Latest news with #LoiteringMunitionSystems
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
NRT in talks to raise ₹450-crore Series B round from Cornerstone Ventures, others
NEW DELHI : Bengaluru-based defence startup NewSpace Research and Technologies Pvt. Ltd (NRT) is in talks to raise a ₹450-crore Series B round, led by Cornerstone Ventures, by the end of this year, said three people close to discussions. Founded in April 2017 by Sameer Joshi and Julius Amrit, the startup is currently raising a ₹267-crore bridge round, with about ₹140 crore already subscribed by existing investors. 'Cornerstone Ventures did not participate in the bridge round but plans to come in during the upcoming Series B," said one of the three people. The company has appointed LGT Wealth India, among others, as advisors to help with the fundraising, and the transaction is undergoing due diligence, the people said. 'The company has grown well over the last year as Operation Sindoor gave it an uptick for its Loitering Munition Systems (LMS) drones," said the second of the three people. In Operation Sindoor, India's precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, loitering munitions systems were deployed—with NRT's swarm drone technology reportedly playing a key role. Mint queries sent to NRT, Cornerstone, 360 One Asset, an investor in the company, and LGT Wealth India did not elicit a response. The fundraising comes as India's drone sector enters a high-growth phase. According to a FICCI-EY report, India's drone manufacturing potential is projected to grow from about $4.2 billion by 2025 to $23 billion by 2030, driven largely by defence, agriculture, logistics, and infrastructure demand. The study notes that defence applications—particularly swarm drones and high-altitude, long-endurance platforms—are expected to account for a significant share of this growth as India seeks to become a global drone hub. In expansion mode For 2023-24, NRT's revenue from operations stood at ₹96.25 lakh, down sharply from ₹103.02 crore a year ago. Total revenue for the year stood at ₹5.20 crore, compared to ₹108.15 crore in the previous fiscal. It reported a loss of ₹62.07 crore in 2023-24, against a profit of ₹1.24 crore a year ago, showed company filings with the ministry of corporate affairs, accessed by data platform Tofler. 'They've already closed a significant part of the bridge round, and the Series B will help tide them over until payments from larger defence contracts come through," said the first of the three people cited above. In February 2022, it secured $21 million in a Series A led by Pavestone Technology Fund to support deliveries to the armed forces. This was followed in December 2022 by a ₹26.6 crore (~$3.21 million) pre-Series B, backed by QRG Investments & Holdings, Ahmed Ali Husain Nalwala, and DS Group. This fresh round comes a year after its biggest boost in March 2024, when it raised $52 million in a bridge round—$33 million in equity from investors including Cornerstone Venture Partners, 360 ONE Asset, and Volrado Venture Partners, along with $19 million in debt from State Bank of India's startup hub and Small Industries Development Bank of India—marking one of the largest equity raises for an Indian defence startup. This capital influx has enabled the company to expand production and innovation in swarm drones and related aerospace systems. NRT designs and develops high-altitude, long-endurance drones (HAPS) capable of operating for months at altitudes of 5-20 km, as well as AI-enabled autonomous swarm drone systems for both military and civilian applications. The company collaborates closely with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India's premier military R&D agency. Its top competitors include US-based Anduril Industries and Shield AI, both of which develop AI-enabled autonomous defence systems, and Tata Advanced Systems, a major Indian defence manufacturer with growing capabilities in unmanned platforms. Like NRT, these companies focus on integrating advanced sensors, autonomy, and swarming capabilities for military operations, according to market intelligence platform Tracxn.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Is AeroVironment (AVAV) Stock Soaring Today
Shares of aerospace and defense company AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) jumped 28.4% in the morning session after the company reported fourth-quarter 2025 results that significantly beat analyst expectations and provided strong forward guidance. The company announced fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.61, easily surpassing the forecast of $1.40. Revenue also impressed, coming in at $275.1 million, well ahead of the $242.14 million consensus estimate and marking a 40% increase from the previous year. Investors were further encouraged by the company's record-setting fiscal year, which saw $1.2 billion in total bookings and ended with a funded backlog of $726 million, up 82% year-over-year. Looking ahead, AeroVironment issued an optimistic forecast for fiscal year 2026, projecting revenue between $1.9 billion and $2.0 billion. This strong performance and positive outlook highlight robust demand in the defense technology and unmanned aircraft markets. Is now the time to buy AeroVironment? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. AeroVironment's shares are very volatile and have had 25 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for AeroVironment and indicate this news significantly impacted the market's perception of the business. The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 10 months ago when the stock gained 17.2% on the news that the company announced a 5-year $990 million contract with the U.S. Army to supply Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS). The systems (LUS) will equip soldiers with the next generation of Loitering Munition Systems (also called Switchblade), which are like portable drones capable of targeting and destroying moving targets such as armored vehicles and tanks. Brett Hush, AV's senior vice president and general manager of Loitering Munition Systems noted "This latest contract underscores the unmatched maturity and effectiveness of our system, as well as AV's strategic positioning to rapidly produce and deliver these cutting-edge solutions to operators in the field." Following the announcement, Baird analyst Peter Arment upgraded the stock's rating from Neutral to Buy, adding "This record five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract from the U.S. Army will enable significant inventory levels of the SwitchBlade product." AeroVironment is up 49.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $234.42 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $235.17 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of AeroVironment's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,973. Today's young investors likely haven't read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
24-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
AeroVironment Announces Fiscal 2025 Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Results
ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) ('AeroVironment' or the 'Company') reported today financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and year ended April 30, 2025. 'AeroVironment finished out fiscal year 2025 with a remarkable fourth quarter, which included record revenue, significantly higher profits and a robust backlog nearly double that from fiscal year 2024,' said Wahid Nawabi Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Highlights: Record fourth quarter revenue of $275.1 million and fiscal year revenue of $820.6, up 40% and 14% year-over-year, respectively Fourth quarter and fiscal year net income of $16.7 million and $43.6 million, respectively and record fourth quarter and fiscal year non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $61.6 million and $146.4 million, respectively Record fiscal year bookings of $1.2 billion 'AeroVironment finished out fiscal year 2025 with a remarkable fourth quarter, which included record revenue, significantly higher profits and a robust backlog nearly double that from fiscal year 2024,' said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment chairman, president and chief executive officer. 'The investments we've consistently made in our multi-generational Uncrewed Systems and Loitering Munition Systems products coupled with our strong execution, continue to pay off, as evidenced by significantly higher demand and key strategic wins leading to a record $1.2 billion in total bookings throughout this fiscal year.' Nawabi continued, 'Our acquisition of BlueHalo further advances our leadership position within the defense-technology sector by adding a complementary portfolio of innovative products and capabilities aligned to our customers' highest priorities. With integrated solutions across every domain of modern warfare, enhanced innovation and domestic manufacturing scale, we believe we are well positioned to meet the rising demand across the globe and drive strong growth and value creation in fiscal year 2026 and beyond.' FISCAL 2025 FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was $275.1 million, an increase of 40% as compared to $197.0 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, primarily due to higher product sales of $77.6 million. From a segment standpoint, the year-over-year increase was due to revenue increases in Loitering Munitions Systems ('LMS'), MacCready Works ('MW') and Uncrewed Systems ('UxS') of 87%, 24% and 9%, respectively. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was $100.3 million, an increase of 33% as compared to $75.6 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, reflecting higher product margin of $26.9 million, partially offset by lower service gross margin of $2.3 million. Gross margin in the fiscal 2025 fourth quarter was negatively impacted by an accelerated intangible amortization expense of $4.6 million, resulting from a decrease in forecasted results of the Uncrewed Ground Vehicle ('UGV') business. As a percentage of revenue, gross margin fell to 36% from 38%, primarily due to the UGV accelerated intangible amortization expense. Impairment of goodwill for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was $18.4 million resulting from a decrease in forecasted results of the UGV business unit. As part of the annual goodwill impairment analysis, the carrying value of the UGV reporting unit was determined to be above its fair value and an impairment was recorded. Income from operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was $13.8 million as compared to $5.9 million for the fourth quarter of last fiscal year. The increase year-over-year was primarily due to an increase in gross margin of $24.7 million and a decrease in research and development ('R&D') expense of $10.2 million, partially offset by the UGV goodwill impairment of $18.4 million and an increase in selling, general and administrative ('SG&A') expense of $8.6 million, which includes an increase of $5.2 million of acquisition related expenses resulting from our acquisition of BlueHalo, which closed on May 1, 2025. Other loss, net, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was $0.7 million, as compared to $1.5 million for the fourth quarter of last fiscal year. Provision for income taxes for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was $0.2 million, as compared to benefit from income taxes of $(1.8) million for the fourth quarter of last fiscal year. Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was $16.7 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, as compared to $6.0 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, in the prior-year period, respectively. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was negatively impacted by non-cash UGV goodwill impairment charges of $18.4 million, or $0.65 per diluted share. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was $61.6 million and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1.61, as compared to $22.2 million and $0.43, respectively, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. BACKLOG As of April 30, 2025, funded backlog (defined as remaining performance obligations under firm orders for which funding is currently appropriated to us under a customer contract) was $726.6 million, as compared to $400.2 million as of April 30, 2024. Bookings (defined as firm orders entered into) during the fiscal year ending April 30, 2025 were $1.2 billion. FISCAL 2026 — OUTLOOK FOR THE FULL YEAR For fiscal year 2026 inclusive of the projected results of the BlueHalo acquisition, which closed May 1, 2025, the Company expects revenue of between $1.9 billion and $2.0 billion, non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of between $300 million and $320 million, and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, which excludes amortization of intangible assets, other non-cash purchase accounting expenses and equity securities investments gains or losses, of between $2.80 and $3.00. The Company cannot provide a reconciliation to GAAP net income or earnings per diluted share without unreasonable efforts due to the size and complexity of the BlueHalo acquisition and the inherent difficulty of forecasting the amortization of acquired intangibles and purchase price adjustments. Amortization expense of intangibles acquired in the BlueHalo transaction for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2026, which is expected to be significant, will be materially impacted by the valuation of the intangibles. Due to the size, complexity and timing of the acquisition, the Company has not completed the valuation of the intangibles and cannot estimate the amortization expense with a reasonable degree of accuracy, and the Company believes such reconciliation could imply a degree of precision that might be confusing or misleading to investors. The foregoing estimates are forward-looking and reflect management's view of current and future market conditions, subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including certain assumptions with respect to our ability to efficiently and on a timely basis integrate acquisitions, obtain and retain government contracts, changes in the timing and/or amount of government spending, react to changes in the demand for our products and services, activities of competitors, changes in the regulatory environment, and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Investors are reminded that actual results may differ materially from these estimates and investors should review all risks related to achievement of the guidance reflected under 'forward-looking statements' below and in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CONFERENCE CALL AND PRESENTATION In conjunction with this release, AeroVironment, Inc. will host a conference call today, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at 4:30 pm Eastern Time that will be webcast live. Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president and chief executive officer; Kevin P. McDonnell, executive vice president and chief financial officer and Denise Pacioni, investor relations director, will host the call. Investors may access the call by registering via the following participant registration link up to ten minutes prior to the start time. Participant registration URL: Investors may also listen to the live audio webcast via the Investor Relations page of the AeroVironment, Inc. website, Please allow 15 minutes prior to the call to download and install any necessary audio software. A supplementary investor presentation for the fourth quarter fiscal year 2025 can be accessed at Audio Replay An audio replay of the event will be archived on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at ABOUT AEROVIRONMENT, INC. AeroVironment ('AV') (NASDAQ: AVAV) is a defense technology leader delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. The company develops and deploys autonomous systems, precision strike systems, counter-UAS technologies, space-based platforms, directed energy systems, and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities—built to meet the mission needs of today's warfighter and tomorrow's conflicts. With a national manufacturing footprint and a deep innovation pipeline, AV delivers proven systems and future-defining capabilities with speed, scale, and operational relevance. For more information visit: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words such as 'will,' 'believe,' 'anticipate,' 'expect,' 'estimate,' 'intend,' 'project,' 'plan,' or words or phrases with similar meaning. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of our control, that may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the impact of our ability to successfully close and integrate acquisitions into our operations and avoid disruptions from acquisition transactions that will harm our business; the recording of goodwill and other intangible assets as part of acquisitions that are subject to potential impairments in the future and any realization of such impairments; any actual or threatened disruptions to our relationships with our distributors, suppliers, customers and employees, including shortages in components for our products, including due to restrictions and sanctions imposed by foreign governments; the ability to timely and sufficiently integrate international operations into our ongoing business and compliance programs; reliance on sales to the U.S. government, including uncertainties in classification, pricing or potentially burdensome imposed terms for certain types of government contracts; availability of U.S. government funding for defense procurement and R&D programs; our ability to win U.S. and international government R&D and procurement programs, including foreign military financing aid; changes in the timing and/or amount of government spending, including due to continuing resolutions; adverse impacts of a U.S. government shutdown; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the BlueHalo transaction; our reliance on limited relationships to fund our development of HAPS UAS; our ability to execute contracts for anticipated sales, perform under such contracts and other existing contracts and obtain new contracts; risks related to our international business, including compliance with export control laws; the extensive and increasing regulatory requirements governing our contracts with the U.S. government and international customers; the consequences to our financial position, business and reputation that could result from failing to comply with such regulatory requirements; unexpected technical and marketing difficulties inherent in major research and product development efforts; the impact of potential security and cyber threats or the risk of unauthorized access to and resulting misuse of our, our customers' and/or our suppliers' information and systems; failure to remain a market innovator, to create new market opportunities or to expand into new markets; our ability to increase production capacity to support anticipated growth; unexpected changes in significant operating expenses, including components and raw materials; failure to develop new products or integrate new technology into current products; any increase in litigation activity or unfavorable results in legal proceedings, including pending class actions; or litigation that may arise from our recent acquisition of BlueHalo; our ability to respond and adapt to legal, regulatory and government budgetary changes; our ability to comply with the covenants in our loan documents; and our merger agreement with BlueHalo; our ability to attract and retain skilled employees, including retention of BlueHalo employees; the impact of inflation; and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world; and the failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. NON-GAAP MEASURES In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this earnings release also contains non-GAAP financial measures. See in the financial tables below the calculation of these measures, the reasons why we believe these measures provide useful information to investors, and a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. AeroVironment, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands except share data) April 30, 2025 2024 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 40,862 $ 73,301 Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $203 at April 30, 2025 and $159 at April 30, 2024 101,967 70,305 Unbilled receivables and retentions 290,009 199,474 Inventories, net 144,090 150,168 Income taxes receivable 622 — Prepaid expenses and other current assets 28,966 22,333 Total current assets 606,516 515,581 Long-term investments 31,627 20,960 Property and equipment, net 50,704 46,602 Operating lease right-of-use assets 31,879 30,033 Deferred income taxes 61,460 41,303 Intangibles, net 48,711 72,224 Goodwill 256,781 275,652 Other assets 32,889 13,505 Total assets $ 1,120,567 $ 1,015,860 Liabilities and stockholders' equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 72,462 $ 48,298 Wages and related accruals 44,253 44,312 Customer advances 15,952 11,192 Current portion of long-term debt — 10,000 Current operating lease liabilities 10,479 9,841 Income taxes payable 356 4,162 Other current liabilities 28,659 17,074 Total current liabilities 172,161 144,879 Long-term debt, net of current portion 30,000 17,092 Non-current operating lease liabilities 23,812 22,745 Other non-current liabilities 2,026 2,132 Liability for uncertain tax positions 6,061 5,603 Deferred income taxes — 664 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders' equity: Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value: Authorized shares—10,000,000; none issued or outstanding at April 30, 2025 and April 30, 2024 — — Common stock, $0.0001 par value: Authorized shares—100,000,000 Issued and outstanding shares—28,267,517 shares at April 30, 2025 and 28,134,438 shares at April 30, 2024 4 4 Additional paid-in capital 618,711 597,646 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (6,514 ) (5,592 ) Retained earnings 274,306 230,687 Total stockholders' equity 886,507 822,745 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,120,567 $ 1,015,860 Expand AeroVironment, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In thousands) Year Ended April 30, 2025 2024 2023 Operating activities Net income (loss) $ 43,619 $ 59,666 $ (176,167 ) Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 40,998 35,749 99,999 Impairment of goodwill 18,359 — 156,017 (Gain) loss from equity method investments (4,837 ) 1,674 2,453 Loss on deconsolidation of previously controlled subsidiary — — 189 Amortization of debt issuance costs 1,195 1,009 845 Provision for doubtful accounts 43 4 99 Reserve for inventory excess and obsolescence 2,882 13,937 8,136 Other non-cash expense, net 2,606 1,316 1,995 Non-cash lease expense 10,163 10,400 8,048 Loss on foreign currency transactions 491 22 119 Unrealized (gain) loss on available-for-sale equity securities, net (177 ) 3,945 132 Deferred income taxes (20,157 ) (23,290 ) (18,661 ) Stock-based compensation 21,461 17,069 10,765 Loss on disposal of property and equipment 311 621 1,497 Amortization of debt securities discount — — 125 Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions: Accounts receivable (31,761 ) 19,208 (27,423 ) Unbilled receivables and retentions (90,514 ) (92,850 ) (1,446 ) Inventories 2,966 (23,045 ) (61,846 ) Income taxes receivable (590 ) — 442 Prepaid expenses and other assets (21,010 ) (20,279 ) (3,821 ) Accounts payable 22,331 12,968 12,538 Other liabilities 303 (2,832 ) (2,635 ) Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities (1,318 ) 15,292 11,400 Investing activities Acquisition of property and equipment and capitalized software to be sold (22,816 ) (22,983 ) (14,868 ) Contributions in equity method investments (5,674 ) (3,074 ) (5,778 ) Equity security investments — — (5,100 ) Business acquisitions, net of cash acquired — (24,157 ) (5,105 ) Acquisition of intangibles — (1,500 ) — Proceeds from deconsolidation of previously controlled subsidiary, net of cash deconsolidated — — (635 ) Redemptions of available-for-sale investments — — 26,059 Purchase of available-for-sale investments — — (1,326 ) Other — — (250 ) Net cash used in investing activities (28,490 ) (51,714 ) (7,003 ) Financing activities Proceeds from revolving credit facility 40,000 — — Principal payments of term loan (28,000 ) (107,000 ) (55,000 ) Principal payments of revolver (10,000 ) — — Holdback and retention payments for business acquisition (390 ) (500 ) — Payment of contingent consideration — (2,132 ) — Proceeds from shares issued, net of issuance costs — 88,437 104,649 Payment of debt issuance costs (1,151 ) (37 ) — Payment of equity issuance costs (2,896 ) — — Tax withholding payment related to net settlement of equity awards (4,147 ) (1,596 ) (1,065 ) Employee stock purchase plan contributions 1,910 — — Exercise of stock options 1,841 — 2,278 Other (23 ) (24 ) (28 ) Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (2,856 ) (22,852 ) 50,834 Effects of currency translation on cash and cash equivalents 225 (284 ) 397 Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (32,439 ) (59,558 ) 55,628 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 73,301 132,859 77,231 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 40,862 $ 73,301 $ 132,859 Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information Cash paid, net during the period for: Income taxes $ 24,631 $ 20,438 $ 2,911 Interest $ 1,757 $ 6,823 $ 10,229 Non-cash activities Issuance of common stock for business acquisition $ — $ 109,820 $ — Unrealized gain on available-for-sale investments, net of deferred tax expense of $0 for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2023 $ — $ — $ 53 Change in foreign currency translation adjustments $ (922 ) $ (1,140 ) $ 2,009 Issuances of inventory to property and equipment, ISR in-service assets $ — $ — $ 6,306 Acquisitions of property and equipment included in accounts payable $ 2,204 $ 986 $ 721 Expand Reconciliation of non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Year Ended Year Ended (in millions) April 30, 2025 April 30, 2024 April 30, 2025 April 30, 2024 Net income $ 16.7 $ 6.0 $ 43.6 $ 59.7 Interest expense, net 1.0 0.1 2.2 4.2 Provision for (benefit from) income taxes 0.2 (1.8 ) 0.9 1.9 Depreciation and amortization 13.9 10.9 41.0 35.7 EBITDA (non-GAAP) 31.8 15.2 87.7 101.5 Stock-based compensation 5.9 4.6 21.5 17.1 Equity method and equity securities investments activity, net (2.8 ) 1.4 (5.0 ) 5.6 Amortization of cloud computing arrangement implementation 0.6 0.6 2.4 1.5 Goodwill impairment 18.4 — 18.4 — Legal accrual 2.1 — 2.1 — Acquisition-related expenses 5.6 0.4 19.3 2.1 Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) $ 61.6 $ 22.2 $ 146.4 $ 127.8 Expand Statement Regarding Non-GAAP Measures The non-GAAP measures set forth above should be considered in addition to, and not as a replacement for or superior to, the comparable GAAP measures, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Management believes that these measures provide useful information to investors by offering additional ways of viewing our results that, when reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measures, help our investors to understand the long-term profitability trends of our business and compare our profitability to prior and future periods and to our peers. In addition, management uses these non-GAAP measures to evaluate our operating and financial performance. Non-GAAP Earnings per Diluted Share We exclude acquisition-related expenses, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, equity method investment gains and losses, equity securities investments gains or losses, goodwill impairment and one-time non-operating items because we believe this facilitates more consistent comparisons of operating results over time between our newly acquired and existing businesses, and with our peer companies. We believe, however, that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets contribute to revenue generation and that intangible asset amortization will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized. Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income before interest income, interest expense, income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation and amortization, adjusted for the impact of certain other non-cash items, including amortization of implementation of cloud computing arrangements, stock-based compensation, acquisition related expenses, equity method investment gains or losses, equity securities investments gains or losses, goodwill impairment and one-time non-operating gains or losses. We present Adjusted EBITDA, which is not a recognized financial measure under U.S. GAAP, because we believe it is frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry. We believe this facilitates more consistent comparisons of operating results over time between our newly acquired and existing businesses, and with our peer companies. We believe, however, that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets contribute to revenue generation, intangible asset amortization will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized and that interest and income tax expenses will recur in future periods. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry or across different industries.
