PC CONNECTION INC (CNXN)
SIC breadcrumb: Wholesale Trade > SIC Major Group 50 > SIC 5045 Wholesale-Computers & Peripheral Equipment & Software
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1050377. Latest filing source: 0001104659-26-019108.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read CNXN's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read CNXN's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,872,746,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-24 |
| Net income | 83,722,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-24 |
| Assets | 1,350,925,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-24 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-24. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001050377.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,692,592,000 | 2,911,883,000 | 2,699,489,000 | 2,820,034,000 | 2,590,290,000 | 2,892,595,000 | 3,124,996,000 | 2,850,644,000 | 2,802,118,000 | 2,872,746,000 | |||||||
| Net income | 48,111,000 | 54,857,000 | 64,592,000 | 82,111,000 | 55,765,000 | 69,906,000 | 89,219,000 | 83,271,000 | 87,095,000 | 83,722,000 | |||||||
| Operating income | 80,520,000 | 77,527,000 | 85,686,000 | 111,972,000 | 72,074,000 | 96,517,000 | 120,552,000 | 103,153,000 | 97,062,000 | 99,282,000 | |||||||
| Gross profit | 371,157,000 | 382,076,000 | 411,086,000 | 451,310,000 | 418,807,000 | 464,579,000 | 526,177,000 | 511,736,000 | 519,794,000 | 539,330,000 | |||||||
| Diluted EPS | 1.80 | 2.04 | 2.41 | 3.10 | 2.12 | 2.65 | 3.37 | 3.15 | 3.29 | 3.27 | |||||||
| Operating cash flow | 33,586,000 | 19,320,000 | 86,839,000 | 36,603,000 | 36,098,000 | 57,754,000 | 34,889,000 | 197,954,000 | 173,868,000 | 65,438,000 | |||||||
| Capital expenditures | 10,855,000 | 9,250,000 | 7,607,000 | 7,609,000 | 12,337,000 | 11,885,000 | 11,803,000 | 9,595,000 | 7,575,000 | 7,389,000 | |||||||
| Dividends paid | 10,591,000 | 9,041,000 | 9,122,000 | 8,452,000 | 8,427,000 | 34,599,000 | 8,948,000 | 8,410,000 | 10,527,000 | 15,298,000 | |||||||
| Share buybacks | 425,000 | 2,857,000 | 3,823,000 | 7,813,000 | 15,375,000 | 4,478,000 | 10,222,000 | 5,392,000 | 12,375,000 | 76,265,000 | |||||||
| Assets | 686,134,000 | 747,851,000 | 805,355,000 | 937,335,000 | 1,015,373,000 | 1,083,383,000 | 1,099,826,000 | 1,188,381,000 | 1,299,354,000 | 1,350,925,000 | |||||||
| Liabilities | 252,692,000 | 265,599,000 | 279,452,000 | 340,023,000 | 379,046,000 | 400,910,000 | 333,651,000 | 347,614,000 | 388,364,000 | 440,795,000 | |||||||
| Stockholders' equity | 433,442,000 | 482,252,000 | 525,903,000 | 597,312,000 | 636,327,000 | 682,473,000 | 766,175,000 | 840,767,000 | 910,990,000 | 910,130,000 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 49,180,000 | 49,990,000 | 91,703,000 | 90,060,000 | 95,655,000 | 108,310,000 | 122,930,000 | 144,954,000 | 178,318,000 | 193,221,000 | |||||||
| Free cash flow | 21,701,000 | 7,517,000 | 188,359,000 | 166,293,000 | 58,049,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 1.79% | 1.88% | 2.39% | 2.91% | 2.15% | 2.42% | 2.86% | 2.92% | 3.11% | 2.91% | |||||||
| Operating margin | 2.99% | 2.66% | 3.17% | 3.97% | 2.78% | 3.34% | 3.86% | 3.62% | 3.46% | 3.46% | |||||||
| Return on equity | 11.10% | 11.38% | 12.28% | 13.75% | 8.76% | 10.24% | 11.64% | 9.90% | 9.56% | 9.20% | |||||||
| Return on assets | 7.01% | 7.34% | 8.02% | 8.76% | 5.49% | 6.45% | 8.11% | 7.01% | 6.70% | 6.20% | |||||||
| Liabilities / equity | 0.58 | 0.55 | 0.53 | 0.57 | 0.60 | 0.59 | 0.44 | 0.41 | 0.43 | 0.48 | |||||||
| Current ratio | 2.43 | 2.48 | 2.58 | 2.51 | 2.51 | 2.49 | 3.07 | 3.20 | 3.14 | 2.90 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Income statement bridge from reported figures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Revenue: accession 0001104659-26-019108; concept RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax; source concepts us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | Gross profit: accession 0001104659-26-019108; concept GrossProfit; source concepts us-gaap:GrossProfit | Operating income: accession 0001104659-26-019108; concept OperatingIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | Net income: accession 0001104659-26-019108; concept NetIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001104659-26-019108; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001104659-26-019108; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001104659-26-019108; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: GrossProfit. Source concepts: us-gaap:GrossProfit.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: PaymentsOfDividends. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsOfDividends.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001104659-26-019108; filed 2026-02-24. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-04-29. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001050377.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | 0.96 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | 0.88 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | 0.54 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 733,547,000 | 19,697,000 | 0.75 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 693,086,000 | 25,598,000 | 0.97 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 696,466,000 | 23,778,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 632,025,000 | 13,154,000 | 0.50 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 736,479,000 | 26,161,000 | 0.99 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 724,717,000 | 27,059,000 | 1.02 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 708,897,000 | 20,721,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 701,046,000 | 13,481,000 | 0.51 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 759,693,000 | 24,789,000 | 0.97 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 709,068,000 | 24,740,000 | 0.97 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 702,939,000 | 20,712,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 721,866,000 | 17,223,000 | 0.68 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001104659-26-051493; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001104659-26-051493; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001104659-26-051493; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001104659-26-051493.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
CAUTIONARY NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance and include statements concerning, among other things, our future financial results, business plans (including statements regarding new products and services we may offer and future expenditures, costs and investments), liabilities, impairment charges, competition, and the expected impact of current macroeconomic conditions on our businesses and results of operations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. These statements reflect our current views and are based on assumptions as of the date of this report. Such assumptions are based upon internal estimates and other analyses of current market conditions and trends, management expectations, plans, and strategies, economic conditions, and other factors. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from expectations or results projected or implied by forward-looking statements.
Such differences may result from actions taken by us, including expense reduction or strategic initiatives (including reductions in force, capital investments and new or expanded product offerings or services), the execution of our business plans (including our inventory management, cost structure and management and other personnel decisions) or other business decisions, as well as from developments beyond our control, including:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | macroeconomic factors facing the global economy, including disruptions in or increased volatility of the capital markets, changes in trade policy, which may include the imposition of tariffs or other trade barriers, economic sanctions and economic slowdowns or recessions, government shutdowns, the impact of conflicts in Iran and the Middle East, changes in tax policy, rising inflation and changing interest rates modifying our potential for investment income and the timing thereof or reducing the level of investment our customers are willing to make in IT products; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | supply constraints, such as the global memory (DRAM and NAND) shortage; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | substantial competition reducing our market share; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | significant price competition reducing our profit margins; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | the loss of any of our major vendors adversely affecting the number or type of products we may offer; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | virtualization of information technology, or IT, resources and applications, including networks, servers, applications, and data storage disrupting or altering our traditional distribution models; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | service interruptions at third-party shippers negatively impacting our ability to deliver the products we offer to our customers; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | increases in shipping and postage costs reducing our margins and adversely affecting our results of operations; |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | loss of key persons or the inability to attract, train and retain qualified personnel adversely affecting our ability to operate our business; and |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | cyberattacks or the failure to safeguard personal information and our IT systems resulting in liability and harm to our reputation. |
Additional factors include those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, including under the captions “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Business,” in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, including under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and in the other subsequent filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.
A forward-looking statement is neither a prediction nor a guarantee of future events or circumstances. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated, to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the statements are made except as required by law.
Unless the context otherwise requires, we use the terms “Connection”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, and “our” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to refer to PC Connection, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
14
Table of Contents
OVERVIEW
We are a Fortune 1000 Global Solutions Provider that simplifies IT, guiding the connection between people and technology. Our dedicated account managers partner with customers to design, deploy, and support cutting-edge IT environments using the latest hardware, software, and services. We provide a wide range of IT solutions, from the desktop to the cloud—including computer systems, data center solutions, security, artificial intelligence, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories that we develop internally and secure from manufacturers, distributors, and other suppliers. Our Technology Solutions and Services Organization, or TSSO, and state-of-the-art ISO 9001:2015 SOC 2 Type 2 certified Technology Integration and Distribution Center offer end-to-end services related to the design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. Our team also provides a comprehensive portfolio of managed services and professional services. These services are performed by our personnel and by third-party providers. Our GlobalServe offering ensures worldwide coverage for our multinational customers, delivering global procurement solutions through our network of in-country suppliers in over 150 countries.
The “Connection” brand includes Connection Enterprise Solutions, Connection Business Solutions, and Connection Public Sector Solutions, which provide IT solutions and services to enterprise, small- to medium-sized businesses, and public sector markets.
Financial results for each of our segments are included in the financial statements attached hereto. We generate sales through (i) outbound inside sales and field sales contacts by sales representatives focused on the business, educational, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and government markets, (ii) our websites, and (iii) direct responses from customers responding to our advertising media. We offer a broad selection of over 460,000 products at competitive prices, including products from vendors like Apple, Cisco, Dell Inc., HP Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft Corporation, and VMware by Broadcom, and we partner with more than 1,600 suppliers. We are able to leverage our state-of-the art logistic capabilities to rapidly ship product to customers.
As a value-added reseller in the IT supply chain, we do not manufacture IT hardware or software products. We are dependent on our suppliers—manufacturers and distributors that historically have only sold to resellers rather than directly to end users. However, certain manufacturers have, on multiple occasions, sold or attempted to sell directly to our customers, and in some cases, have restricted our ability to sell their products directly to certain customers, thereby attempting to and, in some cases successfully, eliminate our role. We believe that the success of these direct sales efforts by manufacturers will depend on their ability to meet our customers’ ongoing demands and provide solutions to meet their needs. We believe more of our customers are seeking out comprehensive and integrated IT solutions, rather than the ability to acquire specific IT products on a one-off basis. Our advantage is our ability to be product-neutral and provide a broader combination of products, services, and advice tailored to our customers’ individual needs. By providing customers with customized solutions from a variety of manufacturers, we believe we can mitigate the negative impact of continued direct sales initiatives from individual manufacturers. Through the formation of our TSSO, we are able to provide customers complete IT solutions, from identifying their needs, to designing, developing, and managing the integration of products and services to implement their IT projects. Such service offerings carry higher margins than traditional product sales. Additionally, the technical certifications of our service engineers permit us to offer higher-end, more complex products that generally carry higher gross margins. We expect these service offerings and technical certifications to continue to play a role in sales generation and gross margin improvements in this competitive environment.
The primary challenges we continue to face in effectively managing our business are (1) increasing our product and service revenues while at the same time improving our gross margin in all three segments, (2) recruiting, retaining, and improving the productivity of our sales and technical support personnel, and (3) effectively controlling our selling, general and administrative, or SG&A, expenses while making major investments in our IT systems and solution selling personnel, especially in relation to changing revenue levels.
To support future growth, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in our IT solutions business, which requires the addition of highly skilled service engineers. Although we expect to realize the ultimate benefit of higher-margin service revenues under this multi-year initiative, we believe that our cost of services will increase as we add additional service engineers. If our service revenues do not grow enough to offset the cost of these headcount additions, our operating results may be negatively impacted.
15
Table of Contents
Market conditions and technology advances significantly affect the demand for our products and services. Virtual delivery of software products and advanced Internet technology providing customers enhanced functionality have substantially increased customer expectations, requiring us to invest on an ongoing basis in our own IT infrastructure to meet these new demands.
Our investments in IT infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and provide our customers enhanced functionality.
The ongoing global memory shortage (DRAM and NAND) could result in increased inventory costs, which may reduce our margins or require us to raise prices. The memory shortage could additionally result in a lack of availability of products, which could negatively impact our results of operations. As a result of these ongoing and anticipated shortages, we may purchase product in advance of customer orders, while customers may accelerate or delay purchasing depending on their capital resources.
The U.S. administration has announced
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, or MD&A, is intended to promote an understanding of our results of operations and financial condition. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This section discusses the results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2025 and year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024. Discussion of the year ended December 31, 2024 and the year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2024 and the year ended December 31, 2023 can be found in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Our MD&A also includes discussion of certain forward-looking trends and other statements that predict or anticipate future business or financial results that are subject to important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated. See “Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
OVERVIEW
We are a Fortune 1000 Global Solutions Provider that simplifies IT, guiding the connection between people and technology. Our dedicated account managers partner with customers to design, deploy, and support cutting-edge IT environments using the latest hardware, software, and services. We provide a wide range of IT solutions, from the desktop to the cloud—including computer systems, data center solutions, security, AI, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories that we develop internally and secure from manufacturers, distributors, and other suppliers. Our TSSO and state-of-the-art ISO 9001:2015 SOC 2 Type 2 certified TIDC offer end-to-end services related to the design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. Our team also provides a comprehensive portfolio of managed services and professional services. These services are performed by our personnel and by third-party providers. Our GlobalServe offering ensures worldwide coverage for our multinational customers, delivering global procurement solutions through our network of in-country suppliers in over 150 countries.
The “Connection” brand includes Connection Enterprise Solutions, Connection Business Solutions, and Connection Public Sector Solutions, which provide IT solutions and services to enterprise, SMBs, and public sector markets.
Financial results for each of our segments are included in the financial statements attached hereto. We generate sales through (i) outbound inside sales and field sales contacts by sales representatives focused on the business, educational, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and government markets, (ii) our websites, and (iii) direct responses from customers responding to our advertising media. We offer a broad selection of over 460,000 products at competitive prices, including products from vendors like Apple, Cisco, Dell Inc., HP Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft Corporation, and VMware by Broadcom, and we partner with more than 1,600 suppliers. We are able to leverage our state-of-the art logistic capabilities to rapidly ship product to customers.
As a value-added reseller in the IT supply chain, we do not manufacture IT hardware or software products. We are dependent on our suppliers—manufacturers and distributors that historically have only sold to resellers rather than directly to end users. However, certain manufacturers have, on multiple occasions, sold or attempted to sell directly to our customers, and in some cases, have restricted our ability to sell their products directly to certain customers, thereby attempting to and, in some cases successfully, eliminate our role. We believe that the success of these direct sales efforts by manufacturers will depend on their ability to meet our customers’ ongoing demands and provide solutions to meet their needs. We believe more of our customers are seeking out comprehensive and integrated IT solutions, rather than the ability to acquire specific IT products on a one-off basis. Our advantage is our ability to be product-neutral and provide a broader combination of products, services, and advice tailored to our customers’ individual needs. By providing customers with customized solutions from a variety of manufacturers, we believe we can mitigate the negative impact of continued direct sales initiatives from individual manufacturers. Through the formation of our TSSO, we are able to provide customers complete IT solutions, from identifying their needs, to designing, developing, and managing the integration of products and services to implement their IT projects. Such service offerings carry higher margins than traditional product sales. Additionally, the technical certifications of our service engineers permit us to offer higher-end, more complex products that generally carry higher gross margins. We expect these service offerings and technical
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certifications to continue to play a role in sales generation and gross margin improvements in this competitive environment.
The primary challenges we continue to face in effectively managing our business are (1) increasing our product and service revenues while at the same time improving our gross margin in all three segments, (2) recruiting, retaining, and improving the productivity of our sales and technical support personnel, and (3) effectively controlling our SG&A expenses while making major investments in our IT systems and solution selling personnel, especially in relation to changing revenue levels.
To support future growth, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in our IT solutions business, which requires the addition of highly skilled service engineers. Although we expect to realize the ultimate benefit of higher-margin service revenues under this multi-year initiative, we believe that our cost of services will increase as we add additional service engineers. If our service revenues do not grow enough to offset the cost of these headcount additions, our operating results may be negatively impacted.
Market conditions and technology advances significantly affect the demand for our products and services. Virtual delivery of software products and advanced Internet technology providing customers enhanced functionality have substantially increased customer expectations, requiring us to invest on an ongoing basis in our own IT infrastructure to meet these new demands.
Our investments in IT infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and provide our customers enhanced functionality.
Trends and Key Factors Affecting our Financial Performance
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | As the AI market continues to evolve, it is difficult to predict and forecast its potential impact on our business and results of operations in the future. We may be required to make significant investments to keep up with increasing competition surrounding AI. Additionally, potential issues with the AI products we sell could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations in the future. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Inflation due to, among other things, higher interest rates and the uncertain economic environment, impacts product costs and wages. The increased product costs and wages due to inflation may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If product costs and wages increase significantly or for an extended period of time, we may not be able to adjust prices to sufficiently offset the effect of the various cost increases without negatively impacting customer demand. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | The Federal Reserve decreased interest rates in 2025, but it is uncertain whether interest rates will remain the same, decrease, or increase in 2026. Should we need to borrow in the future, we may be exposed to high interest rates. Additionally, if interest rates were to decrease, our interest income on our cash equivalents and short-term investments would also decrease. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | The impact of tariffs remains uncertain. If the economic impact of any imposed tariff is passed through to us by our vendors, our results of operations could be impacted. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Changes in partner funding programs could change the amount of incentives received by us, which could impact our results of operations. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | The possibility of a U.S. Government shutdown could adversely impact our results of operations, particularly within our Public Sector Solutions segment. |
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KEY OPERATING METRIC
Gross Billings
We utilize key operating metrics to track and assess the performance of our business, including gross billings. Gross billings is the total dollar value of goods and services billed during the period, net of customer returns, credit memos, and any applicable sales or other taxes and includes agency fees, and freight. As certain transactions are recognized on a net basis, gross billings include amounts not recognized in net sales.
We use the gross billings operating metric for planning, forecasting, and evaluating the sales performance of our operating segments by providing insight into the total value of our business transactions. We believe that gross billings provides the same insight to investors.
The following table sets forth the gross billings for each of our operating segments and our consolidated entity (in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||||
| | | 2025 | | 2024 | | 2023 | |||
| Gross billings | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 1,687.4 | | $ | 1,558.7 | | $ | 1,547.9 |
| Business Solutions | | 1,691.5 | | 1,632.1 | | 1,601.7 | |||
| Public Sector Solutions | | | 755.2 | | 836.1 | | 823.3 | ||
| Total gross billings | | $ | 4,134.1 | | $ | 4,026.9 | | $ | 3,972.9 |
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth information derived from our statements of income expressed as a percentage of net sales for the periods indicated (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | | 2025 | | | 2024 | | | 2023 | |
| Net sales | | $ | 2,872.7 | | $ | 2,802.1 | | $ | 2,850.6 | |
| Gross margin | | | 18.8 | % | | 18.6 | % | | 18.0 | % |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | | 15.1 | % | 15.1 | % | 14.2 | % | |||
| Income from operations | | 3.5 | % | 3.5 | % | 3.6 | % |
Net sales of $2,872.7 million in 2025 reflected an increase of $70.6 million compared to 2024, which was driven by higher net sales for our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments as shown in the table on page 34 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The increase in net sales was primarily driven by an increase in net sales of desktops of $53.5 million, as well as increase in net sales of advanced technology categories including software and servers/storage of $35.7 million and $15.3 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by decreases in net sales of displays and sound, net/com products, and accessories of $22.4 million, $8.6 million, and $3.6 million, respectively, as shown in Note 2, “Revenue” to the consolidated financial statements. Gross profit increased year-over-year by $19.5 million as illustrated in the table and the discussion beginning on page 34 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Gross margin increased year-over-year by 20 basis points as shown in the above table. The increase in gross margin was primarily due to improved invoice margins in servers/storage, net/com products, and notebooks/mobility primarily as a result of higher-margin deals in the current year, combined with an increase in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis as these sales are recognized in the financial statements at 100% margin. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales remained substantially the same year-over-year. Operating income as a percentage of net sales remained substantially the same year-over-year.
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Sales Distribution
The following table sets forth our percentage of net sales by operating segment and product mix:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2025 | | 2024 | | 2023 | |
| Operating Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 44 | % | 42 | % | 42 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 38 | 38 | 38 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 18 | 20 | 20 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| | | | | | | | |
| Product Mix | | | | | | | |
| Notebooks/Mobility | | 35 | % | 35 | % | 33 | % |
| Desktops | | 12 | | 11 | | 9 | |
| Software | | 11 | | 10 | | 12 | |
| Servers/Storage | | 8 | | 7 | | 7 | |
| Net/Com Products | | 7 | 8 | 10 | | ||
| Displays and Sound | | 9 | 10 | 9 | | ||
| Accessories | | 11 | 12 | 11 | | ||
| Other Hardware/Services | | 7 | 7 | 9 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
Gross Margins
The following table summarizes our overall gross margins, as a percentage of net sales, for the last three years:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2025 | | 2024 | | 2023 | |
| Operating Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 14.5 | % | 15.2 | % | 14.9 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 25.2 | 24.1 | 23.0 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 16.0 | 15.3 | 14.9 | | ||
| Total Company | | 18.8 | % | 18.6 | % | 18.0 | % |
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the invoice cost of the product, direct employee and third-party cost of services, direct costs of packaging, inbound and outbound freight, and provisions for inventory obsolescence, adjusted for discounts, rebates, and other vendor allowances.
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Operating Expenses
The following table reflects our most significant operating expenses for the last three years (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | 2025 | | 2024 | | 2023 | ||||
| Personnel costs | | $ | 330.8 | | $ | 320.6 | | $ | 311.6 | |
| Marketing | | 24.8 | | 25.1 | | 22.4 | | |||
| Service contracts/subscriptions | | | 26.0 | | 24.5 | | 21.0 | | ||
| Professional fees | | 15.4 | | 12.9 | | 12.9 | | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | | 11.7 | | 13.0 | | 12.7 | | |||
| Facilities operations | | 7.5 | | 7.6 | | 8.2 | | |||
| Credit card fees | | 6.1 | | 6.7 | | 6.7 | | |||
| Other | | 11.7 | | 11.9 | | 10.4 | | |||
| Total SG&A expense | | $ | 434.0 | | $ | 422.3 | | $ | 405.9 | |
| As a percentage of net sales | | | 15.1 | % | | 15.1 | % | | 14.2 | % |
Severance expenses and other charges
During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, we undertook actions to lower our cost structure. In connection with these initiatives, we incurred severance expenses and other charges of $6.0 million, $0.4 million, and $2.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. The severance expenses and other charges were primarily related to voluntary and involuntary reductions in the Company’s workforce. Both the voluntary and involuntary reductions included cash severance and other related termination benefits. The majority of each of these costs are expected to be paid within a year of termination and any unpaid balances are included in accrued payroll on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2025.
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YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISONS
Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2024
Changes in net sales and gross profit by operating segment are shown in the following table (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | | | | |||||||||
| | | 2025 | | 2024 | | | | | | |||||||
| | | | | | % of | | | | | % of | | $ | | % | | |
| | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Change | | Change | | |||
| Net Sales: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 1,282.4 | 44.6 | % | $ | 1,181.2 | 42.2 | % | $ | 101.2 | | 8.6 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 1,081.8 | | 37.7 | | | 1,049.1 | | 37.4 | | | 32.7 | | 3.1 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 508.5 | 17.7 | | 571.8 | 20.4 | (63.3) | | (11.1) | | ||||||
| Total | | $ | 2,872.7 | | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,802.1 | | 100.0 | % | $ | 70.6 | | 2.5 | % |
| Gross Profit: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 185.9 | 14.5 | % | $ | 180.0 | 15.2 | % | $ | 5.9 | | 3.3 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 272.1 | | 25.2 | | | 252.4 | | 24.1 | | | 19.7 | | 7.8 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 81.3 | 16.0 | | 87.4 | 15.3 | (6.1) | | (6.9) | | ||||||
| Total | | $ | 539.3 | | 18.8 | % | $ | 519.8 | | 18.6 | % | $ | 19.5 | | 3.8 | % |
Net sales increased by 2.5% to $2,872.7 million in 2025, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,282.4 million for the Enterprise Solutions segment reflect an increase of $101.2 million, or 8.6% year-over-year, primarily due to increases in net sales of notebooks/mobility, desktops, servers/storage, accessories, software, and other hardware/services of $26.6 million, $21.8 million, $20.8 million, $20.4 million, $19.2 million, and $10.6 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by decreases in net sales of displays and sound and net/com products of $12.2 million and $6.0 million, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,081.8 million for the Business Solutions segment reflect an increase of $32.7 million, or 3.1% year-over-year, primarily due to increases in net sales of desktops, notebooks/mobility, and software of $23.9 million, $23.5 million, and $15.7 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by decreases in net sales of accessories and servers/storage of $16.4 million and $14.4 million, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $508.5 million for the Public Sector Solutions segment reflect a decrease of $63.3 million, or 11.1% year-over-year. The decrease was primarily driven by decreases in sales to state and local government and educational institutions of $40.0 million and sales to the federal government of $23.3 million. The decrease in net sales was primarily driven by decreases in net sales of notebooks/mobility, displays and sound, other hardware/services, and accessories of $50.7 million, $12.7 million, $8.9 million, and $7.7 million, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by increases in net sales of servers/storage and desktops of $9.0 million and $7.8 million, respectively. |
Gross profit increased by 3.8% to $539.3 million in 2025, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Enterprise Solutions segment increased by $5.9 million, or 3.3% year-over-year as referenced in the above table, primarily as a result of the increase in net sales as discussed in the preceding paragraph. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Business Solutions segment increased by $19.7 million, or 7.8% year-over-year as referenced in the above table, primarily as a result of improved invoice margins in notebooks/mobility primarily due to low-margin deals in the prior year. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Public Sector Solutions segment decreased by $6.1 million, or 6.9% year-over-year as referenced in the above table, primarily as a result of the decrease in net sales as discussed in the preceding paragraph. |
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Gross margin increased by 20 basis points to 18.8% in 2025, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross margin for the Enterprise Solutions segment decreased by 70 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to a decrease in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis, as well as reduced software agency fees. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross margin for the Business Solutions segment increased by 110 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross margin for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased by 70 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis relative to total sales in the segment. |
SG&A expenses in 2025 increased year-over-year in dollars but remained substantially the same as a percentage of net sales. SG&A expenses attributable to our three operating segments and the remaining unallocated Headquarters/Other expenses are summarized below (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | | | | |||||||||
| | | 2025 | | 2024 | | | | | | |||||||
| | | | | | % of | | | | | % of | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Segment Net | | | | | Segment Net | | $ | | % | | |
| | | Amount | | Sales | | Amount | | Sales | | Change | | Change | | |||
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 150.4 | 11.7 | % | $ | 146.0 | 12.4 | % | $ | 4.4 | | 3.0 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 179.3 | | 16.6 | | | 175.6 | | 16.7 | | | 3.7 | | 2.1 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 90.7 | 17.8 | | 85.1 | 14.9 | 5.6 | | 6.6 | | ||||||
| Headquarters/Other, unallocated | | 13.6 | | | | 15.6 | | | (2.0) | | (12.9) | | ||||
| Total | | $ | 434.0 | | 15.1 | % | $ | 422.3 | | 15.1 | % | $ | 11.7 | | 2.8 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Enterprise Solutions segment increased in dollars but decreased as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to increases in personnel costs and the use of shared Headquarter services of $4.1 million and $1.7 million, respectively, partially offset by a decrease in service contracts/subscriptions of $1.0 million. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 11.7% for the Enterprise Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2025, which reflects a decrease of 70 basis points and is primarily due to the increase in net sales discussed above. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Business Solutions segment increased in dollars but remained substantially the same as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to an increase in the use of shared Headquarter services of $6.6 million, partially offset by decreases in personnel costs, other expenses, marketing, and credit card fees of $0.9 million, $0.8 million, $0.5 million, and $0.4 million, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to increases in the use of shared Headquarter services, professional fees, and other expenses of $3.3 million, $2.7 million, and $0.6 million, respectively, partially offset by a decrease in marketing of $0.7 million. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 17.8% for the Public Sector Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2025, which reflects an increase of 290 basis points and is primarily due to the decrease in net sales discussed above combined with the increase in SG&A expenses. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Headquarters/Other decreased by $2.0 million primarily due to an increase in the allocated amounts to the operating segments of $11.6 million and a decrease in depreciation and amortization of $1.2 million, partially offset by increases in personnel costs, service contracts/subscriptions, and marketing of $7.2 million, $2.3 million, and $1.2 million, respectively. The Headquarters/Other provides services to the three segments in areas such as finance, distribution center, human resources, IT, marketing, and product management. Most of the operating |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| costs associated with such corporate Headquarters/Other services are charged to the segments based on their estimated allocation usage of the underlying services. |
Severance expenses and other charges for the year ended December 31, 2025 were $6.0 million, compared to $0.4 million for the same period in the prior year. The severance expenses and other charges were related to voluntary and involuntary reductions in our workforce. Both the voluntary and involuntary reductions included cash severance and other related termination benefits.
Income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased to $99.3 million, compared to $97.1 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to increase in gross profit, partially offset by the increases in SG&A expenses and severance expenses and other charges, as discussed above. Income from operations as a percentage of net sales remained substantially the same for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to the prior year.
Interest income, net for the year ended December 31, 2025 decreased to $14.4 million, compared to $18.7 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to a decrease in interest income of $4.4 million as a result of lower realized interest rates in the current year combined with lower cash equivalent and investment balances in the current year.
Other income for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $0.1 million as a result of a realized gain on sale of short-term investments, compared to $1.7 million for the same period in the prior year as a result of a legal settlement received.
Income taxes. Our provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $30.0 million, compared to $30.4 million for the same period in the prior year. The decrease in our provision for income taxes was primarily due to the decrease in income before taxes, partially offset by a decreased benefit in stock-based compensation. Our effective tax rate was 26.4% for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to 25.9% for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in our effective tax rate is primarily due to the decreased benefit in stock-based compensation.
Net income for the year ended December 31, 2025 decreased to $83.7 million, compared to $87.1 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the decreases in interest income, net and other income, as discussed above.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Liquidity Overview
Our primary sources of liquidity are internally generated funds from operations and short-term investments. We have historically used and expect to use in the future those funds to meet our capital requirements, which consist primarily of working capital for operational needs, capital expenditures for computer equipment and software used in our business, repurchases of common stock for treasury, dividend payments, and as opportunities arise, possible acquisitions of new businesses.
We believe that funds generated from operations and short-term investments will be sufficient to finance our working capital, capital expenditures, and other requirements for at least the next twelve calendar months and beyond such twelve calendar month period. Our investments in IT systems and infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and to provide our customers enhanced functionality.
We expect to meet our cash requirements for 2025 and beyond through a combination of cash on hand, short-term investments, and cash generated from operations, as follows:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash on Hand. As of December 31, 2025, we had $193.2 million in cash and cash equivalents. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Short-term Investments. As of December 31, 2025, we had $213.5 million in short-term investments. |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash Generated from Operations. We expect to generate cash flows from operations in excess of operating cash needs by generating earnings and managing net changes in inventories and receivables with changes in payables to generate positive cash flow. |
Our ability to continue funding our planned growth, both internally and externally, is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or to obtain additional funds through equity or debt financing, or from other sources of financing, as may be required. While we do not anticipate needing any additional sources of financing to fund our operations at this time, if demand for IT products declines, or our customers are materially adversely impacted by the developing macroeconomic trends characterized by inflation and increased interest rates, our cash flows from operations may be substantially affected. For additional discussion regarding the factors which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, see our discussion under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Summary Sources and Uses of Cash
The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash over the last three years (in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||||
| | | 2025 | | 2024 | | 2023 | |||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | | $ | 65.5 | | $ | 173.9 | | $ | 197.9 |
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | | 42.8 | | (115.3) | | (160.2) | |||
| Net cash used in financing activities | | (93.4) | | (25.2) | | (15.7) | |||
| Increase in cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 14.9 | | $ | 33.4 | | $ | 22.0 |
Cash provided by operating activities is summarized as follows (in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | 2025 | | 2024 | | Change | ||||
| Net income | | $ | 83.7 | | $ | 87.1 | | $ | (3.4) |
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | | | | | | | | | |
| Depreciation and amortization | | | 11.7 | | | 13.0 | | | (1.3) |
| Adjustments to credit losses reserve | | | 1.9 | | | 1.9 | | | — |
| Stock-based compensation expense | | | 9.3 | | | 8.5 | | | 0.8 |
| Deferred income taxes | | | 4.8 | | | (0.8) | | | 5.6 |
| Amortization of discount on short-term investments, net | | | 0.6 | | | (4.2) | | | 4.8 |
| Other adjustments | | | — | | | — | | | — |
| Changes in assets and liabilities: | | | | | | | | | |
| Accounts receivable | | | (38.4) | | | (6.5) | | | (31.9) |
| Inventories | | | (48.5) | | | 29.1 | | | (77.6) |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | | | (4.3) | | | 2.7 | | | (7.0) |
| Other non-current assets | | | (4.1) | | | 0.6 | | | (4.7) |
| Accounts payable | | | 38.1 | | | 36.5 | | | 1.6 |
| Accrued expenses and other liabilities | | 10.7 | | | 6.0 | | 4.7 | ||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | | $ | 65.5 | | $ | 173.9 | | $ | (108.4) |
The decrease in net cash from operating activities of $108.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 was primarily attributable to changes in inventories and accounts receivable of $77.6 million and $31.9 million, respectively. The decrease in cash from operating activities attributable to inventories is primarily due to increased inventory purchases related to customer rollouts. The decrease in cash from operating activities attributable to accounts receivable is primarily driven by the timing of customer deliveries.
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In order to manage our working capital and operating cash needs, we monitor our cash conversion cycle, defined as days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable plus days of supply in inventory minus days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable, based on a rolling three-month average. Components of our cash conversion cycle are as follows:
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | December 31, | ||||
| (in days) | | 2025 | | 2024 | ||
| Days of sales outstanding (DSO)(1) | | | 76 | | | 72 |
| Days of supply in inventory (DIO)(2) | | | 23 | | | 15 |
| Days of purchases outstanding (DPO)(3) | | | (54) | | | (47) |
| Cash conversion cycle | | | 45 | | | 40 |
(1) Represents the trade receivable at the end of the period divided by average daily net sales for the same three-month period.
(2) Represents the merchandise inventory balance at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
(3) Represents the accounts payable balance at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
The cash conversion cycle increased to 45 days for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, compared to 40 days for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, as evidenced in the above cash conversion table. The increase in DSO is primarily due to the increase in accounts receivable as of December 31, 2025 compared to December 31, 2024. The increase in DIO is primarily due to the increase in inventory as of December 31, 2025 compared to December 31, 2024. The increase in DPO is primarily due to the increase in accounts payable as of December 31, 2025 compared to December 31, 2024.
Cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 consisted of $264.1 million of purchases of short-term U.S. Government treasury securities, $108.8 million of sales of U.S. Government treasury securities, $205.6 million of maturities of U.S. Government treasury securities, and $7.4 million of purchases of property and equipment. The property and equipment expenditures were primarily for computer equipment and capitalized internally-developed software in connection with investments in our IT infrastructure. Cash used in investing activities for the prior year consisted of $358.3 million of purchases of short-term U.S. Government treasury securities, $250.6 million of maturities of U.S. Government treasury securities, and $7.6 million of purchases of property and equipment.
Cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 consisted primarily of $0.7 million of aggregate borrowings and repayments under our credit facility, $76.3 million of treasury repurchases, $15.3 million of dividend payments, $1.2 million of issuances of stock under the 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and $3.0 million of payroll taxes on stock-based compensation through shares withheld. In the prior year period, financing activities consisted of $26.1 million of aggregate borrowings and repayments under our credit facility, $12.4 million of treasury repurchases, $10.5 million of dividend payments, $1.1 million of issuances of stock under the 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and $3.4 million of payroll taxes on stock-based compensation through shares withheld.
Debt Instruments, Contractual Agreements, and Related Covenants
Below is a summary of certain provisions of our credit facility and other contractual obligations. For more information about our obligations, commitments, and contingencies, see our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in this annual report.
Credit Facility. Our credit facility collateralized by our accounts receivable expired March 31, 2025. We did not elect to extend or replace this credit facility given our significant cash, cash equivalent, and short-term investment balances. Amounts outstanding under this facility bore interest at the greatest of (i) the prime rate (7.50% at March 31, 2025), (ii) the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% per annum, and (iii) the daily Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, plus 1.00% per annum, but at no time less than 1.00% per annum. While we used this credit facility from time
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to time, we did not have any borrowings outstanding immediately prior to the expiration of the credit facility nor at December 31, 2024.
Cash receipts were automatically applied against any outstanding borrowings. Any excess cash on account could either remain on account to generate earned credits to offset up to 100% of cash management fees, or be invested in short-term qualified investments. Borrowings under the credit facility were classified as current in our consolidated balance sheets.
Supplier Finance Programs. We have entered into agreements with financial institutions to facilitate the purchase of inventory from designated suppliers under certain terms and conditions to enhance liquidity. We do not incur any interest or other incremental expenses associated with these agreements as balances are paid when they are due. See Note 16, “Supplier Finance Programs” to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.
Operating Leases. We lease facilities, including our corporate headquarters and a facility adjacent to our corporate headquarters, from a related party, which is a company affiliated with us through common ownership. The lease agreements of these two Merrimack, New Hampshire facilities have expired. We continue to occupy the facilities on a month-to-month basis under the terms of the prior written lease agreements. It is our intention to enter into a written, long-term lease for the facilities. We also lease facilities from third parties under non-cancelable operating leases. Certain leases require us to pay real estate taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance charges. See “Item 2. Properties” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding our operating leases.
Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity
Internally Generated Funds. The key factors affecting our internally generated funds are our ability to manage costs and fully achieve our operating efficiencies, timely collection of our customer receivables, and management of our inventory levels.
Credit Facility. Our credit facility collateralized by our accounts receivable expired March 31, 2025 and we elected not to renew or replace the credit facility given our significant cash, cash equivalent, and short-term investment balances.
Capital Markets. Our ability to raise additional funds in the capital market depends upon, among other things, general economic conditions, the condition of the IT industry, our financial performance and stock price, and the state of the capital markets. In addition, market volatility, inflation and interest rate fluctuations may increase our cost of financing or restrict our access to potential sources of future liquidity.
APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
A critical accounting policy has been defined as one that is both important to the portrayal of the registrant’s financial condition and results and requires management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Further, “critical accounting policies” are those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties, and potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions.
We believe that our accounting policies described below meet the definition of critical accounting policies and estimates.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those products or services. We enter into contracts that can include various combinations of products and services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. In most instances, when several performance obligations are aggregated into one single transaction, these performance obligations are fulfilled at the same point in time. We account for an arrangement when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights are identified, the contract has commercial substance,
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and collectability of consideration is probable. We generally obtain oral or written purchase authorizations from our customers for a specified amount of product at a specified price, which constitutes an arrangement. Revenue is recognized at the amount expected to be collected, net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities. We generally invoice for our products at the time of shipping, and accordingly there is not a significant financing component included in our arrangements.
Nature of Products and Services
IT products typically represent a distinct performance obligation, and revenue is recognized at the point in time when control is transferred to the customer which is generally upon delivery to the customer. We recognize revenue as the principal in the transaction with the customer (i.e., on a gross basis), as we control the product prior to delivery to the customer and derive the economic benefits from the sales transaction given our control over customer pricing.
We do not recognize revenue for goods that remain in our physical possession before the customer has the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits from the products, the goods are ready for physical transfer to and identified as belonging to the customer, and when we have no ability to use the product or to direct it to another customer.
Licenses for on-premise software provide the customer with a right to take possession of the software. Customers may purchase perpetual licenses or enter into subscriptions to the licensed software. We are the principal in these transactions and recognize revenue for the on-premise license at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer and the commencement of the term of the software license or when the renewal term begins, as applicable.
For certain on-premise licenses for security software, the customer derives substantially all of the benefit from these arrangements through the third-party delivered software maintenance, which provides software updates and other support services. We do not have control over the delivery of these performance obligations, and accordingly we are the agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for security software net of the related cost of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement. Cloud products allow customers to use hosted software over the contractual period without taking possession of the software and are provided on a subscription basis. We do not exercise control over these products or services and therefore are an agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for cloud products net of the related costs of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
We use our own engineering personnel to assist in projects involving the design and installation of systems and networks, and we also engage third-party service providers to perform warranty maintenance, implementations, asset disposal, and other services. Service revenue is recognized in general over time as we perform the underlying services and satisfy our performance obligations. We evaluate such engagements to determine whether we are the principal or the agent in each transaction. For those transactions in which we do not control the service, we act as an agent and recognize the transaction revenue on a net basis at a point in time when the vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
Similarly, we recognize revenue from agency sales transactions on a net sales basis. In agency sales transactions, we facilitate product sales by equipment and software manufacturers directly to our customers and receive agency, or referral, fees for such transactions. We do not take title to the products or assume any maintenance or return obligations in these transactions; title is passed directly from the supplier to our customer.
Amounts recognized on a net basis included in net sales for such third-party services, agency sales, and off-premise software transactions were $138.8 million, $147.5 million, and $141.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
Certain software sales include on-premise licenses that are combined with software maintenance. Software maintenance conveys rights to updates, bug fixes and help desk support, and other support services transferred over the underlying contract period. On-premise licenses are considered distinct performance obligations when sold with the software maintenance, as we sell these items separately. We recognize revenue related to the software maintenance as
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the agent in these transactions because we do not have control over the on-going software maintenance service. Revenue allocated to software maintenance is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
Certain of our larger customers are offered the opportunity by vendors to purchase software licenses and maintenance under enterprise agreements, or EAs. Under EAs, customers are considered to be compliant with applicable license requirements for the ensuing year, regardless of changes to their employee base. Customers are charged an annual true-up fee for changes in the number of users over the year. With most EAs, our vendors will transfer the license and bill the customer directly, paying resellers, such as us, an agency fee or commission on these sales. We record these agency fees as a component of net sales as earned and there is no corresponding cost of sales amount. In certain instances, we invoice the customer directly under an EA and account for the individual items sold based on the nature of each item. Our vendors typically dictate how the EA will be sold to the customer.
We also offer extended service plans, or ESPs, on IT products, both as part of the initial arrangement and separately from the IT products. We recognize revenue related to ESPs as the agent in the transaction because we do not have control over the on-going ESPs service and do not provide any service after the sale. Revenue allocated to ESPs is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
All amounts billed to a customer in a sales transaction related to shipping and handling, if any, represent revenues earned for the goods provided, and these amounts have been included in net sales. Costs related to shipping and handling billing are classified as cost of sales. Sales are reported net of sales, use, or other transaction taxes that are collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our contracts with customers often include promises to transfer multiple products or services to a customer. Determining whether we are the agent or the principal and whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment.
We estimate the standalone selling price, or SSP, for each distinct performance obligation when a single arrangement contains multiple performance obligations and the fulfillment occurs at different points in time. We maximize the use of observable inputs in the determination of the estimate for SSP for the items that we do not sell separately, including on-premise licenses sold with software maintenance, and IT products sold with ESPs. In instances where SSP is not directly observable, such as when we do not sell the product or service separately, we determine the SSP using information that may include market conditions and other observable inputs.
We provide our customers with a limited thirty-day right of return, which is generally limited to defective merchandise, and gives rise to variable consideration. Revenue is recognized based on the most likely amount to which we are expected to be entitled. The estimated variable consideration is included in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur once the uncertainty is resolved. We make estimates of product returns based on significant historical experience. We record our sales return reserve as a reduction of revenues and either as reduction of accounts receivable or, for customers who have already paid, as accrued expenses and as a reduction of cost of sales and an associated right of return asset. At December 31, 2025, we recorded sales reserves of $3.4 million and $0.1 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively. At December 31, 2024, we recorded sales reserves of $3.8 million and $0.1 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively.
We regularly evaluate the adequacy of our estimates for product returns. Future market conditions and product transitions may require us to take action to change such programs and related estimates. When the variables used to estimate these reserves change, or if actual results differ significantly from the estimates, we would be required to increase or reduce revenue to reflect the impact.
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Accounts Receivable
We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and adjust credit limits based upon payment history and current creditworthiness. Our allowance for credit losses is generally computed by (1) applying specific percentage reserves on accounts that are past due, and (2) specifically reserving for customers known to be in financial difficulty. Therefore, if the financial conditions of certain customers were to deteriorate, or if we noted there was a lengthening of the timing of the settlement of receivables that was symptomatic of a general deterioration in the ability of our customers to pay, we would have to increase our allowance for credit losses. This would negatively impact our earnings. Our cash flows would be impacted to the extent that receivables could not be collected.
Our bad debt expense was $1.9 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.
In addition to accounts receivable from customers, we record receivables from our vendors/suppliers for cooperative marketing, price protection, supplier reimbursements, rebates, and other similar arrangements. A portion of such receivables is estimated based on information available from our vendors at discrete points in time. While such estimates have historically approximated actual cash received, a change in estimates could give rise to a reduction in the receivable. This could negatively impact our earnings and our cash flows.
Our trade receivables are charged off in the period in which they are deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of trade receivables previously charged are recorded when received. Write offs of customer and vendor receivables totaled $2.1 million in 2025 and $2.4 million in 2024.
Considerable estimates are used in assessing the ultimate realization of customer receivables and vendor/supplier receivables, including reviewing the financial stability of a customer, vendor information, and gauging current market conditions. If our evaluations are incorrect, we may incur additional charges in the future on our consolidated statements of income.
Inventories
Inventories (all finished goods) are stated at cost (which approximates the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value, whichever is lower. Inventory quantities on hand are reviewed regularly, and provisions are made for obsolete, slow moving, and non-saleable inventory, based primarily on management’s forecast of customer demand for those products in inventory.
Estimates are used to determine the quarterly inventory allowance provision. Actual future write-offs of inventory for salability and obsolescence reasons may differ from estimates and calculations used to determine valuation allowances due to changes in customer demand, customer negotiations, technology shifts and other factors. The IT industry is characterized by rapid technological change and new product development that could result in increased obsolescence of inventory on hand. Increased obsolescence or decreased customer demand beyond management’s expectations could require additional provisions, which could negatively impact our earnings. Our provision for inventory obsolescence was $1.5 million, $2.1 million, and $2.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. We recorded obsolescence charges of $2.1 million, $2.5 million, and $2.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. Historically, there have been no unusual charges precipitated by specific technological or forecast issues.
Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets, Including Intangibles
We carry a variety of long-lived assets on our consolidated balance sheets, which are all currently classified as held for use. These include property and equipment, identifiable intangibles, an Internet domain name, which is an indefinite-lived intangible asset not subject to amortization, and goodwill. An impairment review is undertaken on (1) an annual basis for goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets; and (2) on an event-driven basis for all long-lived assets when facts and circumstances suggest that cash flows from such assets may be diminished. We have historically reviewed the carrying value of all these assets based partly on our projections of cash flows. Any impairment charge that is recorded negatively impacts our earnings.
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Our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments hold $66.2 million and $7.4 million of goodwill, respectively. We test goodwill for impairment each year and more frequently if potential impairment indicators arise. In 2025 and 2024, we performed a “step 0” qualitative analysis. Accounting Standards Codification 350—Intangible – Goodwill and Other states that an entity may assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. This analysis allows the Company to consider qualitative factors that might impact the carrying amount of its goodwill to determine whether a more detailed quantitative analysis would be necessary. Factors considered when performing the impairment assessment included the Company’s performance relative to historical and projected future operating results, macroeconomic conditions, industry and market trends, cost factors that may have a negative impact on earnings and cash flows, changes in the Company’s stock price and market capitalization, and other relevant entity-specific events. Based on the qualitative analysis, the Company determined goodwill was not impaired as of December 31, 2025 and 2024. While we believe that our conclusions are reasonable, different assumptions could materially affect our valuations and result in impairment charges against the carrying values of those remaining assets in our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments.
Please see Note 4, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this report for a discussion of the significant assumptions used in our annual impairment test analysis.
RECENTLY ISSUED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Recently issued financial accounting standards are detailed in Note 1, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001558370-25-001382.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, or MD&A, is intended to promote an understanding of our results of operations and financial condition. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This section discusses the results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024 and year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2024 and the year ended December 31, 2023. Discussion of the year ended December 31, 2023 and the year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2023 and the year ended December 31, 2022 can be found in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. Our MD&A also includes discussion of certain forward-looking trends and other statements that predict or anticipate future business or financial results that are subject to important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated. See “Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
OVERVIEW
We are a Fortune 1000 Global Solutions Provider that simplifies the IT customer experience, guiding the connection between people and technology. Our dedicated account managers partner with customers to design, deploy, and support cutting-edge IT environments using the latest hardware, software, and services. We provide a wide range of IT solutions, from the desktop to the cloud—including computer systems, data center solutions, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories that we purchase from manufacturers, distributors, and other suppliers. Our TSO and state-of-the-art TIDC, with ISO 9001:2015 certified technical configuration lab, offer end-to-end services related to the design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. Our team also provides a comprehensive portfolio of managed services and professional services. These services are performed by our personnel and by third-party providers. Our GlobalServe offering ensures worldwide coverage for our multinational customers, delivering global procurement solutions through our network of in-country suppliers in over 150 countries.
The “Connection®” brand includes Connection Enterprise Solutions, Connection Business Solutions, and Connection Public Sector Solutions, which provide IT solutions and services to enterprise, SMBs, and public sector markets.
Financial results for each of our segments are included in the financial statements attached hereto. We generate sales through (i) outbound inside sales and field sales contacts by sales representatives focused on the business, educational, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and government markets, (ii) our websites, and (iii) direct responses from customers responding to our advertising media. We offer a broad selection of over 460,000 products at competitive prices, including products from vendors like Apple, Cisco, Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft Corporation, and VMware, and we partner with more than 2,500 suppliers. We are able to leverage our state-of-the art logistic capabilities to rapidly ship product to customers.
As a value-added reseller in the IT supply chain, we do not manufacture IT hardware or software products. We are dependent on our suppliers—manufacturers and distributors that historically have only sold to resellers rather than directly to end users. However, certain manufacturers have, on multiple occasions, sold or attempted to sell directly to our customers, and in some cases, have restricted our ability to sell their products directly to certain customers, thereby attempting to and, in some cases successfully, eliminate our role. We believe that the success of these direct sales efforts by manufacturers will depend on their ability to meet our customers’ ongoing demands and provide solutions to meet their needs. We believe more of our customers are seeking out comprehensive and integrated IT solutions, rather than the ability to acquire specific IT products on a one-off basis. Our advantage is our ability to be product-neutral and provide a broader combination of products, services, and advice tailored to our customers’ individual needs. By providing customers with customized solutions from a variety of manufacturers, we believe we can mitigate the negative impact of continued direct sales initiatives from individual manufacturers. Through the formation of our TSO, we are able to provide customers complete IT solutions, from identifying their needs, to designing, developing, and managing the integration of products and services to implement their IT projects. Such service offerings carry higher margins than traditional product sales. Additionally, the technical certifications of our service engineers permit us to offer higher-end,
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more complex products that generally carry higher gross margins. We expect these service offerings and technical certifications to continue to play a role in sales generation and gross margin improvements in this competitive environment.
The primary challenges we continue to face in effectively managing our business are (1) increasing our product and service revenues while at the same time improving our gross margin in all three segments, (2) recruiting, retaining, and improving the productivity of our sales and technical support personnel, and (3) effectively controlling our SG&A expenses while making major investments in our IT systems and solution selling personnel, especially in relation to changing revenue levels.
To support future growth, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in our IT solutions business, which requires the addition of highly skilled service engineers. Although we expect to realize the ultimate benefit of higher-margin service revenues under this multi-year initiative, we believe that our cost of services will increase as we add additional service engineers. If our service revenues do not grow enough to offset the cost of these headcount additions, our operating results may be negatively impacted.
Market conditions and technology advances significantly affect the demand for our products and services. Virtual delivery of software products and advanced Internet technology providing customers enhanced functionality have substantially increased customer expectations, requiring us to invest on an ongoing basis in our own IT infrastructure to meet these new demands.
Our investments in IT infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and provide our customers enhanced functionality.
Trends and Key Factors Affecting our Financial Performance
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | As the AI market continues to evolve, it is difficult to predict and forecast its potential impact on our business and results of operations in the future. We may be required to make significant investments to keep up with increasing competition surrounding AI. Additionally, potential issues with the AI products we sell could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations in the future. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Inflation due to, among other things, higher interest rates and the uncertain economic environment, impacts product costs and wages. The increased product costs and wages due to inflation may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If product costs and wages increase significantly or for an extended period of time, we may not be able to adjust prices to sufficiently offset the effect of the various cost increases without negatively impacting customer demand. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | The Federal Reserve decreased interest rates in 2024, but it is uncertain whether interest rates will remain the same, decrease, or increase in 2025. Although we do not have any borrowing under our credit facility, should we need to borrow in the future, we may be exposed to high interest rates. Additionally, if interest rates were to decrease, our interest income on our cash equivalents and short-term investments would also decrease. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | The impact of proposed tariffs remains uncertain. If the economic impact of any imposed tariff is passed through to us by our vendors, our results of operations could be impacted. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Changes in partner funding programs could change the amount of incentives received by us, which could impact our results of operations. |
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth information derived from our statements of income expressed as a percentage of net sales for the periods indicated:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | | 2024 | | | 2023 | | 2022 | | |
| Net sales (in millions) | | $ | 2,802.1 | | $ | 2,850.6 | | $ | 3,125.0 | |
| Gross margin | | | 18.6 | % | | 18.0 | % | | 16.8 | % |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | | 15.1 | | 14.2 | | 13.0 | | |||
| Income from operations | | 3.5 | | 3.6 | | 3.9 | |
Net sales of $2,802.1 million in 2024 reflected a decrease of $48.5 million compared to 2023, which was driven by lower net sales for our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments as shown in the table on page 34 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The decrease in net sales was primarily driven by a decrease in net sales of advanced technology categories including net/com products and software of $85.7 million and $44.1 million, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by increases in net sales of notebooks/mobility and desktops of $42.3 million and $31.3 million, respectively, as shown in Note 2, “Revenue” to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Gross profit increased year-over-year by $8.1 million as shown in the table on page 34 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, primarily due to improved margins in desktops in the current year. Gross margin increased year-over-year by 60 basis points as shown in the above table primarily due to an increase in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis, combined with improved margins in desktops. SG&A expenses increased year-over-year both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales primarily due to investments in resources to strengthen our sales, technical sales, and services capabilities combined with the decrease in net sales. Operating income decreased year-over-year in dollars but remained consistent as a percentage of net sales primarily due to the increase in SG&A expenses.
Sales Distribution
The following table sets forth our percentage of net sales by operating segment and product mix:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||
| Operating Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 42 | % | 42 | % | 42 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 38 | 38 | 40 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 20 | 20 | 18 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| | | | | | | | |
| Product Mix | | | | | | | |
| Notebooks/Mobility | | 35 | % | 33 | % | 37 | % |
| Desktops | | 11 | | 9 | | 10 | |
| Software | | 10 | | 12 | | 9 | |
| Servers/Storage | | 7 | | 7 | | 7 | |
| Net/Com Products | | 8 | 10 | 7 | | ||
| Displays and Sound | | 10 | 9 | 10 | | ||
| Accessories | | 12 | 11 | 13 | | ||
| Other Hardware/Services | | 7 | 9 | 7 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
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Gross Margins
The following table summarizes our overall gross margins, as a percentage of net sales, for the last three years:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||
| Operating Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 15.2 | % | 14.9 | % | 14.7 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 24.1 | 23.0 | 20.1 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 15.3 | 14.9 | 14.4 | | ||
| Total Company | | 18.6 | % | 18.0 | % | 16.8 | % |
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the invoice cost of the product, direct employee and third-party cost of services, direct costs of packaging, inbound and outbound freight, and provisions for inventory obsolescence, adjusted for discounts, rebates, and other vendor allowances.
Operating Expenses
The following table reflects our most significant operating expenses for the last three years (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| ($ in millions) | | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Personnel costs | | $ | 320.6 | | $ | 311.6 | | $ | 308.4 | |
| Marketing | | 25.1 | | 22.4 | | 20.2 | | |||
| Service contracts/subscriptions | | | 24.5 | | 21.0 | | 19.7 | | ||
| Professional fees | | 12.9 | | 12.9 | | 15.3 | | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | | 13.0 | | 12.7 | | 12.0 | | |||
| Facilities operations | | 7.6 | | 8.2 | | 8.6 | | |||
| Credit card fees | | 6.7 | | 6.7 | | 6.9 | | |||
| Other | | 11.9 | | 10.4 | | 14.5 | | |||
| Total SG&A expense | | $ | 422.3 | | $ | 405.9 | | $ | 405.6 | |
| As a percentage of net sales | | | 15.1 | % | | 14.2 | % | | 13.0 | % |
Restructuring and other charges
During the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we undertook actions to lower our cost structure. In connection with these initiatives, we incurred restructuring and other charges of $0.4 million and $2.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. These restructuring charges were primarily related to an involuntary reduction in our headquarter workforce and included cash severance and other related termination benefits. No amounts related to these costs are included in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets as all such amounts have been paid as of December 31, 2024. There were no restructuring related costs incurred for the year ended December 31, 2022.
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YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISONS
Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023
Changes in net sales and gross profit by operating segment are shown in the following table (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | | | | |||||||||
| | | 2024 | | 2023 | | | | | | |||||||
| | | | | | % of | | | | | % of | | $ | | % | | |
| | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Change | | Change | | |||
| Net Sales: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 1,181.2 | 42.2 | % | $ | 1,201.1 | 42.2 | % | $ | (19.9) | | (1.7) | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 1,049.1 | | 37.4 | | | 1,075.6 | | 37.7 | | | (26.5) | | (2.5) | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 571.8 | 20.4 | | 573.9 | 20.1 | (2.1) | | (0.4) | | ||||||
| Total | | $ | 2,802.1 | | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,850.6 | | 100.0 | % | $ | (48.5) | | (1.7) | % |
| Gross Profit: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 180.0 | 15.2 | % | $ | 178.9 | 14.9 | % | $ | 1.1 | | 0.6 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 252.4 | | 24.1 | | | 247.1 | | 23.0 | | | 5.3 | | 2.2 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 87.4 | 15.3 | | 85.7 | 14.9 | 1.7 | | 1.9 | | ||||||
| Total | | $ | 519.8 | | 18.6 | % | $ | 511.7 | | 18.0 | % | $ | 8.1 | | 1.6 | % |
Net sales decreased by 1.7% to $2,802.1 million in 2024 from $2,850.6 million in 2023, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,181.2 million for the Enterprise Solutions segment reflect a decrease of $19.9 million, or 1.7%, year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in net sales of advanced technologies. Net sales of net/com products, notebooks/mobility, software, other hardware/services, and servers/storage decreased year-over-year by $23.1 million, $23.0 million, $19.4 million, $10.9 million, and $10.8 million, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by increases in net sales of desktops, displays and sound, and accessories of $38.3 million, $25.7 million, and $3.1 million, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,049.1 million for the Business Solutions segment reflect a decrease of $26.5 million, or 2.5% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in net sales of advanced technologies. Net sales of net/com products, software, and displays and sound decreased year-over-year by $40.6 million, $21.3 million, and $8.9 million, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by increases in net sales of notebooks/mobility, servers/storage, and accessories of $21.2 million, $19.6 million, and $2.7 million, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $571.8 million for the Public Sector Solutions segment reflect a decrease of $2.1 million, or 0.4%, year-over-year. The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in sales to state and local government and educational institutions of $21.1 million, partially offset by an increase of sales to federal governments of $19.0 million. Net sales of net/com products, desktops, other hardware/services, servers/storage, software, and displays and sound decreased year-over-year by $22.0 million, $7.3 million, $5.5 million, $5.0 million, $3.5 million, and $2.8 million, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in net sales of notebooks/mobility of $44.1 million. |
Gross profit increased by 1.6% to $519.8 million in 2024, while gross margin increased by 60 basis points to 18.6% in 2024, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Enterprise Solutions segment remained substantially the same year-over-year as referenced in the above table. Gross margin increased 30 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis, as well as improved invoice margins in desktops. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Business Solutions segment increased $5.3 million, or 2.2% year-over-year as referenced in the above table, primarily as a result of improved invoice margins in desktops and notebooks/mobility. Gross margin |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| increased 110 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased by $1.7 million, or 1.9% year-over-year as referenced in the table on the previous page, primarily as a result of improved invoice margins in notebooks/mobility. Gross margin increased 40 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis. |
SG&A expense in 2024 increased year-over-year both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales. SG&A expenses attributable to our three operating segments and the remaining unallocated Headquarters/Other expenses are summarized below (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | | | | |||||||||
| | | 2024 | | 2023 | | | | | | |||||||
| | | | | % of | | | % of | | | | | | ||||
| | | | | | Segment Net | | | | | Segment Net | | $ | | % | | |
| | | Amount | | Sales | | Amount | | Sales | | Change | | Change | | |||
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 146.0 | 12.4 | % | $ | 138.5 | 11.5 | % | $ | 7.5 | | 5.4 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 175.6 | | 16.7 | | | 170.9 | | 15.9 | | | 4.7 | | 2.7 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 85.1 | 14.9 | | 83.6 | 14.6 | 1.5 | | 1.9 | | ||||||
| Headquarters/Other, unallocated | | 15.6 | | | | 12.9 | | | 2.7 | | 21.3 | | ||||
| Total | | $ | 422.3 | | 15.1 | % | $ | 405.9 | | 14.2 | % | $ | 16.4 | | 4.0 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Enterprise Solutions segment increased both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to an increase in the use of shared Headquarter services of $12.8 million. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in personnel costs of $5.7 million. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 12.4% for the Enterprise Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2024, which reflects an increase of 90 basis points and is primarily due to the decrease in net sales combined with the increase in SG&A expenses. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Business Solutions segment increased both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to increases in the use of shared Headquarter services and marketing of $4.5 million and $2.4 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in personnel costs of $2.6 million. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 16.7% for the Business Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2024, which reflects an increase of 80 basis points and is primarily due to the decrease in net sales combined with the increase in SG&A expenses. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to an increase in the use of shared Headquarter services of $2.2 million. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 14.9% for the Public Sector Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2024, which reflects an increase of 30 basis points and is primarily due to the decrease in net sales combined with the increase in SG&A expenses. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Headquarters/Other increased by $2.7 million primarily due to increases in personnel costs and service contracts/subscriptions of $17.7 million and $4.0 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by an increase in the allocated amounts to the sales segments of $19.5 million. The Headquarters/Other provides services to the three segments in areas such as finance, distribution center, human resources, IT, marketing, and product management. Most of the operating costs associated with such corporate Headquarters services are charged to the segments based on their estimated allocation usage of the underlying services. |
Restructuring and other charges for the year ended December 31, 2024 were $0.4 million, compared to $2.7 million for the same period in the prior year. The restructuring and other charges were primarily related to expenses incurred in connection with the involuntary reduction in our headquarter workforce and included cash severance and other related termination benefits.
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Income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased to $97.1 million, compared to $103.2 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the increase in SG&A expenses explained above. Income from operations as a percentage of net sales remained substantially the same for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in the prior year.
Interest income, net for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased to $18.7 million, compared to $10.0 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to an increase in interest income of $8.9 million as a result of higher cash equivalent balances and interest rates on short-term investments.
Other income for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1.7 million as a result of a legal settlement received.
Income taxes. Our provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $30.4 million, compared to $29.8 million for the same period in the prior year. The increase in our provision for income taxes was primarily due to the increase in interest income, net, partially offset by the decrease in income from operations. Our effective tax rate was 25.9% for the year-ended December 31, 2024, compared to 26.4% for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to the release of the valuation allowance on state net operating losses.
Net income increased by $3.8 million to $87.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $83.3 million in the prior year, primarily due to the increase in interest income, net, partially offset by the decrease in income from operations, as explained above.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Liquidity Overview
Our primary sources of liquidity are internally generated funds from operations, short-term investments, and borrowings under our credit facility. We have historically used and expect to use in the future those funds to meet our capital requirements, which consist primarily of working capital for operational needs, capital expenditures for computer equipment and software used in our business, repurchases of common stock for treasury, dividend payments, and as opportunities arise, possible acquisitions of new businesses.
We believe that funds generated from operations, together with available capacity under our credit facility, will be sufficient to finance our working capital, capital expenditures, and other requirements for at least the next twelve calendar months and beyond such twelve calendar month period. Our investments in IT systems and infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and to provide our customers enhanced functionality.
We expect to meet our cash requirements for 2025 and beyond through a combination of cash on hand, short-term investments, cash generated from operations, and borrowings under our credit facility, as follows:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash on Hand. As of December 31, 2024, we had $178.3 million in cash and cash equivalents. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Short-term Investments. As of December 31, 2024, we had $264.3 million in short-term investments. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash Generated from Operations. We expect to generate cash flows from operations in excess of operating cash needs by generating earnings and managing net changes in inventories and receivables with changes in payables to generate positive cash flow. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Credit facility. As of December 31, 2024, no borrowings were outstanding under our $50.0 million credit facility, which is available until March 2025. Accordingly, our entire line of credit was available for borrowing as of December 31, 2024. This line of credit can be increased, at our option, to $80.0 million for approved acquisitions or other uses authorized by the bank. Borrowings are, however, limited by certain minimum collateral and earnings requirements, as described more fully below. As of December 31, 2024, we were in compliance with the covenants of our credit facility. |
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Our ability to continue funding our planned growth, both internally and externally, is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or to obtain additional funds through equity or debt financing, or from other sources of financing, as may be required. While we do not anticipate needing any additional sources of financing to fund our operations at this time, if demand for IT products declines, or our customers are materially adversely impacted by the developing macroeconomic trends characterized by inflation and increased interest rates, our cash flows from operations may be substantially affected. For additional discussion regarding the factors which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, see our discussion under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Summary Sources and Uses of Cash
The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash over the last three years (in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | | $ | 173.9 | | $ | 197.9 | | $ | 34.9 | |
| Net cash used in investing activities | | (115.3) | | (160.2) | | (9.1) | | |||
| Net cash used in financing activities | | (25.2) | | (15.7) | | (11.2) | | |||
| Increase in cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 33.4 | | $ | 22.0 | | $ | 14.6 | |
Cash provided by operating activities was $173.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, which resulted primarily from $87.1 million of net income, $18.4 million of total non-cash charges added back to net income (including $13.0 million of depreciation and amortization and $8.5 million of stock-based compensation expense added back to net income, and $4.2 million of amortization of discount on short-term investments removed from net income), a $36.5 million increase in accounts payable, and a $29.1 million decrease in inventory. The increase in accounts payable was primarily driven by the timing of payments. The decrease in inventory was primarily due to improvements in inventory management in the current year. Cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 resulted primarily from net income of $83.3 million, $18.4 million of other non-cash charges added back to net income, including $12.7 million of depreciation and amortization and $7.0 million of stock-based compensation expense, an $84.5 million decrease in inventory, and a $31.1 million increase in accounts payable, partially offset by a decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $11.8 million and an increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets of $8.5 million.
In order to manage our working capital and operating cash needs, we monitor our cash conversion cycle, defined as days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable plus days of supply in inventory minus days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable, based on a rolling three-month average. Components of our cash conversion cycle are as follows:
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | December 31, | ||||
| (in days) | | 2024 | | 2023 | ||
| Days of sales outstanding (DSO)(1) | | | 72 | | | 73 |
| Days of supply in inventory (DIO)(2) | | | 15 | | | 20 |
| Days of purchases outstanding (DPO)(3) | | | (47) | | | (42) |
| Cash conversion cycle | | | 40 | | | 51 |
(1) Represents the trade receivable at the end of the period divided by average daily net sales for the same three-month period.
(2) Represents the merchandise inventory balance at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
(3) Represents the accounts payable balance at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
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The cash conversion cycle decreased to 40 days for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared to 51 days for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, as evidenced in the above cash conversion table. The decrease in DSO is primarily due to an increase in net sales for the quarter ended December 31, 2024 compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in DIO is consistent with the decrease in inventory discussed above. The increase in DPO is consistent with the increase in accounts payable discussed above.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 consisted of $358.3 million of purchases of short-term U.S. Government treasury securities, $250.6 million of maturities of U.S. Government treasury securities, and $7.6 million of purchases of property and equipment. The property and equipment expenditures were primarily for computer equipment and capitalized internally-developed software in connection with investments in our IT infrastructure. Cash used in investing activities for the prior year consisted of $150.6 million of purchases of short-term U.S. Government treasury securities and $9.6 million of purchases of property and equipment.
Cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 consisted of $26.1 million of aggregate borrowings and repayments under our credit facility, $12.4 million of treasury repurchases, $10.5 million of dividend payments, $1.1 million of issuances of stock under the 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and $3.4 million of payroll taxes on stock-based compensation through shares withheld. In the prior year period, financing activities consisted of $88.2 million of aggregate borrowings and repayments under our credit facility, $5.4 million of treasury repurchases, $8.4 million of dividend payments, $1.1 million of issuances of stock under the 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and $3.0 million of payroll taxes on stock-based compensation through shares withheld.
Debt Instruments, Contractual Agreements, and Related Covenants
Below is a summary of certain provisions of our credit facilities and other contractual obligations. For more information about the restrictive covenants in our debt instruments and inventory financing agreements, see “Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity” below. For more information about our obligations, commitments, and contingencies, see our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in this annual report.
Credit facility. Our credit facility extends until March 2025 and is collateralized by our accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2024, our borrowing capacity under the credit facility was up to $50.0 million. Amounts outstanding under this facility bear interest at the greatest of (i) the prime rate (7.50% at December 31, 2024), (ii) the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% per annum, and (iii) the daily Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, plus 1.00% per annum, provided that the rate shall at no time be less than 1.00% per annum. In addition, we have the option to increase our borrowing capacity under the credit facility up to an additional $30.0 million provided that we meet certain additional borrowing requirements and obtain the consent of the administrative agent. Our credit facility is subject to certain covenant requirements which are described below under “Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity”. We did not have any borrowings outstanding under the credit facility as of December 31, 2024.
Cash receipts are automatically applied against any outstanding borrowings. Any excess cash on account may either remain on account to generate earned credits to offset up to 100% of cash management fees, or may be invested in short-term qualified investments. Borrowings under the line of credit are classified as current in our consolidated balance sheet. As of December 31, 2024, the entire $50.0 million facility was available for borrowing.
Operating Leases. We lease facilities from our principal stockholders and facilities from third parties under non-cancelable operating leases. Certain leases require us to pay real estate taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance charges. See “Item 2. Properties” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding our operating leases.
Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity
Internally Generated Funds. The key factors affecting our internally generated funds are our ability to manage costs and fully achieve our operating efficiencies, timely collection of our customer receivables, and management of our inventory levels.
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Credit facility. Our credit facility extends until March 2025 and is collateralized by our accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2024, the entire $50.0 million facility was available for borrowing. Our credit facility contains certain financial ratios and operational covenants and other restrictions (including restrictions on additional debt, guarantees, and other distributions, investments, and liens) with which we and all of our subsidiaries must comply. Any failure to comply with these covenants would constitute a default and could prevent us from borrowing additional funds under this line of credit. This credit facility contains two financial tests:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | The funded debt ratio (defined as the average outstanding advances under the line for the quarter, divided by the consolidated trailing twelve months Adjusted Earnings Before Interest Expense, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Special Charges, or Adjusted EBITDA, for the trailing four quarters) must not be more than 2.0 to 1.0. We did not have any outstanding borrowings under the credit facility during the fourth quarter of 2024, and accordingly, the funded debt ratio did not limit potential borrowings as of December 31, 2024. Future decreases in our consolidated trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA could limit our potential borrowings under the line of credit. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Minimum Consolidated Net Worth (defined as our consolidated total assets less our consolidated total liabilities) must be at least $346.7 million, plus 50% of consolidated net income for each quarter, beginning with the quarter ended December 31, 2016 (loss quarters not counted). Such amount was calculated as $646.6 million at December 31, 2024, whereas our actual consolidated stockholders’ equity at that date was $911.0 million. |
Capital Markets. Our ability to raise additional funds in the capital market depends upon, among other things, general economic conditions, the condition of the IT industry, our financial performance and stock price, and the state of the capital markets. In addition, market volatility, inflation and interest rate fluctuations may increase our cost of financing or restrict our access to potential sources of future liquidity.
APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
A critical accounting policy has been defined as one that is both important to the portrayal of the registrant’s financial condition and results and requires management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Further, “critical accounting policies” are those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties, and potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions.
We believe that our accounting policies described below meet the definition of critical accounting policies and estimates.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those products or services. We enter into contracts that can include various combinations of products and services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. In most instances, when several performance obligations are aggregated into one single transaction, these performance obligations are fulfilled at the same point in time. We account for an arrangement when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights are identified, the contract has commercial substance, and collectability of consideration is probable. We generally obtain oral or written purchase authorizations from our customers for a specified amount of product at a specified price, which constitutes an arrangement. Revenue is recognized at the amount expected to be collected, net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities. We generally invoice for our products at the time of shipping, and accordingly there is not a significant financing component included in our arrangements.
Nature of Products and Services
IT products typically represent a distinct performance obligation, and revenue is recognized at the point in time when control is transferred to the customer which is generally upon delivery to the customer. We recognize revenue as
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the principal in the transaction with the customer (i.e., on a gross basis), as we control the product prior to delivery to the customer and derive the economic benefits from the sales transaction given our control over customer pricing.
We do not recognize revenue for goods that remain in our physical possession before the customer has the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits from the products, the goods are ready for physical transfer to and identified as belonging to the customer, and when we have no ability to use the product or to direct it to another customer.
Licenses for on-premise software provide the customer with a right to take possession of the software. Customers may purchase perpetual licenses or enter into subscriptions to the licensed software. We are the principal in these transactions and recognize revenue for the on-premise license at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer and the commencement of the term of the software license or when the renewal term begins, as applicable.
For certain on-premise licenses for security software, the customer derives substantially all of the benefit from these arrangements through the third-party delivered software maintenance, which provides software updates and other support services. We do not have control over the delivery of these performance obligations, and accordingly we are the agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for security software net of the related cost of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement. Cloud products allow customers to use hosted software over the contractual period without taking possession of the software and are provided on a subscription basis. We do not exercise control over these products or services and therefore are an agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for cloud products net of the related costs of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
We use our own engineering personnel to assist in projects involving the design and installation of systems and networks, and we also engage third-party service providers to perform warranty maintenance, implementations, asset disposal, and other services. Service revenue is recognized in general over time as we perform the underlying services and satisfy our performance obligations. We evaluate such engagements to determine whether we are the principal or the agent in each transaction. For those transactions in which we do not control the service, we act as an agent and recognize the transaction revenue on a net basis at a point in time when the vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
Similarly, we recognize revenue from agency sales transactions on a net sales basis. In agency sales transactions, we facilitate product sales by equipment and software manufacturers directly to our customers and receive agency, or referral, fees for such transactions. We do not take title to the products or assume any maintenance or return obligations in these transactions; title is passed directly from the supplier to our customer.
Amounts recognized on a net basis included in net sales for such third-party services, agency sales, and off-premise software transactions were $147.5 million, $141.8 million, and $127.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.
Certain software sales include on-premise licenses that are combined with software maintenance. Software maintenance conveys rights to updates, bug fixes and help desk support, and other support services transferred over the underlying contract period. On-premise licenses are considered distinct performance obligations when sold with the software maintenance, as we sell these items separately. We recognize revenue related to the software maintenance as the agent in these transactions because we do not have control over the on-going software maintenance service. Revenue allocated to software maintenance is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
Certain of our larger customers are offered the opportunity by vendors to purchase software licenses and maintenance under enterprise agreements, or EAs. Under EAs, customers are considered to be compliant with applicable license requirements for the ensuing year, regardless of changes to their employee base. Customers are charged an annual true-up fee for changes in the number of users over the year. With most EAs, our vendors will transfer the license and bill the customer directly, paying resellers, such as us, an agency fee or commission on these sales. We record these agency fees as a component of net sales as earned and there is no corresponding cost of sales amount. In certain
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instances, we invoice the customer directly under an EA and account for the individual items sold based on the nature of each item. Our vendors typically dictate how the EA will be sold to the customer.
We also offer extended service plans, or ESPs, on IT products, both as part of the initial arrangement and separately from the IT products. We recognize revenue related to ESPs as the agent in the transaction because we do not have control over the on-going ESPs service and do not provide any service after the sale. Revenue allocated to ESPs is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
All amounts billed to a customer in a sales transaction related to shipping and handling, if any, represent revenues earned for the goods provided, and these amounts have been included in net sales. Costs related to shipping and handling billing are classified as cost of sales. Sales are reported net of sales, use, or other transaction taxes that are collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our contracts with customers often include promises to transfer multiple products or services to a customer. Determining whether we are the agent or the principal and whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment.
We estimate the standalone selling price, or SSP, for each distinct performance obligation when a single arrangement contains multiple performance obligations and the fulfillment occurs at different points in time. We maximize the use of observable inputs in the determination of the estimate for SSP for the items that we do not sell separately, including on-premise licenses sold with software maintenance, and IT products sold with ESPs. In instances where SSP is not directly observable, such as when we do not sell the product or service separately, we determine the SSP using information that may include market conditions and other observable inputs.
We provide our customers with a limited thirty-day right of return, which is generally limited to defective merchandise, and gives rise to variable consideration. Revenue is recognized based on the most likely amount to which we are expected to be entitled. The estimated variable consideration is included in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur once the uncertainty is resolved. We make estimates of product returns based on significant historical experience. We record our sales return reserve as a reduction of revenues and either as reduction of accounts receivable or, for customers who have already paid, as accrued expenses and as a reduction of cost of sales and an associated right of return asset. At December 31, 2024, we recorded sales reserves of $3.8 million and $0.1 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively. At December 31, 2023, we recorded sales reserves of $3.1 million and $0.1 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively.
We regularly evaluate the adequacy of our estimates for product returns. Future market conditions and product transitions may require us to take action to change such programs and related estimates. When the variables used to estimate these reserves change, or if actual results differ significantly from the estimates, we would be required to increase or reduce revenue to reflect the impact.
Accounts Receivable
We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and adjust credit limits based upon payment history and current creditworthiness. Our allowance for credit losses is generally computed by (1) applying specific percentage reserves on accounts that are past due, and (2) specifically reserving for customers known to be in financial difficulty. Therefore, if the financial conditions of certain customers were to deteriorate, or if we noted there was a lengthening of the timing of the settlement of receivables that was symptomatic of a general deterioration in the ability of our customers to pay, we would have to increase our allowance for credit losses. This would negatively impact our earnings. Our cash flows would be impacted to the extent that receivables could not be collected.
Our bad debt expense for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1.9 million, compared to $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
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In addition to accounts receivable from customers, we record receivables from our vendors/suppliers for cooperative marketing, price protection, supplier reimbursements, rebates, and other similar arrangements. A portion of such receivables is estimated based on information available from our vendors at discrete points in time. While such estimates have historically approximated actual cash received, a change in estimates could give rise to a reduction in the receivable. This could negatively impact our earnings and our cash flows.
Our trade receivables are charged off in the period in which they are deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of trade receivables previously charged are recorded when received. Write offs of customer and vendor receivables totaled $2.4 million in 2024 and $3.3 million in 2023.
Considerable estimates are used in assessing the ultimate realization of customer receivables and vendor/supplier receivables, including reviewing the financial stability of a customer, vendor information, and gauging current market conditions. If our evaluations are incorrect, we may incur additional charges in the future on our consolidated statements of income.
Inventories
Inventories (all finished goods) are stated at cost (which approximates the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value, whichever is lower. Inventory quantities on hand are reviewed regularly, and provisions are made for obsolete, slow moving, and non-saleable inventory, based primarily on management’s forecast of customer demand for those products in inventory.
Estimates are used to determine the quarterly inventory allowance provision. Actual future write-offs of inventory for salability and obsolescence reasons may differ from estimates and calculations used to determine valuation allowances due to changes in customer demand, customer negotiations, technology shifts and other factors. The IT industry is characterized by rapid technological change and new product development that could result in increased obsolescence of inventory on hand. Increased obsolescence or decreased customer demand beyond management’s expectations could require additional provisions, which could negatively impact our earnings. Our provision for inventory obsolescence was $2.1 million, $2.4 million, and $4.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively. We recorded obsolescence charges of $2.5 million, $2.8 million, and $3.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Historically, there have been no unusual charges precipitated by specific technological or forecast issues.
Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets, Including Intangibles
We carry a variety of long-lived assets on our consolidated balance sheet, which are all currently classified as held for use. These include property and equipment, identifiable intangibles, an Internet domain name, which is an indefinite-lived intangible asset not subject to amortization, and goodwill. An impairment review is undertaken on (1) an annual basis for goodwill and an indefinite-lived intangible; and (2) on an event-driven basis for all long-lived assets when facts and circumstances suggest that cash flows from such assets may be diminished. We have historically reviewed the carrying value of all these assets based partly on our projections of cash flows. Any impairment charge that is recorded negatively impacts our earnings.
Our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments hold $66.2 million and $7.4 million of goodwill, respectively. We test goodwill for impairment each year and more frequently if potential impairment indicators arise. In 2024 and 2023, we performed a “step 0” qualitative analysis. Accounting Standards Codification 350—Intangible – Goodwill and Other states that an entity may assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. This analysis allows the Company to consider qualitative factors that might impact the carrying amount of its goodwill to determine whether a more detailed quantitative analysis would be necessary. Factors considered when performing the impairment assessment included the Company’s performance relative to historical and projected future operating results, macroeconomic conditions, industry and market trends, cost factors that may have a negative impact on earnings and cash flows, changes in the Company’s stock price and market capitalization, and other relevant entity-specific events. Based on the
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qualitative analysis, the Company determined goodwill was not impaired as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. While we believe that our conclusions are reasonable, different assumptions could materially affect our valuations and result in impairment charges against the carrying values of those remaining assets in our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments.
Please see Note 4, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this report for a discussion of the significant assumptions used in our annual impairment test analysis.
RECENTLY ISSUED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Recently issued financial accounting standards are detailed in Note 1, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001558370-24-002727.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, or MD&A, is intended to promote an understanding of our results of operations and financial condition. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This section discusses the results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 and year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2023 and the year ended December 31, 2022. Discussion of the year ended December 31, 2022 and the year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2022 and the year ended December 31, 2021 can be found in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Our MD&A also includes discussion of certain forward-looking trends and other statements that predict or anticipate future business or financial results that are subject to important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated. See “Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
OVERVIEW
We are a Fortune 1000 Global Solutions Provider that simplifies the IT customer experience, guiding the connection between people and technology. Our dedicated account managers partner with customers to design, deploy, and support cutting-edge IT environments using the latest hardware, software, and services. We provide a wide range of IT solutions, from the desktop to the cloud—including computer systems, data center solutions, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories that we purchase from manufacturers, distributors, and other suppliers. In 2023, we restructured and combined our Technology Solutions Group and Technical Sales Organization into one organization to be referred to as our TSO. Our TSO and state-of-the-art TIDC, with ISO 9001:2015 certified technical configuration lab offer end-to-end services related to the design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. Our team also provides a comprehensive portfolio of managed services and professional services. These services are performed by our personnel and by third-party providers. Our GlobalServe offering ensures worldwide coverage for our multinational customers, delivering global procurement solutions through our network of in-country suppliers in over 150 countries.
The “Connection®” brand includes Connection Enterprise Solutions, Connection Business Solutions, and Connection Public Sector Solutions, which provide IT solutions and services to enterprise, SMBs, and public sector markets.
Financial results for each of our segments are included in the financial statements attached hereto. We generate sales through (i) outbound inside sales and field sales contacts by sales representatives focused on the business, educational, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and government markets, (ii) our websites, and (iii) direct responses from customers responding to our advertising media. We offer a broad selection of over 460,000 products at competitive prices, including products from vendors like Apple, Cisco, Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft Corporation, and VMware, and we partner with more than 2,500 suppliers. We are able to leverage our state-of-the art logistic capabilities to rapidly ship product to customers.
As a value-added reseller in the IT supply chain, we do not manufacture IT hardware or software products. We are dependent on our suppliers—manufacturers and distributors that historically have only sold to resellers rather than directly to end users. However, certain manufacturers have, on multiple occasions, sold or attempted to sell directly to our customers, and in some cases, have restricted our ability to sell their products directly to certain customers, thereby attempting to and, in some cases successfully, eliminate our role. We believe that the success of these direct sales efforts by manufacturers will depend on their ability to meet our customers’ ongoing demands and provide solutions to meet their needs. We believe more of our customers are seeking out comprehensive and integrated IT solutions, rather than the ability to acquire specific IT products on a one-off basis. Our advantage is our ability to be product-neutral and provide a broader combination of products, services, and advice tailored to our customers’ individual needs. By providing customers with customized solutions from a variety of manufacturers, we believe we can mitigate the negative impact of continued direct sales initiatives from individual manufacturers. Through the formation of our TSO, we are able to provide customers complete IT solutions, from identifying their needs, to designing, developing, and managing the
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integration of products and services to implement their IT projects. Such service offerings carry higher margins than traditional product sales. Additionally, the technical certifications of our service engineers permit us to offer higher-end, more complex products that generally carry higher gross margins. We expect these service offerings and technical certifications to continue to play a role in sales generation and gross margin improvements in this competitive environment.
The primary challenges we continue to face in effectively managing our business are (1) increasing our product and service revenues while at the same time improving our gross margin in all three segments, (2) recruiting, retaining, and improving the productivity of our sales and technical support personnel, and (3) effectively controlling our SG&A expenses while making major investments in our IT systems and solution selling personnel, especially in relation to changing revenue levels.
To support future growth, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in our IT solutions business, which requires the addition of highly skilled service engineers. Although we expect to realize the ultimate benefit of higher-margin service revenues under this multi-year initiative, we believe that our cost of services will increase as we add additional service engineers. If our service revenues do not grow enough to offset the cost of these headcount additions, our operating results may be negatively impacted.
Market conditions and technology advances significantly affect the demand for our products and services. Virtual delivery of software products and advanced Internet technology providing customers enhanced functionality have substantially increased customer expectations, requiring us to invest on an ongoing basis in our own IT infrastructure to meet these new demands.
Our investments in IT infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and provide our customers enhanced functionality.
Trends and Key Factors Affecting our Financial Performance
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | As the AI market continues to evolve, it is difficult to predict and forecast its potential impact on our business and results of operations in the future. We may be required to make significant investments to keep up with increasing competition surrounding AI. Additionally, potential issues with the AI products we sell could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations in the future. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Inflation due to, among other things, higher interest rates and the uncertain economic environment, impacts product costs and wages. The increased product costs and wages due to inflation may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If product costs and wages increase significantly or for an extended period of time, we may not be able to adjust prices to sufficiently offset the effect of the various cost increases without negatively impacting customer demand. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | The Federal Reserve increased interest rates in 2023, but it is anticipated that interest rates will remain steady and potentially decrease in 2024. Although we don’t have any borrowing under our credit facility, should we need to borrow in the future, we may be exposed to high interest rates. Additionally, if interest rates were to decrease, our interest income on our cash equivalents and short-term investments would also decrease. |
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth information derived from our statements of income expressed as a percentage of net sales for the periods indicated:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | 2021 | | |
| Net sales (in millions) | | $ | 2,850.6 | | $ | 3,125.0 | | $ | 2,892.6 | |
| Gross margin | | | 18.0 | % | | 16.8 | % | | 16.1 | % |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | | 14.2 | | 13.0 | | 12.7 | | |||
| Income from operations | | 3.6 | | 3.9 | | 3.3 | |
Net sales of $2,850.6 million in 2023 reflected a decrease of $274.4 million compared to 2022, which was driven by lower net sales for our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments as shown in the table on page 34 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The decrease in net sales was primarily driven by a decrease in demand for end-point devices resulting in a decrease in net sales of notebooks/mobility of $205.2 million. Net sales of accessories, displays and sound, and desktops also decreased year-over-year, as shown in Note 2 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. Gross profit decreased year-over-year by $14.5 million as shown in the table on page 34 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, primarily due to the decrease in net sales. Gross margin increased year-over-year by 120 basis points as shown in the above table primarily due to an increase in net sales of higher margin products, such as software and services, which are recognized on a net basis, and net/com products, relative to lower margin products, such as notebooks/mobility and desktops, as evidenced in the below product mix table. SG&A expenses remained consistent year-over-year in dollars but increased as a percentage of net sales primarily due to the decrease in net sales. Operating income decreased year-over-year both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales by $17.4 million and 60 basis points, respectively, primarily as a result of the decrease in net sales.
Sales Distribution
The following table sets forth our percentage of net sales by operating segment and product mix:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||
| Operating Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 42 | % | 42 | % | 43 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 38 | 40 | 38 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 20 | 18 | 19 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| | | | | | | | |
| Product Mix | | | | | | | |
| Notebooks/Mobility | | 33 | % | 37 | % | 38 | % |
| Desktops | | 9 | | 10 | | 9 | |
| Software | | 12 | | 9 | | 10 | |
| Servers/Storage | | 7 | | 7 | | 7 | |
| Net/Com Products | | 10 | 7 | 7 | | ||
| Displays and Sound | | 9 | 10 | 10 | | ||
| Accessories | | 11 | 13 | 12 | | ||
| Other Hardware/Services | | 9 | 7 | 7 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
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Gross Margins
The following table summarizes our overall gross margins, as a percentage of net sales, for the last three years:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||
| Operating Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 14.9 | % | 14.7 | % | 14.5 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 23.0 | 20.1 | 19.2 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 14.9 | 14.4 | 13.3 | | ||
| Total Company | | 18.0 | % | 16.8 | % | 16.1 | % |
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the invoice cost of the product, direct employee and third-party cost of services, direct costs of packaging, inbound and outbound freight, and provisions for inventory obsolescence, adjusted for discounts, rebates, and other vendor allowances.
Operating Expenses
The following table reflects our most significant operating expenses for the last three years (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| ($ in millions) | | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Personnel costs | | $ | 311.6 | | $ | 308.4 | | $ | 277.8 | |
| Advertising | | 22.4 | | 20.2 | | 15.8 | | |||
| Service contracts/subscriptions | | | 21.0 | | 19.7 | | 17.3 | | ||
| Professional fees | | 12.9 | | 15.3 | | 16.4 | | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | | 12.7 | | 12.0 | | 12.2 | | |||
| Facilities operations | | 8.2 | | 8.6 | | 8.3 | | |||
| Credit card fees | | 6.7 | | 6.9 | | 7.0 | | |||
| Other | | 10.4 | | 14.5 | | 13.3 | | |||
| Total SG&A expense | | $ | 405.9 | | $ | 405.6 | | $ | 368.1 | |
| As a percentage of net sales | | | 14.2 | % | | 13.0 | % | | 12.7 | % |
Restructuring and other charges
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we undertook actions to lower our cost structure. In connection with these initiatives, we incurred restructuring and other charges of $2.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. These restructuring charges were primarily related to an involuntary reduction in our headquarter workforce and included cash severance and other related termination benefits. These costs will be paid within a year of termination and any unpaid balances are included in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023. The Company is currently evaluating additional restructuring activities for 2024 and beyond. There were no restructuring related costs incurred for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
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YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISONS
Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022
Changes in net sales and gross profit by operating segment are shown in the following table (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | | | | |||||||||
| | | 2023 | | 2022 | | | | | | |||||||
| | | | | % of | | | % of | $ | | % | ||||||
| | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Change | | Change | ||||
| Net Sales: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 1,201.1 | 42.2 | % | $ | 1,324.4 | 42.4 | % | $ | (123.3) | | (9.3) | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 1,075.6 | | 37.7 | | | 1,245.3 | | 39.8 | | | (169.7) | | (13.6) | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 573.9 | 20.1 | | 555.3 | 17.8 | 18.6 | | 3.3 | | ||||||
| Total | | $ | 2,850.6 | | 100.0 | % | $ | 3,125.0 | | 100.0 | % | $ | (274.4) | | (8.8) | % |
| Gross Profit: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 178.9 | 14.9 | % | $ | 195.1 | 14.7 | % | $ | (16.2) | | (8.3) | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 247.1 | | 23.0 | | | 250.9 | | 20.1 | | | (3.8) | | (1.5) | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 85.7 | 14.9 | | 80.2 | 14.4 | 5.5 | | 7.0 | | ||||||
| Total | | $ | 511.7 | | 18.0 | % | $ | 526.2 | | 16.8 | % | $ | (14.5) | | (2.7) | % |
Net sales decreased by 8.8% to $2,850.6 million in 2023 from $3,125.0 million in 2022, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,201.1 million for the Enterprise Solutions segment reflect a decrease of $123.3 million, or 9.3%, year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in demand of end-point devices. Net sales of notebooks/mobility, accessories, desktops, and displays and sound decreased year-over-year by $70.5 million, $47.0 million, $27.8 million, and $25.9 million, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by increases in net sales of net/com products, software, and other hardware/services of $26.5 million, $16.2 million, and $4.8 million, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,075.6 million for the Business Solutions segment reflect a decrease of $169.7 million, or 13.6% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in demand of end-point devices. Net sales of notebooks/mobility, displays and sound, accessories, desktops, servers/storage, and other hardware/services decreased year-over-year by $121.3 million, $26.5 million, $21.5 million, $14.8 million, $13.0 million, and $5.6 million, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by increases in net sales of net/com products and software of $23.0 million and $9.9 million, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $573.9 million for the Public Sector Solutions segment reflect an increase of $18.6 million, or 3.3%, year-over-year. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in sales to federal governments, partially offset by a decrease of sales to state and local government and educational institutions. Net sales of net/com products, software, and other hardware/services increased year-over-year by $29.9 million, $11.3 million, and $6.8 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by decreases in net sales of notebooks/mobility, accessories, and displays and sound of $13.5 million, $8.4 million, and $7.6 million, respectively. |
Gross profit decreased by 2.7% to $511.7 million in 2023, while gross margin increased by 120 basis points to 18.0% in 2023, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Enterprise Solutions segment decreased $16.2 million, or 8.3% year-over-year as referenced in the above table. This decrease was primarily due to the 9.3% decrease in net sales. Gross margin increased 20 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in net sales of higher margin products, such as net/com products and software, which is recognized on a net basis, relative to lower margin products, such as notebooks/mobility and accessories. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Business Solutions segment decreased $3.8 million, or 1.5% year-over-year as referenced in the above table. This decrease was primarily a result of a 13.6% decrease in net sales. Gross margin increased 290 basis |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in net sales of higher margin products, such as software, which is recognized on a net basis, and net/com products, relative to lower margin products, such as notebooks/mobility and displays and sound. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased by $5.5 million, or 7.0% year-over-year as referenced in the table on the previous page, primarily as a result of higher net sales in the current period. Gross margin increased 50 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in net sales of higher margin products, such as net/com products and software, which is recognized on a net basis, relative to lower margin products, such as notebooks/mobility, accessories, and displays and sound. |
SG&A expense in 2023 remained consistent year-over-year in dollars but increased as a percentage of net sales. SG&A expenses attributable to our three operating segments and the remaining unallocated Headquarters/Other group expenses are summarized below (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | | | | |||||||||
| | | 2023 | | 2022 | | | | | | |||||||
| | | | | % of | | | % of | $ | | % | ||||||
| | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Change | | Change | ||||
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 138.5 | 11.5 | % | $ | 141.5 | 10.7 | % | $ | (3.0) | | (2.1) | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 170.9 | | 15.9 | | | 171.5 | | 13.8 | | | (0.6) | | (0.3) | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 83.6 | 14.6 | | 79.1 | 14.2 | 4.5 | | 5.7 | | ||||||
| Headquarters/Other, unallocated | | 12.9 | | | | 13.5 | | | (0.6) | | (4.5) | | ||||
| Total | | $ | 405.9 | | 14.2 | % | $ | 405.6 | | 13.0 | % | $ | 0.3 | | 0.1 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Enterprise Solutions segment decreased in dollars but increased as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year decrease in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to decreases in the use of Headquarter services, personnel costs, and other expenses of $1.8 million, $1.8 million, and $1.1 million, respectively. The Headquarter services include services related to finance, distribution center, human resources, IT, marketing, and product management. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in advertising costs of $2.4 million. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 11.5% for the Enterprise Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2023, which reflects an increase of 80 basis points and is primarily due to the decrease in net sales. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Business Solutions segment remained consistent in dollars but increased as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in personnel costs of $3.8 million related to investments in resources to strengthen our sales organization was offset by decreases in the use of Headquarter services, other expenses, and advertising costs of $2.4 million, $0.7 million, and $0.6 million, respectively. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 15.9% for the Business Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2023, which reflects an increase of 210 basis points and is primarily due to the decrease in net sales. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased in dollars and as a percentage of net sales. The increase in SG&A dollars year-over-year is primarily attributable to an increase in personnel costs of $5.0 million related to investments in resources to strengthen our sales organization. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in the use of Headquarter services of $1.2 million. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 14.6% for the Public Sector Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2023, which reflects an increase of 40 basis points and is consistent with the 5.7% increase in SG&A expenses compared to just a 3.3% increase in net sales. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Headquarters/Other group decreased by $0.6 million primarily due to decreases in personnel costs and professional fees of $3.9 million and $2.5 million, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in unallocated Headquarter services of $5.4 million. |
Income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased to $103.2 million, compared to $120.6 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the decreases in net sales and gross profit explained above.
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Income from operations as a percentage of net sales decreased to 3.6% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 3.9% of net sales for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the decreases in net sales and gross profit.
Other income, net for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased to $10.0 million, compared to $1.1 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to an increase in interest income of $8.9 million as a result of higher cash equivalent balances and interest rates on short-term investments.
Income taxes. Our provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $29.8 million, compared to $32.4 million for the same period in the prior year. The decrease in our provision for income taxes was primarily due to the decrease in income from operations, partially offset by the increase in other income, net. Our effective tax rate was 26.4% for the year-ended December 31, 2023, compared to 26.7% for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Net income decreased by $5.9 million to $83.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, from $89.2 million in the prior year, primarily due to the decreases in net sales and gross profit, partially offset by an increase in other income, net in the current year, as explained above.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Liquidity Overview
Our primary sources of liquidity are internally generated funds from operations, short-term investments, and borrowings under our credit facility. We have historically used and expect to use in the future those funds to meet our capital requirements, which consist primarily of working capital for operational needs, capital expenditures for computer equipment and software used in our business, repurchases of common stock for treasury, dividend payments, and as opportunities arise, possible acquisitions of new businesses.
We believe that funds generated from operations, together with available capacity under our credit facility, will be sufficient to finance our working capital, capital expenditures, and other requirements for at least the next twelve calendar months and beyond such twelve calendar month period. Our investments in IT systems and infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and to provide our customers enhanced functionality.
We expect to meet our cash requirements for 2024 and beyond through a combination of cash on hand, short-term investments, cash generated from operations, and borrowings under our credit facility, as follows:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash on Hand. As of December 31, 2023, we had $145.0 million in cash and cash equivalents. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Short-term Investments. As of December 31, 2023, we had $152.2 million in short-term investments. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash Generated from Operations. We expect to generate cash flows from operations in excess of operating cash needs by generating earnings and managing net changes in inventories and receivables with changes in payables to generate positive cash flow. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Credit facility. As of December 31, 2023, no borrowings were outstanding under our $50.0 million credit facility, which is available until March 2025. Accordingly, our entire line of credit was available for borrowing as of December 31, 2023. This line of credit can be increased, at our option, to $80.0 million for approved acquisitions or other uses authorized by the bank. Borrowings are, however, limited by certain minimum collateral and earnings requirements, as described more fully below. As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with the covenants of our credit facility. |
Our ability to continue funding our planned growth, both internally and externally, is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or to obtain additional funds through equity or debt financing, or from other sources of financing, as may be required. While we do not anticipate needing any additional sources of financing to fund our operations at this time, if demand for IT products declines, or our customers are materially adversely impacted by the developing macroeconomic trends characterized by inflation and increased interest rates, our cash flows from
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operations may be substantially affected. For additional discussion see related risks listed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Summary Sources and Uses of Cash
The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash over the last three years (in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | | $ | 197.9 | | $ | 34.9 | | $ | 57.8 | |
| Net cash used in investing activities | | (160.2) | | (9.1) | | (8.7) | | |||
| Net cash used in financing activities | | (15.7) | | (11.2) | | (36.4) | | |||
| Increase in cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 22.0 | | $ | 14.6 | | $ | 12.7 | |
Cash provided by operating activities was $197.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, which resulted primarily from $83.3 million of net income, $18.4 million of other non-cash charges added back to net income (including $12.7 million of depreciation and amortization and $7.0 million of stock-based compensation expense), an $84.5 million decrease in inventory, and a $31.1 million increase in accounts payable. These factors that contributed to the positive inflow of cash from operating activities were partially offset by a decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $11.8 million and an increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets of $8.5 million. The decrease in inventory was primarily due to a decrease in the amount of inventory we purchased, combined with the delivery of inventory held associated with the continued fulfillment of orders in 2023 that were in backlog during 2022. The increase in accounts payable was primarily driven by the timing of payments. Cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 resulted primarily from cash provided by net income of $89.2 million and $19.6 million of other non-cash charges added back to net income, including $12.0 million of depreciation and amortization, partially offset by increases in account payable and accrued expenses of $49.1 million and $14.7 million, respectively.
In order to manage our working capital and operating cash needs, we monitor our cash conversion cycle, defined as days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable plus days of supply in inventory minus days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable, based on a rolling three-month average. Components of our cash conversion cycle are as follows:
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | December 31, | ||||
| (in days) | | 2023 | | 2022 | ||
| Days of sales outstanding (DSO)(1) | | | 73 | | | 70 |
| Days of supply in inventory (DIO)(2) | | | 20 | | | 31 |
| Days of purchases outstanding (DPO)(3) | | | (42) | | | (35) |
| Cash conversion cycle | | | 51 | | | 66 |
(1) Represents the trade receivable at the end of the period divided by average daily net sales for the same three-month period.
(2) Represents the merchandise inventory balance at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
(3) Represents the accounts payable balance at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
The cash conversion cycle decreased to 51 days for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to 66 days for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, as evidenced in the above cash conversion table. The increase in DSO is primarily due to increased netted product sales which reduces the revenue, but not the receivable balance. The decrease in DIO is consistent with the decrease in inventory discussed above. The increase in DPO is consistent with the increase in accounts payable discussed above.
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Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 consisted of $150.6 million of purchases of short-term U.S. Government treasury securities and $9.6 million of purchases of property and equipment. The property and equipment expenditures were primarily for computer equipment and capitalized internally-developed software in connection with investments in our IT infrastructure. Cash used in investing activities for the prior year consisted of $9.1 million of purchases of property and equipment.
Cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 consisted of $88.2 million of aggregate borrowings and repayments under our credit facility, $5.4 million of treasury repurchases, $8.4 million of dividend payments, $1.1 million of issuances of stock under the 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and $3.0 million of payroll taxes on stock-based compensation through shares withheld. In the prior year period, financing activities consisted primarily of $8.9 million in special dividend payments.
Debt Instruments, Contractual Agreements, and Related Covenants
Below is a summary of certain provisions of our credit facilities and other contractual obligations. For more information about the restrictive covenants in our debt instruments and inventory financing agreements, see “Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity” below. For more information about our obligations, commitments, and contingencies, see our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in this annual report.
Credit facility. Our credit facility extends until March 2025 and is collateralized by our accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2023, our borrowing capacity under the credit facility was up to $50.0 million. Amounts outstanding under this facility bear interest at the greatest of (i) the prime rate (8.50% at December 31, 2023), (ii) the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% per annum and (iii) the daily Bloomberg Short-Term Bank Yield Index, or BSBY Rate, plus 1.00% per annum, provided that the rate shall at no time be less than 0% per annum. In addition, we have the option to increase our borrowing capacity under the credit facility up to an additional $30.0 million provided that we meet certain additional borrowing requirements and obtain the consent of the administrative agent. Our credit facility is subject to certain covenant requirements which are described below under “Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity”. We did not have any borrowings outstanding under the credit facility as of December 31, 2023.
Cash receipts are automatically applied against any outstanding borrowings. Any excess cash on account may either remain on account to generate earned credits to offset up to 100% of cash management fees, or may be invested in short-term qualified investments. Borrowings under the line of credit are classified as current in our consolidated balance sheet. As of December 31, 2023, the entire $50.0 million facility was available for borrowing.
Operating Leases. We lease facilities from our principal stockholders and facilities from third parties under non-cancelable operating leases. Certain leases require us to pay real estate taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance charges. See “Item 2. Properties” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding our operating leases.
Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity
Internally Generated Funds. The key factors affecting our internally generated funds are our ability to manage costs and fully achieve our operating efficiencies, timely collection of our customer receivables, and management of our inventory levels.
Credit facility. Our credit facility extends until March 2025 and is collateralized by our accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2023, the entire $50.0 million facility was available for borrowing. Our credit facility contains certain financial ratios and operational covenants and other restrictions (including restrictions on additional debt, guarantees, and other distributions, investments, and liens) with which we and all of our subsidiaries must comply. Any failure to comply with these covenants would constitute a default and could prevent us from borrowing additional funds under this line of credit. This credit facility contains two financial tests:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | The funded debt ratio (defined as the average outstanding advances under the line for the quarter, divided by the consolidated trailing twelve months Adjusted Earnings Before Interest Expense, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| and Special Charges, or Adjusted EBITDA, for the trailing four quarters) must not be more than 2.0 to 1.0. We did not have any outstanding borrowings under the credit facility during the fourth quarter of 2023, and accordingly, the funded debt ratio did not limit potential borrowings as of December 31, 2023. Future decreases in our consolidated trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA could limit our potential borrowings under the line of credit. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Minimum Consolidated Net Worth (defined as our consolidated total assets less our consolidated total liabilities) must be at least $346.7 million, plus 50% of consolidated net income for each quarter, beginning with the quarter ended December 31, 2016 (loss quarters not counted). Such amount was calculated as $603.1 million at December 31, 2023, whereas our actual consolidated stockholders’ equity at that date was $840.8 million. |
Capital Markets. Our ability to raise additional funds in the capital market depends upon, among other things, general economic conditions, the condition of the IT industry, our financial performance and stock price, and the state of the capital markets. In addition, market volatility, inflation and interest rate fluctuations may increase our cost of financing or restrict our access to potential sources of future liquidity.
APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
A critical accounting policy has been defined as one that is both important to the portrayal of the registrant’s financial condition and results and requires management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Further, “critical accounting policies” are those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties, and potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions.
We believe that our accounting policies described below meet the definition of critical accounting policies and estimates.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those products or services. We enter into contracts that can include various combinations of products and services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. In most instances, when several performance obligations are aggregated into one single transaction, these performance obligations are fulfilled at the same point in time. We account for an arrangement when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights are identified, the contract has commercial substance, and collectability of consideration is probable. We generally obtain oral or written purchase authorizations from our customers for a specified amount of product at a specified price, which constitutes an arrangement. Revenue is recognized at the amount expected to be collected, net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities. We generally invoice for our products at the time of shipping, and accordingly there is not a significant financing component included in our arrangements.
Nature of Products and Services
IT products typically represent a distinct performance obligation, and revenue is recognized at the point in time when control is transferred to the customer which is generally upon delivery to the customer. We recognize revenue as the principal in the transaction with the customer (i.e., on a gross basis), as we control the product prior to delivery to the customer and derive the economic benefits from the sales transaction given our control over customer pricing.
We do not recognize revenue for goods that remain in our physical possession before the customer has the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits from the products, the goods are ready for physical transfer to and identified as belonging to the customer, and when we have no ability to use the product or to direct it to another customer.
Licenses for on-premise software provide the customer with a right to take possession of the software. Customers may purchase perpetual licenses or enter into subscriptions to the licensed software. We are the principal in these
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transactions and recognize revenue for the on-premise license at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer and the commencement of the term of the software license or when the renewal term begins, as applicable.
For certain on-premise licenses for security software, the customer derives substantially all of the benefit from these arrangements through the third-party delivered software maintenance, which provides software updates and other support services. We do not have control over the delivery of these performance obligations, and accordingly we are the agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for security software net of the related cost of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement. Cloud products allow customers to use hosted software over the contractual period without taking possession of the software and are provided on a subscription basis. We do not exercise control over these products or services and therefore are an agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for cloud products net of the related costs of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
We use our own engineering personnel to assist in projects involving the design and installation of systems and networks, and we also engage third-party service providers to perform warranty maintenance, implementations, asset disposal, and other services. Service revenue is recognized in general over time as we perform the underlying services and satisfy our performance obligations. We evaluate such engagements to determine whether we are the principal or the agent in each transaction. For those transactions in which we do not control the service, we act as an agent and recognize the transaction revenue on a net basis at a point in time when the vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
Similarly, we recognize revenue from agency sales transactions on a net sales basis. In agency sales transactions, we facilitate product sales by equipment and software manufacturers directly to our customers and receive agency, or referral, fees for such transactions. We do not take title to the products or assume any maintenance or return obligations in these transactions; title is passed directly from the supplier to our customer.
Amounts recognized on a net basis included in net sales for such third-party services, agency sales, and off-premise software transactions were $141.8 million, $127.5 million, and $103.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.
Certain software sales include on-premise licenses that are combined with software maintenance. Software maintenance conveys rights to updates, bug fixes and help desk support, and other support services transferred over the underlying contract period. On-premise licenses are considered distinct performance obligations when sold with the software maintenance, as we sell these items separately. We recognize revenue related to the software maintenance as the agent in these transactions because we do not have control over the on-going software maintenance service. Revenue allocated to software maintenance is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
Certain of our larger customers are offered the opportunity by vendors to purchase software licenses and maintenance under enterprise agreements, or EAs. Under EAs, customers are considered to be compliant with applicable license requirements for the ensuing year, regardless of changes to their employee base. Customers are charged an annual true-up fee for changes in the number of users over the year. With most EAs, our vendors will transfer the license and bill the customer directly, paying resellers, such as us, an agency fee or commission on these sales. We record these agency fees as a component of net sales as earned and there is no corresponding cost of sales amount. In certain instances, we invoice the customer directly under an EA and account for the individual items sold based on the nature of each item. Our vendors typically dictate how the EA will be sold to the customer.
We also offer extended service plans, or ESPs, on IT products, both as part of the initial arrangement and separately from the IT products. We recognize revenue related to ESPs as the agent in the transaction because we do not have control over the on-going ESPs service and do not provide any service after the sale. Revenue allocated to ESPs is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
All amounts billed to a customer in a sales transaction related to shipping and handling, if any, represent revenues earned for the goods provided, and these amounts have been included in net sales. Costs related to shipping and handling
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billing are classified as cost of sales. Sales are reported net of sales, use, or other transaction taxes that are collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our contracts with customers often include promises to transfer multiple products or services to a customer. Determining whether we are the agent or the principal and whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment.
We estimate the standalone selling price, or SSP, for each distinct performance obligation when a single arrangement contains multiple performance obligations and the fulfillment occurs at different points in time. We maximize the use of observable inputs in the determination of the estimate for SSP for the items that we do not sell separately, including on-premise licenses sold with software maintenance, and IT products sold with ESPs. In instances where SSP is not directly observable, such as when we do not sell the product or service separately, we determine the SSP using information that may include market conditions and other observable inputs.
We provide our customers with a limited thirty-day right of return, which is generally limited to defective merchandise, and gives rise to variable consideration. Revenue is recognized based on the most likely amount to which we are expected to be entitled. The estimated variable consideration is included in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur once the uncertainty is resolved. We make estimates of product returns based on significant historical experience. We record our sales return reserve as a reduction of revenues and either as reduction of accounts receivable or, for customers who have already paid, as accrued expenses and as a reduction of cost of sales and an associated right of return asset. At December 31, 2023, we recorded sales reserves of $3.1 million and $0.1 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively. At December 31, 2022, we recorded sales reserves of $3.8 million and $0.1 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively.
We regularly evaluate the adequacy of our estimates for product returns. Future market conditions and product transitions may require us to take action to change such programs and related estimates. When the variables used to estimate these reserves change, or if actual results differ significantly from the estimates, we would be required to increase or reduce revenue to reflect the impact.
Accounts Receivable
We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and adjust credit limits based upon payment history and current creditworthiness. Our allowance for credit losses is generally computed by (1) applying specific percentage reserves on accounts that are past due, and (2) specifically reserving for customers known to be in financial difficulty. Therefore, if the financial conditions of certain customers were to deteriorate, or if we noted there was a lengthening of the timing of the settlement of receivables that was symptomatic of a general deterioration in the ability of our customers to pay, we would have to increase our allowance for credit losses. This would negatively impact our earnings. Our cash flows would be impacted to the extent that receivables could not be collected.
We continued to improve on our collection efforts in 2023. Our bad debt expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased to $1.8 million, compared to $3.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.
In addition to accounts receivable from customers, we record receivables from our vendors/suppliers for cooperative advertising, price protection, supplier reimbursements, rebates, and other similar arrangements. A portion of such receivables is estimated based on information available from our vendors at discrete points in time. While such estimates have historically approximated actual cash received, a change in estimates could give rise to a reduction in the receivable. This could negatively impact our earnings and our cash flows.
Our trade receivables are charged off in the period in which they are deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of trade receivables previously charged are recorded when received. Write offs of customer and vendor receivables totaled $3.3 million in 2023 and $2.8 million in 2022.
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Considerable estimates are used in assessing the ultimate realization of customer receivables and vendor/supplier receivables, including reviewing the financial stability of a customer, vendor information, and gauging current market conditions. If our evaluations are incorrect, we may incur additional charges in the future on our consolidated statements of income.
Inventories
Inventories (all finished goods) are stated at cost (which approximates the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value, whichever is lower. Inventory quantities on hand are reviewed regularly, and provisions are made for obsolete, slow moving, and non-saleable inventory, based primarily on management’s forecast of customer demand for those products in inventory.
Estimates are used to determine the quarterly inventory allowance provision. Actual future write-offs of inventory for salability and obsolescence reasons may differ from estimates and calculations used to determine valuation allowances due to changes in customer demand, customer negotiations, technology shifts and other factors. The IT industry is characterized by rapid technological change and new product development that could result in increased obsolescence of inventory on hand. Increased obsolescence or decreased customer demand beyond management’s expectations could require additional provisions, which could negatively impact our earnings. Our provision for inventory obsolescence was $2.4 million, $4.3 million, and $3.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. We recorded obsolescence charges of $2.8 million, $3.3 million, and $3.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Historically, there have been no unusual charges precipitated by specific technological or forecast issues.
Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets, Including Intangibles
We carry a variety of long-lived assets on our consolidated balance sheet, which are all currently classified as held for use. These include property and equipment, identifiable intangibles, an internet domain name, which is an indefinite-lived intangible asset not subject to amortization, and goodwill. An impairment review is undertaken on (1) an annual basis for goodwill and an indefinite-lived intangible; and (2) on an event-driven basis for all long-lived assets when facts and circumstances suggest that cash flows from such assets may be diminished. We have historically reviewed the carrying value of all these assets based partly on our projections of cash flows. Any impairment charge that is recorded negatively impacts our earnings.
Our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments hold $66.2 million and $7.4 million of goodwill, respectively. We test goodwill for impairment each year and more frequently if potential impairment indicators arise. In 2023 and 2022, we performed a “step 0” qualitative analysis. Accounting Standards Codification 350—Intangible – Goodwill and Other states that an entity may assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. This analysis allows the Company to consider qualitative factors that might impact the carrying amount of its goodwill to determine whether a more detailed quantitative analysis would be necessary. Factors considered when performing the impairment assessment included the Company’s performance relative to historical and projected future operating results, macroeconomic conditions, industry and market trends, cost factors that may have a negative impact on earnings and cash flows, changes in the Company’s stock price and market capitalization, and other relevant entity-specific events. Based on the qualitative analysis, the Company determined goodwill was not impaired as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. While we believe that our conclusions are reasonable, different assumptions could materially affect our valuations and result in impairment charges against the carrying values of those remaining assets in our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments.
Please see Note 4, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this report for a discussion of the significant assumptions used in our annual impairment test analysis.
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RECENTLY ISSUED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Recently issued financial accounting standards are detailed in Note 1, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001558370-23-002947.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to promote understanding of the results of operations and financial conditions. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). This section discusses the results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 and year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2022 and the year ended December 31, 2021. Discussion of the year ended December 31, 2021 and the year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020 can be found in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Our MD&A also includes the identification of certain trends and other statements that may predict or anticipate future business or financial results that are subject to important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated. See “Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
OVERVIEW
We are a Fortune 1000 Global Solutions Provider that simplifies the IT customer experience, guiding the connection between people and technology. Our dedicated account managers partner with customers to design, deploy, and support cutting-edge IT environments using the latest hardware, software, and services. We provide a wide range of IT solutions, from the desktop to the cloud—including computer systems, data center solutions, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories that we purchase from manufacturers, distributors, and other suppliers. Our TSG and state-of-the-art TIDC, with ISO 9001:2015 certified technical configuration lab offer end-to-end services related to the design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. Our team also provides a comprehensive portfolio of managed services and professional services. These services are performed by our personnel and by third-party providers. Our GlobalServe offering ensures worldwide coverage for our multinational customers, delivering global procurement solutions through our network of in-country suppliers in over 150 countries.
The “Connection®” brand includes Connection Business Solutions, Connection Enterprise Solutions, and Connection Public Sector Solutions, which provide IT solutions and services to SMBs, enterprise, and public sector markets.
Financial results for each of our segments are included in the financial statements attached hereto. We generate sales through (i) outbound telemarketing and field sales contacts by sales representatives focused on the business, educational, healthcare, and government markets, (ii) our websites, and (iii) direct responses from customers responding to our advertising media. We offer a broad selection of over 460,000 products at competitive prices, including products from vendors like Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell, Dell-EMC, Hewlett-Packard Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, Microsoft, and VMware, and we partner with more than 2,500 suppliers. We are able to leverage our state-of-the art logistic capabilities to rapidly ship product to customers, typically the same day the order is received.
As a value-added reseller in the IT supply chain, we do not manufacture IT hardware or software products. We are dependent on our suppliers—manufacturers and distributors that historically have only sold to resellers rather than directly to end users. However, manufacturers have, on multiple occasions, sold or attempted to sell directly to our customers, and in some cases, have restricted our ability to sell their products directly to certain customers, thereby attempting to eliminate our role. We believe that the success of these direct sales efforts by manufacturers will depend on their ability to meet our customers’ ongoing demands and provide solutions to meet their needs. We believe many of our customers seek out comprehensive and integrated IT solutions, rather than the ability to acquire specific IT products on a one-off basis. Our advantage is our ability to be product-neutral and to provide a broader combination of products, services, and advice tailored to our customers’ needs. By providing customers with customized solutions from a variety of manufacturers, we believe we can mitigate the negative impact of continued direct sales initiatives from individual manufacturers. Through the formation of our TSG, we are able to provide customers complete IT solutions, from identifying their needs, to designing, developing, and managing the integration of products and services to implement their IT projects. Such service offerings carry higher margins than traditional product sales. Additionally, the technical certifications of our service engineers permit us to offer higher-end, more complex products that generally carry higher
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gross margins. We expect these service offerings and technical certifications to continue to play a role in sales generation and gross margin improvements in this competitive environment.
The primary challenges we continue to face in effectively managing our business are (1) increasing our product and service revenues while at the same time improving our gross margin in all three segments, (2) recruiting, retaining, and improving the productivity of our sales and technical support personnel, and (3) effectively controlling our SG&A expenses while making major investments in our IT systems and solution selling personnel, especially in relation to changing revenue levels.
To support future growth, we are investing in our IT solutions business, which requires the addition of highly skilled service engineers. Although we expect to realize the ultimate benefit of higher-margin service revenues under this multi-year initiative, we believe that our cost of services will increase as we add additional service engineers. If our service revenues do not grow enough to offset the cost of these headcount additions, our operating results may be negatively impacted.
Market conditions and technology advances significantly affect the demand for our products and services. Virtual delivery of software products and advanced Internet technology providing customers enhanced functionality have substantially increased customer expectations, requiring us to invest on an ongoing basis in our own IT development to meet these new demands.
Our investments in IT infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and provide our customers enhanced functionality.
Trends and Key Factors Affecting our Financial Performance
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | As the effects of COVID-19 and its variants continue to evolve, it is difficult to predict and forecast the impact it might have on our business and results of operations in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has, and may continue to cause supply chain disruptions. Although we saw some improvement in the supply chain during the second half of 2022, we continue to have some supply chain challenges that may continue in the foreseeable future. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | Inflation due to, among other things, the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertain economic environment impacts product costs and wages. The increased product costs and wages due to inflation may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If inflation on products and wages increases beyond our ability to control, we may not be able to adjust prices to sufficiently offset the effect of the various cost increases without negatively impacting customer demand. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ● | The Federal Reserve recently increased interest rates, and it is anticipated that interest rates will continue to rise. Although we don’t have any borrowing under our credit facility, should we need to borrow in the future, we may be exposed to high interest rates. |
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth information derived from our statements of income expressed as a percentage of net sales for the periods indicated:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | | 2022 | | | 2021 | | 2020 | | |
| Net sales (in millions) | | $ | 3,125.0 | | $ | 2,892.6 | | $ | 2,590.3 | |
| Gross margin | | | 16.8 | % | | 16.1 | % | | 16.2 | % |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | | 13.0 | | 12.7 | | 13.3 | | |||
| Income from operations | | 3.9 | | 3.3 | | 2.8 | |
Net sales of $3,125.0 million in 2022 reflected an increase of $232.4 million compared to 2021, which was driven by higher net sales across all of our operating segments as shown in the table on page 32 of this Form 10-K. The increase in net sales was primarily driven by the growing hybrid work trend resulting in higher demand for notebooks/mobility, desktops, and accessories products. Sales of all of our other product categories also increased year-over-year, as shown in Note 2 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. The increase in software sales was primarily due to higher volume of security software and software as a service, which are recognized on a net basis. The continued trend toward higher sales of security software and software as a service has put downward pressure on net sales, while improving gross margins. This trend is expected to continue in 2023. Gross profit increased year-over-year by $61.6 million as shown in the table on page 32 of this Form 10-K, primarily due to the increase of net sales. Gross margin increased year-over-year by 70 basis points as shown in the above table primarily due to an increase in sales of data center products including networking and servers during 2022, as well as an increase in the amount of software sold recognized on a net basis. SG&A expenses increased year-over-year by $37.5 million, driven primarily by increased personnel cost of $30.6 million and increased advertising costs of $4.4 million. The majority of the personnel cost increase is due to the increased cost of labor, higher variable compensation due to the higher levels of gross profit, and increased employee benefit costs. Operating income increased year-over-year both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales by $24.0 million and 60 basis points, respectively, primarily as a result of the increase in net sales.
Sales Distribution
The following table sets forth our percentage of net sales by operating segment and product mix:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||
| Operating Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 42 | % | 43 | % | 43 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 40 | 38 | 37 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 18 | 19 | 20 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| | | | | | | | |
| Product Mix | | | | | | | |
| Notebooks/Mobility | | 37 | % | 38 | % | 32 | % |
| Desktops | | 10 | | 9 | | 10 | |
| Software | | 9 | | 10 | | 11 | |
| Servers/Storage | | 7 | | 7 | | 8 | |
| Net/Com Product | | 7 | 7 | 8 | | ||
| Displays and sound | | 10 | 10 | 8 | | ||
| Accessories | | 13 | 12 | 14 | | ||
| Other Hardware/Services | | 7 | 7 | 9 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
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Gross Margins
The following table summarizes our overall gross margins, as a percentage of net sales, for the last three years:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||
| Operating Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 14.7 | % | 14.5 | % | 14.5 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 20.1 | 19.2 | 19.4 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 14.4 | 13.3 | 13.8 | | ||
| Total Company | | 16.8 | % | 16.1 | % | 16.2 | % |
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the invoice cost of the product, direct employee and third-party cost of services, direct costs of packaging, inbound and outbound freight, and provisions for inventory obsolescence, adjusted for discounts, rebates, and other vendor allowances.
Operating Expenses
The following table reflects our most significant operating expenses for the last three years (in millions of dollars):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| ($ in millions) | | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| Personnel costs | | $ | 308.4 | | $ | 277.8 | | $ | 256.6 | |
| Advertising | | 20.2 | | 15.8 | | 14.0 | | |||
| Service contracts/subscriptions | | | 19.7 | | 17.3 | | 15.0 | | ||
| Professional fees | | 15.3 | | 16.4 | | 19.4 | | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | | 12.0 | | 12.2 | | 13.6 | | |||
| Facilities operations | | 8.6 | | 8.3 | | 8.5 | | |||
| Credit card fees | | 6.9 | | 7.0 | | 6.8 | | |||
| Other | | 14.5 | | 13.3 | | 11.8 | | |||
| Total SG&A expense | | $ | 405.6 | | $ | 368.1 | | $ | 345.7 | |
| As a percentage of net sales | | | 13.0 | % | | 12.7 | % | | 13.3 | % |
Restructuring and other charges
There were no restructuring related costs incurred for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. In the year ended December 31, 2020, we undertook actions across the business to lower our cost structure and align our business in an effort to improve our ability to execute our strategy. In connection with these restructuring initiatives, we incurred restructuring and related costs of $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.
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YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISONS
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021
Changes in net sales and gross profit by operating segment are shown in the following table (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | |||||||||
| | | 2022 | | 2021 | | | |||||||
| | | | | % of | | | % of | % | |||||
| | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Change | |||
| Net Sales: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 1,324.4 | 42.4 | % | $ | 1,249.5 | 43.2 | % | 6.0 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 1,245.3 | | 39.8 | | | 1,098.5 | | 38.0 | | 13.4 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 555.3 | 17.8 | | 544.6 | 18.8 | 2.0 | | |||||
| Total | | $ | 3,125.0 | | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,892.6 | | 100.0 | % | 8.0 | % |
| Gross Profit: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 195.1 | 14.7 | % | $ | 180.6 | 14.5 | % | 8.0 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 250.9 | | 20.1 | | | 211.4 | | 19.2 | | 18.7 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 80.2 | 14.4 | | 72.6 | 13.3 | 10.5 | | |||||
| Total | | $ | 526.2 | | 16.8 | % | $ | 464.6 | | 16.1 | % | 13.3 | % |
Net sales increased by 8.0% to $3,125.0 million in 2022 from $2,892.6 million in 2021, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,324.4 million for the Enterprise Solutions segment reflect an increase of $74.9 million, or 6.0%, year-over-year as a result of our customers’ needs for notebooks/mobility products to support their work-from-anywhere initiatives. Net sales of notebooks/mobility, desktops, accessories, and displays and sound increased year-over-year by $33.3 million, $25.0 million, $23.2 million, and $6.7 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by decreases in software and servers/storage of $11.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively. The decrease in software sales was primarily due to an increase in the amount of software sold recognized on a net basis. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,245.3 million for the Business Solutions segment reflect an increase of $146.8 million, or 13.4% year-over-year. The increase in net sales was primarily driven by strong growth in our customers’ needs for notebooks/mobility products to support their work-from-anywhere initiatives. We experienced increases across all products, most notably in notebooks/mobility, software, displays and sound, accessories, and net/com products of $47.4 million, $27.7 million, $19.3 million, $18.0 million, and $17.0 million, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $555.3 million for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased by $10.7 million, or 2.0%, compared with the same period a year ago. The increase was primarily driven by an increase of sales to state and local government and educational institutions, partially offset by the decrease of sales to federal governments. Net sales of accessories, desktops, displays and sound, and servers/storage increased by $14.3 million, $10.8 million, $8.7 million, and $7.5 million, respectively, compared with the prior year. Those increases were partially offset by decreases in notebooks/mobility, other hardware/services, software, and net/com products of $19.8 million, $5.5 million, $3.5 million, and $1.8 million, respectively. |
Gross profit increased by 13.3% to $526.2 million in 2022 and gross margin increased by 70 basis points to 16.8% in 2022, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Enterprise Solutions segment increased $14.5 million, or 8.0% year-over-year as referenced in the above table. This increase is primarily due to the 6.0% increase in net sales. Gross margin increased 20 basis points compared to the prior year primarily due to an increase in the amount of software sales recognized on a net basis. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Business Solutions segment increased $39.5 million, or 18.7% year-over-year as referenced in the above table. This increase is primarily a result of a 13.4% increase in net sales. Gross margin increased year- |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| over-year by 90 basis points, primarily due to an increase in sales of higher-margin networking and servers/storage products, along with an increase in sales of cloud and security software, which are recognized as revenue on a net basis. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased by $7.6 million, or 10.5% year-over-year as referenced in the above table, primarily as a result of higher net sales in the current period. Gross margin increased by 110 basis points primarily due to an increase in higher-margin servers/storage sales, along with an increase in sales of cloud and security software, which are recognized as revenue on a net basis. |
SG&A expense in 2022 increased in dollars and as a percentage of net sales compared to the prior year. SG&A expenses attributable to our three operating segments and the remaining unallocated Headquarters/Other group expenses are summarized below (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | |||||||||
| | | 2022 | | 2021 | | | |||||||
| | | | | % of | | | % of | % | |||||
| | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Change | |||
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 141.5 | 10.7 | % | $ | 106.0 | 8.5 | % | 33.5 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 171.5 | | 13.8 | | | 167.6 | | 15.3 | | 2.3 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 79.1 | 14.2 | | 77.5 | 14.2 | 2.1 | | |||||
| Headquarters/Other, unallocated | | 13.5 | | | | 17.0 | | | (20.6) | | |||
| Total | | $ | 405.6 | | 13.0 | % | $ | 368.1 | | 12.7 | % | 10.2 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Enterprise Solutions segment increased in dollars and as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year change in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to a $33.5 million increase in the use of Headquarter services, which include finance, distribution center, human resources, IT, marketing, and product management. This year-over-year increase was also driven by a $2.3 million increase in personnel costs. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 10.7% for the Enterprise Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2022, which reflects an increase of 220 basis points. This increase year-over-year was largely due to the increase in Headquarter services in 2022. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Business Solutions segment increased in dollars but decreased as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in SG&A dollars was primarily driven by increases in personnel costs and advertising costs of $6.5 million and $3.0 million, respectively. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in the use of Headquarter services of $6.3 million, primarily due to an increase in services utilized by the Enterprise Solutions segment. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 13.8% for the Business Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 15.3% for 2021, which reflects a decrease of 150 basis points year-over-year, primarily due to higher net sales in the current year. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased in dollars but remained consistent as a percentage of net sales. The increase in SG&A dollars year-over-year is primarily attributable to increases in personnel costs and advertising costs of $3.6 million and $1.1 million, respectively. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in the use of Headquarter services of $2.4 million, primarily due to an increase in services utilized by the Enterprise Solutions segment. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 14.2% for the Public Sector Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2022, which is consistent with the prior year. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Headquarters/Other group decreased by $3.5 million primarily due to an increase in Headquarter services utilized by the Enterprise Solutions segment, as discussed above. |
Income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased to $120.6 million, compared to $96.5 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the increases in net sales and gross profit explained above. These increases were partially offset by an increase in SG&A expense year-over-year as explained above. Income from operations as a percentage of net sales increased to 3.9% for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to 3.3% of
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net sales for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the increases in net sales and gross profit, partially offset by an increase in SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales year-over-year.
Income taxes. Our effective tax rate was 26.7% for the year-ended December 31, 2022, compared to 27.6% for the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease year over year is primarily due to a reduction in state income tax expense resulting from changes in state apportionment factors. Our provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $32.4 million. Our provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $26.6 million, which included $0.3 million of discrete items mainly related to research and development tax credits recognized in the year ended December 31, 2021.
Net income increased by $19.3 million to $89.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, from $69.9 million in the prior year, primarily due to the increase in net sales and gross profit, partially offset by an increase in SG&A expenses in the current year, as explained above.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Liquidity Overview
Our primary sources of liquidity have historically been internally generated funds from operations and borrowings under our bank line of credit. We have historically used and expect to use in the future those funds to meet our capital requirements, which consist primarily of working capital for operational needs, capital expenditures for computer equipment and software used in our business, repurchases of common stock for treasury, dividend payments, and as opportunities arise, possible acquisitions of new businesses.
We believe that funds generated from operations, together with available credit under our bank line of credit, will be sufficient to finance our working capital, capital expenditures, and other requirements for at least the next twelve calendar months and beyond such twelve calendar month period. Our investments in IT systems and infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and to provide our customers enhanced functionality.
We expect to meet our cash requirements for 2023 and beyond through a combination of cash on hand, cash generated from operations, and borrowings on our bank line of credit, as follows:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash on Hand. As of December 31, 2022, we had $122.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash Generated from Operations. We expect to generate cash flows from operations in excess of operating cash needs by generating earnings and managing net changes in inventories and receivables with changes in payables to generate positive cash flow. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Bank Line of Credit. As of December 31, 2022, no borrowings were outstanding under our $50.0 million bank line of credit, which is available until March 2025. Accordingly, our entire line of credit was available for borrowing as of December 31, 2022. This line of credit can be increased, at our option, to $80.0 million for approved acquisitions or other uses authorized by the bank. Borrowings are, however, limited by certain minimum collateral and earnings requirements, as described more fully below. As of December 31, 2022, we were in compliance with all of our covenants. |
Our ability to continue funding our planned growth, both internally and externally, is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or to obtain additional funds through equity or debt financing, or from other sources of financing, as may be required. While we do not anticipate needing any additional sources of financing to fund our operations at this time, if demand for IT products declines, our cash flows from operations may be substantially affected. See also related risks listed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
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Summary Sources and Uses of Cash
The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash over the last three years (in millions of dollars):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | | $ | 34.9 | | $ | 57.8 | | $ | 36.1 | |
| Net cash used in investing activities | | (9.1) | | (8.7) | | (11.0) | | |||
| Net cash used in financing activities | | (11.2) | | (36.4) | | (19.5) | | |||
| Increase in cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 14.6 | | $ | 12.7 | | $ | 5.6 | |
Cash provided by operating activities was $34.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Cash flow provided by operations during the year ended December 31, 2022 resulted primarily from $89.2 million of net income and $19.6 million of other non-cash charges added back to net income, including $12.0 million of depreciation and amortization, for the year ended December 31, 2022. These factors that contributed to the positive inflow of cash from operating activities were partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $6.0 million primarily due to an increase in vendor receivables, as well as decreases in accounts payable and accrued expenses and other liabilities of $49.1 million and $14.7 million, respectively. The five-day increase in DSO is primarily a function of netted products recorded in accounts receivable on a gross basis, while the revenue is recorded on a net basis. The decreases in accounts payable and accrued expenses and other liabilities were primarily driven by the timing of payments. Operating cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2021 resulted primarily from cash provided by net income prior to non-cash charges of $69.9 million and increases in account payables and accrued expenses of $32.5 million, primarily due to the timing of payments. Those inflows of cash from operating activities were partially offset by increases in inventory of $65.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.
In order to manage our working capital and operating cash needs, we monitor our cash conversion cycle, defined as days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable plus days of supply in inventory minus days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable, based on a rolling three-month average. Components of our cash conversion cycle are as follows:
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | December 31, | ||||
| (in days) | | 2022 | | 2021 | ||
| Days of sales outstanding (DSO)(1) | | | 70 | | | 65 |
| Days of supply in inventory (DIO)(2) | | | 31 | | | 28 |
| Days of purchases outstanding (DPO)(3) | | | (35) | | | (38) |
| Cash conversion cycle | | | 66 | | | 55 |
(1) Represents the trade receivable at the end of the period divided by average daily net sales for the same three-month period.
(2) Represents the merchandise inventory balance at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
(3) Represents the accounts payable balance at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
The cash conversion cycle was 66 days for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, an increase compared to the cash conversion cycle of 55 days for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, as evidenced in the above cash conversion table.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 consisted of $9.1 million of purchases of property and equipment. These expenditures were primarily for computer equipment and capitalized internally-developed software in connection with investments in our IT infrastructure. Cash used in investing activities for the prior year consisted of $10.3 million of purchases of property and equipment, partially offset by $1.5 million of cash proceeds from life insurance.
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Cash used in financing activities decreased for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the prior year and consisted primarily of $8.9 million in special dividend payments. In the prior year period, financing activities consisted primarily of $34.6 million in special dividend payments.
Debt Instruments, Contractual Agreements, and Related Covenants
Below is a summary of certain provisions of our credit facilities and other contractual obligations. For more information about the restrictive covenants in our debt instruments and inventory financing agreements, see “Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity” below. For more information about our obligations, commitments, and contingencies, see our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in this annual report.
Bank Line of Credit. Our bank line of credit extends until March 2025 and is collateralized by our accounts receivable. Our borrowing capacity is up to $50.0 million at the greatest of (i) the prime rate (7.50% at December 31, 2022), (ii) the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% per annum and (iii) the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, plus 1.00% per annum, provided that the rate shall at no time be less than 0% per annum. In addition, we have the option to increase the facility by an additional $30.0 million to meet additional borrowing requirements. Our credit facility is subject to certain covenant requirements which are described below under “Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity”. We did not have any borrowings outstanding under the credit facility as of December 31, 2022.
In December of 2021, we entered into an amendment to our credit facility to, among other things, extend the maturity date to March 31, 2025, at which time any amounts outstanding become due. See “Part II – Item 9b. Other Information – Third Amendment to Third Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement” for additional information.
Cash receipts are automatically applied against any outstanding borrowings. Any excess cash on account may either remain on account to generate earned credits to offset up to 100% of cash management fees, or may be invested in short-term qualified investments. Borrowings under the line of credit are classified as current. As of December 31, 2022, the entire $50.0 million facility was available for borrowing.
Operating Leases. We lease facilities from our principal stockholders and facilities from third parties under non-cancelable operating leases. Certain leases require us to pay real estate taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance charges.
Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity
Internally Generated Funds. The key factors affecting our internally generated funds are our ability to manage costs and fully achieve our operating efficiencies, timely collection of our customer receivables, and management of our inventory levels.
Bank Line of Credit. Our bank line of credit extends until March 2025 and is collateralized by our accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2022, the entire $50.0 million facility was available for borrowing. Our credit facility contains certain financial ratios and operational covenants and other restrictions (including restrictions on additional debt, guarantees, and other distributions, investments, and liens) with which we and all of our subsidiaries must comply. Any failure to comply with these covenants would constitute a default and could prevent us from borrowing additional funds under this line of credit. This credit facility contains two financial tests:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | The funded debt ratio (defined as the average outstanding advances under the line for the quarter, divided by the consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing four quarters) must not be more than 2.0 to 1.0. We didn’t have any outstanding borrowings under the credit facility during the fourth quarter of 2022, and accordingly, the funded debt ratio did not limit potential borrowings as of December 31, 2022. Future decreases in our consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, however, could limit our potential borrowings under the line of credit. |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Minimum Consolidated Net Worth must be at least $346.7 million, plus 50% of consolidated net income for each quarter. Such amount was calculated at December 31, 2022 as $561.4 million, whereas our actual consolidated stockholders’ equity on such date was $766.2 million. |
Capital Markets. Our ability to raise additional funds in the capital market depends upon, among other things, general economic conditions, the condition of the IT industry, our financial performance and stock price, and the state of the capital markets. In addition, market volatility, inflation and interest rate fluctuations may increase our cost of financing or restrict our access to potential sources of future liquidity.
APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
A critical accounting policy has been defined as one that is both important to the portrayal of the registrant’s financial condition and results and requires management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Further, “critical accounting policies” are those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties, and potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions.
We believe that our accounting policies described below meet the definition of critical accounting policies and estimates.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those products or services. We enter into contracts that can include various combinations of products and services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. In most instances, when several performance obligations are aggregated into one single transaction, these performance obligations are fulfilled at the same point in time. We account for an arrangement when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights are identified, the contract has commercial substance, and collectability of consideration is probable. We generally obtain oral or written purchase authorizations from our customers for a specified amount of product at a specified price, which constitutes an arrangement. Revenue is recognized at the amount expected to be collected, net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities. We generally invoice for our products at the time of shipping, and accordingly there is not a significant financing component included in our arrangements.
Nature of Products and Services
IT products typically represent a distinct performance obligation, and revenue is recognized at the point in time when control is transferred to the customer which is generally upon delivery to the customer. We recognize revenue as the principal in the transaction with the customer (i.e., on a gross basis), as we control the product prior to delivery to the customer and derive the economic benefits from the sales transaction given our control over customer pricing.
We do not recognize revenue for goods that remain in our physical possession before the customer has the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits from the products, the goods are ready for physical transfer to and identified as belonging to the customer, and when we have no ability to use the product or to direct it to another customer.
Licenses for on-premise software provide the customer with a right to take possession of the software. Customers may purchase perpetual licenses or enter into subscriptions to the licensed software. We are the principal in these transactions and recognize revenue for the on-premise license at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer and the commencement of the term of the software license or when the renewal term begins, as applicable.
For certain on-premise licenses for security software, the customer derives substantially all of the benefit from these arrangements through the third-party delivered software maintenance, which provides software updates and other support services. We do not have control over the delivery of these performance obligations, and accordingly we are the agent in
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these transactions. We recognize revenue for security software net of the related cost of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement. Cloud products allow customers to use hosted software over the contractual period without taking possession of the software and are provided on a subscription basis. We do not exercise control over these products or services and therefore are an agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for cloud products net of the related costs of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
We use our own engineering personnel to assist in projects involving the design and installation of systems and networks, and we also engage third-party service providers to perform warranty maintenance, implementations, asset disposal, and other services. Service revenue is recognized in general over time as we perform the underlying services and satisfy our performance obligations. We evaluate such engagements to determine whether we are the principal or the agent in each transaction. For those transactions in which we do not control the service, we act as an agent and recognize the transaction revenue on a net basis at a point in time when the vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
Similarly, we recognize revenue from agency sales transactions on a net sales basis. In agency sales transactions, we facilitate product sales by equipment and software manufacturers directly to our customers and receive agency, or referral, fees for such transactions. We do not take title to the products or assume any maintenance or return obligations in these transactions; title is passed directly from the supplier to our customer. Amounts recognized on a net basis included in net sales for such third-party services and agency sales transactions were $56.2 million, $50.0 million, and $47.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively.
Certain software sales include on-premise licenses that are combined with software maintenance. Software maintenance conveys rights to updates, bug fixes and help desk support, and other support services transferred over the underlying contract period. On-premise licenses are considered distinct performance obligations when sold with the software maintenance, as we sell these items separately. We recognize revenue related to the software maintenance as the agent in these transactions because we do not have control over the on-going software maintenance service. Revenue allocated to software maintenance is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
Certain of our larger customers are offered the opportunity by vendors to purchase software licenses and maintenance under enterprise agreements, or EAs. Under EAs, customers are considered to be compliant with applicable license requirements for the ensuing year, regardless of changes to their employee base. Customers are charged an annual true-up fee for changes in the number of users over the year. With most EAs, our vendors will transfer the license and bill the customer directly, paying resellers, such as us, an agency fee or commission on these sales. We record these agency fees as a component of net sales as earned and there is no corresponding cost of sales amount. In certain instances, we invoice the customer directly under an EA and accounts for the individual items sold based on the nature of each item. Our vendors typically dictate how the EA will be sold to the customer.
We also offer extended service plans, or ESPs, on IT products, both as part of the initial arrangement and separately from the IT products. We recognize revenue related to ESPs as the agent in the transaction because we do not have control over the on-going ESPs service and do not provide any service after the sale. Revenue allocated to ESPs is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
All amounts billed to a customer in a sales transaction related to shipping and handling, if any, represent revenues earned for the goods provided, and these amounts have been included in net sales. Costs related to shipping and handling billing are classified as cost of sales. Sales are reported net of sales, use, or other transaction taxes that are collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our contracts with customers often include promises to transfer multiple products or services to a customer. Determining whether we are the agent or the principal and whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment.
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We estimate the standalone selling price, or SSP, for each distinct performance obligation when a single arrangement contains multiple performance obligations and the fulfillment occurs at different points of times. We maximize the use of observable inputs in the determination of the estimate for SSP for the items that we do not sell separately, including on-premise licenses sold with software maintenance, and IT products sold with ESPs. In instances where SSP is not directly observable, such as when we do not sell the product or service separately, we determine the SSP using information that may include market conditions and other observable inputs.
We provide our customers with a limited thirty-day right of return, which is generally limited to defective merchandise, and gives rise to variable consideration. Revenue is recognized based on the most likely amount to which we are expected to be entitled. The estimated variable consideration is included in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur once the uncertainty is resolved. We make estimates of product returns based on significant historical experience. We record our sales return reserve as a reduction of revenues and either as reduction of accounts receivable or, for customers who have already paid, as accrued expenses and as a reduction of cost of sales and an associated right of return asset. At December 31, 2022, we recorded sales reserves of $3.8 million and $0.1 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively. At December 31, 2021, we recorded sales reserves of $4.2 million and $0.2 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively.
We regularly evaluate the adequacy of our estimates for product returns. Future market conditions and product transitions may require us to take action to change such programs and related estimates. When the variables used to estimate these reserves change, or if actual results differ significantly from the estimates, we would be required to increase or reduce revenue to reflect the impact.
Accounts Receivable
We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and adjust credit limits based upon payment history and customers’ current creditworthiness. Our allowance for credit losses is generally computed by (1) applying specific percentage reserves on accounts that are past due, and (2) specifically reserving for customers known to be in financial difficulty. Therefore, if the financial conditions of certain customers were to deteriorate, or if we noted there was a lengthening of the timing of the settlement of receivables that was symptomatic of a general deterioration in the ability of our customers to pay, we would have to increase our allowance for credit losses. This would negatively impact our earnings. Our cash flows would be impacted to the extent that receivables could not be collected.
As of December 31, 2022, our accounts receivable aging improved from December 31, 2021, reflecting the general improvement in the economic environment from the COVID-19 pandemic in the calendar years ended on December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We collected a significant amount of these older at-risk invoices during the calendar year ended December 31, 2022. Though our bad debt expense was $3.3 million for both the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, the related risk on collections is different as of December 31, 2022. The collection risk assessments as of December 31, 2022 were consistent with the volume of invoices associated with the increased revenue recognized during the twelve months then ended.
In addition to accounts receivable from customers, we record receivables from our vendors/suppliers for cooperative advertising, price protection, supplier reimbursements, rebates, and other similar arrangements. A portion of such receivables is estimated based on information available from our vendors at discrete points in time. While such estimates have historically approximated actual cash received, a change in estimates could give rise to a reduction in the receivable. This could negatively impact our earnings and our cash flows.
Our trade receivables are charged off in the period in which they are deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of trade receivables previously charged are recorded when received. Write offs of customer and vendor receivables totaled $2.8 million in 2022 and $3.9 million in 2021.
Considerable estimates are used in assessing the ultimate realization of customer receivables and vendor/supplier receivables, including reviewing the financial stability of a customer, vendor information, and gauging current market
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conditions. If our evaluations are incorrect, we may incur additional charges in the future on our consolidated statements of income.
Inventories
Inventories (all finished goods) are stated at cost (which approximates the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value, whichever is lower. Inventory quantities on hand are reviewed regularly, and provisions are made for obsolete, slow moving, and non-saleable inventory, based primarily on management’s forecast of customer demand for those products in inventory.
Estimates are used to determine the quarterly inventory allowance provision. Actual future write-offs of inventory for salability and obsolescence reasons may differ from estimates and calculations used to determine valuation allowances due to changes in customer demand, customer negotiations, technology shifts and other factors. The IT industry is characterized by rapid technological change and new product development that could result in increased obsolescence of inventory on hand. Increased obsolescence or decreased customer demand beyond management’s expectations could require additional provisions, which could negatively impact our earnings. We recorded obsolescence charges of $3.1 million, $2.7 million, and $1.7 million for the years ended 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Historically, there have been no unusual charges precipitated by specific technological or forecast issues.
Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets, Including Intangibles
We carry a variety of long-lived assets on our consolidated balance sheet, which are all currently classified as held for use. These include property and equipment, identifiable intangibles, an internet domain name, which is an indefinite-lived intangible asset not subject to amortization, and goodwill. An impairment review is undertaken on (1) an annual basis for goodwill and an indefinite-lived intangible; and (2) on an event-driven basis for all long-lived assets when facts and circumstances suggest that cash flows from such assets may be diminished. We have historically reviewed the carrying value of all these assets based partly on our projections of cash flows. Any impairment charge that is recorded negatively impacts our earnings.
Our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments hold $66.2 million and $7.4 million of goodwill, respectively. We test goodwill for impairment each year and more frequently if potential impairment indicators arise. In 2022 and 2021, we performed a “step 0” qualitative analysis. ASC 350—Intangible – Goodwill and Other states that an entity may assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. This analysis allows the Company to consider qualitative factors that might impact the carrying amount of its goodwill to determine whether a more detailed quantitative analysis would be necessary. Factors considered when performing the impairment assessment included the Company’s performance relative to historical and projected future operating results, macroeconomic conditions, industry and market trends, cost factors that may have a negative impact on earnings and cash flows, changes in the Company’s stock price and market capitalization, and other relevant entity-specific events. Based on the qualitative analysis, the Company determined goodwill was not impaired as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. While we believe that our conclusions are reasonable, different assumptions could materially affect our valuations and result in impairment charges against the carrying values of those remaining assets in our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments. However, at December 31, 2022, a 10 percent decline in projected cash flows or 10 percent increase in the discount rate would not result in an impairment.
Please see Note 3, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this report for a discussion of the significant assumptions used in our annual impairment test analysis.
RECENTLY ISSUED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Recently issued financial accounting standards are detailed in Note 1, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001558370-22-003574.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to promote understanding of the results of operations and financial conditions. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). This section discusses the results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 and year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020. Discussion of the year ended December 31, 2020 and the year-to-year comparison between the year ended December 31, 2020 and the year ended December 31, 2019 can be found in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our MD&A also includes the identification of certain trends and other statements that may predict or anticipate future business or financial results that are subject to important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated. See “Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
OVERVIEW
We are a Fortune 1000 Global Solutions Provider that simplifies the information technology, or IT, purchasing experience, guiding the connection between people and technology. Our dedicated Account Managers partner with customers to design, deploy, and support cutting-edge IT environments using the latest hardware, software, and services. We provide a wide range of IT solutions, from the desktop to the cloud—including computer systems, data center solutions, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories that we purchase from manufacturers, distributors, and other suppliers. Our Technology Solutions Group, or TSG, and state-of-the-art Technology Integration and Distribution Center, or TIDC, with ISO 9001:2015 certified technical configuration lab offer end-to-end services related to the design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. Our team also provides a comprehensive portfolio of managed services and professional services. These services are performed by our personnel and by third-party providers. Our GlobalServe offering ensures worldwide coverage for our multinational customers, delivering global procurement solutions through our network of incountry suppliers in over 150 countries.
The “Connection®” brand includes Connection Business Solutions, Connection Enterprise Solutions, and Connection Public Sector Solutions, which provide IT solutions and services to small- to medium-sized businesses, or SMBs, enterprise, and public sector markets.
Financial results for each of our segments are included in the financial statements attached hereto. We generate sales through (i)outbound telemarketing and field sales contacts by sales representatives focused on the business, educational, healthcare, and government markets, (ii) our websites, and (iii) direct responses from customers responding to our advertising media. We offer a broad selection of over 460,000 products at competitive prices, including products from vendors like Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell, Dell-EMC, Hewlett-Packard Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, Microsoft, and VMware, and we partner with more than 2,500 suppliers. We are able to leverage our state-of-the art logistic capabilities to rapidly ship product to customers, typically the same day the order is received.
As a value added reseller in the IT supply chain, we do not manufacture IT hardware or software. We are dependent on our suppliers—manufacturers and distributors that historically have sold only to resellers rather than directly to end users. However, certain manufacturers have, on multiple occasions, sold or attempted to sell directly to our customers, and in some cases, have restricted our ability to sell their products directly to certain customers, thereby attempting to eliminate our role. We believe that the success of these direct sales efforts by suppliers will depend on their ability to meet our customers’ ongoing demands and provide objective, unbiased solutions to meet their needs. We believe more of our customers are seeking comprehensive IT solutions, rather than simply the acquisition of specific IT products. Our advantage is our ability to be product-neutral and provide a broader combination of products, services, and advice tailored to customer needs. By providing customers with customized solutions from a variety of manufacturers, we believe we can mitigate the negative impact of continued direct sales initiatives from individual manufacturers. Through the formation of our Technical Solutions Group, we are able to provide customers complete IT solutions, from identifying their needs, to designing, developing, and managing the integration of products and services to implement their IT projects. Such service offerings carry higher margins than traditional product sales. Additionally, the technical
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certifications of our service engineers permit us to offer higher-end, more complex products that generally carry higher gross margins. We expect these service offerings and technical certifications to continue to play a role in sales generation and improve gross margins in this competitive environment.
The primary challenges we continue to face in effectively managing our business are (1) increasing our revenues while at the same time improving our gross margin in all three segments, (2) recruiting, retaining, and improving the productivity of our sales and technical support personnel, and (3) effectively controlling our selling, general, and administrative, or SG&A, expenses while making major investments in our IT systems and solution selling personnel, especially in relation to changing revenue levels.
To support future growth, we are expanding our IT solutions business, which requires the addition of highly-skilled service engineers. Although we expect to realize the ultimate benefit of higher-margin service revenues under this multi-year initiative, we believe that our cost of services will increase as we add service engineers. If our service revenues do not grow enough to offset the cost of these headcount additions, our operating results may be negatively impacted.
Market conditions and technology advances significantly affect the demand for our products and services. Virtual delivery of software products and advanced Internet technology providing customers enhanced functionality have substantially increased customer expectations, requiring us to invest on an ongoing basis in our own IT development to meet these new demands.
Our investments in IT infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and provide our customers enhanced functionality.
EFFECTS OF COVID-19
As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to evolve, it is difficult to predict and forecast the impact it might have on our business and results of operations in the future. However, global supply chain disruptions have limited our ability to acquire products in a timely manner and we anticipate these global supply chain challenges will persistent through the first half of 2022. In response to the delays we are experiencing in acquiring products, we increased our inventory levels during the year ended December 31, 2021 to allay some of our customers’ concerns associated with the global supply chain challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Relatedly, we also experienced an increase in our backlog as supply global supply chain challenges delayed our ability to fulfil customer orders. We continue to monitor the effects on our customers, suppliers, and the economy as a whole and will continue to adjust our business practices, as necessary, to respond to the changing demand for, and supply of, our products.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth information derived from our statements of income expressed as a percentage of net sales for the periods indicated:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | | 2021 | | | 2020 | | 2019 | | |
| Net sales (in millions) | | $ | 2,892.6 | | $ | 2,590.3 | | $ | 2,820.0 | |
| Gross margin | | | 16.1 | % | | 16.2 | % | | 16.0 | % |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | | 12.7 | | 13.3 | | 12.0 | | |||
| Income from operations | | 3.3 | | 2.8 | | 4.0 | |
Net sales of $2,892.6 million in 2021 reflected an increase of $302.3 million compared to 2020, which was driven by higher net sales across all of our business segments. The increase in net sales was primarily driven by the growing hybrid work trend resulting in higher demand for mobility products. Additionally, we saw revenue growth in our manufacturing and healthcare vertical markets compared to 2020. Gross profit increased year-over-year by $45.8 million, primarily due to the increase of net sales. SG&A expenses increased year-over-year by $22.3 million, driven primarily by increased personnel cost of $21.2 million associated with the increased variable compensation due to the
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higher levels of gross profit and increased employee benefit costs. Operating income increased year-over-year both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales by $24.4 million and 50 basis points, respectively, primarily as a result of the increase in net sales.
Sales Distribution
The following table sets forth our percentage of net sales by sales segment and product mix:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||
| Sales Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 43 | % | 43 | % | 42 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 38 | 37 | 38 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 19 | 20 | 20 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| | | | | | | | |
| Product Mix | | | | | | | |
| Notebooks/Mobility | | 38 | % | 32 | % | 29 | % |
| Desktops | | 9 | | 10 | | 12 | |
| Software | | 10 | | 11 | | 12 | |
| Servers/Storage | | 7 | | 8 | | 8 | |
| Net/Com Product | | 7 | 8 | 8 | | ||
| Displays and sound | | 10 | 8 | 9 | | ||
| Accessories | | 12 | 14 | 13 | | ||
| Other Hardware/Services | | 7 | 9 | 9 | | ||
| Total | | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
Gross Profit Margins
The following table summarizes our overall gross profit margins, as a percentage of net sales, for the last three years:
| | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | |||||
| | | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||
| Sales Segment | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | 14.5 | % | 14.5 | % | 14.4 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 19.2 | 19.4 | 19.1 | | ||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 13.3 | 13.8 | 13.6 | | ||
| Total Company | | 16.1 | % | 16.2 | % | 16.0 | % |
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales includes the invoice cost of the product, direct employee and third party cost of services, direct costs of packaging, inbound and outbound freight, and provisions for inventory obsolescence, adjusted for discounts, rebates, and other vendor allowances.
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Operating Expenses
The following table reflects our most significant operating expenses for the last three years (in millions of dollars):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| ($ in millions) | | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||
| Personnel costs | | $ | 277.8 | | $ | 256.6 | | $ | 257.8 | |
| Advertising | | 15.8 | | 14.0 | | 19.4 | | |||
| Service contracts/subscriptions | | | 17.3 | | 15.0 | | 12.9 | | ||
| Professional fees | | 16.4 | | 19.4 | | 10.6 | | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | | 12.2 | | 13.6 | | 13.3 | | |||
| Facilities operations | | 8.3 | | 8.5 | | 8.5 | | |||
| Credit card fees | | 7.0 | | 6.8 | | 6.6 | | |||
| Other | | 13.3 | | 11.8 | | 9.5 | | |||
| Total SG&A expense | | $ | 368.1 | | $ | 345.7 | | $ | 338.6 | |
| As a percentage of net sales | | | 12.7 | % | | 13.3 | % | | 12.0 | % |
Restructuring and other charges
There were no restructuring related costs incurred for the year ended December 31, 2021. In the years ended December 31 2020 and 2019, we undertook actions across the business to lower our cost structure and align our business in an effort to improve our ability to execute our strategy. In connection with these restructuring initiatives, we incurred restructuring and related costs of $1.0 million and $0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISONS
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
Net sales increased by 11.7% to $2,892.6 million in 2021 from $2,590.3 million in 2020. Changes in net sales and gross profit by operating segment are shown in the following table (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | |||||||||
| | | 2021 | | 2020 | | | |||||||
| | | | | % of | | | % of | % | |||||
| | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Amount | | Net Sales | | Change | |||
| Net Sales: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 1,249.5 | | 43.2 | % | $ | 1,115.6 | | 43.1 | % | 12.0 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 1,098.5 | 38.0 | | 966.0 | 37.3 | 13.7 | | |||||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 544.6 | 18.8 | | 508.7 | 19.6 | 7.1 | | |||||
| Total | | $ | 2,892.6 | | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,590.3 | | 100.0 | % | 11.7 | % |
| Gross Profit: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 180.6 | | 14.5 | % | $ | 161.7 | | 14.5 | % | 11.7 | % |
| Business Solutions | | 211.4 | 19.2 | | 187.0 | 19.4 | 13.0 | | |||||
| Public Sector Solutions | | 72.6 | 13.3 | | 70.1 | 13.8 | 3.5 | | |||||
| Total | | $ | 464.6 | | 16.1 | % | $ | 418.8 | | 16.2 | % | 10.9 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,249.5 million for the Enterprise Solutions segment reflect an increase of $133.9 million, or 12.0%, year-over-year as a result of our customers’ needs for mobility products to support their work-from-anywhere initiatives. Net sales of notebooks/mobility, displays and sound, and desktops increased year-over-year by $125.4 million, $47.3 million, and $11.5 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by decreases in accessories, other hardware/services, net/com products, and servers/storage of $22.3 million, $11.9 million, $9.8 million, and $10.1 million, respectively. |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $1,098.5 million for the Business Solutions segment reflect an increase of $132.5 million, or 13.7% year-over-year. The increase in net sales was primarily driven by strong growth in our customers’ needs for mobility products to support their work-from-anywhere initiatives. We experienced increases in notebooks/mobility, other hardware/services, displays and sound, net/com products and accessories of $107.0 million, $10.8 million, $13.7 million, $6.5 million and $1.6 million, respectively. Those increases were partially offset by the decrease of net sales of $4.6 million and $2.0 million in software and desktops sales, respectively. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Net sales of $544.6 million for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased by $35.9 million, or 7.1%, compared with the same period a year ago. The increase was primarily driven by an increase of sales in state, local government and educational institutions, partially offset by the decrease of sales to Federal Governments. Net sales of notebooks/mobility products, desktops, and displays and sounds products increased by $38.1 million, $9.2 million and $7.7 million, respectively, compared with the prior year, which was partially offset by the decrease of net sales in net/com products and servers/storage of $13.6 million, and $5.6 million, respectively. |
Gross profit for 2021 increased year-over-year in dollars but gross margin slightly decreased, as explained below:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Enterprise Solutions segment increased $18.9 million, or 11.7% year-over-year. This increase is primarily due to the 12.0% increase in net sales. The gross margin was flat compared with the prior year. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Business Solutions segment increased $24.4 million, or 13.0% year-over-year. This increase is as a result of a 13.7% increase in net sales. However, gross margin decreased year-over-year by 20 basis points, primarily due to a change of product mix. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Gross profit for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased by $2.5 million, or 3.5% year-over-year, primarily as a result of higher net sales in the current period. Gross margin decreased by 50 basis points based on changes in product mix. |
SG&A in 2021 increased in dollars but decreased as a percentage of net sales compared to the prior year. SG&A expenses attributable to our three operating segments and the remaining unallocated Headquarters/Other group expenses are summarized below (dollars in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | | | |||||||||
| | | 2021 | | 2020 | | | |||||||
| | | | | % of Net | | | % of Net | % | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Amount | | Sales | | Amount | | Sales | | Change | |||
| Enterprise Solutions | | $ | 106.0 | 8.5 | % | $ | 102.2 | 9.2 | % | 3.7 | % | ||
| Business Solutions | | | 167.6 | | 15.3 | | | 154.5 | | 16.0 | | 8.5 | |
| Public Sector Solutions | | 77.5 | 14.2 | | 72.8 | 14.3 | 6.5 | | |||||
| Headquarters/Other, unallocated | | 17.0 | | | | 16.2 | | | 4.9 | | |||
| Total | | $ | 368.1 | | 12.7 | % | $ | 345.7 | | 13.3 | % | 6.5 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Enterprise Solutions segment increased in dollars but decreased as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year change in SG&A dollars was primarily attributable to a $2.3 million increase in the use of Headquarter services, primarily due to the higher personnel costs associated with the higher levels of gross profit and the increased employee benefit costs. This year-over-year increase is also driven by a $1.9 million increase in personnel cost. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 8.5% for the Enterprise Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2021, which reflects a decrease of 70 basis points. This decrease year-over-year was largely due to the higher net sales in 2021. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Business Solutions segment increased in dollars but decreased as a percentage of net sales. The year-over-year increase in SG&A dollars was primarily driven by the increased Headquarter services of $7.1 |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| million, including the higher variable compensation expenses resulting from the higher gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2021. The year-over-year increase in SG&A was also attributable to increased personnel costs and advertising costs in the amount of $4.1 million and $1.7 million respectively. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 15.3% for the Business Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to 16.0% for 2020, which reflects a decrease of 70 basis points year-over-year, largely resulting from higher net sales compared with the prior year. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Public Sector Solutions segment increased in dollars but decreased as a percentage of net sales. The increase in SG&A dollars year-over-year is primarily attributable to an increase in the usage of Headquarter services of $3.5 million, which included an increase in variable compensation expenses associated with the higher gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2021. Increased personnel costs of $0.2 million as well as the increased bad debt expense of $0.5 million also contributed to the year-over-year SG&A increase. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales were 14.2 % for the Public Sector Solutions segment for the year ended December 31, 2021, which reflects a decrease of 10 basis points. This decrease year-over-year is primarily attributable to higher net sales compared with the same period a year ago. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | SG&A expenses for the Headquarters/Other group increased by $0.8 million primarily due to an increase in unallocated executive oversight costs year-over-year. This increase was primarily driven by the increased variable compensation costs resulting from the higher gross profit during the current year. |
Income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased to $96.5 million, compared to $72.1 million for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the increases in net sales and gross profit, along with an increase in SG&A expense year-over-year. Income from operations as a percentage of net sales increased to 3.3% for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to 2.8% of net sales for the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the increase in net sales and lower SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales year-over-year.
Income taxes. Our effective tax rate was 27.6% for the year-ended December 31, 2021, compared to 23.8% for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $26.6 million, which included $0.3 million of discrete items mainly related to research and development tax credits recognized in the year ended December 31, 2021. Our provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $17.4 million, which included $2.9 million of discrete items mainly related to research and development tax credits recognized in the year ended December 31, 2020. The non-taxable life insurance gain reduced our effective tax rate by 0.3% for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Net income increased by $14.1 million to $69.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $55.8 million in the prior year, which resulted from the increase in operating income in the current year.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Liquidity Overview
Our primary sources of liquidity have historically been internally generated funds from operations and borrowings under our bank line of credit. We have historically used and expect to use in the future those funds to meet our capital requirements, which consist primarily of working capital for operational needs, capital expenditures for computer equipment and software used in our business, repurchases of common stock for treasury, dividend payments, and as opportunities arise, possible acquisitions of new businesses.
We believe that funds generated from operations, together with available credit under our bank line of credit, will be sufficient to finance our working capital, capital expenditures, and other requirements for the next twelve calendar months and beyond. Our investments in IT systems and infrastructure are designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and to provide our customers enhanced functionality.
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We expect to meet our cash requirements for 2022 and beyond through a combination of cash on hand, cash generated from operations, and borrowings on our bank line of credit, as follows:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash on Hand. At December 31, 2021, we had $108.3 million in cash and cash equivalents. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Cash Generated from Operations. We expect to generate cash flows from operations in excess of operating cash needs by generating earnings and managing net changes in inventories and receivables with changes in payables to generate a positive cash flow. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Credit Facilities. As of December 31, 2021, no borrowings were outstanding against our $50.0 million bank line of credit, which is available until March 31, 2025. Accordingly, our entire line of credit was available for borrowing at December 31, 2021. This line of credit can be increased, at our option, to $80.0 million for approved acquisitions or other uses authorized by the bank. Borrowings are, however, limited by certain minimum collateral and earnings requirements, as described more fully below. As of December 31, 2021, we are in compliance with all of our financial covenants. |
Our ability to continue funding our planned growth, both internally and externally, is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or to obtain additional funds through equity or debt financing, or from other sources of financing, as may be required. While we do not anticipate needing any additional sources of financing to fund our operations at this time, if demand for IT products declines, our cash flows from operations may be substantially affected. See also related risks listed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
Summary Sources and Uses of Cash
The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash over the last three years (in millions of dollars):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| | | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Net cash provided by operating activities | | $ | 57.8 | | $ | 36.1 | | $ | 36.6 | |
| Net cash used in investing activities | | (8.7) | | (11.0) | | (25.7) | | |||
| Net cash used in financing activities | | (36.4) | | (19.5) | | (12.5) | | |||
| Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 12.7 | | $ | 5.6 | | $ | (1.6) | |
Cash provided by operating activities was $57.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Cash flow provided by operations during the year ended December 31, 2021, resulted primarily from net income, adding back other non-cash charges and increases in accounts payable and accrued expenses, which increased by $32.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, and was driven primarily by the timing of payments. These factors that contributed to the positive inflow of cash from operating activities were partially offset by increases in inventory of $65.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily driven by the increase of inventory purchases for customer requested future rollouts and concerns associated with the global supply chain challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2020 resulted primarily from cash provided by net income prior to non-cash charges of $55.8 million and increases in account payables and accrued expenses of $43.1 million primarily due to the timing of payments. Those inflow of cash from operating activities were partially offset by increases in account receivable of $63.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.
In order to manage our working capital and operating cash needs, we monitor our cash conversion cycle, defined as days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable plus days of supply in inventory minus days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable, based on a rolling three-month average. Components of our cash conversion cycle are as follows:
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | December 31, | ||||
| (in days) | | 2021 | | 2020 | ||
| Days of sales outstanding (DSO)(1) | | | 65 | | | 75 |
| Days of supply in inventory (DIO)(2) | | | 28 | | | 23 |
| Days of purchases outstanding (DPO)(3) | | | (38) | | | (44) |
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| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Column 5 | Column 6 | Column 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash conversion cycle | | | 55 | | | 54 |
(1) Represents the rolling three-month average of the balance of accounts receivable, net at the end of the period, divided by average daily net sales for the same three-month period. Also incorporates components of other miscellaneous receivables.
(2) Represents the rolling three-month average of the balance of merchandise inventory at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
(3) Represents the rolling three-month average of the combined balance of accounts payable-trade, excluding cash overdrafts, and accounts payable-inventory financing at the end of the period divided by average daily cost of sales for the same three-month period.
The cash conversion cycle was 55 days at December 31, 2021, which is increased in comparison to the cash conversion cycle 54 days at December 31, 2020.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 consisted of $10.3 million of purchases of property and equipment. These expenditures were primarily for computer equipment and capitalized internally-developed software in connection with investments in our IT infrastructure. Cash used for capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2021 was partially offset by $1.5 million of cash proceeds from life insurance. Cash used in investing activities for the prior year consisted of $11.0 million purchases of property and equipment.
Cash used in financing activities increased for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the prior year and consisted primarily of $34.6 million in special dividend payments. In the prior year period, financing activities consisted primarily of a $8.4 million payment of a special $0.32 per share dividend and $10.2 million for the purchase of treasury shares.
Debt Instruments, Contractual Agreements, and Related Covenants
Below is a summary of certain provisions of our credit facilities and other contractual obligations. For more information about the restrictive covenants in our debt instruments and inventory financing agreements, see “Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity” below. For more information about our obligations, commitments, and contingencies, see our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included in this annual report.
Bank Line of Credit. Our bank line of credit extends until March 2025 and is collateralized by our accounts receivable. Our borrowing capacity is up to $50.0 million at the greatest of (i) the prime rate (3.25% at December 31, 2021), (ii) the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% per annum and (iii) the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, plus 1.00% per annum, provided that the rate shall at no time be less than 0% per annum. In addition, we have the option to increase the facility by an additional $30.0 million to meet additional borrowing requirements. Our credit facility is subject to certain covenant requirements which are described below under “Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity.” We did not have any borrowings under the credit facility at December 31, 2021.
In December of 2021, we entered into an amendment to our credit facility to, among other things, extend the maturity date to March 31, 2025, at which time any amounts outstanding become due. See “Part II – Item 9b. Other Information – Third Amendment to Third Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement” for additional information.
Cash receipts are automatically applied against any outstanding borrowings. Any excess cash on account may either remain on account to generate earned credits to offset up to 100% of cash management fees, or may be invested in short-term qualified investments. Borrowings under the line of credit are classified as current. At December 31, 2021, the entire $50.0 million facility was available for borrowing.
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Operating Leases. We lease facilities from our principal stockholders and facilities from third parties under non-cancelable operating leases. Certain leases require us to pay real estate taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance charges.
Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity
Internally Generated Funds. The key factors affecting our internally generated funds are our ability to manage costs and fully achieve our operating efficiencies, timely collection of our customer receivables, and management of our inventory levels.
Bank Line of Credit. Our bank line of credit extends until March 2025 and is collateralized by our accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2021, the entire $50.0 million facility was available for borrowing. Our credit facility contains certain financial ratios and operational covenants and other restrictions (including restrictions on additional debt, guarantees, and other distributions, investments, and liens) with which we and all of our subsidiaries must comply. Any failure to comply with these covenants would constitute a default and could prevent us from borrowing additional funds under this line of credit. This credit facility contains two financial tests:
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | The funded debt ratio (defined as the average outstanding advances under the line for the quarter, divided by the consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing four quarters) must not be more than 2.0 to 1.0. We don’t have any outstanding borrowings under the credit facility during the fourth quarter of 2021, and accordingly, the funded debt ratio did not limit potential borrowings as of December 31, 2021. Future decreases in our consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, however, could limit our potential borrowings under the credit facility. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| ● | Minimum Consolidated Net Worth must be at least $346.7 million, plus 50% of consolidated net income for each quarter, beginning with the quarter ended December 31, 2016. Such amount was calculated at December 31, 2021 as $516.8 million, whereas our actual consolidated stockholders’ equity at this date was $682.5 million. |
Capital Markets. Our ability to raise additional funds in the capital market depends upon, among other things, general economic conditions, the condition of the information technology industry, our financial performance and stock price, and the state of the capital markets. In addition, market volatility, inflation and interest rate fluctuations may increase our cost of financing or restrict our access to potential sources of future liquidity.
APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
A critical accounting policy has been defined as one that is both important to the portrayal of the registrant’s financial condition and results and requires management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Further, “critical accounting policies” are those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties, and potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions.
We believe that our accounting policies described below meet the definition of critical accounting policies and estimates.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those products or services. We enter into contracts that can include various combinations of products and services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. In most instances, when several performance obligations are aggregated into one single transaction, these performance obligations are fulfilled at the same point in time. We account for an arrangement when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights are identified, the contract has commercial substance, and collectability of consideration is probable. We generally obtain oral or written purchase authorizations from our customers for a specified amount of product at a specified price, which constitutes an arrangement. Revenue is recognized at the amount expected to be collected, net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently
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remitted to governmental authorities. We generally invoice for our products at the time of shipping, and accordingly there is not a significant financing component included in our arrangements.
Nature of Products and Services
IT products typically represent a distinct performance obligation, and revenue is recognized at the point in time when control is transferred to the customer which is generally upon delivery to the customer. We recognize revenue as the principal in the transaction with the customer (i.e., on a gross basis), as we control the product prior to delivery to the customer and derive the economic benefits from the sales transaction given our control over customer pricing.
We do not recognize revenue for goods that remain in our physical possession before the customer has the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits from the products, the goods are ready for physical transfer to and identified as belonging to the customer, and when we have no ability to use the product or to direct it to another customer.
Licenses for on-premise software provide the customer with a right to take possession of the software. Customers may purchase perpetual licenses or enter into subscriptions to the licensed software. We are the principal in these transactions and recognize revenue for the on-premise license at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer and the commencement of the term of the software license or when the renewal term begins, as applicable.
For certain on-premise licenses for security software, the customer derives substantially all of the benefit from these arrangements through the third-party delivered software maintenance, which provides software updates and other support services. We do not have control over the delivery of these performance obligations, and accordingly we are the agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for security software net of the related cost of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement. Cloud products allow customers to use hosted software over the contractual period without taking possession of the software and are provided on a subscription basis. We do not exercise control over these products or services and therefore are an agent in these transactions. We recognize revenue for cloud products net of the related costs of sales at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
We use our own engineering personnel to assist in projects involving the design and installation of systems and networks, and we also engage third-party service providers to perform warranty maintenance, implementations, asset disposal, and other services. Service revenue is recognized in general over time as we perform the underlying services and satisfy our performance obligations. We evaluate such engagements to determine whether we are the principal or the agent in each transaction. For those transactions in which we do not control the service, we act as an agent and recognize the transaction revenue on a net basis at a point in time when the vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
Similarly, we recognize revenue from agency sales transactions on a net sales basis. In agency sales transactions, we facilitate product sales by equipment and software manufacturers directly to our customers and receive agency, or referral, fees for such transactions. We do not take title to the products or assume any maintenance or return obligations in these transactions; title is passed directly from the supplier to our customer. Amounts recognized on a net basis included in net sales for such third-party services and agency sales transactions were $50.0 million, $47.8 million, and $51.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.
Certain software sales include on-premise licenses that are combined with software maintenance. Software maintenance conveys rights to updates, bug fixes and help desk support, and other support services transferred over the underlying contract period. On-premise licenses are considered distinct performance obligations when sold with the software maintenance, as we sell these items separately. We recognize revenue related to the software maintenance as the agent in these transactions because we do not have control over the on-going software maintenance service. Revenue allocated to software maintenance is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangements.
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Certain of our larger customers are offered the opportunity by vendors to purchase software licenses and maintenance under enterprise agreements, or EAs. Under EAs, customers are considered to be compliant with applicable license requirements for the ensuing year, regardless of changes to their employee base. Customers are charged an annual true-up fee for changes in the number of users over the year. With most EAs, our vendors will transfer the license and bill the customer directly, paying resellers, such as us, an agency fee or commission on these sales. We record these agency fees as a component of net sales as earned and there is no corresponding cost of sales amount. In certain instances, we invoice the customer directly under an EA and account for the individual items sold based on the nature of each item. Our vendors typically dictate how the EA will be sold to the customer.
We also offer extended service plans, or ESP, on IT products, both as part of the initial arrangement and separately from the IT products. We recognize revenue related to ESP as the agent in the transaction because we do not have control over the on-going ESP service and do not provide any service after the sale. Revenue allocated to ESP is recognized at the point in time when our vendor and customer accept the terms and conditions in the sales arrangement.
All amounts billed to a customer in a sales transaction related to shipping and handling, if any, represent revenues earned for the goods provided, and these amounts have been included in net sales. Costs related to shipping and handling billing are classified as cost of sales. Sales are reported net of sales, use, or other transaction taxes that are collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our contracts with customers often include promises to transfer multiple products or services to a customer. Determining whether we are the agent or the principal and whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment.
We estimate the standalone selling price, or SSP, for each distinct performance obligation when a single arrangement contains multiple performance obligations and the fulfillment occurs at different points of times. We maximize the use of observable inputs in the determination of the estimate for SSP for the items that we do not sell separately, including on-premise licenses sold with software maintenance, and IT products sold with ESP. In instances where SSP is not directly observable, such as when we do not sell the product or service separately, we determine the SSP using information that may include market conditions and other observable inputs.
We provide our customers with a limited thirty-day right of return, which is generally limited to defective merchandise, and gives rise to variable consideration. Revenue is recognized based on the most likely amount to which we are expected to be entitled. The estimated variable consideration is included in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur once the uncertainty is resolved. We make estimates of product returns based on significant historical experience. We record our sales return reserve as a reduction of revenues and either as reduction of accounts receivable or, for customers who have already paid, as accrued expenses and as a reduction of cost of sales and an associated right of return asset. At December 31, 2021, we recorded sales reserves of $4.2 million and $0.2 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively. At December 31, 2020, we recorded sales reserves of $4.0 million and $0.3 million as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively.
We regularly evaluate the adequacy of our estimates for product returns. Future market conditions and product transitions may require us to take action to change such programs and related estimates. When the variables used to estimate these reserves change, or if actual results differ significantly from the estimates, we would be required to increase or reduce revenue to reflect the impact.
Accounts Receivable
We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and adjust credit limits based upon payment history and customers’ current creditworthiness. Our allowance for credit losses is generally computed by (1) applying specific percentage reserves on accounts that are past due, and (2) specifically reserving for customers known to be in financial difficulty. Therefore, if the financial condition of certain of our customers were to deteriorate, or if we noted there was a
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lengthening of the timing of the settlement of receivables that was symptomatic of a general deterioration in the ability of our customers to pay, we would have to increase our allowance for credit losses. This would negatively impact our earnings. Our cash flows would be impacted to the extent that receivables could not be collected. For example, during the year ended December 31, 2021, we experienced delays in collecting amounts owed to us, and in some cases, we may be unable to collect amounts owed to us altogether. As a result of these delays and other considerations, we recorded bad debt expenses for reserve for credit losses for $3.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded $3.3 million bad debt expenses for reserve for credit losses.
In addition to accounts receivable from customers, we record receivables from our vendors/suppliers for cooperative advertising, price protection, supplier reimbursements, rebates, and other similar arrangements. A portion of such receivables is estimated based on information available from our vendors at discrete points in time. While such estimates have historically approximated actual cash received, a change in estimates could give rise to a reduction in the receivable. This could negatively impact our earnings and our cash flows.
Our trade receivables are charged off in the period in which they are deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of trade receivables previously charged are recorded when received. Write offs of customer and vendor receivables totaled $3.9 million in 2021 and $0.1 million in 2020.
Considerable estimate is used in assessing the ultimate realization of customer receivables and vendor/supplier receivables, including reviewing the financial stability of a customer, vendor information, and gauging current market conditions. If our evaluations are incorrect, we may incur additional charges in the future on our consolidated statements of income.
Inventories
Inventories (all finished goods) consisting of software packages, computer systems, and peripheral equipment are stated at cost (determined under a weighted-average cost method which approximates the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value, whichever is lower. Inventory quantities on hand are reviewed regularly, and provisions are made for obsolete, slow moving, and non-saleable inventory, based primarily on management’s forecast of customer demand for those products in inventory.
Estimate is used to determine the quarterly inventory allowance provision. Actual future write-offs of inventory for salability and obsolescence reasons may differ from estimates and calculations used to determine valuation allowances due to changes in customer demand, customer negotiations, technology shifts and other factors. The IT industry is characterized by rapid technological change and new product development that could result in increased obsolescence of inventory on hand. Increased obsolescence or decreased customer demand beyond management’s expectations could require additional provisions, which could negatively impact our earnings. We recorded obsolescence charges of $2.7 million, $1.7 million, and $3.4 million for the years ended 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Historically, there have been no unusual charges precipitated by specific technological or forecast issues.
Value of Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets, Including Intangibles
We carry a variety of long-lived assets on our consolidated balance sheet, which are all currently classified as held for use. These include property and equipment, identifiable intangibles, an internet domain name, which is an indefinite-lived intangible asset not subject to amortization, and goodwill. An impairment review is undertaken on (1) an annual basis for goodwill and an indefinite-lived intangible; and (2) on an event-driven basis for all long-lived assets when facts and circumstances suggest that cash flows from such assets may be diminished. We have historically reviewed the carrying value of all these assets based partly on our projections of cash flows. Any impairment charge that is recorded negatively impacts our earnings.
Our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments hold $66.2 million and $7.4 million of goodwill, respectively. We test goodwill for impairment each year and more frequently if potential impairment indicators arise. In 2021 and 2020, we performed a “step 0” qualitative analysis. ASC 350—Intangible – Goodwill and Other states that an entity may assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit
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is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. This analysis allows the Company to consider qualitative factors that might impact the carrying amount of its goodwill to determine whether a more detailed quantitative analysis would be necessary. Factors considered when performing the impairment assessment included the Company’s performance relative to historical and projected future operating results, macroeconomic conditions, industry and market trends, cost factors that may have a negative impact on earnings and cash flows, changes in the Company’s stock price and market capitalization, and other relevant entity-specific events. Based on the qualitative analysis, the Company determined goodwill was not impaired for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. While we believe that our conclusions are reasonable, different assumptions could materially affect our valuations and result in impairment charges against the carrying values of those remaining assets in our Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions segments. However, at December 31, 2021, a 10 percent decline in projected cash flows or 10 percent increase in the discount rate would not result in an impairment.
Please see Note 3, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this report for a discussion of the significant assumptions used in our annual impairment test analysis.
RECENTLY ISSUED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Recently issued financial accounting standards are detailed in Note 1, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.