UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): January 25, 2011

Juniper Networks, Inc.

 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		001-34501		770422528
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1194 North Mathilda Avenue, Sunnyvale, California		94089
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (408) 745-2000

Not Applicable

Former name or former address, if changed since last report

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o		Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o		Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o		Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o		Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

Item 2.02		Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On January 25, 2011, Juniper Networks, Inc. (“we”, “us” or “the Company”) issued a press release in which we announced preliminary financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2010. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this report. Exhibit 99.1 shall not be treated as filed for purposes of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The tables contained in the press release furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this report include the following non-GAAP financial measures from our Preliminary Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations: cost of product revenue; cost of service revenue; product gross margin, product gross margin as a percentage of product revenue; service gross margin; service gross margin as a percentage of service revenue; gross margin; gross margin as a percentage of revenue; research and development expense; sales and marketing expense; general and administrative expense; operating expense; operating income; operating margin; net other income and expense; income before income taxes and noncontrolling interest; provision for income taxes; income tax rate; net income; net income per share and net income as a percentage of revenue. These measures are not presented in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. In addition, these measures may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. The non-GAAP financial measures described herein, and identified in the tables in our press release, should not be considered in isolation from measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. In particular, many of the adjustments to our GAAP financial measures reflect the exclusion of items that are recurring and will be reflected in our financial results for the foreseeable future.

We utilize a number of different financial measures, both GAAP and non-GAAP, in analyzing and assessing the overall performance of our business, in making operating decisions, forecasting and planning for future periods, and determining payments under compensation programs. We consider the use of the non-GAAP measures presented in our press release to be helpful in assessing the performance of the continuing operation of our business. By continuing operations we mean the ongoing revenue and expenses of the business excluding certain items that render comparisons with prior periods or analysis of on-going operating trends more difficult, such as expenses not directly related to the actual cash costs of development, sale, delivery or support of our products and services, or expenses that are reflected in periods unrelated to when the actual amounts were incurred or paid. Consistent with this approach, we believe that disclosing non-GAAP financial measures to the readers of our financial statements provides such readers with useful supplemental data that, while not a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, allows for greater transparency in the review of our financial and operational performance. In addition, we have historically reported non-GAAP results to the investment community and believe that continuing to provide non-GAAP measures provides investors with a tool for comparing results over time. In assessing the overall health of our business for the periods covered by the tables in our press release and, in particular, in evaluating the financial line items presented in the tables in our press release, we have excluded items in the following three general categories, each of which are described below: Acquisition-Related Charges, Other Items, and Stock-Based Compensation Related Items. We also provide additional detail below regarding the shares used to calculate our non-GAAP net income per share. Notes identified for line items in the tables in our press release above correspond to the appropriate note description below. Additionally, with respect to future financial guidance provided on a non-GAAP basis, we have excluded estimates for amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expenses, acquisition related charges, restructuring charges, litigation settlement charges, gain or loss on equity investments, non-recurring income tax adjustments, valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, and income tax effect of non-GAAP exclusions.

Note A: Acquisition-Related Charges. We exclude certain expense items resulting from acquisitions including the following, when applicable: (i) amortization of purchased intangible assets associated with our acquisitions; (ii) compensation related to acquisitions; and (iii) acquisition-related charges. The amortization of purchased intangible assets associated with our acquisitions results in our recording expenses in our GAAP financial statements that were already expensed by the acquired company before the acquisition and for which we have not expended cash.

Moreover, had we internally developed the products acquired, the amortization of intangible assets, and the expenses of uncompleted research and development would have been expensed in prior periods. Accordingly, we analyze the performance of our operations in each period without regard to such expenses. In addition, acquisitions result in non-continuing operating expenses, which would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our business operations. For example, we have incurred deferred compensation charges related to assumed options and transition and integration costs such as retention bonuses and acquisition-related milestone payments to acquired employees. We believe that providing non-GAAP information for acquisition-related expense items in addition to the corresponding GAAP information allows the users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historic and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to less acquisitive peer companies.

Note B: Other Items. We exclude certain other items that are the result of either unique or unplanned events including the following, when applicable: (i) restructuring and related costs; (ii) impairment charges; (iii) gain or loss on legal settlement, net of related transaction costs; (iv) retroactive impacts of certain tax settlements; (v) significant effects of tax legislation and judicial or administrative interpretation of tax regulations; (vi) gain or loss on equity investments; and (vii) the income tax effect on our financial statements of excluding items related to our non-GAAP financial measures. It is difficult to estimate the amount or timing of these items in advance. Restructuring and impairment charges result from events, which arise from unforeseen circumstances, which often occur outside of the ordinary course of continuing operations. Although these events are reflected in our GAAP financials, these unique transactions may limit the comparability of our on-going operations with prior and future periods. In the case of legal settlements, these gains or losses are recorded in the period in which the matter is concluded or resolved even though the subject matter of the underlying dispute may relate to multiple or different periods. As such, we believe that these expenses do not accurately reflect the underlying performance of our continuing operations for the period in which they are incurred. Similarly, the retroactive impacts of certain tax settlements and significant effects of retroactive tax legislation are unique events that occur in periods that are generally unrelated to the level of business activity to which such settlement or legislation applies. We believe this limits comparability with prior periods and that these expenses do not accurately reflect the underlying performance of our continuing business operations for the period in which they are incurred. Whether we realize gains or losses on equity investments is based primarily on the performance and market value of those independent companies. Accordingly, we believe that these gains and losses do not reflect the underlying performance of our continuing operations. We also believe providing financial information with and without the income tax effect of excluding items related to our non-GAAP financial measures provide our management and users of the financial statements with better clarity regarding the on-going performance and future liquidity of our business. Because of these factors, we assess our operating performance both with these amounts included and excluded, and by providing this information, we believe the users of our financial statements are better able to understand the financial results of what we consider our continuing operations.

Note C: Stock-Based Compensation Related Items. We provide non-GAAP information relative to our expense for stock-based compensation and related payroll tax. We began to include stock-based compensation expense in our GAAP financial measures in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation (“FASB ASC Topic 718”), in January 2006. Because of varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types, which affect the calculations of stock-based compensation, we believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation allows for more accurate comparisons of our operating results to our peer companies. Further, we believe that excluding stock-based compensation expense allows for a more accurate comparison of our financial results to previous periods during which our equity-based awards were not required to be reflected in our income statement. Stock-based compensation is very different from other forms of compensation. A cash salary or bonus has a fixed and unvarying cash cost. For example, the expense associated with a $10,000 bonus is equal to exactly $10,000 in cash regardless of when it is awarded and who it is awarded by. In contrast, the expense associated with an award of an option for 1,000 shares of stock is unrelated to the amount of compensation ultimately received by the employee; and the cost to the company is based on a stock-based compensation valuation methodology and underlying assumptions that may vary over time and that does not reflect any cash expenditure by the company because no cash is expended. Furthermore, the expense associated with granting an employee an option is spread over multiple years unlike other compensation expenses which are more proximate to the time of award or payment. For example, we may be recognizing expense in a year where the stock option is significantly underwater and is not going to be exercised or generate any compensation for the employee. The expense associated with an award of an

option for 1,000 shares of stock by us in one quarter may have a very different expense than an award of an identical number of shares in a different quarter. Finally, the expense recognized by us for such an option may be very different than the expense to other companies for awarding a comparable option, which makes it difficult to assess our operating performance relative to our competitors. Similar to stock-based compensation, payroll tax on stock option exercises is dependent on our stock price and the timing and exercise by employees of our stock-based compensation, over which our management has little control, and as such does not correlate to the operation of our business. Because of these unique characteristics of stock-based compensation and the related payroll tax, management excludes these expenses when analyzing the organization’s business performance. We also believe that presentation of such non-GAAP information is important to enable readers of our financial statements to compare current period results with periods prior to the adoption of FASB ASC Topic 718.

Note D: Non-GAAP Net Income Per Share Items. We provide basic non-GAAP net income per share and diluted non-GAAP net income per share. The basic non-GAAP net income per share amount was calculated based on our non-GAAP net income and the weighted-average number of shares outstanding during the reporting period. The diluted non-GAAP income per share included additional dilution from potential issuance of common stock, except when such issuances would be anti-dilutive.

Item 9.01		Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)

Exhibits

Exhibit No.				Description
	99.1			Press release issued by Juniper Networks, Inc. on January 25, 2011

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Exhibit Index

Exhibit No.				Description
	99.1			Press release issued by Juniper Networks, Inc. on January 25, 2011