AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES INC

Previous wording

We develop and provide solutions for global enterprises to build, secure and accelerate their applications and digital experiences through our massively distributed global network, which underpins our security, delivery and compute solutions, and is central to our financial success. The key factors that influence our financial success are our ability to build on recurring revenue commitments, increase traffic on our network, continue to develop, scale and successfully bring to market our compute platform and compute-to-edge solutions that meet the needs of professional users and enterprises, including with respect to reliability, effectively manage the prices we charge for our solutions, develop new products and appropriately manage our capital spending and other expenses. The purpose of this discussion and analysis section is to provide material information relevant to an assessment of our financial condition and results of operations from management’s perspective, including to describe and explain key trends, events and other factors that impacted our reported results and that are likely to impact our future performance.

Current wording

We develop and provide solutions for global enterprises to build, secure and accelerate their applications and digital experiences through our massively distributed global infrastructure, which underpins our security, delivery and cloud computing solutions, and is central to our financial success. The key factors that influence our financial success are our ability to build on recurring revenue commitments across our security, delivery and cloud computing product portfolios, increase traffic on our network, continue to develop, scale and successfully bring to market our compute platform, including AIC and compute-to-edge solutions, that meet the needs of professional users and enterprises, including with respect to reliability, effectively manage the prices we charge for our solutions considering the market dynamics on our cost structure driven by hyperscalers, continuously develop new and existing products and appropriately manage our capital spending and other operational expenses. The purpose of this discussion and analysis section is to provide material information relevant to an assessment of our financial condition and results of operations from management’s perspective, including to describe and explain key trends, events and other factors that impacted our reported results and that are likely to impact our future performance.

Previous wording

Our revenue is also impacted by customer renewals and the pricing for such renewals, the rate of adoption and timing of customer offerings, variability of one-time events, usage of compute services and the amount of traffic we serve on our network. Geopolitical, economic and other developments that impact our customers' businesses can also impact our ability to attract new customers or continue to cross-sell additional services to existing customers and traffic levels for customers with variable usage. Over the longer term, our ability to expand our product portfolio and to effectively manage the prices we charge for our solutions are key factors impacting our revenue growth.

Current wording

We primarily derive revenue from the sale of services to customers pursuant to contracts having terms of one year or longer, which allows us to have a consistent and predictable base level of revenue. Services included in our contracts consist of security solutions, the delivery of content, applications and software over the internet, cloud computing solutions and professional services. In addition to a base level of revenue, we are also dependent on our ability to increase our product offerings and to cross-sell additional services to our new and existing customers, particularly for our security and cloud computing solutions portfolios. Our revenue is also impacted by customer renewals and the pricing for such renewals, the rate of adoption and timing of customer offerings, variability of one-time events, usage of cloud computing services and the amount of traffic we serve on our network. Geopolitical, economic and other developments that impact our customers' businesses can also impact our ability to attract new customers or continue to cross-sell additional services to existing customers and traffic levels for customers with variable usage. Over the longer term, our ability to continually develop and expand our product portfolio, to successfully bring those products to market and to effectively manage the prices we charge for our solutions considering the market dynamics on our cost structure driven by hyperscalers, are key factors impacting our revenue growth.

Previous wording

•Increased sales of our security solutions, led by application security solutions and segmentation solutions from our acquisition of Guardicore Ltd., and increased sales of our compute solutions, attributable to our acquisition of Linode Limited Liability Company ("Linode") and enhanced services on our compute platform, have made a significant contribution to revenue growth. Our security and compute solutions represented over two-thirds of our total revenue during 2024. We plan to continue to invest in these areas with a focus on further advancing our product portfolios and sales capabilities.

Current wording

•Increased sales of our security solutions, led by application security solutions and our microsegmentation solutions, and increased sales of our cloud computing solutions, attributable to enhanced services on our compute platform, and growth in our Cloud Infrastructure Services, have made a significant contribution to revenue growth. Our security and cloud computing solutions continue to contribute to a large portion of revenue. We plan to continue to invest in these areas with a focus on higher growth security products and Cloud Infrastructure Services to further advance our product portfolios and sales capabilities.

Previous wording

•Traffic on our network has moderated as compared to prior years. We, and the industry more broadly, are seeing growth at a slower pace than we have experienced in the past. In particular, we are seeing traffic growth slowing in verticals such as media and gaming, as these customers optimize their traffic and manage through underlying business challenges at a time of global economic and geopolitical headwinds. For instance, a large social media customer has taken steps to lower costs and reduce reliance on U.S. providers by optimizing its platform, including using a “do-it-yourself” component, which has reduced traffic on our network and negatively impacted our revenue in 2024. We expect this trend to continue in 2025. If our customers' businesses continue to be impacted by economic and geopolitical headwinds, they may reduce their spending, optimize their traffic or may increase their reliance on “do-it-yourself” solutions, which may negatively impact traffic on our network and revenue.

Current wording

•Traffic growth on our network has improved, but remains moderated as compared to prior years. We, and the industry more broadly, are seeing growth at a slower pace than we have experienced in the past. In particular, customers in verticals such as media and gaming have optimized their traffic to manage through underlying business challenges at a time of global macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds. Some of our customers' businesses have been impacted by these headwinds, and as a result, they may continue to reduce their spending or optimize their traffic, which would reduce traffic on our network and revenue. However, we are seeing incremental traffic from contracts acquired as part of our recent asset acquisitions. We expect these traffic growth trends to continue in 2026.

Previous wording

•The prices paid by some of our delivery and security customers have declined in recent years due to competition and contract renewals, which negatively impacts our revenue growth rates. We have been able to mitigate some of the negative impacts to our revenue growth rates by upselling incremental solutions to our existing customers. We continue to take steps upon contract renewals to sign customers to multi-year contracts and to optimize how we charge certain high-volume traffic customers to maintain alignment between customer traffic volumes and unit pricing.

Current wording

•The prices paid by some of our delivery and security customers have declined in recent years at contract renewal due to competition, which negatively impacts our revenue growth rates. We have been able to mitigate some of the negative impacts to our revenue growth rates by upselling incremental solutions to our existing customers. We continue to take steps upon contract renewals to sign customers to multi-year contracts and to optimize how we charge customers to maintain alignment between customer traffic volumes, significant cost increases we have experienced due to market dynamics driven by hyperscalers and unit pricing.

Previous wording

•Revenue from our international operations continues to grow, particularly from new customer acquisition and cross-selling of incremental solutions. Because we publicly report in U.S. dollars, our reported revenue results are negatively impacted when the dollar strengthens and benefit when the dollar weakens.

Current wording

•Revenue from our international operations continues to grow, particularly from new customer acquisition and cross-selling of incremental solutions. Because we publicly report in U.S. dollars, our reported revenue results are negatively impacted when the U.S. dollar strengthens and benefit when the U.S. dollar weakens.

Previous wording

•Co-location costs are a significant portion of our cost of revenue. As we continue to build out our new compute locations to provide us with the ability to scale our platform, we have entered into, and expect to continue to enter into, longer term leases that include certain financial commitments in order to achieve more favorable unit economics. The costs of the financial commitments are expensed ratably over the lease term, and, as a result, in some cases, we are incurring costs in advance of these compute locations being fully utilized. We continue to improve our internal-use software and remain disciplined in managing our hardware deployments, which enables us to use servers more efficiently. We will continue to effectively manage our co-location costs.

Current wording

•Co-location costs are a significant portion of our cost of revenue. As we continue to build out our new compute locations to provide us with the ability to scale our platform, we have experienced a significant increase in our co-location costs due to the market dynamics driven by the hyperscalers. We have entered into, and expect to continue to enter into, longer term leases that include certain financial commitments. The costs of the financial commitments are expensed ratably over the lease term, and, as a result, in some cases, we are incurring costs in advance of these compute locations being fully utilized. We continue to improve our internal-use software and remain disciplined in managing our hardware deployments, which enables us to use servers more efficiently. We will need to continue to effectively manage our co-location costs to maintain or improve current levels of profitability.

Previous wording

•Network bandwidth costs are also a significant portion of our cost of revenue. Historically, we have been able to mitigate increases in these costs through investment in internal-use software development to improve the performance and efficiency of our network. We will continue to effectively manage our bandwidth costs.

Current wording

•Network bandwidth costs are also a significant portion of our cost of revenue. We have been able to manage these costs through investment in internal-use software development to improve the performance and efficiency of our network and, more recently, improved pricing on contract renewals with our bandwidth providers. We will need to continue to focus on effectively managing our bandwidth costs to maintain or improve current levels of profitability.

Previous wording

•Network build-out and supporting service costs represent another significant portion of our cost of revenue. These costs include maintenance and supporting services incurred as we continue to build out our compute platform and maintain our global network, and costs of third-party cloud providers used for some of our operations. We have seen these costs increase in recent years as a result of our network expansion, and particularly the build out of our compute platform. We previously experienced increased costs from third-party cloud providers, but continue to mitigate those costs by migrating to our own compute solutions and working to optimize third-party cloud spend. We will continue to effectively manage our network build-out and supporting service costs and continue to migrate third-party cloud services to our compute platform in an effort to manage costs.

Current wording

•Network build-out and supporting service costs represent another significant portion of our cost of revenue. These costs include maintenance and supporting services, as well as partner program costs, incurred as we continue to build out our compute platform and maintain our global network, and costs of third-party cloud providers used for some of our operations. We have seen some of these costs increase in recent years as a result of our network expansion, and particularly the build out of our compute platform. While we have previously experienced increased costs from third-party cloud providers, we have been able to manage those costs by migrating to our own compute solutions. We will need to continue to effectively manage our network build-out and supporting service costs in an effort to control costs.

Previous wording

•Our employees are core to the operations of our business, and payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, is our largest expense. It is important to the success of operations that we offer competitive compensation packages. However, we are focused on remaining disciplined in allocating our resources to support our faster growing security and compute solutions, including maintaining operational efficiencies to mitigate the rising cost of talent. In 2023 we redesigned one of our non-executive short-term incentive compensation programs by shifting certain employees from a cash-based to stock-based program, and in 2024 we transitioned more employees to this program. During 2023, we also introduced a non-executive incentive program tied to our initiative to migrate certain third-party cloud services onto Akamai's platform. These programs were designed to better align employee incentives with the interests of our stockholders, which increased our stock-based compensation.

Current wording

•Our employees are core to the operations of our business, and payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, is our largest expense. It is important to the success of our operations that we offer competitive compensation packages. However, we are focused on remaining disciplined in allocating our resources to support our faster growing security and cloud computing solutions, including maintaining operational efficiencies to mitigate the rising cost of talent. Over the past few years, we redesigned some of our compensation programs by shifting certain plans from a cash-based to stock-based program, such as our employer 401(k) match program in 2025. These programs are designed to better align employee incentives with the interests of our stockholders, which has increased our stock-based compensation.

Previous wording

•Depreciation expense related to our network equipment also contributes to our overall expense levels. In recent years, we have invested in our network, particularly as part of building out our compute infrastructure, which increased our capital expenditures and resulting depreciation expense. We are also experiencing an increase in certain server component costs that support the continued build out of our compute platform. We plan to continue to make investments in capital expenditures, including to support recently acquired contracts, and focus investments on our faster growing compute solutions, including support for a new enterprise compute customer.

Current wording

•Depreciation expense related to our network equipment also contributes to our overall expense levels. In recent years, we have invested in our network, particularly as part of building out our compute infrastructure, which increased our capital expenditures and resulting depreciation expense. We plan to continue investing in our faster growing Cloud Infrastructure Services, including support for a new enterprise cloud computing customer and our new AIC. With the build out of our compute platform, we are experiencing a significant increase in server and memory costs due to market dynamics driven by hyperscalers. These cost increases will increase our future capital expenditures and resulting depreciation expense.

Previous wording

•Growth in our international operations incrementally increases our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations. Because we publicly report in U.S. dollars, our expenses are positively impacted when the dollar strengthens and are negatively impacted when the dollar weakens.

Current wording

•Growth in our international operations incrementally increases our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations. Because we publicly report in U.S. dollars, our expenses are positively impacted when the U.S. dollar strengthens and are negatively impacted when the U.S. dollar weakens.

Previous wording

We acquired certain customer contracts from Edgio, Inc. ("Edgio") in December 2024 as part of a bankruptcy process. This acquisition is intended to further strengthen our existing delivery and other businesses as we transition the acquired customers to our platform and offer our portfolio of other services to them. We also acquired Noname Gate Ltd. ("Noname Security") in June 2024. Noname Security is intended to expand our existing API Security offering by providing more flexible deployment options, extensive vendor integrations and enhanced attack analysis. We believe this acquisition will accelerate our ability to meet increasing customer and market demand. As part of the acquisition, we integrated approximately 200 Noname Security employees primarily within sales and marketing and research and development.

Current wording

We acquired certain customer contracts from Edgio, Inc. ("Edgio") in December 2024 as part of a bankruptcy process. This acquisition is intended to further strengthen our existing delivery and other businesses as we transition the acquired customers to our platform and offer our portfolio of other services to them. We also acquired Noname Security in June 2024. Noname Security is intended to expand our existing API Security offering by providing more flexible deployment options, extensive vendor integrations and enhanced attack analysis. We believe this acquisition will accelerate our ability to meet increasing customer and market demand.

Previous wording

We acquired certain customer contracts from Lumen Technologies, Inc. ("Lumen") in October 2023 and from StackPath, LLC ("StackPath") in August 2023. These acquisitions are intended to further strengthen our existing delivery and other businesses as we transition the acquired customers to our platform and offer our portfolio of other services to them. We also acquired Neosec, Inc ("Neosec") in May 2023, which is intended to complement our application and API security portfolio by extending its visibility into the rapidly growing API threat landscape, and StorageOS, Inc. ("StorageOS"), also known as Ondat, in March 2023, which is intended to strengthen our compute offerings. Neither Neosec or Ondat included a significant number of employees when we completed the acquisitions.

Current wording

We acquired certain customer contracts from Lumen Technologies, Inc. ("Lumen") in October 2023 and from StackPath, LLC ("StackPath") in August 2023. These acquisitions are intended to further strengthen our existing delivery and other businesses as we transition the acquired customers to our platform and offer our portfolio of other services to them. We also acquired Neosec in May 2023, which is intended to complement our application and API security portfolio by extending its visibility into the rapidly growing API threat landscape, and StorageOS, Inc. ("StorageOS"), also known as Ondat, in March 2023, which is intended to strengthen our compute offerings.

Previous wording

Global macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions continue to impact our customers, as well as our business and revenue growth rates. We, along with our customers, continue to manage through an uncertain period of fluctuating inflation, regulations that may negatively impact business, economic and political uncertainty, uncertain energy supplies, heightened geopolitical tensions and conflict, potential for supply chain disruptions, changes in U.S. and international tax laws, changes in tariffs, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and elevated interest rates. To the extent these macroeconomic conditions continue, we expect that it may adversely affect our business, operations and financial results.

Current wording

Global macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions continue to impact our customers, as well as our business and revenue growth rates. We, along with our customers, continue to manage through an uncertain period of fluctuating inflation, regulatory policies and resources that may negatively impact business, economic and political uncertainty, decreased consumer confidence and pressure on prices during contract renewals, uncertain energy supplies, heightened geopolitical tensions and conflict, potential for supply chain disruptions, changes in legislation and regulations, including U.S. and international tax laws, volatility and increasing tensions related to changing trade policies, including announced or expected tariffs, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and elevated interest rates. To the extent these macroeconomic conditions continue, the impact may adversely affect our business, operations and financial results.

Previous wording

The increases in our revenue in 2024 as compared to 2023, and 2023 as compared to 2022, was primarily the result of continued growth in sales of our security and compute solutions and the acquisition of Linode in March 2022 which contributed to the growth in our compute solutions. These increases were partially offset by a decline in revenue from our delivery solutions due to impacts from economic and geopolitical uncertainty our customers are facing which resulted in slower traffic growth rates and the continued downward pricing of renewals.

Current wording

The increases in our revenue in 2025 as compared to 2024, and 2024 as compared to 2023, were primarily the result of continued growth in sales of our security and cloud computing solutions, partially offset by a decline in revenue from our delivery solutions due to downward pricing of renewals.

Previous wording

The increase in security solutions revenue for 2024 as compared to 2023, and 2023 as compared to 2022, was due to growth in a number of key products in our security solutions portfolio, including our segmentation and web application solutions, and the growth in certain products that combine elements of our security and delivery offerings to provide robust security solutions.

Current wording

The increases in security solutions revenue for 2025 as compared to 2024, and 2024 as compared to 2023, were due to growth of sales in key products in our security solutions portfolio, including our API security, web application and Guardicore segmentation solutions.

Previous wording

The decrease in delivery solutions revenue for 2024 as compared to 2023, and 2023 as compared to 2022, was due to our customers' economic and geopolitical headwinds which resulted in slower traffic growth rates and the continued downward pricing of renewals. In 2024, these headwinds caused a large social media customer to increase their focus on cost optimization and "do-it-yourself" solutions, which additionally reduced traffic on our network and had a negative impact on our delivery revenue.

Current wording

The decreases in delivery solutions revenue for 2025 as compared to 2024, and 2024 as compared to 2023, were due to downward pricing of contract renewals. Additionally, we believe macroeconomic headwinds are causing some customers to increase their focus on cost optimization, which negatively impacted traffic on our network and had a negative impact on delivery revenue. In 2024, these headwinds caused a large social media customer to increase their focus on cost optimization and "do-it-yourself" solutions, which additionally reduced traffic on our network. The decrease for 2025 as compared to 2024 was partially offset by incremental revenue from contracts acquired as part of our asset acquisitions, such as Edgio in December 2024.

Previous wording

The increase in compute solutions revenue in 2024 as compared to 2023, and 2023 as compared to 2022, was due to growth in sales of compute products, including cloud optimization solutions to new and existing customers and through the acquisition of Linode in the first quarter of 2022. The increase in compute solutions revenue in 2023 as compared to 2022 was also due to a price increase for some of our compute solutions in 2023.

Current wording

The increase in cloud computing solutions revenue in 2025 as compared to 2024 was due to growth in Cloud Infrastructure Services, which includes compute, storage, cloud-native and networking solutions, along with the Akamai EdgeWorkers serverless products and partner solutions running on our compute platform. The increase in cloud computing revenue in 2024 as compared to 2023 was due to growth in sales of Cloud Infrastructure Services, as well as cloud optimization solutions, to new and existing customers.

Previous wording

For each of the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, no single country outside of the U.S. accounted for 10% or more of revenue. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates negatively impacted our revenue by $22.5 million in 2024 as compared to 2023, and negatively impacted our revenue by $13.9 million in 2023 as compared to 2022.

Current wording

For each of the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, no single country outside of the U.S. accounted for 10% or more of revenue. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates positively impacted our revenue by $13.7 million in 2025 as compared to 2024, and negatively impacted our revenue by $22.5 million in 2024 as compared to 2023.

Previous wording

•co-location fees as a result of investment in our network, particularly as we are building out our compute platform to support future growth and scalability;

Current wording

•co-location costs and depreciation of network equipment as a result of investment in our network, particularly as we build out our compute platform to support future growth and scalability;

Previous wording

•co-location fees and depreciation of network equipment as a result of investment in our network, particularly as we are building out our compute platform to support future growth and scalability; and

Current wording

•co-location costs and depreciation of network equipment as a result of investment in our network, particularly as we are building out our compute platform to support future growth and scalability; and

Previous wording

•payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation as a result of headcount growth from our strategic initiatives and annual merit increases. Additionally, the increase in stock-based compensation programs from cash-based to stock-based for certain employees and the timing of our performance-based equity award grants.

Current wording

•payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, as a result of headcount growth from our strategic initiatives and annual merit increases, as well as the shift in timing of our performance-based compensation. Additionally, stock-based compensation increased due to a shift in our compensation programs from cash-based to stock-based for certain employees.

Previous wording

The increase in cost of revenue for 2024 as compared to 2023 was partially offset by lower network build-out and supporting services due to a decrease in third-party cloud costs as we have been migrating third-party cloud services onto our own compute platform and working to optimize third-party cloud spending.

Current wording

The increase in cost of revenue for 2024 as compared to 2023 was partially offset by lower network build-out and supporting services due to a decrease in third-party cloud costs as we have migrated third-party cloud services onto our own compute platform and have focused on optimizing third-party cloud spending.

Previous wording

During 2025, we expect our cost of revenue to increase as compared to 2024, in particular our co-location costs and depreciation of network equipment, due to investments in our network to support the continued growth of our compute solutions.

Current wording

During 2026, we expect our cost of revenue to increase as compared to 2025. In particular, our co-location costs, bandwidth fees, depreciation of network equipment and amortization of internal-use software is expected to increase as we continue to invest in our compute platform to provide us the ability to scale. Due to the market dynamics driven by the hyperscalers, we are also experiencing price increases for co-location, server and memory costs, which will increase our co-location costs and depreciation of network equipment. Additionally, we expect network build-out and supporting services to increase due to our partner programs to support the growth of our cloud computing solutions.

Previous wording

The increase in research and development expenses for 2023 as compared to 2022 was due to higher payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, as a result of headcount growth from our strategic initiatives, annual merit increases, the increased expected achievement of our performance-based compensation plans, a new compensation program tied to our initiative to migrate third-party cloud services onto our compute platform and higher average equity awards to employees driven by the talent market. Additionally, stock-based compensation increased due to the shift in one of our compensation programs from cash-based to stock-based. These increases were partially offset by an increase in capitalized salaries and related costs as we focused resources to work on development activities related to our platform.

Current wording

The increase in research and development expenses for 2025 as compared to 2024 was primarily due to higher payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, as a result of headcount growth from our strategic initiatives, annual merit increases and the increased achievement of our performance-based compensation plans. Additionally, stock-based compensation increased due to a shift in our employer 401(k) match program from cash-based to stock-based, effective in 2025, which partially offset the increase in payroll and related costs.

Previous wording

The increase in research and development expenses for 2024 as compared to 2023 was primarily due to higher payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, as a result of headcount growth from our strategic initiatives and annual merit increases. Additionally, the increase in stock-based compensation was a result of the timing of our performance-based equity award grants. These increases were partially offset by increases in capitalized salaries and related costs as we had additional resources focused on development activities related to our platform and solutions.

Current wording

The increase in research and development expenses for 2024 as compared to 2023 was primarily due to higher payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, as a result of headcount growth from our strategic initiatives and annual merit increases, as well as the shift in timing of our performance-based compensation. These increases were partially offset by increases in capitalized salaries and related costs as we had additional resources focused on development activities related to our platform and solutions.

Previous wording

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred, other than certain internal-use software development costs eligible for capitalization. Capitalized development costs consist of payroll and related costs for personnel and external consulting expenses involved in the development of internal-use software used to deliver our services and operate our network. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, we capitalized $99.6 million, $77.0 million and $30.0 million, respectively, of stock-based compensation. These capitalized internal-use software development costs are amortized to cost of revenue over their estimated useful lives, ranging from two to ten years based on the software developed and its expected useful life.

Current wording

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred, other than certain internal-use software development costs eligible for capitalization. Capitalized development costs consist of payroll and related costs for personnel and external consulting expenses involved in the development of internal-use software used to deliver our services and operate our network. For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, we capitalized $114.8 million, $99.6 million and $77.0 million, respectively, of stock-based compensation. These capitalized internal-use software development costs are amortized to cost of revenue over their estimated useful lives, ranging from two to ten years based on the software developed and its expected useful life.

Previous wording

We expect our research and development costs to increase in 2025, in particular payroll and related costs, in support of our faster growing security and compute solutions.

Current wording

We expect our research and development costs to increase in 2026, in particular payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, in support of our faster growing security and cloud computing solutions. We also expect stock-based compensation to increase in 2026 as a result of a new stock-based retirement program effective in 2026. However, we plan to continue to carefully manage costs in an effort to manage our operating margins.

Previous wording

The increase in sales and marketing expenses for 2024 as compared to 2023 was due to higher payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation as a result of annual merit increases and employees acquired through the Noname Security acquisition. Additionally, the increase in stock-based compensation was a result of the timing of our performance-based equity award grants These increases were partially offset by a reduction in marketing programs and related costs as a result of the timing of events and advertising campaigns.

Current wording

The increase in sales and marketing expenses for 2024 as compared to 2023 was due to higher payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, as a result of annual merit increases and employees acquired through the Noname Security acquisition, as well as the shift in timing of our performance-based compensation. These increases were partially offset by a reduction in marketing programs and related costs as a result of the timing of events and advertising campaigns.

Previous wording

The increase in general and administrative expenses for 2024 as compared to 2023 was primarily due to higher payroll and related costs as a result of annual merit increases, an increase in stock-based compensation as a result of the timing of our performance-based equity award grants and an increase in other expenses related to professional service fees to support our business. These increases were partially offset by decreased facilities-related costs as we exited certain facilities in connection with our FlexBase program.

Current wording

The increase in general and administrative expenses for 2024 as compared to 2023 was primarily due to higher payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, as a result of annual merit increases and the shift in timing of our performance-based compensation. Additionally, other expenses increased due to professional service fees to support our business. These increases were partially offset by decreased facilities-related costs as we exited certain facilities in connection with our FlexBase program.

Previous wording

During 2025, we expect our general and administrative expenses to increase as compared to 2024, to support the operations of the business.

Current wording

During 2026, we expect our general and administrative expenses to increase as compared to 2025, to support the operations of the business. In particular, we expect stock-based compensation to increase in 2026 as a result of a new stock-based retirement program effective in 2026. However, we plan to continue to carefully manage costs in an effort to manage our operating margins.

Previous wording

The increase in amortization of acquired intangible assets for 2024 as compared to 2023, and 2023 as compared to 2022, was the result of amortization of acquired intangible assets related to our recent acquisitions. Based on acquired intangible assets as of December 31, 2024, future amortization is expected to be $111.5 million, $104.1 million, $89.2 million, $81.9 million and $76.0 million for the years ending December 31, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029, respectively.

Current wording

The increase in amortization of acquired intangible assets for 2025 as compared to 2024, and 2024 as compared to 2023, was the result of amortization of acquired intangible assets related to our recent acquisitions. Based on acquired intangible assets as of December 31, 2025, future amortization is expected to be $100.2 million, $85.6 million, $79.0 million, $74.0 million and $66.7 million for the years ending December 31, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030, respectively.

Previous wording

The restructuring charge in 2024 was driven by management's commitment to an action with the primary intent to redeploy resources to support our strategic investments and as a result of our completed acquisitions. The restructuring charge included severance and related expenses for certain headcount reductions, as well as impairments of acquired intangible assets and capitalized internal-use software. We do not expect to incur material additional charges related to these actions.

Current wording

The restructuring charge in 2024 was primarily driven by management's commitment to an action with the primary intent to redeploy resources to support our strategic investments and as a result of our completed acquisitions. The restructuring charge included severance and related expenses for certain headcount reductions, as well as impairments of acquired intangible assets and capitalized internal-use software. We do not expect to incur material additional charges related to this action.

Previous wording

The restructuring charge in 2023 was primarily driven by our FlexBase program as we exited certain facilities that were no longer needed, resulting in impairments of right-of-use-assets and leasehold improvements. We do not expect to incur material additional charges related to the FlexBase program. Additionally, the restructuring charge in 2023 included the result of certain actions initiated in the first quarter of 2023. Management's commitment to an action to restructure certain parts of the company was to enable the prioritization of investments in the fastest growing areas of the business. The restructuring charge for this action includes severance and related expenses for certain headcount reductions. We do not expect to incur material additional charges related to this action.

Current wording

The restructuring charge in 2023 was primarily driven by our FlexBase program as we exited certain facilities that were no longer needed, resulting in impairments of right-of-use-assets and leasehold improvements. We do not expect to incur material additional charges related to the FlexBase program. Additionally, the restructuring charge in 2023 included the result of certain actions initiated in the first quarter of 2023. Management's commitment to an action to restructure certain parts of the company was to enable the prioritization of investments in the fastest growing areas of the business. The restructuring charge for this action includes severance and related expenses for certain headcount reductions. We do not expect to incur material additional charges related to these actions.

Previous wording

Interest and marketable securities income, net primarily consists of interest earned on invested cash and marketable securities balances and income and losses on mutual funds that are associated with our employee non-qualified deferred compensation plan. The increase to interest and marketable securities income, net for 2024 as compared to 2023, and 2023 as compared to 2022, was the result of increased cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances received from our August 2023 issuance of $1,265.0 million in par value of convertible senior notes due 2029 and higher interest rates, as well as increased gains associated with the non-qualified deferred compensation plan.

Current wording

Interest and marketable securities income, net primarily consists of interest earned on invested cash and marketable securities balances and income and losses on mutual funds that are associated with our employee non-qualified deferred compensation plan. The decrease to interest and marketable securities income, net for 2025 as compared to 2024, was due to a reduction of cash and marketable securities balances and re-positioning our investments to cash equivalents, yielding lower interest, in 2025 in order to repay our $1,150.0 million convertible senior notes that became due in May 2025. This decrease was partially offset by interest earned as a result of purchases of new marketable securities with the proceeds of our convertible senior notes that were issued in May 2025. The increase to interest and marketable securities income, net for 2024 as compared to 2023, was the result of increased cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances received from our August 2023 issuance of $1,265.0 million in par value of convertible senior notes due 2029 and higher interest rates, as well as increased gains associated with the non-qualified deferred compensation plan.

Previous wording

Interest expense is related to our debt transactions, which are described in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K. The increase to interest expense for 2024 as compared to 2023, and 2023 as compared to 2022, was primarily due to the August 2023 issuance of $1,265.0 million in par value of convertible senior notes due 2029.

Current wording

Interest expense is related to our debt transactions, which are described in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K. The increase to interest expense for 2025 as compared to 2024 was primarily due to the May 2025 issuance of $1,725.0 million in par value of convertible senior notes due 2033. The increase to interest expense for 2024 as compared to 2023 was primarily due to the August 2023 issuance of $1,265.0 million in par value of convertible senior notes due 2029.

Previous wording

Other expense, net primarily represents net foreign exchange gains and losses mainly due to foreign exchange rate fluctuations on the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities that are not denominated in the functional currency as well as other non-operating expense and income items. Other expense, net for 2024 and 2022 also includes impairments of $5.1 million and $8.9 million, respectively, from cost method investments. Other expense, net may fluctuate in the future based on changes in foreign currency exchange rates or other events.

Current wording

Other expense, net primarily represents net foreign exchange gains and losses mainly due to foreign exchange rate fluctuations on the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities that are not denominated in the functional currency as well as other non-operating expense and income items. Other expense, net for 2025 and 2024 also includes a net gain of $9.4 million and impairments of $5.1 million, respectively, from cost method investments. Other expense, net may fluctuate in the future based on changes in foreign currency exchange rates or other events.

Previous wording

The decrease in the provision for income taxes for 2023 as compared to 2022 was mainly due to a reduction in intercompany sales of intellectual property and the tax on global intangible low-taxed income. These items were partially offset by a decrease in the excess tax benefit related to stock-based compensation and the revaluation of certain foreign income tax liabilities due to foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

Current wording

The increase in the provision for income taxes for 2025 as compared to 2024 was mainly due to a shortfall in the tax benefit related to stock-based compensation, the benefit from an intercompany sale of intellectual property in 2024 that did not recur in 2025, revaluation of deferred tax assets and a decrease in the benefit of U.S. federal and state research and development credits.

Previous wording

The decrease in the provision for income taxes for 2024 as compared to 2023 was mainly due to the benefit from an intercompany sale of intellectual property in 2024, an increase in the excess tax benefit related to stock-based compensation, lower profitability and an increase in the benefit of U.S. federal and state research and development credits. These amounts were partially offset by a decrease in foreign income taxed at lower rates, an increase in non-deductible transfer pricing and an increase in certain tax reserves.

Current wording

The decrease in the provision for income taxes for 2024 as compared to 2023 was mainly due to the benefit from an intercompany sale of intellectual property, an increase in the excess tax benefit related to stock-based compensation, lower profitability and an increase in the benefit of U.S. federal and state research and development credits. These amounts were partially offset by a decrease in foreign income taxed at lower rates, an increase in non-deductible transfer pricing and an increase in certain tax reserves.