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ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

In addition to historical information, this Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements include, among other things, statements concerning our expectations regarding:

•the effects of supply chain constraints and the global chip and component shortages and other factors affecting our manufacturing capacity, delivery, cost and inventory management;

•the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including various COVID-19 variants, and the implementation of “return to office” plans;

•continued growth and market share gains;

•variability in sales in certain product categories from year to year and between quarters;

•expected impact of sales of certain products and services;

•the impact of macro-economic, geopolitical factors and other disruption on our manufacturing or sales, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health issues and natural disasters;

•the proportion of our revenue that consists of product and service revenue, and the mix of billings between products and services, and the duration of service contracts;

•the impact of our product innovation strategy;

•the effects of government regulation, tariffs and other policies;

•drivers of long-term growth and operating leverage, such as sales productivity and capacity, functionality and value in our subscription service offerings;

•growing our sales to businesses, service providers and government organizations, our ability to execute these sales and the complexity of selling to all segments (including the increased competition and unpredictability of timing associated with sales to larger enterprises), the impact of sales to these organizations on our long-term growth, expansion and operating results, and the effectiveness of our sales organization;

•our ability to hire properly qualified and effective sales, support and engineering employees;

•risks and expectations related to acquisitions and equity interests in private and public companies, including integration issues related to product plans and the acquired technology, and risks of negative impact by such acquisitions and equity investments on our financial results;

•trends in revenue, cost of revenue and gross margin;

•trends in our operating expenses, including sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, general and administrative expense, and expectations regarding these expenses;

•expectations that our operating expense will increase in absolute dollars during 2022;

•expectations that proceeds from the exercise of stock options in future years will be adversely impacted by the increased mix of restricted stock units versus stock options granted;

•expectations regarding uncertain tax benefits and our effective domestic and global tax rates, and the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Actand the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”);

•expectations regarding spending related to real estate acquisitions and development, data center investments, as well as other capital expenditures and to the impact on free cash flow;

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•estimates of a range of 2022 spending on capital expenditures;

•competition in our markets;

•statements regarding expected outcomes and liabilities in litigation;

•our intentions regarding share repurchases and the sufficiency of our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments to meet our cash needs, including our debt servicing requirements, for at least the next 12 months;

•other statements regarding our future operations, financial condition and prospects and business strategies; and

•adoption and impact of new accounting standards.

These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and, in particular, the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and those discussed in other documents we file with the SEC. We undertake no obligation, and specifically disclaim any obligation, to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these and any other forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

Business Overview

Fortinet is a global leader in cybersecurity solutions provided to a wide variety of organizations, including enterprises, communication service providers and security service providers, government organizations and small businesses. Our cybersecurity solutions are designed to provide broad visibility and segmentation of the digital attack surface through our integrated Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform, which features automated protection, detection and response along with consolidated visibility across both Fortinet developed solutions and a broad ecosystem of third-party solutions and technologies. The Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform leverages a common operating system or integration to this operating system across our product offerings and helps organizations better secure their environments and reduce their security and network complexities. The Fortinet Security Fabric has an open architecture designed to connect Fortinet solutions and third-party solutions in a single ecosystem, enabling holistic detection and coordinated response across the attack cycle and surface through integration and automation.

Our product offerings consist of our FortiGate network security physical and virtual products and our non-FortiGate physical and virtual, software, and cloud-hosted products. In addition to high performing security and networking features, we offer a rich set of cloud-delivered security services that can be added to different products across the Fortinet Security Fabric and customized to the organization’s use cases.

Our cloud- and hosted- products and services include sandboxing, endpoint detection and response (“EDR”), email security, web application and API security and cloud networking security as well as Fortinet Security Fabric management and analytics.

Our FortiGuard security services are enabled by FortiGuard Labs, which provides threat research and artificial intelligence capabilities from a cloud network to deliver coordinated protection for the ever-expanding attack surface through FortiGate appliance and virtual machine as well as all Fortinet Security Fabric products that are registered by the end-customer.

Our proprietary Security Processing Units (“SPUs”) are Application-Specific Integrated Circuits that are implemented in our physical FortiGate appliances and are designed to enhance the security processing capabilities implemented in software by accelerating computationally intensive tasks such as firewall policy enforcement, software-defined wide-area network (“SD-WAN”), network address translation, Intrusion Prevention Systems (“IPS”), threat detection and encryption. We also provide virtualized Security Processing Units (“vSPUs”) across our FortiGate virtual appliances to deliver similar accelerated capabilities when run in virtualized environments.

Our FortiOS operating system provides the foundation for the operation of all FortiGate network security appliances, whether physical, virtual, private- or public-cloud based. FortiOS directs the operations of processors and SPUs and provides system management functions. We make regular updates to FortiOS available through our FortiCare support services.

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FortiOS, its associated security and networking functions and products that run or are integrated with FortiOS are combined to form the Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform. This approach to security ties discrete security solutions together into an integrated whole that provides centralized management and visibility, automation and intelligence sharing to simplify network and security operations and rapid response to threats.

The focus areas of our business consist of:

•Security-Driven Networking—Our Security-Driven Networking solutions enables the convergence of networking and security across all edges to provide next-generation firewall (“NGFW”), software-defined wide area network (“SD-WAN”), LAN Edge (Wi-Fi and switch) and secure access service edge (“SASE”). We derive a majority of product sales from our FortiGate network security appliances. FortiGate network security appliances include a broad set of built-in security and networking features and functionalities, including firewall, next-generation firewall, secure web gateway, secure sockets layer (“SSL”) inspection, software-defined wide area network (“SD-WAN”), Intrusion Prevention system (“IPS”), sandboxing, data leak prevention, virtual private network (“VPN”), switch and wireless controller and wide area network (“WAN”) edge. Our network security appliances are managed by our FortiOS network operating system, which provides the foundation for FortiGate security functions.We enhance the performance of our network security appliances from branch to data center by designing and implementing Security Processing Units (“SPUs”) technology within our appliances, enabling us to add security and network functionality with minimal impact to network throughput performance. Along with our secure Wi-fi access points and switches, Fortinet helps organizations secure their networks across campuses, branches, and work-from-home deployments.

•Zero Trust Access—The Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform extends beyond the network to cover other attack vectors. Our Zero Trust Access solutions enable customers to know and control who and what is on their network, in addition to providing security for work from anywhere (“WFA”). Zero Trust Access solutions include FortiNAC, FortiAuthenticator, FortiClient and FortiToken. Additionally, the proliferation of internet of things (“IoT”) and operational technology (“OT”) devices has generated new opportunities for us to grow our business. Our network access control solutions provide visibility, control and automated event responses in order to secure IoT and OT devices.

•Adaptive Cloud Security—We help customers connect securely to and across their individual, hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, and virtualized data center environments by offering security through our virtual firewall and other software products and through integrated capabilities with major cloud platforms. Our public and private cloud security solutions, including virtual appliances and hosted solutions, extend the core capabilities of the Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform in and across cloud environments, delivering security that follows their applications and data. Our Secure SD-WAN for Multi-Cloud solution automates deployment of an overlay network across different cloud networks and offers visibility, control and centralized management that integrates functionality across multiple cloud environments. Our Cloud Security portfolio also includes securing applications, including email and web. Fortinet cloud security offerings are available for deployment in major public and private cloud environments, including Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud and VMWare Cloud. We also offer managed IPS and web application firewall (“WAF”) rules delivered by FortiGuard Labs as an overlay service to native security offerings offered by Amazon Web Services.

•AI-Driven Security Operations—We develop and provide a range of products and services that enable the security operations center (“SOC”) teams to identify, investigate and remediate potential incidents in which cybercriminals bypass prevention-oriented controls. Given the breadth of the attack surface to monitor, as well as the volume and sophistication of cyber threats, artificial intelligence (“AI”) is a key part of these offerings, which include: FortiGuard and other security subscription services, modern endpoint security with EDR, a range of breach-protection technologies plus our security information and event management (“SIEM”) and security orchestration, automation and response (“SOAR”), all of which can be applied across the entire Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform. These solutions automatically deliver security intelligence and insights that enable organizations to protect against and respond to threats faster through integration with Fortinet and third-party controls.

•Security as a Service—Our customers purchase our natively integrated FortiGuard security subscription services as an add-on to products and solutions across the Fortinet Security Fabric with the goal of receiving real-time threat intelligence and protection updates. The rich set of FortiGuard services is built from the ground up to provide comprehensive protection for users and applications, including market leading offerings for IPS, Web, video and DNS filtering, AV and cloud sandbox as well as IoT and OT Security. The FortiGuard security services are provided from our FortiGuard Labs and cloud-delivered to provide real-time unified protection across network endpoint and cloud. FortiCare technical support services and the support of technical account managers, resident engineers and professional service consultants for implementations or training services.

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•Support and Professional Services – Fortinet offers technical support, FortiOS updates and extended product warranty through our FortiCare support services.In addition to our technical support services, we offer a range of advanced services, including premium support, professional services and expedited warranty replacement. Our professional service offerings include resident engineers and professional service consultants for implementations or trainings.

Financial Highlights

•Total revenue was $3.34 billion in 2021, an increase of 29% compared to $2.59 billion in 2020. Product revenue was $1.26 billion in 2021, an increase of 37% compared to $916.4 million in 2020. Service revenue was $2.09 billion in 2021, an increase of 24% compared to $1.68 billion in 2020.

•Total gross profit was $2.56 billion in 2021, an increase of 26% compared to $2.02 billion in 2020.

•We generated operating income of $650.4 million in 2021, an increase of 22% compared to $531.8 million in 2020. Operating income for 2021 included gains on an IP matter of $4.6 million.

•Cash, cash equivalents, investments and marketable equity securities were $2.99 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $1.04 billion, or 53%, from December 31, 2020.

•In March 2021, we issued $1.0 billion of Senior Notes. Long-term debt, net of unamortized discount and debt issuance costs, was $988.4 million as of December 31, 2021. There was no such debt outstanding at December 31, 2020.

•In 2021, we repurchased 2.6 million shares of common stock under the Repurchase Program for an aggregate purchase price of $741.8 million. In 2020, we repurchased 11.7 million shares of common stock for a total purchase price of $1.08 billion.

•Deferred revenue was $3.45 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $847.6 million, or 33%, from December 31, 2020. Short-term deferred revenue was $1.78 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $384.6 million, or 28%, from December 31, 2020.

•We generated cash flows from operating activities of $1.50 billion in 2021, an increase of $416.0 million, or 38%, compared to 2020. We received $50.0 million of proceeds from an IP matter in the first quarter of 2020.

•Total bookings were $4.33 billion for 2021, an increase of 40.2% compared to $3.09 billion in 2020. We define bookings as the total value of all orders received during the fiscal period.

•Backlog was $161.9 million as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $149.7 million compared to $12.2 million as of December 31, 2020. Backlog represents orders received but not fulfilled and excludes backlog related to Alaxala Networks Corporation's (“Alaxala”) products and services of $26.0 million.

•On August 31, 2021, we closed an acquisition of 75% of the equity interests in Alaxala, a privately-held network hardware equipment company in Japan, to help broaden our offering of secure switches integrated with FortiGate Firewalls and Security Fabric functionality, and, over time, to innovate and rebrand certain of Alaxala’s switches to offer a broader suite of secure switches globally. From September 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, Alaxala’s revenue was $44.4 million, or 1.3% of total revenue during the year ended December 31, 2021. During the first quarter of 2021 and subsequently in the third quarter, we made an equity method investment in Linksys which provides router connectivity solutions to the consumer and small business markets.

Our revenue growth was driven by both product and service revenue. On a geographic basis, revenue continues to be diversified globally, which remains a key strength of our business. In 2021, the Americas region, the Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) region and the Asia Pacific (“APAC”) region contributed 41%, 38% and 21% of our total revenue, respectively, and increased by 26%, 29% and 35% compared to 2020, respectively.

Product revenue grew 37% in 2021. Product revenue growth was consistent with an elevated cyber threat landscape. FortiGate products accounted for more than half of the product revenue growth in 2021. While Secure SD-WAN contributed to product revenue growth, the main driver was the strong demand for the wide range of other operating system capabilities embedded in the FortiGate products. We experienced strong product revenue growth across many of our security fabric platform products, including our OT solutions, secure access products and software licenses. The impact of the increase in backlog was largely seen in certain fabric platform products. Service revenue growth of 24% in 2021 was driven by the strength

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of our FortiGuard and other security subscription revenue and FortiGate technical support and other service revenue, which grew 22% and 27%, respectively, in 2021.

Our billings were diversified on a geographic basis. In 2021, six countries represented approximately 50% of our billings and the remaining 50% in the aggregate were from over 100 countries that individually contributed less than 3% of our billings.

In 2021 and 2020, we recognized gains of $4.6 million and $40.2 million, respectively, on an IP matter in connection with a mutual covenant-no-to-sue and release agreement with a competitor in the network security industry. Excluding the gains on the IP matter, operating expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased by approximately 1.9 percentage points compared to 2020. Headcount increased by 24% to 10,195 employees and contractors as of December 31, 2021, up from 8,238 as of December 31, 2020.

COVID-19 Pandemic Update

The United States and the global community we serve are facing unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the various COVID-19 variants. In response to the pandemic, we undertook a number of actions to protect our employees, including restricting travel and directing many of our employees to work from home. In certain geographies, we have started to transition back to an in-person working mode, allowing increasing numbers of employees to work from our offices with reasonable precautions and, in all cases, subject to abiding by local legal restrictions. We intend to continue to monitor and abide by local employee health and safety protocols and other regulations as applicable to each local office.

While the broader implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on our employees and overall financial performance continue to evolve, we have seen certain impacts on our business and operations, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, liquidity and capital and financial resources as of and during the year ended December 31, 2021. Conversely, some aspects of our business do not appear to have been significantly affected. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we have observed the following:

•We have seen supply chain challenges increase, including chip and other component shortages and increased costs for certain chips and other components and shipping, and we do not have enough inventory to promptly meet all demand for all products.

•In most countries, our employees’ ability to travel has been reduced. In-person sales and marketing events or meetings that would normally have been held were canceled, postponed or converted into virtual events. However, as certain country’s restrictions start to ease, we have started to see an increase in expenses related to travel and marketing events. Although we cannot predict if or when such expenses will return to pre-pandemic levels, as of December 31, 2021, we have started to see an increase in such expenses as compared to the same period last year.

•In order to mitigate supply chain disruption and other supply chain risks and in anticipation of future demand, we worked to increase our on-hand stock of certain products. We increased our commitments with certain suppliers to secure capacity, and are meeting regularly with our contract manufacturers and component suppliers to manage future commitments, address component shortages and monitor delivery of finished goods. We have also transitioned primarily to air shipping to avoid port congestion and extended ocean freight time.

•In accordance with the CARES Act, we have deferred the deposit and payment of our employer’s share of Social Security taxes. This did not materially affect net cash provided by operating activities during the period.

Going forward, the situation remains uncertain, rapidly changing and hard to predict, and the COVID-19 pandemic may have a material negative impact on our future periods. If we experience greater component, shipping or inventory challenges than we expect or significant changes in our billings growth rates, it will negatively impact billings and product revenue in the current quarter and FortiGuard and FortiCare service revenues in subsequent quarters, as we sell annual and multi-year service contracts that are recognized ratably over the contractual service term. In addition, the broader implications of the pandemic on our business and operations and our financial results, including the extent to which the effects of the pandemic will impact future results and growth in the cybersecurity industry, remain uncertain. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance will depend on ongoing developments, including the duration and spread of the virus and its variants, the impact on our end-customers’ spending, the volume of sales and length of our sales cycles, the impact on our partners, suppliers, and employees, actions that may be taken by governmental authorities and other factors identified in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in this Form 10-K. Given the dynamic nature of these circumstances, the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and operations, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, liquidity and capital and financial resources cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

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Business Model

We typically sell our security solutions to distributors that sell to networking security focused resellers and to service providers and managed security service providers (“MSSPs”), who, in turn, sell to end-customers or use our products and services to provided hosted solutions to other enterprises. At times, we also sell directly to large service providers and major systems integrators. Our end-customers are located in over 100 countries and include small, medium and large enterprises and government organizations across a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, government, financial services, retail, technology, education, manufacturing and healthcare. An end-customer deployment may involve as few as one or as many as thousands of appliances and other Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform products, depending on the end-customer’s size and security requirements.

We also offer our products hosted in our own data centers and through major cloud providers, and have recognized revenue on a usage basisfrom Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud. We have also recognized revenue from customers who deploy our products in a bring-your-own-license (“BYOL”) arrangement in private clouds or at cloud providers. In a BYOL arrangement, a customer purchases a software license from us through our channel partners and deploys the software in a cloud provider’s environment. Similarly, customers may purchase such a license from us and deploy in third-party clouds or in their private cloud.

Our customers purchase our hardware products and software licenses, as well as our FortiGuard and other security subscription and FortiCare technical support services. We generally invoice at the time of our sale for the total price of the products and security and technical support services. Standard payment terms are generally no more than 60 days, though we continue to offer extended payment terms to certain distributors.

Key Metrics

We monitor a number of key metrics, including the key financial metrics set forth below, in order to help us evaluate growth trends, establish budgets, measure the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts, and assess operational efficiencies. The following table summarizes revenue, deferred revenue, billings (non-GAAP), net cash provided by operating activities, and free cash flow (non-GAAP). We discuss revenue below under “—Components of Operating Results,” and we discuss net cash provided by operating activities below under “—Liquidity and Capital Resources.” Deferred revenue, billings (non-GAAP), and free cash flow (non-GAAP) are discussed immediately below the following table.

Year Ended or As of December 31,

(in millions)

Deferred revenue. Our deferred revenue consists of amounts that have been invoiced but that have not yet been recognized as revenue. The majority of our deferred revenue balance consists of the unrecognized portion of service revenue from FortiGuard and other security subscription and FortiCare technical support service contracts, which is recognized as revenue ratably over the contractual service period. We monitor our deferred revenue balance, deferred revenue growth and the mix of short-term and long-term deferred revenue because deferred revenue represents a significant portion of free cash flow and of revenue to be recognized in future periods. Deferred revenue was $3.45 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $847.6 million, or 33%, from December 31, 2020.

Billings (non-GAAP). We define billings as revenue recognized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) plus the change in deferred revenue from the beginning to the end of the period, less any deferred revenue balances acquired from business combination(s) and an adjustment due to adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2021-08 during the period. We consider billings to be a useful metric for management and investors because billings drive current and future revenue, which is an important indicator of the health and viability of our business. There are a number of limitations related to the use of billings instead of GAAP revenue. First, billings include amounts that have not yet been recognized as revenue and are impacted by the term of FortiGuard security and FortiCare support agreements. Second, we may calculate billings in a manner that is different from peer companies that report similar financial measures. Management accounts for these limitations by providing specific information regarding GAAP revenue and evaluating billings together with GAAP revenue. Total billings were $4.18 billion for 2021, an increase of 35% compared to $3.09 billion in 2020.

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A reconciliation of revenue, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to billings is provided below:

Year Ended December 31,

(in millions)

Billings:

Less: Adjustment due to adoption of ASU 2021-08 (4.3) — —

Free cash flow (non-GAAP). We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities minus purchases of property and equipment and excluding any significant non-recurring items. We believe free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business that, after capital expenditures, can be used for strategic opportunities, including repurchasing outstanding common stock, investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions and strengthening the balance sheet. A limitation of using free cash flow rather than the GAAP measures of cash provided by or used in operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities is that free cash flow does not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash and cash equivalents balance for the period because it excludes cash flows from investing activities other than capital expenditures and cash flows from financing activities. Management accounts for this limitation by providing information about our capital expenditures and other investing and financing activities on the face of the consolidated statements of cash flows and under “—Liquidity and Capital Resources” and by presenting cash flows from investing and financing activities in our reconciliation of free cash flow. In addition, it is important to note that other companies, including companies in our industry, may not use free cash flow, may calculate free cash flow in a different manner than we do or may use other financial measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of free cash flow as a comparative measure. A reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow is provided below:

Year Ended December 31,

(in millions)

Free Cash Flow:

Less: Purchases of property and equipment (295.9) (125.9) (92.2)

Less: Proceeds from intellectual property matter — (50.0) —

Net cash used in investing activities $ (1,325.1) $ (72.8) $ (502.3)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities $ 82.8 $ (1,171.6) $ (195.6)

Components of Operating Results

Revenue. We generate the majority of our revenue from sales of our hardware and software products and amortization of amounts included in deferred revenue related to previous sales of FortiGuard security subscription and FortiCare technical support services. We also recognize revenue from cloud security solutions, professional services and training.

Our total revenue is comprised of the following:

•Product revenue. Product revenue is primarily generated from sales of our physical and virtual machine appliances. The majority of our product revenue continues to be generated by our FortiGate product line. Product revenue also includes revenue derived from sales of Fabric appliance and software products. As a percentage of total revenue, our product revenue has varied from quarter to quarter.

•Service revenue. Service revenue is generated primarily from FortiGuard security subscription services and FortiCare technical support services. We recognize revenue from FortiGuard security subscription and

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FortiCare technical support services over the contractual service period. Our typical contractual support and subscription term is one to five years. We also generate a small portion of our revenue from other services, for which we recognize revenue as the services are provided, and cloud-based services, for which we recognize revenue as the services are delivered or on a monthly usage basis. As a percentage of total revenue, we continue to expect service revenue to be higher than product revenue. Our service revenue growth rate depends significantly on the growth of our customer base, the expansion of our service bundle offerings, the expansion and introduction of new service offerings, the attach rate of service contracts to new product sales, and the renewal of service contracts by our existing customers.

Our total cost of revenue is comprised of the following:

•Cost of product revenue. The majority of the cost of product revenue consists of third-party contract manufacturers’ costs and the costs of materials used in production. Our cost of product revenue also includes supplies, shipping costs, personnel costs associated with logistics and quality control, facility-related costs, excess and obsolete inventory costs, warranty costs and amortization of intangible assets. Personnel costs include direct compensation benefits and stock based compensation.

•Cost of service revenue. Cost of service revenue is primarily comprised of personnel costs, third-party repair and contract fulfillment, data center costs, colocation expenses and cloud hosting, supplies and facility-related costs.

Gross margin. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue, or gross margin, has been and will continue to be affected by a variety of factors, including the average sales price of our products, product costs, the mix of products sold and the mix of revenue between hardware products, software licenses and services and any excess inventory write-offs. Service revenue and software licenses have had a positive effect on our total gross margin given the higher gross margins compared to hardware product gross margins. During 2021, product gross margin benefited from gains in average selling price, as well as lower direct and indirect product costs as a percentage of product revenue. It also benefited from product mix, software revenue growth and a stable product transition environment. Service gross margin benefited from renewals and continued sales of services and subscriptions, growing faster than related expenses. Overall gross margin in 2022 will be impacted by service and product revenue mix.

Operating expenses. Our operating expenses consist of research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses. Personnel costs are the most significant component of operating expenses and consist primarily of salaries, benefits, bonuses, sales commission and stock-based compensation. We expect personnel costs to continue to increase in absolute dollars as we expand our workforce.

•Research and development. Research and development expense consists primarily of personnel costs. Additional research and development expenses include ASIC and system prototypes and certification-related expenses, depreciation of property and equipment and facility-related expenses. The majority of our research and development is focused on software development and the ongoing development of our hardware products. We record research and development expenses as incurred. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 88% of our research and development teams were located in Canada, the United States and India.

•Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expense is the largest component of our operating expenses and primarily consists of personnel costs. Additional sales and marketing expenses include product marketing, public relations, field marketing and channel marketing programs (e.g. partner cooperative marketing arrangements), as well as travel, depreciation of property and equipment and facility-related expenses. We intend to hire additional personnel focused on sales and marketing and expand our sales and marketing efforts worldwide in order to capture market share.

•General and administrative. General and administrative expense consists of personnel costs, as well as professional fees, depreciation of property and equipment and software and facility-related expenses. General and administrative personnel include our executive, finance, human resources, information technology and legal organizations. Our professional fees principally consist of outside legal, auditing, tax, information technology and other consulting costs.

•Gain on intellectual property matter. Gain on intellectual property matter consists of the amortization of the deferred component of an agreement with a competitor in the network security industry, whereby, the

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competitor party paid us a lump sum of $50.0 million for a seven-year mutual covenant-not-to-sue for patent claims.

Interest income—net. Interest income—net consists primarily of interest earned on our cash equivalents and investments. Historically, our investments include corporate debt securities, certificates of deposit and term deposits, commercial paper, money market funds, and U.S. government and agency securities.

Other expense—net. Other expense—net consists primarily of foreign exchange gains and losses related to foreign currency remeasurement, gains or losses due to the changes in fair value of our marketable equity securities, as well as the gain on the sale or the impairment charges of our investments in privately held companies.

Provision for income taxes. We are subject to income taxes in the United States, as well as other tax jurisdictions or countries in which we conduct business. Earnings from our non-U.S. activities are subject to income taxes in local countries and may be subject to U.S. income taxes. Our effective tax rate differs from the U.S. statutory rate primarily due to foreign income subject to different tax rates than in the U.S., nondeductible stock-based compensation expense, federal research and development tax credit, state taxes, withholding taxes, excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation expense and the tax impacts of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “2017 Tax Act”), including the foreign-derived intangible income (“FDII”) deduction.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. These principles require us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, cost of revenue and expenses, and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and our actual results, our future financial statements will be affected.

We believe that, of the significant accounting policies described in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the following accounting policies involve a greater degree of judgment and complexity. Accordingly, we believe these are the most critical to fully understand and evaluate our financial condition and results of operations.

Revenue Recognition

Revenues are recognized when control of goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services.

We determine revenue recognition through the following steps:

•identification of a contract or contracts with a customer;

•identification of the performance obligations in a contract, including evaluation of performance obligations as to being distinct goods or services in a contract;

•determination of a transaction price;

•allocation of a transaction price to the performance obligations in a contract; and

•recognition of revenue when, or as, we satisfy a performance obligation.

Our sales contracts typically contain multiple deliverables, such as hardware, software license, security subscription, technical support services and other services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. Our hardware and software licenses have significant standalone functionalities and capabilities. Accordingly, the hardware and software licenses are distinct from the security subscription and technical support services, as a customer can benefit from the product without the services and the services are separately identifiable within a contract. We allocate a transaction price to each performance obligation based on relative standalone selling price. We establish standalone selling price using the prices charged for a deliverable when sold separately. If not observable through past transactions, we determine standalone selling price by considering multiple historical factors including, but not limited to, cost of products, gross margin objectives, pricing practices, geographies and the term of a service contract.

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Deferred Contract Costs and Commission Expense

We defer contract costs that are recoverable and incremental to obtaining customer sales contracts. Contract costs, which primarily consist of sales commissions, are amortized on a systematic basis that is consistent with the transfer to the customer of the goods or services to which the asset relates. Costs for initial contracts that are not commensurate with commissions on renewal contracts are amortized on a straight-line basis over the period of benefit of five years. Estimates, assumptions, and judgments in accounting for deferred contract costs include, but are not limited to, identification of contract costs, anticipated billings and the expected period of benefit.

Business Combinations

We include the results of operations of the businesses that we acquire as of the respective dates of acquisition. We allocate the fair value of the purchase price of our business acquisitions to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the fair values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. We often continue to gather additional information throughout the measurement period, and if we make changes to the amounts recorded, such changes are recorded in the period in which they are identified.

Contingent Liabilities

From time to time, we are involved in disputes, litigation and other legal actions. However, there are many uncertainties associated with any litigation, and these actions or other third-party claims against us may cause us to incur substantial settlement charges, which are inherently difficult to estimate and could adversely affect our results of operations. We periodically review significant claims and litigation matters for the probability of an adverse outcome. We accrue for a loss contingency if a loss is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These accruals are generally based on a range of possible outcomes that require significant judgement. Estimates can change as individual claims develop. The actual liability in any such matters may be materially different from our estimates, which could result in the need to adjust our liability and record additional expenses.

Accounting for Income Taxes

We record income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns. In addition, deferred tax assets are recorded for the future benefit of utilizing net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the currently enacted tax rates that apply to taxable income in effect for the years in which those tax assets and liabilities are expected to be realized or settled. Valuation allowances are provided when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. We estimate actual current tax exposure together with assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as accruals and allowances not currently deductible for tax purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets, which are included in our consolidated balance sheets. In general, deferred tax assets represent future tax benefits to be received when certain expenses previously recognized in our consolidated statements of income become deductible expenses under applicable income tax laws, or loss or credit carryforwards are utilized.

In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. We continue to assess the need for a valuation allowance on the deferred tax assets by evaluating both positive and negative evidence that may exist. Any adjustment to the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets would be recorded in the consolidated statements of income for the period that the adjustment is determined to be required.

We recognize tax benefits from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not, based on the technical merits of the position that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the tax authorities. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such positions are then measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement.

We have elected to account for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”), which was introduced in the 2017 Tax Act, as a current period expense.

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Investments in privately held companies

Our investments in privately held companies primarily consist of investments in common stock or in-substance common stock of entities that provide us with the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee, but not an absolute controlling financial interest, and are accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Determining that we do not control but exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee requires significant judgement when considering many factors, including but not limited to, the ownership interest in the investee, board representation, participation in policy-making processes, and participation rights in certain significant financial and operating decisions of the investee in the ordinary course of business. Our investment in Linksys is our only equity method investment. We record our proportionate share of the net earnings or losses of Linksys based on the most recently available financial statements of Linksys, which are provided to us on a three-month lag, and our share of the amortization of any basis differences, in gain or loss from equity method investment in our consolidated statements of income.

Results of Operations

The following tables set forth our results of operations for the periods presented and as a percentage of our total revenue for those periods. The period-to-period comparison of financial results is not necessarily indicative of financial results to be achieved in future periods.

Year Ended December 31,

(in millions)

Consolidated Statements of Income Data:

Revenue:

Cost of revenue:

Gross profit:

Operating expenses:

Gain on intellectual property matter (4.6) (40.2) —

Interest expense (14.9) — —

Other expense—net (11.6) (7.8) (7.5)

Loss from equity method investment (7.6) — —

Net income including non-controlling interests 606.7 488.5 331.7

Less: net loss attributable to non-controlling interests, net of tax (0.1) — —

Net income attributable to Fortinet, Inc. $ 606.8 $ 488.5 $ 331.7

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Year Ended December 31,

(as percentage of revenue)

Revenue:

Cost of revenue:

Gross margin:

Operating expenses:

Research and development 13 13 13

General and administrative 4 5 5

Gain on intellectual property matter — (2) —

Total operating expenses 57 58 60

Interest income — 1 2

Interest expense — — —

Other expense—net — — —

Income before income taxes and loss from equity method investment 19 21 18

Provision for income taxes — 2 3

Loss from equity method investment — — —

Net income including non-controlling interests 18 19 15

Less: net loss attributable to non-controlling interests, net of tax — — —

Net income attributable to Fortinet, Inc. 18 % 19 % 15 %

Discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for 2020 as compared to 2019 can be found in Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 19, 2021.

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2021 and 2020

Revenue

Year Ended December 31,

Amount % ofRevenue Amount % ofRevenue Change % Change

(in millions, except percentages)

Revenue:

Revenue by geography:

Total revenue increased by $747.8 million, or 29%, in 2021 compared to 2020. We continued to experience diversification of revenue globally, and across both customer and industry segments. Revenue from all regions grew, with EMEA contributing the largest portion of the increase on an absolute dollar basis and APAC, which included Alaxala, contributing the fastest growth on a percentage basis.

Product revenue increased by $338.6 million, or 37%, in 2021 compared to 2020. We experienced revenue growth across many of our products due to an increase in product revenue from our FortiGate products and security fabric platform products, including our SD-WAN solutions, and software licenses.

Service revenue increased by $409.2 million, or 24%, in 2021 compared to 2020. FortiGuard security subscription, FortiCare technical support and other revenues increased by $206.3 million, or 22%, and $202.9 million, or 27%, respectively, in 2021 compared to 2020. The increases were primarily due to the recognition of revenue from our growing deferred revenue balance related to FortiGuard and other security subscriptions and FortiCare technical support, including our customers moving to higher-tier support offerings as well as growth from our service bundles and professional services.

Of the service revenue recognized in 2021, 65% was included in the deferred revenue balance as of December 31, 2020. Of the service revenue recognized in 2020, 68% was included in the deferred revenue balance as of December 31, 2019.

Cost of revenue and gross margin

Year Ended December 31,

(in millions, except percentages)

Cost of revenue:

Gross margin (%):

Total gross margin 76.6 % 78.0 %

Total gross margin decreased by 1.4 percentage points in 2021 compared to 2020, driven by shift in the revenue mix to lower margin product revenue from higher margin service revenue. As a percentage of total revenue, the revenue mix shifted by 2.3 percentage points to product revenue from service revenue.

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Product gross margin decreased by 0.4 percentage points in 2021 compared to 2020, driven by higher component costs related to supply constraints, higher freight costs, and the impact of Alaxala’s product gross margin. Cost of product revenue was comprised primarily of third-party contract manufacturers’ costs and the costs of materials used in production.

Service gross margin decreased by 1.1 percentage points in 2021 compared to 2020. Cost of service revenue was comprised primarily of personnel costs, third-party repair and contract fulfillment, data center costs, colocation expenses, and cloud hosting, supplies and facility-related costs. The decrease in service gross margin was primarily due to foreign currency fluctuation, increased costs associated with an expansion in our data centers and the impact of Alaxala’s service gross margin.

Operating expenses

Year Ended December 31, Change % Change

Amount % ofRevenue Amount % ofRevenue

(in millions, except percentages)

Operating expenses:

Gain on intellectual property matter (4.6) — (40.2) (2) 35.6 (89)

Research and development

Research and development expense increased by $82.8 million, or 24%, in 2021 compared to 2020, primarily due to an increase in personnel-related costs of $69.5 million as a result of increased headcount to support the development of new products and continued enhancements to our existing products and foreign currency fluctuations. In addition, we incurred increases in depreciation and other occupancy costs of $8.4 million and third party product development costs of $8.3 million, such as third-party testing and prototypes, partially offset by a decrease in other costs of $3.6 million. We currently intend to continue to invest in our research and development organization, and expect research and development expense to increase in absolute dollars in 2022.

Sales and marketing

Sales and marketing expense increased by $273.8 million, or 26%, in 2021 compared to 2020, primarily due to an increase in personnel-related costs of $213.7 million as a result of increases to sales and marketing headcount in order to drive global market revenue increases and foreign currency fluctuations. Marketing related expenses increased $32.9 million and included expenses related to our sponsorship of the Fortinet Championship, a Professional Golfers’ Association tour event that we sponsored in September 2021. In addition, we incurred increases in depreciation and other occupancy expense of $9.4 million, marketing supplies expense of $5.8 million and travel expense of $5.2 million. We currently intend to continue to make investments in sales and marketing resources, which are critical to support our future growth, and expect sales and marketing expense to increase in absolute dollars in 2022.

General and administrative

General and administrative expense increased by $24.0 million, or 20%, in 2021 compared to 2020, primarily due to an increase in personnel-related costs of $12.8 million. Legal-related costs increased by $6.3 million and included $5.6 million related to the settlement and dismissal of an existing patent infringement lawsuit and a mutual covenant-not-to-sue for a defined duration of time. Refer to Note 13. Commitments and contingencies in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information. In addition, professional services fee increased by $5.2 million, partially offset by a decrease in provision for expected credit losses of $2.0 million. We currently expect general and administrative expense to increase in absolute dollars in 2022.

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Gain on IP matter

In January 2020, we entered into an agreement with a competitor in the network security industry, whereby, in February 2020, the competitor party paid us a lump sum of $50.0 million for a mutual covenant-not-to-sue for patent claims. Of this amount, we recorded a $4.6 million gain on intellectual property matter in our consolidated statements of income in 2021, compared to $40.2 million in 2020. Refer to Note 12 of the notes to consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the gain on IP matter.

Operating income and margin

We generated operating income of $650.4 million in 2021, an increase of $118.6 million, or 22%, compared to $531.8 million in 2020. Operating income as a percentage of revenue decreased to 19% in 2021 compared to 20% in 2020. We recorded a $4.6 million gain on intellectual property matter in our consolidated statements of income in 2021, compared to a $40.2 million gain in 2020, which increased our operating margin by 1.5 percentage points in 2020. Excluding the impact of these gains, our operating margin increased 0.4 percentage points primarily due to 1.0 percentage point, 0.5 percentage point and 0.3 percentage point decreases in sales and marketing expense, research and development expense and general and administrative expense as percentage of revenue, respectively, partially offset by a decrease in gross margin largely driven by the mix shift from service revenue to product revenue.

Interest income, interest expense and other expense—net

Year Ended December 31,

(in millions, except percentages)

Interest expense (14.9) — (14.9) *

* Not meaningful

Interest income decreased by $13.2 million in 2021 as compared to 2020, primarily as a result of lower interest rates. Interest income varies depending on our average investment balances during the period, types and mix of investments, and market interest rates. Interest expense increased by $14.9 million due to the senior notes issued in the first quarter of 2021. Other expense—net increase by $3.8 million in 2021 as compared to 2020 was primarily the result of an increase of $5.1 million in losses on marketable equity securities and an increase of $2.7 million in foreign exchange losses in 2021 compared to 2020. In 2020, we recognized a $4.3 million impairment charge on an investment in a privately held company and there were no such impairment charges in 2021.

Provision for income taxes

Year Ended December 31, Change % Change

(in millions, except percentages)

Provision for income taxes $ 14.1 $ 53.2 $ (39.1) (73) %

Effective tax rate 2 % 10 %

Our provision for income taxes for 2021 reflects an effective tax rate of 2%, compared to an effective tax rate of 10% for 2020. The provision for income taxes for 2021 was comprised primarily of a $140.8 million tax expense related to U.S. federal and state taxes, other foreign income taxes, foreign withholding taxes and unrecognized tax benefits. The provision was partially offset by excess tax benefits of $82.0 million from stock-based compensation expense, a tax benefit of $33.6 million from the FDII deduction, and tax benefits of $11.1 million from federal research and development tax credits.

Our provision for income taxes for 2020 reflects an effective tax rate of 10%, compared to an effective tax rate of 14% for 2019. The provision for income taxes for 2020 was comprised primarily of a $146.8 million tax expense related to U.S. federal and state taxes, other foreign income taxes, foreign withholding taxes and unrecognized tax benefits. The provision was partially offset by a tax benefit of $44.3 million from the FDII deduction, excess tax benefits of $42.0 million from stock-based compensation expense and tax benefits of $7.5 million from federal research and development tax credits.

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Seasonality, Cyclicality and Quarterly Revenue Trends

Our quarterly results reflect a pattern of increased customer buying at year-end, which has positively impacted billings and product revenue activity in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter, we generally experience lower sequential customer product buying, followed by an increase in buying in the second and third quarters. Although these seasonal factors may be common in the technology sector, historical patterns should not be considered a reliable indicator of our future sales activity or performance. On a quarterly basis, we have usually generated the majority of our product revenue in the final month of each quarter and a significant amount in the last two weeks of each quarter. We believe this is due to customer buying patterns typical in this industry.

Consistent with the seasonality note above, our total quarterly revenue over the past two years has increased sequentially each year. Product revenue increased year-over-year as compared to 2020, as we have continued product innovation and launched new product models, expanded our solution sales, including SD-WAN and WFA solutions and increased our investments in our sales and marketing organizations.

Total gross margin has fluctuated on a quarterly basis primarily due to the relative product and service mix as well as the timing of supplier cost increases and our own price increases. Product gross margin varies based on the types of products sold, their cost profile and their average selling prices. In 2021, product gross margin was impacted by new product introductions, the mix of high-end, mid-range and entry-level FortiGate products and the mix of other Fabric products, software sales and the timing and impact of supplier cost increases and our own price list increases. In 2021, we experienced an unusual level of component suppliers charging new expedite fees andincreases in freight costs.Historically, we have been able to improve our direct cost of appliances and our product gross margin. Service gross margin is impacted by revenue growth and our personnel-related costs, third-party repair and contract fulfillment, data center, colocation fees, cloud hosting, supplies, facility-related costs and foreign currency fluctuations.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31,

(in millions)

Marketable equity securities 38.6 — —

Year Ended December 31,

(in millions)

Net cash used in investing activities (1,325.1) (72.8) (502.3)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 82.8 (1,171.6) (195.6)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (0.1) — —

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $ 257.3 $ (160.7) $ 110.1

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Liquidity and capital resources are impacted by our operating activities, proceeds from issuance of our investment grade debt and from exercise of stock options issued to employees, as well as cash used on stock repurchases, real estate purchases and other capital expenditures, investments in various companies and business acquisitions.

In recent years, we have received significant capital resources from our billings to customers, issuance of investment grade debt and, to some extent, from the exercise of stock options by our employees. Additional increases in billings may depend on a number of factors, including demand for our products and services, competition, market or industry changes, macroeconomic events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain capacity and disruptions, international conflicts and our ability to execute. We expect proceeds from the exercise of stock options in future years to be impacted by the increased mix of restricted stock units versus stock options granted to our employees and to vary based on our share price.

In October 2021, our board of directors authorized a $1.25 billion increase in the authorized stock repurchase under the Repurchase Program and extended the term of the Repurchase Program to February 28, 2023, bringing the aggregate amount of authorized to be repurchased to $4.25 billion. In 2021, we repurchased 2.6 million shares of common stock under the Repurchase Program for an aggregate purchase price of $741.8 million. As of December 31, 2021, $1.52 billion remained available for future share repurchases under the Repurchase Program.

In March 2021, we issued $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes, consisting of $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 1.0% notes due March 15, 2026 and $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2.2% notes due March 15, 2031, in an underwritten registered public offering (the “Notes”). We do not currently intend to retire these Notes early. Refer to Note 11. Debt in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information on the Notes.

In February 2020, we received a cash payment of $50.0 million pursuant to a mutual covenant-not-to-sue and release agreement with a competitor in the network security industry.

In 2021, we completed our new, net-zero building on our Sunnyvale headquarters campus. We expect to continue to increase our office and warehouse capacity to support growth. As we purchase new properties, we will work to incorporate these properties into the environmental goals we have established. We estimate 2022 capital expenditures to be between $270 million and $300 million.

Our principal commitments consist of obligations under our Notes, inventory purchase and other contractual commitments. As of December 31, 2021, the long-term debt, net of unamortized discount and debt issuance costs, was $988.4 million. In addition, we enter into non-cancellable agreements with contract manufacturers to procure inventory based on our requirements in order to reduce manufacturing lead times, plan for adequate component supply or incentivize suppliers to deliver. In 2021, we significantly increased these commitments as contract manufacturers and component suppliers significantly increased their pricing and lead times. Inventory purchase commitments as of December 31, 2021, were $1.14 billion, an increase of $881.1 million compared to $259.4 million as of December 31, 2020. We estimate payments of $1.08 billion due on or before December 31, 2022 related to these commitments. We also have open purchase orders and contractual obligations in the ordinary course of business for which we have not received goods or services. As of December 31, 2021, we had $126.7 million in other contractual commitments having a remaining term in excess of one year that are non-cancelable.

As of December 31, 2021, our cash, cash equivalents, investments and marketable equity securities of $2.99 billion were invested primarily in deposit accounts, commercial paper, corporate debt securities, U.S. government and agency securities, certificates of deposit and term deposits, money market funds, municipal bonds and marketable equity securities. It is our investment policy to invest excess cash in a manner that preserves capital, provides liquidity and generates return without significantly increasing risk. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes.

The amount of cash, cash equivalents and investments held by our international subsidiaries was $132.4 million and $119.8 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and cash flow from operations will be sufficient for at least the next 12 months to meet our requirements and plans for cash, including meeting our working capital requirements and capital expenditure requirements. In the long term, our ability to support our requirements and plans for cash, including our working capital and capital expenditure requirements will depend on many factors, including our growth rate, the timing and amount of our share repurchases, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, the introduction of new and enhanced products and services offerings, the continuing market acceptance of our products, the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts, our investments in purchasing or leasing real estate and macroeconomic impacts such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, we have required capital principally to fund our working capital needs, share repurchases, capital expenditures and acquisition activities. In the event that additional financing is required from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all.

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During 2021, 2020 and 2019, we did not have any relationships with unconsolidated organizations or financial partnerships, such as structured finance or special purpose entities that would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.

Operating Activities

Cash generated by operating activities is our primary source of liquidity. It is primarily comprised of net income, as adjusted for non-cash items and changes in operating assets and liabilities. Non-cash adjustments consist primarily of stock-based compensation, amortization of deferred contract costs and depreciation and amortization. Changes in operating assets and liabilities consist primarily of changes in deferred revenue, deferred contract costs, deferred tax assets, and accounts receivable.

Our operating activities during 2021 provided cash flows of $1.50 billion as a result of the continued growth of our business and our ability to successfully manage our working capital. Changes in operating assets and liabilities primarily resulted from an increase in sales of our FortiGuard and other security subscription services and FortiCare technical support services to new and existing customers, as reflected by an increase in our deferred revenue. Our total deferred revenue balance grew $847.6 million, or 33%, during 2021.

Investing Activities

The changes in cash flows from investing activities primarily relate to timing of purchases, maturities and sales of investments, purchases of property and equipment, investments in various companies and business acquisitions. Historically, in making a lease versus ownership decision related to our larger facilities, we have considered various factors including financial metrics and the impact on our engineers and otheremployees, and expected long-term growth rates. In certain cases, we have elected to own the facility if we believed that purchasing building or developing buildings rather than leasing is more in line with our long-term strategy. We may make similar decisions in the future. We may also make cash payments in connection with future business combinations.

During 2021, cash used in investing activities was primarily driven by $752.2 million spent for purchases of investments, net of maturities and sales of investments, $295.9 million of purchases of property and equipment, a large portion of which relates to our headquarters building construction, $160.0 million used for purchases of investment in a privately held company, and $74.9 million used for the acquisitions of Alaxala, ShieldX and other, net of cash and $42.5 million used for purchases of marketable equity securities.

Financing Activities

The changes in cash flows from financing activities primarily relate to the issuance of the Notes, repurchase and retirement of common stock, and taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards, net of proceeds from the issuance of common stock under the 2009 Plan.

During 2021, cash provided by financing activities was $82.8 million, primarily driven by $987.0 million in cash proceeds from long-term investment grade debt, net of discount and underwriting fees, partially offset by $741.8 million used to repurchase shares of our common stock and $141.9 million used to pay tax withholding, net of proceeds from the issuance of common stock.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Refer to Note 1 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a full description of recently adopted accounting pronouncements.

ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Investment and Interest Rate Fluctuation Risk

We are exposed to interest rate risks related to our investment portfolio and outstanding debt.

The primary objectives of our investment activities are to preserve principal, provide liquidity and maximize income without significantly increasing risk. Some of the securities we invest in are subject to market risk. This means that a change in prevailing interest rates may cause the principal amount of the investment to fluctuate. To minimize this risk, we maintain our portfolio of cash, cash equivalents, investments and marketable equity securities in a variety of securities, including commercial paper, corporate debt securities, U.S. government and agency securities, certificates of deposit and term deposits, money

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market funds, municipal bonds and marketable equity securities. The risk associated with fluctuating interest rates is limited to our investment portfolio. A 10% decrease in interest rates in 2021, 2020 and 2019 would have resulted in an insignificant decrease in our interest income in each of these periods.

On March 5, 2021, we issued $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes, consisting of $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 1.0% notes due March 15, 2026 and $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2.2% notes due March 15, 2031. We carry the senior notes at face value less unamortized discount on our consolidated balance sheets. As the senior notes bear interest at a fixed rate, we have no financial statement risk associated with changes in interest rates. Refer to Note 11. Debt in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

Our sales contracts are primarily denominated in U.S. dollars and therefore substantially all of our revenue is not subject to foreign currency translation risk. However, a substantial portion of our operating expenses incurred outside the United States are denominated in foreign currencies and are subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly changes in the Canadian dollar (“CAD”), the Euro (“EUR”) and the British pound (“GBP”). To help protect against significant fluctuations in value and the volatility of future cash flows caused by changes in currency exchange rates, we engage in foreign currency risk management activities to minimize the impact of balance sheet items denominated in CAD. We do not use these contracts for speculative or trading purposes. All of the derivative instruments are with high quality financial institutions and we monitor the credit worthiness of these parties. These contracts typically have a maturity of one month and settle on the last day of each month. We record changes in the fair value of forward exchange contracts related to balance sheet accounts in other expense—net in the consolidated statements of income. We recognized an expense of $8.2 million in 2021 due to foreign currency transaction losses.

Our use of forward exchange contracts is intended to reduce, but not eliminate, the impact of currency exchange rate movements. Our forward exchange contracts are relatively short-term in nature and are focused on the CAD. Long-term material changes in the value of the U.S. dollar against other foreign currencies, such as the EUR and GBP, could adversely impact our operating expenses in the future. We assessed the risk of loss in fair values from the impact of hypothetical changes in foreign currency exchange rates. For foreign currency exchange rate risk, a 10% increase or decrease of foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar with all other variables held constant would have resulted in a $8.3 million change in the value of our foreign currency cash balances as of December 31, 2021.

Inflation Risk

Our monetary assets, consisting primarily of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, are not affected significantly by inflation because they are predominantly short-term. We believe the impact of inflation on replacement costs of equipment, furniture and leasehold improvements will not materially affect our operations. The rate of inflation, however, affects our cost of revenue and expenses, such as those for employee compensation, which may not be readily recoverable in the price of products and services offered by us.

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ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Page

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID No.34) 69

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 71

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 76

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of Fortinet, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Fortinet, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 25, 2022, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Litigation – Refer to Note 13 to the financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

The Company is involved in disputes, litigation and other legal actions in the normal course of business. Claims from third parties may result in a requirement to pay substantial damages and could prevent the Company from selling certain of their products. The Company accrues for a loss contingency if a loss is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These accruals are generally based on a range of possible outcomes that require significant management judgement.

Given the inherent uncertainty of the outcome of identified current matters, auditing the valuation assertion of litigation contingencies required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort when performing audit procedures.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the litigation contingencies included the following, among others:

•We tested the effectiveness of controls over management’s litigation contingency accrual analysis and assessment of matters

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with potential impact.

•We obtained and evaluated legal letters from internal and external legal counsel, and we discussed with internal legal counsel the pending litigation matters.

•We made inquiries with management to obtain an understanding of litigation matters that the Company is currently undergoing.

•We read available court filings for litigation matters to search for contradictory information.

•We read Board of Directors meeting minutes to search for contradictory information.

•We evaluated the assumptions used by the Company to estimate the litigation contingency, including corroborating the assumptions with internal legal counsel.

Investments in Privately Held Companies – Refer to Notes 1 and 6 to the financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

In fiscal year 2021, the Company invested $160 million in cash for shares of the Series A Preferred Stock of Linksys Holdings, Inc. (“Linksys”), for a 50.8% ownership interest. The Company accounts for its investment in Linksys using the equity method of accounting based on its determination that it does not hold an absolute controlling financial interest but has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of Linksys. Determining that the Company does not control but exercises significant influence over the operating and financial policies of Linksys required significant management judgement when considering many factors, including but not limited to, the ownership interest in Linksys, board representation, participation in policy-making processes, and participation rights in certain significant financial and operating decisions of Linksys in the ordinary course of business.

We identified the Company’s conclusion to account for its investment in Linksys using the equity method of accounting as a critical audit matter because of the complex judgments involved in determining that the Company does not hold a controlling financial interest but exercises significant influence. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve professionals with expertise in the accounting for equity method investments and consolidation accounting, when performing audit procedures to evaluate the appropriateness of the accounting conclusion.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the Company’s conclusion to account for its investment in Linksys using the equity method of accounting included the following, among others:

•We tested the effectiveness of controls over management’s assessment of the appropriateness of the accounting conclusion for the investment in Linksys under the equity method of accounting.

•We obtained and read the executed Linksys investment agreement to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of the terms used in management’s assessment that the Company does not control but has significant influence over Linksys.

•With the assistance of professionals in our firm having expertise in accounting for equity method investments and consolidation accounting, we evaluated management’s conclusion to account for the investment in Linksys as an equity method investment, including the appropriateness of the accounting policies applied and the determination that the Company does not control, but has significant influence over the operating and financial policies of Linksys.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

San Jose, California

February 25, 2022

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2002.

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FORTINET, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in millions, except per share amounts)

ASSETS

CURRENT ASSETS:

Marketable equity securities 38.6 —

Prepaid expenses and other current assets 65.4 43.3

OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS—NET 63.6 31.6

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

Accrued payroll and compensation 195.0 145.9

INCOME TAX LIABILITIES 79.5 90.3

LONG-TERM DEBT 988.4 —

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 13)

EQUITY:

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (4.8) 0.7

Total Fortinet, Inc. stockholders’ equity 781.7 856.0

Non-controlling interests 16.7 —

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

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FORTINET, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(in millions, except per share amounts)

Year Ended December 31,

REVENUE:

COST OF REVENUE:

GROSS PROFIT:

OPERATING EXPENSES:

Gain on intellectual property matter (4.6) (40.2) —

INTEREST EXPENSE (14.9) — —

OTHER EXPENSE—NET (11.6) (7.8) (7.5)

LOSS FROM EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENT (7.6) — —

NET INCOME INCLUDING NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS 606.7 488.5 331.7

LESS: NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS, NET OF TAX (0.1) — —

NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO FORTINET, INC. $ 606.8 $ 488.5 $ 331.7

Net income per share attributable to Fortinet, Inc. (Note 9):

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

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FORTINET, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in millions)

Year Ended December 31,

Net income including non-controlling interests $ 606.7 $ 488.5 $ 331.7

Other comprehensive income (loss):

Change in foreign currency translation (3.8) — —

Change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments (3.5) (0.2) 2.5

Other comprehensive income (loss) (6.5) (0.4) 2.0

Comprehensive income including non-controlling interests 600.2 488.1 333.7

Less: comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interests (1.1) — —

Comprehensive income attributable to Fortinet, Inc. $ 601.3 $ 488.1 $ 333.7

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

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FORTINET, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY

(in millions)

Shares Amount

Repurchase and retirement of common stock (1.9) — (12.1) — (128.8) — (140.9)

Stock-based compensation expense — — 173.0 — — — 173.0

Cumulative-effect adjustment from adoption of ASU 2018-02 — — — (0.1) 0.1 — —

Net unrealized gain on investments - net of tax — — — 2.0 — — 2.0

Stock-based compensation expense — — 191.7 — — — 191.7

Net unrealized loss on investments - net of tax — — — (0.4) — — (0.4)

Repurchase and retirement of common stock (2.6) — (19.2) — (722.6) — (741.8)

Stock-based compensation expense — — 207.9 — — — 207.9

Net unrealized loss on investments - net of tax — — — (2.7) — — (2.7)

Foreign currency translation adjustment — — — (2.8) — (1.0) (3.8)

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

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FORTINET, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in millions)

Year Ended December 31,

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

Net income including non-controlling interests $ 606.7 $ 488.5 $ 331.7

Amortization of investment premiums (discounts) 6.9 1.3 (6.0)

Loss from equity method investment 7.6 — —

Prepaid expenses and other current assets (17.7) (2.8) (2.1)

Accrued payroll and compensation 44.0 43.1 (2.7)

Other liabilities (0.7) 9.7 (0.2)

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

Purchases of property and equipment (295.9) (125.9) (92.2)

Purchases of investment in privately held company (160.0) — —

Purchases of marketable equity securities (42.5) — —

Net cash used in investing activities (1,325.1) (72.8) (502.3)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

Payments for debt issuance costs (2.4) — —

Repurchase and retirement of common stock (741.8) (1,080.1) (145.1)

Proceeds from issuance of common stock 26.0 22.1 49.5

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 82.8 (1,171.6) (195.6)

EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGES ON CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS (0.1) — —

NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 257.3 (160.7) 110.1

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:

Cash paid for income taxes—net $ 127.4 $ 39.7 $ 58.7

NON-CASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

Liability for purchase of property and equipment $ 21.9 $ 30.8 $ 16.0

Liability incurred in connection with business combination $ 0.9 $ 0.4 $ 3.0

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

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FORTINET, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. THE COMPANY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Business—Fortinet, Inc. (“Fortinet”) was incorporated in Delaware in 2000 and is a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions. Fortinet provides high performance cybersecurity solutions to a wide variety of businesses, such as large enterprises, communication service providers, government organizations and small to medium-sized enterprises. Fortinet’s cybersecurity solutions are designed to provide broad visibility and segmentation of the digital attack surface, through our integrated Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform with automated protection, detection and responses.

Basis of Presentation and Preparation—The consolidated financial statements of Fortinet and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). We consolidate all legal entities in which we have an absolute controlling financial interest. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates—The preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Such management estimates include, but are not limited to, the determination of contingent liabilities, the determination of our ability to exercise control or significant influence over our investee, the standalone selling price for our products and services, the period of benefit for deferred contract costs for commissions, stock-based compensation, inventory valuation, the fair value of tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations, the measurement of liabilities for uncertain tax positions and deferred tax assets and liabilities, the assessment of recoverability of our goodwill and other long-lived assets, measurement of non-marketable equity securities and the determination of sales returns reserves. We base our estimates on historical experience and also on assumptions that we believe are reasonable. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Concentration Risk—Financial instruments that subject us to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments, marketable equity securities and accounts receivable. Our cash balances are maintained as deposits with various large financial institutions in the United States and around the world. Balances in the United States typically exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. We maintain our cash equivalents and investments in money market funds, corporate debt securities, U.S. government and agency securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit and term deposits and municipal bonds with major financial institutions that our management believes are financially sound.

Our accounts receivable are derived from our customers in various geographic locations. We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers. We generally do not require collateral on accounts receivable, and we maintain reserves for estimated credit losses. As of December 31, 2021, Exclusive Networks Group (“Exclusive”), TD Synnex and Ingram Micro Inc. (“Ingram Micro”) accounted for 33%, 13% and 13% of total net accounts receivable, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, Exclusive and Ingram Micro accounted for 34% and 11% of total net accounts receivable, respectively.

During 2021, Exclusive and Ingram Micro accounted for 31% and 12% of total revenue, respectively. During 2020, Exclusive and Ingram Micro accounted for 30% and 10% of total revenue, respectively. During 2019, Exclusive and Ingram Micro accounted for 31% and 11% of total revenue, respectively.

We rely on a small number of manufacturing partners, primarily in Taiwan, to manufacture our products, and some of the chips and other components of our products used by the contract manufacturers are available from limited or sole sources of supply. Our proprietary Application-Specific Integrated Circuits are built by contract manufacturers located in Japan and Taiwan; other integrated circuits are provided by other chip manufacturers and are currently in short supply.

Financial Instruments and Fair Value—We define fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset, or paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities which are required to be recorded at fair value, we consider the principal or most advantageous market in which to transact and the market-based risk. We apply fair value accounting for all financial assets and liabilities and non-financial assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis. Due to their short-term nature, the carrying amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements approximate the fair value for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and accrued payroll and compensation.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

Comprehensive Income—Comprehensive income includes certain changes in equity from non-owner sources that are excluded from net income, specifically, cumulative foreign currency translation adjustments, unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale investments and the related tax impact.

Foreign Currency and Transaction Gains and Losses—The functional currency for most of our foreign subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. For our international subsidiary whose functional currency is the local currency, we translate the financial statements of these subsidiaries to U.S. dollars using the exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet dates for assets and liabilities, and average monthly rates of exchange for revenues, costs, and expenses. We record translation gains and losses in accumulated other comprehensive income as a component of equity. We reflect net foreign exchange transaction gains and losses resulting from the conversion of the transaction currency to functional currency as a component of foreign currency exchange gain (loss) in other expense, net. We recognized a foreign currency loss of $8.2 million, $5.5 million and $4.7 million in other expense, net, for 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.

Cash and Cash Equivalents—We consider all highly liquid investments, purchased with original maturities of three months or less, to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of balances with banks and highly liquid investments in commercial paper, corporate debt, term deposits and money market funds.

Available-for-Sale Investments—We hold investment grade securities consisting of commercial paper, corporate debt securities, U.S. government and agency securities, certificates of deposit and term deposits, money market funds and municipal bonds that our management believes are financially sound. We classify our investments as available-for-sale (“AFS”) at the time of purchase, since it is our intent that these investments are available for current operations. Investments with original maturities greater than three months with a remaining maturity of less than one year from the consolidated balance sheet date are classified as short-term investments. Investments with remaining maturities greater than one year from the consolidated balance sheet date are classified as long-term investments.

Our AFS investments in debt securities are carried at estimated fair value with any unrealized gains and losses, net of taxes, included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in consolidated statements of equity. AFS debt securities with an amortized cost basis in excess of estimated fair value are assessed to determine what amount of that difference, if any, is caused by expected credit losses. An investment is impaired if the fair value of the investment is less than its cost. If the fair value of an investment is less than its amortized cost basis at the balance sheet date and if we do not intend to sell the investment, we consider available evidence to assess whether it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the investment before the recovery of its amortized cost basis. We consult with our investment managers and consider available quantitative and qualitative evidence in evaluating, among other factors, general market conditions, the duration and extent to which the fair value is less than cost, and our ability to hold the investment. Once an impairment is determined to be attributable to credit-related factors, allowance for credit losses (i.e., the credit loss component) on AFS debt securities is recognized as credit loss expense, a charge in other expense—net, on our consolidated statements of income, and any remaining unrealized losses (i.e., the non-credit loss component), net of taxes, are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) on our consolidated statements of equity.

Prior to 2020, we followed the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 320 Investments—Debt and Equity Securities in determining whether unrealized losses were other than temporary. In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13—Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“Topic 326”). We adopted Topic 326 on January 1, 2020, and now consider whether unrealized losses have resulted from a credit loss or other factors. The unrealized losses on our AFS debt securities as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 were caused by fluctuations in market value and interest rates as a result of the market conditions. We concluded that an allowance for credit losses was unnecessary as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 and that the unrealized losses as of December 31, 2019 were temporary because (i) the decline in market value was attributable to changes in market conditions and not credit quality, and (ii) we concluded that neither do we intend to sell nor is it more likely than not that we will be required to sell these investments prior to recovery of their amortized cost basis. As a result, we had no credit losses recorded for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, and there was no impairment charge for any unrealized losses in 2019.

We determine realized gains or losses on sale of AFS debt securities using specific identification method to determine the cost basis of investments sold and record such gains or losses as other income (expense)-net on the consolidated statements of income. We have elected to not record an allowance for credit losses for accrued interest for AFS investments in debt

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FORTINET, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

securities and will reverse the accrued interest against interest income in the period in which we determine the accrued interest to be uncollectible.

Marketable Equity Securities—Our marketable equity investments with readily determinable fair values are accounted for at fair value through net income. Realized gains and losses on these securities are reported in other income (expense)-net, and are determined using the specific identification method.

Investments in privately held companies—Our investments in privately held companies consist of investments in common stock or in-substance common stock of entities. Certain of these investments provide us with the ability to exercise significant influence over the investee, but not an absolute controlling financial interest. These investments are accounted for under the equity method of accounting and were initially recorded at cost. Subsequently, we recognize our proportionate share of the entities’ net income or loss and the amortization of any basis differences as gain or loss from equity method investments in the consolidated statements of income and as an adjustment to the investment balance. We record our proportionate share of the results of equity method investments on a three-month lag basis. We evaluate our equity method investments at the end of each reporting period to determine whether events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the investment may not be recoverable. As of December 31, 2021, our investment in Linksys Holdings, Inc. (“Linksys”) was our only equity method investment and was recorded in other assets. Our remaining investments in privately held companies are recorded at cost and are not material.

Accounts receivable—Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount. On January 1, 2020, we adopted Topic 326, which provides guidance on how to measure credit losses on financial instruments, including accounts receivable. Prior to our adoption of Topic 326, our accounts receivable balance was reduced by an allowance for doubtful accounts that we determined based on our assessment of the collectability of customer accounts. Under Topic 326, our accounts receivable balance is reduced by an allowance for expected credit losses. We measure expected credit losses of accounts receivable on a collective (pooled) basis, aggregating accounts receivable that are either current or no more than 60 days past due, and aggregating accounts receivable that are more than 60 days past due. We apply a credit-loss percentage to each of the pools that is based on our historical credit losses. We review whether each of our significant accounts receivable that is more than 60 days past due continues to exhibit similar risk characteristics with the other accounts receivable in the pool. If we determine that it does not, we evaluate it for expected credit losses on an individual basis.

We further consider collectability trends for the allowance for credit losses based on our assessment of various factors, including credit quality of our customers, current economic conditions, reasonable and supportable forecasts of future economic conditions, and other factors that may affect our ability to collect from our customers. Expected credit losses are recorded as general and administrative expenses on our consolidated statements of income. The allowance for credit losses was $2.4 million and $2.5 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Provisions, write-offs and recoveries were not material during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Inventory—Inventory is recorded at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is computed using the first-in, first-out method. In assessing the ultimate recoverability of inventory, we make estimates regarding future customer demand, the timing of new product introductions, economic trends and market conditions. If the actual product demand is significantly lower than forecasted, we could be required to record inventory write-downs which would be charged to cost of product revenue.

Property and Equipment—Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. We do not depreciate the allocated cost of land. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:

Estimated Useful Lives

Building and building improvements 2 to 40 years

Computer equipment and software 1 to 7 years

Evaluation units 1 year

Furniture and fixtures 3 to 8 years

Leasehold improvements Shorter of useful life or lease term

Business Combinations—We include the results of operations of the businesses that we acquire as of the respective dates of acquisition. We allocate the fair value of the purchase price of our business acquisitions to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the fair

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FORTINET, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Our estimates and assumptions are subject to change and we often continue to gather additional information throughout the measurement period, which is up to 12 months after the acquisition date, and if we make changes to the amounts recorded, such amounts are recorded in the period in which they are identified.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets—We evaluate events and changes in circumstances that could indicate carrying amounts of long-lived assets, including intangible assets, may not be recoverable. When such events or changes in circumstances occur, we assess the recoverability of long-lived assets by determining whether the carrying value of such assets will be recovered through undiscounted expected future cash flows. If the total of the future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of those assets, we record an impairment charge in the period in which we make the determination. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. There were no impairments in 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Goodwill—Goodwill represents the excess of purchase consideration over the estimated fair value of net assets of businesses acquired in a business combination. Goodwill acquired in a business combination is not amortized, but instead tested for impairment at least annually during the fourth quarter, or sooner when circumstances indicate an impairment may exist. We perform a qualitative assessment in the fourth quarter of each year, or more frequently if indicators of potential impairment exist, to determine if any events or circumstances exist, such as an adverse change in business climate or a decline in the overall industry that would indicate that it would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount, including goodwill. Then we perform a quantitative impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. Any excess in the carrying value of a reporting unit over its fair value is recognized as an impairment loss in goodwill, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

We performed our annual goodwill impairment analysis and did not identify any impairment indicators as a result of the review. As of December 31, 2021, we had one reporting unit.

Other Intangible Assets—Intangible assets with finite lives are carried at cost, less accumulated amortization. Amortization is computed using the straight-line or accelerated method over the estimated economic lives of the assets, which range from one to ten years.

Income Taxes—We record income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns. In addition, deferred tax assets are recorded for the future benefit of utilizing net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the currently enacted tax rates that apply to taxable income in effect for the years in which those tax assets and liabilities are expected to be realized or settled. Valuation allowances are provided when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. We estimate actual current tax exposure together with assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as accruals and allowances not currently deductible for tax purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets, which are included in our consolidated balance sheets. In general, deferred tax assets represent future tax benefits to be received when certain expenses previously recognized in our consolidated statements of income become deductible expenses under applicable income tax laws, or loss or credit carryforwards are utilized.

In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. We continue to assess the need for a valuation allowance on the deferred tax assets by evaluating both positive and negative evidence that may exist. Any adjustment to the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets would be recorded in the consolidated statements of income for the period that the adjustment is determined to be required.

We recognize tax benefits from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not, based on the technical merits of the position, that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the tax authorities. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such positions are then measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

We have elected to account for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”), which was introduced in the 2017 Tax Act, as a current period expense.

Stock-Based Compensation—The fair value of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) is based on the closing market price of our common stock on the date of grant. We have elected to use the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) pricing model to determine the fair value of our employee stock options and our equity incentive plans. Stock-based compensation expense is amortized on a straight-line basis over the service period. We account for forfeitures of all stock-based payment awards when they occur.

Leases—We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception. The right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and the short and long-term lease liabilities from our operating leases are included in other assets, accrued liabilities and other liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets, respectively. The corresponding assets and, the short and long-term lease liabilities from our finance leases are included in property and equipment, accrued liabilities and other liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets, respectively.

The ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term. Lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments under the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The implicit rate within our operating leases is generally not determinable and therefore we use our incremental borrowing rate at the lease commencement date to determine the present value of lease payments. The determination of our incremental borrowing rate requires judgment. We determine our incremental borrowing rate for each lease using indicative bank borrowing rates, adjusted for various factors including level of collateralization, term and currency to align with the terms of a lease. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any lease prepayments and initial direct costs, net of lease incentives. Certain leases include options to extend or terminate the lease. An option to extend the lease is considered in connection with determining the ROU asset and lease liability when it is reasonably certain we will exercise that option. An option to terminate is considered unless it is reasonably certain we will not exercise the option.

Lease expense for lease payments for our operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. We begin recognizing rent expense on the date that a lessor makes an underlying asset that is subject to the lease available for our use. For our finance leases, we recognize amortization expense from the amortization of the corresponding assets and interest expense on the related lease liabilities.

Advertising Expense—Advertising costs are expensed when incurred and are included in operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. Our advertising expenses were not material for any periods presented.

Research and Development Costs—Research and development costs are expensed as incurred.

Software Development Costs—The costs to develop software that is marketed have not been capitalized as we believe our current software development process is essentially completed concurrently with the establishment of technological feasibility. Such costs are expensed as incurred and included in research and development in our consolidated statements of income.

The costs to obtain or develop software for internal use are capitalized based on qualifying criteria, which includes a determination of whether such costs are incurred during the application development stage. Such costs are amortized over the software’s estimated useful life.

Deferred Contract Costs and Commission Expense—Sales commissions earned by our sales force are considered incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a contract with a customer. We recognize sales commissions expenses related to product sales upfront while sales commissions expenses for service contracts are deferred as deferred contract costs in the consolidated balance sheets and amortized over the applicable amortization period. Commission costs for initial contracts that are not commensurate with commissions on renewal contracts are amortized on a straight-line basis over the period of benefit, which we have determined to be five years and which is typically longer than the initial contract term. The amortization of deferred contract costs is included in sales and marketing expense in our consolidated statements of income. Amortization of deferred contract costs during 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $175.9 million, $137.4 million and $107.9 million, respectively. No impairment loss was recognized during 2021, 2020 and 2019.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

Deferred Revenue—Deferred revenue consists of amounts that have been invoiced but that have not yet been recognized as revenue. Deferred revenue that will be recognized during the succeeding 12-month period is recorded as current deferred revenue and the remaining portion is recorded as non-current deferred revenue. The majority of deferred revenue is comprised of security subscription and technical support services which are invoiced upfront and delivered over 12 months or longer.

Revenue Recognition—Our revenue consists of product and service revenue. Revenues are recognized when control of these goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. We determine revenue recognition through the following steps:

•identification of a contract or contracts with a customer;

•identification of the performance obligations in a contract, including evaluation of performance obligations and evaluating the distinct goods or services in a contract;

•determination of a transaction price;

•allocation of a transaction price to the performance obligations in a contract; and

•recognition of revenue when, or as, we satisfy a performance obligation.

We derive a majority of product sales from our FortiGate hardware and virtual machine products which include a broad set of built-in security and networking features and functionalities, including firewall, next-generation firewall, secure web gateway, secure sockets layer (“SSL”) inspection, software-defined wide-area network, intrusion prevention, SSL data leak prevention, virtual private network, switch and wireless controller and wide area network edge.

We recognize product revenue upon shipment when control of the promised goods is transferred to the customer. Our term software licenses represent multiple performance obligations, which include software licenses and software support services where the term licenses are recognized upfront upon transfer of control, with the associated software support services recognized ratably over the contract term as services and software updates are provided.

Service revenue relates to sales of our FortiGuard security subscription, FortiCare technical support services and other services. Our typical subscription and contractual support term is one to five years. We generally recognize revenue from these services ratably over the support period because of continuous transfer of control to the customer. We also generate a small portion of our revenue from other services consisting of professional services, training and software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) which is either hosted by us or provided through cloud-providers. We recognize revenue from professional and training services as the services are provided. We recognize revenue from SaaS as the subscription service is delivered over the term, which is typically one year, or on a monthly usage basis. To date, SaaS revenue has not represented a significant percentage of our total revenue.

Our sales contracts typically contain multiple deliverables, such as hardware, software license, security subscription, technical support services and other services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. Our hardware and software licenses have significant standalone functionalities and capabilities. Accordingly, the hardware and software licenses are distinct from the security subscription and technical support services, as a customer can benefit from the product without the services and the services are separately identifiable within a contract. We allocate a transaction price to each performance obligation based on relative standalone selling price. We establish standalone selling price using the prices charged for a deliverable when sold separately. If not observable through past transactions, we determine standalone selling price by considering multiple historical factors including, but not limited to, cost of products, gross margin objectives, pricing practices, geographies and the term of a service contract. Revenue is reported net of sales tax.

In certain circumstances, our contracts include provisions for sales rebates and other customer incentive programs. Additionally, in limited circumstances, we may permit end-customers, distributors and resellers to return our products, subject to varying limitations, for a refund within a reasonably short period from the date of purchase. These amounts are accounted for as variable consideration that can decrease the transaction price. We estimate variable consideration using the expected-value method based on the most likely amounts to which we expect our customers to be entitled. We include estimated amounts in the transaction price to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. Our estimate for refund liabilities, which include sales returns reserve and customer rebates, was $49.2 million and $43.0 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is included in current liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet.

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We generally invoice at the time of our sale for the total price of the hardware, software licenses, security and technical support and other services. Standard payment terms are generally no more than 60 days, though we continue to offer extended payment terms to certain distributors. We also invoice certain services on a monthly basis. Amounts billed and due from our customers are classified as receivables on the balance sheet and do not bear interest. Our deferred revenue primarily consists of amounts that have been invoiced but have not been recognized as revenue as of period end.

Shipping and handling fees charged to our customers are recognized as revenue in the period shipped and the related costs for providing these services are recorded in cost of revenue. Shipping and handling fees recognized were not material during 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Warranties—We generally provide a one-year warranty for most hardware products and a 90-day warranty for software. We also provide extended warranties under the terms of our support agreements. A provision for estimated future costs related to warranty activities in the first year after product sale is recorded as a component of cost of product revenues when the product revenue is recognized, based upon historical product failure rates and historical costs incurred in correcting product failures. Warranty costs related to extended warranties sold under support agreements are recognized as cost of service revenue as incurred. In the event we change our warranty reserve estimates, the resulting charge against future cost of revenue or reversal of previously recorded charges may materially affect our gross margins and operating results. Accrued warranty was not significant as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Contingent Liabilities—From time to time, we are involved in disputes, litigation, and other legal actions. There are many uncertainties associated with any disputes, litigation and other legal actions, and these actions or other third-party claims against us may cause us to incur costly litigation fees, costs and substantial settlement charges, and possibly subject us to damages and other penalties, which are inherently difficult to estimate and could adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, the resolution of any IP litigation may require us to make royalty payments, which could adversely affect our gross margins in future periods. We periodically review significant claims and litigation matters for the probability of an adverse outcome. Estimates can change as individual claims develop. The actual liability in any such matters may be materially different from our estimates, which could result in the need to adjust our liability and record additional expenses, which may be material.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

Income Taxes

In December 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2019-12—Income Taxes (“Topic 740”): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. The amendments in ASU 2019-12 simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740. The amendments also improve consistent application and simplification of GAAP for other areas of Topic 740 by clarifying and amending existing guidance. ASU 2019-12 was effective for us beginning on January 1, 2021. The adoption of this guidance did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements and accompanying disclosures.

Business Combinations

In October 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-08—Business Combinations (“Topic 805”): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers. The amendments in ASU 2021-08 require that an entity recognizes and measures contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“Topic 606”). At the acquisition date, an acquirer should account for the related revenue contracts in accordance with Topic 606 as if it had originated the contracts. The amendments improve comparability for both the recognition and measurement of acquired revenue contracts with customers at the date of and after a business combination.

We early adopted ASU 2021-08 on January 1, 2021 on a retrospective basis for all business combinations for which the acquisition date occurred subsequent to January 1, 2021. The adoption of ASU 2021-08 resulted in the increase of goodwill by $3.0 million attributable mainly to the acquisition of Alaxala in 2021, as a result of the revised measurement of the assumed deferred revenue balance. The adoption of ASU 2021-08 did not have a material impact to our consolidated statement of income or consolidated statement of cash flows. The adoption did not have a material impact on the other acquisitions in 2021.

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2. REVENUE RECOGNITION

We sell cybersecurity solutions to a variety of organizations, such as enterprises, communication service providers, government organizations and small to medium-sized enterprises. Our revenue consists of product and service revenue. Product revenue is generated by our FortiGate network security products, our Fortinet Security Fabric cybersecurity mesh platform products and other products. Service revenue relates to sales of our security subscription services, which mainly consists of our FortiGuard security solutions, as well as our FortiCare technical support services and other services.

Disaggregation of Revenue

The following table presents our revenue disaggregated by major product and service lines (in millions):

Year Ended December 31,

Service:

Deferred Revenue

Our deferred revenue consists of amounts that have been invoiced but have not been recognized as revenue as of period end. During 2021, we recognized $1.37 billion in revenue that was included in the deferred revenue balance as of December 31, 2020. During 2020, we recognized $1.15 billion in revenue that was included in the deferred revenue balance as of December 31, 2019.

Transaction Price Allocated to the Remaining Performance Obligations

As of December 31, 2021, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations was $3.45 billion, which was substantially comprised of deferred security subscription and technical support services. We expect to recognize approximately $1.78 billion as revenue over the next 12 months and the remainder thereafter.

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3. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FAIR VALUE

The following tables summarize our available-for-sale securities (in millions):

AmortizedCost UnrealizedGains UnrealizedLosses FairValue

U.S. government and agency securities 356.1 — (1.0) 355.1

Certificates of deposit and term deposits (1) 169.1 — (0.1) 169.0

Municipal Bonds 5.4 — — 5.4

Total available-for-sale securities $ 1,637.3 $ — $ (2.5) $ 1,634.8

AmortizedCost UnrealizedGains UnrealizedLosses FairValue

U.S. government securities 184.9 — — 184.9

Certificates of deposit and term deposits (1) 112.0 — — 112.0

Total available-for-sale securities $ 892.8 $ 1.0 $ — $ 893.8

The following tables show the gross unrealized losses and the related fair values of our available-for-sale securities that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position (in millions):

Less Than 12 Months 12 Months or Greater Total

FairValue UnrealizedLosses FairValue UnrealizedLosses FairValue UnrealizedLosses

U.S. government and agency securities 334.2 (1.0) — — 334.2 (1.0)

Certificates of deposit and term deposits 93.1 (0.1) — — 93.1 (0.1)

Municipal Bonds 5.3 — — — 5.3 —

Total available-for-sale securities $ 1,215.0 $ (2.5) $ — $ — $ 1,215.0 $ (2.5)

Less Than 12 Months 12 Months or Greater Total

FairValue UnrealizedLosses FairValue UnrealizedLosses FairValue UnrealizedLosses

Commercial paper $ 61.5 $ — $ — $ — $ 61.5 $ —

Corporate debt securities 111.3 — — — 111.3 —

U.S. government securities 38.1 — — — 38.1 —

Certificates of deposit and term deposits 29.5 — — — 29.5 —

Total available-for-sale securities $ 240.4 $ — $ — $ — $ 240.4 $ —

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