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Item 3 — Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Semtech Corp · 10-Q · Q2 FY2027 · Period ended Jul 26, 2026
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We are subject to a variety of market risks, including commodity risk and the risks related to foreign currency, interest rates and market performance that are discussed in Item 7A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 25, 2026. Many of the factors that can have an impact on our market risk are external to us, and so we are unable to fully predict them.
Commodity Risk
We are subject to risk from fluctuating market prices of certain commodity raw materials, particularly gold, that are incorporated into our end products or used by our suppliers to process our end products. Increased commodity prices are passed on to us in the form of higher prices from our suppliers, either in the form of general price increases or a commodity surcharge. Although we generally deal with our suppliers on a purchase order basis rather than on a long-term contract basis, we generally attempt to obtain firm pricing for volumes consistent with planned production. Our gross margins may decline if we are not able to increase selling prices of our products or obtain manufacturing efficiencies to offset the increased cost. We do not enter into formal hedging arrangements to mitigate against commodity risk.
Foreign Currency Risk
Our foreign operations expose us to the risk of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates against our functional currencies and we may economically hedge this risk with foreign currency contracts (such as currency forward contracts). Gains or losses on these balances are generally offset by corresponding losses or gains on the related hedging instruments. As of July 26, 2026, our largest foreign currency exposures were from the Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Euro, Great British Pound, Swiss Franc and Mexican Peso.
We considered the historical trends in foreign currency exchange rates and determined that it is reasonably possible that adverse changes in foreign exchange rates of 10% for all currencies could be experienced in the near-term. These reasonably possible adverse changes were applied to our total monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than our functional currency as of the end of our second quarter of fiscal year 2027. The adverse impact these changes would have had (after taking into account balance sheet hedges only) on our income before taxes was not material for the quarter ended July 26, 2026.
Interest rate and credit risk
While we had no revolving loans outstanding under the 2026 Revolving Credit Facility as of July 26, 2026, future borrowing under our 2026 Credit Agreement is subject to variable interest rates.
Interest rates also affect our return on excess cash and investments. As of July 26, 2026, we had $204.1 million of cash and cash equivalents. A majority of our cash and cash equivalents generate interest income based on prevailing interest rates. Interest income, net of reserves, generated by our investments and cash and cash equivalents was not material in the second quarter of fiscal year 2027. A significant change in interest rates would impact the amount of interest income generated from our cash and investments. It would also impact the market value of our investments.
Our investments are primarily subject to credit risk. Our investment guidelines prescribe credit quality, permissible investments, diversification, and duration restrictions. These restrictions are intended to limit risk by restricting our investments to high quality debt instruments with relatively short-term durations. Our investment strategy limits investment of new funds and maturing securities to U.S. Treasury, Federal agency securities, high quality money market funds and time deposits with our principal commercial banks. Outside of these investment guidelines, we also invest in a limited amount of debt securities in privately held companies that we view as strategic to our business. For example, many of these investments are in companies that are enabling the LoRa®- and LoRaWAN® -based ecosystem.
Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. Financial instruments that potentially subject us to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. We maintain cash held in deposit at financial institutions in the U.S. These deposits are insured by the FDIC in an amount up to $250,000 for any depositor. To the extent we hold cash deposits in amounts that exceed the FDIC insurance limitation, we may incur a loss in the event of a failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain deposits. There can be no assurance that our deposits in excess of the FDIC or other comparable insurance limits will be backstopped by the U.S. or any applicable foreign government in the future or that any bank or financial institution with which we do business will be able to obtain needed liquidity from other banks, government institutions or by acquisition in the event of a future failure or liquidity crisis. In addition, if any of our partners or parties with whom we conduct business are unable to access funds due to the status of their financial institution, such parties' ability to pay their obligations to us or to enter into new commercial arrangements requiring additional payments to us could be adversely affected. Management believes we are not exposed to significant risk due to the financial position of the depository institution, but will continue to monitor regularly and adjust, if needed, to mitigate risk. We have established guidelines regarding diversification of our investments and their
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maturities, which are designed to maintain principal and maximize liquidity. To date, we have not experienced any losses associated with this credit risk and continue to believe that this exposure is not significant.