們庫存中的某些產品，存在庫存效應，這些產品是早期採用 20 奈米或 3D NAND 等技術生產的。在銷售過程中，這會給我們帶來一些不利影響，直到問題解決為止。

But it's really more around, as ASPs turn around, they don't turn around instantaneously. And they didn't turn around until we were into the quarter last quarter. So remember, we had a pretty significant beat relative to the mid point of our guidance last quarter, which gives you an indication that the pricing was starting to accelerate then. It takes a little while to play out, and to flush through as we see these things happen. So the trends are all in place. And I think we're heading where you think you are, where we ought to be, but it can take a little while to play out through the financials.

但實際上，ASP 的復甦並非一蹴可幾，而是需要時間慢慢來。直到上個季度末，他們才開始扭轉局面。所以請記住，上個季度我們的業績相對於預期中位數有了相當大的成長，這表明當時的定價開始加速上漲。事情的發展需要一些時間，當我們親眼目睹這些事情發生時，這些事情也會逐漸明朗起來。所以各種趨勢都已形成。我認為我們正朝著你認為的方向前進，朝著我們應該達到的方向前進，但這可能需要一段時間才能透過財務數據體現出來。

Yes. And I didn't provide a cost specific cost per bit target for FQ1.

是的。而且我沒有為 FQ1 提供具體的每位元成本目標。

Okay. And then as my follow-up, Mark, just on the Inotera acquisition. If you go back and look at what you guys have tried to accomplish over the last seven or eight years, it's actually been to try to mitigate the cyclicality of the industry within your financials by setting up some of these JVs, buying Inotera reverses that. I'm curious, is this purely a financial decision on your part? You mentioned in your prepared comments that this downturn troughed at much higher levels than past downturns. So is that giving you the confidence, or is there actually a fundamental reason to own the asset? Will this allow you to ramp 1X or 1Y or 1Z more quickly owning Inotera? If you could just give a justification that would be great.

好的。然後，馬克，我接下來要問的是關於 Inotera 收購案的問題。回顧過去七、八年你們所做的努力，實際上是為了透過建立一些合資企業來減輕行業週期性對財務的影響，而收購 Inotera 則扭轉了這一局面。我很好奇，這純粹是你出於經濟因素做出的決定嗎？您在事先準備好的評論中提到，這次經濟衰退的谷底比以往任何一次衰退的谷底都要高得多。那麼，這是否給了你信心？或者，持有該資產實際上還有其他根本原因？擁有 Inotera 能否讓您更快升級到 1X、1Y 或 1Z？如果你能給出理由就太好了。

Yes. Well, there's a lot of components to it. I think you put your finger on a piece of it, which is that the volatility in this business, I think we can conclude is going to be less going forward. This certainly seems to have been borne out as we move through this last cycle. It doesn't mean the cycles are gone, it just means that the volatility is less, and so that is less of a defensive driver so to speak.

是的。嗯，它包含很多組成部分。我認為你抓住了問題的關鍵，那就是，我們可以得出結論，這個產業的波動性未來將會降低。隨著我們進入最後一個週期，這一點似乎得到了證實。這並不意味著週期性波動已經消失，只是意味著波動性有所降低，因此，從某種意義上說，這種波動性不再是主要的防禦性驅動因素。

An important thing for us in this whole picture is operational flexibility and control. As we think about our ability to drive new technologies, either into manufacturing or to transition technologies with the Inotera assets, having ownership of that asset and the ability to mix and match different technologies, as well as potentially more value-add products and capture that value as significant.

對我們來說，在整個過程中，營運的靈活性和控制力至關重要。當我們思考如何利用 Inotera 的資產推動新技術進入製造業或實現技術轉型時，擁有該資產並能夠混合搭配不同的技術，以及開發更多高附加價值產品並從中獲取價值，這對我們來說意義重大。

Notwithstanding the fact that we have a good operating relationship with Inotera, we believe that there is more value we can bring as sole owners than as Board members and operational partners. And at the end of the day, it gives us the ability as well to take the cash flow that's going to be generated with Inotera, and deploy it across our network where we find that most useful. So a number of different factors playing into it, all of which, I think, point in the direction that we're moving.

儘管我們與 Inotera 保持著良好的營運關係，但我們相信，作為唯一所有者，我們能夠帶來的價值比作為董事會成員和營運合作夥伴更大。歸根結底，這也使我們能夠利用 Inotera 產生的現金流，將其部署到我們網路中我們認為最有用的地方。因此，有很多不同的因素在起作用，我認為所有這些因素都指向我們正在前進的方向。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Mehdi Hosseini with SIG.

謝謝。下一個問題來自 SIG 的 Mehdi Hosseini。

Yes, thanks for taking my question. Ernie, just going back to your CapEx for the next fiscal year, it sounds like you're incrementally more confident with the Inotera deal. And in that context, how should we think about the incremental CapEx requirements for Inotera, in the context of your comment that Inotera would help with free cash flow accretion? I'm just trying to reconcile everything, and I have a follow-up.

是的，謝謝您回答我的問題。Ernie，回到你下一財年的資本支出計劃，聽起來你對 Inotera 的交易越來越有信心了。在此背景下，鑑於您曾表示 Inotera 將有助於增加自由現金流，我們該如何看待 Inotera 的增量資本支出需求？我只是想把所有事情都理順，我還有後續事宜。

Sure. So when we provided that CapEx guidance of essentially midpoint of $5 billion net of partner contributions, we did say it included contemplated investments from Inotera. So that's an all-in number, as you know, we don't break out specific CapEx by fab, so we don't plan to start doing that now. But that $5 billion midpoint, with [a little] range around it is inclusive of anticipated investments at Inotera.

當然。因此，當我們給出資本支出指導意見，即扣除合作夥伴出資後淨額為 50 億美元（中位數）時，我們確實說過，這包括 Inotera 的預期投資。所以這是一個總數字，如你所知，我們不會按工廠細分特定的資本支出，所以我們現在也不打算開始這樣做。但50億美元的中點（以及圍繞它的[一些]範圍）包含了對Inotera的預期投資。

Got it. Thanks for the clarification. And then with the 3D NAND and a crossover with [300] NAND is, should I assume that all of the 3D NAND, the capacity coming online is TLC, or is there still any MLC left in the mix?

知道了。謝謝你的解釋。那麼，對於 3D NAND 和 [300] NAND 的交叉，我是否應該假設所有上線的 3D NAND 容量都是 TLC，還是其中仍然有一些 MLC 呢？

No, the first out 3D was MLC, but we very quickly introduced TLC. And as we said in our prepared remarks, most of our client consumer SSDs are now out on TLC, and we're qualifying TLC into mobile applications as well. And we will be a majority TLC by the middle of FY17 here as we go forward. So that's part of the engine of the significant bit growth that we've contemplated and forecast.

不，第一個推出的 3D 是 MLC，但我們很快就推出了 TLC。正如我們在準備好的發言稿中所說，我們面向消費者的大多數 SSD 現在都採用 TLC 閃存，我們也正在將 TLC 閃存應用於行動應用程式。隨著我們不斷前進，到 2017 財年中期，我們將成為 TLC 的多數股東。所以，這就是我們所設想和預測的顯著成長的引擎的一部分。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Joe Moore with Morgan Stanley.

謝謝。下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的喬·摩爾。

Great. Thank you. Wonder if you could talk about the decision to move to seven year depreciable life on DRAM? That strikes me as a long time, and I look at your CapEx ratio to PP&E as a third. What was the thinking behind seven years, and can you remind us the depreciation life of the NAND equipment?

偉大的。謝謝。能否請您談談將DRAM折舊年限改為七年的決定？我覺得時間太長了，我認為你的資本支出與固定資產比是三分之一。七年的期限是怎麼考慮的？您能提醒我們NAND設備的折舊年限嗎？

So depreciation life of the NAND equipment is about five years. And really, we conducted quite an extensive study around how long the technology transitions existed, or took in the DRAM world, how long they were contemplated to take on a going forward basis. We looked at the practices of others, both competitors and partners. But really, the substance of the decision was related to what we anticipate and what we've been saying for some time is a slowing of the technology transitions, and therefore, the longer use ability of that equipment as the technology transition times change.

因此，NAND設備的折舊年限約為五年。事實上，我們圍繞 DRAM 領域的技術轉型持續了多長時間，以及預計未來轉型還需要多長時間，進行了一項相當廣泛的研究。我們考察了其他公司的做法，包括競爭對手和合作夥伴。但實際上，該決定的實質內容與我們預期和我們一段時間以來一直在說的有關，即技術轉型速度的放緩，因此，隨著技術轉型時間的變化，這些設備的使用壽命也會延長。

And the reality is, there's a range of answers you come up with when you do a study like that. And much like the midpoint of a guided range, and seven years felt to us like it was not overly aggressive, but not overly conservative either. So you could assume that we could have gone a year or two on either side of that, and we chose a position that we thought was reasonable, given what we know and understand about the pace of technology transition.

事實上，當你進行這樣的研究時，你會得到各種各樣的答案。就像指導範圍的中點一樣，七年對我們來說既不算過於激進，也不算過於保守。所以你可以假設我們可以在前後一兩年內做出決定，而我們根據對技術變革速度的了解和理解，選擇了一個我們認為合理的立場。

Okay, great. Thank you for that. And then, as a follow-up, have you given or can you give an absolute number for depreciation for either the quarter or the fiscal year?

好的，太好了。謝謝。其次，您能否提供本季或本財年的折舊絕對數字？

We -- yes, we expect depreciation to be somewhere in the range of $4 billion for the year, give or take.

是的，我們預計今年的折舊額將在 40 億美元左右，上下浮動。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

And operator, I think we have time for one more question.

操作員，我想我們還有時間再回答一個問題。

Thank you. Our last question comes from David Wong with Wells Fargo.

謝謝。最後一個問題來自富國銀行的David Wong。

Thanks very much. Ernie, earlier you noted that you might be able to generate cash over, some point over the next few quarters. Can you give us any idea of what you would do with any net cash generated? Would you be able to pay down debt, or are there other uses for cash?

非常感謝。厄尼，你之前提到過，在接下來的幾個季度裡，你或許能夠獲得一些現金。您能否告訴我們一下，如果產生淨現金流，您會如何處理？您能否用這筆錢償還債務，還是有其他用途？

Certainly, first thing we're going to be focused on is actually accumulating the cash. So that's my first priority, because I have to have some of it to be able to decide what to do with it. And certainly at that point in time, we would certainly look at the opportunities that were available to delever. And we would look at those in the context of, everything else that's going around. And it's really impossible to say specifically what we would decide to do in the context of a future that's not yet here. But I can tell you that delevering is an important priority. And depending on how much cash we generate, we may choose to deploy a $100 million of that or so back into CapEx, if that's the right decision. But delevering is certainly nearest and dearest to our hearts at the moment.

當然，我們首先要關注的是累積資金。所以這是我的首要任務，因為我必須先掌握一些資訊才能決定如何處理它。當然，在那個時候，我們肯定會考慮有哪些機會可以降低槓桿。我們會結合周遭發生的一切來看待這些事情。而且，我們真的不可能具體說明在尚未到來的未來中我們會做出怎樣的決定。但我可以告訴你，去槓桿化是一項重要的優先事項。根據我們產生的現金量，如果這是正確的決定，我們可能會選擇將其中約 1 億美元重新投入資本支出。但目前來說，去槓桿化無疑是我們最關心、最關心的問題。

Great. Thanks very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Thank you. This concludes today's Micron Technology fourth quarter 2016 financial release conference call. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。美光科技2016年第四季財務報告電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線了。