Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good day, and welcome to the Analog Devices, Inc. Annual Meeting of Shareholders. I would now like to turn the call over to Ms. Yoon Ah Oh. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you to all of our shareholders and guests for joining us today. My name is Yoon Ah Oh and I will be [indiscernible]. I would like to welcome everyone who is joining us for our virtual annual meeting of the shareholders. Please note that ADI's annual meeting rules of conduct apply to this meeting and such rules can be found on the web portal. Today, we will begin with introductions and prepared remarks from our President and Chief Executive Officer, Vince Roche. We will then proceed to the formal meeting. Before I turn the meeting over to Vince, please note that the solutions that we will discuss during this meeting includes forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q on file with the SEC. Subsequent events and developments may cause our outlook to change, and we do not undertake any obligation to update those forward-looking statements. Our comments today may also make references to non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website. So without further delay, I would like to introduce ADI's President and Chief Executive Officer, Vincent Roche.

Thank you very much, Yoon Ah. Good morning, everybody, and welcome to our 2021 annual meeting of shareholders. I hope sincerely that you and yours are healthy and safe during these times. I can't say that in my tenure, I could ever have imagined presiding over a meeting in this particular manner, but such is the world in which we are living. As I reflect on the year that has just passed, it's clear to me, how greatly we've all been challenged by the global pandemic. At ADI, we were forced to rethink how we address the health and safety of our employees as well as our customer engagement and business operations, while simultaneously balancing our lives in the work-from-home environment. I'm incredibly proud of how we worked together throughout. We were able to turn adversity into opportunity and learn from this difficult time, while making great strides in strengthening our company for the future. Now for a quick recap of our year, while our first half results were dampened by the pandemic, we came back strongly in the second half, generating revenue of $5.6 billion for the year. We also maintained solid profitability and delivered strong cash generation with free cash flow of $1.8 billion, which translates into a free cash flow margin of 33%, putting us in the top 10% of companies in the S&P 500. And importantly, we returned more than $1.1 billion to you, our shareholders. Now one of the most significant milestones of 2020 was announcing our acquisition of Maxim Integrated, which, we expect to close in the summer of 2021. This complementary combination will broaden and increase the scope of our technological capabilities, and enhance our portfolio to enable us to create even more complete solutions for our customers. Through investing in our employees and adding talent through our acquisitions of Hittites and Linear in the past, we've built ADI to be a destination for the world's best analog engineering talents. At our core, we are a global team of problem solvers who don't wait for the future, but we imagine it and build it. To that end, we are passionately driven by our purpose to engineer good for generations to come. When the pandemic review the fragility of our global health care system, our team prioritized production of our health care solutions to support customers, and we continued to partner with hospitals and biotech start-ups to develop solutions that leverage our technologies. And the Analog Devices Foundation has enabled us to add both global and local pandemic response efforts. And we believe there is much more ADI can do, leveraging our expertise to preserve and regenerate our precious natural ecosystem. We launched the semiconductor industry's first green bond, and we recently joined the United Nations Global Compact. So in closing, we've not only remained resilient but thrived over our 56-year history. During periods of tremendous change, we have demonstrated an ability to learn and adapt quickly. And I'm more confident than ever about ADI's place in this reordered world. So with that, I'd like to begin the meeting today by introducing the members of our Board of Directors who have joined, who, in addition to myself, are standing for reelection: Ray Stata, Jim Champy, Anantha Chandrakasan, Bruce Evans, Ed Frank, Karen Golz, Laurie Glimcher, Mark Little, Ken Sicchitano and Susie Wee, and they are joining us today on the line. Next, I'd like to introduce our independent auditors, Ernst & Young. We are asking the shareholders today to ratify the selection of Ernst & Young as our auditors for fiscal 2021. And representing E&Y here today is Mary Cochran. And now I'll turn the podium back to Yoon Ah, who will conduct the formal part of the meeting.

Thank you, Vince. We will now take the formal votes on the matters described in our proxy statement. Once all the votes are taken, we will adjourn the meeting and answer any appropriate questions as time permits. Please note that this meeting is being recorded, and the recording will be made available at the same web address after the meeting has concluded. However, no one attending via the webcast or telephone is permitted to make their own recording. As indicated in the Notice of Meeting and proxy statement, we will consider and vote on the following business items: the election of our directors, the compensation of our named executive officers and the ratification of Ernst & Young as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2021. The polls for each matter being voted on at this meeting are now open and will remain open until I announce that the polls are closed. Please note that ballots, proxies, revocations or changes will not be accepted after the polls are closed. I received an affidavit from Broadridge Financial Solutions certifying that the notice of Internet availability of the annual meeting notice and proxy statement were sent to all shareholders of record as of January 4, 2021. I have also been informed by Broadridge that we have a quorum to vote on each proposal at this meeting. I will now present the matters to be voted upon. The first matter for our shareholders to vote on is the election of 11 directors for a term expiring at the 2022 annual meeting. The second matter is a nonbinding say-on-pay vote regarding the compensation of our named executive officers. The final matter is the ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2021. If any shareholder would like to make a comment or ask a question regarding any of the proposals, please submit your comment or question through the web portal. Out of consideration for others, please limit yourself to one question. There being no questions asked regarding these comments. This concludes the business items on the agenda for this annual meeting. Any shareholder who hasn't voted yet or wishes to change his or her vote, may do so by clicking on the voting button on the web portal and following the instructions there. No further action is required of the shareholders who have sent in proxies or voted via telephone or Internet and do not want to change their vote. [Voting]

Now that everyone has had the opportunity to vote, I declare the polls closed. Based on the preliminary results of today's voting, I am pleased to announce that each proposal has received a majority of the votes cast in favor of such proposal. And therefore, each of the nominees has been elected a director, the compensation of our named executive officers has been approved, and Ernst & Young has been ratified as our independent auditor for fiscal year 2021. Following certification of today's voting, we will file with the SEC the final voting results of each proposal, and we'll post the results on our website later this week. There being no further business to come before the meeting, I hereby adjourn the formal part of the meeting. And now we would like to open up the meeting to our shareholders to ask questions or to comment. We can begin with questions that we received in advance of today's meeting. We will then take shareholder questions that are being entered today on the web portal. Please note that we will attempt to answer as many questions as time allows. But in the interest of time, only 2 questions from any single shareholder that are germane to the meeting or the business will be addressed. Any questions that we do not get to will be addressed on the Investor Relations section of our company website or directly addressed with the shareholder using the contact information provided.

The first question that we received is what is the organization doing to address the equity of executive compensation compared to the average income [indiscernible] in the U.S.?

Thank you. Well, let me give you a high-level view first. So this past year has certainly raised awareness for an equitable pay across the globe. And it's an issue facing all industries across the globe. And the pandemic and the global economic recovery has certainly accelerated this inequality as the economy continues to recover in, what I would call, a K-shape with digital and cyber industry strengthening and leaving behind those sectors of the economy that are nondigital or noncyber in nature. So this is clearly an issue that we've all got to focus on. And the vote resources within ADI and across industries and through our communities, really to better understand what we can all do to solve what is really a very, very important social problem. And here at ADI, what I can say is that our people are, and have always been, our most critical resource. And we work very, very hard as a company to attract, nurture and retain our very, very talented employees. And to that end, the median employee salary at ADI has increased by over 20% in the past 3 years.

Second question, what program are in place to develop minorities and women for senior key leadership positions? And what measures have been taken between the diversity and inclusion of [indiscernible] corporate culture and/or a per view core strategic objectives.

Thank you. Well, ADI is a global company. We've got about 16,000 employees across the globe in 30 different countries. And at our core, we've believed always that diversity is part of the root of who we are in terms of how we think strategically and operationally about our business and the markets we serve, to the products that we make and also, of course, the people that we employ. And I firmly believe that diverse voices and perspectives lead to better outcomes. And we're committed to providing all our employees with the freedom and the opportunity and support that they need to make their own unique impacts on this company and its business. And part of this commitment is the equal pay for equal work regardless of gender or race. And I'm glad to say that in the U.S., we're close to attaining our goal for pay parity at this point. So to ensure that we continue to advance the mission to increase diversity across our employees at all levels in the company, we have, for example, changed our recruitment and hiring practices and created customized development programs. And I'd like to share just a few examples with you that are germane to this discussion. Globally, we're moving barriers to hiring by revising recruiting practices, and in the U.S. funding scholarships, for example, with historically black colleges and universities. We're acquiring unconscious bias training for all people managers this year. And as I said before, we're integrating diversity into our business plans and corporate goals. Notably as well, employee resource groups, or ERGs as we call them, are thriving within the company and provide a space for a community and ally-ship. And over 10% of our employees are part of an ERG. Examples of these ERGs. We have an Analog Veterans Network, LGBTQ+ network, we have a women's leadership network and a young professionals network. And during the year past, we launched people of color and allies' network. I'm also delighted to say that this year, we've established a global flagship women's leadership development program that includes learning, mentoring and sponsorship for women in all different stages of their careers. Through our foundation as well, we're increasing access to stem education across the world. And also, in our own backyard here, for example, with the Boston Museum of Science, Engineering is Elementary Program and the Women's Foundation of Boston through scholarships, community partnerships and also career development events. So that gives you a sense for how we are looking at the very, very important task of really improving diversity and inclusion within the company and beyond.

And the next question we received is environmental, social and governance matters have increasingly become more important. So what is ADI's leadership ESG commitment?

Well, I think, globally, some of the most important problems that we're trying to tackle from a social and economic standpoint are addressed within our ESG program, which has strengthened enormously during the past year. And partnerships are obviously key to driving meaningful progress on this front. We can't do it alone. But we are taking a leadership position and collaborating with like-minded partners across diverse sectors, NGOs as well as other corporations across many sectors of business. We've joined the UN Global Compact, which is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative for companies, and it's focused on advancing universal practices for business strategies and operations. We've joined our campaign for the business ambition for 1.5 degree C by committing to set science-based targets that are aligned with limiting global temperature rise and reaching net zero emissions by 2050. I mentioned already, we're prioritizing the building of a more diverse and inclusive organization. As I said, diverse voices and perspectives lead to much better outcomes, increased focus -- and we've really increased focus on this issue during 2020. This year, updated goal is to increase the number of women, and underrepresented populations have been established. And I've talked as well about some of the new committees and organizations within the company that we've already structured. And one other committee I'd like to note is the people of color and allies' network, or POCAN, as we call it. We intend to increase transparency through enhanced disclosure. For example, adopting Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and Task Force in Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, reporting standards starting this spring in our 2020 corporate responsibility report. And we plan this year to publish EEO-1 data, which will be forthcoming. So I think in all the company, we're certainly built for the long term. And I always believe that it's very, very important, and it's our responsibility to leave this world in a better place than we found it across all aspects of the areas that we can influence.

Thank you, Vince. That concludes the Q&A portion of our meeting. As there are no other questions, I will turn this meeting back over to our CEO, Vincent Roche, to deliver his concluding results. Vince?

Thanks, Yoon Ah, and thanks to all of you who have joined us here this morning. I want you to know that the Board and I remain dedicated to working to protect and grow your investment, and we take that responsibility very seriously. It's a privilege to serve as your President and CEO. So with that, I'd like to wish everybody well. I'd like to wish everybody well, please be safe, and hopefully, look forward to seeing you face-to-face next year.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect, and have a nice day.