ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors including, but not limited to, those discussed under Item 1A, "Risk Factors." The following analysis generally discusses 2024 and 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2024 and 2023. Discussions of 2022 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2023 and 2022 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on February 21, 2024.
Overview
We develop, manufacture and sell high-performance fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, diode lasers and laser-based systems that are used for diverse applications, primarily in materials processing, medical and advanced applications. We also manufacture and sell complementary products used with our lasers including optical delivery cables, fiber couplers, beam switches, optical processing heads, in-line sensors and chillers. We sell our products globally to original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs"), system integrators and end users. We market our products internationally, primarily through our
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direct sales force. Our major manufacturing facilities are located in the United States and Germany. In response to the risks from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and related sanctions, we have ceased new investment in our Belarusian operations and expanded our manufacturing operations in Germany, the United States and Italy, and have added manufacturing capacity in Poland to meet the demand for our products and our sales and support needs. We have sales and service offices and applications laboratories worldwide.
We are vertically integrated such that we design and manufacture most of the key components used in our finished products, from semiconductor diodes to optical fiber preforms, finished fiber lasers and complementary products. Our vertically integrated operations allow us to reduce manufacturing costs, control quality, rapidly develop and integrate advanced products and protect our proprietary technology.
Description of Our Net Sales, Costs and Expenses
Net sales. We derive net sales primarily from the sale of fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, diode lasers, laser and non-laser based systems and complementary products. We sell our products to OEMs that supply materials processing laser systems, medical laser systems and other laser systems to end users. We also sell our laser products and laser and non-laser based systems to end users. Our scientists and engineers work closely with OEMs, systems integrators and end users to analyze their system requirements and match appropriate fiber laser, amplifier or system specifications to those requirements. Our sales cycle varies substantially, ranging from a period of a few weeks to as long as one year or more, but is typically several months.
Sales of our products are generally recognized upon shipment, provided that no obligations remain and collection of the receivable is reasonably assured. Sales of customized large scale material processing systems are recognized over time. Our sales typically are made on a purchase order basis rather than through long-term purchase commitments.
We develop our products to standard specifications and use a common set of components within our product architectures. Our major products are based upon a common technology platform. We continually enhance these and other products by improving their components and developing new components and new product designs.
Cost of sales. Our cost of sales consists primarily of the cost of raw materials and components, direct labor expenses and manufacturing overhead. We are vertically integrated and currently manufacture all critical components for our products as well as assemble finished products. We believe our vertical integration allows us to increase efficiencies, leverage our scale and lower our cost of sales. Cost of sales also includes personnel costs and overhead related to our manufacturing, engineering and service operations, related occupancy and equipment costs, shipping costs and reserves for inventory obsolescence and for warranty obligations. Inventories are written off and charged to cost of sales when identified as excess or obsolete.
Due to our vertical integration strategy and ongoing investment in plant and machinery, we maintain a relatively high fixed manufacturing overhead. We may not be able to or choose not to adjust these fixed costs to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions. Our gross margin is therefore significantly affected by our sales volume and the corresponding utilization of capacity and absorption of fixed manufacturing overhead expenses.
Sales and marketing. Our sales and marketing expense consists primarily of costs related to compensation, trade shows, professional and technical conferences, travel, facilities, amortization of intangible assets identified from acquisitions, depreciation of equipment used for demonstration purposes and other marketing costs.
Research and development. Our research and development expense consists primarily of compensation, development expenses related to the design of our products and certain components, the cost of materials and components to build prototype devices for testing, facilities costs and depreciation of equipment and facilities that have an alternative future use used for research and development purposes. Costs related to product development are recorded as research and development expenses in the period in which they are incurred.
General and administrative. Our general and administrative expense consists primarily of compensation and associated costs for executive management, finance, legal, human resources, information technology and other administrative personnel, outside legal and professional fees, insurance premiums and fees, allocated facilities costs, depreciation of facilities and other corporate expenses such as charges and benefits related to the change in allowance for credit losses.
Factors and Trends That Affect Our Operations and Financial Results
In reading our financial statements, you should be aware of the following factors and trends that our management believes are important in understanding our financial performance.
Sale of our Russian Operations. On August 29, 2024, we completed the sale of our Russian subsidiary, Scientific and Technical Association “IRE-Polus”, pursuant to a share purchase agreement with a purchaser entity associated with Softline
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Projects LLC and existing management of IRE-Polus for $51.1 million. We recorded a loss on divestiture of $197.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, which was included in Net loss (gain) from divestiture and sale of assets in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The loss included $59.3 million related to the carrying value of net assets of our Russian subsidiary that was in excess of net proceeds received on the sale. Included in the net assets sold was cash and cash equivalents of $74.0 million. Also included in the loss was $135.3 million related to the cumulative translation adjustment component of other comprehensive loss that was previously included in stockholders' equity of our Consolidated Balance Sheets. As a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and related sanctions, our ability to ship and receive components from our Russian operations was significantly curtailed. In response, we expanded our manufacturing capacity in Germany, the United States and Italy, and added new manufacturing capacity in Poland which effectively offset our inability to utilize the Russian operations.
Belarusian Operations. We manufacture laser cabinets and other mechanical components in Belarus. In response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU issued additional sanctions impacting commerce with Belarus on June 29, 2024, which restricted the supply of laser cabinets and other mechanical components from our factory in Belarus to our Germany operations after October 2, 2024. As a result of the sanctions and their impact on our Belarus operations, we completed an impairment analysis of our Belarus assets during the third quarter of 2024 and recorded $26.6 million of impairment of long-lived asset in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. At December 31, 2024, the remaining value of the long-lived assets in Belarus was $3.8 million, net working capital excluding cash was immaterial and cash was $4.7 million. The net asset value of our Belarus subsidiary has been reduced by $18.6 million due to the cumulative translation effect of the Belarusian ruble compared to the U.S. dollar, which is included in the accumulated other comprehensive loss component of stockholders' equity. We may incur additional asset impairment charges related to the Belarus operations and the other comprehensive loss that is currently in the equity section of our Consolidated Balance Sheets could be charged to our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
We continue to review our operations in Belarus including potential strategic alternatives. We have qualified third party vendors to supply components previously supplied from Belarus and have begun purchasing from them. Our Board of Directors monitors and continues to assess risks associated with our Belarusian operations.
Supply Chain. We experienced supply chain issues related to the Covid epidemic and related to sanctions that affected the flow of goods to and from our factories in Russia and Belarus. These issues caused us to maintain higher levels of inventory in order to minimize the risk of disruption in production. While these supply chain issues are no longer having a significant impact on our operations, we have experienced increases in our provisions for excess and obsolete inventory as a result of higher inventory levels. In 2024, we recorded additional inventory provisions of $29.5 million attributed to items previously considered safety stock and items that became technologically obsolete.
Net sales. Net sales decreased by 24% in 2024, decreased by 10% in 2023 and decreased 2% in 2022. Our growth rates are subject to several factors, many of which are not under our control.
Our business depends substantially upon capital expenditures by end users, particularly by manufacturers using our products for materials processing, which includes general manufacturing, automotive including electric vehicles ("EV"), other transportation, aerospace, heavy industry, consumer, semiconductor and electronics. Approximately 88% of our revenues in 2024 were from customers using our products for materials processing. Although applications within materials processing are broad, the capital equipment market in general is cyclical and historically has experienced sudden and severe downturns. For the foreseeable future, our operations will continue to depend upon capital expenditures by end users of materials processing equipment and will be subject to the broader fluctuations of capital equipment spending.
In recent years, our net sales and margins have been negatively impacted by tariffs and trade policy. New tariffs and other changes in U.S. trade policy could trigger retaliatory actions by affected countries, and certain foreign governments. We are also susceptible to global or regional disruptions such as political instability, geopolitical conflicts, acts of terrorism, significant fluctuations in currency values, natural disasters and pandemics to the extent that they affect macroeconomic conditions, global supply chains or individual IPG locations.
The average selling prices of our products generally decrease as the products mature. These decreases result from factors such as increased competition, decreased manufacturing costs and increased unit volumes. We may also reduce selling prices in order to penetrate new markets and applications. Furthermore, we may negotiate discounted selling prices from time to time with certain customers that place high unit-volume orders.
The secular shift to fiber laser technology in large materials processing applications, such as welding and cutting applications, had a positive effect on our sales trends in the past such that our sales trends were often better than other capital equipment manufacturers in both positive and negative economic cycles. As the secular shift to fiber laser technology matures in such applications, our sales trends are more susceptible to economic cycles, which can broadly affect the demand for capital
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equipment including machine tools and industrial lasers, and competition from other fiber laser manufacturers. Additionally, as our technology matures, we become subject to more competition which can affect sales trends.
Gross margin. Our total gross margin in any period can be significantly affected by a number of factors, including net sales, production volumes, competitive factors, product mix, and by other factors such as changes in foreign exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar. Many of these factors are not under our control. The following are examples of factors affecting gross margin:
•As our products mature, we can experience additional competition, which tends to decrease average selling prices and affects gross margin;
•Our gross margin can be significantly affected by product mix. Within each of our product categories, the gross margin is generally higher for devices with greater average power, higher technical complexity or demanding performance parameters. These higher power products often have better performance, more difficult specifications to attain and fewer competing products in the marketplace;
•Higher power lasers also use a greater number of optical components, improving absorption of fixed overhead costs and enabling economies of scale in manufacturing;
•The gross margin for certain specialty products may be higher because there are fewer or sometimes no equivalent competing products;
•Customers that purchase devices in greater unit volumes generally are provided lower prices per device than customers that purchase fewer units. In general, lower selling prices to high unit volume customers reduce gross margin although this may be partially offset by improved absorption of fixed overhead costs associated with larger product volumes, which drive economies of scale;
•Gross margin on systems can be lower than gross margin for our lasers and sub-systems, depending on the configuration, volume and competitive forces, among other factors;
•Persistent inflation leading to increases in average manufacturing salaries as well as an increase in the purchase price of components including, but not limited to, electronic components and metal parts could negatively impact gross margin if we are not able to pass those increases on to customers by increasing the selling price of our products;
•Changes in relative exchange rates between currencies we receive when selling our products and currencies we use to pay our manufacturing expenses; and finally,
•Our gross margin from products on new manufacturing lines can be lower due to production inefficiencies, lower yields and high scrap costs.
We expect that some new technologies, products and systems will have returns above our cost of capital but may have gross margins below our corporate average. If we are able to develop opportunities that are significant in size, competitively advantageous or leverage our existing technology base and leadership, our current gross margin levels may not be maintained. Instead, we aim to deliver industry-leading levels of gross margins by growing sales, by taking market share in existing markets, or by developing new applications and markets we address, by reducing the cost of our products and by optimizing the efficiency of our manufacturing operations.
We invested $98.5 million, $110.5 million and $110.1 million in capital expenditures in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Most of this investment relates to expansion of our manufacturing capacity and, to a lesser extent, research and development and sales-related facilities. We received $28.6 million, $31.2 million and $26.9 million in proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
A high proportion of our costs is fixed so costs are generally difficult to adjust or may take time to adjust in response to changes in demand. In addition, our fixed costs increase as we expand our capacity. If we expand capacity faster than is required by sales growth, gross margins could be negatively affected. Gross margins generally decline if production volumes are lower as a result of a decrease in sales or a reduction in inventory because the absorption of fixed manufacturing costs will be reduced. Gross margins generally improve when the opposite occurs. If both sales and inventory decrease in the same period, the decline in gross margin may be greater if we cannot reduce fixed costs or choose not to reduce fixed costs to match the decrease in the level of production. If we experience a decline in sales that reduces absorption of our fixed costs, or if we have production issues, our gross margins will be negatively affected.
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We also regularly review our inventory for items that are slow-moving, have been rendered obsolete or are determined to be excess. Any provision for such slow-moving, obsolete or excess inventory affects our gross margins. For example, we recorded provisions for slow-moving, obsolete or excess inventory and other inventory related charges totaling $82.5 million, $45.5 million and $128.0 million in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Inventory provisions of $29.5 million in 2024 were attributed to items previously considered safety stock and items that became technologically obsolete. Inventory provision and related charges of $74.1 million in 2022 were attributable to Russian operations.
Selling and general and administrative expenses. In the past, we invested in selling and general and administrative costs in order to support continued growth in the Company. As the secular shift to fiber laser technology matures, our sales growth becomes more susceptible to the cyclical trends typical of capital equipment manufacturers. Accordingly, our future management of and investments in selling and general and administrative expenses will also be influenced by these trends, although we may still invest in selling or general and administrative functions to support certain initiatives even in economic down cycles. Certain general and administrative expenses are not related to the level of sales and may vary quarter to quarter based primarily upon the level of acquisitions, litigation and project related consulting expenses.
Research and development expenses. We plan to continue to invest in research and development to improve our existing components and products and develop new components, products, systems and applications technology. We believe that these investments will sustain our position as a leader in the fiber laser industry and will support development of new products that can address new markets and growth opportunities. The amount of research and development expense we incur may vary from period to period.
Goodwill and long-lived assets impairments. We review our intangible assets and property, plant and equipment for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Goodwill is required to be tested for impairment at least annually. Negative industry or economic trends, including reduced estimates of future cash flows, disruptions to our business, slower growth rates, lack of growth in our relevant business units, differences in the estimated product acceptance rates, or market prices below the carrying value of long-lived assets evaluated for sale could lead to impairment charges against our long-lived assets, including goodwill and other intangible assets.
As noted above, we recorded $26.6 million impairment of long-lived assets included in Impairment of long-lived assets in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. After impairment, the remaining carrying value of the long-lived assets in Belarus is $3.8 million.
Our valuation methodology for assessing impairment requires management to make significant judgments and assumptions based on historical experience and to rely heavily on projections of future operating performance at many points during the analysis. Also, the process of evaluating the potential impairment of goodwill is subjective. We operate in a highly competitive environment and projections of future operating results and cash flows may vary significantly from actual results. If our analysis indicates potential impairment to goodwill in one or more of our reporting units, we may be required to record charges to earnings in our financial statements, which could negatively affect our results of operations.
Foreign exchange. Because we are a U.S.-based company doing business globally, we have both translational and transactional exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Changes in the relative exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the foreign currencies in which our subsidiaries operate directly affects our sales, costs and earnings. Differences in the relative exchange rates between where we sell our products and where we incur manufacturing and other operating costs (primarily in the U.S. and Germany) also affects our costs and earnings. Certain currencies experiencing significant exchange rate fluctuations like the euro, the Russian ruble, the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen have had and could have an additional significant impact on our sales, costs and earnings. Our ability to adjust the foreign currency selling prices of products in response to changes in exchange rates is limited and may not offset the impact of the changes in exchange rates on the translated value of sales or costs. In addition, if we increase the selling price of our products in local currencies, this could have a negative impact on the demand for our products.
Income taxes. On December 15, 2022, the European Union (EU) Member States formally adopted the EU’s Pillar Two Directive, which generally provides for a minimum effective tax rate of 15%, as established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") Pillar Two Framework that was supported by over 130 countries worldwide. The EU effective dates were January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, for different aspects of the directive. The impact of the Pillar Two Framework on our income tax provision in 2024 was not material. We are continuing to evaluate the potential impact of the Pillar Two Framework on future periods, pending legislative adoption by additional individual countries.
Major customers. While we have historically depended on a few customers for a large percentage of our annual net sales, the composition of this group can change from year to year. Net sales derived from our five largest customers as a percentage of our annual net sales were 13%, 13% and 15% in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. One of our customers accounted for 12% and 14% of our net accounts receivable as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.We seek to add new customers and to
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expand our relationships with existing customers. We anticipate that the composition of our significant customers will continue to change. We generally do not enter into agreements with our customers obligating them to purchase a fixed number or large volume of our products. If any of our significant customers substantially reduced their purchases from us, our results would be adversely affected.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of net sales and expenses. Refer to Note 1, "Nature of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," in our consolidated financial statements for additional information. By their nature, these estimates and judgments are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. We base our estimates and judgments on our historical experience and on other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making the judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates, which may materially affect our operating results and financial position. We have identified the following items that require the most significant judgment and often involve complex estimation:
Revenue Recognition. Revenue is recognized when transfer of control to the customer occurs (i.e., when our performance obligation is satisfied) in an amount reflecting the consideration that we expect to be entitled. For the majority of our revenue, this typically occurs at a point in time such as shipment or delivery date, but can occur over time for certain of our customized large scale materials processing systems contracts. We also recognize revenue over time for sales of extended warranties. When goods or services have been delivered to the customer, but all conditions for revenue recognition have not been met, deferred revenue and deferred costs are recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Judgments and Uncertainties: Recognizing revenue at shipment or delivery involves some judgment, particularly when we receive orders with multiple delivery dates. We allocate the transaction price of the contract to each delivery date based upon the standalone selling price of each distinct product in the contract. We invoice for each scheduled delivery upon shipment and recognize revenue for such delivery when transfer of control has occurred. Recognizing revenue over time for customized large scale materials processing systems contracts is based on our judgment that these systems do not have an alternative use and we have an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. Recognizing revenue over time also requires estimation of the progress towards completion based on the projected costs of the contract.
Sensitivity of Estimate to Change: Recognizing revenue at a point in time is sensitive to changes in shipping or delivery dates. Revenue recognition over time is sensitive to the actual costs incurred as compared to the projected total cost of the project. We monitor the actual and projected costs of these contracts closely. A change in the projected cost of a project will affect the estimated percentage of completion, the amount of revenue recognized and estimated gross margin.
Inventory. We maintain a reserve for excess or obsolete inventory items. The reserve is based upon a review of inventory materials on hand, which we compare with historic usage, estimated future usage and age. In addition, we review the inventory and compare recorded costs with estimates of current market value. Write-downs are recorded to reduce the carrying value to the net realizable value with respect to any part with costs in excess of current market value. In the fourth quarter of 2022, we performed a review of the inventory in Russia in light of new sanctions which restricted our Russian factory's ability to supply components and finished goods to other IPG locations. We recorded $74.1 million of additional inventory provision and related charges as a result of that review in 2022. In the third quarter of 2024, we recorded $29.5 million of additional inventory provision that was attributed to items previously considered safety stock and items that became technologically obsolete.
Judgments and Uncertainties: Estimating demand and current market values is inherently difficult, particularly given that we make highly specialized components and products. We determine the valuation of excess and obsolete inventory by making our best estimate considering the current quantities of inventory on hand and our forecast of the need for this inventory to support future sales of our products. We often have limited information on which to base our forecasts. If future sales differ from these forecasts, the valuation of excess and obsolete inventory may change and additional inventory provisions may be required.
Sensitivity of Estimate to Change: Because of our vertical integration, a significant or sudden decrease in sales could result in a significant change in the estimates of excess or obsolete inventory valuation. Because our calculation of slow-moving, excess or obsolete inventory is based on historical and estimated future use of inventory items, the calculation is affected by sales trends. In 2024, we recorded inventory provision of $29.5 million for items previously considered safety stock and items that became technologically obsolete. In 2023, as sales decreased the inventory provision related to slow-moving, excess or obsolete inventory increased. In 2022, we recorded inventory provision and related charges of $74.1 million as a
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result of the review of the inventory in Russia. For the rest of our operations, as safety stock increased excess and obsolete inventory reserves increased during 2022.
Long-lived Asset Impairment. Long-lived assets including definite-lived intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life. We review these assets for impairment when conditions exist that indicate the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. Such conditions could include significant adverse changes in the business climate, current-period operating or cash flow losses, significant declines in forecasted operations, or a current expectation that an asset group will be disposed of before the end of its useful life. We perform undiscounted operating cash flow analyses to determine if an impairment exists. When testing for impairment of long-lived assets held for use, we group assets at the lowest level for which cash flows are separately identifiable. If an impairment is determined to exist, the loss is calculated based on estimated fair value based on a probability-weighted average of valuations using the discounted cash flow method under the income approach. We recorded long-lived asset impairment charge of $27.0 million, $1.2 million, and $79.9 million in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Impairment charges in 2022 and 2024 primarily related to the impairment of our Russian and Belarus long-lived assets, respectively, as a result of new sanctions that impacted our business there.
Judgments and Uncertainties: Our valuation methodology for assessing impairment requires management to make significant judgments and assumptions based on historical experience and to rely heavily on projections of future operating performance at many points during the analysis. Estimating undiscounted operating cash flow used to determine if there is indication of impairment of a long-lived asset requires us to make assumptions and estimates regarding our future plans, as well as industry, economic, and regulatory conditions. Fair value estimates performed to determine impairment charge amounts are subject to underlying changes in estimates and market conditions. Assumptions used in long-lived asset impairment are made at a point in time and require significant judgment; therefore, they are subject to change based on the facts and circumstances present at each impairment test date.
Sensitivity of Estimate to Change: Undiscounted cash flows and fair value are sensitive to changes in underlying assumptions, estimates, and market factors. Negative industry or economic trends, including reduced estimates of future cash flows, disruptions to our business, slower growth rates, lack of growth in our relevant business units, differences in the estimated product acceptance rates, or market prices below the carrying value of long-lived assets evaluated for sale could lead to impairment charges against our long-lived assets.
Income Taxes and Deferred Taxes. Our annual tax rate is based on the income generated in the jurisdictions in which we operate, the statutory tax rates in those jurisdictions and tax planning opportunities available to the Company. We file federal and state income tax returns in the United States and income tax returns in all the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate.
Judgments and Uncertainties: We estimate our income tax expense in each jurisdiction we operate in after considering, among other factors, the pricing of inter-company transactions on an arm’s length basis, the differing tax rates between jurisdictions, allocation factors, tax credits, nondeductible items and changes in enacted tax rates. Significant judgment is required in determining the pricing of inter-company transactions, our annual tax expense and in evaluating our tax positions in the various jurisdictions in which we operate. As we continue to expand globally, there is a risk that, due to complexity within and diversity among the various jurisdictions in which we do business, a governmental agency may disagree with the manner in which we have computed our taxes. Additionally, due to the lack of uniformity among all of the foreign and domestic taxing authorities, there may be situations where the tax treatment of an item in one jurisdiction is different from the tax treatment in another jurisdiction or that the transaction causes a tax liability to arise in another jurisdiction.
In addition, we review the deferred tax assets in each jurisdiction and the positive and negative evidence that would support a conclusion that a valuation allowance is or is not needed. Where it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, we record a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets. The decision to establish a valuation allowance or reverse it is based on management’s judgment based on the weight of available evidence including forecasts of future taxable income and the future reversal of existing taxable temporary differences.
Sensitivity of Estimate to Change: We provide reserves for potential payments of tax to various tax authorities related to uncertain tax positions and other issues. Reserves recorded are based on a determination of tax benefits claimed in our tax filings and whether these positions are more likely than not to be realized following the resolution of any potential tax audits related to the tax benefit, assuming that the matter in question will be reviewed by the tax authorities. Potential interest and penalties associated with such uncertain tax positions are recorded as a component of income tax expense. As of December 31, 2024, we had $13.9 million of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, recorded in other long-term liabilities and deferred income taxes on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. This tax liability increased by $0.2 million for tax positions taken in the current year offset by reductions of $3.4 million for changes in prior period positions.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth selected statement of operations data for the periods indicated in dollar amounts and expressed as a percentage of net sales:
Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands, except percentages and per share data)
Operating expenses:
Restructuring charges (recoveries), net — — (288) — 9,697 0.7
Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interest — — — — 853 0.1
Net (loss) income attributable to IPG Photonics Corporation per common share:
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Comparison of Year Ended December 31, 2024 to Year Ended December 31, 2023
Net sales. Net sales decreased by $310.3 million, or 24.1%, to $977.1 million in 2024 from $1,287.4 million in 2023. The table below sets forth sales by application:
Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands, except for percentages)
Sales by Application % of Total % of Total
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The table below sets forth sales by type of product and other revenue:
Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands, except for percentages)
Sales by Product % of Total % of Total
Materials Processing
Sales for materials processing applications decreased primarily due to lower sales of high power CW lasers, pulsed lasers, and other laser products and services.
•High power CW laser sales decreased due to lower sales for cutting and welding applications, and were primarily impacted by softer industrial demand and a decrease in e-mobility investments. Pulsed laser sales decreased due to lower demand in foil cutting and micro-machining applications.
Other Applications
Sales from other applications decreased primarily due to decreased demand for lasers used in medical procedures.
Our net sales were derived from customers in the following geographic regions:
Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands, except for percentages)
Sales by Geography % of Total % of Total
Europe:
Asia:
(1)The substantial majority of sales in North America are to customers in the United States.
Cost of sales and gross margin. Cost of sales decreased by $106.7 million, or 14.3%, to $639.0 million in 2024 from $745.7 million in 2023. Our gross margin decreased to 34.6% in 2024 from 42.1% in 2023. Gross margin decreased mainly due to increased provisions for excess and obsolete inventory, specifically additional inventory provisions of $29.5 million attributed to items previously considered safety stock and items that became technologically obsolete. In addition to provisions for inventory reserves, gross margin declined due to an increase in unabsorbed manufacturing costs, partially offset by a decrease in cost of product sold from inventory and shipping costs and tariffs, as a percentage of sales. Expenses related to provisions for excess or obsolete inventory and other valuation adjustments increased by $37.0 million to $82.5 million, or
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8.4% of sales, for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to $45.5 million, or 3.5% of sales, for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Sales and marketing expense. Sales and marketing expense increased by $3.9 million, or 4.6%, to $89.6 million in 2024 from $85.7 million in 2023. This change was primarily a result of an increase of $3.5 million in personnel and related costs and $2.3 million in premises expense, partially offset by $2.2 million in lower depreciation and amortization expense. As a percentage of sales, sales and marketing expense was 9.2% and 6.7% of sales in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Research and development expense. Research and development expense increased by $11.1 million, or 11.2%, to $109.8 million in 2024 from $98.7 million in 2023. This change was primarily a result of an increase of $8.3 million in personnel and related costs, an increase of $5.8 million in premises expense, partially offset by a decrease of $3.6 million in materials and other R&D expense. As a percentage of sales, research and development expense increased to 11.2% in 2024 from 7.7% in 2023. We expect to continue to invest in research and development efforts for new and continuing products.
General and administrative expense. General and administrative expense decreased by $1.4 million, or 1.1%, to $124.3 million in 2024 from $125.7 million in 2023. This change was primarily a result of a decrease of $3.8 million in personnel and related costs, partially offset by an increase of $1.0 million in legal, $0.8 million in information systems, and $0.6 million in accounting expense. As a percentage of sales, general and administrative expense increased to 12.7% in 2024 from 9.8% in 2023.
Effect of exchange rates on sales, gross margin and operating expenses. We estimate that if exchange rates had been the same as one year ago, sales in 2024 would have been $15.6 million higher, gross margin would have been $9.2 million higher and sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses would have been $3.8 million higher. These estimates assume constant exchange rates between fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2023 and are calculated using the average exchange rates for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2023 for the respective currencies, which were US$1=Euro 0.92, US$1=Japanese yen 141, US$1=Chinese yuan 7.08 and US$1=Russian ruble 85.
Net loss (gain) from divestiture and sale of assets. We incurred a net loss of $190.2 million in 2024 as compared to no loss or gain in 2023. The loss primarily related to a loss of $197.7 million upon the divestiture of our Russian operations, partially offset by a gain on sale of assets of $7.5 million related to the sales of a building and land in the U.S. and a building in the U.K.
Impairment of long-lived assets. We recorded a non-cash long-lived asset impairment charge of $27.0 million in 2024 as compared to $1.2 million in 2023. The impairment of long-lived assets in 2024 was primarily related to an impairment of the assets in Belarus of $26.6 million as a result of new EU sanctions that will limit our ability to supply laser cabinets and other mechanical components from our factory in Belarus. The impairment of long-lived assets in 2023 was related to the right-of-use ("ROU") asset for a leased building associated with our Submarine Network Division business that was previously divested. Attempts to sublease the space have been unsuccessful. As of December 31, 2023, the ROU asset related to this lease has been reduced to zero.
Restructuring charges (recoveries), net. We recorded no restructuring charges nor recoveries in 2024 as compared to a net restructuring gain of $0.3 million in 2023 primarily related to the completion of our restructuring program at our Russian subsidiary.
Loss (gain) on foreign exchange. We incurred a foreign exchange loss of $5.5 million in 2024 as compared to a gain of $1.4 million in 2023. The losses in 2024 was primarily attributable to depreciation of the Chinese yuan and Korean won, partially offset by the gain from depreciation of the Euro, as compared to the U.S. dollar.
Interest income, net. Interest income, net was $45.5 million in 2024 compared to $41.7 million in 2023. The change in interest income, net, was driven by an increase in yields on cash equivalents and short term investments as a result of higher market interest rates as compared to prior year rates.
Provision for income taxes. Provision for income taxes was $19.6 million in 2024 compared to $56.0 million in 2023, representing an effective tax rate of (12.1)% in 2024 and 20.4% in 2023. The decrease in tax expense was due primarily to a reduction in taxable income. In 2024 we had tax expense on a loss before income due to the effect of discrete items. Total discrete adjustments in 2024 increased tax expense by $46.0 million. Discrete items include an increase in tax expense of $43.2 million related the loss on divestiture of Russian operations that had no tax benefit. Other discrete items for 2024 included a $3.2 million benefit related to a decrease in uncertain tax positions and the results of tax audits. This benefit was offset by an increase in tax expense of $5.4 million for equity-based compensation deductions reflected in book income in excess of the deductions allowed for tax purposes. Discrete adjustments in 2023 resulted in a $5.7 million decrease in tax expense, which includes (i) $4.3 million decrease in the valuation allowance primarily due to current year profits in our Russian subsidiary and
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(ii) $3.5 million related to a decrease in uncertain tax positions and the results of tax audits. These benefits were partly offset by an increase in tax expense of $1.8 million for equity-based compensation deductions reflected in book income in excess of the deductions allowed for tax purposes.
Net (loss) income attributed to IPG Photonics Corporation. Net (loss) income attributable to IPG Photonics Corporation decreased by $400.4 million to a net loss of $181.5 million in 2024 from a net income of $218.9 million in 2023. Net loss attributable to IPG Photonics Corporation as a percentage of our net sales decreased by 35.6% to (18.6)% in 2024 from 17.0% in 2023 due to the factors described above.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, our cash flows from operations and our existing lines of credit provide us with the financial flexibility to meet our liquidity and capital needs. We expect to continue making investments in capital expenditures, assess acquisition opportunities, carry out research and development and investment in resources to strengthen our organization. The extent and timing of such expenditures may vary from period to period. Our future long-term capital requirements will depend on many factors including our level of sales, the impact of the economic environment on our growth, the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts, expansion of global sales and marketing activities, government regulation including trade sanctions, the timing and introductions of new products, the need to ensure access to adequate manufacturing capacity and the market acceptance of our current and future products.
As of December 31, 2024, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.
The following table presents our principal sources of liquidity:
As of December 31,
(In thousands)
Unused credit lines and overdraft facilities 78,115 78,506
Included in cash and cash equivalents is $4.7 million of cash located in Belarus, as of December 31, 2024.
Short-term investments at December 31, 2024 consist of liquid investments including commercial paper, corporate bonds, U.S. Treasury and agency obligations, and term deposits with original maturities of greater than three months but less than one year. See Note 3, "Fair Value Measurements" in the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our short-term investments.
The following table details our line-of-credit facilities as of December 31, 2024:
Description Total Facility/ Note Interest Rate Maturity Security
(1) This facility is available to certain foreign subsidiaries in their respective local currencies. At December 31, 2024, there were no amounts drawn on this line, however, there were $2.1 million of guarantees issued against the line which reduces total availability.
(2) This facility is available to certain foreign subsidiaries in their respective local currencies. At December 31, 2024, there were no amounts drawn on this line, however, there were $1.5 million of guarantees issued against the line which reduces total availability.
(3) At December 31, 2024, there were no drawings. This facility renews annually.
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Our largest committed credit line is with Bank of America N.A. in the amount of $75.0 million, which is not syndicated. We are required to meet certain financial covenants associated with our U.S. revolving line of credit. These covenants, tested quarterly, include an interest coverage ratio and a funded debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") ratio. The interest coverage covenant requires that we maintain a trailing twelve-month ratio of EBITDA to interest on all obligations that is at least 3.0:1.0. The funded debt to EBITDA covenant requires that the sum of all indebtedness for borrowed money on a consolidated basis be less than three times our trailing twelve months EBITDA. Funded debt is decreased by our cash and available marketable securities not classified as long-term investments in the U.S. in excess of $50 million up to a maximum of $500 million. We were in compliance with all such financial covenants as of and for the three months ended December 31, 2024.
See Note 12, "Financing Arrangements" in the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our facilities.
The following table summarizes our material cash commitments at December 31, 2024 and the effect such commitments are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods. We intend to use our existing cash, cash equivalents and short term investments as well as cash generated from operations as sources of funds for these material commitments.
Payments Due in
Total Less Than 1 Year
(In thousands)
(1)Excludes obligations related to ASC 740, reserves for uncertain tax positions, because we are unable to provide a reasonable estimate of the timing of future payments relating to the remainder of these obligations. See Note 17, "Income Taxes" to the consolidated financial statements.
The following table presents cash flow activities:
As of December 31,
(In thousands)
Cash provided by (used in) investing activities 208,732 (237,554)
Operating activities. Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $48.1 million to $247.9 million in 2024 from $296.0 million in 2023 primarily due to a decrease in net income after adding back non-cash expenses, partially offset by an increase in cash provided by working capital. Our largest working capital items are inventory and accounts receivable. Items such as accounts payable to third parties, prepaid expenses and other current assets and accrued expenses and other liabilities are not as significant as our working capital investment in accounts receivable and inventory because of the amount of value added within IPG due to our vertically integrated structure. Accruals and payables for personnel costs including bonuses and income and other taxes payable are largely dependent on the timing of payments for those items. The decrease in cash flow from operating activities in 2024 primarily resulted from:
•a decrease in cash provided by net income after adjusting for non-cash operating activities, mainly due to lower sales; and
•an increase in cash used by income and other taxes payable due to the timing of estimated tax payments made and refunds received from filing tax returns, an installment due on the transition tax liability from the Tax Reform Act of 2017, and excise tax paid on our stock repurchase program.
The decrease in cash provided by operating activities were partially offset by:
•an increase in cash provided by accounts receivable due to the timing of collections and lower sales;
•an increase in cash provided by inventory as supply chain disruptions moderated requiring less investment in safety stock and due to a targeted plan to reduce inventory levels;
•an increase in cash provided by the timing of payments made for accounts payable and prepayments; and
•a decrease in cash used by accrued expenses from lower payouts related to accrued compensation and bonuses.
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Investing activities. Net cash provided by investing activities was $208.7 million in 2024 as compared to cash used in investing activities of $237.6 million in 2023. The cash provided by investing activities in 2024 primarily related to $370.3 million of net proceeds of short-term investments and $28.6 million of proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment, partially offset by $98.5 million of cash used for property, plant and equipment, $66.7 million of cash used for the acquisition of cleanLASER and $25.3 million of net cash outflow from the divestiture of our Russian operation. The cash proceeds from the sale of our Russian operation were lower than the cash and cash equivalents on hand, resulting in a cash outflow from divestiture. The cash used in investing activities in 2023 primarily related to $158.9 million of net cash used for purchases of short-term investments, and $110.5 million of proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment, partially offset by $31.2 million of proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment.
In 2025, we expect to incur approximately $105.0 million to $115.0 million in capital expenditures. Capital expenditures include investments in property, facilities and equipment to replace capacity in Russia or increase redundant capacity for critical components and upgrade or replace equipment at other facilities that is beyond its useful life. The timing and extent of any capital expenditures in and between periods can have a significant effect on our cash flow. Many of the capital expenditure projects that we undertake have long lead times and are difficult to cancel or defer to a later period. We intend to finance our capital expenditures with existing cash, cash equivalents and short term investments as well as with cash generated from operations.
Financing activities. Net cash used in financing activities was $339.6 million and $236.4 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The cash used in financing activities in 2024 was primarily related to the purchase of $343.8 million of treasury stock, partially offset by net proceeds of $4.2 million from the exercise of stock options net of amounts disbursed in relation to shares withheld to cover employee income taxes due upon the vesting and release of restricted stock units and shares issued under our employee stock purchase plan. The cash used in financing activities in 2023 was primarily related to the purchase of $223.5 million of treasury stock, $16.0 million of principal payments on our long-term borrowings; partially offset by net proceeds of $3.1 million from the exercise of stock options net of amounts disbursed in relation to shares withheld to cover employee income taxes due upon the vesting and release of restricted stock units and shares issued under our employee stock purchase plan.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 1, "Nature of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" in the notes to the consolidated financial statements for a full description of recent accounting pronouncements, including the respective dates of adoption or expected adoption and effects on our consolidated financial statements contained in Part IV of this Annual Report.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are exposed to market risk in the ordinary course of business, which consists primarily of interest rate risk associated with our cash and cash equivalents and foreign exchange rate risk.
Interest rate risk. Certain interest rates are variable and fluctuate with current market conditions. Our investments have limited exposure to market risk. We maintain a portfolio of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, consisting primarily of money market funds and term deposits, commercial paper, U.S. government and agency securities, term deposits, and corporate bonds. None of these investments have a maturity date in excess of one year. Because of the short-term nature of these instruments, a sudden change in market interest rates would not be expected to have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
We are also exposed to market risk as a result of increases or decreases in the amount of interest expense we must pay on our borrowings on our bank credit facilities. Although our U.S. revolving line of credit and our Euro credit facilities have variable rates, we do not believe that a 10% change in market interest rates would have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.
Exchange rates. Due to our international operations, a significant portion of our net sales, cost of sales and operating expenses are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, principally the Euro and the Chinese yuan. Changes in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar versus the functional currencies of our subsidiaries affect the translated value and relative level of sales and net income that we report from one period to the next. In addition, our subsidiaries may have assets or liabilities denominated in a currency other than their functional currency which results in foreign exchange transaction gains and losses due to changes in the value of the functional currency versus the currency the assets and liabilities are denominated in. In 2024 we incurred a loss on foreign exchange transactions of $5.5 million as compared to a gain of $1.4 million in 2023. As our Chinese and South Korean subsidiaries have net U.S. dollar denominated liabilities, the depreciation of the Chinese yuan and South Korean won relative to the U.S. dollar contributed to most of the foreign exchange loss in 2024, partially offset by gain
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on the depreciation of the Euro as our German subsidiary has net U.S. dollar denominated assets. Management attempts to minimize these exposures by partially or fully off-setting foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at our subsidiaries that operate in different functional currencies. The effectiveness of this strategy can be limited by the volume of underlying transactions at various subsidiaries and by our ability to accelerate or delay inter-company cash settlements. As a result, we are unable to create a perfect offset of the foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities. Furthermore, if we expect a currency movement to be beneficial to us in the short or medium term, we have, on occasions, chosen not to hedge or otherwise offset the underlying assets or liabilities. However, it is difficult to predict foreign currency movements accurately.
At December 31, 2024, our material foreign currency exposure is net U.S. dollar denominated assets at subsidiaries where the Euro is the functional currency and U.S. dollar denominated liabilities where the Chinese yuan and the South Korean won is the functional currency. The net U.S. dollar denominated assets are comprised of cash, third party receivables and inter-company receivables offset by third party and inter-company U.S. dollar denominated payables. The U.S. dollar denominated liabilities are comprised of inter-company payables. A 5% change in the relative exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Euro applied to the net U.S. dollar asset balances as of December 31, 2024, would result in a foreign exchange gain of $1.1 million if the U.S. dollar appreciated and a $1.2 million foreign exchange loss if the U.S. dollar depreciated. A 5% change in the relative exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Chinese yuan applied to the net U.S. dollar liability balances as of December 31, 2024, would result in a foreign exchange loss of $0.4 million if the U.S. dollar appreciated and a $0.4 million foreign exchange gain if the U.S. dollar depreciated. A 5% change in the relative exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the South Korea won applied to the net U.S. dollar liability balances as of December 31, 2024, would result in a foreign exchange loss of $0.4 million if the U.S. dollar appreciated and a $0.5 million foreign exchange gain if the U.S. dollar depreciated. Volatility between the U.S. dollar and the currencies to which we are exposed may be increased by changes in central bank policy, primarily related to interest rates.
In addition, we are exposed to foreign currency translation risk for those subsidiaries whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar as changes in the value of their functional currency relative to the U.S. dollar affect the translated amounts of our assets and liabilities. Changes in the translated value of assets and liabilities due to changes in functional currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar result in foreign currency translation adjustments that are a component of other comprehensive income or loss on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income.
Foreign currency derivative instruments can also be used to hedge exposures and reduce the risks of certain foreign currency transactions; however, these instruments provide only limited protection and can carry significant cost. We have no foreign currency derivative instrument hedges as of December 31, 2024. We will continue to analyze our exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations and may engage in financial hedging techniques in the future to attempt to minimize the effect of these potential fluctuations. Exchange rate fluctuations may adversely affect our financial results in the future.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, our management has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our "disclosure controls and procedures" (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")), as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the "Evaluation Date") utilizing the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission's Internal Control - Integrated Framework ("COSO") Updated Framework issued in 2013. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the issuer's management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
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Management's Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the Company and its subsidiaries. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Our management conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the Evaluation Date based on criteria established in COSO utilizing the Updated Framework issued in 2013. Based on this assessment, our management concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date, our internal control over financial reporting was effective.
Our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, has audited our internal control over financial reporting, as stated in their report below.
Changes in Internal Controls
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that the disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Due to the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues, errors and instances of fraud, if any, within the company have been or will be detected.
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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of IPG Photonics Corporation
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of IPG Photonics Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, of the Company and our report dated February 20, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management's Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. 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 audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
February 20, 2025
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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
During the Registrant's last fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2024, the following executive officer of the Registrant terminated and entered into a new Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement plan intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) (the "Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement"):
•on December 13, 2024, Mr. Angelo Lopresti, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Registrant, terminated the Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement for the sale of up to 10,000 shares over a period beginning June 13, 2024 and ending June 12, 2025 on the open market at prevailing prices, subject to minimum price thresholds; and
•on December 13, 2024, Mr. Angelo Lopresti, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Registrant, entered into the Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement for the sale of up to 10,000 shares over a period beginning March 17, 2025 and ending December 1, 2025 on the open market at prevailing prices, subject to minimum price thresholds.
Other than those disclosed above, none of our directors or executive officers adopted, modified, or terminated a "Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement" or "non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement," in each case as defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K during the quarter.
ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS
Not applicable.
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PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The Company has an insider trading policy governing the purchase, sale and other dispositions of the Company’s securities that applies to all Company personnel, including directors, officers, employees, and other covered persons. The Company also follows procedures for the repurchase of its securities. The Company believes that its insider trading policy and repurchase procedures are reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations, and listing standards applicable to the Company. A copy of the Company’s insider trading policy is filed as Exhibit 19.1 to this Form 10-K.
Our Board of Directors (the "Board") is comprised of eleven (11) members as of February 19, 2025:
Name Age Position
Gregory Beecher 67 Director
Michael Child 70 Director
Jeanmarie Desmond 58 Director
Gregory Dougherty 65 Director
Mark Gitin, Ph.D. 58 Chief Executive Officer and Director
Kolleen Kennedy 65 Director
Eric Meurice 68 Director
Natalia Pavlova 46 Director
John Peeler 70 Director, Non-Executive Chair
Eugene Scherbakov, Ph.D. 77 Director
Agnes Tang 51 Director
The following is biographical information of each of the directors and a summary of the respective directors’ skills and qualifications to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors.
GREG BEECHER. Mr. Beecher joined IPG’s Board in January 2023. Mr. Beecher previously served as a Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Teradyne, Inc. ("Teradyne"), a supplier of automation equipment, from March 2001 to April 2019. Prior to Teradyne, Mr. Beecher served as an Audit Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a provider of business advisory services, from September 1993 to March 2001. He served as a director of MKS Instruments, Inc., a process control instrumentation company, from 2006 to 2020. He also served as a director of Hittite Microwave Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of high performance integrated circuits, modules, subsystems and instrumentation, from 2013 to 2014, and of MatrixOne, a product lifecycle management software provider, from 2003 to 2006, prior to their acquisitions by larger technology companies. Mr. Beecher has served as a trustee on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, an art museum, since 2020. He was previously a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts and Vermont from July 1985 to June 2013 and from December 1993 to July 1999, respectively. Mr. Beecher holds a B.S. from the University of Hartford and an M.S. in accounting from Northeastern University.
Mr. Beecher’s extensive financial background, including his previous experience as an audit partner at a public accounting firm and his role as Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded technology company, as well as his prior service as an outside director to public companies, provides valuable insights for our Board, the Audit Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee ("NCGC"). Mr. Beecher is familiar with a large range of management, corporate and board responsibilities and brings valuable perspectives to the Board as an independent director.
MICHAEL CHILD. Mr. Child has served as a member of IPG's Board since September 2000. Mr. Child has been employed by TA Associates, Inc., a private equity investment firm, since July 1982, where he currently serves as Senior Advisor and, prior to January 2011, was a Managing Director. Mr. Child served on the boards of Finisar Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of optical subsystems and components for networks, Eagle Test Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of semiconductor test equipment, and Ultratech Inc., a developer and manufacturer of advanced packaging lithography systems and laser processing technologies. Mr. Child holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Davis and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. From September 2011 until December 2015, Mr. Child was a Lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Child is an established and experienced investor, including in technology companies, from his three decades of experience at TA Associates, Inc. Over the course of his career, he has overseen numerous investments and sales of portfolio companies, and served on the boards of many public and private companies. Through his experiences, he has gained valuable knowledge in the management, operations and finance of technology growth companies.
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JEANMARIE DESMOND. Ms. Desmond has served as a member of IPG's Board since 2021. Ms. Desmond was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of DuPont de Nemours, Inc., a global multi-industry specialty solutions company (“DuPont”), from April 2019 to February 2020. Ms. Desmond served as Vice President and Co-Controller for DuPont from August 2017 to April 2019, and as finance leader for the Specialty Products division following the merger of DuPont with Dow Chemical. Ms. Desmond served in various leadership roles within DuPont in her 30-year career with the company. She also served on the board and was treasurer of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, a public-private partnership overseeing economic development in Delaware from September 2017 to September 2022. Since 2020, she has served on the board of Trinseo PLC, a materials solutions provider and a manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber. In October 2021, she joined the board of Sylvamo Corporation, a global producer of uncoated paper. Ms. Desmond earned a B.S. in Accounting from Mt. St. Mary’s University and is a certified public accountant (inactive).
Ms. Desmond brings to the Board substantial finance and accounting experience and extensive experience in technology-driven companies. Her long management experience in a number of key strategic areas including finance leadership and operations financial planning and analysis, tax, internal audit, accounting controls, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations and public-private partnership brings depth to the skillsets of the Board.
GREGORY DOUGHERTY. Mr. Dougherty has served as a member of IPG's Board since January 2019. Mr. Dougherty served as a director of Fabrinet, a provider of advanced optical packaging and precision optical, electro-mechanical, and electronic manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers of complex products, from February 2019 to January 2022. Mr. Dougherty served as Chief Executive Officer of Oclaro, Inc., a maker of optical components and modules for the long-haul, metro and data center markets, from June 2013 and has served as a director of Oclaro from April 2009, until its December 2018 acquisition. Prior to Oclaro, Mr. Dougherty served as a director of Avanex Corporation, a leading global provider of intelligent photonic solutions, from April 2005 to April 2009. Mr. Dougherty also served as a director of Picarro, Inc., a manufacturer of ultra-sensitive gas spectroscopy equipment using laser-based technology, from October 2002 to August 2013, and as its Interim Chief Executive Officer from January 2003 to April 2004. From February 2001 until September 2002, Mr. Dougherty was the Chief Operating Officer at JDS Uniphase Corporation (“JDS”), an optical technology company. Prior to JDS he was the Chief Operating Officer of SDL, Inc., a maker of laser diodes, from March 1997 to February 2001 when they were acquired by JDS. Mr. Dougherty serves on the boards of AvicenaTech, Corp., a privately held provider of advanced LED-based optical interconnects for computing since October 2024, Infinera Corporation, a provider of optical transport networking equipment, software and services to telecommunications service providers and others, since January 2019, and MaxLinear, Inc., a provider of radio frequency (RF), analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, since March 2020. Mr. Dougherty earned a B.S. in optics from the University of Rochester.
Mr. Dougherty contributes to the Board significant leadership, operations, sales, marketing and general management experience in optics and components for telecommunications and other applications. For over three decades, Mr. Dougherty has worked in the optical and components industry and can provide the Board with insight into the industry and conditions in which the Company operates. Having been recently a CEO at a publicly-held company and now serving as a member on the boards of optical and electronics companies, he is familiar with a large range of management, corporate and board responsibilities and brings valuable perspectives to the Board as an independent director.
MARK GITIN, PH.D. Dr. Gitin was appointed CEO of the Company and to the Company's Board of Directors on June 5, 2024. Prior to IPG, Dr. Gitin served as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Photonics Solutions Division of MKS Instruments, Inc. Dr. Gitin joined MKS in September 2017 as Vice President and General Manager of the Photonics Business Unit and in 2018, also assumed responsibility for the Instruments and Motion Business Unit. Prior to joining MKS, from March 1995 to September 2017, Dr. Gitin held various management positions covering a wide range of technologies at Coherent, Inc., including Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Vice President of Business Development, and Vice President and General Manager of the Diodes, Fibers and Systems Business Unit. Dr. Gitin holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Davis and an M.Eng. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.
Dr. Gitin has more than 30 years of experience in the lasers and optics sector and possesses extensive technical and scientific expertise. Dr. Gitin brings a strong track record as a strategic industry leader with the ability to identify and execute growth opportunities. As the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Gitin reports to the Board and has responsibility for managing the general business and affairs of the Company. Dr. Gitin's service as chief executive officer of the Company provides the Board with direct knowledge and understanding of the Company’s operations.
KOLLEEN KENNEDY. Ms. Kennedy joined IPG’s Board in August 2023. Ms. Kennedy retired as President, Proton Solutions & Chief Growth Officer at Varian Medical Systems (“Varian”), a supplier of healthcare solutions and services, in December 2021. Ms. Kennedy served in several strategic roles at Varian over 24 years, including President, Proton Solutions and Chief Growth Officer from October 2018 to December 2021, Executive Vice President and President, Oncology Systems from October 2014 to September 2018, and Senior Vice President and President, Oncology Systems from October 2011 to September 2014. Prior to Varian, Ms. Kennedy was with Siemens Medical Systems and Radiation Oncology Computer Systems in oncology product sales and marketing. Ms. Kennedy serves as a member of the board of ICU Medical, Inc.,
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manufacturer of medical technologies, since December 2021 and the non-profit Wayne State University Foundation since April 2018. Ms. Kennedy holds B.S. degrees in Radiation Oncology and Psychology from the Wayne State University and a M.S. in Medical Physics from the University of Colorado Denver.
Ms. Kennedy’s experience as President and Chief Growth Officer brings enhanced skills in identifying and nurturing growth opportunities, strategic planning, and business development to the Board. Ms. Kennedy also possesses a strong blend of leadership experience, medical device industry-specific knowledge, operational, acquisition and strategic planning skills that provide the Board with an independent director with the requisite background to evaluate and guide the Company in addressing opportunities and challenges with our medical products and the markets we serve.
ERIC MEURICE. Mr. Meurice has served as a member of IPG's Board since June 2014. Mr. Meurice was President and Chief Executive Officer of ASML Holding NV, a provider of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and technology, from October 2004 to June 2013, and Chairman until March 2014. From 2001 to 2004, he was Executive Vice President of the Thomson Television Division of Thomson, SA, an electronics manufacturer. From 1995 to 2001, he served as head of Dell Computer’s Western, Eastern Europe and EMEA emerging market businesses. Before 1995, he gained significant technology experience at ITT Semiconductors and at Intel Corporation. Mr. Meurice served on the boards of Soitec S.A., a semiconductor materials manufacturer, from July 2018 to July 2024, UMICORE S.A., a recycling and materials company, from April 2015 to April 2023, NXP Semiconductors N.V., a semiconductor company, from April 2014 to June 2019, Meyer Burger Technology AG, a solar equipment vendor, from May 2018 to May 2019, ARM Holdings plc, a semiconductor intellectual property supplier, from July 2013 to March 2014, and Verigy Ltd., a manufacturer of semiconductor test equipment, until its acquisition by Advantest Corporation in 2011. Mr. Meurice serves on the boards of Global Blue Group Holding AG, a leader in currency and value added tax processing, since September 2020, and Intel Corporation, a leading developer of process technology and a major manufacturer of semiconductors, since December 2024. Mr. Meurice also serves as chair of the supervisory board of Nearfield Instruments B.V., a privately held deliverer of in-line process control solutions to the semiconductor manufacturing industry, since March 2023. Mr. Meurice earned a Master’s degree in Mechanics and Energy Generation at the Ecole Centrale de Paris, a Master’s degree in Economics from la Sorbonne University, Paris, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Meurice has extensive skills and experience as a manager of several rapidly-growing, complex and global businesses in the capital equipment and electronics fields with several billions of dollars in revenues, most recently as former President and Chief Executive Officer of ASML Holding NV. He has experience managing a publicly-held company as well as experience on serving on several public company boards in the equipment and technology fields. Mr. Meurice also has a record of proven leadership as a strategic thinker, operator and marketer at the businesses he managed.
NATALIA PAVLOVA. Ms. Pavlova has served as a member of IPG's Board since January 2021. She serves as a Trustee to the VPG Foundation, a family foundation supporting the philanthropic endeavors of IPG's founder, Valentin P. Gapontsev, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) since November 2024. Ms. Pavlova has served in a variety of roles at non-profit art institutions including the Worcester Art Museum (WAM), The Willard House and Clock Museum, and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD Museum). She also worked in sales and marketing roles at IPG previously. Ms. Pavlova holds a Qualification for Fine Art Critic and Historian of Art and Culture from the Russian State University for the Humanities, and an M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University. She is the spouse of co-founder and Senior Vice President, Chief Scientist, Igor Samartsev.
As a significant stockholder with family association to founders of the Company as well as having served as an employee of the Company in sales and marketing, Ms. Pavlova’s membership on the Board provides it with further engagement by individuals having a long-term perspective and strong economic ties with the Company. Among her specific attributes that qualify her to serve as a member of the Board, Ms. Pavlova possesses extensive knowledge of our history and culture. Ms. Pavlova strengthens the connection between the Company’s founding members and our Board, thereby assisting in the alignment of the Board with the interests of all IPG stockholders. Her experience working for nonprofit organizations adds different perspectives to the boardroom.
JOHN PEELER. Mr. Peeler became IPG's non-executive Chair of the Board on October 29, 2021. Mr. Peeler was appointed to IPG's Board in 2012 and served as the Lead Independent Director from 2017 to 2021. Mr. Peeler has been acting CEO of Jumplights Corp., a privately held producer of LED horticultural lighting, since June 2021. He was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Veeco Instruments Inc. (“Veeco”) from July 2007 until September 2018, and Chairman or Executive Chairman of its board of directors from May 2012 until May 2020. Veeco is a developer and manufacturer of MOCVD, molecular beam epitaxy, ion beam and other advanced semiconductor processes equipment. He was Executive Vice President of JDS and President of the Communications Test & Measurement Group of JDS, which he joined upon the closing of JDS’s merger with Acterna, Inc. in August 2005. Before joining JDS, Mr. Peeler served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Acterna. He has a B.S. and M.E. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Peeler has managed several high-growth technology companies. In addition, he has developed managerial leadership skills through his former position as Chief Executive Officer of Veeco, a publicly-traded
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company with substantial international operations. His managerial positions have provided him with in-depth knowledge of the service needs of customers in demanding markets, including semiconductor capital equipment, various manufacturing models, research and development, marketing and sales. In these roles, he has also been responsible for attracting and incentivizing executives on his team. These experiences have provided him important insights in support of his positions as non-executive Chair and a member of the Compensation Committee and the NCGC.
EUGENE SCHERBAKOV, PH.D. Dr. Scherbakov has served as a member of IPG's Board since September 2000. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of IPG from May 2021 to June 2024, Chief Operating Officer of IPG since February 2017, Managing Director of IPG Laser GmbH, IPG's German subsidiary, since August 2000 and Senior Vice President-Europe since February 2013. He served as the Technical Director of IPG Laser from 1995 to August 2000. From 1983 to 1995, Dr. Scherbakov was a senior scientist in fiber optics and head of the optical communications laboratory at the General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Science in Moscow. Dr. Scherbakov graduated from the Moscow Physics and Technology Institute with an M.S. in Physics. In addition, Dr. Scherbakov attended the Russian Academy of Science in Moscow, where he received a Ph.D. in Quantum Electronics from its Lebedev Physics Institute and a Doctor of Science degree in Laser Physics from its General Physics Institute.
Having previously served as our Chief Executive Officer and as Managing Director of IPG Laser GmbH, which produces a large volume of our products and is the source of many developments in products, technology and applications, Dr. Scherbakov developed extensive knowledge of the Company’s business across our many international branches. His long-term service with the Company provides the Board with a detailed understanding of the Company’s operations, sales and customers. He also brings extensive technological knowledge of fiber lasers, their components and manufacturing processes to the Board.
AGNES TANG. Ms. Tang has served as a member of IPG's Board since March 2022. Ms. Tang is a Founding Partner at Ducera Partners LLC, which offers strategic advisory, mergers and acquisitions, capital advisory, liability, management and restructuring advisory services. Prior to joining Ducera in 2015, Ms. Tang was a Managing Director in the New York Office of Perella Weinberg Partners from 2008 to 2015. Prior to joining Perella Weinberg, Ms. Tang was an investment banking professional at Houlihan Lokey, and a strategy consultant at The Oliver Wyman Group, a business division of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Ms. Tang joined the board of McClatchy Media Company, a privately held publishing company, in January 2025. Ms. Tang received a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and a M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Ms. Tang's experience working across a range of industry sectors and different size companies provides her with a broad perspective in how companies manage to maximize business opportunity potential. Specializing in situations with multi-dimensional complexities and risks, Ms. Tang has more than twenty years of experience working to find creative solutions for companies at strategic crossroads. She brings to the Board a combination of strategy, operational and financial acumen and a commitment to partnership and collaboration.
Pursuant to General Instruction G(3) of Form 10-K, additional information required hereunder relating to our executive officers is contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption "Executive Officers of the Registrant."
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors and executive officers, and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities to file reports of ownership of, and transactions in, our securities with the SEC. These directors, executive officers and 10% stockholders are also required to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms that they file.
Based solely on its review of such forms received by it and the written representations of its Reporting Persons, the Company has determined that no such persons known to it was delinquent with respect to his or her reporting obligations as set forth in Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, except that a Form 4 was not timely filed with respect to the annual RSU awards to Greg Beecher, Michael Child, Jeanmarie Desmond, Greg Dougherty, Kolleen Kennedy, Eric Meurice, Natalia Pavlova, John Peeler and Agnes Tang on June 18, 2024 that was due to be filed on June 21, 2024 but, filed on June 28, 2024.
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Role in Ethics
All directors, officers and employees are required to abide by IPG’s Code of Business Conduct to ensure that our business is conducted in a consistently legal and ethical manner. These policies form the foundation of a comprehensive process that includes compliance with corporate policies and procedures and a Company-wide focus on uncompromising integrity in every aspect of our operations. Our Code of Business Conduct covers many topics, including antitrust and competition law, conflicts of interest, financial reporting, protection of confidential information, and compliance with all laws and regulations applicable to the conduct of our business. All of our directors and employees receive bi-annual training on our Code of Business Conduct, which can be found on our website at www.ipgphotonics.com in the investor section under "Governance—Governance Documents." If the Board grants any waivers from our Code of Business Conduct to any directors or executive officers, or if we amend our Code of Business Conduct, we will, if required, disclose these matters via updates on our website. Information on our website does not constitute part of this Form 10-K.
Audit Committee
The Board has three standing committees. The Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee are each composed entirely of non-employee, independent directors. All of the members of the NCGC are non-employees, but Ms. Pavlova, as the spouse of an executive officer, is not considered independent. The Audit Committee has been established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Audit Committee is comprised of Jeanmarie Desmond (Chair), Gregory Beecher, Gregory Dougherty and Agnes Tang. The Board has determined that each member of the Audit Committee is independent and financially literate. The Board has designated Ms. Desmond and Mr. Beecher, who are each independent directors under the Nasdaq listing standings and the SEC's audit committee requirements, as “audit committee financial experts” pursuant to the SEC’s final rules implementing Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
Executive Overview
This Compensation Discussion and Analysis provides a review of our executive compensation philosophy and program, and Compensation Committee decisions for fiscal year 2024. The discussion in this section focuses on the compensation of the Named Executive Officers ("NEOs") for fiscal year 2024, who were:
MARK GITIN, PH.D. Chief Executive Officer (beginning June 5, 2024)
TIMOTHY MAMMEN Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
TREVOR NESS Senior Vice President, Sales and Strategic Business Development
ANGELO LOPRESTI Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
IGOR SAMARTSEV, PH.D. Senior Vice President, Chief Scientist
EUGENE SCHERBAKOV, PH.D. Former Chief Executive Officer (through June 4, 2024)
Detailed bios of our executive officers are included in Item 1 of this Annual Report.
Leadership Transition
As the culmination of an orderly and thorough succession planning process led by our independent directors, our Board of Directors appointed Dr. Mark Gitin as our CEO and as a member of the Board, succeeding Dr. Eugene Scherbakov. Dr. Gitin joined IPG on June 5, 2024 with over 25 years of management and operating experience in the optics and laser industry. The Company entered into an employment agreement with Dr. Gitin on April 25, 2024, which includes provisions for his base salary, annual cash incentive compensation and new hire equity awards, as well as relocation assistance.
Dr. Eugene Scherbakov transitioned from the role of CEO on June 4, 2025. Given Dr. Scherbakov's long tenure with the Company, the Board viewed it as desirable to retain the services of Dr. Scherbakov to support a successful CEO transition. As a result, the Company also entered into an advisor agreement (the “Advisor Agreement”) with Dr. Scherbakov pursuant to which Dr. Scherbakov provides advisory services to assist with the CEO transition through June 5, 2026. Dr. Scherbakov remains a member of the Board without additional compensation for such service.
Please see the “Compensation Related to Leadership Transitions” section below for additional information.
2024 Pay and Performance Highlights
•Salaries flat (only increased salaries for two executives with expanded responsibilities)
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•Annual bonus plan payout for 2024 performance: 63% of total annual target opportunity
•Payout for 2022-2024 performance share units: 33% of target
•Hired a new CEO with a strong track record as a strategic industry leader with an ability to identify and execute on growth opportunities.
In 2024, IPG maintained a compensation program consistent with the prior year and its pay for performance philosophy. IPG's revenue declined 25% compared to the prior year, with lower sales in materials processing, medical and advanced applications. Revenue continued to be negatively impacted by softer industrial demand across many geographies and weakness in demand in e-mobility and renewable energy markets. Additionally, increased competition impacted sales in cutting while weaker electric vehicle battery investment reduced sales in welding. In August 2024, IPG successfully exited Russia through the sale of its business there, which reduced sales in the second half and resulted in a charge of $198 million. Gross margin decreased in 2024 due to increased inventory provisions and reduced absorption of manufacturing expenses as a result of lower revenue. However, cash flow generation remained strong with cash flow from operating activities of $247.9 million. IPG finished the year with a strong balance sheet, with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $930.2 million as of December 31, 2024. The Company allocated capital in 2024 through the return of $343.8 million to stockholders in share repurchases, as well as investments in new product development and the acquisition of cleanLaser, a maker of laser cleaning systems.
As a result of difficult conditions in its markets and business, the Compensation Committee of the Board determined that decisive action was necessary to support executive management in navigating these significant challenges and changes, to stabilize and retain the management team and to create value for stockholders over the long-term. As described in more detail below, such action included engagement of a new CEO with a competitive compensation package, an adjustment to the annual incentive plan with a lower payout potential, a redesign of performance share units (“PSUs”) and an enhanced long-term incentive opportunity for certain NEOs.
Stockholder-Minded Compensation Practices
Practices We Employ
•Align our NEO Pay with Performance: Strong links of compensation to Company performance and stockholder returns for annual and long-term incentives.
•Balance Annual and Long-Term Incentives: Incentive programs provide an appropriate balance of annual and long-term incentives and include multiple measures of performance.
•Use Long-Term Incentives to Link Executive Pay to Company Performance: Over half of NEO pay consists of long-term incentives.
•Cap Annual Incentive Compensation.
•Annual Risk Assessment of Compensation Program.
•Independent Compensation Consultant: The Compensation Committee retains a compensation consultant, who is independent and without conflicts of interest with the Company.
•Stock Ownership Requirements: Officers and directors are subject to stock ownership guidelines to further align their interests with those of our stockholders.
•Clawbacks on Executive Compensation: We maintain a compensation recovery policy covering cash and equity.
•Anti-Pledging Policy and Anti-Hedging Policy Applicable to Executives and Directors.
Practices We Avoid
•No Guaranteed Annual Incentive Plan Bonuses: Our annual incentive compensation plan is performance-based and does not include any minimum payout levels.
•No Excise Tax Gross-Ups: We do not provide excise tax gross reimbursements for change in control payouts.
•No Excessive Perquisites: We provide limited perquisites to our NEOs.
•No Single-Trigger Change in Control Payments or Benefits. Severance and equity acceleration for NEOs generally require a “double-trigger” of both a change-in-control and qualifying termination of employment.
•No Stock Option Repricing without Stockholder Approval. Our equity plans prohibit repricing underwater stock options.
•No Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans, Executive Pensions or Excessive Retirement Benefits.
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Stockholder Feedback
At our 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, our stockholders overwhelmingly approved our executive compensation structure in a “say-on-pay” advisory vote, with over 96% of votes cast in favor of our executive compensation structure. After considering the results of the 2024 vote, the Compensation Committee determined to maintain its general pay philosophy and practices. Proposal 2 described herein is the "say-on-pay" advisory vote.
2024 Compensation of Named Executive Officers
Our Business and Our Compensation Philosophy
The guiding principles of our executive compensation philosophy and practices continue to be pay-for-performance, accountability for annual and long-term performance, alignment to stockholders’ interests and providing competitive pay to attract and retain executives. We believe our compensation program strikes the appropriate balance between utilizing responsible, measured pay practices and effectively incentivizing our executives to dedicate themselves fully to value creation for our stockholders.
Our executive compensation program is designed to focus our executive officers on both annual and long-term financial and operational performance without encouraging unnecessary risk. Approximately 76% and 79% of the total direct target compensation opportunities for our current CEO and other NEOs (average, excluding our former CEO), respectively, in 2024 was at risk. "At risk" compensation includes awards that are subject to performance conditions and/or stock price performance. Because Dr. Gitin received a new hire bonus for 2024 with a fixed payout pursuant to the terms of his employment agreement, the amount of "at risk" compensation for Dr. Gitin for 2024 was lower than is typical for our CEO.
The 2024 compensation program for our NEOs had three primary components: annual base salary, annual cash incentives and long-term equity incentives. The amounts below illustrate the average allocation of fiscal year compensation components at target for our current CEO and the average for our other NEOs (excluding our former CEO) in 2024 as a group.
The following is an overview of the primary compensation program elements for our NEOs.
Form of Compensation Performance Period Performance Criteria Objectives
Base Salary
Annual Incentive
Long-Term Incentives
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Base Salary
We provide base salary to our NEOs and other employees to compensate them for services rendered on a day-to-day basis during the fiscal year. Unlike annual cash incentives and long-term equity incentives, base salary is not subject to performance risk. The Compensation Committee reviews data provided by its independent compensation consultant and considers the following factors when setting base salaries of the NEOs: experience, skills, seniority, knowledge and responsibilities of the executive and the individual’s performance assessment provided by the CEO. With respect to the CEO, the Compensation Committee additionally considers the performance of the Company as a whole in its recommendation to the independent directors, who set CEO compensation.
In February 2024, the Compensation Committee evaluated the base salaries and total cash compensation for the then-serving NEOs with the assistance of Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. ("FW Cook"), its independent compensation consultant. The base salaries for Drs. Scherbakov and Samartsev, and Messrs. Mammen and Lopresti were unchanged from 2023 levels. However, the Compensation Committee approved increasing the base salaries of Mr. Ness and Dr. Ovtchinnikov by 5% because of their expanded executive responsibilities following the passing of the Company’s Chief Operating Officer at the end of 2023. Mr. Ness assumed oversight of the medical and systems businesses, procurement, technical support and service, and Dr. Ovtchinnikov took over management of our electrical and software engineering, our Canadian operations, facilities and safety.
On April 25, 2024, the Company and Dr. Gitin entered into an employment agreement, which provides for an initial annual base salary of $775,000. The Compensation Committee engaged FW Cook to provide market data on peer compensation for CEOs as well as advice on the terms of his compensation package and new chief executive hiring practices. The Compensation Committee considered the data and advice from the independent compensation consultant in establishing Dr. Gitin’s compensation and employment terms.
Annual Incentives
A significant portion of an executive's potential short-term compensation is in the form of annual cash incentive pay tied to the achievement of goals set by the Compensation Committee under our Senior Executive Annual Incentive Plan ("AIP") administered by the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee determines who is eligible to receive awards under the AIP, defines performance goals and objectives for executives, establishes target awards for each participant for the relevant performance period, and determines the percentage of the target award that should be allocated to the achievement of each of the chosen performance goals. Generally, after the end of the fiscal year, the independent directors and the Compensation Committee determine the amount of the CEO’s and each of the other NEO’s actual annual incentive award, respectively, based upon their evaluation of achievement against pre-determined goals.
Financial performance above target results in a payout of a higher percentage of a NEO's target bonus, up to 200% of the NEO’s total target cash bonus. Performance below target results in a lower bonus payout for that goal if a minimum threshold is met, with 37.5% of the NEO’s total target cash bonus as the minimum in such circumstance, or no payout if the minimum threshold is not met. The CEO can earn up to 25% of his target award based upon personal goals and objectives determined by the independent directors. The other NEOs are also eligible for payouts up to 25% of the target award based on their individual performance in support of the CEO’s goals and other objectives, the recommendation of the CEO and other factors the Compensation Committee deems relevant. The maximum opportunity under the AIP is 225% of the total target payout.
In February 2024, The Compensation Committee approved annual performance targets and targeted individual payouts for the Company’s then-serving NEOs for fiscal year 2024. Consistent with prior years, the Compensation Committee identified two financial performance measures: net sales and adjusted EBIT, each as determined under the AIP, and assigned a 50% weighting factor to each financial performance goal. Net sales under the AIP is the same as net sales as reported in our financial statements and adjusted EBIT is defined as earnings before interest and taxes, excluding stock-based compensation and foreign exchange transaction gains and losses. The Compensation Committee chose to focus on net sales and adjusted EBIT so that our NEOs would be incentivized to deliver the types of financial performance that benefit our stockholders, namely, sales and profits. The total payout targets were set at 110% of base salary for Dr. Scherbakov and 80% of base salary for the other NEOs, except for Dr. Samartsev, whose annual incentive target was set at 50% of base salary. The target payouts as a percentage of salary were consistent with 2023.
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Financial Objective and Funding Mechanism/Determination
In February 2024, the Compensation Committee set the financial performance goals for the year based upon the best available information at the time. The goals were challenging and were expected to incentivize the NEOs to advance IPG’s strategic and operational priorities. The funding levels for the 2024 AIP, as originally set in February 2024, for the achievement of the performance criteria range from 0% to 267% of the target financial performance payout, depending on the achievement of such criteria. The following table sets forth the original threshold, targets and maximum financial performance levels under the AIP approved in February (the "Original AIP"):
Original AIP
2024 Financial Performance Goals
In August 2024, the broader macroeconomic environment led the Board to revise expectations for fiscal 2024. As a result, the Committee undertook a review and determined that financial performance measures and targets in the Original AIP were no longer appropriate to incentivize management to create long-term stockholder value in light of macroeconomic uncertainty, which impacted industrial and e-mobility markets and were outside of management's control. This uncertainty weighed on demand, leading to substantially lower revenue compared to the Company's 2024 annual operating plan earlier approved by the Board. The Compensation Committee considered, among other factors, the challenging demand environment across the Company's key economic regions and that uncertainty across all major geographies was likely to weigh on demand for the remainder of the year. The Committee also considered independent third-party market data and purchasing managers indices which reflected lower levels of industrial purchasing across the Company’s principal markets. In light of the Board's revised expectations for performance for the remainder of 2024, and taking into account management’s strong financial and operational execution to date in the year, including cost reductions, inventory reductions and planning to sell its Russian operations which position the Company for improved performance as the global demand environment recovers, and the need to retain and motivate the management in a year of CEO leadership transition, the Committee approved a revised AIP in August 2024 (the "Revised AIP") to align annual cash incentive pay more closely with the Company's goals and revised expectations for 2024.
The financial performance measure under the Revised AIP was net sales for the second half of 2024 and the total payout for financial and personal performance under the Revised AIP was capped at 62.5% of the original target payout, which corresponds to payout at threshold performance under the Original AIP. The Compensation Committee chose net sales as the sole financial measure for the Revised AIP because of the uncertainty of earnings in light of cost cutting measures that were in development then, potential restructuring charges, the potential financial impacts from the sale our Russian operations, and additional sanctions impacting the Company's supply chain. The following table sets forth the threshold, targets and maximum financial performance levels under the Revised AIP.
Revised AIP
2024 Financial Performance Goals
Pursuant to the terms of his employment agreement, Dr. Gitin, who commenced employment in June 2024, received a new hire bonus for fiscal year 2024 equal to 100% of his base salary, payable at the same time as payouts for the other NEOs under the 2024 AIP, and was not a participant in the Original AIP or the Revised AIP. Drs. Scherbakov and Ovtchinnikov were not impacted by the Revised AIP because they were no longer executive officers at the time of payout of the Revised AIP.
Individual Performance Factor
Individual objectives are set for each NEO to support the Company’s strategic objectives and are tied to the areas of responsibilities of each NEO. Below is a summary of the primary 2024 objectives for each NEO who received a personal performance award in 2024:
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In addition, a portion of the individual performance achievement for each NEO was based on increasing collaboration within the leadership team and functional group. The Compensation Committee evaluated individual performance of each non-CEO NEO employed at year-end based Dr. Gitin’s recommendation, which was based on his assessment of their individual achievement of 2024 goals. The individual performance achievement for each of the non-CEO NEOs employed at year-end is set forth in the table below.
2024 Payouts
The table below includes the Revised AIP payouts to our NEOs in office at the end of 2024. Drs. Scherbakov and Ovtchinnikov were not eligible to receive bonuses under the 2024 AIP and Dr. Gitin did not participate in the Revised AIP in light of his new hire bonus.
Target(1) Actual
Performance % Performance %
(1)The "threshold" and "maximum" amounts under the AIP are provided in the 2024 Grants of Plan-Based Awards table. Under the Revised AIP, payout for financial and personal performance was capped at 62.5% of the original target payout.
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Historical AIP Performance
The following graphic shows AIP payouts compared to targets for fiscal years 2022 to 2024, demonstrating the strong connection between pay and performance in the Company's annual incentive compensation practices.
* For 2024, represents payouts to continuing NEOs and excludes new hire bonus to newly hired CEO.
Long-Term Incentives
The goal of our equity-based award program is to provide employees and executives with the perspective of an owner having a long-term financial stake in our success, further increasing alignment with stockholders. Our equity-based incentives align the interests of our executives and stockholders by motivating executives to increase long-term stockholder value.
In 2024, our equity-based award program for our NEOs included PSUs and RSUs, with each award type representing half of the overall 2024 long-term incentive award opportunity (at target for the PSUs). The type and proportion of the equity grants reflected a review by our Compensation Committee, with the assistance of FW Cook, of equity award practices at peer companies. The Committee believes that granting a balance of PSUs and RSUs appropriately aligns executive compensation with the achievement of the Company’s strategic goals and long-term stockholder value creation. Additionally, the value of the PSUs and RSUs is tied to the Company's stock price, which further links pay to performance.
2024 EQUITY ELEMENTS
(at target)
In February 2024, the Compensation Committee evaluated the size of long-term incentive award against applicable market comparisons. In addition to market comparisons, the Compensation Committee retains the flexibility to adjust individual award levels, taking into account variations in the individual’s job experience and responsibility. In 2024, the Compensation Committee used competitive market data from the total compensation study of peer companies and broader market survey data to gain perspective of appropriately competitive executive compensation. The Compensation Committee analyzed several aspects of the equity grant program, including (i) the degree to which executives have incentives to remain employed by the Company through unvested award value and (ii) the aggregate equity usage in terms of (a) annual usage, typically called burn
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rate, and (b) cumulative equity delivery, typically called overhang, to determine the dilutive effect of equity awards on investors.
In setting equity award values for 2024, the Compensation Committee also took into consideration the actual performance of the NEOs in driving long-term stockholder value during the prior periods’ challenges and uncertainties facing IPG, including competition, geopolitical events and dynamic economic and market environments. In order to provide additional incentive, to further align the interests of the NEOs with our stockholders, and to motivate the NEOs to drive continued future performance in 2024 and beyond, the Compensation Committee approved a one-time, additional equity award opportunity for NEOs other than the CEO as part of the annual grant cycle in 2024.
The form and value of such awards were determined after considering a variety of factors and using input from the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultant. In evaluating the size of 2024 equity grants and the one-time, additional equity award, the Compensation Committee considered the value of the unvested equity awards held by the executive team prior to and after the granting of 2024 equity awards. Prior to the 2024 grants, all of our NEOs held less than 1x their annual equity award grant in unvested equity awards (taking into account the vesting event in March 2024), which the Compensation Committee determined was not sufficiently motivating or retentive.
The one-time, additional equity award was in the form of additional RSUs and PSUs in proportion to the annual equity awards, with three-year vesting and a three-year performance period for retention and to incent long-term performance. The Compensation Committee believed the additional value was reasonable, consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy, and it was intended to support retention and further align the long-term interests of the NEOs with those of our stockholders. The enhanced target value opportunities for the NEOs, other than Drs. Scherbakov and Samartsev, represented 40% of the regular annual equity awards. Dr. Samartsev received an enhanced equity award that represented 10% of his regular annual equity award. The Committee did not provide a one-time enhanced equity award to Dr. Scherbakov.
The 2024 equity awards are comprised of PSUs that are earned based upon organic revenue growth (at target, 25% of award value), and operating margin (at target, 25% of award value), and service-based RSUs (50% of award value). The Committee chose organic revenue growth and adjusted operating margin as the PSU performance metrics because they are generally accepted as two fundamental drivers of sustained stockholder value and provide clearer line-of-sight measurements than many alternative measures. The Committee determined that the 2024 PSUs would be eligible to be earned based on annual performance over a three-year performance period starting on January 1, 2024.
Performance for each measure is based on the annual growth rate for the period measured against revenue or operating margin actually achieved in the prior period. Organic revenue and operating margin targets for 2024 were set based upon the annual budget approved by the Board with the intent to incentivize and reward the NEOs for achieving targeted revenue growth. Organic revenue means total revenues, as determined under GAAP and recorded in our audited financial statements, adjusted to exclude the impact of acquisitions and dispositions, other than acquisitions that account for additional revenue of $50 million or less in the relevant year. Operating margin is calculated by dividing our GAAP operating income by GAAP net sales. For purposes of this calculation, operating income is adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation, the impact of all restructurings, impairments, legal settlements, employee separation costs, product liability charges and foreign exchange transaction gains and losses, to the extent such items were not contemplated and included in the target upon which the operating margin goals were based.
Performance below the target results in below target payout, subject to a threshold performance level below which no award would be earned, and performance above the target results in payout above target, subject to a maximum cap of 200% of the target award. The Committee lowered the threshold payout to 25% of target from 60% in the prior year. Forward-looking targets for our PSUs are not disclosed because these targets involve confidential financial information, the disclosure of which would result in competitive harm and be detrimental to our operating performance. However, the Compensation Committee has set such goals at challenging levels that they believe are difficult to achieve and would require sustained performance against our annual operating plan. The chart below under "Historical PSU Payouts" sets forth the payouts under the PSUs over the last several years illustrating the difficulty of attaining the performance goals set by the Compensation Committee. The goals will be disclosed at the end of the performance period along with the achievement levels and corresponding vesting of the performance-based restricted stock awards, if any.
The PSUs granted in 2024 cliff vest to the extent earned in March 2027. They serve as a valuable retention tool and motivate executives to achieve our longer-term business objectives. RSUs vest annually in March over a three-year period and also encourage retention. PSUs and RSUs granted in 2024 are entitled to dividends equivalents, should any dividends be paid. Any dividends equivalents on shares underlying the PSUs and RSUs are not paid unless and until the corresponding awards vest.
The table below provides information on grants of PSUs and RSUs to the NEOs in 2024. As described below, Dr. Gitin's awards were granted in June 2024 in connection with his appointment as CEO and have the same performance measures as those granted to other NEOs in February 2024.
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Annual Grant 2024 Enhanced LTI Opportunity
Historical Performance of Performance-Based Stock Units.
Half of PSUs granted in 2021 (which vested in 2024) were eligible to be earned based on the ratio of operating cash flow to adjusted net income ("OCF PSUs") over a three-year performance period beginning January 1, 2021 and ending December 31, 2023. Such OCF PSUs vested in March 2024 at 66.3% of target. PSUs granted in 2021 that were eligible to be earned based on three-year relative total stockholder return ("TSR") compared to the approved index were not earned, as performance was below threshold.
The following table shows the performance of the 2021 OCF PSUs:
Operating Cash Flow to Adjusted Net Income (Ratio) 58% 83% 108% 75% 66.3%
The following table shows the relative TSR performance assessment beginning on the grant date of March 1, 2021 and ending on March 1, 2024.
Half of PSUs granted in 2022 (which vested in 2025) were based upon organic revenue growth and half were based on average adjusted operating margin over a three-year performance period beginning January 1, 2022 and ending December 31, 2024. As three-year performance was below threshold for PSUs granted in 2022, the NEOs did not earn any payouts on the performance-based long-term incentives vesting in March 2025.
The following graphic shows payouts compared to targets for PSUs granted in 2017 (vesting in 2020) to 2022 (vesting in 2025), demonstrating the strong connection between pay and performance in the Company's long-term incentive compensation practices.
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Compensation Related to Leadership Transitions
The Board appointed Dr. Gitin as CEO of the Company, effective June 5, 2024, and also appointed Dr. Gitin to the Board of Directors. Dr. Gitin does not receive any additional compensation for his service on the Board.
As a condition of accepting employment, the Company and Dr. Gitin entered into an employment agreement (the “Gitin Employment Agreement”) with an initial term commencing on June 5, 2024 and ending on December 31, 2025. The term of the Gitin Employment Agreement will automatically renew for successive one-year periods unless Dr. Gitin or the Company provides at least 180 days’ prior written notice or unless the agreement is earlier terminated according with its provisions. Under the terms of the Gitin Employment Agreement, Dr. Gitin received an initial annual base salary of $775,000, which is subject to periodic review by the Board. Dr. Gitin is also eligible to earn an annual cash bonus calculated as a percentage of his base salary. The Gitin Employment Agreement provided Dr. Gitin a new hire bonus equal to 100% of his base salary for fiscal year 2024, provided that his employment was not terminated by the Company for “cause” or by Dr. Gitin without “good reason” (each as defined in the Gitin Employment Agreement) prior to the date that bonuses were paid for fiscal year 2024. Dr. Gitin also received initial equity awards with a target aggregate grant date fair value of $5,000,000, with 50% in the form of PSUs that are earned only if pre-determined financial performance metrics are achieved and 50% in the form of RSUs. The Compensation Committee determined the target aggregate value after consultation with its independent compensation consultant and taking into account both the Company’s customary target annual equity award and a partial buyout of equity forfeited upon Dr. Gitin's departure from his former employer. The RSUs vest in three equal annual installments following Dr. Gitin’s start date. The PSUs vest on the third anniversary of Dr. Gitin’s start date, subject to achievement of the applicable performance metrics. The PSUs have the same performance criteria and measurement periods as those granted to the Company’s other NEOs in February 2024.
After reviewing competitive market references, the Company granted Dr. Gitin a relocation stipend of $500,000 to facilitate his relocation from California to Massachusetts and provided him with temporary housing for up to six months. Dr. Gitin is also eligible to participate in the employee benefit plans and programs made available by the Company to senior executives generally, subject to the terms of those plans.
The compensation payable to Dr. Gitin under the Gitin Employment Agreement in the event of a qualifying termination of his employment with the Company is described in Post-Employment Compensation and Other Employment Agreements below.
In connection with the CEO transition, the Board viewed it as desirable to retain the services of Dr. Scherbakov through the period of transition, and to provide appropriate compensation to Dr. Scherbakov for supporting the transition to Dr. Gitin. Therefore, the Company entered into the Advisor Agreement with Dr. Scherbakov pursuant to which Dr. Scherbakov provides advisory services to assist in the transition of Dr. Gitin through June 5, 2026 or the earlier termination of Dr. Scherbakov’s services for “cause” or Dr. Scherbakov’s death or “disability” (each as defined in the Advisor Agreement). Dr. Scherbakov remains a member of the Board without additional compensation for such service. Under the Advisor Agreement, the Company pays Dr. Scherbakov a consulting fee of €1,240,000 through June 5, 2025, a consulting fee of €800,000 from June 6, 2025 to June 5, 2026 and an additional cash payment of approximately €400 per month to cover out of pocket payments for
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health insurance premiums during the term of the Advisor Agreement. In addition, pursuant to the terms of those awards, Dr. Scherbakov continues to vest in his outstanding equity awards for so long as he continues to provide services to the Company.
Dr. Ovtchinnikov retired from the Company, effective September 15, 2024. The Company and Dr. Ovtchinnikov entered into a services agreement pursuant to which Dr. Ovtchinnikov agreed to provide to the Company consulting services through March 31, 2025 for a consulting fee of $17,000 per month. Outstanding equity awards previously granted to Dr. Ovtchinnikov continue to vest for so long as he continues to provide consulting services to the Company pursuant to the services agreement. The Company also pays the cost of monthly COBRA premiums for Dr. Ovtchinnikov and his dependents until March 16, 2026.
Other Compensation
Severance Benefits.The severance benefits that we offer to our NEOs assist us in recruiting and retaining talented individuals and are consistent with the range of severance benefits offered by our peer group. The severance provisions of our NEO employment agreements are summarized in Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control below.
Retirement Benefits. We do not offer an executive retirement plan or a non-qualified deferred compensation plan. Executives in the United States are eligible to participate in our 401(k) retirement savings plan on the same terms as all other U.S. employees. Our 401(k) retirement savings plan is a tax-qualified plan and therefore is subject to certain Internal Revenue Code limitations on the dollar amounts of deferrals and Company contributions that can be made to plan accounts. These limitations apply to our more highly-compensated employees (including the NEOs). We make matching contributions to our employees at a rate of 50% of deferrals subject to a maximum of 6% of eligible compensation under the 401(k) retirement savings plan, including the NEOs, who participate in the plan as set forth in the Summary Compensation Table. Dr. Scherbakov has historically participated in a German government-sponsored retirement program.
Other Benefits. Our executives are eligible to participate in our employee benefit plans, subject to the terms of those plans, including medical, dental, life and disability insurance and vacation plans as well as an employee stock purchase plan, which is intended to be qualified under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. The employee stock purchase plan allows participants to purchase Company shares at a price equal to 85% of the lesser of the fair market value at the first day or last day of the six month offering period, subject to limitations on the amount of shares. These plans generally are available to all salaried employees and do not discriminate in favor of executives. Benefits are intended to be competitive with the overall market in order to facilitate attraction and retention of highly-qualified employees.
Executive Compensation Decision-Making
Role of Compensation Committee
The Compensation Committee determines, approves and administers the compensation programs for our executive officers, including our NEOs. The Compensation Committee recommends to the independent directors the CEO’s annual base salary, annual incentive opportunity and long-term incentive opportunity. The independent directors approve the CEO’s compensation and our Compensation Committee approves the compensation for other executive officers in consultation with our CEO. Our Compensation Committee is also responsible for making recommendations to the Board with respect to the adoption of equity plans and certain other benefit plans. The Compensation Committee and the independent directors meet in executive sessions when determining executive compensation.
The Compensation Committee may delegate authority whenever it deems appropriate. In 2024, the Compensation Committee delegated authority to grant equity awards for non-executives to the CEO, subject to certain conditions, including amounts of awards and review of awards by the Compensation Committee.
Role of Management
The CEO participates in the establishment of compensation levels and payouts for individual performance for other NEOs. He assesses the performance of all NEOs and recommends to the Compensation Committee the overall levels of achievement and personal performance in the year. Upon request, the NEOs provide supplemental material to the Compensation Committee to assist in the determination and implementation of compensation, policies and practices. The CEO is not involved in decisions regarding the setting of any component of his compensation. The CEO and other members of senior management attend Compensation Committee meetings at the invitation of the Compensation Committee.
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Role of Independent Consultant
The Compensation Committee engaged FW Cook, an independent compensation consultant, to analyze our executive and non-employee director compensation programs and advise on incentive design and other compensation-related policies and programs. The consultation included non-executive compensation data and valuation services for equity incentives. FW Cook does not perform any other work for the Company. The Compensation Committee reviewed the independence of FW Cook in light of SEC rules and Nasdaq listing standards regarding compensation consultants. Based on such review, the Compensation Committee determined that there were no actual or potential conflicts of interest with FW Cook in 2024.
Pay Positioning Strategy and Peer Group
Our Compensation Committee’s policy is to set executive pay in accordance with the objectives of the Company’s compensation programs as described above. In the Compensation Committee’s view, the Company’s executive compensation program provides an overall level of compensation opportunity that is competitive with peer companies. Actual compensation levels may be greater or less than target compensation levels provided by similar companies based upon annual and long-term Company performance, as well as individual performance, contributions, skills, seniority, knowledge, experience and responsibilities.
The Committee does not benchmark specific compensation elements or total compensation to any specific percentile relative to the peer companies or the broader United States market. Instead, the Committee applies judgment and discretion in establishing targeted pay levels, taking into account not only competitive market data, but also factors such as Company, business and individual performance, scope of responsibility, critical needs and skill sets, leadership potential, length of tenure and succession planning. No single factor takes precedence over any other, nor is any formula used in making these decisions.
In late 2023, FW Cook performed an analysis of similarly-situated public companies and supplemented the peer group with broader, size-appropriate comparisons in the high technology industry using applicable survey data. Consistent with prior years, in 2024 the Compensation Committee used competitive compensation data from the annual total compensation study of peer companies to inform its decisions about overall compensation opportunities and specific compensation elements.
The Compensation Committee reviews this peer group annually with input from its independent compensation consultant to ensure that the comparisons are meaningful. In this review, the Compensation Committee considers several factors: it considers the current peer group to determine appropriateness, the peers used by institutional governance advisors, the companies that list our Company as a peer to understand crossover peers and broader research based upon established selection criteria to identify potential future peers. The Committee then develops criteria for business sector, including but not limited to revenue and market capitalization. In determining peer companies for 2024, the Compensation Committee reviewed peer companies with then recent revenue and average market capitalization between approximately 0.2x to 5.0x the Company's size at that time for laser-related companies and 0.4x to 2.5x the Company's size for non-laser related companies.
Based upon the process and applying the criteria above, the Compensation Committee, with input from FW Cook, approved adding Allegro MicroSystems Inc. and OSI Systems, Inc. to our 2024 peer group and removing National Instruments, Inc. from our 2024 peer group because it was acquired in October 2023.
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For 2024, the peer companies were:
Barnes Group, Inc. Cognex Corporation Coherent Corp.
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. Donaldson Company, Inc. FormFactor, Inc.
Graco, Inc. IDEX Corporation ITT, Inc.
Kadant Inc. Littlefuse, Inc. Lumentum Holdings Inc.
MKS Instruments, Inc. Nordson Corporation Novanta, Inc.
Onto Innovation Inc. OSI Systems, Inc. Watts Water Technologies, Inc.
The peer companies selected by the Compensation Committee are companies that operate in the semiconductor equipment and electronic manufacturing industries, and are comparable in terms of revenue and market capitalization.
COMPANY VS. PEER GROUP
Other Factors Affecting Compensation
Tax Deductibility under Section 162(m). Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 162(m)”) limits the deductibility for federal income tax purposes of certain compensation paid in any year by a publicly held corporation to its “covered employees” as defined by Section 162(m) (generally, our current and former NEOs) to $1 million per executive (the “$1 million cap”). While our Board and Compensation Committee consider the potential effects of Section 162(m) of the Code on the compensation paid to our NEOs, the Compensation Committee believes it is appropriate to retain the flexibility to authorize compensation that may exceed the $1 million cap if, in the Compensation Committee’s judgment, it is in the Company’s best interest to do so. We generally will continue to emphasize performance-based compensation, even though it may no longer be deductible.
Accounting Considerations. We consider the accounting implications of our executive compensation program. In addition, accounting treatment is just one of many factors impacting plan design and pay determinations. Our executive compensation program is designed to achieve a favorable accounting and tax treatment so long as doing so does not conflict with the intended plan design or program objectives.
Compensation Risk
Management conducts an annual risk assessment of the Company’s compensation policies and practices for all employees, including non-executives, and reports its findings to the Compensation Committee. In 2024, management concluded that the Company’s compensation policies and practices are balanced and do not motivate imprudent risk taking. Management believes that the Company's compensation policies do not create risks that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company. In reaching this conclusion, they considered the following factors:
•our compensation program is designed to provide a mix of both fixed and variable incentive compensation;
•our senior executives are subject to stock ownership guidelines, which we believe incentivize our executives to consider the long-term interests of the Company and our stockholders and discourage excessive risk-taking that could negatively impact our stock price;
•our senior executives are subject to compensation recovery policy, which discourages excessive risk-taking that could negatively affect our stock price;
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•our incentive compensation programs are designed with vesting terms that are relatively consistent, spread out over several years, and do not contain steep payout “cliffs” that might encourage short-term business decisions in order to meet a vesting or payout threshold; and
•our senior executive incentive compensation program caps the amounts that may be paid for performance above target level.
Other Policies
Anti-Hedging and Anti-Pledging. The Board adopted policies prohibiting hedging transactions and the pledging of our common stock. Under our insider trading policy, no director or employee may engage in shorting shares of our common stock or any type of securities that we may issue, or buying or selling puts, calls or derivatives related to our common stock. Additionally, directors and officers of the Company may not pledge any Company shares.
Executive Officer Stock Ownership Guidelines. The Board adopted stock ownership guidelines to closely align the interests of our executives with those of our long-term stockholders. Generally, the CEO must hold five times his annual salary in Company equity, and senior executive officers must hold at least two times their respective annual salaries in Company equity. Unvested RSUs subject solely to time-based vesting count toward required stock ownership levels, however stock options (whether vested or unvested) and unvested PSUs do not. Indirect ownership of shares through a separate legal entity counts toward fulfillment of the ownership guidelines. Ownership requirements are to be achieved no later than four years after being appointed as an executive officer, except that prior to such time the officer is expected to retain a certain portion of stock issued upon exercise of stock options or vesting of RSUs and PSUs until the minimum ownership levels are attained. As of December 31, 2024, each of our NEOs exceeded their respective ownership requirements or was within the four-year phase-in period.
Clawback Policies. In July 2023, the Compensation Committee approved a new clawback policy. The Incentive Based Compensation Recoupment Policy (the "Required Clawback Policy”) complies with the SEC’s clawback rules as required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd Frank Act”), and provides that in the event the Company is required to prepare a “financial restatement” (as defined in the Required Clawback Policy), the Company will, subject to certain limited exceptions as described in the Required Clawback Policy, recover certain incentive based compensation from “covered persons” (i.e., current and former “executive officers”, defined to include any president/CEO, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer (or if there is no such accounting officer, the controller), any vice president in charge of a principal business unit, division or function, or any officer or person who performs a policy making functions who served during the performance period applicable to “incentive based compensation” and received “incentive based compensation” after beginning service in any such role). Compensation to be recovered under the Required Clawback Policy includes “incentive based compensation” received during the three-year period prior to the “restatement date” (as defined in the Required Clawback Policy) that exceeds the amount that otherwise would have been received by the “covered person” had such compensation been determined based on the restated amounts in the financial restatement. Under the Required Clawback Policy, “incentive based compensation” includes any cash or equity compensation that is granted, earned or vested based, in whole or in part, upon the attainment of a financial reporting measure. The Required Clawback Policy applies to "incentive based compensation” received by a “covered person” on or after October 2, 2023.
The Board had previously adopted a compensation recovery policy in 2015 that allows the Company to recapture cash and equity performance-based compensation from executives if the amount of the award was based upon achieving certain financial results that were later restated due to the participant’s misconduct. This policy remains in effect and would apply to compensation received prior to October 2, 2023 that is not covered by the Required Clawback Policy. In addition, all equity award agreements covering equity awarded to executives since 2007 contain a provision under which employees may be required to forfeit equity awards or profit from equity awards if they engage in certain conduct, including competing against the Company, disclosing confidential information, or soliciting its employees or customers.
Policy Regarding Options and Similar Equity Awards
We do not currently grant new awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights or similar option-like equity awards. Accordingly, we have no specific policy or practice on the timing of grants of such awards in relation to the disclosure of material nonpublic information. In the event we determine to grant new awards of stock options or similar equity awards in the future, the Compensation Committee will evaluate the appropriate steps to take in relation to the foregoing.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
Messrs. Dougherty, Meurice and Peeler and Ms. Desmond served as members of our Compensation Committee in 2024. None of these persons has at any time been an officer or employee of our Company or any of our subsidiaries or had any other relationship with the Company requiring disclosure herein. During fiscal year 2024, none of the Company’s executive officers served as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of another entity in which one of the executive officers of such entity served as a member of the Company’s Board or Compensation Committee.
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Compensation Committee Report
The Compensation Committee of the Board has reviewed and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis. Based on this review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE
Gregory Dougherty, Chair
Jeanmarie Desmond
Eric Meurice
John Peeler
The information in the Compensation Committee Report shall not be considered “soliciting material” or “filed” with the SEC, nor shall this information be incorporated by reference into any previous or future filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that the Company incorporates it by specific reference.
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Executive Compensation Tables
Summary Compensation Table
The following table provides information regarding the total compensation of our NEOs for fiscal year 2024 and, to the extent such NEOs were NEOs in either the 2024 or 2023 proxy statements, fiscal years 2023 and/or 2022 compensation, as applicable.
(1)During the periods in the table above, the Company granted PSUs and service-based RSUs, which are reflected in the Stock Awards column. The value of the PSUs is based on the probable outcome of the performance conditions (at the grant date), calculated in accordance with ASC Topic 718 disregarding forfeitures related to service-based vesting. For PSUs granted in 2024, the values of the award at the grant date assuming the highest level of performance conditions will be achieved are $4,999,671, $2,262,317, $1,928,504, $1,869,006, $489,823, $4,994,393 and $1,944,416 for Dr. Gitin, Messrs. Mammen, Ness and Lopresti, and Drs. Samartsev, Scherbakov and Ovtchinnikov, respectively. There is no assurance that any of the performance targets will be achieved, that the service-based awards will vest or that the any of the recipients will realize the values listed above.
(2)Represents amounts earned under our Revised AIP for services rendered in 2024, and amounts earned under our AIP for services rendered in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
(3)The amount reported for Dr. Gitin for 2024 consists of a relocation stipend ($500,000) and temporary housing ($14,720) pursuant to the terms of the Gitin Employment Agreement entered into in connection with his appointment as CEO in June 2024. The amounts reported for Messrs. Mammen, Ness and Lopresti and Dr. Samartsev for 2024 consists of matching 401(k) contributions. The amount reported for Dr. Scherbakov for 2024 consists of U.S. tax preparation fees ($3,000) and dental insurance ($569), tax gross-ups associated with the foregoing U.S.-based benefits ($2,330), the expense of an automobile in Germany ($12,715), as well as consulting fees ($771,163) earned following his transition to an advisor on June 5, 2024 pursuant to the terms of his Advisor Agreement with the Company. The amount reported for Dr. Ovtchinnikov for 2024 consists of consulting fees ($59,500) and COBRA medical and dental coverage ($3,852) following his transition to an advisor on September 16, 2024 pursuant to the terns of his services agreement with the Company, vacation payout at termination ($48,567) and matching 401(k) contributions ($10,195).
(4)Dr. Gitin commenced employment on June 5, 2024. His annual base salary for 2024 was $775,000. The amount reported in the Bonus column for Dr. Gitin represents a new hire bonus paid pursuant to the terms of the Gitin Employment Agreement in connection with his appointment as CEO.
(5)On June 5, 2024, Dr. Scherbakov transitioned from his role as CEO to an advisor to the Company. The amount reported for 2024 in the Salary column for Dr. Scherbakov represents his base salary for services as CEO through June 4, 2024.
(6)A portion of the amounts paid to Dr. Scherbakov were denominated in Euros. Dr. Scherbakov’s salary as CEO in 2024, 2023 and 2022 was approved in Euro. Amounts paid in Euros were translated into U.S. dollars at the average daily exchange rates for the full years. The average daily rates in 2024, 2023 and 2022 for the Euro were 0.92, 0.92 and 0.95, respectively. As a result of compensation being paid in a currency that fluctuates against the U.S. dollar, the amount of salary paid may vary slightly from the salary stated in an employment agreement or approved by the Compensation Committee.