USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
Dell uses non-GAAP financial measures to supplement the financial information presented on a GAAP basis. Dell believes that excluding certain items from Dell’s GAAP results allows Dell’s management to better understand Dell’s consolidated financial performance from period to period and in relationship to the operating results of Dell’s segments, as management does not believe that the excluded items are reflective of Dell's underlying operating performance. Dell also believes that excluding certain items from Dell’s GAAP results allows Dell’s management to better project Dell’s future consolidated financial performance because Dell’s forecasts are developed at a level of detail different from that used to prepare GAAP-based financial measures. Moreover, Dell believes these non-GAAP financial measures will provide investors with useful information to help them evaluate Dell's operating results by facilitating an enhanced understanding of Dell's operating performance, and enabling them to make more meaningful period to period comparisons. Non-GAAP operating income growth as projected for Fiscal 2012, which is a forward looking non-GAAP financial measure, excludes acquisition-related charges, and amortization of purchased intangible assets related to acquisitions, some of which Dell cannot forecast with certainty or accuracy due to their inherently indefinite and contingent nature, thereby preventing Dell from reconciling its projections to GAAP. The historical non-GAAP financial measures, as defined by Dell, represent the comparable GAAP measures adjusted to exclude these same items as well as amounts for severance and facility charges, which were incurred in periods prior to the second quarter of Fiscal 2012, and the settlements related to the SEC investigation and a securities litigation matter, which were both incurred during the first quarter of Fiscal 2011. Dell provides more detail below regarding each of these items and our reasons for excluding them. In future fiscal periods, Dell expects that it may again exclude such items and may incur income and expenses similar to these excluded items. Accordingly, the exclusion of these items and other similar items in Dell’s non-GAAP presentation should not be interpreted as implying that these items are non-recurring, infrequent, or unusual.
The non-GAAP financial measures for the periods indicated in the tables above reflect adjustments related to the following items:
- Acquisition-related Costs -- Acquisition-related charges are expensed as incurred and consist primarily of retention payments, integration costs, and other costs. Starting in the second quarter of Fiscal 2012, all severance and facility charges related to acquisitions are also included in acquisition-related costs. Previously, these costs were included in a separate caption for severance and facility actions described below. Acquisition-related severance and facility costs were not significant in prior periods. Retention payments include stock-based compensation and cash incentives awarded to employees, which are recognized over the vesting period. Integration costs include IT costs related to the integration of IT systems and processes, costs related to the integration of employees, costs related to full-time employees who are working on the integration, and consulting expenses. Acquisition-related charges are inconsistent in amount and are significantly impacted by the timing and nature of acquisitions. Therefore, although Dell may incur these types of expenses in connection with future acquisitions, Dell believes eliminating acquisition-related charges for purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of Dell’s current operating performance and comparisons to Dell’s past operating performance.
- Amortization of Intangible Assets -- Amortization of purchased intangible assets consists primarily of amortization of customer relationships, customer lists, acquired technology, trade names, and non-compete covenants purchased in connection with business acquisitions. Dell incurs charges relating to the amortization of these intangibles, and those charges are included in Dell’s consolidated financial statements. Amortization charges for Dell’s purchased intangible assets are inconsistent in amount and are significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of Dell’s acquisitions. Consequently, Dell excludes these charges for purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures to facilitate a more meaningful evaluation of Dell’s current operating performance and comparisons to Dell’s past operating performance.
- Severance and Facility Actions -- Severance and facility action costs primarily relate to facilities charges including accelerated depreciation and severance and benefits for employees terminated pursuant to actions taken as part of a comprehensive review of costs, which started in Fiscal 2009, and exclude any routine workforce reductions. These activities are substantially complete. As such, starting in the second quarter of Fiscal 2012, only charges for severance and facility actions associated with cost synergies related to strategic acquisitions are being excluded for the purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures and will be included in acquisition-related costs discuss above. Dell excludes these severance and facility action costs for purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures because it believes that these historical costs do not reflect expected future operating expenses and do not contribute to a meaningful evaluation of Dell’s current operating performance or comparisons to Dell’s past operating performance.
- Other Fees and Settlements -- Dell also adjusts its GAAP results for certain settlements. For the first quarter of Fiscal 2011, Dell recorded a $100 million settlement amount for the SEC investigation into certain of Dell's accounting and financial matters, which was initiated in 2005, and also incurred $40 million for a securities litigation class action lawsuit that was filed against Dell during Fiscal 2007. Dell is excluding these settlements from the operating results of Fiscal 2011 for the purpose of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures because it believes these settlements are outside Dell’s ordinary course of business and do not contribute to a meaningful evaluation of Dell’s current operating performance.
- The aggregate adjustment for income taxes is the estimated combined income tax effect for the adjustments mentioned above. The tax effects are determined based on the tax jurisdictions where the costs were incurred.
