The commentary and financial information above includes non-GAAP measures of operating income, operating margin, net income and earnings per share. Management excludes from these measures stock-based compensation, restructuring, acquisition and integration expenses, impairment charges, amortization charges and other infrequent items, to the extent material or which we consider to be of a non-operational nature in the applicable period, and as more fully described below.

Management excludes these items principally because such charges are not directly related to the Company's ongoing core business operations. We use such non-GAAP measures in order to (1) make more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of Company's operations, both internally and externally, (2) guide management in assessing the performance of the business, internally allocating resources and making decisions in furtherance of Company's strategic plan, (3) provide investors with a better understanding of how management plans and measures the business and (4) provide investors with a better understanding of the ongoing, core business. The material limitations to management's approach include the fact that the charges and expenses excluded are nonetheless charges required to be recognized under GAAP. Management compensates for these limitations primarily by using GAAP results to obtain a complete picture of the Company's performance and by including a reconciliation of non-GAAP results back to GAAP in its earnings releases.

Additional information regarding the economic substance of each exclusion, management's use of the resultant non-GAAP measures, the material limitations of management's approach and management's methods for compensating for such limitations is provided below.

Stock-based Compensation Expense, which consists of non-cash charges for the estimated fair value of stock options and unvested restricted stock units granted to employees, is excluded in order to permit more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of the Company's results since the Company grants different amounts and value of stock options in each quarter. In addition, given the fact that competitors grant different amounts and types of equity award and may use different option valuation assumptions, excluding stock-based compensation permits more accurate comparisons of the Company's core results with those of its competitors.

Restructuring, Acquisition and Integration Expenses, which consist of severance, lease termination, exit costs and other charges primarily related to closing and consolidating manufacturing facilities and those associated with the acquisition and integration of acquired businesses, are excluded because such charges (1) can be driven by the timing of acquisitions which are difficult to predict, (2) are not directly related to ongoing business results and (3) do not reflect expected future operating expenses. In addition, given the fact that the Company's competitors complete acquisitions and adopt restructuring plans at different times and in different amounts than the Company, excluding these charges permits more accurate comparisons of the Company's core results with those of its competitors. Items excluded by the Company may be different from those excluded by the Company's competitors and restructuring and integration expenses include both cash and non-cash expenses. Cash expenses reduce the Company's liquidity. Therefore, management also reviews GAAP results including these amounts.

Impairment Charges, which consist of non-cash charges, are excluded because such charges are non-recurring and do not reduce the Company's liquidity. In addition, given the fact that the Company's competitors may record impairment charges at different times, excluding these charges permits more accurate comparisons of the Company's core results with those of its competitors.

Amortization Charges, which consist of non-cash charges impacted by the timing and magnitude of acquisitions of businesses or assets, are also excluded because such charges do not reduce the Company's liquidity. In addition, such charges can be driven by the timing of acquisitions, which is difficult to predict. Excluding these charges permits more accurate comparisons of the Company's core results with those of its competitors because the Company's competitors complete acquisitions at different times and for different amounts than the Company.

Other Items, which consist of other infrequent or unusual items (including charges associated with distressed customers, litigation settlements, gains and losses on sales of assets and redemptions of debt, discrete tax events and deferred tax changes), to the extent material or non-operational in nature, are excluded because such items are typically non-recurring, difficult to predict or not directly related to the Company's ongoing core operations. However, items excluded by the Company may be different from those excluded by the Company's competitors. In addition, these expenses include both cash and non-cash expenses. Cash expenses reduce the Company's liquidity. Management compensates for these limitations by reviewing GAAP results including these amounts.