Lam Research (LRCX)

Strategic Alliances May Have Negative Effects on Our Business

Increasingly, semiconductor companies are entering into strategic alliances with one another to expedite the development of processes and other manufacturing technologies. Often, one of the outcomes of such an alliance is the definition of a particular tool set for a certain function or a series of process steps that use a specific set of manufacturing equipment. While this could work to our advantage if Lam Research’s equipment becomes the basis for the function or process, it could work to our disadvantage if a competitor’s tools or equipment become the standard equipment for such function or process. In the latter case, even if Lam Research’s equipment was previously used by a customer, that equipment may be displaced in current and future applications by the tools standardized by the alliance.

Similarly, our customers may team with, or follow the lead of, educational or research institutions that establish processes for accomplishing various tasks or manufacturing steps. If those institutions utilize a competitor’s equipment when they establish those processes, it is likely that customers will tend to use the same equipment in setting up their own manufacturing lines. These actions could adversely impact our market share and subsequent business.